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Ok before we get to the good bit, lets get this out of the road. The playing surface at Suncorp on Sunday night was a disgrace. The players struggled to middle the ball, were constantly slipping over and the ball refused to roll along the rough surface. Surely the match could have been scheduled to avoid being played the day after the Rugby League World Cup (suppresses giggle) Final?
The first half was atrocious – this could largely be attributed to the playing surface, the Roar struggled to play there passing game and Perth dominated. It was not until Tahj Minniecon charged into the box and was taken down that the Roar lifted, seconds after Van Dijk (much to the chagrin of the home end) had drilled the resulting penalty home he turned skilfully on the edge of the box and scuffed a shot across the face of the goal for Minniecon to tap in. It was an opportunists goal, the lad had made a lot of ground to get to the far post on the off chance that the ball would end up there – you cant help but feel that without his youthful exuberance on the field the chance would have gone begging.
Two nil up, it was all Roar apart from one piece of individual brilliance form Nikita Rukavytsya , who exploded past DeVere before crossing for Harnwell to tap in. Zullo had been the Roar’s most potent attacking threat all night, educing panic in the Perth defence with his direct running and his kamakazi closing down.
Most of the evening Zullo provided width on the left while Taj tucked in on the right, resulting in most of the game was played on one side of the field. On 55 minutes Zullo again drew the play left before switching play with a fine cross to Miller who, having ghosted out to the empty right hand side of the penalty area and volleyed home superbly. While the plaudits will ring for days about Miller’s goal, he was in acres of space and this was the first success from about 6 attempts to volley he has made this season, spurning the time to take a touch. Still, at 3-1 who was complaining.
The sung hero of the night was Craig Moore, not only for his brave return so soon after surgery, but for his all action display of dominance. His speed of thought, fleet of foot and athleticism in the tackle left DeVere looking like a plodder - which he isn't. The young man can only benefit from playing next to the master. TRD once questioned Moore's commitment to the cause when he first joined the club. It seemed hard to believe that the Roar could stir his passion after the intensity of Ibrox and St Jame's Park, but with this display he has dispelled any doubt about his desire to win and written himself into QLD Roar folklaw. The crowd sang "We love you Craig Moore, we do" and they did.
By the time Mitch Nichols completed the route with a spectacular, if vaguely fortuitous lob, the QLD crowd were quite beside themselves with excitement. Having become so accustomed to disappointment, no one really new what to do. As extra time was announced the home end spontaneously descended to the edge of the field, strangers embraced and an involuntary rendition of Stand by Me drowned out the final whistle.
The Roar moved to third place in the league, the poisoned atmosphere of recent weeks was exorcised and hope returned to Caxton st.
Murdocca’s indubitable pain, while comforting to those fans who might have been tempted to question the team’s commitment, clearly demonstrates the need for Farina to take drastic action to restore the team's self belief. Farina has, quite rightly, responded by announcing that it is time for widespread changes, hinting that the youngsters will be asked to save the season.
Farina employed the same strategy last year with spectacular success, the emergence of Zullo and Kruse not only struck fear into opposition defences but energised the whole squad transforming Reinaldo and Marcinho from boo boy targets into heroes. Crowd numbers swelled, goals rained in and the season culminated in the famous home victory over Sydney in front of 30,000 waterlogged fans. Kruse and Zullo gave the crowd something to believe in and gave the team back its self belief.
The question is with Zullo already in the setup, and Robbie Kruse’s penchant for fighting placing him firmly on the outer, who will be this season’s heroes?
It’s clear that change will come to the QLD roar, these are exciting times, let’s examine the options:
Zullo: This lad needs to start. He was one of the most potent attacking threats against Melbourne. His commitment on field cant be faulted. A hometown hero, the fans want to see him and at the moment the club needs to pull out all stops to get bums on seats.
Robbie Kruse: It is hard to imagine Kruse return to the line up anytime soon given that Farina has publicly stated that the lad is not showing enough commitment. However there is no denying the boy's talent. Last season his goal per minute ratio was second only Reinaldo’s and he has the ability to make the killer pass. With Van Dijk out of form, Reinaldo out of action and Smits out of his depth, Kruse provides a more creative option up front. As for his attitude, Farina prides himself on getting the best out of his players, here is a true test of his ability. Farina has certainly thrown down the challenge to Kruse, perhaps Robinho’s stunning return to form for Madrid on the back of last season’s 40 condom, all night party incident is in the back of his mind.
Taj: Minniecon has perhaps looked the best of the youngsters when given the opportunity this season. The most natural out and out striker of the available options, his blistering pace and confidence on the ball scares the heck of defenders but his creativity is often overlooked. Last season as the forgotten member of the Kruse/Zullo revolution, Minniecon was the club’s top assist maker returning by far the best assist per minute ratio in the team. With new goal scoring options a priority, he is almost certain to be inserted directly into the starting line up when he returns from international duty.
Mitch Nichols: Nichols must have been wondering if he would ever get a game this season, having made only sporadic appearances of the bench for most of his QLD Roar career. The combination of the Roar’s current crisis, Charlie Miller’s hernia and some excellent form for the Young Socceroos (including two spectacular goals to clinch qualification for the World Youth Cup over North Korea) could have opened the door for Nichols to return at least to the QLD bench. Miller is clearly struggling to play ninety minutes and Nichols is perhaps the only like for like replacement in the squad. While some way of having the ability to influence a game in the way Miller can, Nichols has a great opportunity to learn from the master. Crucially Nichols is a goal scorer – something which will no doubt strengthen his case for some game time off the bench when Murdocca and Mackay are fading.
Tommy Oar: We have not had the chance to see much of this lad who comes burdened with the familiar “new Harry Kewel” tag. Lets face it Oar is someway from starting for the Roar, even in this time of crisis, while at the same age Kewel was playing for Leeds in the English Premier league and had already made his senior debut for the Socceroos. So let’s put that kind of ridiculousness to one side and let the lad be himself. Short of an injury to Michale Zullo, who seems to be clearly ahead of him in Farina’s plans, Oar will probably spend most of the season playing in the youth league.
David Dodd: With Tiatto’s season on the line, the Roars are staring down the rather alarming barrel of a whole season of David Dodd. Dodd the younger has displayed plenty of courage and diligence when deputising for Tiatto as the midfield enforcer since winning the preseason battle with Chris Grossman for the role. However, as TRD has argued before, the introduction of Dodd almost always leads to the Roar loosing their flow. Used effectively as a destroyer when killing off games adding energy and bite late in proceedings (the romp in Perth being a good example), the idea of Dodd being handed the responsibility of being the fulcrum of the midfield for ninety minutes might have Farina trying to remember Grossman’s phone number. (Ed: since this was penned - things are looking up for Tiatto, however he will inevitabley play fewer minutes as he gets older)
Chris Grossman: Having played only 274 minutes of competitive football last season and none at all this season, Grossman has admitted that he is considering his future. Grossman was regularly deployed in central midfield during the preseason but Farina has preferred the muscular presence of David Dodd when a midfield option has been required in the A-League. However, from midfield Grossman is the National Youth League’s top scorer with 5 goals in 6 games and on Saturday against the Victory Youth Team he looked like a man among boys (which to fair, he was). There is obviously no guarantee that his hot youth league form will translate to the comparatively helter-skelter pace of the A-League, but injuries to Tiatto and Seo along with a lack of creativity in the QLD midfield, could have left the door ajar for Grossman to resurrect his Roar career.
Adam Sarota: Sarota has hardly set the world on fire with his first two appearances for the senior side and is yet to score in the youth league. He still looks a little slow and a little gangly for the A-League. Sarota’s debut displayed none of the verve and confidence of Kruse, Zullo or Minnicon. TRD cant quite believe that Sarota will be this season’s saviour.
Isaka Cernak: Cernak’s season has been derailed by injury and TRD has not really got to have a good look at him – hopefully he is fantastic!
In defence Matt Mundy’s ability to slot in at fullback could see him retain his place over the returning Luke De Vere to avoid breaking up the successful paring of McCloughan and Moore. The alternative option would be to move McCloughan to left back where he spent much of last season allowing the promising De Vere to return to the centre.
At the start of this season the Roar trialled three strikers with a view to ending the club’s long standing reticence regarding putting the ball in the back of the net (no small problem if you are trying to win a football game).
The three each came with their own unique appeal:
Bruno Mezenga: A 19 year old Football Manager hero, famed for regularly scoring 30 goals a season in the popular divorce inducing computer game. Unfortunately, back in real life, the man himself was falling out of favour at Flamengo and struggling to score through a series of unhappy loan spells while his virtual likeness was winning the Serie A golden boot on thousands of laptop computers around the world.
Sergio Van Dijk: A Youtube sensation who’s famous scissor kick goal from 20 yards is one of the most viewed Youtube clips ever. Less impressively the 24 year old’s entire career goal collection fits neatly on a separate one minute clip.
Marcio Carioca: A Brazilian who’s name translates to something like “lazy guy who spends too much time on the beach” and could have become the A-Leagues fattest player.
Various sources intimated that the club would sign only two of the three and that the real battle was between the Dutchman and the fat man as to who would join the former hero of the Brazilian under 17 team Mezenga. In the end the club used the remainder of the salary budget to sign Van Dijk and bring Reinaldo back to the club, and the remainder of the calorie budget to bring Charlie Miller into the mid field.
Eleven games into the A-League Reinaldo is yet to score and looks like he is out for the rest of the season. Van Dijk has confirmed early suspicions that he is a bit slow and has not managed to score from open play at all.
Meanwhile, 11 games into the Turkish second tier, Mezenga has already racked up 7 goals for Orduspor. The same performance in the A-League would place him equal top scorer with Shane Smelts and Matt Simon.
Orduspor, a club from a town 1/13 the size of Brisbane, that list its as one of its two “Great Matches in Europe” a 6-0 defeat at the hands of the mighty FC Banik Ostrava, forked out when the Roar would not and are being repaid. Mezenga's home ground, the Eylul Stadi in Ordu has a capacity of 14,000. Considering even the Turkish top flight only has an average gate of 14,000, the Eylu, having not seen top flight action since 2000, must rarely see capacity. Surely Orduspor are not paying top dollar for the lad but if he keeps scoring at this rate someone will be soon. Opportunity wasted?
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