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There’s a touch of the Stawell Gift about the A-League heading into this weekend’s sixth round.
Last year’s grand finalists Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers look very much like back-markers who’ve been set the task of giving the field some start to make the race more interesting.
Of course, the fact that the Wanderers and Roar are running last and second last isn’t the work of some handicapper’s handy work. There’s no doubt though that they have been handicapped.
At Brisbane, the loss of Besart Berisha to Melbourne Victory has had lots to do with it, but being without Ivan Franjic can take its toll too – just ask the Socceroos. After setting up that Tim Cahill goal against Chile in the first game at the World Cup, Franjic missed the rest of the tournament with injury and I think it’s fair to say he was missed.
Off-season player departures have been compounded by the messiness of the Liam Millerearly season exit and an injury that’s kept top goalkeeper Michael Theo off the park.
I’m not writing the Roar off and I really want to slap someone when I read lines like “no A-League team has claimed back to back titles after losing their first three matches …”
Seriously? We’re talking about a competition with a 10-year history. Give me a break.
What happens next at the Roar though is loaded with dramatic potential. We’ve already read here on The Roar that superstar, Thomas Broich, might have a slightly different role this weekend against Newcastle.
The German is the classiest player this league has been blessed with long term and I refuse to accept his influence has evaporated.
Shane Steffanuto made an ass of himself last weekend berating stand-in keeper Jamie Young on field after the loss to Melbourne City.
The next morning in an interview on ABC Grandstand Digital breakfast, the Brisbane defender admitted he’d done the wrong thing embarrassing the rookie gloveman. After hearing him speak I looked at the incident in a different light.
Passion is important. So is honesty. And I don’t know about your experience in your workplace, but I’ve always found a quick, painful confrontation is easier to recover from than a a drawn out brooding sulk. They’ll move on.
In any case, there are many possible plot twists ahead at Brisbane. If they lose this weekend to Newcastle, a team that has traditionally had the wood on them, does something have to give?
Is it Mike Mulvey (I hope not)? Is it Berisha replacement Mensur Kurtishi, who only played 10 minutes last weekend?
Or does a dignified patience prevail? I don’t know.
But I do know that, for the good of the league, a Newcastle win wouldn’t be a bad thing either. The Jets have also been carrying a significant handicap with their Nathan Tinkler ownership dramas – so there are mitigating circumstances surrounding their lowly ladder position. They sit just above the Roar and Wanderers.
I know this is no consolation to loyal Brisbane fans but uncertainty is delicious for the casual observer and, all I’ll say in closing the Brisbane comments, is that a coach from a rival football code once told me “success is harder to deal with than failure”.
His explanation was that a winning season boosts egos and maintaining control becomes a more testing task for the coach. Hang in there, Mike Mulvey.
Reasons for the Western Sydney Wanderers’ slow start to the season don’t need a whole lot of explaining – they’ve been kind of busy.
In between giant-killing efforts knocking over the filthy rich, super powers of Asian club football, they’ve been rebuilding the club: new ownership, new marquee players, new assistant coach. No big deal. No sweat.
Sure, they lost in Wellington 1-0 last weekend on a whole two-day preparation after winning the Asian Champions League in Riyadh. Against the Phoenix, they fielded a bunch of players making their first or second A-League appearances.
Excuses, excuses, you say? Yeah maybe. Their efforts in the first two rounds weren’t great but, as a season ticket holder in their debut season I can still remember wondering after a few games if they’d ever find a way to just score a goal. History shows they went on to win the Premiers Plate and play in the grand final.
There’s plenty to like about the new talent at the club. Former Socceroo striker, Nikita Rukavysta and Nigerian Seyi Adeleke, who both debuted last weekend bring pace and other attributes to the line-up.
There’s plenty of buzz about former Dutch international Romeo Castelen. Don’t be surprised if the winger, one of the most low key signings of the off season, turns out to be the real coup. And I can’t wait to see how the relationship between the Brazilian midfielder Vitor Saba and the Red and Black Bloc develops.
If the hipster with the cool skills and fiery temperament doesn’t have cult hero stamped all over him, I’m a poor judge. He strikes me as the kind of player who could really be lifted by the loud and crazy supporters group.
The Wanderers might be winless, but you can be sure there are no confidence issues there. They’ve played two fewer games than the competition leaders and still haven’t had an A-League game at home yet this season.
Ignore the attention-seekers saying the finals hopes of Brisbane and Western Sydney are already on the ropes.
They’re both five points out of sixth place now with another 66 points on offer to Brisbane and 72 to the Wanderers. This is a 27-round competition followed by a finals series. The backmarkers are still at the tail of the field, but, unlike the Stawell Gift, the A-League title race is not a sprint.
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