Sydney FC: Another case of bad management?

So Sydney FC's Alvin Ceccoli had to go. A dispute with Coach Terry Butcher and he was gone. To Japan, to play under former Coach Pierre Littbarski.

He scored the odd goal, always attacked but his days were numbered once he told the Butcher to eff off or the equivalent in front of the cameras.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley. An AIS graduate and Olyroo. He joined Sydney last year from Manley United and didn't he do well.

Oh he had his critics but he played in nearly all A-League games, and in Sydney's impressive Asian Champions League campaign.

He could play centre-back or left back and was young. Surely a player who could only improve with more football at this level.

He went to Perth Glory, but not before new Coach Branko Culina used him in Asia even though he signed with another club. He knew the value of Nikolai.

And so Sydney bereft of left sided defenders scrambled for an Indonesian who they couldn't afford and settled on Tony Popovic

A player so desperate to help out in the new league, he stopped off in Qatar for a year on the way home from England.

And how interesting it was, to me, anyway to see Sydney's first goal been conceded from a Clint Bolton throw to a sleeping left-back and a centre back not wuite fit enough yet to close Sasho Petrovski down.

Would Nikolai Topor-Stanley have been asleep or not fit?

Ruben Zadkovich kicked the ball so high for Adelaide's second goal Topor-Stanley could have seen it down in Melbourne where he was warming up for The Glory.

And didn't he warm up well.

His motto for the night was thou shall not pass and they didn't. Danny Allsopp tried and tried but Topor-Stanley ate him every time.

He even got forward to cross and add value to the attack on many occasions.

Meanwhile Tony Popovic was so outpaced by Bruce Djite in Sydney it was laughable. So much so that 33 year old Steve Corica had to get back and cover. Either Djite wasn't that fast or Corica is on drugs. Either way what does it say about Poppa? Ok, he may have got injured but he has not inspired,captaincy or no captaincy, in his first two games.

So Sydney FC has stuffed up again, if you ask me.

How much would it have taken to keep Topor-Stanley? How much are they paying Poppa? The long term value is in current Olyroo Topor-Stanley. And if he moves overseas as he will, Sydney would have got a transfer fee. To get an improving 23 year old Olyroo and let them go presumably because they couldn't afford him makes no sense.

Not when you have to replace him with an ageing Poppa.

Who would you prefer? Fire away.