Melbourne Victory’s Tomislav Pondeljak tackles Brisbane Roar’s Charlie Miller, during round 2 of the A-League Season, played at the Ethihad stadium in Melbourne, Saturday, August 15, 2009. After full time, Victory drew with Brisbane Roar 3-3. AAP Image/Joe Castro
If I was a Brisbane Roar fan right now, I’d be mighty peeved. When former coach Frank Farina was jettisoned in controversial circumstances and replaced by Ange Postecoglou midway through last season, supporters were promised the squad would be rebuilt.
Instead, the club went backwards.
Even now, with the season well and truly gone, the wheels still seem to be coming off the Roar’s bandwagon.
While the sale of Tommy Oar, Michael Zullo and Adam Sarota is good news for the Roar’s bank balance it could very well have crippled Brisbane’s ambitions for next season.
These sales bring the total of players sacked, retired or sold since Postecoglou took over to nine. That figure includes the likes of Craig Moore, Danny Tiatto and Liam Reddy, hardly peripheral contributors.
According to The Australian the former Young Socceroos coach will need to sign, “a new striker, an entire midfield and a centre back” before the start of next season. Such wholesale change is like signing an entirely new squad.
Few will expect Melbourne Heart to reasonably challenge for the A-League title next season and you can probably put Brisbane into that basket as well.
Roar fans lost last season to rebuilding and now it looks like season six of the A-League will be going the same way.
Ignoring the debacle with Joel Griffiths, the Newcastle Jets, who went through a similar last minute coaching replacement last season, have shown a more positive way of handling managerial change.
Instead of alienating the Jets’ key players, the promotion from within of Branko Culina, united a fragmented and inconsistent squad.
Culina’s promotion also maintained some continuity at the club and the Jets have continued moving forward in the off-season with its first player signings. The only noise from Brisbane meanwhile has been from players going, not coming.
It was on that point that Jesse Fink ripped into Postecoglou this week in his The World Game blog.
“And where was the great Ange when all this frenetic transfer activity (with Oar and co moving to FC Utrecht) was taking place?” asked Fink.
“In Greece, of course, on a “scouting mission”.
“Not West Africa. Not Thailand. Not India. Anywhere there is a young inexpensive player bursting with ambition and talent who wants to come to Australia and sees the A-League as a stepping stone to fulfilling his dreams, but Greece!
“Gee, Ange – out of the box! It’s about as bad as Remo Nogarotto and his “scout at large” gig in Italy which has delivered to the Newcastle Jets the sum total of Fabio Vignaroli, a talented player but one that should have spent more time on the pitch for all the money spent on him as a “marquee”. Instead he saw out most of last season wincing on a physio’s table.
“The A-League doesn’t need any more horse trading in superannuated has-been Europeans.”
While I don’t entirely agree with Fink on Vingaroli who, when fit, offered a touch of class the A-League has mostly missed in its 5 seasons, he’s on the money about the paucity of creativity in A-League recruiting.
Almost two years ago Scott McIntyre wrote on The World Game about Indian superstar Sunil Chhetri and his national team-mates, suggesting they would make the perfect A-League signings. At the time Scott was routinely laughed at.
Now Chhetri has finally found a club outside of India and the early signs look promising.
At long last someone has woken up to the potential, both on and off the pitch, Chhetri offers. Unfortunately for Australian football fans it’s the new “most popular club in the world”, the Kansas City Wizards, who are reaping the benefits.
All this says to me that the A-League desperately needs some exciting and creative thinking in it’s recruitment.
Meanwhile, Brisbane Roar fans probably need a stiff drink.
James Wiley
Guest
I think you forgot to mention NJFC. Surely they will have a better team next season
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
I agree, Dogz, the offer was way too good to refuse, but I also agree with jmc about the business plan and more accountability to the fans. We would love to know what their plan is for marketing the club, where the transfer money is going, how they are going to deliver on youth development, and what the plan is for the clubs in the next 3-5 years. Such things as how they are going to recapture the 30% of fans lost - ticket prices, promotions, how are they going with community engagement? What are the Roar doing in terms of supporting Brisbane's clubs? That sort of thing woudl be really lovely to hear. But I'm not holding my breath...
Dogz R Barkn
Roar Guru
The club is virtually broke, and a European club comes along and offers nearly $2 mill for three young players still finding their way - and you're questioning the motives of the club's management? Such offers to no materialise every day.
Davidde Corran
Roar Guru
I have never met Postecoglou personally so naturally have no problem with him. Can't speak for Jesse though you'd have to ask him. In terms of "looking personal", while I do quote Jesse I don't say anything personal about Postecoglou. This article isn't appointing blame for Brisbane's mess but acknowledging it's existence while pointing to what I feel is a concerning trend throughout the league in terms of recruiting.
Davidde Corran
Roar Guru
P.S. it WAS Panthrakikos I called not the Greek giants!
Davidde Corran
Roar Guru
Midfielder, I was hoping you'd post on here. Remember last year when you asked me to pass on the story about Khalil Popal to Les Murray? Well I ended up organising with The World Game for me to go over there and do a story with Khalil for the program. However when I called the club about a week ago they told me he'd never signed for them and added that the original stories, which they'd seen, were false. Haven't been able to look any further into it at this stage but hope to get in touch with Khalil's management eventually. Just wanted to let you know.
Davidde Corran
Roar Guru
I agree completely and it will be important for them that they do. In fact I think we should take it for granted that every club must find at least limited success in it's early years.
Davidde Corran
Roar Guru
Aljay, just because they trialed three players from Ghana but didn't sign them means they should give up on the rest of Africa and Asia.
Davidde Corran
Roar Guru
Towser, you have described your experience and feelings with Brisbane excellently. I truly hope they don't disappoint you this time around.
jmc
Guest
Good luck Towser - as a fellow foundation member the Roar brand is a shot duck. Balancing the books at what cost to transparency to it's members? I await Ange bringing back an +30 retired socceroo (a Stan Lazaridis clone for Perth Glory). Such an effort of economics is nothing but mere creative accounting that will result in dire results in terms of membership, brand and vision. The only way out now is for the FFA to bail out the club, take control of the business plan (or create one may help) and find another arab oil baron in 3 years. Bring on Foxtel for season 6 and best wishes with your intentions
jmc
Guest
The roar board have to be held accountable to members for such decisions. Full disclosure of the transfer amount, financial position of the club, strategic plan for player retention & balancing the books must be published. In one year the team has lost 30% of crowds, squad turnover is at 80% - If this was a publicly listed company such performance would be viewed as incompetent. Furthermore the Ange revolution promised supporters a focus on youth - yet the club releases it's three best future talents in one hit. A more measured approach would be to sell two, retain one for another year. Fully disclose the $$ and advise what split of re-investment in the squad v paying off debt is intended. It would be sound business acumen and may retain the faithful. I eagerly await the news come July where the Roar acquire some loved up socceroo on a retirement plan that adds as much value as Stan Lazaridis to did to Perth Glory (God bless Stan). As a foundation member I will not renew my season tickets, however I'm happy to provide Qld Roar a business plan template should they require one.
David V.
Guest
Mowbray's position was untenable however good his intentions was, as you say, being behind a dismal Rangers side is a damning indictment on Celtic and on the league generally. You'd have to think the SPL is not only at its worst ever, but one of the weakest top level leagues in world football. BTW, Serbia are winning 3-0 in Japan with both teams playing exclusively home-based squads. Hmmm...
agga78
Guest
Being A celtic supporter, I have seen 1st hand what a manager can do in the space of 8 months, Tony Mowbray sold or let go a whole squad of players including a guy scoring a goal every two games in Scott Macdonald and replaced them with unproven players from Norway and Denmark and added a great player in Robbie Keane who will leave after his six month loan is up. All because he wanted his own team, to play beautiful football straight away, instead of using the players he had and replacing 2 or 3 players at seasons end, it did not work he was sacked because Celtic were 10 points behind the worst Rangers ever and now it will take 3 years to repair the damage. Im afraid Ange has done the same thing at Roar, he has lost a goal every two games striker, his best defender, his better goalkeeper, his most creative player and now his two best young players, to make his own team, it is doomed for failure, you can not replace that many players in 6 months and expect to compete against the likes of MVFC, MHFC, SFC, GUFC , AUFC, WPFC, PGFC, who will all be better teams next season than the Roar were at the start of last season, even the Fury will have a more settled line up than the Roar.
Dogz R Barkn
Roar Guru
Absolutely! There are older heads such as yourself and Towser who clearly understand the game, with a very deep understanding that shows you've had plenty to do with it (as both a fan and most probably as a player) - and over a longish period. But much of what you read in forums, often by younger minds, is so obviously informed by the X-box or playsation that it becomes an absolute drag to read the exact same lines over and over and over. Or people latch onto to certain ideas that it becomes almost unshakeable: cliches like the fabled "British" style; or the fabled creative playmaker (and woe to him if he has a good physique!!) - it's such a drag to read this sort of stuff over and over and over. As if a strong, athletic Italian footballer has never existed!! (people there are stacks of them - and they are very good with the round ball!!), or as if a strapping, muscley German footballer can't be a technical player (the Germans can as technical as anyone else!!) - there's this depressing lack of understanding of the game, people informed by computer games, getting all sorts of concepts like technique, creativity and flair completely mixed up. It's such a drag!!
Realfootball
Guest
Not much fantasy and unbounded optimism on this thread. Can I buy some? I could do with a shot.
David V.
Guest
I like to present cold hard facts, rather than fantasy and unfounded optimism.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
expert fans? But surely everyone is an expert :)
David V.
Guest
I'm talking more about the way Australians tend to support the game and talk about it, which tends to be about the broadest cliches and generalisations imaginable- making it laughable for expert fans. Whether it's mindless worship of names, or generalising players' and coaches' abilities on national origin, we are looking more like a joke.
Realfootball
Guest
Probably, but still nowhere near good enough.
whiskeymac
Guest
concentrating on international markets and not the local market maybe? hopefully this will be redressed once the distraction of the world cup is over ;)