Comments on: Fowler ‘crisis’ shows A-League’s precarious state

By: Smokygrayson

Smokygrayson — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:03:08 +0000

The topic you raised is worth a blog on its own Towser, good points.

By: Marshall

Marshall — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:35:18 +0000

He’s better known as God

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:52:42 +0000

Who is Fowler?

By: Daniel King

Daniel King — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:50:42 +0000

Robbie needs to pull his head in, it’s not all about YOU Robbie. When you’ve gone this club still has to survive, get the crowds in. In order to do that we need you at your best now, not strolling round the field for 90 minutes boring everyone to death.

By: Midfielder

Midfielder — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:22:18 +0000

Tow

You have a point and I agree… BUT and a big BUT IMO is Robbie at his peak would have been rated in the top ten strikers in the world… only Harry when for a couple of years when he was voted in the top 5 left sided players comes close to RF at there peak…

Aloisi never ever rated or was in RF class… the issue I have is why did Fury simply say RF went over on his left foot at training and will not play and sort in out behind closed doors…

But if you drop a RF in an A-League team then be prepared to answer questions .. especially went most were saying he is puling his weight…

By: Al

Al — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:51:05 +0000

I reckon Fowler will be back in Liverpool sooner rather than later. One thing the A-League needs less of is Eugene Dadi penalties.

By: Al

Al — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:46:39 +0000

It is not a valid protest at all considering he let down his teammates more so than his manager. No player is bigger than the club, not even a marquee player.

By: jimbo

jimbo — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:39:58 +0000

Exactly Mick,
Fowler and Ferguson had a difference of opinion about the team formation and selection.

Its blown over, Fowler has re-confirmed he is honouring his 2 year contract with the Fury and the A-League moves on

All the controversies and criticisms are actually good for the A-League – not going to destroy it.
Australian football and its administration are more aware than ever of the issues and under more pressure from the opposing codes than ever before and know they have to lift their game to do better.

All of us from players, fans, club officials right up to the FIFA WC bid team – all the controversies bring the issues out into the open and we have to deal with them and hopefully do better next time.

Much better than the bad old days when NRL and AFL didn’t even talk about us and Soccer Australia just denied it, ignored it and things got worse.

By: Mick

Mick — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:05:31 +0000

yeah, that’s another mick talking there, different from me 4posts before. The point is Fowler is staying.

By: dannyshepherd

dannyshepherd — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:23:38 +0000

none of those things answer to your accusations of unprofessionalism but i dn’t disagree with any of them…

By: Mick

Mick — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:28:15 +0000

When Kosmina put Junihno on the bench for Sydney FC the fox sports clowns said stuff all……..

When Ferguson wanted to put Fowler on bench the fox sport clown say it is a disgrace…..

Whether there is friction there or not the fox sports clowns do play it up

By: Joe FC

Joe FC — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:20:26 +0000

Couldn’t have said it any better Marcel.

By: Towser

Towser — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:07:49 +0000

Brings up interesting questions about marquee players in a developing league. Theres been suggestions that Robbie Fowler is a “true” marquee player in that he puts bums on seats, because he played for a club in the EPL with huge support in Australia. Certainly at away matches that cant be disputed. Whereas John Aloisi even Jason Culina havent put bums on seats.
If John Aloisi had been dropped(he has in reality of course) or indeed Jason Culina nobody would have batted an eyelid. Why? Because Football in Australia still has a cultural cringe about European football & in particular big stars from EPL clubs.
So on one hand Robbie brings in crowds because he is a former football god,but on the other hand if somehow the god loses his magical powers temporarily, the coach has to ignore it & play him regardless. Even though another player may be in better form or fit in better to the coaches current strategy to win. Remembering that his(coaches) job is on the line.
What this has emphasised to me is a huge chink in the “true marquee player” armour. That in reality he can & is expected by many to be above the normal rules of coach player relationships.
Supposing as some have suggested(myself included) that the FFA can afford to sponsor a Robbie Fowler at each A-League club. So that we have a crowd pulling 2 marquees at each match. Ryan Giggs(ManU) at SFC & Steve Gerrard at MV. Big players from big clubs with huge support in Australia.
Arnie now coaches SFC(scary thought) & Ernies still at MV. Huge crowd turns up full of the people who dont normally grace the A-League in numbers. Supporters of ManU,Liverpool.
Arnie drops Giggs,Ernie, Gerrard. Imagine the outcry ,indignation. What if theres 12 clubs each with a “true marquee” & all coaches drop underperforming “former Gods”?
The very people the A-League needs that huge untapped as yet, Euro followers are pissed off,vowing not to return to watch what they consider an inferior league. Like the saying “I’m only here for the beer” there only there for the football gods of European football.
So is it better then to modify the marquee player(500,000 maximum) that is recruit current International players from countries outside the major leagues(Central & some South American countries,Asia,Africa for instance). Or is it better to give a club the option of utilising the marquee money (say Aloisi’s 1.3 million) to recruit better players.
You could argue that SFC would be better off then than other clubs. You could also counter this by saying that they already are better off by being able to afford a marquee.
Seems to me Robbie Fowler sitting in the stands with his son has opened a can of worms.

By: Gaz

Gaz — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:01:16 +0000

Let’s see how long this lasts.

By: Gaz

Gaz — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:59:58 +0000

Should we start with the mediocre squad he assembled, after all kinds of problems? Or should we jump straight to his decision to leave the A-League’s #1 star on the bench? Or should we just let the table do the talking?

By: DaMan3000

DaMan3000 — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:43:37 +0000

YAY!

By: whiskeymac

whiskeymac — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:14:34 +0000

aye – http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/fowler-to-stay-with-fury-20100125-mtzw.html

By: Mick

Mick — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:09:27 +0000

Yup, Punter’s spot on: http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2010/01/25/109725_sport.html
NQ Fury: 1
Naysayers: 0

By: Punter

Punter — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:52:49 +0000

Looks like Fowler staying, according to Nth Queensland Bulletin.

By: Simmo

Simmo — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:07:23 +0000

Fowler to Melbourne Heart. You heard it here first.

Other forums have latched onto a newspaper interview Fowler did with Liverpool FC’s website last week. He said he likes Australia, the kids are fitting in well but his wife isn’t too happy with living in Townsville:

“I first came down here for a week to see what it was like and if I’m honest I didn’t really like it at first. I thought it was too quiet and remote and everywhere seemed a bit dead. But the more I’ve been here, the more I’ve liked it. The kids are very adaptable to where they are, but I think my wife still needs a bit of convincing. It’s not like back at home where there’s more stuff to do and more families that we know, so she’s still adjusting.”

Will she like Sydney or Melbourne better?

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/fowler-on-oz-weather-and-lfc

By: markwakefield

markwakefield — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:06:07 +0000

well said marcel…

By: Marshall

Marshall — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:51:10 +0000

Interesting theory!

By: Marcel

Marcel — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:23:54 +0000

Why is it that when it comes to football that some aspects of the media delight in running around yelling the sky is falling at even the slightest opportunity. Fowler is a great asset to the league because of his profile and his occaisional touch of genius. He is also too fat (still), prone to drift out of the game and his coach thinks he is out of form and needs a break, maybe even a wake up call. He plays for the second worst team in the league.

His actions were juvenile and unprofessional. They may be damaging for his personal reputation, but to suggest , as the title of this article does, that they erode the foundations of the entire league, is just ludicrous.

By: Australian Football

Australian Football — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:19:05 +0000

This is interesting—-I’ve had read that Robbie was not happy with the proposed 4-5-1 then I read it was a 4-3-3 then finally I have seen the interview on TWG Ferguson was going with a 4-1-4-1 formation that Robbie was not happy with… The more I read about this Robbie/Ferg-gate affair I’m of the opinion that Ferguson is unstable and suffers from indecisive decision making that lead to Robbie’s withdrawal.. It seems to me now that Robbie had learnt of this news when he turned up for the game and was told he was to start off the bench… Conclusion: Ferguson is a poor manager and an amateur and must go..

By: Punter

Punter — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:01:00 +0000

I just hope Robbie Fowler stays in the A-League.

By: Australian Football

Australian Football — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:56:44 +0000

whiskeymac,
I first thought you were making fun of my comment well luckily I checked out FOX before I replied.. Now that is great news, not only for the ROAR but for the HAL..

By: hazza

hazza — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:42:57 +0000

Fowler has been one of the more successful marquees for the league. Put him in a Melbourne or Sydney team where the service is better and he would be in the top couple of strikers in the league. Would love to see him continue playing in A-league. He would be be a great pickup for any capital city team. Fury would be better suited to having a Brazilian or African as their marquee.

By: markwakefield

markwakefield — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:38:58 +0000

i have no idea what you mean… if you have something to say you should just say it… eg, specifically how is the coach unprofessional?

By: whiskeymac

whiskeymac — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:38:24 +0000

How about this stry on the fox site? Roar sign Patrick Kluivert
Brisbane Roar have secured the services of Barcelona and Netherlands great Patrick Kluivert for a two-week coaching stint.

first thought was wow but then 2 weeks? can he teach reinaldo and Nichols how to hit the barn door in 14 days???

what a good idea to get some expertise in – big name retirees who do want to “teach” might get a gig like this.

By: Gaz

Gaz — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:28:19 +0000

To expect totally professional behaviour from players when they are clearly not in a totally professional environment is a bit rich, isn’t it? And let’s note that Ferguson was a coaching student of Lawrie McKinna. ‘Nuff said!