Tonight, on Mythbusters...

Is the A-League title heading west? Can Ian Ferguson actually coach? And how have A-League teams lined up against a side containing Jacob Burns, Steve Pantelidis and players from Scotland yet lived to tell the tale? All this and more, tonight on Fox. Now here are your hosts, Adam and Jamie:

Okay, so it's not actually Mythbusters - but I'd still like to take the opportunity to discuss, perhaps even correct, some of the beliefs that currently exist about Perth Glory and its players.

Myth: Steven McGarry is a defensive midfielder
When Paisley-born Steven McGarry was recruited by ex-Glory coach David Mitchell, it soon became obvious that the likeable Scot had more vision and passing skill in his big toe than some former Glory players had in their entire body. Over time though, fans became critical of his role in central midfield, which seemed to involve hanging deep with Jacob Burns, and they found Glory quite static and predictable in the middle of the park. “Oh god”, they cried, “It’s another defensively-minded Scottish hack come to ruin the club!”.

But it turns out they were wrong; very wrong. Steven McGarry isn’t actually a defensive midfielder at all, as the current unbeaten streak of the WA side is in part due to his creativity and stamina in an attacking midfield role just behind the single striker in Glory’s 4-2-3-1 system. Who would have known? Three goals in the last five games also appears to have put to bed the myth that the Scotsman can’t score, either – and given his form and influence on the side at present, you’d be a brave man to suggest he doesn’t deserve to have his contract renewed. Steven McGarry, defensive midfielder?  Busted.

Myth: Mile Sterjovski is a good player
You remember Mile Sterjovski, right? The winger who caused opposition defenders no end of trouble at the top levels of French and Swiss football? Proud Socceroo, with 40-odd appearances to his name? You know the fella, right?

Well for what seemed like an eternity, Perth Glory fans didn’t. In a clear example of unmanaged expectations – one might say badly managed contracts, too – Sterjovski arrived in Perth ablaze with anticipation and proceeded to light only a few sporadic spotfires throughout the majority of his three year contract. He was an alright player, yes – on that people could agree. But was he delivering a return that matched the club’s outlay? That was much harder to argue. As someone who always thought ‘Sterj’ was a great asset to the Socceroos, this was incredibly frustrating. Be it due to hidden injury, coaching decisions, or a sense of comfort and complacency on Mile’s behalf, the fact is the end product of the Sterjovski marquee signing was not even close to what was originally sold to fans.

Yet ever since speculation began around whether Sterjovski would be kept after this, his last year of a three year deal, he’s been a completely different player – or rather, hit the marquee form we always knew he could. You could possibly argue that it had something to do with Ian Ferguson dropping him to the youth team at the start of the season; you could say it’s something to do with the switch to the 4-2-3-1. Whatever sparked it though, the attacker’s recent run of form has been nothing short of Sterj-tacular. Corner kicks have been taken with precision, crosses have raked into the penalty area, and we’re seeing the kind of forward runs that we all knew the Wollongong native was capable of.

Key now for Glory will be working out how to keep Mile without blowing the budget. While it’s unlikely any other A-League team will be looking to the 32 year old as a marquee player, you can be sure there will be interested parties out there willing to make him a part of their side. Perth will have to think long and hard about the amount of money they are willing to offer without ruining their squad balance or wage budget… but as for the myth that he actually might be a good player to have? Just look at the past few weeks. Myth confirmed.

Myth: Perth Glory are championship-winning material
So with good players like Sterjovski and McGarry, and an unbeaten run in 2012, news outlets and punters alike are starting to contemplate the chances of the WA side winning the A-League championship (for once). You might think this is a tad premature – and it is – but then you also have to consider who Perth are up against.

Last year’s finalists, Brisbane and Central Coast, are well and truly entrenched in the top four once again and deserve to be heading into the finals as favourites. But they also have an Asian Champions League campaign to undertake, and this complicates their chances somewhat. The A-League finals are scheduled to start on March 30, only a few days before game week three of the ACL group stages.

The A-League preliminary final is somewhere around April 13, then a few days later we have game week four in the ACL, and then just a few days later again it’s A-League Grand Final weekend. Clearly then these two teams will be at somewhat of a disadvantage during the post-season campaign. This leaves teams like Wellington Phoenix as alternate threats, a side that Glory beat on their own turf for the first time earlier this year. Frankly, the biggest challenge to a Glory title tilt might be Glory themselves – do they have the belief and commitment needed to get over the line? Can they do it? Can Perth be considered championship material? I never  thought I'd say this, but… Plausible.

Myth: Perth Glory is a team of hacks and thugs
Jacob Burns and Steve Pantelidis – two of the A-League’s biggest thugs, right? Always ready with a smile and a friendly elbow to your face. Then there’s Dean Heffernan, a man who said he’d “two foot his own mother” to get back out on the park and play in the first team. Hardly a rejection of the ‘Dirty Perth Glory’ stereotype, is it?

But of course, Dean was joking – and frankly, that stereotype has no business existing given the way the team has played this year. ‘Pants’ has one yellow card from eleven games, and while Jacob Burns has been racking up the yellows, that’s to be expected of someone who leads the competition in tackles and plays in a spoiling, screening, destructive defensive midfield role. Granted, last year he probably let the red mist descend a little too much – but in his first year of service with the club, he performed his role very well.

Frankly, it’s all a bit annoying to Glory supporters that we are considered the dirtiest club in the league (well, maybe we were at least level with Victory in that regard). If you look at the league table for bookings this year, we actually have the fourth lowest amount of cards attained. What’s more, when you have a look at the most-booked players of all time in the A-League, there isn’t even a Perth Glory player in the top ten! 

All in all, it’s quite the hurtful suggestion that we’re out to kill you here in the West. We’re actually very pleasant people – honest! Perth a bunch of hacks and thugs? Busted.

Myth: Ian Ferguson is the man for Perth Glory
Well – hasn’t this been the topic of many a discussion this season? Fergie’s men went through a horror run on games earlier in the season and many punters, myself included, said that he should be given the old heave-ho. But Tony Sage showed faith/persistence/sheer stubbornness and stood by his coach, which eventually gave Ferguson the time to revert to a formation we’d been playing in pre-season and get the club back on the road to success. Since then, we haven’t looked back and in case you haven’t noticed, Glory are unbeaten in 2012.

Throughout the season, even when times were grim, Sage reiterated the fact that Ferguson would be given the full 27 games of the Hyundai A-League season to make a case for his job. After that, Sage would make a decision – but not before. Ferguson conducted himself very professionally during his time under pressure, and now finds himself in a position to outline what he’d like to do with the club going forward – asking for a two to three year deal to implement these plans. Sage, true to his word, isn’t saying anything. When people were calling for Fergie’s head, he said he’d wait til the end of the season. Now that Fergie himself is asking for a new deal, Sage hasn’t changed his mind; still waiting until the season completes before reviewing the head coach’s position.

While it is easy to look at the ladder now and say “give the man the job”, we must remember it was just as easy to look at it during our horror run of draws and losses and say exactly the opposite. The way I see it, Fergie’s job should be measured by Perth's final position. In my eyes, anything less than fourth place is not enough to keep him at the club considering the time and money he has been given to build a team with. Of course, should the team finish in the top four and get at least one home final, it would be very hard to sack a coach after what would be Glory’s best-ever A-League finish. That is where I draw the line – and given Glory’s form at the moment, would I say Ian Ferguson is the man to lead us forward? Well, it’s plausible.

But that's all for tonight – this is Adam and Jamie signing off (after a quick switcheroo) for Mythbusters on Fox.