Fantastic the football on the weekend.
Tucked into two games. Victory and Adelaide and Brisbane v Sydney.
What treats.
Harry Kewell turned back the clock with a wonderful performance, again. If Archie or Danny could have finished one or two of their Harry inspired chances Victory would have won.

Robbie Slater has taken Craig Foster to task over Fozzie's article/analysis of Melbourne Victory's Coaching appointment.
Fozzie's article is intelligent, well thought out and something we need in this country - even if you don't agree with it's sentiment.
It adds to our football intelligence, it makes us think.

He's been here a week - who knows who the better Coach is - but football is often about bluff and baloney and the man from Belfast has it in spades...or so it seems.
Memhet has a deep rich voice but his media efforts were poor, didn't inspire or excite the fans. He couldn't explain his vision, looked frozen before the camera and when things got tough he had no bluster or baloney to fall back on.

With Victory showing sides of improvement last week, and Harry Kewell turning in another quality performance tonight's game should be a belter.
Big crowd, great stadium and lots of footballers on the park.
If Victory can seal their defence, the team could gain some serious confidence and climb the ladder.

Rini from Adelaide he's gone, Branko from Newcastle he's gone, Mehmet from Melbourne already gone...
A-League winner Vitaslav is surely going...The Jets give Championship winningrecently appointed Van Egmond a guarantee, Fergie is he really still there? and Miron draws 2,000 a week, crowd not dollars, and now is set to wear a mic in the half-time dressing room.

Dear Clive, once again you have proved you have little or no respect for active support at Gold Coast United home games.

A little over a decade ago, South Melbourne FC took part in the FIFA Club World Championship as champions of Oceania, trying their luck in a group containing England's Manchester United, Brazil's Vasco da Gama and Mexico's Nexaca. South Melbourne could then claim to be Australia's most successful club, winners of four National Soccer League titles.

By Eric Beard

The idea of community, however tangible or intangible, real or imagined, flourishes at the very core of football. Without fans, football doesn't exist. Similarly, without readers, AFR would have died a long, long time ago. Conversation is the greatest source of sustenence in the beautiful game.

7:1 win vs Adelaide last night. Oh yes oh yes oh yes. Ra ra ra. We actually are the best in the World and everyone else is, slowly but surely, learning to live with it.
The question being repeated everywhere is, how come only eleven and a half thousand people saw one of the greatest football spectacles we might expect to see in club football?

When Dario brilliantly hit the back of the net on 5 minutes it looked as if at last Brisbane's time had come. Broich had said earlier in the week that they had been lucky. Perhaps that had run out?
But no. On when the pressure. Fox had asked would Brisbane be able to chase this season, well yes.

3-0 Loss and I am Excited

Australian A-League club Newcastle Jets unveiled its 2011/12 home and away kits from from Australian sportswear firm ISC on Friday. According to the club's website, the home kit "sees the return of Newcastle's iconic colours, red and blue, the same colours worn by fellow Novocastrian representatives, the Newcastle Knights.

Following the recent launch of its 2011/12 away strip, last season's Australian A-League regular season second place finishers and playoff finalists Central Coast Mariners Football Club have officially unveiled their navy blue and yellow hummel 2011/12 home kit and goalkeeper jerseys. According to the Mariners' website: Central Coast Mariners today officially launched the club's playing [.

Last season's Australian A-League regular season second place finishers and playoff finalists Central Coast Mariners Football Club signed a two-year kit deal with Danish sportswear firm hummel in May. Since then the Central Coast Mariners hummel 2011/12 away jersey has been unveiled and used extensively during the club's pre-season.

The Australia A-League kit launches continue ahead of the league's early October kickoff. The latest comes with the unveiling of the Adelaide United FC Errea 2011/12 home and away kits. (function(d){ var js, id = 'facebook-jssdk'; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement('script'); js.

Brisbane Roar Football Club (formerly Queensland Roar Football Club) is a professional soccer club from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia competing in the Hyundai A-League. The Roar was the 2010/11 A-League regular season and playoff champions. As a result, the team is an automatic entrant into the 2012 AFC Champions League.

John Aloisi: helping or hurting? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

With A-League clubs beginning to convince the younger and fitter members of Australia's golden generation to return to antipodean shores, the moves come with a warning from the country's favourite penalty-taker, John Aloisi.

By Gina Baldassarre, writing from Sydney

After a tiring, drawn-out saga, a contract has finally been signed, the dust is beginning to settle, and the prodigal son is coming home. And no, I'm not actually talking about Cescgate.

That's right my friends, those of us living down under have had twice the transfer drama to keep us on the edge of our seats this winter.

My issue is with you and your grandiose statements to the press 3 years ago and ever since. I jumped on board largely on the back of what you said in the media 3 years ago. Your vision for the A-League and Football on the Gold Coast, here are some quotes from the news back then by yourself and CEO Mensink.

With the A-League teetering along last year football was heading back to the future.
Despite the move into Asia, a successful Asia Cup campaign, the rise of the Matildas and the increasing number of Young Guns pushing into the Socceroos and starring in the A-League moving to Europe and Asia, football still lacked any sense of security or money for our A-League clubs to survive, never mind to move ahead.

Entering its second season, Melbourne Heart FC will be looking to improve upon its 8th place finish in the 2010/11 Australian A-League. Featuring several players with recent Australia junior and senior national team call-ups, the club was recently linked with veteran Socceroo and former Liverpool FC midfielder Harry Kewell.

The medical community of Melbourne are collectively licking their lips. For the first time in his professional career Harry Kewell is playing club football in Australia. Melbourne Victory have beaten supposed interest from Sydney FC in securing his signature on a three year deal. Since emerging from the Leeds United academy in the late 90's [.

Everyone else has had their say on Harry Kewell, so I don't see why I shouldn't. I am absolutely delighted that one of our best ever Socceroos, and one that is still playing and having an influence at the national level has decided to join the A-League. It will be a crowd booster not only [...]

If you have played at the top in front of the Kop when you return home you want to have some passion, some feeling from a large crowd.
And what better team to sign for than the one with the biggest fanbase.
The Victory are already popular on the road - but the Derbies, Adelaide and Sydney games have just gone up a notch.

Harry Kewell the man who so nearly won the Asian Cup for Australia, in January 2011 is expected to sign for Melbourne Victory for THREE YEARS tomorrow.
This is great news for football fans, for the A-League and Australian football.
The process may have been long and arduous but Australia's greatest player will return to Australia at just 32.

Australian A-League side Wellington Phoenix FC has unveiled its adidas 2011/12 home kit. The club joins fellow A-League clubs Sydney FC and the Melbourne Victory FC an adidas-sponsored team. According to the Phoenix' website: The yellow and black match kit was designed by adidas in collaboration with the club.

Two-time Hyundai A-League Champion Sydney FC have unveiled its 2011/12 adidas home and away kits. The Sky Blues become the second A-League team to sign a sponsorship deal with adidas along with the Melbourne Victory. According to the club's website all three Sydney FC teams – Hyundai A-League, Westfield W-League and the National Youth League [.

Having denigrated the A-League in its early years, SBS, the home of FTA Football has finally come full circle.
Many football fans were sick and tired of SBS in its coverage of the A-League in those eary season. They not only failed to promote and cover the game in a meaningful way but they stuck the boot in, again and again, to a new professional league with all it's teething problems.

Union and Football are the two codes trying/needing to increase their foothold in Australia.
Both have seen their domestic games take a fall in recent years - first Union with the short-lived ARC and then football with the demise of a number of A-League clubs.
Union fell first - but may have picked itself up quickest - not least with the support of the international S15.

A-League: It's all about Harry Kewell - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Harry Kewell.

A show-pony. A drama queen. The best football player to come out of Australia.

Just the mention of his name prompts the football fan to offer their opinions. It's impossible not to, given his remarkably high-profile successes and failures.

I was sad when Mr Flores left for China, he has so much skill - and then Bernie said Harry wasn't coming. Harry has a fair bit of skill too - although he may yet turn up.
I'm a Celtic fan and although Liam Miller (not so much skill) signed for former Rangers player Fergusons' Perth Glory I wasn't that happy about the stars of the new A-League season - albeit a long long way off.

Don't get Twitter? Do yourself a favour and have some fun - check out the fantastic tweets on Our Harry from the funny Aussies.
http://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23kewellaleaguedemands
And check out Bernie Mandic - the interview that started this whole thing on Monday - hear what Harry's agent actually said.

Kewell the answer to A-League's Marquee Question? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The Hyundai A-League and by extension, the Football Federation of Australia reels from one crisis to another. If it's not declining crowd numbers, owners threatening to close stands rather than see empty seats, franchises folding, disastrous World Cup bids (corruption or not) or even stars entering fan forums, then it's clubs failing to take advantage of the league's generous marquee player policy.

Australian A-League side Melbourne Victory has launched its 2011 home and away kits from new gear provider adidas. According to a release from the club: Melbourne Victory joined some of the biggest football clubs on the planet today by signing a 5-year apparel deal with global sports giants, adidas. The partnership will see Melbourne Victory play in [.

Australian A-League club Perth Glory has unveiled its 2011 home jersey from sportwear firm Blades along with its 15th Anniverary logo. The club's new shirt is modeled by new signing Shane Smeltz. According to the club's website: For the next two years Blades will be our new authentic apparel sponsor.

Roy Keane, Ozzie Ardiles were great players and both are supposed to be after the Melbourne Victory job.
Surely they would cost a bomb - and surely we've learnt that Ange Postecoglou and Graham Arnold can play great football, much cheaper and they're Aussie.
So give another Aussie a go - how do they learn if they don't get a gig.

FFA have written to Canberra A-League Bid Leader (Friday last)stating if/when Canberra can raise the $6 million start-up fund ($3.5 mill currently) and all other requirements being fulfilled the FFA are very interested in a team from the Capital.
Hmmmm maybe so - but once bitten twice shy.

The last time I wrote about the A-League or the Brisbane Roar was April last year. The short of what I had to say then was, "the Brisbane Roar cannot repeat its original seduction of this consumer. This time they're going to have to realise a product that is worth it for me to seek out."
They have done it.

This is a question that a lot of A League supporters around the country hope the answer is a resounding NO.

MELBOURNE, Australia The Melbourne Victory soccer club has angrily denied claims its fans are violent, amid criticisms from police and the state government. A senior Victorian policeman on Friday said members of the force were reluctant to volunteer to work at Melbourne Victory soccer matches because of violence among the team's supporters.