On Sunday I watched Sydney FC and AEK Athens thrash it out on the telly then at half time I went five minutes down the road and watched Gold Coast and Fury have their final hitouts in the rain. Back home and out of the rain and then through the wonders of my chosen pay TV digital recorder, I resumed watching the second half of Sydney versus AEK.
My conclusion,
Speed only kills if you know how to use it.
While the youngsters from AEK tore up and down Sydney Football Stadium with blinding pace, superb interplay and sublime finishing, Fury only managed to spring the quick counter in a disjointed attack - but they did it very quickly. There is something to be said for youth and pace but also experience. The Greek side showed incredible skill and technique and no doubt in their minds they were playing at an even pace, but the rest of us received whiplash like we were watching the tennis.
Come August 8, Gold Coast will engage in battle with their mortal foe - the new improved RAW. Brisbane traded in their experience for youth and pace. Will this new RAW, fresh from having been beaten by the Everton third string line up, kill us with speed or crash and burn? I applaud Brisbane's coach Ange if his plan is to mould these youngsters into a championship side in three years, but I also doubt he will be given that long to do it (especially if United win some silverware first).
On the flipside, seeing Culina, Smeltz and Porter dissect the young Fury side, I see a compromise. These players have a lot of pace but they also have experience, bagloads of it. This is evident in the way they feed the younger players around them. It was a real treat to see Porter's pinpoint accurate pass find the young and quick as lightning Golgol Mebrahtu who would then score the only goal of this final pre-season warm up act, his fifth this pre-season. This experience allowed last year's National Youth League golden boot Chris Harold freedom and space to burn down Fury's right side in the second half. However in the back of all our minds a team of Minnecon's, Harold's and Mebrathu's would be exciting and entertaining to watch but ultimately one dimensional against the likes of Victory and Sydney F.C.
I wait with anticipation, and I know we will get there, for the time when our teams can play with the same skill and speed of a side like AEK Athens, until then I only see that Speed Thrills but it does not necessarily kill.
