Pure brillance from Orlando Engelaar

Even as a Brisbane Roar fan, I can appreciate the stunning beauty of this shot from Melbourne Heart's Orlando Engelaar. 

Watch and enjoy

A-League Season 2013/14 preview

Season 2013/14, the 9^th A-League season, is set to kick off in a week’s time, so it’s time to look ahead and see just what the season has in store for us.

Kiwi sports fans will be looking towards the Wellington Phoenix to see how the side will stack up after some disappointing times is recent seasons.  The biggest change for the men in yellow and black has been the change in coach with former Melbourne Victory mentor Ernie Merrick in the driving seat for the new season.

The biggest challenge Merrick will face in the opening few rounds is his predecessor Ricki Herbert plundering his kiwi players for All Whites duty, but after that Merrick has his work cut out to take the struggling side and make it into the winning squad it could so easily be.

There has been a raft of squad changes as well with Merrick not afraid to drop the axe on underperforming players or those who don’t fit his style of play. Those released from the squad include Tony Lochhead, Alex Smith Dani Sanchez, Jimmy Downey and Lucas Pantelis.  Custodian Mark Paston has retired while Isaka Cernak has gone to Perth Glory and Solomon Islands international Benjamin Totori has moved to the Oakleigh Cannons in the Victorian Premier league.

New members of the squad include some former and current a-league players a few other international competitions and a couple from domestic leagues.  The headline signing is livewire midfielder Carlos Hernandez who returns to the A-League from Prayag United in India to link up with his former Victory mentor.  Defender Luke Adams joins the club from English League 1 side Derby, while forward Kenny Cunningham joins the team from Club the Strongest in Bolivia.  The current a-league players joining the Phoenix are goal keeper Lewis Italiano from Perth Glory and defender Reece Caira from Western Sydney Wanderers.  Alex Rufer makes the move to the big time from Wairarapa United and Josh Brindall-South moves from the warmth of the QLD NPL at Moreton Bay United to the cold and wind of the NZ capital.

Wellington will be strong through the middle of the park with Hernandez linking with established players like Bertos, Huysegems, Brockie, Ifill, Lia, Sigmund, Muscat, Durante and Fenton and with Moss in goal this could be a very strong starting line-up, especially with the likes of Boyd on  the bench.

Other Kiwi players around the A-League include the return to the A-League of former Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix livewire and current All White Kosta Barbarouses. Barbarouses will join former Roar mentor Ange Postecoglou at Melbourne Victory.

Looking through the off-season transfer lists for all clubs, Melbourne Heart have signed some big names and should look to massively improve their showing in the competition.  Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC & Brisbane Roar have all been shrewd in their signings with the three coaches building on their form at the end of last season, with Mulvey at the Roar and Farina at Sydney marking themselves on their sides in their first off-season.  The squad I think that has been decimated the most in the off-season window and who still have to work hard to maintain their showing is undoubtedly the Central Coast Mariners who have been victims of their own success with a raft of their young talent heading offshore.  However this will be tempered slightly with the return to the club of Matt Simon.

My pre-season prediction for the end of year ladder is.

1. Melbourne Victory
2. Brisbane Roar
3. Western Sydney Wanderers
4. Wellington Phoenix
5. Sydney FC
6. Melbourne Heart
7. Central Coast Mariners
8. Perth Glory
9. Adelaide United
10. Newcastle Jets

This wasn’t an easy prediction with a lot of the mid field table looking very similar (4-7) I expect the bottom 3 teams to struggle and the top three are also interchangeable in those positions.

Furry pitch invader - video

As a lot of you will know I am a huge football (soccer) fan, and I have just seen this video that came out of the Swiss Super League match between FC Thun & FC Zurich.

In the video you see a Pine Marten, which appears to be similar to a weasel crossed with a racoon became a furry little pitch invader, the video is hilarious and in my opinion even better now they have added the Benny Hill chase scene music to it.

Enjoy

Hyundai A-League round 17 preview

As always with my sports articles this was written for and can also be found at www.sportsfanAttic.co.nz but you get to see it here first

The round kicks off in Melbourne on Friday night as the Heart host Adelaide.  The hosts sit just outside the top 6 while the visitors are in second place and will be looking for the three points to try and claw their way back into top spot.  I don’t expect any fireworks in this match which should go the way of the visitors.

The first game of the Saturday triple header sees Sydney hosting the Phoenix in a bottom of the table clash.  The Phoenix will look to recover from their lapses of concentration this season as 3 points in this match will see them off the bottom of the table, while Sydney are looking for some form.  Both sides have the squads to perform better than they have this season but neither side has been able to click.  For Sydney, Del Piero (when he has been fit) just hasn’t had the impact they would’ve liked, although this may be because he hasn’t had the ball supplied to him often enough.  Although in the last few weeks their other big name player Brett Emerton has started to show promising signs having scored a couple of good goals.  I’m tipping this one to end in a boring draw.

Saturday’s middle game see’s the table topping Mariners hosting the Newcastle Jets In the F3 derby.  Newcastle are mid table but have faulted a little lately and will be looking for a win to maintain their place in the top 6.  The Mariners are happily sitting top of the table and will look to grow their advantage over second placed Adelaide.  However the Mariners are now without Tom Rojic who is remaining in Scotland to agree personal terms for his transfer, and I believe Bernie Ibini is still on his 10 day trial in Belgium, however Graham Arnold will look to his experienced players to bring this one home.  The Jets come into this one on the back of a 1-0 win over the struggling Roar and will look to build momentum as they seek out a guaranteed top 6 spot.  I’m tipping a comfortable Mariner’s win.

The final game of Saturday sees the Glory hosting the Victory at NiB stadium.  The Glory will look to the continued resurgence of Shane Smeltz to help them win this one, with the Kiwi striker coming off the back of a drought breaking brace a fortnight ago and a penalty last week.  The Victory will travel to the west full of confidence as they sit in third place and look strong under the tutelage of Postecoglou.  I’m tipping this one to be tight with a draw a likely outcome

The final game of the round and Sunday’s only game, sees the struggling Brisbane Roar hosting the Western Sydney Wanderers.  The Wanderers will come into this one full of confidence as they have already tasted victory over the Roar this season, and their continued consistent performance has firmly cemented them as the best ever expansion club.  The Roar are wounded and some of the changes in players may make an impact on them in this game.  They will be boosted by the inclusion of new signing Jade North, but will be without the services of Erik Paartalu who is off to China.  One thing to watch out for, is if the Wanderers play Rocky Visconte who transferred from the Roar in the last two weeks.  This game shapes as a tight match with the Wanderers flying high and the Roar desperate for a win.  If the Roar can show some dominance inside the area and actually learn how to shoot, then I can see them winning this.

A look at the Westfield W-League

As always with my sports articles this was written for and can also be found at www.sportsfanAttic.co.nz

Often the W-League is forgotten by of football followers, even unheard of for some, but it is a competition that deserves its place in the sun, next to the Hyundai A-League.

The Westfield W-League is currently contested by 8 squads, Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar, Canberra United, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, Perth Glory, Sydney FC & Western Sydney Wanderers.  Central Coast, Melbourne Heart & Wellington Phoenix do not have sides in this competition, while Canberra United play in the W-League but not in the A-League.

The W-League began back in season 2008-09 with 8 squads, however it was Central Coast who fielded the 8th side, with WSW not yet in existence.  The 2^nd season was only 10 rounds long and was played entirely within the last 3 months of 2009. Season 2010-2011 saw the competition drop to just 7 squad’s with Central Coast’s withdrawal, with Season 2011-12 following suit. With WSW joining the football Australia family for the 2012-13 season we have seen the W-League return to 8 teams.

This Saturday see’s Brisbane Roar’s W-League team, play in their 5^th straight finals campaign, as they host Sydney FC in the first semi-final.  Both sides have a deep history in comp having met in all four finals series, twice in the grand final match.  In fact only 3 teams have played in all 4 grand finals to date with Canberra United having played Brisbane Roar in the other two finals.  These 3 sides are also the only 3 to hold the premiers trophy, with Brisbane & Sydney holding it twice & Canberra once.

This year will finally see a fourth side make it into the grand final with Brisbane playing Sydney in the first semi and Canberra having not made it into the finals series.  The 2^nd finalist will either be Melbourne Victory (in their 3^rd finals appearance) or Perth Glory (making their 1^st finals appearance).  Which ever of these sides makes the grand final they will face strong competition from the vastly more experienced Brisbane or Sydney sides.

As a Roar fan I am proud of our W-League history having been crowned Premiers in the inaugural 2008-09 season and again this season, while having finished 2^nd in 2010-11 & 2011-12.  We have made all four Championship matches winning in 2008-09 & 2010-11 and losing the other two.

As a football fan I have enjoyed getting out to support the girls on the occasions that other obligations have permitted, and find the laid back relaxed atmosphere at these games far nicer than the authoritative heavy security presence at A-League matches.  I also like the fact that W-League matches, like youth league matches, are free entry for season members upon presentation of the membership card.

I would encourage all fans of football and members of A-League clubs to get out and support their W-League sides if and when you get the chance.

The finals history of the W-League is as follows (winners in bold)

2008/09

Premiers: Brisbane Roar
Semis: Newcastle Jets v Canberra United & Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC
Grand Final: Brisbane Roar v Canberra United

2009
Premiers: Sydney FC
Semis: Sydney FC v Canberra United & Central Coast Mariners v Brisbane Roar
Grand Final: Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC

2010/11
Premiers: Sydney FC
Semis: Brisbane Roar v Canberra United & Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory
Grand Final: Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC

2011/12

Premiers: Canberra United
Semis: Canberra United v Melbourne Victory & Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC
Grand Final: Canberra United v Brisbane Roar

January transfer window round up #2

Here is my look at the second week of the 2013 January Transfer window as it affects Australian & New Zealand players and A-League squads, as always this is article was written for and can be found over at sportsfanAttic.co.nz

While the January transfer window is in full flight around the globe it has only fully begun today here in the Hyundai A-League.  So we can expect a flurry of activity over the next couple of weeks, but even so, there has been some movement on the transfer front for A-League Clubs.  I have included a list of transfers as I’m aware to time of writing below for reference. 

Probably one of the biggest names so far in the transfer window is Socceroos defender and new Roar defender Jade North who has signed with the Roar after a stint in Japan.  North brings with him experience but his signing has created some huge ripple throughout the fan groups with some welcoming him but a lot questioning his signing calling him washed up.  The Roar have also signed up their youth league captain Corey Brown to a two year deal in the first team, and picked up youngster Julius Davies from the Victory.

The Mariners “nursery” continues to churn out talent with Tom Rojic heading to Spain for 10 days to link with Scottish side Celtic for their midseason training camp, while Bernie Ibini has headed to Belgium for a 10 day training stint with Club Brugge.  Both players will return to the A-League but for how long is the question, with English Premier League side QPR having already tabled a firm offer for Rojic believed to be £700,000.  The Mariners other up and coming youngster Matt Ryan cancelled his training stint with Rangers due to the unknown nature of their position in the Scottish leagues next season.

The other big news for Kiwi football fans which was mentioned last week, has now been confirmed, All Whites defender and captain Ryan Nelsen has been signed as Manager (Coach) of MLS squad Toronto FC.  This has caused widespread concern from MLS commentators and Toronto fans as the side that has been struggling have not only signed a rookie manager with no managerial experience, they’ve signed one who is contracted as a player with QPR until 3 months into the upcoming MLS season.  Last I had heard Nelsen had yet to get in contact with Ricki Herbert about his future with the All Whites, but I suspect his time in the National squad is over.

A-League transfers announced so far:

Brisbane Roar In: North (Consadole Sapporo), Davies (Victory), Brown (youth squad)
Out: Visconte (WSW), Fitzerald (Mariners at end of season)

Central Coast Mariners In: Fitzgerald (at end of season)
Out:
Training: Rojic (Celtic) – QPR have also put a firm £700K offer on the table, Ibini (Club Brugge)

Melbourne Heart In:
Out: Marrone (Shanghai)

Melbourne Victory In:
Out: Franjic (Released), Davies (Roar)

Perth Glory In:
Out: Memhet (Bangkok Glass)

Sydney FC In: Griffith (Shanghai Shenhua)
Out:

Wellington Phoenix In: Hogg (Portland Timbers)
Out:

Western Sydney Wanderers In: Visconte (Roar)
Out:

January transfer window round up #1

Here is my look at the first 7 days on the 2013 January Transfer window as it effects Australian & New Zealand players and A-League squads, as always this is article was written for and can be found over at sportsfanAttic.co.nz

We are now exactly one week into the new year, with today being January 7^th, which is also 7 days into the fabled January transfer window, so lets take a look how the first week of transfers have affected the A-League and Australian & Kiwi players.

Wellington Phoenix have announced the signing of Kiwi International defender Ian Hogg from Portland Timbers.  Hogg will fill the place vacated by Mirjin Pavlovic who left the club in November.  Hogg will look to challenge Tony Lochhead for the left back role, and will also look to thrive under his national coach, after failing to break into the first team in Portland.

Over in Perth the Glory have released striker Billy Mehmet who moves to Thailand to play for Bangkok Glass, which frees up not only a spot on the squad, but also much needed salary cap space for the purported tilt at securing the services of former England and Liverpool striker Michael Owen.  Owen’s current side Stoke have hit out at the reports claiming Owen will stay with them until the end of his one season contract.

Central Coast were set to see inform keeper Matt Ryan link up with Scottish side Glasgow Rangers today on a 10 day trial, but this was delayed due to the shoulder injury he sustained in the match against Western Sydney yesterday.  This isn’t the first time that Ryan has headed overseas for a trial, having spent time in 2012 trialling with Tottenham Hotspurs.  The Mariners also look set to lose Tom Rogic with Reading shaping as favourite to secure his signature from a number of English and other European clubs.

In the English Premier League the only confirmed move so far is New Zealand striker Chris Wood who has transferred to Leicester City from West Bromwich Albion.  He initially went on loan so he could be registered in time for Leicester’s New Years Day match against Huddersfield Town, in which he debuted and scored a brace.

From the EPL rumour mill, there is talk Harry Redknapp is looking to sign Aussie midfielder Tim Cahill as one of six new faces at QPR in a bid to stave off relegation from England’s top flight.  Staying with QPR Redknapp is looking to keep Kiwi defender Ryan Nelsen, who is linked with a move to the US MLS competition, despite DC United (one of the clubs he is linked to) denying the rumours.  The other club he is linked with is Toronto FC.  It is thought that Nelsen will be able to step into a player/manager role with the intention of becoming Manger of one of the sides after his playing career ends.

Summer of Football incl Hyundai A-League Round 15 preview

As always here is my look at the Hyundai A-League which you will also be able to find on sportsfanAttic.co.nz

A lot has happened in the short space of time between my last article and this one, the Hyundai A-League Summer of Football is in full swing and with it has come a fair swag of matches.  Round 12 which I mentioned in the last article seems like an age ago as it was just one of 3 short sharp rounds, with Round 13 & Round 14 occurring around the festive period and Round 15 fast approaching on the horizon.

Round 12 saw the Wanderers smash in form Adelaide 6-1, the Roar lost to the Glory 1-0, The Nix and Mariners drew 1-1, the Jets downed Sydney 2-1, while The Victory took out the Melbourne derby also 2-1.

Round 13 the “Christmas” round saw success for new coach Mike Mulvey as the Roar took a 1-0 away win over Adelaide, The Glory couldn’t subdue the visiting Wanderers and scraped a 1-1 draw.  The Nix came from behind as a Brockie brace gave the home side a 3-2 win over the Heart, While a late Brett Emerton header saw Sydney steal the 3 points out from underneath the Mariners 1-0, and the round ended on a high note for the Victory who survived a late Jets come back attempt to hold on 3-2.

Round 14 ended the year for some clubs, while for others it began 2013. The Mariners ended the year on a high after a controversial 1-0 win over the Glory despite replays showing the goal came after a blatant hand ball by Bernie Ibini.  Down the line Adelaide rounded out 2012 by demolishing Sydney 3-0.  2013 got off on the right note for the Heart who grounded the Jets 3-2, while in Sydney high flying expansion club Western Sydney downed the resurgent Victory 2-1.  The Roar then went back-to-back for the first time this season after downing the Nix 2-1 in what proved to be another controversial match with debut ref Tim McGilchrist losing the plot after Brockie had equalised, struggling to make many correct calls from the 36^th minute onwards.  (Some Phoenix fans will remember McGilchrist from the preseason game against the Jets, that saw 3 Nix players see Red)

Round 15 sees the A-League back to weekend football with three games on Saturday and two on Sunday.  Saturday kicks off in the Hunter as Newcastle host Adelaide.  Both sides will be looking to this match to give them a much win.  Adelaide have started their rebuild with the win in R14 after the two quick losses while the Jets season continues to bumble along despite the fact they have found the back of the net 6 times in the last 3 matches.  Adelaide will again look to Dario Vidosic for their scoring opportunities, while the Jets will look to get their big man & import Emile Heskey into clear space and onto the score sheet.  I can see this match either ending in a draw or a 3-2 score line to Adelaide.

The middle game of the Saturday triple header is in Melbourne where the Victory play host to the travelling Phoenix.  The locals come into this match well placed despite the loss to the Wanderers, while the Nix will be battle scarred without the services of Boyd (red card suspension), Muscat will most probably be serving a suspension for his elbows in incident, while its possible that Leo Bertos will need a week to recover from the head knock that saw him leave the field early in Brisbane.  There will be one player the Nix will be on the lookout for and I expect there to be some fierce tackling on, Marco Rojas .  The young kiwi forward should be wary of his former side, but will also be looking to impress his national team coach with a strong performance.  Rojas is also likely to be the target of European sides with his contract expiring shortly, but he probably wont be moving during the January transfer window, but is likely to go at the end of the A-League season.  Im looking for this to be an easy win to the home side, with injuries and suspensions + the travel factor counting against the Nix.

The final match of the day sees Perth host Sydney.  The Glory will look to home form and left over resentment from the handball goal to spur them onto the win.  Sydney will travel over the Nullarbor looking to not only combat the locals, and the oppressive summer heat but also their own failings.  If Del Piero is fit to travel and to play this should give them a boost.  Both teams will be looking to improve with the Glory’s Kiwi striker Shane Smeltz looking to break his goal scoring drought.  Look for the heat to be a big factor in this one, if the day is another day well into the 30s or higher then expect the fatigue of travel to impact Sydney, giving the Glory another home win.

Sunday’s first match is also at AAMI park in Melbourne where the Heart will take on the resurgent Roar.  The locals are struggling towards the bottom of the table despite their 3-2 win on Tuesday, and will be looking to get back to back wins on the board.   A large shake up to the line up last week, including the shock elevation of former Roar back up keeper Andrew Redmayne, seems to have given the Heart the impetus they needed. The Roar come in on the back of two wins and will be looking to get another win under their belts as the try and rebuild their confidence and get back up the ladder, so they can get a shot at trying to defend their championship.  The away win monkey is now off their backs after the Adelaide win and with Berisha & Halloran having scored against the Nix look for the attacking confidence to return.  The Heart have the wood on the Roar this season but Im expecting this game to be a bit closer with a draw a likely outcome.

The round is rounded out in Sydney as the Wanderers host the Mariners in their Parramatta fortress.  The Wanderers have shown up the other former & current expansion clubs (North Queensland Fury, Gold Coast United, Melbourne Heart) not only with their on field performance, sitting 3^rd at the half way point of the season but also off field with healthy turn outs in the stands.  The table topping Mariners will need to be wary of the newcomers but at the same time they have proven their worth in the last few rounds with injuries and suspensions testing the depth of their talents.  They were lucky to come away from their match with the Glory with the full three points and I cant see the Wanderers giving them the same opportunities that the Glory afforded them. Look for this to be a very tight tussle and if either side is to take the three points look to it being by just 1 goal.

The other thing about the Summer of Football other than the on field action, is the off field action associated with the January transfer window.  The Roar are known to be on the lookout for another striker and will be looking abroad having freed up a visa spot with the release of Yuji Takahasi from his loan deal.  Several other clubs may be on the lookout to fill gaps in their squad, and with the injuries to and loss of form of Paul Ifill I’d expect Ricki Herbert to have his eye out for another striker of centre forward.
Conversely the January transfer window is also the time that promising young Australian and New Zealanders, look to get picked up by European clubs. As previously mentioned there is speculation that Marco Rojas will depart the A-League either now or at the end of the season, while young Mariner Tomas Rojic is expected to move to struggling Premier League squad Reading as they look to fight the probability of relegation, while he is also being linked with several other lower division clubs throughout Europe.

Hyundai A-League R12 preview

This is my preview of round 12 action int he Hyundai A-League which can also be seen on sportsfanAttic.co.nz

The Hyundai A-League nears the halfway point and heads into Christmas with a short sharp round, all five round 12 games will happen over 2 nights, Friday and Saturday.

Friday night kicks off in Sydney as the Wanderers host Adelaide United.  The locals are jubilant after their win last weekend in the local derby, while the visitors travel up to Sydney on the back of the 3-1 win over the Nix.  The Wanderers have to be satisfied with their current 4^th position on the table, which from memory is one of the best 1^st season efforts of all expansion clubs, but they will be looking for another 3 points to take them outright third behind Adelaide.  The visitors will also be looking to take the 3 points which would give them top place on the ladder.  I’m looking for this to be a draw.

Friday nights second game sees the introduction of the Mulvey era to Suncorp Stadium, with the Roar hosting arch nemesis Perth Glory for the first time since the grand final.  Look for fireworks in this one, and expect near riots if Berisha gets fouled anywhere near the area.  This is of course all subject to proving his fitness after a shoulder injury sustained last week in Melbourne.  If he does play it will be a great night, but even if he doesn’t there are still a lot of tensions between the two teams, so I’m expecting it to be a feisty affair.  Of course Brisbane’s fortunes this season have been well documented and with new head coach Mike Mulvey only having been in the job three days it will be interesting to see how the players react to the changes.  I would like to think that against the arch whingers at home on the ‘eve’ of Christmas the Roar will  be able to score a decisive victory and deliver the home fans some much needed Christmas cheer.

There are three games on Saturday, but there is no point previewing them here as the Mayans have already informed us there wont be a Saturday.  

Which is interestingly enough how the Roar have been marketing their Friday match against Perth

Brisbane Roar FC advertising for the BRFC v PGFC R12 Hyundai A-League match

But on the off chance that the Mayan’s were actually wrong or the more likely scenario that modern idiots have misinterpreted the meaning of the end of the Mayan calendar, here is a look at those three games.

Saturday kicks off in Wellington with the Phoenix hosting table topping Central Coast Mariners.  The Phoenix have been having a few dramas of their own in recent weeks with big talent on the field and talking the talk, but failing to walk the walk and to actually get results and points.  The Phoenix currently sit in seventh but could find themselves stone cold motherless last if they loose and other results go the way of the teams below them.  Ricki Herbert will be looking to his side to put their talents into action and has already put the team on notice that failure could result in the loss of positions for underperforming players.  The Mariners travel over the ditch looking to cement their spot at the top of the table and will be a strong challenge for the locals with several players looking dangerous at the moment.  I suspect this match will end in a draw as the locals just don’t have that killer punch at the moment, and the Ring of Fire will level out the Mariners.

The second game of the day sees us heading to Newcastle as the Jets host Sydney FC.  The locals are coming out of a period of turmoil where the ATO have applied to the courts to have owners Hunter Sports Group wound up over unpaid taxes, which also stems from the financial trouble Nathan Tinkler who owns the Hunter groups is experiencing.  Sydney FC are still rooted to the bottom of the table but new coach Frank Farina has stated that he wants results fast, so I am in no doubt that this will be a match he is targeting for a large Sydney win.  The jets have failed to capitalise on their depth and marquee man, and are stagnating in mid table.  I’m looking for the Farina factor to give the visitors the edge in this one.

The final game of the round and Saturday, is the second instalment of the Melbourne Derby.  A lot has changed since the first instalment in round one when the Heart took a decisive win casting a shadow over the new Postecoglou era at the Victory.  Since that night the Heart have fallen off the pace while the Postecoglou factor has started to take effect at the Victory, with the Heart now sitting third from last while the Victory are sitting third.  The result on Saturday should be more reflective of how the two sides are performing this season.  Im looking for the Victory to share in the Christmas spoils as Santa Postecoglou gives the Victory fans the gifts.

Management changes at the Roar

Once again the Hyundai A-League has had a change in the coaching ranks this time at my club the Brisbane Roar, where head coach Rado Vidosic has taken a promotion to Technical Director while Mike Mulvey has been appointed head coach.

Screen shot of the members email we received last night

Rado’s new role as Technical Director is for the wider Bakrie Group and will see him working not only with the Roar, but also in Indonesia, Belgium and Argentina, those who can remember back to the turmoil when Ange Postecoglou was considering leaving the Roar will know he was offered this same position in an attempt to keep him with the Roar/Bakrie Group.

This really isn’t all that much of a surprise for die hard Roar fans as we are all well aware of Rado’s technical brilliance, and his weaknesses in man management as has been shown so far this season by the Roar’s on field form and Rado’s seemingly inability to make substitutions at the right times/for the right players/positions or sometimes at all.

Rado will focus on developing the Roar’s youth programme which has already come a long way this season with his input, as well as providing technical consultancy to the first team.  The change was apparently jumped on by Rado and was effective immediately which means we will not get the opportunity to farewell him properly as he won’t be in charge for this Fridays match against Perth Glory.

The biggest surprise out of this whole deal really has to be the fact the Bakrie Group have appointed Mike Mulvey to the role as interim coach which will be reviewed at the end of the season to see if it can be continued on permanently or not.

At the event I was at last night I spoke with 3 fellow Roar fans, and we all had the same reaction - a WTF? moment.

A-League fans will know Mulvey from his time at Gold Coast United where he guided the youth league squad to back to back titles before taking the role as head coach after the falling out between owner and fat man Clive Palmer and head coach Miron Bleiberg.  This was a short lived position with the FFA revoking the clubs licence at the end of the season only a few weeks after Mulvey’s appointment.

Mulvey also has titles in women’s football having guided the QAS women’s team to four titles, interestingly enough after Mulvey left Gold Coast he joined Melbourne Victory as women’s coach by this too has only lasted a few months as he is now “coming home” as it were to Queensland to look after the Roar.

Although all this looks great on paper his performances with Gold Coast weren’t anything to write home about, and out of all the available coaches floating around in Australian football I’m not sure he is the best available option, when you look at the likes of Branco Cullina & even Miron Bleiberg.

Time will tell if this is a good choice by the Bakrie Group or whether it has doomed the Roar to a bottom placed finish this season, and the potential of not making it into the ACL at all.  Lets just say the next few weeks and especially this Fridays game against Perth will be slightly different for those of us die hards in the stands wearing orange.

There is only one thing left to say – Is my “In Rado we trust” t-shirt now going to be worth a lot of money? & will we see hundreds of them in the stands on friday night?

This article will also feature on sportsfanAttic.co.nz

A-League Round 10

As always my latest SportsfanAttic Hyundai A-League article is out today

Another round of the Hyundai A-League dawns as the first third of the completion is over; we’re ten rounds into the 27 round regular season.As with other recent rounds there has been a lot of off-field drama in the past two weeks as well as some big on-field drama.  Sydney FC have a new coach with former Brisbane Roar mentor Frank Farina landing the key role. Frank is infamous for a little ‘glug glug vroom vroom’ indiscretion that ended his time with the Roar. 

Meanwhile Socceroo’s manager Holger Osieck named a largely A-League based squad for the East Asian Cup qualifier tournament.  These players are currently away at the tournament and missing 3 rounds for their clubs.

The A-League was rocked by the news that in a unified front the ACL governing body had met and made changes to the ACL tournament stripping Australia’s entry rights from 2.5 to just 1.5 positions, thus meaning Perth Glory misses out completely while Champions Brisbane will need to qualify against a Thai side if they want to join Premiers Central Coast in the competition.

Head on over to sportsfanAttic to read the rest of it

Short Thought #1

A new series of posts on current news items and my thoughts on them.
__________

Eleven people die in Slacks Creek house fire, south of Brisbane

BODIES have been found in a Slacks Creek home after a fire overnight that claimed 11 members of an extended family.
The fire reportedly started just after midnight in the home, in Wagensveldt St in the suburb of Slacks Creek, that was occupied by two Pacific Islander families.

This is tragic absolutely tragic, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the two survivors and the entire extended family, as well as friends, neighbours and the rest of the local Pacific Island community.

There really isnt anything you can say other than that.
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High bus fares drive commuters away, but Translink are set to raise them another 50 per cent

BRISBANE bus commuters are being driven away by high fares, Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says, and more pain is on the way.

What can I say the State Government through Translink have screwed the public transport network in South East Queensland right royally.

With a single zone adult fare set to rise from $2.65 to $4.04 by 2014 this is simply ludicrous, how are people supposed to be taking public transport if the state government is pricing it out of the reach of the ordinary person?

Cr Quirk has some good ideas about curbing the rise in costs but I dont think they go far enough, if the state government cares about getting people onto public transport and vehicles off the roads then they should do something to stop the rising costs that make Translink one of the most expensive public transport providers.
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Channel 9's live crosses to reporters from news chopper straight from Frontline

IT'S the type of thing that happened in the fictional current affairs show Frontline.
Host Mike Moore would cross to a reporter who was allegedly in a hostile zone, but was really nowhere near danger.
Fiction became reality last weekend when Channel 9's weekend news bulletins crossed to reporters in a helicopter allegedly hovering over the Daniel Morcombe search site "near Beerwah".

What can I say, how in this day in age with all the modern technology about and the fact your competitor is just a few hundred meters away on the same hill, can you expect to get away with a live cross to a helicopter sitting outside your studio?

Once again Channel 9 fail - thats twice now on this blog I've pulled up Ch9, and both times they appear to be faking things to get ratings ...

If you want news you can trust watch Ch7.
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Aus media groups to boycott World Cup

In an unprecedented move, Australia's leading news media organisations have informed the International Rugby Board that they will not be seeking accreditation to cover the World Cup in New Zealand.

So News limited, Fairfax Australia and the Australian Associated Press agency have all announced they wont seek accreditation for the world cup.
Their New Zealand counterparts are covered by a governmental law introduced when hosting was announced so they are fine but they share the concerns of their Australian counterparts.

For an organisation who is trying to globalise their game and match FIFA, the IRB have really shot themselves in the foot with these harsh conditions and rules.

My opinion Rugby Union is a game that will only flourish in the Home and SANZAR nations and wont grow because its governing body is doing everything it can to prevent widespread coverage of their sport and their show piece tournament.