The Weather Channel predicts that this summer in Australia will be one of the wettest on record. Looks like we'll be spending a lot of time clad in those supremely attractive plastic ponchos.
Yes, I know what you're thinking : only Eric Olthwaite-type nerds and old folks watch The Weather Channel. But you're wrong. Given the current state of many A-League pitches, this instantly available information service has become compulsory viewing for football fans. Perhaps it's time FourFourTwo led the way with a 24-hour a day weather subscription service.
We spend hours worrying about player injuries and discussing crowd numbers but the fact is it all relies on Mother Nature coming to the party. And she spoiled Clive's party big time on Sunday. Miron was forced to ditch the Lizard System for the Amphibian System while Arnie reverted to the dreaded long ball.
No surprises when it was called off but frustrating nevertheless. Miron laid the blame on the poor state of the pitch, although he was reluctant to discuss it as "I already got some cold shower about it." I know just how he feels. There's nothing worse than getting hyped up for a promising match to have it end prematurely : gimme back my football !!
I'm not a meteorologist but I was left wondering why we could watch Leicester and Ipswich Town play in a metre of snow while on the same weekend Downunder our pitch couldn't cope with a bit of heavy rain. What would happen if The Weather Channel's predictions eventuated - how many matches could be rescheduled ? Isn't player safety a serious issue ? Don't clubs get charged high enough rents for decent ground maintenance ? Aren't some of these stadiums built by our taxes ?
Time for a new bumper sticker : "I Support The A-League and I Vote."
It was also such a bummer for the large crowd who turned up for Clive's free day. Let's face it, most of us have had some negative things to say about the GCU owner on occasion but give the man his due : this was a great idea and clearly a success.
For the sake of the A-League, let's hope he gets another chance to open the gates and bring in more fans. More importantly, let's hope the marketing team at GCU or the FFA follow up on the 13,000 people that registered for tickets. Giving them cheap deals for the rest of the season could be a start.
Looks like Fury might be following Clive's lead and that can only be a good thing. Any chance to bring in crowds is both good for the game and great publicity. Maybe next season we could even have an entire weekend where all A-League clubs allowed free entry. Or if that's too expensive, a "bring a friend for free" weekend. Get some Socceroos to publicise it and it could be a winner.
And speaking of winners, we could find that the cancelling of our GCU match was a blessing in disguise. Sure, it's a scheduling nightmare for the FFA but it looks likely we will now face our closest rivals when they're missing a couple of key players at the Asian Cup. Our only possible missing player is Bozanic who has been in fantastic form and drew a penalty against GCU, even in terrible conditions.
Now I'm a big fan of Olly's but it's fair to say we could cope with his loss better than GCU could cope without Culina. Who knows ? It could even end up to be another classic rescheduled match like 2007's "Greatest A-League Match Ever" against Sydney (hopefully with a better ending).
One thing's for sure, by the time we get to play GCU again it will be a crucial moment in the season and that spells excitement. We are now entering an incredible two weeks of Mariners Festive Football where we have the chance to capitalise on our four games in hand over Roar.
Five home games in the next three weeks is a more mouth-watering prospect than anything Jamie Oliver could come up with this Christmas. We have a fantastic record against Fury and they're wonderful to watch so expect them to be the spicy green prawn entrée (marinated).
Next up is Adelaide - we were ripped off against them at home earlier this season but this time they'll be the Boxing Day leftovers (warning : keep away from Cassio's thighs !) New Year's Eve it's time to ring in the new decade by watching Muskie drown his sorrows in a glass of Melbourne Bitter (consume responsibly).
Yeah, it's a great way to spend the summer. And at least they make plastic ponchos in yellow.
