It was a strange experience. A Melbourne Victory home game where perhaps only a third of the crowd were hoping for a Victory win.
Of the rest some had come hoping Beckham would produce magic with a 30 yard free kick and the rest probably thought they had bought tickets to a rock concert based on the paparazzi and hoopla that follow Becks’ every move.
If the result counted for anything, it’s likely that nobody was satisfied – Melbourne didn’t win, Becks didn’t score – though few would have been disappointed. The overriding mood of the departing crowd seemed to be ‘yeah … whatever’.
It should have been billed as a football exhibition game. It wasn’t a ‘match’. A ‘match’ suggests competition, a will to win and a passion. It took eleven minutes for the first free kick to be awarded and that was for a minor indiscretion. Leigh Broxham was noticeably absent from the Melbourne squad – Roy Keane said in interview that he was glad that Muscat wasn’t playing as he recalled some of Kevin’s more physical moments.
Perhaps the powers that be took the comments as a reminder that the LA boys were on holidays and a crunching tackle from Broxy was probably best avoided.
It definitely should not have been billed as Melbourne Victory. For one thing, the eleven on the park at the final whistle included only one or two who will get a start against Adelaide this weekend. It even included an unknown Victory junior, Retre, a smart looking lad with an Elvis haircut but no photo during the pre-game team announcement.
This game proved, if ever proof was needed, that a Melbourne Victory home match is eleven players on the park, four on the bench and, much more importantly, the North End and the South End in full voice, adding noise, colour, movement and atmosphere to the match day experience. No other crowd makes as much noise; no other crowd is as passionate and no other crowd makes an A-League match a worthwhile experience, regardless of whether Victory is winning or losing.
Tuesday night’s game/match/exhibition (call it what you will) had no atmosphere. There was no life beyond the few sparks of electricity generated by an Archie run, a Carlos goal, and the threat of another Danny Allsopp shot (although they all had the energy of a powder puff).
With no Victory soundtrack I sat in the crowd listening to three women in front of me discussing their holidays at full noise level … ‘so, are you going to climb the bridge … Ohhh, I thought of you as soon as I saw that photo …’ The guy beside me was explaining the offside rule to his girlfriend – well explained but pointless, as she might never witness another game in her life. The guys behind were discussing the upcoming work Christmas party. The noise and hubbub was something akin to the audio of a family BBQ rather than a football game and nobody seemed to be paying much attention to events on the park.
Around the 80th minute some people in the south east corner (for regular attendees) or the north west corner (in compass terms), thought they were at a cricket match and started a Mexican wave to entertain the crowd. I know the Mexican wave was invented at the Mexico World Cup but it was pre-match entertainment NOT during the game. In any case it’s a tired, lame excuse for crowd entertainment.
And that brings me to the missed opportunity.
If the event organisers really wanted to showcase an A-League team and the best of an A-League atmosphere (and why wouldn’t you want people excited about the A-League and wanting to come to another event) they should have given away 1000 tickets each to the North End and South End supporters and asked them to come along. It’s the North and South Ends that are the missing link and their efforts take a game and turn it into a spectacle. It’s possible they may not have come as they clearly shun these mickey mouse events but the offer of free tickets and being part of the event might have swayed them otherwise.
The event would have been better for it. The atmosphere would have been better for it. And I would have had something interesting to listen to: ‘We’re North End, we’re North End, we’re North End over here ….’ followed by the South End’s response, rather than being earbashed by a ninety minute soundtrack of other people’s lives.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Liverpool have reached a verbal agreement with Feyenoord for their head coach Arne Slot to succeed Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.…
The past 18-24 months have been an enjoyable ride for Arsenal and their fan-base after almost a decade of turbulence. Mikel Arteta has been…
Manchester City have chalked up another big win in their hunt for an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title, with Phil Foden continuing his…
Here is the way the Roar expert panel sees all the action unfolding across the final weekend of play prior to the semi-finals.
Despite the short nature of his tenure as a professional manager, Arne Slot has established himself as arguably the most impressive manager outside of…
Everton won the Merseyside derby 2-0, with Toffees supporters taunting Liverpool after the game at their home ground Goodison Park.
