What a week. Seven days is a long time in football, so goes the cliché. While the two Big Blue protagonists were getting ready for the derby, much happened in the football world.

Del Piero bagged four last Saturday night and is now apparently the subject of a gazumping bid from the J-League. I doubt we could compete with the multi-yen offer, which is likely to exceed the reported $2 million we’ll have on the table for him within a fortnight, but I can only hope that he chooses the Aussie lifestyle and sees us as being in with a decent chance of topping the table next season.  And if he doesn’t, there’s always Nicky Carle. They say familiarity breeds contempt and I feel more than a few Sydneysiders failed to appreciate Carle’s contribution last season.

Meanwhile, the PFA have predictably chimed in on the improved TV deal, claiming players are in desperate need of a pension scheme. Newsflash – footballers already have a pension scheme, and it's located in Asia and the Middle East. Unlike the oval ball games, in football world-wide opportunities abound for players to make a good living when their career is approaching the end or when they are not quite good enough for the A-League, as the case of Sean Rooney demonstrates.

Having said that, one of A-League’s biggest challenges is the haemorrhaging of talent into Asia's leagues of equal or inferior quality for superior pay. I would love to see the PFA and A-League nut out some kind of incentive scheme whereby any player who remains in the A-League for longer than five seasons receives an automatic pay upgrade, and he forfeits it should he choose to take the money overseas. The pay rise could have a sliding scale progression year on year, continuing the incentive for the player to remain at home. I am sure one of the many actuaries reading this could come up with the right formula to keep everyone happy and the league standard high.

England, meanwhile, is in midst of Ball Boy Gate. While neither Eden Hazard nor Swansea director Martin Morgan’s 17 year old spoilt brat of a son who was determined to have his fifteen minutes come out of it with much credit, I have watched the incident a dozen times and remain convinced that Hazard barely made contact with the body, kicking the ball out from under the cheating brat who refused to give it up in a time wasting effort that has now been viewed all round the world, the teenager hamming it up for the cameras in the process.

Feigning injury – it isn’t just for the players anymore.

And from the ridiculous to the tragicomical, FIFA have announced that they will investigate the awarding of World Cups to Russia and Qatar. In an oxymoron to trump “army intelligence” and “working from home”, the FIFA Ethics Committee has promised a thorough investigation. I am reliably informed there is no truth to the rumour that Wattyl have been awarded a contract to ship containers of white paint to Zurich.

One man who would fit right into FIFA’s Ethics Committee is Chris Beath. The “homey” referee (thank you Miron) awarded a second yellow to Tiago Calvano at AAMI Stadium for an arm that brushed Leigh Broxham’s chest while ignoring Diogo Ferreira’s elbow-first assault on Del Piero’s face a few minutes later. In fact, Ferreira had committed at least two tackles that deserved a straight red on the night, and how he will be lacing a boot next weekend is beyond me. 

Melbourne Victory did not need the referee’s assistance as they were overwhelmingly the better side on the night. As this column predicted last week, Melbourne pressed high and hard, and the Sky Blues had no answers, turning the ball over under pressure time and again.

And when the locals affected the turnover, they moved us around with ease, their passing at times quite breathtaking and beyond what Sydney could cope with.  Ange Postecoglou is aiming for top of the table, and if this performance is any guide he may get his wish.

Right now there is a gulf between our two sides and we are way behind in our development. Blind Freddy can see that. Overall signs are positive though and our performance curve trends upwards the second half of the season, but the turnaround can never be all smooth sailing. If there is a good thing in all this, it is that we are probably ahead of where Melbourne Victory were twelve months ago.

My view is that Frank Farina has done a magnificent job. He has brought belief back into the squad, and the Sky Blues did themselves and their fans proud in the second half with another show of fighting spirit. It is something to build on.

With that, I would urge the club to offer Farina a three year deal and let him build. There is more than enough quality in the squad to challenge for honours next season – with or without Nicky Carle - and still make the top six this season.

Either way, after the upheavals of the last twelve months that began with a drawn out and cringeworthy search for a coach, I believe we now have the right man at the helm and he needs the board’s backing for long term stability.

Another night at the Hunter beckons, and another opportunity to leapfrog into the Top Six. Ten points separate fourth spot from fifth, and those arguing for a Top Four playoff series may well be onto something. Either way, our semi-final future is in our own hands given the closeness at the bottom half of the table. Let’s see what the boys make of it.

So there we have it – the players want a pension scheme, FIFA wants a whitewash, Sydney wants stability, Ange wants the top spot and the ball boy wants a good slapping. All in all, an interesting week.