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Sydney FC fans are either eternally loyal or completely daft for their continuing support of arguably the most frustrating team in the A-League.
A Sydney FC home game generally means one of two things: that it will rain and that Sydney fans will go home with chewed fingernails after watching their team mix a combination of the sublime with the downright stupid in their bid to collect points.
Last night’s 2-2 draw with Adelaide United was a classic case in point as Sydney skipper Terry McFlynn needlessly conceded an early corner and then watched in horror as Adelaide defender Daniel Mullen headed it home at the near post.
McFlynn is one of the more curious figures in the A-League.
As a captain he’s loved and loathed in almost equal measure, his passing is erratic and when it comes to timing his tackles, he’s about as accurate as a counterfeit Casio.
Yet he’s in the starting team on a weekly basis, in part because coach Vitezslav Lavicka seems to view change as a major inconvenience to be stubbornly resisted for as long as possible.
But just when Sky Blues fans drop their heads at the hopelessness of it all, up steps Bruno Cazarine with some cunning penalty-box football to coax defender Nigel Boogaard into committing a foul and suddenly Sydney fans are wondering why Cazarine doesn’t start every week.
And then the big striker breaks clear in open play and Sydney fans have an emphatic answer: Cazarine is about as pacy as a fish on a sand dune and any attempted through ball which doesn’t land within millimetres of his bootlaces is essentially wasted.
Sydney are full of contradictions on and off the park, yet the 10,000-strong core of their supporter base turns up regularly to spur their team on.
Does a club in a one-team town of more than four million deserve to play in front of bigger crowds? Undoubtedly.
But all the moaning and groaning about Sydney’s crowds sizes – and this point is applicable to all clubs across the A-League – ignores the loyal supporters who do turn out, in favour of persistently admonishing ‘fans’ who exist in name only.
And the idea that a western Sydney team will significantly build on the city’s A-League base is a notion fraught with danger.
We heard similar promises before when the Parramatta Eels rugby league side bankrolled NSL club the Parramatta Power, who lost fistfuls of money playing in front of lacklustre crowds.
And when so many so-called supporters conjure every excuse imaginable not to attend A-League games at the Sydney Football Stadium, who is to say they’d bother turning out anywhere else?
For all the talk of Sydneysiders being spoiled for entertainment choices, I’d say the truth is probably more prosaic – Sydney is a staggeringly expensive city to live in.
And with so many sports fans conditioned to stay at home and get their fix on television, I can’t see that situation changing regardless of where a western Sydney team is based.
That’s a moot point for now and so we’re back on to Sydney FC and their small but loyal band of supporters.
They’ve been rewarded with two championships so far, but they’ve also been punished by some of the most insipid football imaginable – most notably under Terry Butcher but at times under Lavicka as well.
Thankfully he’s taken the hint that fielding youngsters is not a crime and it was no surprise to see teenager Dimi Petratos smash home a stunning equaliser last night.
It left Sydney FC fans bounding home with a spring in their step and a sparkle in their eyes, despite the shoddy defending and mistimed tackles and heavy skies.
And a riddle which has existed since day one came no closer to being solved: are Sydney FC the most frustating A-League team to watch of all?