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Football Analysis

Dumb Luck

Dumb Luck

There are times, as a football fan, that you just have to sit back and ‘go with the flow'. Apply every age-old adage you can find to make yourself feel better: "bad decisions average out over the season"; "we'll come good next week"; "tough luck, the referee should have seen that!" Grin ... 12 Nov 2010

Arnie can feel a headache coming on

Arnie can feel a headache coming on

I am sure that Graham Arnold can feel a headache coming on. Although I have a feeling he is not too concerned about this headache and he certainly does not want it to be cured any time soon. This weekend the Mariners depth is coming back as Pedj Bojic returns to the Mariners line up, he has ... 12 Nov 2010

Great Expectations

Great Expectations

There was a different kind of support on display at Suncorp Stadium last Saturday night. And no, I'm not just talking about Reinaldo's sports bra. That sweaty smell of trepidation that usually defines the Brisbane crowd was conspicuously absent during the top of the table clash against ... 11 Nov 2010

The Second Coming?

The Second Coming?

He's back. Old Archibald, after suffering a serious knee injury in the grand final last season, is back on the field after his little cameo against Gold Coast last Saturday night. It brought much joy to my heart to see such a wonderful servant to the club and the league come back from such a ... 10 Nov 2010

The Centre Conundrum

The Centre Conundrum

Ever since Craig Moore announced his initial retirement from international football the Australian national team has been plagued by the question of who will fill the vacant centre-back position. Unfortunately, no real action has been taken to solve the problem. Over eighteen months has since ... 10 Nov 2010

Not-So-Great Britain

Not-So-Great Britain

Britain, Britain, Britain! Land of technological achievement! We’ve had running water for over ten years, an underground tunnel that links us to Peru, and we invented the cat! --Tom Baker, Little Britain The United Kingdom. The home of football. Of World Cup ... 10 Nov 2010

What else can happen to the Jets?

What else can happen to the Jets?

The team bus can break down on the way back from the Sydney match, that's what could happen. And it did. There's no argument that the Jets were robbed of a point in last Sunday's game. Even Sydney fans will (mostly) agree with that. And the style of victory won't really help Sydney's flailing ... 9 Nov 2010

Thomas Broich

Thomas Broich

There is no doubt that the style of play employed by Ange Postecoglou and Brisbane Roar this campaign has caught the imagination of football pundits nationwide and earned praise from even the most hardened Euro-centric football connoisseurs. The ingredients of this football "stew" have been ... 9 Nov 2010

The cruellest goal of all

The cruellest goal of all

The own goal. The cruellest goals of them all. Especially so if your team is on the end of one. It's also especially cruel when your team creates so little in its own attacking third against a team whose every intent was to put as many people behind the ball as possible. Although any Gold Coast ... 8 Nov 2010

Park the Bus!

Park the Bus!

From Melbourne to Newcastle, Newcastle to Perth and Perth to Townsville, it's been a long journey for the players and coaching staff of Melbourne's newest football club. The A-League fixture saw Heart travel to Newcastle to play the Jets on October 31, then onto Perth on November 3 and ... 8 Nov 2010

When Love and Hate Collide

When Love and Hate Collide

A fellow Gold Coast United supporter mentioned this week no matter what we do or how we do it everyone just hates us, and he is now at the point of just embracing it. Cynical - yes, accurate - probably. It seemed to be clearer to me as the week wore on. Maybe it was a month without a home game ... 8 Nov 2010

A-League Awards - Round 13

A-League Awards - Round 13

APOLOGIES, A-League Awards aficionados. After an absolutely hectic personal week last week, and a late late finish following the trip to the SFS for yesterday's match, I'll certainly do my best to restore regularity to this blog over the coming A-League rounds. Nevertheless, the A-League ... 8 Nov 2010

The Quiet Achievers

The Quiet Achievers

What ONE thing would you do to improve the A-League ? Lyall Gorman asked me this question the other day - ok not personally, but he did send me the annual A-League survey and it happened to be the final and most important question. Well, what would be your answer (25 words or less) ... 8 Nov 2010

Orange Crush

Orange Crush

I've had footballing crushes before. I loved watching AC Milan in the mid-90s. I couldn't help but enjoy watching the German World Cup teams of 2006 and 2010 almost as much as our own Socceroos. I even managed to secretly admire the treble-winning Manchester United side ... 8 Nov 2010

The Wheels On The Bus Go Wobble, Wobble, Wobble?

The Wheels On The Bus Go Wobble, Wobble, Wobble?

After a stellar start to the season with an 11 game unbeaten run, the last two games have been less than ordinary with the latest indignity being a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of a rampant Brisbane Roar. But are the wheels about to fall off the Reds season? Well, let's just take a deep ... 7 Nov 2010

I’m All For Fencesitting

I’m All For Fencesitting

The problem with sport is that on-paper certainties are on-field opposites. Take the Roar Women v Sydney FC opening W-League match this weekend. With both teams boasting the bulk of the Matildas and with all-round favourites Roar Women sure to be out to avenge their end-of-season-two stumble, ... 7 Nov 2010

FFA, are you listening?

FFA, are you listening?

Football can be quite nice sometimes. But when you have a stretch of almost a month without a home game, you start to lose touch with your club. Especially when your club has a distinct lack of advertising and publicity. Of course, every fan of the A-League has heard these complaints before, ... 6 Nov 2010

W-League Round 1 Preview

W-League Round 1 Preview

Ask me to predict a W-League season three winner, and I can't, for the straight-up reason that with just seven teams, a concentration of talent, and some clever off-season recruiting there aren't any easy beats. Round one kicks off this Saturday headlined by (as in broadcast live on ABC1) a ... 4 Nov 2010

Night of the Rampaging Rangas

Night of the Rampaging Rangas

So Saturday was the night of the Rampaging Rangas. The Glory boys had no answer for the silky smooth moves of Little Mac and Ronald McDonald Jr (McGlichey and Amini respectively). These two guys ran the mid field with exceptional precision, touch and vision. This teamed with the rock solid ... 4 Nov 2010

Time for cool heads

Time for cool heads

Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If" opens with a well-known line. "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs..." Online fan forums have been filled since Wednesday night with the views and vitriol of Phoenix fans who've not only lost their heads, but clearly had them ... 4 Nov 2010

Kruse Kontrol

Kruse Kontrol

It was inevitable. The title that is, not the fact that Robbie Kruse has rocketed to the top of the A-League scoring charts with 5 goals in only 7 games this season, 4 of them coming in his last 4 appearances. An enviable record for a striker, no matter where they are in the world. The ... 4 Nov 2010

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