A little under two months ago I wrote on The Roar that Brisbane’s on-field benchmark was good for the evolution of the standard of play in the A-League. Clubs would have to strive to keep up with them, or be left behind.
That piece came days after Brisbane defeated second-placed Adelaide United 4-0, drawing the praise of the Reds’ Dutch boss Rini Coolen who said the Roar’s level of football belonged in Europe.
Coincidentally, this piece comes just days after Brisbane defeated the Reds, this time 1-0 at Hindmarsh Stadium with a depleted side.
All the talk after the game has been the Roar’s method is the key to their success. Even without key midfielders Thomas Broich and Matt McKay, as well as standout full-back Ivan Franjic they were too good for second-placed Adelaide.
Coolen will be scratching his head as to how to stop the Roar, who have incredibly gone 19 matches unbeaten now.
It’s truly staggering stuff to believe how consistent this Brisbane side have been, especially in the A-League which is designed to present a level playing field where any one side can beat another on any given day.
But back to Coolen, he said his side lacked the cutting edge in the final third to beat the Roar on the weekend. He also said that’s the reason why he’s dabbled into the transfer market this January, purchasing three imports with attacking quality.
Indeed, Coolen isn’t alone in dipping into the transfer market.
The third-placed Mariners will announce their latest signing today, while the fourth-placed Gold Coast have just welcomed German midfielder Peter Perchtold to town with a guest stint on the cards, while they’ve also been strongly linked with former A-League Golden Boot winner Shane Smeltz.
Fifth-placed Melbourne Victory have signed former club star Danny Allsopp after a stint abroad, while the improving Newcastle Jets have added Ryan Griffiths from China.
Finals-challengers Wellington have been linked with Joel Griffiths, while even struggling Sydney FC has seen fit to bolster their attacking options with Finnish marksman Juho Makela.
The number of new January signings is unprecedented in the A-League. In fact, usually it goes the other way and it wasn’t long ago many A-League players were heading for Asia in their droves.
Curiously, the only player to do that in recent times was Brisbane striker Reinaldo and the club interestingly seem to have elected not to replace him.
They do have Jean Carlos Solorzano and Kosta Barbarouses scoring goals, but are they short one forward? Would a new signing disrupt team harmony? These are interesting questions but it appears Brisbane coach Ange Postecoglou is content with what he’s got. After all, it appears the method is getting the job done.
On the other hand, of all the clubs dipping into the transfer market it appears second-placed Adelaide have done the best.
They’ve lured a six-time Dutch international in Andy Slory, a current promising Costa Rica international in Diego Estrada and a former Uruguay youth international in Francisco Usucar. On paper it appears they’ve done very, very well, but how will they fit into the system. Can they work with Marcos Flores? Will they disrupt harmony?
There’s elements of a gamble to it by Coolen, but he’s short on answers, particularly after the weekend’s defeat to the Roar.
It’s obvious his connections have helped lure these players to Australia. But he’s also asked club management to give him the resources to bring these players to Australia and for them to agree is a bit of a rarity for the A-League.
But, of course, Coolen and the Reds are searching for answers to stop the Roar and they feel improving their own stocks is the best way to do that.
It appears so do a host of other clubs, with new signings galore.
Essentially that shows a bit of ambition from A-League clubs – driven by Brisbane’s dominance – which is an excellent sign for the competition as we head into the final third of the campaign.
Whether or not it’ll be enough to beat the runaway leaders in the finals is a question we’ll have to wait and see, but that’s suddenly an exciting and curious prospect.
All this transfer activity certainly provides a refreshing amount of excitement to the league for fans of all clubs, including the Roar (who’ll be looking over their shoulders), along with the neutrals (if anything just to see some new imports in action).
And that can only be a positive thing for the A-League, as the competition heats up towards the conclusion of the season when it should be shining at its brightest.
Realfootball
Guest
Youth team captain Chris Bush has been elevated to the squad to bring the count to the minimum 20.
TheMagnificent11
Roar Guru
Did you watch the game where Melbourne won 3-0 against Brisbane? The Roar dominated the first half. In the second half all three goals came from school boy errors made by Brisbane. You could argue that these errors came because Melbourne were the first team to press high up the park against Brisbane. Still, it was more Brisbane playing badly than Melbourne playing well. The second game in Brisbane was fairly even but I'll concede the Melbourne were unlucky not to win. The Roar dominated the third game except for 20 mins where Melbourne scored 3 goals. Yes the Roar were lucky with their third goal. However, if you access the stats from the 3 games by combining them the possession and shots on goals , you will see that Brisbane has been the more dominant team. You are correct to highlight Adelaide's injury problems and I agree that a fully fit Adelaide would push Brisbane all the way. The same applies to Melbourne, Newcastle and Gold Coast because these teams match up well against Brisbane. Brisbane have had their fair share of injuries e.g. Solorzano, Henrique, Franjic, Stefenuto and Murdocca have all been out for extended periods. They have been lucky these injuries haven't all been in the one position. However, there system is such that anyone can come in a play a role because system doesn't rely on individual brilliance that much. Overall, I think Brisbane deserve their plaudits. More for the style of play than anything else. In fact they played nice football in seasons 1-4 but could score goals. This season they have taken into a new level and also become a bit more clinical.
BrisbaneBhoy
Roar Rookie
I absolutely agree with the article, also a great read (had to laugh at Central Coast "major signing" though). What I find really pleasing is, Brisbane has pretty much the whole squad re-signed for next season (all bar - Mundy, Visconte, Meyer & Solorzano) along with a few of the players signed for the following season (aka soon to be confirmed ACL season for Brisbane). They also have only 19 players on their books. If Ange re-signs all 3 fringe players (Mundy, Visconte, Meyer) we will have 18 players on the books come the off-season, which allows plenty of room for Ange to improve the squad during the next transfer window (here's hoping he can either re-sign Solorzano on another loan deal or better yet, a permanent move). This should see Brisbane build on what they have started (as mentioned, it's the system that Ange has implmented that is the strong point of Brisbane) this season (and should hopefully still have a very strong set-up come the ACL), which in turn could see some sort of dynasty form, something which has yet to be developed in the A-Leagues short history. If this happens then the other teams with ambitions will likewise try to dip into the market to improve their chances. There are good times ahead for fans of t A-League. May the league continue to improve and get stronger with each passing season.
flavze
Guest
i notice the auther doesn't take into account that AU were missing a bunch of players due to injury, have been all season and had players playing injured in the 1-0 loss. Sure the 4-0 loss was a shocker but AU also outplayed Brisbane earlier in the season at Suncorp and should have won if it wasn't for a Serge shocker. Melbourne with a fit squad destroyed brisbane earlier in the season and would be alot better placed if not for a massive injury list. GCU have suffered a fair bit from injuries this season and yet alomst beat the Roar a couple of weeks back. Sure Brisbane is playing awesome football but they have had a glorious run with injuries from luck or good management and all power to them but i think people are getting a lil carried away with how good they are.
gawa
Guest
It is great for the local game that the quality of signings continues to increase. I really hope that in the off season coaches across the league do some real research and use whatever contacts are available around the world to bring some new talent that will actually raise the bar. Sorry to say but CCM and Baird doesn't really work in that regard.
Phutbol
Guest
Michael Baird... Massive.....
punter
Guest
Some very interesting signings from Adelaide, Newcastle, Melbourne. Like M11 says some of these coaches are grooming the team they want. This is why I think SFC should keep Lavicka.
whiskeymac
Guest
typical of the mariners though - but whose to say they cant make the most of it - rose after all did/ does well there; zwaanswijk also.
belchardo
Guest
sure was
Ben Somerford
Roar Guru
Unfortunately today's announcement by Central Coast of Michael Baird as their 'major signing' was a little underwhelming. But hopefully we still get the point.
TheMagnificent11
Roar Guru
Less players are leaving the A-League because the standard is now better and they realise they can get a decent look-in with the national team by playing here. The only ones that will leave are ones who want more money or want challenge themselves in another league. And, that's the way it should be. It will be interesting to see whether these new signings help the others close the gap. Brisbane's dominance has been built on the system of play being more important than any one player (a very Barca-esque philosophy). I'm don't think the other A-League clubs have such a defined system. Not saying they don't have method of play; just saying they probably haven't spent as much time making sure their movement and passing is second nature to the players. Next season will be very interesting because I'm sure the other clubs will attempt to replicate what Brisbane have done this season. Also, coaches such as Coolen, Arnold and JvS would have had more time to instil their philosophy on their clubs.
whiskeymac
Guest
agreed= decent transfer markets and rumours add spice to the game - in the off season its a great part of the game for the o/s fans (so long as your club isnt being poached) and to have it becoming (hopefully) established here is a good sign that the clubs mean business. on the flip side the youth players hopefully will still get their opportunities to progress (as was suggested by the Heart)....