A PIECE of advice. Don't buy FIFA 2009 on the same weekend you intend to bring any sort of consistency to your always entertaining (Hah!) A-League viewing.

Let's face it: bringing Diego to Newcastle United for an exorbitant transfer fee and seeing him inspire your side to a 2-0 away victory over the Mackems is hard to top. (It would now be appropriate for all of you to find your nearest copy of The Matrix and skip to the scene where Cypher eats the juicy piece of steak and ever-so-coolly explains that "Ignorance is bliss...").

Judging from the first two paragraphs of my blog, you've probably got the following mental image of me: confused teenager who doesn't know whether to embrace his Greek ancestry or allow it to be secondary to his unwavering Australianness, sitting at home every weekend watching football till the wee hours, developing colds the week before his end of semester uni exams because he's been indulging himself into the world of virtual football and generally nerdiness.

Is that really what you think of me? Two words...Spot on.

As much as it would probably elevate my social standing by pretending that I'm a weekly clubber and "love to go Dragonfly lolz", I'm perfectly comfortable admitting that a weekend of Toon-inspired implosions (Bring back Allardyce anyone?...Seriously...), Greek officiating that would be more suited to a Saturday afternoon kickabout (even then it would need reviewing) and indulging in my grandmother's latest culinary take on the Hellene, is just that little bit more enjoyable than listening to eight different mixes of "Elevator" and having security stare at your shoes before ushering you through the door. (What's wrong with firm-inspired DC anyway?)

Oh, I almost forgot! There was A-League this weekend to help us escape the grim reality of our mostly meaningless existences (I actually read a book this weekend that wasn't about football...some of it.)

Before I dissect Friday night's "derby" it should probably me made clear that the claims to such intense rivalries between clubs who are a whopping, history-laden four years old are a little premature.

I mean, as much as the Coast and the Jets have a genuine claim to a derby rivalry between them purely based on geography, it's hard to imagine the Marinators turning Bluetongue into the Bombonera as a result of the mere presence of Adam Griffiths (granted, he comes pretty close to having that effect...)

McAllister's moment of magic was 100 percent continental and proof that stereotypes about a lack of culture inherent in McKinna's sides are totally false.

And how must Mark Milligan be feeling after coming within an ink-blot on a passport of a stint at the Weserstadion before having to jet back down under to line up alongside Jobe Wheelhouse. (No disrespect, Jobe, but Torsten Frings is pretty damn good...) Time will tell if his capture will galvanize Gary van Egmond's fledgling side, for whom this weekend's loss was a stern reality check.

Then we come to that other rivalry between those two teams. Saturday proved once again that Merrick isn't exactly a tactician but a scout (or, at least, the people who recruit for him know their stuff).

Ironic (and hilarious) that after a stunning off-season recruitment drive that has seen them build up virtually two squads for this season, Victory are still a one-man club.

As much as Daniel Allsopp tries his little heart out, he ain't no Archie Thompson.

Saturday's top-of-the-eight-team-ridiculously-small-one-win-and-you're-back-in-it-table clash was the stage for a much more shocking and revelation, one that may indeed rock the foundations of the very existence of humanity. That moment came in the 62nd minute when...

JOHN ALOISI SPRINTED.

And didn't injure himself.

I've got to say, I don't think I've seen him run that fast (or at all) since returning to Australia – a shame for Sydney fans that he seems to reserve the energy for his celebrations…

Perhaps someone should have been on standby to whisper in his ear that he'd scored against a defence with Kevin Muscat in it (a feat accomplished only by half of Europe). Easy Johnno, that celebration was a bit much…

On an aside, nice to see John Kosmina actually recognizing the existence of the state league by bringing through a few impressive young men. A sign that the lower tier of Australia's football sphere is laden with potential?

It could also be argued that the A-League just isn't that good (the answer is probably somewhere in between, though).

As much as I'd love to skip right over the Wellington vs Queensland contest (any match where Josh McCloughan scores the winner can't really be taken seriously, can it?) I'll give brief mention to it by posing to all of you the following question:

Is it just me, or do Wellington seem utterly incapable of moving the ball – and themselves – quickly?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Ricki Herbert and think he's done a fantastic job across the Tasman, his side just can't seem to elevate the speed of their game when they really need to – or maybe it's just that Queensland are ultra-mobile (again, the answer probably lies somewhere in between).

Incidentally, I thought Dave Mitchell's side were a little unlucky to lose to a second-string Reds at Hindmarsh...other than that I can't really be bothered elaborating for the moment (FIFA and Codral Cold and Flu tablets await…).

Until next time...

Before any of you decide to track me down for use in your various ritual sacrifices, I'm a 19 year-old first-year student at UTS. I'm also an AEK Athens, Sydney Olympic and Newcastle United fan (It's VERY tough being me...)