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Week 16 produced no less than 18 goals across the 5 weekend and 1 midweek fixtures, at an average of 3 goals per game. Wellington snuck another 1-0 away win, Central Coast came from behind to beat the Reds 3-2 at Bluetongue Stadium, Heart and the Roar couldn’t be seperated, Sydney snatched a win against the Gold Coast, Perth smashed Victory 4-1 at home, and Adelaide and Newcastle shared the points in the midweek fixture in Bathurst. But in a week with so much action and excitement, who did enough to secure their spot in the week 16 Team of the Week:

Goalkeeper – Mark Paston (Wellington Phoenix)
Paston secured the only clean sheet this week, which along with a great fingertip save off Ryan Griffiths in the first half and a slew of crucial second half saves, gets him the starting spot between the posts this week. … Continue Reading

Of the 7 games that made up this week of A-League fantasy, an average of only 2 goals per game effectively should’ve made it difficult to score big this week in fantasy, with goals worth so much to your overall score. But, that wasn’t to be, as fantasy managers took advantage of four teams playing twice by choosing a large selection of players from those teams – and, especially, their captain. 91 points was the #1 score in our own league, showing that cunning selections this week were key.

With goalkeepers this week there were a great deal of points to be had. Matthew Ryan from the Mariners continued on his merry way, racking up 11 points from his two games this week, after only allowing one goal in and producing 11 saves in the process. Double gamer Danny Vukovic was right behind him with 9 points, after saving a penalty in the game against Melbourne Heart. … Continue Reading

Week 15, with one hangover game from week 9 chucked in for good measure, was full of passion, excitement, last gasp winners, comebacks and epic individual performances. 14 goals hit the back of the net over the 7 games this week, but whilst an average of 2 goals per game isn’t high, the quality of football played certainly was. So, with 7 games and all those positive aspects this week, who stood above the pack and secured themselves one of the 15 slots available in the Team of the Week?

Goalkeeper – Matthew Ryan (Central Coast Mariners)
What can you say? Matt Ryan’s performance against the Heart midweek was mercurial, and is the only reason his side was still in the game come the last 5 minutes. Another good performance earlier in the week against the Jets, and Ryan sews up the starting gig in the TOTW this week.

Defence – … Continue Reading

The latest installment of advertising for the Hyundai A-League promotes the fan-based culture on a level that should strike a chord with any supporter that follows their team and attends their games on a semi-regular to regular basis.

The chill down the spine as you enter the ground, that sudden burst of adrenaline as the thousands around you jump at a near miss, the devastating weight on those hearts as the opposition scores – these feelings are what make football the sport we know and love, and those feelings are only further eccentuated when the ground that you enter is your own.

Further magnify that with the knockout pressure of finals football, and you have the unique end-season atmosphere that is so paralleled with A-League history, and it’s no wonder that finals games over the years have sold out like hot cakes.

Simply put, Australians, like Americans with their playoffs and conferences, love their finals football with the concept being utilised in all … Continue Reading

I’m not a Brisbane Roar supporter. I’ve never cheered for FC Koln or Borussia Monchengladbach. Nor do I have an affinity for German football, outside of a natural respect and admiration for the quality of their players and their league.

So, usually, the idea of sitting down and watching a biography of the life of a German footballer who plays for a team other than my own would not be something I would consider on a quiet Saturday night. But when the footballer in question is someone so atypical to the idea of the ‘normal’ footballer as Thomas Broich clearly is, that documentary should be expected to be equally as atypical. And, in that sense, it is. So on Saturday night, after watching the free-flowing Brisbane Roar come from behind to score two goals in the dying seconds of a match against Sydney FC, where Broich had a significant impact on his return from injury, I decided to pop in … Continue Reading

Week 14 of the A-League didn’t exactly set the world alight or keep scoreboard operators busy, with only 9 goals being scored across the 5 games at less than 2 goals per game. That is in stark contrast to last week’s “Big Wednesday” which averaged over twice as many goals as week 14. Alas, it was a difficult and relatively low scoring week for fantasy managers this week, with 47 points being enough to top the scoring in our own league. So, who made the most of the lack of goals this week?

Well for one, and for the second week in a row, Matthew Ryan topped the goalkeeper points list, collecting 7 points this week thanks to another clean sheet and a handful of saves in the game against Sydney FC at the SFS. This now leaves Ryan well and truly with the most points by any goalkeeper thus far this season, with his 57 points … Continue Reading

It was a quiet week for scorekeepers in the A-League this week, with only 9 goals hitting the back of the onion bag at an average of under 2 goals per game. Melbourne Victory ensured Kevin Muscat’s managerial career began and concluded with a 100% winning record, as the Victory snatched a 2-1 win without actually scoring a goal themselves. Gold Coast, Melbourne Heart, Adelaide and Brisbane all took home a solitary point from their clashes, whilst Perth won late against Wellington and Central Coast won early against Sydney. But in a week so devoid of goal scoring action, who stood up enough across the park to find a spot in this week’s TOTW?

Goalkeeper – Clint Bolton (Melbourne Heart)
In goals this week is Heart stopper (apologies for that awful pun) Clint Bolton. Bolton was the bane of Gold Coast’s existence this week, making save after save … Continue Reading

Some of Australia’s best managers have come about after long periods of sitting on the pine next to some of the greats of Australian management – Gary van Egmond, Graham Arnold, Ange Postecoglou and Aurelio Vidmar all had a stint as a number two before taking the top job.

On the flip side, there have been some questionable promotions from assistant to full time management also, none more evident this year than in the form of Perth Glory’s Ian Ferguson and Melbourne Victory’s Mehmet Durakovic.

Freshly promoted and with both men appointed with prior international pedigree, it was expected they’d build an air of success at their respective clubs in 2011/2012 considering they had arguably the two strongest sides in the league on paper.

It’s to be expected that sides need time to gel under a new coach, but at the halfway point of the season both sides sit in 8th (Victory) and 9th (Glory) position, 15 points a piece and a … Continue Reading

Week 13b (or week 14, if you want to be incorrect, picky, or Fox Sports) of fantasy football took place across 3 timezones, 5 locations and 12 hours of back-to-back football. And with every team bar one scoring at least once (looking at you, Melbourne Victory), it certainly wasn’t going to be goalkeepers scoring you large points this week. Rather, with the 23 goals scored at a rate of over 4 per game, it’s going to be a mix of goal scoring midfielders and strikers earning the majority of your points this week, which was reflected in the manager rankings in our own league this week. So, what’s the run down this week?

Well, as I said, goalkeepers weren’t going to be a great commodity on Big Wednesday given the results. But it is no surprise that the only ‘keeper to retain a clean sheet, Matthew Ryan, topped all others … Continue Reading

Week 13 was a blockbuster round, with the entire round featuring 10 games including the first ‘Big Wednesday’; five games back to back on the one day. And the games didn’t disappoint! Across the 10 games, a total of 35 goals were scored, there were 36 bookings, and more excitement than you could poke a stick at. Sydney FC conceded four goals in each of their two games, Melbourne Heart looked to be the real thing with a win over Sydney before falling at home to Adelaide, and the Central Coast continued on their merry way picking up four points from their two games. But who were the standout players for their respective teams across the 180 minutes of football each team played?

Goalkeeper – Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United)
Two superb games for the newly appointed Adelaide captain means that Galekovic earns the starting gig in the TOTW … Continue Reading