As torrents of rain fell down upon Allianz Stadium, the 13,125 fans that braved the inclement conditions witnessed a late comeback by the Sky Blues against Melbourne Heart.
A Rhyan Grant goal deep into stoppage time capped a gutsy performance. A gritty performance. But certainly not a beautiful performance. This has been the story of Sydney FC.
The reality is, while the glamour surrounding the Sydney-based club has returned, in the form of Alessandro Del Piero, the glamour on the pitch has long since faded into the distance.
Season one of the A-League saw Sydney FC play an entertaining style of football that brought success and a horde of loyal supporters. But since then the quality of football, at least in comparison to the rest of the competition, and success has snowballed.
Accordingly, crowd attendance dropped. In the Sydney community the flame of passion and excitement inspired by Dwight Yorke was extinguished.
The signing of Alessandro Del Piero has no doubt renewed interest in the A-League, not just in Sydney. It brought the bling back to Bling FC. Crowd attendances all over the a-league have skyrocketed.
He has been an inspiration, not just on the pitch but off it too. Del Piero is the figurehead the A-League needs right now but perhaps he isn’t the type of player Sydney FC needs.
Ian Crook tried to introduce a less direct style of play to entertain the massive crowds that turned out for Sydney games and to utilise Del Piero.
Not only did the experiment fail in terms of results but the team seemed unable to reproduce the slick passing game that had been adopted by teams like Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Heart. The team relied too heavily on Del Piero’s skills as a trequartista.
They were afraid of bringing other players into the game. Del Piero featured prominently in each match, playing 90 minutes most weeks – an impressive feat for a 38 year old. Sydney became a one man team.
It’s good to see the board, with the appointment of Frank Farina as manager, have finally accepted the truth. Sydney FC have never played the beautiful game. Sydney FC have never been a technically gifted team. But what they can do is fight, as they demonstrated against Melbourne Heart.
Their first real chance of the game, which only came in the 38th minute, was from a free-kick. This is how Sydney plays. Farina has harnessed desire and determination and rightfully prioritised them over entertaining the crowds.
Sydney has witnessed wobbling fluctuations in crowd attendances since the beginning of the A-League. The city is a pressure pot.
There is no hiding the fact that Sky Blue supporters demand results and attendances depend heavily on the success of the team. The media demands results. Half of Italy demands results.
But perhaps the new approach by players and staff has come too late. The Western Sydney Wanders have already taken the tag as the blue-collar workhorses of the A-League. Considering the location of the club this is logical move.
The signing of Del Piero has been a revelation for the A-League. It was a smart move by the Sky Blue staff to distinguish themselves from the Wanderers. However, on the pitch are the Sky Blues really that different from the Wanderers?
vinie
Guest
its unbelievable to imagine SFC are 2 points from making the finals, 6 wins out of 16 and they can still make the finals??? in a 10 team comp 6th place does not deserve a playoff spot
Doc
Roar Rookie
The fact that Sydney FC is somewhat obsessed with signing big name players in a bid to replicate the success of the 05/06 vintage can only result in continued mediocrity. Sure, the Sydney market is hyper competitive, and the signing of Del Piero was largely to secure existing supporters against defecting to WSW, though this is no excuse for what we have seen unfold in recent seasons. Short term profiteering has left no enduring club culture and limited continuity in the squad as a whole. To contrast this, CCM has proven that a strong nucleus of players (and no marquee), many of whom have come through the youth system together provides stability in results on the field. Sydney take note.
pete4
Guest
We saw the same thing with Kewell at MV last season. Sometimes for whatever reason a "big name" joins the squad and the balance isn't right for whatever reason and the club fails to get results as expected. When your coming last you'll take a win whichever way you can. Still 11 games to go so more than enough time for Bling FC to get going...
Robbie
Roar Pro
Couldn't have put it better myself
Matt F
Roar Guru
True. For all the talk of what style teams play fans are more likely to watch an ugly winner than a beautiful loser, though obviously a beautiful winner is the best. No doubt results are vital but the signs are there that we're slowly improving. Somehow (god only knows how) we're only 2 points out of the 6, and 3 off 5th so a win against Wellington next week, which is achievable, gives us some momentum and could put us right on the edge of the finals spots. With Culina getting better each week he plays, Griffiths able to play from now and other players slowly returning from injury, finals are still possible, though we really don't deserve to get there
Robbie
Roar Pro
Your comment on the impressive crowd is true. A game being played in the rain by two struggling clubs would never have seen this many people turn out in previous seasons. As I stated in the article crowds have dramatically improved this season (mainly due to the signing of marquee players like Del Piero, Heskey, etc.). This is not the problem though. The problem was Sydney's attitude and style of play which, thankfully, is starting to be reformed. I don't want to be a doomsday prophet but if Sydney don't continue their recent run of decent form we could very well be looking at flagging crowds next season. Results is all the matters for Sydney. Whether it comes through grit and determination, rather than flair, so be it.
Matt F
Roar Guru
The nature of a league with a salary cap means that you can't really have a "Bling FC." Every club has the same maximum limit, with the exceptions being marquee players so it's nearly impossible for a club in this league to be near the top every single season. It's true that Sydney as a city loves a winner and generally ignores a loser. That being said when you consider that we've had a poor season and were playing a poor opposition in poor weather I don't think 13k is a bad crowd. Not too many other clubs would get that in the same situation
striker
Guest
The A-League needs Sydney FC to do well, if Sydney does well the A-League does well along with the wanderes and Melbourne Victory.
Freddie
Guest
Season one saw Sydney play an entertaining brand of football? Not sure about that, I remember them being pretty ordinary to watch, although effective, under Pierre Littbarski. Really, the only time Sydney has played sparkling football was briefly under Branko Culina, but he couldn't win a chook raffle.