Villa stumble to an FA Cup win and Brisbane Roar succumb to a late equaliser in Adelaide so my football feelings are mixed for my teams at least. I hope the last few days of football have temporarily sated your football appetite as we witness few upsets in the FA Cup and Serie A and La Liga return from their winter breaks.
THE GOOD
Some pundits believe that the beauty and relevance of the FA Cup has diminished in recent years but for anyone who saw the third round encounter between the Manchester juggernauts could have been forgiven for thinking it was May's FA Cup final. Cannot wait for the 4th round encounter between Manchester United and the fellow reds of Liverpool.
THE BAD
When a team isn't going well it is usually the manager who cops the most stick. The manager isn't even the one out on the pitch! Just ask Steve Kean, the manager of Blackburn, who has copped the brunt of season-long campaigns at every game he has managed even after beating Manchester United 3-2 on New Year's Eve. The latest coaching casualties are QPR's Nigel Warnock and Melbourne Victory's Mehmet Durakovic. When things are going well it's usually the players being lauded, when it's going bad, well managers have feelings too!
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
Gold Coast United are struggling to attract supporters in their first three years as a footballing entity. Crowd troubles at the Boxing Day derby are alledged as the club's reason for closing down their supporter area behind the goal. Gold Coast United's 'Beach' may not be seen again this year to the ire of their faithful supporters. For 70 minutes yesterday the home supporter group decided to not sing in protest. In a vital game against the high-flying Melbourne Heart they came home strongly to draw a game that they should have won. No surprise that they came home strongly in the final 20 minutes when the fans started signing.
Make no mistake, this is a club in turmoil. If fans don't support their club, even in dire times then the club is doomed. The A-League cannot afford to financially support multiple teams but equally, cannot afford to keep losing teams from the national competition.
What do you think? What were your weekend's Good, the Bad and the Downright Ugly?
THE GOOD
Some pundits believe that the beauty and relevance of the FA Cup has diminished in recent years but for anyone who saw the third round encounter between the Manchester juggernauts could have been forgiven for thinking it was May's FA Cup final. Cannot wait for the 4th round encounter between Manchester United and the fellow reds of Liverpool.
THE BAD
When a team isn't going well it is usually the manager who cops the most stick. The manager isn't even the one out on the pitch! Just ask Steve Kean, the manager of Blackburn, who has copped the brunt of season-long campaigns at every game he has managed even after beating Manchester United 3-2 on New Year's Eve. The latest coaching casualties are QPR's Nigel Warnock and Melbourne Victory's Mehmet Durakovic. When things are going well it's usually the players being lauded, when it's going bad, well managers have feelings too!
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
Gold Coast United are struggling to attract supporters in their first three years as a footballing entity. Crowd troubles at the Boxing Day derby are alledged as the club's reason for closing down their supporter area behind the goal. Gold Coast United's 'Beach' may not be seen again this year to the ire of their faithful supporters. For 70 minutes yesterday the home supporter group decided to not sing in protest. In a vital game against the high-flying Melbourne Heart they came home strongly to draw a game that they should have won. No surprise that they came home strongly in the final 20 minutes when the fans started signing.
Make no mistake, this is a club in turmoil. If fans don't support their club, even in dire times then the club is doomed. The A-League cannot afford to financially support multiple teams but equally, cannot afford to keep losing teams from the national competition.
What do you think? What were your weekend's Good, the Bad and the Downright Ugly?
