Peter Funnell caught up with Canberra United's new Coach Ray Junna.
Where else would you get such a lengthy interview on local football in Canberra?
Got to love volunteers in this city; And it's a great interview.
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Emily van Egmond, Overseas players signed up, pathway and training schedule for the team and just how hard is it to be a United player? It's tough and the details are all here.
Big Bob Malcolm, Scottish, has pushed Aussie Luke DeVere out of Centre-Back for Brisbane. Why? He hasn't improved the leaking Roar defence has he?
Was young Aussie Luke so poor last year when The Roar did so well.
And the embarrasingly fat Charlie Miller takes much of young Mitch Nicholls game time.
Miller has skill, did he even train over the pre-seaon, but Nicholls also has skill and Nicholls can run.
Australia should not bring in overweight, foreigners, particularly when they replace our young local lads.
Get rid of them and give our young blokes a go. Especially those young guys who have already proved themselves at this level.
Mark Viduka one of Australia's greatest sportsmen is in danger of leaving the game with a stain around his image.
If he's retired from professional football, club football fair enough. But when he decided or if he has decided to step down finally from the National team the country deserves better. We deserve to know.
If Ricky Ponting left us lingering or Shane Warne we'd be screaming for an answer. Viduka is as important to Aussie sport as either of those guys.
He lead the line of our National team for years, got us to the World Cup and helped us through the group, he used to turn up when Harry often felt injured. He turned Croatia down when Australia called, and don't underestimate that issue for "The Duke."
He's done us proud but he should leave the National Team with the same dignity, or indeed in form us of his other plans.
The nation needs to know, so come on big man...who the hell is advising you or can't you hear him above the waves on your boat?
How many full-time staff does your junior club have?
Struggling for volunteers? Does the model for your club work? Is it going to be sustainable in the future?
Ever noticed how the Canberra football communiy, all 20,000 players, has no place in our community.
One Club in Australia has eighty full-time staff, so why does your club have NONE? What are we doing so wrong in Canberra, and maybe elsewhere across the country. And will your club be in the same boat in the next 10 years. Probably! Read on.
About Vikings Futsal
Vikings Futsal began in 1992, when a meeting of the Logan City Futsal Club decided to call their national league team the Logan City Vikings. Today Vikings are at the forefront of futsal management and development. Vikings operate around 200 clubs, with another 30 affiliated across Australasia, have 80 full-time and 150 part-time staff. It also has affiliates in Brazil, Chile, USA, China, UK and the Philippines. Vikings is a not for profit association. Our mission is to develop futsal as a sport in its own right, not as a form of training for alternative sports.
The next time someone in Canberra tells you we've a huge junior base with 20,000 kids/registrations tell them they are dreaming, same goes for 260,000 registrations across NSW or the paltry 50,000 in Victoria.
What we have is a lot of people playing independently in their own clubs, maximum community in Canberra is Woden Valley 1800. Not such a big community is it?
Because until you can show a sponsor we have the contact details, emails and mobile phones for 20,000 registered players, until you can communicate directly with those kids to tell them the A-League is in town or their season is about to start..you have nothing do you.
That's where Australian football has to go to grow the game. Communicate with the masses, the grassroots and you have a chance to grow. We don't have free-to-air so we need to look at other sources..should have done it ten years ago..but better late than never.
Football Federation Australia has delayed making a final decision about a potential 12th A-League club following the national governing body’s board meeting last night.
FFA's board met to decide on the fate of a 12th potential A-League team. However, the decision to defer was taken to allow bidders more time to work on "...matters relevant to their individual applications".
The next board meeting will be in October but that does not preclude an earlier decision if possible, we understand.
Yellow cards: Ben KANTAROVSKI 5’, Sasho PETROVSKI 23’, Fabio VIGNAROLI 30’, Sean ROONEY 45’ +1, Ljubo MILICEVIC 45’
In the first half five Jets players were booked. Look at the type of players who were getting booked.
Not a Danny Tiatto in sight.
So Branko why are five of your most talented players getting booked?...and all in the first half? What would Sir Les and Fozzie say?
Round Three saw the top six in the A-League now decided.
Yes I know we've got a few weeks to go but it looks sorted to me.
Well is Branko really going to sort that talented mob out, will Frankie survive the season, and Perth despite their win are too slow in the forward line to threaten aren't they, unless they can nick an improved Wellington's place, which leaves the Fury..they are still with us right?
Gold Coast, Adelaide United, Sydney FC, Central Coast, Wellington and Melbourne will fight it out for the top six positions at season end. Who would disagree?
This weekend we saw the Glory winning at home, Gold Coast telling us what we already thought, the supposedly new improved Sydney unable to beat the Mariners, Wellington raising their game late-on again, most un-Kiwi like isn't it, Victory back to the future; oh and Frank Farina with a team in a heap.
Perth Glory lacked attacking pace early but showed enough at home to suggest over the ninety they'll get better. Mile Sterjovski came to life. Why does it take these star players so long?
Brank Culina is capable it seems of turning a football flowing Newcastle into a bottom four rabble. Still not much signs of life, despite the talent on the park.
Sydney fans were over-impressed by their first victories even if one was against Adelaide, but a team which has Terry McFlynn and nice touches sometimes Karol Kisel in the centre are never going to completely dominate anyone are they?
Jason Culina v Terry McFlynn? Nice one!
Melbourne played the same. Boot it long to Archie and he'll score sometimes. He did.
Fury flustered but can only improve at home, maybe, and Gold Coast are flying.
Great to watch in a good game on Friday night. United's non-scoring forward Joel Porter, and team-mates Jason Culina, Adam Traore all caught the eye, not to mention their bench. Do we have a Salary Cap in this league?
Scott Jamieson was badly shown up again when attacked and that's a worry..for his career progressing as a full-back. I think he's better when the other teams have no right-sided attacker. Note to A-League clubs.
And of course I must mention Adelaide. A limp threat with one forward. But wait. Insoeb Shin did more in an attacking sense in fifteen minutes than most A-League players have done in 5 years, and Lloyd Owusu won a header.
That was the first header Adelaide has won in the attacking third since Bruce Djite left.
Paul Agostino, and Cristiano have won nothing in the air and if they did ( I don't think they did) who would have benefited; not Adelaide, they have no other forwards.
Owusu chased a ball down which must have left United fans wondering what he was doing. Agostino didn't do that either did he?
So Adelaide can add something more to their attack. They should improve.
For now The Roar are in a mess, Gold Coast are the team to beat, and Leo Bertos outshone Tommy Oar, Henrique, the kicking Robbie Kruse (how was he not sent-off) and all the rest of the creative Brisbane talent pool. And not many in the crowd either was there?
Next week Jets take on the Gold Coast...hmmn why am I always watching the Gold Coast.
If it's not Pete FitzSimons writing rubbish about Union and having a dig at football, (why do journos in this country feel the need) in the Sydney Morning Herald every week, we now have Phil Gould trying to tell us that Jarryd Haynes is the greatest footballer in any code in Australia.
Phil wrote this in his article on Rugby League in the Sun Herald today.
RIGHT at this moment, Jarryd Hayne is the best player in any code of football in Australia.
He is without doubt the most dominant rugby league player in the world.
Agents? So that's why they do it.
Pitch Invasion ran this story today:
Here are the totals paid to agents for each division in 2008/9, with the approximate Aussie dollar figures in brackets.
Championship
Total amount paid to agents: £7,541,379 ($18,302,060)
Average agent fee per transaction: £53,108 ($106,744)
League One
Total amount paid to agents: £1,078,955 ($2,100,337)
Average agent fee per transaction: £17,402 ($34,349)
League Two
Total amount paid to agents: £189,167 ($447,686)
Average agent fee per transaction: £4,203 ($9,992)
Thats the difference between the best supporters in the land, Melbourne Victory
(18,000 at two games) and yes you guessed it the fickle ones Sydney FC (15,000)
Not that much is it.
Adelaide v Gold Coast United, Friday night.
Should be a cracker and a great test for both teams.
I'm expecting a fast-paced game with the Gold Coast forced onto the back foot in front of the Hindmarsh faithful.
But will Jason Culina, Shane Smeltz and Joel Porter pounce again. Or will Lloyd Owusu make his debut; he's in the squad and we may see a change in the United attacking line-up...but then again we may not!
Reckon it will be the game of the round, don't miss it!
Not bad, not bad. Australia's only national football fanzine has clearly met the need of the sporting public.
Football fans love something a bit more irreverant, maybe better written, more opinionated than you find in the normal Aussie media. SBS, SMH have constraints of space and etiquette I guess. A fanzine less so.
We've had over 5,000 Readers so far for the first edition, over 40,000 page views and a plug on Fox Sports website from Australia's Number One Commentator Simon Hill.
We welcome any ideas to improve Half-Time Heroes and indeed anyone who would like ot get involved in anyway. Website design or any other ideas you may have.
Clearly we're here to stay.
One of Australia's greatest ever players needs to tell us if:
He's retired.
He'll play for Australia again.
He's starting to annoy me. What is going on Big Man. Aussie Football Fans deserve to know. We've supported you through thick and less thick.
And we need to know so we can buy the Kennedy Australia shirt for Christmas or keep yours.
His Agent needs to write a better finale, because this one has disaster written all over it at the moment, for club and country.
Scott McDonald clearly plays for a better team than Tim Cahill.
Although Celtic lost to Arsenal 2-0 last night, Cahill's mob got hammered 6-1 on Saturday. With the Celtic budget around a couple of Everton players, the cheaper ones, we probably did pretty well.
For me, I didn't watch the game. Watching teams with no budget take on the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd over two legs is hardly an interesting contest is it, unless you are an Arsenal or United fan I guess.
Celtic would have a chance in a one-off game, even with our comparatively limited funds, but these two legs and group stages have made the Champions League a very tedious competition until the semi-finals in my view.
The format needs to be changed.
Champions League or English football, there's only about four teams with any real hope and all the new Chelsea, United and Arsenal fans can enjoy their weekly EPL victories over the likes of Hull, Birmingham and Everton. Really couldn't be much duller or less predictable could it?
Give me the A-League where every team, well almost every team, has a chance. That's a real challenge for the Coaches and the fans and that's how I like my football.
Monday 24th of August.
The most important day in Canberra football history for sometime.
Will the FFA grant Canberra a licence at the highest football table in the country and indeed across Asia.
I think Canberra and West Sydney will both be given a provisional licence with the need to convince the FFA of their finances and other items by November.
But then I think Celtic are the greatest side in the World.
Given the stunning success of Half-Time Heroes we're heading to a new permanent website. If you have the skills and can design such a thing, for free, or minimal cost, go for it!
With an International audience it would be a great way to highlight your skills.
flanagan.eamonn@gmail.com if you can help.
The HP system is back on in Canberra, check www.capitalfootball.com.au and the program is North and South for 20 boys and 20 girls in both locations; so good things come to those who wait.
There is a cost, it's not insignificant, but it's a big step in a new direction and would seem to be big vote winner from the grassroots community.
Now of course it must be professionally delivered with quality coaching, expertise and professionalism.
All the A-League news, Socceroos opinions and more. Australia's greatest ever football podcast!
National Show
Peter Funnell talks to Warren Grieve football West High Performance Officer. With all that is happening locally in Canberra and across Australia this is well worth a listen. You may have seen Warren's team at the National Champs, you know the team that played football from the back.
Local Nearpost
Football NSW Launches ‘Project 22’
Free to all selected players, this highly professional development setup allows players to train up to five (5) times a week – for 40 weeks of the year – with highly experienced and qualified instructors.
Now we all know Pim Verbeek is worried about his Aussie boys returning home to the A-League, and probably no-one concerns him more than ever-present Socceroo Jason Culina.
Great player, who Robbie Slater praises before he even plays a pass, but are Culina's standards already slipping?
A few showpony touches with the score at 1-0 in the Fury game on the weekend suggests this whole A-League thing has finally attracted a professional player who finds the games too easy.
From PSV to A-League is perhaps the biggest drop in standard any returning Socceroos or imported player has made.
So although fans, like me, will love Culina's showboating, he never does it for the Socceroos, or PSV, and one wonders if this is the beginning of what Verbeek is talking about.
Will Culina's standards slip. I think they are already.
Gold Coast stomped their rich footprint all over the A-League with a 5-0 home win, Wellington beat Perth in front of a healthy 10,000 crowd, Melbourne came back from 3-1 to draw 3-3 with Brisbane and the F3 Derby saw the Jets draw 1-1 with the Mariners.
Sydney had a tough test against a fit, tactically sound Adelaide United.
Despite some errors from Karol Kisel and Terry McFlynn in midfield throughout the game Sydney remained strong and won the game through substitute's Mark Bridge wonderful link play with Alex Brosque.
Korean import full-back Byun Sung-Hwan impressed again, quickly becoming a crowd favourite, but once again it was Kofi Danning who took the eye.
Up against the uncompromising Scott Jamison Danning was tested early, but the longer the game went the young star just got better and better. Another test passed for the young star.
Wonderful stuff.
And with Mark Bridge, Mitchell Prentice, Adam Casey, Brendan Gan, Rhyan Grant, Stuart Musialik among those fighting for a starting birth, seems like Sydney might have a bit more fight in them this season. Early days.
Well what does Shane Smeltz have to do to be man-of-the-match?
Scores 4 and Porter gets the award!!
And was it a goal for every thousand fans!
The Fury got 8,900 on debut, Gold Coast with Jason Culina and all the hype for 7,000 on home debut.
Oh dear oh dear. Canberra would beat both crowds on debut no problem but how is it possible for the Gold Coast to get such a poor crowd.
Imagine if Robbie Fowler hadn't attracted 3,000 and Jason Culina the other 4,000.
Still the football was great and that's what counts long-term.
I've never written to the Capital Football Board before, never felt the need or desire but the current debacle over "our" High Performance programs and it's ability to provide opportunities for a much broader and younger football base, boys/girls, is such a positive move that something must be done. And now.
Who are on the Board?
Alan Bradbury, Peter Maybury, Kim Chapman, Fethon Illeris, Stephanie Issaacson, Rachel Harrigan and John Logue (President)
The Board cannot throw this opportunity for our young players away, at least we deserve some communication and quick.
And secondly they should endorse John Mitchell's ANU outfit and encourage them, promote them and ensure they get as many Youth League games as possible in the coming months. And scrap the Youth Rockets...it's been tried and failed.
See my letter below and feel free to add comments.
When you hear of Simon Hill and Robbie Slater jetting off to Thailand, Uzbekistan, South Africa and even Ireland (were they in Ireland?) the world is now really full of opportunities for those in the Australia media football game.
SMH Seb Hassett was recently in South Africa, and many other football journalists get to go hither and thither from time to time.
Even little old me got to go to the Asia Cup, Bangkok, just 3 months after starting to write about football on my blog.
Spare a thought for the AFL mediahounds. They have heaps of chance to write, pages and pages to fill. But they never get to go anywhere.
After the initial buzz of covering North Melbourne away to say West Coast...they soon dream of covering title chasing St Kilda or attending the Anzac game over and over.
Now that's a great thing but surely after doing that for five years you'd like to be able to get your passport out just once, to go somewhere, anywhere, wouldn't you. Or is your career over before it started. Go the Sainters!
Oh well just a thought!
Due to the increasing abuse of my goodself and others, by AnonyMOUSE, I deleted all comment capabilities.
However comments are now back. But before the abusers dash to their keyboard..please note..all ANONYMOUS posters, good or bad will be blocked.
Why?
Because despite what some think I couldn't careless if you read my blog or not!
And I'm sick of waking up to abusive posts about individuals in the Canberra region.
Besides how can you abuse me when my posts are always well thought out, excellently crafted, and highly intelligent insights on the world of football.
So if I upset you in the name of World Peace or should that be pieces, a big Greg Inglis/Barry Hall to you ..and my advice is don't read this blog. Simple!
When the beautiful Arsenal with Ces Fabregas running the Wenger show come to Scott McDonald's Celtic Park next week, Fozzie will want to see the style, the flowing football and the result to match. ie Arsenal must win.
The 60,000 Celtic fans who will be watching their team assembled at around the price of a Theo Walcott will want to see Celtic win. Simple game innit.
Fozzie if you don't understand that, you don't understand football!
Pim put out a third rank team for the Asian Cup game in Canberra recently. Insulted Archie Thompson prior to the game, and you have to wonder at Verbeek's motives.
The team that took the field against Ireland, a friendly on a FIFA date, had Jade North flying in from Asia and all basis covered.
Does Pim care about the Asia Cup or will he walk after the World Cup when his price will be highest?
Why did he select a third rank Asia Cup team v Kuwait, rumours abound that he didn't realise the Asia Cup were part of his contract. Hard to believe.
His third ranked team still rankles with this Canberran and why you would select such an inexperience side, particularly when he is so cautious in ever other respect.
Was he trying to show us all that the A-League players aren't good enough?
Was he showing the Aussie press why he picks who he does?
Either way he'd better lift his game. The World Cup is great but once that is over we better have qualified for the Asian Cup or he should be lynched!
By me and my Canberra mates
Listened to the boys on Fox talking up the quality of the Irish team the other night.
I was thinking do they know anything about the Irish team?
Yes the Irish did a job on Italy recently getting a famous 1-1 win. I know it's a draw but in Ireland 1-1 has become a win.
But none of the Irish play outside of England, or Scotland play at a high or technical level other than maybe Robbie Keane and Aidan McGeady.
And the likes of Luke Wikshire, Mile Jedinak, Harry Kewell, Scott McDonald, Jade North, Nikita Rukavystya, Mark Schwarzer, Tim Cahill and co would match up very favourably, individually, against the Irish, and all are getting or have experience in leagues that play something other than English ping pong, or are at the top of the English game.
Even Scott McDonald gets regular European battles outside of Scotland.
And surprise surprise Australia thumped Ireland. A disciplined approach, a settle pattern and a nice bit of football to boot.
We only get to play in Asia. Well let's just say playing the second tier in Europe isn't such a challenge is it.
Most of the Irish play in England and it showed didn't it. South Korea and the Dutch to come; now those should test us.
http://www.capitalfootball.com.au/site/performance.php
Surprise surprise! Football pathways stumble on! You couldn't make this up could you!
Development programs for our kids advertised, over 500 kids registered, and now they are on hold...well Capital Football Board sorted that one very nicely didn't they.
What a shemozzle.
Sack the Board, Sack the Board, Sack the Board oh well only joking...........but I think the football community deserves a better explanation than the few lines buried somewhere on the website.
We deserve more.....and quick.
Adam Griffiths is reputed to be heading to the Gold Coast.
Transfer fee: $1.4 million
Nice bit of business for Australian football, for the Gold Coast and of course his Agent.
Ned Zelic is in Canberra looking at what he describes as a largely untapped talent pool of juniors see the Offsider at www.capitalfootball.com.au
Nicky Carle went for $600,000 plus $20% from any other transfer fees back to Newcastle and he's had a few, now Adam Griffiths and don't forget Bruce Djite, James Holland and the rest.
So Canberra A-League.
Kofi Danning will move for $500,000 won't he? And a 20% on sale fee could reap a million every three years for a Canberra club if he'd started here. Stephen Lustica, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Chris Bush, Adam Casey, Sam Munro, Kaz Patafta all have potential to be sold on to Europe or perhaps more realistically Asia.
We wouldn't want to lose our local boys but the revenue stream could be as much as $1million on average per year.
We have a huge talent pool in the region, still under-developed. We need an A-League team to reap the benefits or see Sydney FC and the like reap the benefits of Kofi and others.
Now that's just mad isn't it?
Aaron Walker, Eamonn (me) and Paddy Bordier discuss A-League crowds, the Gold Coast, Pim's Socceroos squad, and our differing views on our Young Matildas and keep you up-to-date with the key football news in Australia.
Haven't got Fox? Where better to get your Aussie football news on the radio.
Download
Locally Peter Funnell has all the issues and the big local interviews. Don't miss an episode. And this is the best and only guaranteed place to get the local podcast as Capital Football rarely put them up. Why? I've no idea!
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Now most Canberrans love nothing more than sitting and having a coffee. In their spare time, or even in their work time
First we nipped out for a fag now it's for a coffee, anything to get out of the office.
So having visited the wonderful new facility at Hawker I wondered when we will see the off-field match the on-field.
Currently some dingy little hole in the wall constitutes a cafe at Hawker.
So with many many hours of football to be played over the year from kids, training, and senior games where's the plan.
Chuck a modern state-of-the-art cafe come club room on top of the current changing rooms. With huge viewing windows.
Get the best coffee in town and when our little darlings run out for their training sessions etc football can suddenly become a more enjoyable experience for our parents.
Time to take football hospitality into the 21st century and make a bit of cash for the future isn't it? And why not set up a football shop at the centre, selling all our clubs gear, boots, balls you name and corner the market.
Isn't it about time football did this, made money to plough back into our game, for our game. If Capital Football Board don't want it, the A-League4Canberra will take it..thankyou very much. It's called business and they'll clearly have the nous that Capital Football Board seemingly lack.
Or will Capital Football Board never have any idea as to how they can make money and grow our game, or will they always merely beg for Government handouts.
Don't get me started on the revenue from a 24 hour Futsal centre with money pouring into Football, instead of the local Netball centre.
As one Board Member told me, " We don't want to do anything like that." God help us!
Where will we be in another 20 years? Still scratching around for dollars or have an infrastructure to be proud of.
Capital Football Board: Love to hear your vision.
The cartoon has obviously offended some people with it's use of profanity.
So apologies for that, and should you go to the link and you are Under 18 be sure and ask your parents.
Go straight to the humour in the latest edition. Wayne Snowden is the cartoonist, every football fan will love him I reckon.
So Jade North and his Asian mates couldn't fly in for an Asian Cup Qualifier v Kuwait in Canberra in March, and Australia lost as a result.
But he can head to Limerick.
And anyone knows there are no direct flights to Ireland from Korea or any other Asian city. Everyone has to fly through Heathrow or Europe, and then travel down fron Dublin to Limerick.
So not an easy place to get to.
But why Pim wouldn't bring back our Asiaroos for the Kuwait game, a game that mattered, but will now take them half-way across the World for some friendly in Europe's most Western country, Ireland.
Aussie Agents up to their neck in it?
You can almost smell the greed of the Aussie Agent. An Agent who seals the deal for the likes of Brendan Santalab to get a gig in the A-League only to work his socks off to move him and any of his other players as quickly as possible to North Asia, the Middle East or even Europe.
If Brendan Santalab can leave for China before he kicks a ball for the Fury and let's face it he must have a great Agent, and Adam Griffith is in the Middle East as we speak after just one game for the Gold Coast, then you wonder if he has the same Agent.
Or if all Agents in Australia are the same. Could not careless about the local game.
Why is Griffith there? $900,000 a year compared to $300,000 apparently!
So who are the next five to be whisked before the end of August?
Jason Culina, Carlos Hernandez, Jacob Burns, Diego, and Robbie Fowler?
Closely followed by Kofi Danning, Ben Kantarovski, Mitch Nichols, Sean Rooney and Jason Hoffman after the Under 20 World Cup..maybe. Watch the Agents circle that tournament.
Aussie football Agents are doing the right thing by their players, getting the best amount of money for them as quickly as possible even if they have just signed a three-year deal, but really it makes you sick dunnit.
Are the Aussie Agents the only football people in Australia who could not give a toss about the local game, the local product?
Did Charlie Miller do any pre-season training? I mean any!
And if so why does he look exactly the same as year. Maybe even fatter. He should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
I hope Mitch Nichols keeps Charlie Tim Tam, who is listed at 67kg compared to Mitch's 75kg's in the FFA Media handbook, out of the ball game.
Canberra Youth Football: A chink of light remains;
Anyone who has followed this blog will know that I'm not impressed with the lack of high level football for boys/men in this town.
And with the National Youth League up and running nothing has been organised, supported or encouraged it seems by Capital Football. Not the Canberra FC proposal, not the ANU option, or indeed the their own Youth Rockets, who let's face it two games a year is not a programme.
I said that last year, I say it again this year.
Now Capital Football clearly can't run a Youth team at the level required, and they've enough to do with Canberra United, and Futsal, Development programs etc etc, so why not outsource it to those who can, and fast.
And promote it; all junior footballers and parents in Canberra should realise that their is a pathway of sorts. Our boys can get to showcase themselves in the National Youth Team window, even if it's only occasionally.
It shouldn't be left to some ad-hoc blogger to promote it....should it?
Melbourne fans have been publishing a fanzine for a while and they are now joined by the Adelaide fans.
Bill Skinner has got the Pissants organised and take a look at the first one. Some good stuff in there, particularly like the oomour...our game needs more of it methinks.
Gold Coast United has lifted the bar for domestic football in Australia.
Jason Culina, Joel Porter, Shane Smeltz, Robson, Bas Van Den Brink all lit up the Brisbane night with intelligent, skilful football. 3-1 to United. Great for the A-League, great for football fans everywhere.
Joel Porter particularly caught my eye. Strong, great vision on the ball and perhaps better than Shane Smeltz! As expected Jason Culina did not disappoint. And notched a beautiful team goal.
For the Roar: Scottish veteran Bob Malcolm over Luke De Vere in the central defence? Any improvement on our young Aussie? I think not.
Robbie Kruse is out of sorts, and Mitch Nichols was still the best of an uncreative bunch.
In Townsville:
Would Canberra get more than 8,900 for their first A-League game, especially if we drew Sydney and had a Robbie Fowler name on the team sheet. Of course we would.
And with that crowd you'd have to ask why Townsville got the nod and is it sustainable.
Loved David Williams, the Japanese defender Kaijiro Kiamoto and not much else other than a spirited fightback from the Fury. Although one suspects this says more about Sydney's lack of quality, again, then the Fury.
But Canberra junior Kofi Danning stole the show. Another gem of a performance, another goal, and it was a cracker.
In Adelaide Joe Costas, 17, very interesting to see him take the field and Aurelio Vidmar noted his team were very fit.
It showed.
With an improved Perth, still lacking forward pace it has to be said, Melbourne and Central Coast look like yesterday's men. Ernie Merrick lift your game!
And still Ljubo Milicevic to come.
"Who's that," said the young girl watching the team in Australian colours fighting the team in Chinese colours on the telly.
"That's the Matildas," replied the Mum.
Well I saw my friend Tom Sermanni defending the Young Matildas and I know some of the shenanigans that have gone on in games against the Chinese and North Koreans in the past but what the team did in response to a player allegedly being tripped, debatable from the footage in my opinion, what the player and team did is....
a disgrace.
No if's, no buts.
I'm sure there will be howls from those in the know, about how they were treated by the other teams, the other fans, even the referee. But it don't make it right does it?
Not for Australian national teams.
What provcation on a sporting field leads to this sort of rubbish. It might be acceptable to Australians in State Of Origin or AFL but in my view football, men and women's doesn't need it. Not at a National level of Division 9 level.
Our leaders have to balance between building team unity, support etc and out and out thuggery.
One Australian girl had her eyes opened that night.
And it was noted we lost the game!
Or that should read magnificent Tony Tannous from the Half-Time Heroes.
Was he the only football writer in the country to have any real analysis of the opening game?
He picked the Jedinak factor as being important, no surprise their but unlike any other football analyser in the mainstream media he solved the problem, or least found out the solution from the man who knew, Laurie McKinna.
And McKinna out thought Ernie Merrick, but clearly even I could have, given the dreadful Victory line-up and the same old, same old tactics for about five years from Melbourne.
Of course a Melbourne team with Grant Brebner, Leigh Broxham and surely in Evan Berger the most useless left-footed crosser in the country, although I'll wait to see Stefan Stefanutto, meant McKinna must have been laughing his head off.
No width or Berger gave them plenty but he clearly spent no time practicing crossing in the off-season. Is it possible to play left-sided with a left foot and produce that sort of cross time and time again?
And what nob let anyone other than Carlos Hernandez take the corners and free-kicks. Late on Hernandez drove one into the box but before them Broxham seemed determined to match his mate Berger.
Ped Bojic replaced Jedinak, as Tony Tannous predicted and clearly in an away game he is a solution of sorts. Still not much football from the Mariners but a win's a win and something to build on.
As for Melbourne, we've watch Carlos and Archie for years it seems. Any Coach knows how they play and who they play with. A midfield that cries out for something more, a defence not worthy of winning anything, and Kevin Muscat already showing his age as he came off early.
Time to change the style Melbourne, we've seen it all before. Even Laurie can out think you! For Melbourne it may already be too late.
When Celtic lost 1-0 to Luke Wilkshire's Dinamo Moscow this Celtic fan groaned. Out of the Champions League in July.
54,000 saw the first leg in Glasgow. In July for God sake, you don't play football in July in Glasgow, it's 13 degrees, it never gets dark and the Scots are all on their two weeks holidays.
But behold the Hoops. Aussie Scott McDonald nabbed the first in Moscow and then George Samaras got the second in the last minute. The last minute!
Celtic won 2-0, Aussie Scot now goes into the final Champions League Qualifying round where we may face Arsenal or Fiorentina or the like to get to the group stages,
Bring it on! Sorry Luke! Now back to the A-League.
So this is the best season ever? Well how come Fox Sports presented a show designed from 1967.
Get six talking heads,
Australia's football season kicks-off on Thursday and to celebrate 25 writers with a love of the game have let their fingers do the talking and drawing.
Something for everyone, men, women, boys and girls. Get into it, anyway you can.
And send the link to your mates. Thanks. (issuu site is down this morning, typical so if you can't see the pages below that is why)
You can click to the right or the left of the page to see the pages flick over, or click in the document to zoom in.
National Download: Bernie Lustica, Lucy Zelic and Aaron Walker talk A-League, Young Matildas and more.
What are the Gold Coast up to? Why the Young Matildas loss is so disastrous and all the previews of the coming games.
Local Download: Peter Funnell catches up with Tuggies United Tech Director Eugene Lawrenz
Well this has really got the locals talking. And thank god for the Nearpost; always got a solution and right now that's just what we need.
And in blogland solutions are easy.
Sign-ups for Capital Football High Performance Talent Ientification Program in Canberra have been taken down.
Which either means:
They are full...unlikely.
The Board has put a stop to it. Embarassing for them to be in direct opposition to the FFA. Better have a good reason if this is the case, not to me, to the FFA.
Capital Football has been unable to get enough Coaches.
We have no Talent in Canberra so it's not needed.
or some other explanation that I haven't thought of yet. What have you heard? Someone must know.
