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Czech-mates Czech it out. Etcetera.

Czech-mates Czech it out. Etcetera.

The numbers tell the tale. Eighty-three and seven: 83 minutes of contentment and 7 minutes of bollocks, or for those of a darker shade of blue, the reverse. Three points lost and one point gained all around. The big blue just gets bigger and better every match. The ... 10 Aug 2010

Fan-Made, Fan-Booed, Fan-Nude and Fan-BooBoos

Fan-Made, Fan-Booed, Fan-Nude and Fan-BooBoos

I have a lot of people constantly tell me that I don't know much about football. I never argue, because they're right... I really don't know much about football. I'm rubbish at Football Manager & FIFA, I still think that Harry Kewell was hard done by in South Africa, and I can rarely tell ... 10 Aug 2010

Away Day

Away Day

I attended my first Brisbane Roar away game on the weekend. "WHAT" I may, hear you exclaim. "You call yourself a fan and you are only just going to your first away game", you may add. To which I reply "Hey mate, who are you to judge me? I don't even know you, how dare you speak to me like ... 10 Aug 2010

Opening Day Heartbreak

Opening Day Heartbreak

As I walked along Olympic Boulevard on a breezy evening, my attention was grabbed by the most perfectly designed cathedral of football; AAMI Park. It rises out of the horizon as you approach nearby Richmond, perhaps symbolic of the way Australian football has proudly risen over the past five ... 9 Aug 2010

358 days and counting.....

358 days and counting.....

358 days and counting..... Hopefully if my timing is right, as you read this it will have been 358 days and counting that Gold Coast has remained undefeated by the arch enemy Brisbane. It is a derby with a short history with only four games played but a healthy goal difference of 9-2 in ... 9 Aug 2010

Vertigo

Vertigo

Two points clear at the top of the table. Mmm...feels good ! It's heady stuff after Round One to be the only team with a win under its belt, the only team that took an early lead and defended it successfully for 85 minutes. Andy Harper, self-confessed president of the Matt Simon fan club ... 9 Aug 2010

A Roma Of Success

A Roma Of Success

Whilst I will readily admit that I am not the most astute when it comes to the tactical side of football, team formations have always fascinated me in one way or another. With Melbourne's lack of strikers providing Ernie Merrick with his own conundrum, I thought it would be an opportune time for ... 8 Aug 2010

The Hollow Result

The Hollow Result

A common complaint made by AFL and NRL types about our brand of football is that too many games end "without a result." The sense that 90 minutes of energy can be devoted to a game without one side being declared a winner at the end is seen as somehow futile. Normally, I simply dismiss ... 8 Aug 2010

Is that all there is?

Is that all there is?

Season six has kicked off in the Year of the Tiger but beware the claws are out for A-League crowds. It's all about the fans this year: fan made, fan friendly and fan focused but it could just be a message that comes with a bite. Now the FFA has announced an award for the best fans in the ... 6 Aug 2010

Keep calm and carry on...

Keep calm and carry on...

This is a blog that I have being trying not to write. Because however I cut it, writing about Sydney FC this year a fraught task. We are the Premiers. We are the Champions. Expectations are huge, and we are everyone's favourite target, even more than usual. So ... 5 Aug 2010

Rev it up!

Rev it up!

It's polished, tuned and ready to go. All it needs is the right rider. The one who knows how to get the best out of it. The one with the will to win. As I write this, Melbourne Heart fans are just starting to lick their wounds and Coasties are starting to dream. For the rest of us, the waiting ... 5 Aug 2010

90 Minutes, 90 Emotions?

90 Minutes, 90 Emotions?

So the first game of the season and the CCM is on soon and I am going to test the idea of 90 minutes, 90 emotions as sprouted by the A-League marketing department. I normally prepare my weekly blog on a Thursday night, this means I am normally going to be talking about the coming games and ... 5 Aug 2010

It's football day

It's football day

With United's opening game of the new season around the corner, I've been struck down with an acute dose of football fever. Highly contagious, and sometimes annoying to friends of victims, the illness bears symptoms such as constant talk of football, an obsession with football games that are ... 5 Aug 2010

Who won't win the A-League

Who won't win the A-League

Everyone has had their say on who will win the new A-League season - here's my take on who won't and why... Sydney FC - They've not lost many but those they did lose were key players. Colosimo was the heart of FC's defence, Corica may have had old legs but he was always a game changer and Kisel ... 5 Aug 2010

Showbags of Potential

Showbags of Potential

It's August in Brisbane and that can only mean one thing - it's Ekka time (that's the Royal Queensland Show for those not familiar with the local dialect.) Over a period of 10 usually windy days, a vacant lot on the edge of the inner city will become home to shifty-eyed carneys, grass-chewing ... 5 Aug 2010

Fury worth a Pineapple

Fury worth a Pineapple

Unless your surname is Trump, Packer or Fowler chances are your careful about how you spend your hard earned bees and honey. To most $50 represents dinner, a night at the movies, or a few beers at your local. This week, I'm going to forego the latest blockbuster and put it on Fury, because as ... 4 Aug 2010

Moving Forward

Moving Forward

It's not often I'll find myself considering the problems of the English national team. The questionable mentality behind the consistent underachievement, the influx of foreigners strangling the Premier League, even Wayne Rooney's temper tantrums; none of it is enough to engage my mind for fear ... 3 Aug 2010

Catch My Disease

Catch My Disease

I love Graham Arnold. I love his worried frown and his cheeky smile. I love the masculine tone of his gravelly Aussie accent as he yells across the pitch, the existential angst of his gaze as he sits on the bench. I love the effortless sense of European style he brings to a Mariners ... 3 Aug 2010

Added Importance

Added Importance

Season six of the A-League shapes as a critical one for many reasons, but from a national team perspective it offers the chance for generation-next to put their hand up for selection. Now, more than ever before, we need our next wave of talent to announce themselves as we prepare ourselves for ... 2 Aug 2010

IT IS ON!!!!

IT IS ON!!!!

It is the beginning of a new season. It is the smell of the fresh cut grass. It is starting on a Thursday. REMEMBER - THURSDAY. It is a chance for everyone who hated Graham Arnold's tactics as Australia's coach to yell it at him. It is time for the Mariners fans to try and defend him. It is ... 2 Aug 2010

Derby Disappointment Good for Glory

Derby Disappointment Good for Glory

Last weekend, Perth's focus was turned as it has been twice every year since 1995 to one of the biggest AFL matches on the calendar. For those not familiar with Western Australian sport, the 'Western Derby' pits WA's two AFL clubs against each other, and has done since the ... 2 Aug 2010

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