The Roar Deal

Give the fans a chance. More Ange please!

I'm sitting at a quiet little coffee shop on the banks of the Thu Bon river in central Vietnam. My work is sitting idle in another window. I can't concentrate. I am worried. Not about tomorrow's big game. No, that I feel confident about (how being a Roar fan has changed in recent times!). I'm worried about next season. 

This is the problem for the Roar's management. Fans are never satisfied. It is not enough to have a stellar season this year, to make serious steps towards winning the fans back, perhaps to win the premiership and the finals. All that good will could be wasted if the Roar let Ange leave. That would send all the wrong messages to the fans. 

So please, more Ange.

Blurk... spit....ugh...

Sometimes its hard to be an Aussie living overseas. For some reason its only the news stories that reinforce our cultural cringe that seem to make it to the rest of the world. I cringed in Madrid when Pauine Hanson went global. I winced in London during the "tamper crisis". I pulled my hat down over my eyes in Napoli when Australia would not sign the Kyoto protocol. But I have never been quite as ashamed as I was in Singapore when the Socceroos sent out a team without a striker. 

On my arrival back in Vietnam I ordered a Pizza. The delivery guy asked if I was Australian, then laughed. Then said "Foootball" then laughed. Then said "Ozzie Football" then shook his head and laughed a little more. 

"I don't see Vietnam at the finals!" I said as his motor bike flew across the rice paddy. 

When I met the two Vietnamese friends who had sworn to be honorary Ozzies for the world cup, they smugly counted their winnings on the game, one have picked 4-0 exactly. Think I will watch the Ghana game in the expat bar after all. 

Putting Tim Cahill up front simultaneously denied the team a proper outlet and deprived the team of it's best midfielder. A masterstroke of self self sabotage.  Cahill is our only world class outfielder - why play him out of position?? If Kennedy is not good enough to start, why bring him?? Why bring no one else??? AArrhhh. 

At least the situation demands a more attacking strategy for the next two games. 

PS: Ozil - wow! 

Where did that Billionaire go?

He was around the other day, saw him in several newspapers... did he not leave a business card?

Blaaahhh

Well it has taken a while for TRD to get motivated enough to write after what was, as Michael Flynn pointed out in his latest ever entertaining blog,the third season in a row Adelaide have delivered the final blow to the hearts of Roar fans. Now that the same team have stolen the only consistent goal scorer the club has ever had, the extent to which the team will need to be rebuilt for next season is becoming clearer.

The season has seen much of the team dismantled with Miller, Reddy, Moore, Tiatto and now Sergio Van Dijk leaving and there is a good chance that others will follow before next season. Tommy Oar, Luke DeVere and Michael Zullo are all a chance to leave for Holland. McJosh could well retire, while China is beckoning new captain Matt Mackay. Time will tell if Bryce remains, but his age will count against him. 

This plausible if hypothetical exodus would leave Murdocca, Reinaldo, Collen, Nicholls and Henrique as the key players left to build a squad around.  Its not a bad start and leaves plenty of scope for Postacolou to build the team he wants. As the coach has rightly pointed out - it is not as if a champion team have been dismantled - he has managed, in a very short space of time, to dismantle a rubbish team and build new one equally as rubbish. So... the jury is out. 

Roar v Fury 23-1-10: The Captains have abandoned ship

Two teams who's leaders fled before the fight. Two ragtag bunches of scrappers, kids and state league journeymen. Is this what the A-League has come to?  

The game was dire for the first 70 add minutes, both goals were scrappy and fortuitous, neither side really looked capable of breaking the deadlock. The exciting new A-League with it's TV commercials and it's marquee attractions looked more like the ice-cream stand on that stretch of beach which was popular in the eighties, with its faded pine lime split poster and paddle pops covered in ice from repeated thawing. 

Craig Moore had long since left the sinking ship and Robbie Fowler sat in the stands, dummy retrieved and hanging reluctantly from a protruding bottom lip. This is not how it was supposed to be, this should have been the Rangers Captain verse the Liverpool legend - God verse Captain Socceroo... it he end it was Smith (he of Brisbane strikers fame... is fame the right word?) against Luke DeVere to see who could make snuffing out an inept attack look easier. Hardly what we were promised at the start of this landmark season. 

We should pause to give DeVere his due, he was immense a Brisbane defence that still looks vulnerable (and before the moaners start - did not look any better with Moore at the heart). Despite the promising partnership developing between DeVere and new signing Collen, the wingback positions are a concern. Zullo, who's awful tackle which left Jeremy Brockie with a fractured leg demonstrating his defensive flaws, seems wasted at left back, while it is a sad indictment of the dying days of Farina's tenure that Franjic, plucked fresh from the Oakleigh Cannons, often looked Farina's best player. 

While the departures of Moore, Farina and Miller have left many fans upset at the club's handling of the situation, those who have shelled out hard earned cash week after week to watch the teams appalling performances this season have plenty of sympathy for the boards decision to back Postacoglou's tougher attitude and resulting clear out. Whether Fury fans will feel the same way about the treatment of their Captain is doubtful. On fox sports Slater and Bosnich pilloried Ian Ferguson for his ineptitude and disrespect in asking Fowler to sit on the bench. They had no problem with Fowler (who incidentally is under contract to the club and paid generously to do as the manger asks him to, spitting the dummy and nursing his injured pride in the stands rather than suffer the indignity of starting from the bench. Who does he he think he is... God? 

It hardly seems unreasonable that Ferguson would consider resting the striker who's aging legs seem to have been tiring in recent weeks, to be deployed late in the game against a Roar team sitting near the bottom of the table and low on confidence. As things have panned out, Fowlers petulant, arogant refusal to sit on the bench deprived Fury of an effective replacement for the injured Brockie and may well have cost the club finals football. Fury fans could be forgiven for feeling betrayed. 

Happily it was not all doom and gloom, the last time the Roar visited Townsville the match fans witnessed perhaps the most uninspiring display in football history. While hardly slick, this match saw a much improved Roar. The other good news was the last 20 minutes when the introduction of Mitch Nichols inspired some marvelous pass and move from the roar sparking a period in which the Roar peppered the home goal enough to convince they deserved something more from the game. It boggles the mind that Nichols was criticised on the 442 Orange Army forums for his performance, as his introduction changed the game and invoked nostalgic memories of the heights the Roar reached in the run in to the finals last season. 

Roar v Wellington 8/1/10

Hmmm... where to start... So it was a disappointing match, the Roar did ok in the middle of the park but lacked any kind of conviction at either end of the pitch. Zullo struggled at left back again, Oar was reportedly sick during half time and never really looked in it, Murdocca was stuck deep for most of the game and Sarota was back to his ambling worst on the right side of midfield. Sarota wafted around with neither the pace to get behind or the will to take his fullback on. 

It would be tempting to think that Sarota would have been of more use in the centre of the park, where he played his best game for the Roar, with Murdocca given the run of the right side with his extra pace and dynamism. 

Reinaldo and Van Dijk looked dangerous on the rare occasion the ball came near although the big brazilian seems a little rusty. Set out in a flat 442, the Roars really missed a Nicholls or Miller to link between the midfield and attack. 

The substitutes had little impact although the introduction of Mundy for Oar allowed Zullo to take up his preferred position on the left wing from where he looked more dangerous than Oar had managed to be.  

All in all, fans should remember that it has been more than a year since anyone beat Wellington at home, not even Sydney, Melbourne have managed it and the Roars got out of it better than the Gold Coast did (6-0). 

Its easy to forget that despite loosing Smeltz, the Nux have a talented team with plenty of depth. Even in the absence of the injured Daniel, Wellington had the luxury of bring a player of Diego's quality of the bench. Currently the Roar don't have a player with Diego's creative ability at the moment and it showed. And while many may rue the loss of Charlie Miller, there is no denying that this season he was not doing the business. 

Hopefully the Roar will give the fans a January present... perhaps a loan deal for a frustrated world cup hopeful looking for game time... no Ange, we don't mean Lucas Pantellas...

The New Captain of the Brisbane Roar

Who should it be? 

The obvious choice for the remainder of the season would be current vice captain McJosh who would also seem to be Moore's obvious replacement at centre-half. Having said that, Postacoglou has talked of building a long term project over three to four years. As McJosh is unlikely to still be playing in three years it might be time to install the captain that Postacoglou feels will see the team through this project.

The Roar Deal's choice would be Matt McKay. A foundation player and a constant in the first team, McKay bleeds orange on the pitch and never gives up.  During his injured period this season it was clear that the team missed his drive from midfield and his incisive running and passing. 

McKay's fitness means that he rarely needs to be substituted, rested or miss matches through niggling injuries. That kind of fitness can only be the result of hard work and a professional approach off the pitch. McKay is a scrapper, a pro and a highly underated footballer and as such fits Postacolgou's mould perfectly. Don't be suprised to see him take the armband in the next match and keep it for years to come. 

Less is Moore...

A while ago I wrote somewhere (perhaps Johns blog?) that I thought Craig Moore would have the professionalism to but any personal differences with Postacolou aside for the good of the club. Seems I was wrong. 

The Courier Mail is reporting that Craig Moore has announced that he will be leaving the Roar for good in January because his relationship with Postacoglou is strained beyond repair. From a fans point f view this is hugely dissapointing, yet another body blow to end what my fellow Roar blogger John has accurately labled the Roar's Annus Horribilus. 

Lately Moore's heart has not looked in it, distracted by the world cup, upset by the loss of his mates Farina and Miller, Moore's form has dipped so low that Socceroo fans have been as concerned as Roar fans. By leaving the club in its time of need Moore has spat in the face of the loyal fans  scampered of the sinking ship. 

According to Hammish's account of the account of the game, Moore did not even lead the players over to thank the fans who travelled in numbers down to skilled park and then had to watch the team be mauled. Not good enough, time to go, if the Roar are going to stay in the top six they need all hand on deck and giving !00%. McJosh and Devere have never let the club down and will remain one of the best central parings in the league. 

So well done to the club for backing the coach when presented with Moore's unprofessional and arrogant "him or me" ultimatum. A managers job becomes impossible once players sense he does not have the board's complete backing. However marks off for keeping the fans in the dark. The Roar's webpage does not mention that Moore has resigned (do they think we will not notice he is gone??). More points off for the pathetic Chairman's Christmas message. Three pathetic lines of best wishes - we don't need or want the chairman's best wishes - we want some news about the direction of the club, the vision, what is the game plan...  

Loyal fans will continue to support the club in Moore's absence, but they wont support a club without a plan to give them some hope. Even if it a modest one to gradually rebuild the squad and the support. 

Roaring on

After watching frustrated as Adelaide did their usual job in QLD in front of an abysmal crowd, it was great to hear good reports about the 2-0 win over Fury in front of 11,000 fans (probably mostly Liverpool fans but hey - maybe they will come back??). 

The signs are good, not just because Lame Reddy has gone to Phoenix but because Postacoglou seems to be building an effective  team to play the way he wants. 

We may never really know why Miller left the club, but it appears clear that he and the coach were not on the same page. Postacoglou took a very brave decision to let a fan favorite and influential player go, now he must prove he made the right choice. Early days, but So far so good. 

Out with the old (and the fat) and in with the new...

The new being Adam Sarota and Luke Brattan. Sarota, who this blog has constantly pilloried as a lost caused, proved us wrong in fine style against Perth. Finally deployed in what looks to be his best position alongside the ever improving David Dodd (also much maligned on TRD) in central midfield.

Dodd and Sarota were pivotal in a youthful midfield which held firm against a vastly more experienced Perth lineup until the fashionably haired darling of these pages, Luke Brattan was deployed, within minutes, having lost possession several times, Brattan failed to close down the perth attack, a second young Roar (perhaps Nicholls??) also stood off, and suddenly a measured cross was released and Perth were level. 

So what of Miller and Reddy? Good riddance,we say. It is no secret that TRD has never been a fan of Reddy, who makes as many gaffs as saves.  Miller, for all his skill and entertainment value, was not part of the Roar's impressive drive towards the finals last season, when Nicholls stepped up to cover his absence so effectively. 

This season Nicholls has been asked to play out of position more often than not, either on the right of midfield, as a striker or in a deeper role. Miller's absence will allow Nicholls to be deployed in his natural position in the hole behind the striker/s.

Miller for his part will make the perfect pantomime villain at the Gold Coast, another chapter in a rivalry which is fast moving from the realms of commercial spin to genuine difference in approach. 

Under Postacoglou's management the Roars look much more structurally sound and tactically astute. The message for the players appears to be that nothing less that absolute professionalism will be tolerated. It is a message that should make the fans feel more respected. 

Keep it up Ange, so far so good. Watch out Adelaide, bring on the top six.