It is a shame that the only news in Brisbane today on the Melbourne match this weekend is bletting my Robbie Kruse. It is hardly likely that the Roar will doom their hopes by using the same approach twice. Click to continue reading...

Afternoon all, welcome to the blog.
Apologies for the lateness of this post, usually FP tries to have something by 8.30ish every morning, but delayed today's post in case any Perth Glory news came about.
Sadly, nothing has arrived as yet.
Just a quick point: FP will be away from Perth for about three weeks, working on another project. Click to continue reading...

Fantasy #1
The Roar women are champions and so far are in the champion position this season as well. To be accurate and fair, and to avoid being too hubristic, they have some serious competition this year in Sydney, Melbourne and Central Coast. Yesterday I reckon they barely outplayed Melbourne at Ballymore, but it couldn't be said that Melbourne didn't deserve their point (1:1). Click to continue reading...

Liverpool Need Their Roar Back

Liverpool aren't scaring anybody these days. Danny Murphy pointed this out during the Liverpool/Birmingham City half-time show. Unfortunately, he's too right.

Against Birmingham, Liverpool spent more time with the ball than an NBA forward playing one-on-one with a ten-year-old kid.

Click to continue reading...

Brisbane Roar are on track for a full squad v Melbourne Victory next Saturday 6pm. The international has helped a lot. And Ange is putting the time to good use - slowing down the tempo to improve the defence and accuracy of crosses into the box.
Perhaps we could see Henrique, Reinaldo, Van Dijk, Mitch and Tommy on the park together? Click to continue reading...

I understand from one of the lads at Kallang Roar that Vincent Subraniam has been appointed coach of Home United replacing Sivaji in the hot seat.
http://jakartacasual.blogspot.com/2009/11/homing-in.html Click to continue reading...

So I flagged it months ago on here and it seems like Katie Gill is finally back in the country and set to play for Perth Glory this weekend. Well according to the FFA snapshot they sent out yesterday, which suggests she will be a prime candidate to score the leagues 200th goal when it goes off this weekend. Click to continue reading...

So it feels like only a day ago I was previewing this round and then it was all over. Oh that's right, because I did only preview it on Saturday. But anyway, it might have been one short-sharp round with all the games over in a matter of hours - but what a round. Goals everywhere - and not just from one team as in last week's game - and interesting results for the top-six. Click to continue reading...

Hmmm. At the start of the season this was supposed to be the blockbuster that Gold Coast would steal from the Roar. But with only 5,400 watching and quite a few of those in Sydney colours you would have to say Gold Coast have a long, long way to go build a fan base.
Shame really as this game was won by Jason Culina who was at his best. Click to continue reading...

At last the 'maybe' penalty goes our way and Van Dijk steals the first half from Adelaide.
Reinaldo, Van Dijk and Nichols where way too strong for Adelaide's defence. Reinaldo and Van Dijk's one touch passing was fantastic to watch. We need to see more of this at home. Mitch scored a cracker that hit the bar, bounced in - behind the line, then out. Click to continue reading...

Brown's in the box dive for a penalty should lead to a suspension - despite the spot kick being missed. Referee Ben Williams should be ashamed of himself the number of times he has waved on legitimate penalties from the Roar, and give this one.
What has become obvious is the home ground advantage for Wellington. Click to continue reading...

The FFA have taken over marketing and ticketing at Gold Coast. I think the owner will be pleased. Meanwhile over at the Roar FFA assistance seems to have been knocked back again. The messages from the top there are very confusing. Brisbane is the City with the opportunity. Meanwhile the coach is now saying that the team will grind out results until the need of the calendar year. Click to continue reading...

A few times over the past few years I've noted the obvious word play, "The Roar purred." I guess it would have been used more if it was true more often, but even when they were really getting it together, like toward the end of last season, it didn't quite work as a metaphor.
Yesterday against Perth at Ballymore the Brisbane Roar Women purred. Click to continue reading...

Clive Palmer, owner of Gold Coast United

Gold Coast United, an expansion team in Australia's premier A-League, have already generated negative headlines it takes some teams decades to generate: "A-League may hit rock bottom thanks to the Coast," says Adrian Musolino in today's Roar, which also features another piece titled "Gold Coast "United" – How to lose fans and alienate people".

Click to continue reading...

At 86:35 minutes Orangecrush leaned over to me and said 'Do you think the players realise that this is the most important 3 minutes of the club's history and they have to score?' I agreed with his sentiment and said 'And they aren't going to score.'
The low crowd didn't help. This was a dull game. Click to continue reading...

No Moore. No Malcolm. No Tiatto. No Miller. It was always going to be a stringent test of Brisbane's resources.
And yet they acquitted themselves not too badly, on the whole. Although they were plainly outclassed in midfield for much of the game, and had every reason to let their heads drop after the injury to Reinaldo, they made a real fight of the game in the final twenty minutes, and perhaps deserved to equalise. Click to continue reading...

Where is the refing consistency? Fox, who have now clearly turned to supporting the Roar after ditching them after game 3, clearly need to write to the FFA that the Refs need to be re-briefed. Well maybe not. But apart from Miller's punch, how was the Roar's treatment of Kruse worse than Sydney's treatment of Oar? Click to continue reading...

Oh and Gold Coast played so well too.
Foxtel has been having outages (Sydney and Brisbane and other parts of Australia) all week so I saw little of this game and less of the Sydney v Brisbane game. However, something happened.
It was amazing to see former Roar 2nd keeper Scott Higgins letting them go through his legs and all sorts. Click to continue reading...

Perth have a good team that don't play that well. Fury went 1 down again. But a great quickly taken free kick from Fowler just outside the box and a spectacular turn and shoot from Daal won the game. They deserved too. Not because they play great football but because Perth's game was really lacking.
It was the Fury's first win at home. Click to continue reading...

My guess is Melbourne or Sydney now. Melbourne have been able to bar far too many good players. How do they get them all within the cap. Well of course they don't. Special deals to allow Muscat to be paid outside the cap because he is really a or the coach - or neither. $1m transfer deals. And wow 2 great Asian players. Click to continue reading...

Check out the A-League site naming Mark Bridges (Sydney) as Michael Bridges (Newcastle).
This result showed how badly the Roar played last week - made the Mariners look good. Click to continue reading...

Not enough that Charlie Miller, last year's fan favourite, has disgraced himself, now he is back on the injured list. So is Danny Tiatto. Should have let them go.
Moore is out too - sorry he shouldn't be our marquee (I understand he is paid what so clubs pay players inside the cap).
Now we will probably play the A-League's worst player - Bob Malcolm. Click to continue reading...

The ‘Going Green On November 14' campaign continues to gather pace with radio interviews, email campaigns, a Facebook group and Twitter pages all being used to publicise and create a momentum within the whole island for the upcoming World cup play-off game with France on November 14th. Click to continue reading...

So first of all, apologies for the lack of posts this week but have been struck down by unfortunate case of killer flu. Next week will (hopefully) be back to normal. But before then we have a whole of Round 4 to go and it's going to provide some crackers. Just thinking of last year's game between Canberra United and Melbourne Victory makes me all wistful for the amazing talent that is Amy Chapman, I can still picture her wonder-scross that curled in over Melissa Barbieri that ended up being the winner in the 93rd minute. Click to continue reading...

A couple of weeks back when I was last in Singapore I interviewed Dez Corkhill for Jakarta Casual TV. Dez has long done his best to promote South East Asian football and now commentates on SLeague games for some local channels.
Since then the interview has gone on to be the most viewed piece on Jakarta Casual TV, nothing spectacular we're just talking hundreds, as well as being discussed in circles high and low. Click to continue reading...

John: Watching the roar wasn't much fun Saturday
Informed Source: I'll bet. They seem to be in a big low.
John: Bob Malcolm caused 2 goals and looked like he wasn't even playing, so did Moore in the 1st 20 mins.
Informed Source: Malcolm may well know that he's unlikely to be part of the main mix from here on in. Click to continue reading...

I got on to the concourse just in time to catch the Chelsea game from the 89th minute onwards. After Villa had gone 2-1 up I thought at best Chelsea would score an injury time equaliser, at worst, an injury time winner but kept my fingers crossed they would drop points regardless.

There was a roar at the final whistle before then pouring up the steps in to our seats in anticipation it what could be a table topping result.

Click to continue reading...

What's there to say?
The coach is sacked, a whole lot of laundry is aired, some no doubt utter bullshit, other true. Frank is scapegoated for a long period of administrative incompetence in the Roar and the FFA.
At the same time - quick, someone mentioned a 50% hike on the already most expensive tickets in the league might have 'contributed' to the disappearing crowds - the Roar announces a 15% price cut and a special promotion letting kids in free. Click to continue reading...

Dear Frank Farina,
You were the best coach the Roar has had and if we find a better one in the current circumstances we'll be lucky.
The board were stupid to sack you, and you are clearly correct to point out that you are being scapegoated - to the extent that you didn't need to say it. Click to continue reading...

Bob Malcolm and Craig Moore will not play next week. Certainly in the case of Malcolm that is a very good thing. He may be the worse import the A-League has had. Robbie Slater described his work as the worst defending he had seen in the A-League. He caused the first 2 goals. The first bounced off him to the Mariners (2nd time in two weeks) and the 2nd he decided not to tackle. Click to continue reading...

After the Roar Board, via the Courier Mail, complained that Frank had too much influence, Ange is now laying down the law. Rado to the young team, Ange doesn't need any help.
Physios Tony Ganter and Cameron Schembri have resigned.
I hope they win this afternoon, go Rado. I like coaches with sons in the Socceroos. Click to continue reading...

Here is what the Courier Mail said today:

'Farina's departure will spell the end for a handful of Roar players, sooner rather than later. Tiatto, 36, has already declared he will retire at season's end, while the Roar careers of Miller and Bob Malcolm – both off contract at the end of Brisbane's current campaign – seem clouded.

Click to continue reading...

The Board and the FFA made the decisions that impacted the Roar's crowds. The ill disciple against Melbourne had nothing to do with it! How could it? The poor crowds had already happened.
Why did the crowds fall:
1. Gold Coast - split the Roar crowd and have no fans of their own (FFA have admitted this with typical club fisted approach ). Click to continue reading...

It is Ange Postecoglou a football insider, contrasting to Frank Farina sitting outside the football paradise club.
I would be very surprised if many people in Brisbane know who he is. He has 4 Socceroo caps and won 2 NSL titles as a player and 2 as a coach.
Club Chairman Chris Bombolas more or less conceded in a heated interview with ABC Radio host Kelly Higgins-Divine that it was the 4 owners who voted as a block of the 7 board members to determine Frank Farina's fate. Click to continue reading...

An interesting article in the Courier Mail on Monday. The story was that some Roar directors regretted not accepting FFA help at the beginning of the season. The reason given for the regret was that the FFA would have been able to control Frank Farina via a director of football - and stopped poor player behaviour. Click to continue reading...