On the eve of arguably the biggest game between the two bitter rivals tonight at Etihad stadium, LaPaglia said Sydney FC had squandered much of the goodwill generated by their season one championship win.

In part two of a wide-ranging interview, the Without A Trace star believed that since Dwight Yorke held aloft the first ever golden toilet seat in 2006, not enough has been done in the community to make Sydneysiders feel the sky blues were "their team".

And while LaPaglia - a minor shareholder in Sydney FC - felt the club was now heading in the right direction, he's urging the sky blues to lift their game, particularly with the advent of a second Sydney A-League franchise from 2011.

"Is everything being done that could be done?" the 50-year-old asked. "Oh man, how many days do you have?

"I think they're starting to put it together now but I think one of the biggest mistakes made in year one was not embracing the Sydney community much, much more and going out and making the people of Sydney feel like Sydney FC was their team.

"That takes effort. That takes a kind of thought-out program of how to reach out in a genuine way to the public and to say to them, you know what?  We value your support and whatever small way we can help make it easier for you, we'd like to do that."

This year the sky blues have made a conscious effort to redress this and market the club. A packed off-season program of community friendlies and of  players out into the community was launched.

This has been led by tireless former player Brendan Renaud. But even he would admit making up for lost time and a lack of momentum - or as LaPaglia puts it, "a thought-out programme" - makes life very difficult.

In a marketing sense, they've been playing catch up since the disastrous season two. The attendances at Moore Park have reflected it - although this campaign the turnstiles have been up on season four.

"I think they're now finally putting together programmes that facilitate that. But they should have had them in year two," added LaPaglia, a former NSL goalkeeper. 

And the public aren't stupid and won't just turn up to games. Sydneysiders need a connection with the club, urged LaPaglia.

"It's difficult, but I think the first thing you have to do is acknowledge that there's a problem," he said. "If you deny there's a problem, the public isn't going to be fooled - they know. There is a problem.

"The first step is to admit there's a problem and then you say, you know what, it's an area where's there's been a lot of turmoil at the club, there are reasons for it, but not good enough reasons not to do it."

What puts this issue into sharp focus is the impending arrival of the city's second A-League franchise - ostensibly based in the sprawling west but with an eye on the entire Sydney market in season seven of the A-League.

Charismatic Ian Rowden, himself a marketing whizz at high-powered Saatchi & Saatchi and highly respected by those in the know, has assembled a strong off-field team at the Greater Western Sydney Football Group, including former Socceroo captain Charlie Yankos.

LaPaglia predicted their crosstown rivals may pick up some tips from his club's hitherto experiences. He believes the sky blues will be in a fight for their lives if not on the field, then off it, from the new kids on the A-League block.  

"I think it'll put serious pressure on Sydney FC," he said. "You'd be foolish not to think so - especially in the western suburbs. The fan base is all there, an area I don't think we've tapped into that well.

"They may struggle in terms of football but I don't think they'll struggle in terms of fan base." 

A big-name marquee may further bolster the new Sydney club's chances of gaining a toehold in the competitive west Sydney market (the AFL is also setting up a second Sydney team in the NRL stronghold over the next two years).

 But LaPaglia has his doubts about John Aloisi's worth as Sydney's own marquee star.

"He will forever go down in history as the guy who took that penalty who got us through to the last World Cup," said the Hollywood star.

"John is also a consummate professional. He's a good influence on all the younger boys. He's also coming back from a couple of really stiff injuries and he's starting to find his form again.

"The problem I think is that the Australian public, because he's Australian, doesn't perceive him as a marquee player, simply because he's Australian.

"Not because he's not good enough - the guy played in Europe, in England, Italy and Spain. He qualifies.

"And considering what he did in the last World Cup in that first game against Japan, he slammed it home and sealed it up."

Perhaps unsurprisingly LaPaglia - who trained with the Sydney squad this week as he does regularly when in Australia - is tipping his beloved club to win the title.

Standing in their way is Melbourne Victory. The top two teams square-off tonight in arguably the season's biggest game in front of a holiday crowd at Etihad stadium that could bust the 40,000 mark.

A win for Victory will put them six points clear of their bitter northern rivals and in pole position to take home the Premiership and seal a spot in the ACL.

Three points to the visitors - whose confidence would be buoyed after their 3-0 win at the same venue earlier in the season - and the two clubs will share 34 points at the head of the A-League ladder.

Add to that mix Victory captain Kevin Muscat's 500th club game and Alex Brosque's 100th in the A-League and it should be a mouth-watering night of A-League footy in AFL's heartland.

LaPaglia conceded that Victory's off-field game plan should've been followed by his own club.

He added: "I've often looked at Melbourne and thought it's a pretty good role model - they're one of the only teams that's consistently stuck with the coach for the whole five seasons.

"And if you look at the past five seasons, that has been a great stabilising force and it has helped Melbourne be a successful team."

LaPaglia has film commitments during next year's World Cup which means he'll miss the Socceroos, but will he be at Etihad tonight?

"Are you kidding?" he replied, somewhat bemused. "Is the Pope German?"