A-League

A round of applause, please, for England coach Fabio Capello. It took Capello 12 minutes to sit John Terry down and justifiably strip the Chelsea centre-back of the captaincy of his country – a captaincy he should never have had in the first place.
Ignoring Terry’s affair for the moment, it’s important to remember that [...]

Former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold will take over the helm of the Central Coast Mariners with current coach Lawrie McKinna moving into a new off-field role at the A-League club.
McKinna, who has coached the Mariners since the inaugural A-League season in 2005-06, will move into a football and commercial operations role at the Gosford-based club.
He [...]

Melbourne Victory striker Nik Mrdja can see the lighter side of the bitter controversy that has erupted over his A-League transfer.
The ongoing backlash over his move from the Central Coast Mariners will prompt Australian soccer officials to review the league’s injury replacement rule.
A loophole in the rules means Mrdja has joined the Victory for the [...]

It couldn’t have been scripted any better. Sydney FC host Melbourne Victory in the final game of the final round this Sunday with two points separating the two biggest Australian cities. But what are they playing for – the minor premiership or Premiership? Listen to the media and you won’t get a straight answer.
Too [...]

Peruse the various A-League forums in cyberspace, and many fans are claiming that this Sunday’s minor premiership showdown between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory is the most important match in the A-League’s five-year history.
Some supporters have gone as far as suggesting that the Valentine’s Day encounter is the biggest domestic club game ever played [...]

I still don’t get it. Almost everyone feels like the integrity of the A-League has been compromised by Nik Mrdja’s pseudo-loan move to the Victory. Yet, as I wrote on Sunday, this isn’t new.
The A-League’s transfer system is a mess and always has been. Whether it’s the Jets and Song Jin-Hyung or Rostyn Griffiths [...]

Central Coast won their first match in 10 games with a 3-0 victory over a 10-man Newcastle at Bluetongue Stadium on Monday night.
The game was re-scheduled from Saturday, when heavy rain forced it to be postponed, and it was the Mariners who stole the show through goals by Nigel Boogaard, Adam Kwasnik and Matt Simon.
Boogaard [...]

Sydney FC chief executive Edwin Lugt predicts this Sunday’s A-League premiership showdown against Melbourne will be one of the biggest games in the club’s history.
With top spot on the ladder on the line, the Sky Blues are hoping for a crowd in excess of 20,000.
It would blow their season average at the Sydney Football Stadium [...]

When the A-League’s Young Footballer of the Year is announced at the annual awards night a week from today, it should be a decision between the two outstanding youngsters of season five, Tommy Oar and Mathew Leckie.
As was the case on Saturday night at Hindmarsh Stadium, I would expect the Adelaide flier to come [...]

Football Federation Australia has no plans to change the A-League’s controversial injury replacement rule despite the furore surrounding Nik Mrdja’s late-season switch from Central Coast to Melbourne Victory.
Mrdja made his first appearance for the Victory in Friday night’s 2-0 win over North Queensland after he was signed as an injury replacement for Billy Celeski, who [...]