By Paul Frederickson
THE GOOD
Nineteen years ago a plane crash killed 18 members of the Zambia football squad in Libreville. This weekend the Chipolopolo returned to the Gabon capital to capture the African Cup of Nations. In an enthralling match that saw the highly fancied Ivory Coast national team miss a penalty in normal time through start player Didier Drogba, the Chipolopolo won an emotional final 8-7 earlier this morning. The population of 13 million and their un-fancied heroes will celebrate this enormous achievement for many years to come.
Honorable mention: Tottenham Hotspur have all but sealed a spot in next year's Champion's League with a 5-nil demolition of the high-flying Newcastle United.
THE BAD
This could feature in the bad and ugly section and it seems to be a contender on a weekly basis but the racial allegations and findings in British football continue to capture headlines. Fabio Capello stood down as the manager of the English team after feeling he wasn't consulted by the English FA over the sacking of John Terry as England captain for the second time. To compound the racial tensions Luis Suarez didn't shake Patrice Evra's hand in the blockbuster between Manchester United and Liverpool on the weekend. People need to stop using ignorance and immaturity as an excuse and own up top their shortcomings and prejudice. It seems to have influenced junior ranks with an Aston Villa mascot not shaking the hand of a fellow Manchester City mascot. Won't somebody think of the children?
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
Gold Coast United have played far better this season than their last place position in the Australian professional football league, the A-League would suggest. The downside for the young squad is the non-attendance at home games of Gold Coast residents. Yesterday, against Adelaide United, the crowd was just over 1700 people. The writing is not on the walls, it is written in the vast expanses of empty seats for home matches. The club has tried very hard to engage the community in recent times but has alienated their strongest supporters such as 'The Beach' when they needed them the most. The 'Beach' supporters normally sit behind the goals in the tradition of famous supporter groups from around the world. This section of the ground had been closed for weeks to try and reduce costs and it greatly offended many of the club's staunchest supporters. Whilst it was open again yesterday the 'beach' looked it had been the victim of a shark attack. It is almost impossible to see how the club can survive, without benefactor Clive Palmer's money the club would stand no chance of continuing as a football entity. The Courier Mail reported tha Clive Palmer has set his sites on the club being more than a Gold Coast entity, "There have been suggestions that the poorly supported club will next season be renamed Queensland United and play home matches in Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and the Gold Coast." (1)
The A-League needs to make another difficult decision sooner rather than later. If you want a bit of peace and quiet, fancy wide-open spaces and love football, Skilled Stadium may be the place for you.
What do you think? What were your weekend's good, bad and the downright ugly?
(1) http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/gold-coast-united-owner-clive-palmer-has-no-plans-to-take-the-team-on-the-road-amid-speculation/story-e6frf4gl-1226268846001
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
MUFC The Dam in United We Stand
The January 2012 issue of UWS.
Click on the pics to enlarge them.
Heroes!
Click on the pics to enlarge them.
Heroes!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
What the FFA can learn from the Superbowl
By Paul Frederickson
As I watch a hilarious commercial for a new Sacha Cohen Baron movie in the first break of this year's Superbowl I can't help but think that the FFA have a free seminar on how to build our national league and the season ending grand final.
The NFL has two conference with internal divisions. The winners of each conference plays off in what we would consider the Grand Final, the Superbowl. With the distance and cost of travel for A-League teams the concept should be investigated by the FFA. Each team could play the teams in their own conference twice and then teams from outside of their conference once, thus saving the teams money as well as keeping the players fresh with less travel fatigue endured.
The NFL regular season coverage is split between different free-to-air stations and pay television providers depending on where the games are played. The Superbowl on the other hand is exclusive to free-to-air. This allows for the premier event on the NFL calendar to be seen by as many people as possible. Not only has the Superbowl grown the national game it has become an international game. This has brought unprecedented revenue to the NFL and their franchises. With the huge potential Asian audience for the A-League as well as a growing domestic audience free-to-air coverage of at least the grand final is a must.
The huge audience for the Superbowl, estimated at over 105 million people, is a massive incentive for advertisers. It is estimated that an Superbowl advertisement can cost $25,000 per second and approximately $3 million dollars per advertising segment. Whilst the A-League could never expect such numbers, a bigger Asian audience will broaden the potential advertisers and revenue streams beyond what is domestically available.
The Superbowl moniker was conceived in 1966 and in a relatively short period has become the mega-event that it is today. Initially conceived as the competition between the initial NFL and rival AFL the hyperbole from coaching luminaries including Vince Lombardi has built the event. Traditionalists may believe that the Premier's Plate decides the best team of the season but the Australian public lauds Grand Final winners. We should play the final game on a Saturday night with both contesting teams having a week off to allow for injuries to heal, players to freshen up and for the build up to encourage media participation and anticipation.
The A-League grand final may never meet the heights of the Superbowl but that is not to say that we shouldn't aim for the same high standards.
What are your thoughts on what the FFA can learn from the NFL?
As I watch a hilarious commercial for a new Sacha Cohen Baron movie in the first break of this year's Superbowl I can't help but think that the FFA have a free seminar on how to build our national league and the season ending grand final.
The NFL has two conference with internal divisions. The winners of each conference plays off in what we would consider the Grand Final, the Superbowl. With the distance and cost of travel for A-League teams the concept should be investigated by the FFA. Each team could play the teams in their own conference twice and then teams from outside of their conference once, thus saving the teams money as well as keeping the players fresh with less travel fatigue endured.
The NFL regular season coverage is split between different free-to-air stations and pay television providers depending on where the games are played. The Superbowl on the other hand is exclusive to free-to-air. This allows for the premier event on the NFL calendar to be seen by as many people as possible. Not only has the Superbowl grown the national game it has become an international game. This has brought unprecedented revenue to the NFL and their franchises. With the huge potential Asian audience for the A-League as well as a growing domestic audience free-to-air coverage of at least the grand final is a must.
The huge audience for the Superbowl, estimated at over 105 million people, is a massive incentive for advertisers. It is estimated that an Superbowl advertisement can cost $25,000 per second and approximately $3 million dollars per advertising segment. Whilst the A-League could never expect such numbers, a bigger Asian audience will broaden the potential advertisers and revenue streams beyond what is domestically available.
The Superbowl moniker was conceived in 1966 and in a relatively short period has become the mega-event that it is today. Initially conceived as the competition between the initial NFL and rival AFL the hyperbole from coaching luminaries including Vince Lombardi has built the event. Traditionalists may believe that the Premier's Plate decides the best team of the season but the Australian public lauds Grand Final winners. We should play the final game on a Saturday night with both contesting teams having a week off to allow for injuries to heal, players to freshen up and for the build up to encourage media participation and anticipation.
The A-League grand final may never meet the heights of the Superbowl but that is not to say that we shouldn't aim for the same high standards.
What are your thoughts on what the FFA can learn from the NFL?
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The Good, the Bad and the downright Ugly!
By Paul FredericksonMy local team, Brisbane Roar, returned to form with a 2-nil away win against the ladder topping Central Coast Mariners. Aston Villa meanwhile lose to Newcastle as is their want in recent seasons. Fully fired up from watching today's fantastic Superbowl here is this weekend's good, the bad and the downright ugly.
THE GOOD
Arsenal were lambasted at the start of the season when they were obliterated by Manchester United 8-2, since that time Arsenal have recovered to be on the verge of making the UEFA Champions League play-offs. The recovery has been highlighted by the weekend's sensational 7-1 against Blackburn, a team that only weeks ago beat Manchester 2-1 at Old Trafford. In Wenger we trust may all Arsenal fans say.
THE BAD
Rangers were arguably one of biggest clubs in terms of attendances, results and finances in the 1980's and early 90's. In a relatively short period of term one half of the Glasgow duopoly faces football obscurity. The size of their current debts have been speculated to be between $70-100 million dollars, this could expand even further when the results of an investigation by Scotland's taxation department, HM Revenue and Customs, concludes. The Scottish giants could receive a fine, immediately payable, of $30 to $40 million dollars. Whilst the debt would seem relatively small compared to what other European clubs have accrued, the debt is very large in the Scottish game where revenue streams are decreasing rapidly. The debt coupled with the meek surrendering of an 11 point early season league lead has the blue half of Glasgow very worried.
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
People should never go to a football match and not return home safely. Whilst the tragedy in Egypt did not occur over the weekend it had to be mentioned in this article. Approximately 74 people were killed and thousands injured after a game between the home team Al-Masri who beat the visiting Cairo team Al-Ahly 3-1. Security were amongst those killed, with many cameras as well as State television capturing the hours of madness in and outside the stadium. This was not football violence but the culmination of vast political disruptions, violence and dissent.The Muslim Brotherhood, which is one of Egypt’s biggest political parties, have since accused Mubarak supporters of instigating the violence. The football did not cause the violence, the violence was political in nature and the game was the powder keg used as the excuse to let it destroy people's lives irrevocably. As mentioned earlier, no one should go to a game of football and not come home.
**Please be aware that the following video does contain disturbing scenes of violence. Please consider before viewing the content**
What are your thoughts? What was your weekend's the good, the bad and the downright ugly?
Friday, February 3, 2012
The wins, the draws and losses for the 2011/12 season to date
By Paul Frederickson
With a third of the A-League season to go, how has your team fared to date? I've broken down each team's season as their wins, draws and losses.
ADELAIDE UNITED
WIN
The late inclusion of Adelaide United into this year's edition of the Asian Champions League has to be an exciting adventure for a team whose A-League season has almost sputtered to a stop. This is also an exciting time for the A-League gaining the hard fought-for third ACL spot.
DRAW
The signing of Dario Vidosic should have been a win but due to the poor form of the team and a suspected fracture to the lower back his marquee signing is yet to have met expectations.
LOSS
The season promised so much, with many people expecting Adelaide to end in the top three at season's end. Currently second last, and with the 'back to the future' re-signing of John Kosmina, the club is on the verge of slipping down the A-League ladder on a more permanent basis.
BRISBANE ROAR
WIN
An Australian footballing record of any of the professional football codes, thirty-six games unbeaten, had the Brisbane Roar and the A-League leading football stories across the country and internationally. Whilst the Brisbane Roar have struggled since that point the unbeaten streak is a momentous achievement in Australian sport.
DRAW
After the achievements of last season the Brisbane Roar lost a plethora of pivotal players headed by their club captain Matthew McKay after the Grand Final win. The replacements, in particular Besart Berisha, have highlighted Ange Postecoglou's astute recruiting eye. The ledger, at the moment, is slightly behind.
LOSS
The system that Brisbane wreaked upon the competition last season has also been its anchor this season. The Roar have seemed inflexible in their approach when circumstances in certain games may have required a change to the game plan. This has been illustrated in their six losses to date.
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS
WIN
The continued success of the Central Coast Mariners has culminated in an almost unstoppable self-belief. They sit atop the A-league ladder in an seemingly unassailable position. The Premier's Plate is theirs for the losing. Another ACL campaign would ensue and they also have this year's campaign to look forward to. Nothing but positives for the Mariners this season. They have been the most successful team, excluding finals, in the last two seasons of the A-League. If only they could have the last four minutes of the 2010/11 Grand Final back!
DRAW
The Central Coast Mariners are acknowledged as one of the hardest working teams in terms of community engagement. They are part of the fabric of Gosford but are finding it hard to increase their supporter base. This is vital for the long term stability and success of the club.
LOSS
Club striker and stalwart Matthew Simon has departed the Mariners for South Korean K-League club Chunnam Dragons. Loved by his own club, disliked by others he will be a big loss as the season closes and the finals begin. It is always hard to replace a big, solid and reliable front man part way through a season.
GOLD COAST UNITED
WIN
The development of young, local players, such as Ben Halloran and James Brown have been exciting for the Gold Coast team and supporters. It is arguably what the club should have done since its inception.
DRAW
The fact that the club is in its third season would be considered a win for their fans, but the continued speculation over their future tempers any excitement about the direction of the club.
LOSS
The abysmal crowds are handicapping the club, the league and Foxsports. The atmosphere is more akin to a funeral than a celebration of football at times. It is hard to see the crowds increasing for the foreseeable future.
MELBOURNE HEART
WIN
At this moment the Melbourne Heart are above their same town rivals Melbourne Victory, for many supporters this means that the season has already been a success. The Melbourne Heart have played a similar brand that was demonstrated by the Brisbane Roar in the previous season and the style of play should also a see the Heart play in their inaugural finals campaign.
DRAW
When there is an existing team in the same city it can be very hard to attract supporters to your new franchise. The Melbourne Heart have been able to build a supporter base but it has stalled in season two. The Heart will need to continue to engage their supporter base as well as trying to attract new supporters. This will be best achieved by providing a positive and consistent vision for what Heart encompasses as a club.
LOSS
Melbourne Heart’s manager John van’t Schip will be leaving the expansion franchise at the end of this season. This will leave a giant hole in the fabric of the club. It must be acknowledged that he has successfully built the club from the ground up and will be a hard man to replace.
MELBOURNE VICTORY
WIN
In the long post-season of 2010/11 Melbourne Victory went on an aggressive recruiting campaign which culminated in the protracted signing of Socceroos legend, Harry Kewell. The ability for the Melbourne Victory to sign big-name players to a custom built stadium with very good crowds will continue to be a win for the club.
DRAW
After such an exciting post/pre-season period the Melbourne Victory faithful would have been entitled to think that the club would be pushing for a top two finish. As we all know the club is struggling to make the finals, a task made very hard with only four wins in 19 games. Throughout the season the crowds, although lower by Victory's standards, have been the best of the competition.
LOSS
Besides the obviously disappointing season to date the loss has been the instability in Australia's biggest A-League club. Three managers in just over 14 months is too many for a club craving and expecting success. Pick your manager, believe in their vision, and stick with them.
NEWCASTLE JETS
WIN
The Newcastle Jets, through initiatives by owner Nathan Tinkler, have the best value memberships in the A-League. This is forward thinking and has seen Newcastle post respectable crowds in a difficult playing period for the club.
DRAW
With an unstable club roster the Newcastle Jets have performed above many pundit's expectations. The Newcastle Jets have the real possibility to play finals football this year if they can be more consistent. Gary Van Egmond knows the club and should go along way to providing the stability required.
LOSS
A club's reputation is not down to results alone. The sacking of Branko Cullina on the eve of the season, after attending the season launch was one of the lowest acts in Australian football. The subsequent legal action pending over insurance issues of Branko Cullina's son, Jason Cullina remains a sour note for the club.
PERTH GLORY
WIN
Perth Glory have had rosters that have underperformed over recent seasons. After starting well again this season the Glory went through another lean spell with one win from eleven games. There were numerous calls to sack the incumbent manager Ian Ferguson. Since that time, and with the faith of the Glory board, Perth Glory are challenging for 2nd. Stability in the line-up and with Ferguson finally settling on his tactics have brought renewed optimism to the Glory supporters. This is a great period for Perth glory in their 15th year as a football entity.
DRAW
Ferguson looked to be on shaky ground this season and must have been close to losing his job when the results mirrored those of previous seasons. Many questioned Ferguson's tactics. It is still questionable whether he has a clear direction for the playing style of the club, but no one can question their current form.
LOSS
The loss must be the continuing ownership saga at the club. Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has flipped and back flipped over whether he wants to remain at the helm of the club. No one can doubt the time, money and effort that he has put into the club but the uncertainty that still surrounds the clubs ownership structure must be resolved.
SYDNEY FC
WIN
Sydney for whatever reason have been known as A-League front-runners. When they are going well, they are going really well but when confronted by adversity during a match they have had the reputation of shirking from the challenge. This season they have had late wins and recently recovered from a 2 nil half-time deficit to draw 2-all with Melbourne Victory on Australia day. The former 'bling' team are starting to demonstrate some street-smarts and grit.
DRAW
Whilst Sydney's team and their marquee signing, Brett Emerton, are another team that hasn't lived up to their pre-season hype they are still in finals contention. There is still the chance that Sydney can obtain a coveted ACL spot.
LOSS
The end of season departure by mutual consent of current coach Vitezslav Lavicka highlights the lack of continuity at Sydney FC. Whilst the club has announced that their search for a new coach will be worldwide the high turnover of coaches at Sydney FC in their seven year existence would raise some concerns for anyone considering taking the job.
WELLINGTON PHOENIX
WIN
The current away form and highest ladder position, 2nd, at this time of the year must have been unimaginable for many Phoenix fans at the start of the season. In round one and two the Phoenix barely had enough players to fill the field, let alone the bench. Three away wins in a row demonstrate Wellington's new found strength and resilience.
DRAW
The current squad is playing arguably Wellington's best in their short history. This is in no doubt one of the team's great strengths but it could become their weakness in coming years. The loss of young players such as Rojas and Barbarouses in recent seasons may come back to haunt the club.
LOSS
Wellington Phoenix are in the unique position of playing in Australian federated competition but governed by New Zealand football. They are an Ocenia sanctioned team playing in an Asian Federation competition.They could conceivably finish in an ACL position that they cannot participate in. This would definitely put a dampener on their successful season to date.
What are your thoughts on your team's wins, draws and losses so far this season?
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Jesper Olsen on the wing
Ajax fans wishing the players good luck for the game at feyenoord, not that it helped much.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Why Brisbane Roar have come back to the pack
By Paul FredericksonEarly 2011 and Brisbane Roar win one of the most dramatic grand finals in Australian sporting history. Less than 12 months later and the Roar break the Australian football record going an amazing 36 games undefeated. One week later a 2-0 loss to Sydney FC at Kogarah Oval resulted in a run of games that has seen the Roar fall dramatically down the A-League ladder. Currently in 3rd spot trailing last year's runners up, Central Coast Mariners by a seemingly insurmountable 11 points, the Roar have a lot of work for the remaining third of the season. Have the Brisbane Roar truly fallen from grace and if so why?
It may seem simple to say, but the competition has improved to the point where even cellar dwellers Gold Coast United have played an attractive and at times unlucky brand of football. There are no matches that any team can take for granted as complacency in the A-League is a recipe for a loss. That is not to say that the Roar are complacent, quite the opposite, they are part of an extremely even 2011-12 playing field. A playing field that has improved in quality by the display that Brisbane demonstrated in throughout the previous season. The Roar have shown the competition a blueprint that has been eagerly taken up by most teams in the last few months.
Although the Roar have signed quality players this season, in particular Besart Berisha and Mohamed Adnan, the end of last season saw inspirational captain Matthew McKay and leading goalscorers Kosta Barbarouses and Jean Carlos Solorzano leave the club. The hole vacated by the captain, at least, has yet to be filled. His through balls, runs on and off the ball and leadership have been evident in their absence. As valiant a leader as Matt Smith is for the Roar, he is not the pivotal play maker that Matty McKay became for the Roar. A late January loan deal from Scottish giants Rangers, whilst unlikely, would be just the tonic and impetus that the Roar could use for the final third of the season.
Coinciding with the first loss and recent loss of form has been the injury to influential play maker Thomas Broich, quickly followed by a mid season injury to Henrique and then long term injury to super-substitute from last season, James Meyer. Their absence stifled the Roar's creativity and also the team's ability to provide overlapping options coming out of defence and midfield. These three players have now returned but struggled to combine as seen in the January 28, 1 nil loss at home to Newcastle Jets. A massive amount of usual possession with little penetration further illustrated the current loss of confidence and fluidity amongst the team at present. On the positive side these players are coming back at the right end of the season. Momentum is vital in a very competitive footballing competition.
The system that Ange Postecoglou has introduced to the club is a rigid series of triangles with timed interchange between the points of each triangle. It is more planned and systematic than it appears upon casual observation. The system relies entirely upon commitment to quick movement on and off the ball as well as honouring long and hard runs forward. The movement has definitely slowed down and at times the players at times are barely moving. This puts added pressure on the passing game of the Roar as the lack of movement means that players are often on the back foot in receiving the ball. Passing accuracy suffers because the angles and lack of movement are more easily intercepted. Quite simply, the ball movement and lack of desire to meet the ball makes the Roar easier to read. Furthmore, transfer of play from one wing to the other must be quick and non-transparent, the ball movement by the Brisbane Roar has lost it's pace in this endeavour. The opposition can slide across the park and react to the transfer of the ball in a much more predictable and economical factor, as such, the Roar's fitness plays less of a factor as the game progresses compared to the previous season.
The very system, and rigidity in adhering to the system that brought the team unprecedented success in the previous season has also handicapped the Brisbane Roar this season. They have become predictable and seem unwilling to try variation to this system. It could be argued that systems build a club's identity, and whilst this is true it is always combined with success built over many years. Nobody would talk about the Barca way if Barcelona weren't the successful entity that they are. People have talked about the lack of a plan B for the Brisbane Roar, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong. The plan to play the same way each week, when integral players to the system are missing is a very risky venture, evident in the Roar's six losses to date.
This is not to say that the season cannot be rectified, players are returning to the team, they still sit in third and have an exciting Asian Champion's League campaign ahead of them. Hard work, subtle variation in their game plan and a commitment to faster ball movement may yet see the Brisbane Roar lift the coveted toilet seat as reigning champions. This would be a remarkable achievement, the first by an A-League team in the competition's short and colorful history.
What are your thoughts on why the Brisbane Roar have come back to the A-League pack?
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