By Tom Wald
November 3rd 2009 @ 2:19am
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Roosters looking to get their coop in order
Todd Carney and the Sydney Roosters must be hoping the NRL club’s new slogan for the 2010 season of “New Attitude, New Beginning” stands up.
The Bondi Junction club is desperate to rebound from a shocking 2009 season plagued by embarrassing on-field performances that led to a wooden spoon finish and a litany of appalling off-field [...]
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![Many long time fans of the European game will remember Ruud Hesp as the Barcelona custodian during the Louis van Gaal era in the late 1990s, when the Dutchmen teamed-up to win back-to-back La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey.
Hesp also featured in the Dutch national squad in a couple of major championships, at [...] Tony Tannous: Ruud reality: Verbeek needs to scatter his square lines](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ruud-reality-pim-verbook-th.jpg)
![John Howard, chosen for the ICC Presidency in 2012, is not the first Prime Minister to be a cricket tragic. Sir Robert Menzies and Bob Hawke were among others.
Hawke was a promising cricketer who played at high grade levels in both Australia and England. He made headlines when playing for The Parliamentarians against The Press [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Howard not the only PM passionate about cricket](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/why-john-howard-league-th.jpg)
![Manchester City and Tottenham fans may disagree, but the English Premier League table already has a familiar look to it. Meanwhile there’s an altogether different outlook in what is, in my opinion, the most exciting league in Europe: the Bundesliga.
Traditionsverein Hamburger SV are locked in a dogged duel with the relatively unloved Bayer Leverkusen [...] Mike Tuckerman: Bundesliga is Europe’s most exciting league](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/bundesliga-voronin-th.jpg)
![As the fallout from Tim Cahill’s stoush with News Limited continues, what is becoming clear is the relationship between sports stars and the media, especially in the current climate of trash tabloid stories, is being damaged. As a result sports stars are being more guarded with their media dealings and the fans are losing out. [...] Adrian Musolino: We can’t have sports stars bypassing the media](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ffa-cahill-th.jpg)
![We often assume media interest is a barometer of a sports’ popularity. If it’s not at the forefront of priorities for newspaper editors and newsroom producers, then it must not be important and entertaining enough to warrant sufficient media and public interest.
But that logic, in my mind, is flawed.
Rather, it’s the media that is dictating [...] Adrian Musolino: The media dictates the popularity of sports in Australia](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/lleyton-hewitt-th.jpg)
![My lovely wife, a self-labelled cricket widow (and for another two weeks at least, dear), who doubles as my chief proof-reader, has stated in recent weeks that she was getting a little tired of reading about cricket. I guess that’s fair enough, it has been a long summer.
This meant, as I explained to her at [...] Brett McKay: Super 14 is so much more watchable this season](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/digby-ione-reds-th.jpg)
![A few weeks back we solicited your questions to put to the NSW Waratahs CEO Jim L’Estrange, who has just entered what is going to be a challenging season with the Waratahs. He responded expansively to the batch of questions we posed to him.
When are we going to see more Super rugby matches on a [...] The Roar: Jim L’Estrange answers your questions on the Waratahs](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/jim-lestrange-th.jpg)
![Melbourne Victory’s relationship with its supporters has been characterised by some splendid inconsistency almost since day one of the A-League.
The club has given its supporters a record two premiership and championship doubles. In return Victory has received the cash flow that comes with the highest attendances and memberships in the country.
The difficult side of the [...] Davidde Corran: Victory needs to start giving their fans credit](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/victory-fans-credit-melbourne-th.jpg)
![When Fox Sports’ tactical formation caption came up ahead of the Gold Coast United’s A-League opener against Brisbane, you could have been forgiven for thinking Miron Bleiberg had pulled one over the Fox producer. It showed the new club shaping up in a rather outrageous looking 2-4-2-2 in front of Scott Higgins.
It featured stoppers [...] Tony Tannous: Advanced wing-backs are key in Bleiberg’s 2-4-2-2](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gold-coast-expansion-mensink-bleiberg-buckley-th.jpg)
![Enjoy your betting this footy season, but don’t be expected to be allowed to win. I received the following message from the bookmaker Victor Chandler. Or to be more precise, from one of his drones, last year.
“Dear Mr Kaless,
We are contacting you today advise that a business decision has been taken by our Senior Traders [...] Steve Kaless: Fighting the battle with the bookies](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/jarryd-hayne-th.jpg)
![With a little over a month left in the Hyundai A-League regular season, the race for the Premiership rather than the battle to make the top six should take centre stage. After all, it appears set for an unbelievable finale in Sydney on February 14.
When the FFA announced this season’s competition would employ a top [...] Ben Somerford: A-League Premiership set for ultimate climax](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/melbourne-victory-sydney-fc-kemp-colosimo-th.jpg)
![My mind was drawn to many pieces I’d read on the Roar over the past year or so when I had the chance to speak to the Cardinals’ Ben Graham ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl. Watching Graham at ease in front of the world’s media gave me a lasting impression that footballers aren’t dumb, they [...] Steve Kaless: Ben Graham on what it takes to make it in the NFL](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/ben-graham.jpg)




PG said | November 3rd 2009 @ 8:17am | Report comment
Oh good grief this is the umpteenth article I’ve read about the chooks on your website. I’m sure all three supporters of this old money club will be interested. However in the scheme of things Easts aren’t that popular mate. The soap opera machinations are not gonna put Rugby League on its Knees
How about some nice stories on Parra or the Bulldogs or even Brisbane. Rich clubs that no body supports — It must be a RAH RAH thing
Gerry Faehrmann said | November 4th 2009 @ 7:07pm | Report comment
Nahhh, let’s bash the Roosters. Go on!
John Ryan said | November 3rd 2009 @ 4:19pm | Report comment
Any body running a book on how long Carney lasts before he commits some kind of drunken escapade.
Gerry Faehrmann said | November 4th 2009 @ 7:06pm | Report comment
All I can say is good luck to the Roosters – they’ll need plenty of it!
Mick from Giralang said | November 5th 2009 @ 1:47pm | Report comment
Brian Smith is considering putting Carney at fullback and Minichello on the wing! That way he can leave Anasta at 5/8 and Pearce at half.As Bernard would have said: “Courageous decision, coach…”