Melbourne Victory have defeated Sydney FC 3-1 in a convincing win in at AAMI Park. Sydney’s loss is largely due to a lack of discipline.
The Sky Blues spent the entire second half whinging and arguing with the referee.
They finished with nine men which was an indication of their ill-discipline. Their lack of respect for the referee was disgraceful. This is an over-paid team, with over inflated egos who are embarrassing themselves.
The three worst offenders were Terry McFlynn, Alessandro Del Piero and Joel Griffiths.
McFlynn is out of his depth at this level. Del Piero and Griffiths were also guilty of concentrating more on complaining than digging themselves out of a hole.
Del Piero may have been part of a winning World Cup squad, may have won titles with Juventus, may have scored four goals last weekend, but the most important thing this bloke needs to do is look at the A-League ladder and see where his under-performing team is coming.
He will notice there are seven teams above him and only two below. Part of the reason is because his poor attitude hasn’t been a help at Sydney FC. He is not acting like an experienced leader, more like a bloke who is being spoilt off the field, which is translating to someone with a bad attitude on it.
The top six in the A-League is a joke. The top four are a long way ahead of the other six teams. The only reason every team can still make the finals is because 60% of the teams get through, where it should be 40%.
Out of the teams that can win the competition, you can dismiss Adelaide. United have a coach who has run out of ideas and his team is starting to go backwards.
Central Coast Mariners are 0 from 3 in grand finals so you can forget about them. Even if they make it to the final match it is likely that they will choke.
That leaves Melbourne Victory and West Sydney as the only two genuine contenders to take out the title.
beardan
Guest
Did you notice that Joel griffiths is suspended, mcflynn suspended, kalac suspended. You should apologies but your too much of a pea heart to do so.
RBA074
Guest
Ahh Always the way cant put forward a decent football argument so then it turns personal! If your going post opinions online, be prepared to accept that not everyones going to like it. Better luck with your next article!
Beardan
Guest
Never. Bunch of chokers.
Beardan
Guest
Maybe you need to check out how many fouls they commited in last weeks game and how many players they finished with and then come back to me about their poor attitude. You jibberer.
RBA074
Guest
No not a sydney fc fan, just a guy who read your article and didnt agree with anything you raised. Yes Sydney fc have been extremely poor this season and that again was shown against mel victory. But they've been poor due to footballing reasons such as a lack of quality in vital positions, a poor pre season which saw them way behind the rest of the field, a general inability to maintain possession when pressured. Compared to teams like the CC, WSW and the victory, Sydney resemble a state league side. If anything its the competitive spirit of the playing group that has seen a slight improvement in some of their performances as evidenced with some of their recent fightbacks. To say its their attitude thats their major problem is laughable, their major problem is they just arent good enough to get results against the cream of the comp!
Paul
Guest
Mate this isn't a forum, please be more professional. CCM's implosion in 2011 isn't necessarily a yardstick for the team now. Never say never, as they say.
Beardan
Roar Guru
You must be a Sydney FC fan not knowing quality (WSW) when you see it.
Robbie
Roar Pro
Yeah my bad being a Sydney FC supporter I was a bit annoyed. I could have more been more constructive in my criticism. Don't forget this is the Del Piero who served Juventus for 19 years and chose Sydney FC over Liverpool FC because of the Heysel Stadium tragedy (where 39 Juventus fans were killed and 600 were injured as a result of the actions of Liverpool fans). A lot of greedy professional footballers would have chosen Liverpool for the hefty salary but Del Piero chose Sydney because of his heart. Del Piero came out to Australia, a growing football market, with a significant wage cut to help inspire the football community here and promote the game on a relatively new frontier (as Beckham did with LA Galaxy in the US). He is a gentleman. He deserves more respect Read this: http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/humble-alessandro-del-piero-a-true-believer/story-fndkzvnd-1226545090987
RBA074
Guest
This blog is already a candidate for worst sports article of the year.
Garcia
Guest
Real Victory supporters showed their affection for ADP another way https://twitter.com/imnowtweeting/status/295498380954714114/photo/1/large
EdoH
Guest
Don't destroy golden goos that lays golden eggs, in ALeague that is reaching great times. Only enemies of the great game would be negative of it and it's best proponent ADP. I was at the game in Melbourne, and even Victory supporters next to me were saying; "I love him" I think we should all love him and be for ever grateful that he is here.
Melange
Guest
Forgive my troll comments, I try not to be personal when others take the time to share their opinions.
Beardan
Roar Guru
I didnt only point out ADP's whinging. What about McFlynn who was even worse and Joel Grifffiths, who has been there for 5 minutes. They, like ADP, were both disgraceful and disrespectful. Losing a final doesnt condemn you to failure, but losing 3 grand finals condemns you to being a choker im afraid.
Beardan
Roar Guru
Yes he was hacked and cops more than most, but if your the competitions big gun you are going to expect the extra attention. His yellow was deserved. Just because he was waving his arms around Italian style doesnt mean he didnt deserve it. I'll give you a yellow for this reply.
Beardan
Roar Guru
If we look at ADP on the weekend, his attitude was poor. Like you i havent seen all of Sydney's matches but Ive seen enough to see he could be doing alot more as a leader. I agree we need less players surrounding referee's Not only in Australian football but world football. Its disgraceful what referee's have to put up with. Even the way Beauchamp was going off when the Heart were given a penalty was way over the top. Something needs to be done but the FFA will do nothing just like FIFA on this topic no doubt. The big deal about the finals is teams who are consistent throughout the year should be rewarded more than the teams who have shown no consistency, like East Sydney FC. I have found your comments to be quite constructive besides the silly troll comments. Well thought out and interesting.
Beardan
Roar Guru
You are not a guru for nothing langou. Right on the money about ADP. He has been good off the field and getting him to the A-League in my opinion has been excellent but his petulant bahavior on the weekend and at other times has been embarrassing and poor. Some people, like some of those comments above, see and hear what they want. They turn a blind eye to the whinging because its ADP.
langou
Roar Guru
Hi Beardan, Interesting article I actually do agree with you about Del Piero. On one hand when he speaks he is humble and quite a positive person, however he does carry on a bit on the field and spends most the game yelling at the referees. There was also that time he stormed off the pitch without shaking hands with the opposition and without waiting for teammates. I think we are so grateful to have him hear that everyone is reluctant to say anything. As for title contenders, I find it hard to see Adelaide bouncing back after the week they have had but I wouldn’t rule out CCM. The new final series gives a much bigger advantage to the minor premiers (should they be able to hang on)as it guarantees them a home final if they are able to make it. I think CCM should be able to break their duck.
Melange
Guest
Did you write this really beleiving in your analysis or are you trolling? Robbie is absolutely right. Your analysis is shallow and it seems emotionally based. I have not watched all of Del Piero's games but I have watched a majority and he has not displayed the same poor discipline in any of the other games I've watched. I think he was bad the other night but certainly not consistently, anything but. So from what I can see you're basing your findings on a limited set of data, I may be wrong but your article does only cite this game as an example. Did you watch both teams? Victory were just as lucky to finish with 11. As for lack of respect for referees, you are right, but to signal out Sydney is ridiculous. The sooner FFA take a stand and sanction players who make contact with a referee the better, it's disgusting how bad it's becoming this season with often 3 or 4 players surrounding a referee after free kicks are awarded. Probably think more broadly about the top 6. Without investigating it I think it is likely the format suits Fox. I don't like it, but I do like the money Fox pays for the sport and am happy to live with it. Why such a big deal anyway? We duly award the Premier and a team coming from 6th would replicate the fariytales all the "we have to do things like they do in in Europe" tragics that Cup competitions throw up. "Central Coast Mariners are 0 from 3 in grand finals so you can forget about them. Even if they make it to the final match it is likely that they will choke." Lost 1-0 to Syd in a closely fought game, no choke. Lost 1-0 to Newg in a closely fought game, didn't play well and still ran Newc close, were denied a clear penalty in the dying stages, no choke. 2-0 up when Bris score a goal from an offside then blatantly foul a player to win the ball before the equaliser, penalties a lottery where, sure, individuals can choke, as a team - NO CHOKE. At this stage are also favourites for the Premiership, not a bad title to win if they can (making it back to back premierships). "That leaves Melbourne Victory and West Sydney as the only two genuine contenders to take out the title." True, they are contenders, but if either get just one or 2 injuries in their back lines then don't place any bets, particularly on Victory. "You need to learn more about football" - probably you should write a little bit about football with facts to back the trolling, oops sorry, "analysis". It's hard to accept criticism sometimes, and both mine and Robbie's could be more diplomatic, but you have written a bad one on this occassion.
Tristan
Guest
Del Piero is here to win, his passion reflects that. Not that of a whinger. After training he stays back every day to sign mountains of autographs, not at all what I consider a poor attitude. That aside, he has every right to be fired up after the inconsistent refereeing that night. Nobody will respect a referee who does a poor job, no matter what club you've played for. Fair enough criticise Sydneys performance, but don't label the only player showing any heart as a whinger, someone who rejected some big offers to put something into the sport he loves. I fail to see how you can write the mariners off. No matter what happened however many years ago, they look the most likely team to win it. Losing a final doesn't condemn you to failure.
Brandon
Guest
This is the biggest load of crap i have ever read. Adp has a bas attitude? Wow now thats a statement, the guy was hacked probably 5-6 times by victory players and cops a stupid yellow which should never had been given. This is pathetic journalism and is just the writings of some havk who is trying to make a story out of nothing