Blog

The wash-up from the weekend’s controversial off-field incidents at the Melbourne Derby has been long and painful for those in football, but thankfully, the right steps have been taken to prevent these kinds of incidents from recurring in the future. However, it is the incorrect drawing of conclusions by some in the mainstream media that continually frustrate and flabbergast football fans. Earlier this week, 3AW Melbourne radio drive host Tom Elliott claimed that the reason football fans misbehave is that the game itself is inherently dull and boring. And it is that point that I would like to refute – through the world of records and statistics.

All too often football fans hear the same ’90 minutes for a nil-all draw’ slap from non-fans. “How can you sit there for 90 minutes and nothing happens”, they say. So, let’s start with a breakdown of nil-all draws in the A-League.

Season
Games
Nil-all games
Nil-all games (%)

2005-06
90
5
5.55%

2006-07
90
8
8.88%

2007-08
90
10
11.11%

2008-09
90
4
4.44%

2009-10
142
8
5.63%

2010-11
172
14
8.14%

2011-12
142
7
4.93%

2012-13
95
4
4.21%

Total
911
60
6.59%

That’s right – only 60 of … Continue Reading

Fan. Connoisseur. Disciple. These are the things I would consider myself to be before a football journalist. I wrote an article a month or so back where I called out the mainstream media on its inciting comments in the wake of an article which demonised those who called the sport soccer.

But if we were shown one thing in the last few days, it’s that ignorance is not always bliss, as in three cases over the last week.

The first involved Tom Elliot, a so called ‘afternoon expert’ on Melbourne radio station 3AW, who originally incited fans with this beauty:
The fact is, soccer is a dull, boring game. It is the only thing that explains why such bad behaviour doesn’t happen at AFL or NRL matches.

It’s just soccer, because it’s a dull game. That’s the explanation.
Like most football fans I sat there going “yeah, yeah” – we’ve seen it all before from the AFL boo boys. But then … Continue Reading

Three – Western Sydney Wanderers.

Probably the most anticipated expansion club in the A-League’s short history, Western Sydney Wanderers’ inclusion into the A-League was viewed as so vital to the competition by Football Federation Australia that a decision was made for the club to be set up and funded, at least initially, by the governing body.

Western Sydney has fast become Australia’s most sought after sporting area. With an expanding population and a rich sporting history across many codes, it has in recent years become somewhat of a battle ground for the hearts and minds of the western Sydney sporting public. Traditionally a football and Rugby League stronghold, the area has become even further crowded with the AFL’s incursion into the region with the introduction of the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

In 2009, Football Federation Australia awarded Sydney Rovers FC entry into the A-League, however the bid faltered after failure to secure funding meant that football fans in the … Continue Reading

The little brother of Victory will be once again looking to finish ahead of their cross town rivals. New coach John Aloisi will find the going very tough in this competitive league and must get positive early results to bring much needed fans through the turnstiles. Under their former manager, the club played a very attractive game, but struggled to consistently find the back of the net; will the same playing style remain at the club?

Much has been said of the club’s youth policy of selling off their young stars to break even financially, combined with a group of veterans holding down key positions in the starting line up.

PREDICTION: 6th. Sink or swim for the club as they tread water around the bottom region of the finals places. Much will depend on the fitness of Captain Fred, and the form of keeper Clint Bolton.

BEST FINISH: 6th in 2011/12.

THE SIGNING: Former Hull City midfielder Richard Garcia. The midfielder will add an extra dimension to … Continue Reading

Melbourne’s biggest A-League advertisement is still over three months away, but you can feel the tension building between the two sets of fans already.

Supporters will argue if Melbourne is red or blue for the bulk of this time, with good humour and a healthy respect for each other; except a small splinter group from the Melbourne Victory.

Most fans enjoy the banter between the teams. I fondly remember the first ever derby when Victory fans produced their ‘No Heart’ banners.  They were extremely well done, and whether you were from the red or blue half of Melbourne you have to appreciate the time and effort that went into the ‘No Heart’ campaign. Melbourne Heart responded to this, cheekily reminding Victory fans of the 2-1 score line from the first derby. Heart also ran with the ‘Grass is greener’ referring to the amount of former Victory players that were in Heart colours in season 2011/12.

I have been in … Continue Reading

Position: 6th
(knocked out of the finals by Perth 3-0)

Change in position from 2010/11: ↑ 2

Win-draw-loss record: 9-10-8
(35 goals scored, 34 goals conceded)

Highest goalscorer: Eli Babalj (9)

Average attendance: 9,082

With the aim of making the A-League finals for the first time in their short history, the Heart began their pre-season in subdued fashion, taking a back seat to the Harry Kewell saga that was taking place across town. The signing of Fred was the Heart’s biggest drawcard going into the 2011/12 season, with attack-minded players like Germano, Maycon and Williams brought in to shore up a forward structure that had lost Aloisi, Skoko and Sibon from the previous season. With youngster Mate Dugandzic signing from cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory, and former Victory championship player Fred being handed the captain’s armband, there was a storm of anticipation hanging over a city desperately waiting for week 1 of the 2011/12 season to start.

Once the season proper kicked off, however, it was anything but smooth sailing … Continue Reading

Well, one derby down, two to play. So, from the perspective of the A-League in general, what can be taken away from last night’s first Melbourne derby?

Whilst it was quoted as a sellout, the non-attendance of some ticket holders and Melbourne Heart members, most likely due to the change of date for the much anticipated fixture, meant that the attendance fell about 5,000 short of the 31,000 that AAMI Park can cram in. Regardless of the smaller than expected crowd, the atmosphere of a large crowd in a stadium with carefully engineered acoustics was nothing less than deafening at times. So in terms of the crowd and atmosphere at the game, you can put a big tick in the ‘plus’ column.

But what about the game itself? It’s all well and good to have a near-capacity crowd making lots of noise, but if the standard of football doesn’t match the enthusiasm in the stands, or if you end … Continue Reading

Great stadium. Check. Great city. Check. Great weather. Check. Great club…well, no…not yet anyway. In this sense, Gold Coast United are so far from being a successful and sustainable club it’s not funny. In fact, it’s slowly becoming an embarrassment to a league trying to establish itself in an ultra-competitive sporting market.

After attending the Gold Coast v Victory game last weekend, also being my first trip to Skilled Park, I came to one conclusion regarding the viability of Gold Coast in the A-League; good idea, poorly implemented. Rather than elegantly write a 5000 word essay on everything that is wrong with this club, here is a list of gripes that people on the Gold Coast, as well as many in the general A-League community, have with what is quickly becoming Clive Palmer’s ‘plaything’.

Firstly, you cannot expect a team to attract crowds if some people don’t even know the team exists. Talking to people behind counters of … Continue Reading