No longer afraid of the dark
or midday shadows
nothing so ridiculously teenage and desperate
nothing so childish
at a better pace
Ok. Are we over it now? Three deep breaths into the brown paper bag for the good folks at SBS and Fairfax? Feel better? Good. Shall we move on then?
I am grateful for the perspicacious comments of my colleague Kathy Stone. Stare at the torch you have been carrying for too long, and everything else appears one dimensional, in black and white.
As it turns out, there are still 5 A-league games this weekend. There are still people who love football enough to commit money to it (and even to open the gates to the kids). There's still a Gold Coast United. There will always be Sydney FC.
It. Will. Be. OK.
There's a fitter happier Sydney FC this week. Following a football team is always a series of highs and lows, but this season has been traumatic. Poor performances punished by good opposition. Good performances punished by referees. Enough to drive the most hardened fan to distraction.
This Sunday is fairly vital to the rest of our season. There are precisely two approaches to these "must win" games. Graft and craft. I hope for the latter. Two reasons. 1. We are not the Victory; we don't do the former very well. 2. To get back into the conversation for this season, Sydney can't just win, they need to really play. Sydney need to dominate. The fast, fit, one touch Sydney FC of last season needs to resurface quicker than the groundsman at Moore Park.
In fairness, it's been a horror run with injuries. Our most influential players have been sidelined and Sydney's fortunes rested with players that were half a season too new. Jamo, Hiro and Bruno were meant to reinforce, not carry this side. Stu and Seb are not our captains yet. It's one thing to lose Colosimo, Corica, Kisel, Bolton and Aloisi. It's another to add Brosque, McFlynn, Bridge and Carle to that list.
But that is the past and tomorrow is the future. We need to return to our impregnable defence, our mobile midfield and the almost psychic understanding between Brosque and Bridge. We need to return to running teams ragged from front to back, and then finishing over the top of them. All of the things that were the difference last year between zero points and one and between one point and three.
The Gold Coast are playing with a nothing to lose attitude that makes them the most dangerous opponent in the A-league. It will take something special to defeat them. Which is just what Sydney fans need.
Get to the game this Sunday - it will be a cracker.
