Blog

It’s hard to imagine now, but barely over a fortnight ago football was front page news for all the wrong reasons. Crowd incidents at two pre-season games in Sydney were met with predictable responses by the mainstream media, and again football and its fans were portrayed as something to be feared, and something not to be trusted. It stabbed at the heart of every fan across the country and, unfortunately for many, it was a path all too well trodden. With just over a month until the start of the new season, it was publicity the A-League could well do without. Like its predecessor, the National Soccer League (NSL), the A-League seemed destined to lose its battle with an often hostile Australian media.

But Australian domestic football is a resilient beast, having taken many knocks over the course of it’s existence and will no doubt have many more to weather. When news that Sydney FC were in … Continue Reading

Due to the postponement of the Central Coast v Gold Coast game at Robina last weekend, week 17 only ended up featuring 5 fixtures, despite the presence of another of the regional midweek games. 14 goals over the 5 games was a reasonable return, but not nearly enough for scores in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s to eventuate in fantasy football this week – in fact, 51 was enough to net you the top score in our Ultimate A-League fantasy league this week.

It was a pretty poor week for goalkeepers this week, given the fact there were only two clean sheets held, and those two goalkeepers really had very little to do. Those two ‘keepers, Danny Vukovic and Ben Kennedy, topped the rankings with 5 points, alongside Victory custodian Ante Covic, who managed to scrape together 5 points over his two games this week. Goalkeeper is a position I wouldn’t be trading for at the moment, … 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

As the Hyundai A-League gets set to go for another season, there’s no doubt it’s a machine in need of a tune up.

When it rolled out of the show room in 2005 it sparkled and turned heads. It was, for a couple of summers, the best thing on wheels.

Who could forget the 50,000 strong crowd at Etihad for the Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC game?  This wasn’t even a final. Yet it seemed that in the space of 12 months, football had gone from the basement to the penthouse in record time.

Of course, like all torrid affairs, the passion fades quickly enough for some. After the initial euphoria of those early seasons, what was left was a lot of hard work to consolidate the gains the game had made and build a sustainable model that would be the foundation of the game domestically for the next 25 years.

Instead, we got an ill fated World Cup … Continue Reading

Turn the clock back to March, where a resolute North Queensland Fury seemed to have enough funding to at least secure a place for the next season in the Hyundai A-League. Benny and his crew rolled up in Townsville in their suits and blue ties to assess the criteria they had placed on the Fury and decide whether or not they would remain in the competition. Many believed the decision was made long before meeting with the Fury hierachy but still, the verdict was such – to the FFA, the Fury were not viable enough to ‘prop up’ and had to go.

Fast forward four months – the North Queensland fire sale seems to be nearing its end, as the more skillful players found homes at greener pastures, the FFA-Owned Brisbane Roar are currently undisputed champions of Australia and football seems stable enough – especially with the expected ACL cash windfall for the Roar making them … Continue Reading