Blog

Almost exactly one year ago, in a blog piece far far away, I was writing on the issue of refereeing inconsistencies in the A-League, and how they were hurting the image and perception of the league amongst the community. At the time, I suggested the FFA appoint a Director of Refereeing, preferably former A-League and NSL referee Mark Shield, to oversee the entire refereeing group and try to dictate a set of standards and interpretations to them. Call me Nostradamus, but we fast forward exactly one year to where that precise arrangement is in place. But the problem is, the issue of overseeing the refereeing group, dictating standards and ensuring consistency is one that is still a problem. And a significant one, at that.

It’s taken only four weeks of A-League action this year to get A-League fans of nearly every club up in arms about a particular unjust, or seemingly unjust, refereeing decision. For your quick reference, I’ve compiled … Continue Reading

Week 3 of the A-League may have been rivalry round, and garnered the most fans to any A-League round in history, however not all the focus should be on what’s happening off the field. There was another eight goals scored this round, a red card, four cracking and exciting games, and one that despite failing to fire still somehow excited one television football pundit. So with all that action, who made the grade this week for a spot in our team of the week:

Goalkeeper – Ante Covic (Melbourne Victory)
Covic was the only reason the Victory walked away with a point from the cross-town derby, as he made a plethora of great saves and controlled his area in the air and on the ground. His start to the season is exactly what the Victory were hoping for, but could they have imagined such a fantastic start … Continue Reading

Rivalry round this year attracted more fans than any round of football in A-League history, and the quality of football certainly didn’t disappoint. But, it was the weekend of scoring 9′s, as the three top scoring players in A-League fantasy this week (Ante Covic, Besart Berisha and Bas van den Brink) all posted totals one shy of double figures. Throw in Coyne, Paartalu and Nichols with 8 each, and if you had a lineup with a combination of any of these players, you were guaranteed a profitable week. And after 3 rounds, and despite all the attacking flair many teams are boasting this season, it’s two goalkeepers (Covic and Theoklitos) and three defenders (Jurman, Franjic and Smith) who make up the top 5 scoring players overall. So, now might be the time to implement a 5-3-2 formation in your team…

But there can only be one weekly … Continue Reading

You know you are talking about the A-League when someone asks you for the crowd figure before the score….

As football fans across the country prepare for another bumper weekend of football, attention will inevitably turn to the stadium gates and the amount of clicks each turnstile clocks up. In what is being billed by the FFA as the ‘rivalry round’, expectations are high amongst supporters and football officials as a trio of derby matches headlines the bill.

Season seven on the Hyundai A-League has started well, with renewed interest in the league both in the stands and across the media. TV ratings are up and the league has ‘fresh air’ after delaying the start of the season to avoid clashes with rival football codes and to encourage extra column inches in the mainstream press that were previously reserved for the dominant finals series of the NRL and AFL.

The FFA has certainly played its part, by scheduling a … Continue Reading

After an opening round dominated by fantastic goalkeeping performances, the midfielders and strikers finally came into their own this week by notching up a few goals, and with there being no nil-all stalemates. In fact, goalkeeper was quite possibly the most difficult position to select this week, as no stopper was by any means outstanding, as they either had nothing to do for most of the game, or simply had a bad game. But, I digress. Let’s see who made the Team of the Week for week 2 of the 2011/12 A-League:

Goalkeeper – Michael Theoklitos (Brisbane Roar)
Theo made a few vital saves for the Roar when the score was still locked at 0-0 with Sydney, and despite a few nervy moments in the air, he ensured the Roar’s unbeaten streak stayed in tact. Not as many standout keepers this week, but Theoklitos was probably … Continue Reading

Week 2 of the A-League has been and gone, and there’s been some significant changes in the Ultimate A-League fantasy competition.

We’ve got three players who have just cracked 100 points in total, after some much bigger scores were achieved by all players in round 2 than were in round 1. Two weeks in a row you would’ve felt good if you had James Brown (GCU) in your lineup, and it was a case of same old Shane Smeltz as he pocketed a brace (and a cool 10 points) to be the weekend’s best performer.

In the case of Aaron Walker, the week 2 winner of the Pelé Sports prize for the most weekly points scored, having Smeltz in your team isn’t good enough unless he’s also the skipper. Aaron scored a runaway 67 points this week on the back of Smeltz, Broich and a collection … Continue Reading

It was billed as being the round of excitement, goals, and of returning Socceroos starring for their teams. And it sure started off that way up at Ausgrid Stadium, with five goals banged in. But soon, week 1 became the week of the stopper, with Liam Reddy, Ante Covic and Matthew Ryan all starring between the posts for their respective teams. But, alas, only two goalkeepers can make the team of the week, so let’s see who made the cut for week 1 of the 2011/12 A-League:

Goalkeeper – Ante Covic (Melbourne Victory)
Pipping Ryan and Reddy for the starting spot, Ante Covic enjoyed a fruitful return to the A-League, pulling off a series of fingertip stops and throwing in a penalty save for good measure.

Defence – Manny Muscat (Wellington Phoenix), Bas van den Brink (Perth Glory), Matt Smith (Brisbane Roar), Matt Jurman (Brisbane Roar)
Four teams failed to trouble the scorers this week, so it was inevitable … Continue Reading

Well, a big week 1 of the A-League has come and gone, and the Ultimate A-League fantasy football league is off and running.

It’s all pretty even at the top of the fantasy table, with the top 16 players currently seperated by just 9 points. A low goal-scoring round could be the reason for this, so let’s hope the goals pick up next week and we see some phenomenal scores from everyone. If you’re wondering, the big point scorers this week were Ante Covic for Melbourne Victory, Mate Dugandzic for Melbourne Heart and Ryan Griffiths for Newcastle Jets, all scoring at least 10 points individually.

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But, the week 1 winner of the Pelé Sports prize for the most weekly points scored is LOUIS DES LANDES, who scored an impressive 49 points this week. To claim your prize, Louis, please send an email to enquiries@ultimatealeague.com. Winners each week will be announced here, as well as in the fantasy … Continue Reading

This weekend, football fans from around the country will pile into stadiums, with the sort of vigor and hope that only the first day of a season can supply. The off season is done, the pre season complete and supporters hope renewed. New recruits will surprise and disappoint, new jerseys will shine or wilt and twenty two men will take to the field with the with the collective expectations of the thousands of fans breathing on the back of their necks

On the sidelines, managers will gesture, point and sigh, some dressed in suits to impress and some dressed in sponsor supplied training gear. Substitutes will watch, warm up and wait for the call, their moment in the sun upon them. It is here where the A-League is different from many leagues around the world, not because of the dull, grey plastic garden chairs these men are forced to endure, but for the number of these garden … Continue Reading

Update 11th October: Winners announced in a new post. Check to see if you won…

This week, as a lead in to the start of the 2011/12 Hyundai A-League season, Ultimate A-League and Pelé Sports are running a competition to win a Pelé Sports 1283 Gameday Jersey!

The 1283 Gameday Jersey is a classic football jersey – and yet very special: the functional material puts you in completely new color combinations. The bottom panel features the “1283″ pattern: the target and goal net knots symbolize precision and the 1,283 goals Pelé scored in his career. And that means the caption “Grandmaster” has to be included below the big futsal graphic on the chest. Pelé, the grandmaster of football. Grandmaster of your game. The perfect jersey for your whole team.

How to enter:
To be a part of the competition, all you need to do … Continue Reading