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2012/13 A-League Elimination Final
Melbourne Victory vs Perth Glory
Friday 5th April. 7:30pm AEDT
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Broadcast: Live on Fox Sports 2/2HD

How they got there – Melbourne

The Victory won their final match away at Wellington 3-2, sealing 3rd place on the ladder and a home final with a 13-5-9 win/draw/loss record.

How they got there – Perth

Perth managed to hold off a fast finishing Adelaide in their final match to share the points with a 1-1 draw. Combined with Sydney’s loss to Brisbane earlier in the week, the Glory qualified in 6th place with superior goal difference to that of Sydney FC. Perth managed 9 wins, 5 draws and 13 losses across the 2012/13 season.

The statistical breakdown

Head to Head: Melbourne Victory 9 wins, Perth Glory 10 wins, 5 draws.
Head to Head (Previous 5): Melbourne Victory 2 wins, Perth Glory 3 wins, 0 draws.
At Etihad Stadium: Melbourne Victory 4 wins, Perth Glory 0 wins, 2 draws.
This season: Melbourne Victory 2 … Continue Reading

Well it was bound to happen, wasn’t it – and they did give us fair warning.

With the nod of a few heads, Australia has been downgraded from a country with two-and-a-half places (two group stage, one qualifier) in the Asian Champions League to just one-and-a-half places.

But it seems that the FFA, despite sending a crack team of diplomats headed by new CEO David Gallop to Kuala Lumpur, are more focused on matters at home, as mentioned last night by Hyundai A-League head Damian De Bohun:

“Our real focus and that of our clubs this year is the Hyundai A-League, the consolidation of the 10 team competition and continuing to build on the exciting start to this season.”

Sure, you look after your own backyard, but if you know that a bulldozer is coming to take nearly half of your backyard away unless you make improvements to your property, you would do so post-haste, right?

Apparently not the FFA, and … Continue Reading

Over the winter, Perth have built their campaign on gaining revenge, and going one better than last season. Whilst a healthy attitude to adopt, one has to be careful during the long A-League season. Perth hit form at the right end of the season in 2011/12, and will need to do the same this time around. They have built an impressive squad, and one that is definitely capable of going all the way.

The team has been built from the back this season, with Michael Thwaite and Adrian Zahra handy editions. But much will be reliant on the Kiwi magician Shane Smeltz, who has an uncanny knack for finding the back of the net. It will be a very exciting season for the Glory.

PREDICTION: Third. Predicting one worse than last year, but the shorter finals campaign may suit the Glory.

BEST FINISH: 2nd in 2011/12. Lost to Brisbane in Grand Final 2-1.

THE SIGNING: When Gold Coast folded last season, Michael Thwaite was the golden … Continue Reading

Seven – The title defence.

Getting to the top is easy, staying there is the hard part. It’s an old saying that has an all too familiar truth for A-League clubs. Only once in the competition’s history has a club managed to successfully defend its title.

Brisbane Roar achieved the feat with successive Grand Final victories in 2011 and 2012, playing an impressive brand of football that would also set a new benchmark for performance and style, whilst accumulating an Australian record of 36 matches unbeaten along the way. The mastermind behind Brisbane’s A-League dominance, Ange Postecoglou, has since left the club, choosing to return to his home city and join Melbourne Victory as their new head coach.

The reigns have been handed to Rado Vidosic, who has been the clubs’ assistant coach since the Roar’s inaugural season in 2005. Vidosic has managed to retain the bulk of the Championship winning side, with last seasons Golden Boot winner, Albanian … Continue Reading

I wish to start this article with a disclaimer – I’m a Perth Glory fan, and i’m still hurting. This is a retrospective of the Grand Final through the eyes of a football journalist and a fan in one.

I was not one of the lucky ones who managed to attend the grand final, perhaps the most controversial of all time, and can only feel for the thousand strong who made the journey over.

The Grand Final this year provided us with the perfect story – Heroes, Villains, Controversy – it had it all, and this article is intended to take a look in more detail at some of these things.

Let’s start with the good.

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The Heroes – Perth Glory’s Fans, Shane Smeltz

“We’re gonna win the league, We’re gonna win the league, and no you don’t believe us, and no you don’t believe us, and no you don’t believe us, we’re going to win the league” – Perth Glory … Continue Reading

2011/12 Hyundai A-League Grand Final
Brisbane Roar vs Perth Glory
Sunday 22nd April. 4pm AEST
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Broadcast: Live on Fox Sports 2/2HD

How they got there – Brisbane

Brisbane finished the regular season with a record of 14 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses, leaving them in second place on 49 points, two behind premiers Central Coast. In the two-legged major semi final against the Mariners, Brisbane took out the first leg 2-0 at home in front of 15,000 raucous fans, before travelling to Gosford a week later in the return leg to win 3-2, and 5-2 on aggregate. As the winner of the major semi final, Brisbane had the third week of the finals off, and qualified directly through to the Grand Final where they will host the match at Suncorp Stadium for the second consecutive season.

How they got there – Perth

Perth finished third on the A-League table with 13 wins, 4 draws and … 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

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

While watching the second half of the Brisbane vs Adelaide match last weekend, one remark from Fox Sports commentator Andy Harper regarding the A-League’s marquee player rules stuck with me.

His view on the current system is that it may be more beneficial for a club, both in the short and long-term, to take a promising talent from overseas and develop them into a marquee player (much like Thomas Broich at Brisbane and Carlos Hernandez at the Victory) rather than buying an ageing former star whose skills are nowhere near as good as they once were and making them the marquee, in order to reap some short term benefits in the stands (much like Robbie Fowler at Perth this season, and at the Fury last season).

Whilst I find myself often both disagreeing and mocking Harper for some of his views on the world game, and laughing hysterically at his tortured analogies and mixed metaphors … Continue Reading