Cheers Fuss. No way is it worth it for that price.

Actually MV have moved the seats in before, at least a couple of times. I know they did it for the 09-10 Grand Final as I was there.

Really good article Mike, especially for someone like me whose exposure to Asian football is limited to the Champions League.

I am very much looking forward to seeing how all three A-League sides do in the ACL this year, but perhaps Brisbane most of all. I don’t honestly hold a lot of hope for my Adelaide boys, and it might be coming at the wrong time for the Mariners. But Brisbane have played the best football of all A-League teams, by far, over the past two seasons and it will be very interesting to see if they can translate their success here onto the continental stage.

Agree, he clearly wore it to make a point. He’s not that stupid.

Hahaha, no worries mate.

Good read & laugh, as always Art. I think the last line is missing an “on”.

I’d have to say sports stars, or celebrities in general, claiming that God is the reason they are successful is one of my biggest pet peeves.

Firstly, because they are basically discrediting their own abilities, the hard work they have put in to achieve that level of greatness, and the efforts of those who have supported them on their way to the top, solely for the sake of their religious beliefs.

Secondly, because it follows that underlying Christian idea that if you don’t believe what I believe, then I’m better than you. If you want to be as good as me, then you have to believe.

Essentially, they are using their status to preach and convert, and while they’re free to believe and say whatever they like, there is a problem there. To me, it’s just bloody annoying, but to others who idolise these people it can have an impact on what they think. And when you bring politics into it, or homophobic views such as Court’s, then there is a big problem.

I heard he was in Sydney trying to get an A-League contract but I think I read in the paper over the weekend that he’s signed for a club in the middle east, in Iran if memory serves correct.

Nice little summary Katie. As we discussed last week, I think 4-2-3-1 is the way to go for us with either SvD or Djite as the lone striker; I don’t like them playing together either.

I’m not overly confident having Susak at RB but I’d prefer him to Mullen or Watson. He would certainly be a more well-rounded option than either of those two. Mullen is too limited going forward, Watson – a natural midfielder – is too limited defensively.

I would like to see Ricardo da Silva be given an opportunity, off the bench in place of Slory. Ramsay I think has much more of a case to start than Slory. In fact, Slory has done little to warrant a place in the side, apart from maybe the good pass to Ramsay for the second goal Friday night. Other than that, he has had a very poor start to the season, and should be dropped IMO. Caravella absolutely gets the other flank.

Agree Usucar and Levchenko should get the nod as the holding mids. Usucar had a very solid game last week. And yes Boogaard should partner McKain, providing he can reproduce his surprisingly excellent performance from the Gold Coast game.

Perhaps the biggest selection issue will come this week if Cassio is unable to take his place at LB. If he’s out, who gets the gig there?

Another hilarious piece mate. Those Getafe videos are tremendous. Judging from the Sydney one, Emmo has been replaced by a soulless automation (one that clearly is yet to be programmed in penalty taking techniques). Perhaps the real Emmo is currently slaving away in a chicken processing plant somewhere in India. He will soon be joined by Steve Kean, no doubt.

Agree that Sydney FC’s ambitions are too grand to match their market, but nonetheless I do hope some of those fair weather types that seemingly represent 98% of Sydney’s population do get behind their team this season, come to the games and be loud. There is plenty to like about that team. A win against the Roar would certainly help their cause.

Would be fantastic if we could get a group of Sydney fans to head down here next Saturday night and be as raucous as the Victory fans were last night – though, please note Cove members, there is no need to welcome Dario Vidosic back to the A-League by tossing bottles at his head, as the Victory fans felt inclined to. Hang on to your bottles instead – there is a 10c reward for recycling them here. Waste not, want not.

Fantastic article mate, really enjoyed the read. Congratulations also on moving to the red side of the page!

Good comment Middy.

Great article Tony, and I agree with most of your comments and predictions. I do think my Reds will come out on top at the end but we could have a shaky start with some tough early fixtures while the squad is trying to settle.

Mariners have gone under the radar for a lot of people and I think they’ll win the Premiership, but miss out on the Golden Toilet Seat again.

Brisbane will be interesting. Could it be another case of Championship hangover in the A-League? I doubt it. The questions are there for them, but there’s no big reason why they can’t win it all again.

I think Newcastle might be the surprise packets, at least early on. They’ll be an honest team, if you know what I mean. I’ll tip them to sneak into the top six at Perth’s expense.

I think things have become so desperate at Port Adelaide it might be a risk worth taking for them. It could even be a risk they have to take. Bringing Fev on board gives them a top player for a lot less than what he would normally cost, plus instant star power for their team which struggles to draw crowds. Sometimes the biggest risk isn’t taking one at all.

But I do agree with SportsFanMelb above. I don’t think he deserves another chance at AFL, and there are plenty of young kids out there who do. From a business point of view, though, who is going to benefit Port more in the short term (and they may only have short term if things don’t turn around quickly) – an unknown kid they take at Pick #65, who might never play AFL footy, or Fev? A no-brainer, surely.

Good article Kristian, you make some very valid points about the blandness of the league. Hopefully someone from the FFA reads it as I’m sure there are plenty of us out there that feel the same way.

Well done Ben, great article.

Agree with Australian Football – if that was one of our best performances at youth level it’s no wonder we have, with a few exceptions, underachieved previously. We did not deserve to win or even get a draw. It’s not that the Ivorians were that good but more that we were so poor. Apart from Tombidies, and in the second half Makarounas and Kamara, none of the players really had a standout, or even good, game. We lost possession too easily, both from poor passes and lack of movement. I’ve read comments that our keeper Rizzo had a good game but honestly on at least two occasions he was found wanting and should have gifted goals to the wasteful Ivorians, and his distribution at times was very poor. Towards the end of the match instead of trying to control the ball (and thus the game) the boys kept kicking it long or into the stands, as if hanging on for dear life.

If we play like that against Brazil we’ll get flogged. I know I should just be happy and accept the win but I’d rather us be good than lucky. I’m not doubting that we have a talented team because it takes talent to pull off a win like that when you are clearly second best. But, encouraging result, performance needs a lot of work.

Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I think it’s been almost exactly 7 years since the Socceroos played in Adelaide – last game I can recall was June 6th, 2004, 2-2 draw with the Solomon Islands at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Hopefully the crowd is better today, that match – a World Cup Qualifier no less – drew only 3,500.

1-0 to the Roos today. Always a tough game against NZ.

The real world, according to Sepp Blatter: http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2931/go-global/2011/05/31/2511392/fifa-president-sepp-blatter-in-his-own-crazy-words-from?sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4de580d72ec91e70,0

For me it’s not that we lost the 2022 vote at all, and if you want to look at it from that perspective then it’s more that Qatar won it despite the technical reports suggesting it would be difficult for them to host it. If we were directly ripped off by anyone, it was by Peter Hargitay and Fedor Radmann, but that’s another story.

Plenty of issues, just in the last year that should be, or should have been, independently and transparently investigated: http://m.ibtimes.com/timeline-fifa-corruption-scandal-in-the-last-year-155993.html

Blatter wants everything to be kept within the family, and despite football belonging to all of us, he’s the one running it, so they can get away with anything and not have to explain themselves to the billions of people they represent.

As Davidde says above, it’s a lack of passion that got us into this mess.

If taking a stand would have achieved nothing, then what exactly did we accomplish by voting for the status quo? What are we gaining from Blatter’s re-election? Have we paved the way for this ‘pimple on the world sporting map’ to develop into a superpower? The answer is no. The FFA is still stuffed financially. We still don’t have a hope in hell of hosting a World Cup, ever. No one gives a damn about us and never will. So what exactly did we achieve by voting like good little sheep for another four years of Sepp?

Has Blatter ever done anything to show that he actually cares about Australia? Wait, actually yes, he gave Oceania an automatic World Cup finals spot while we were there. Then he took it back when the South Americans threw a tantrum. And this is the guy we want running the game? Give me a break.

If anyone’s interested in hearing more about this topic, make sure you check out The 7.30 report tonight – according to Twitter, Bonita Mersiades and Jesse Fink will be on to discuss FIFA and the FFA’s support of Blatter.

Sepp Blatter – 1 man
Football fans and players – 2 to 3 billion people

I know who has the power, but look at that and tell me who should have the power? The FFA had an opportunity to stand up and represent their share of that 2 to 3 billion, telling the football world who really owns the game, but instead they threw in their hat with Blatter.

The FFA and the 185 other national bodies that voted for Blatter have put themselves ahead of their people, that is the issue, and it’s the same reason why people want Blatter gone because he and his cohorts do exactly the same thing.

And what repercussions will happen? There is such a thing as free speech, no? Or is Blatter going to start his new term by kicking out the FA, refusing to recognise the contracts of all overseas players in England, and banning telecasts of the EPL in FIFA-affliated nations? He punishes any of the nations that stood against him and he risks tearing FIFA apart.

The worst possible outcome was Blatter being elected unopposed and the corruption – or allegations of corruption, if you prefer – being swept under the rug. Again. And that’s what happened. Again.

Like I posted elsewhere on The Roar today, this makes me ashamed to be an Aussie. Pathetic for the FFA to ignore the people they represent, siding with Blatter and the corruption he stands for over common sense.