Can Brisbane Roar go back-to-back-to-back?

Dinoweb. Just a little note to add to my last comment. Last night Donnachie, for some reason or other,facing his own goal, tried to "do a Garrincha " & lost possession. 3 or 4 passes later the ball was in the Roar net. What made it more tragic was that the kid had tried the same trick a few minutes before & had lost possession in that instance as well. Obviously a lesson not learned. Hopefully it will sink in now. Also there is a picture floating around showing Ono about to strike his wonder goal from the 20 yard mark,shooting range. Franjic & another Roar player,I think it is Bratten, are standing at least 3 to 4 yards away,not close enough at this level, result,punished again. This is where we are at in our game. There are players playing in this league who will punish severely even the slightest defensive error.Last night we saw that fact twice. jb

Dinoweb- I accept most of what you are saying here though I just have to point out one instance where I feel your views contradict each other. You talk about players getting a ball in such a position that they can aim in all directions (Del Piero is a master at finding such spaces), and at that point I have to stop you and say "one, or some, of the defending team is not doing his,or their, job at all well.and in my mind that is a serious defensive error ,especially if it makes the keeper pull off a "point blank" save. Get my point?, Three or four instances of this type of keeping usually point to defensive error .Watch the younger players in the Roar team and you will see these types of defensive lapses all too frequently ,hence Theo's outstanding form in recent weeks has helped the team performance markedly. That's all, keep on analysing. it is the only way to learn. Your mate in debate. jb

Jb, yes being a fan is all about opinion. I love this sort of discussion though, it makes me analyse my own thoughts more fully while also exploring some one else’s point of view, even if I don’t agree at the time. I guess we’ll agree to disagree on the strength of the current squad, and yes it is only a feeling on my part. I have no real evidence to back it up. Time will tell perhaps, though who knows what next season will bring for any team or player. This time last year, I still thought Ange would be coaching Roar. Just on my point about keepers and defence, counter intuitive as it may seem, I don’t think a better defence necessarily means less chances for the opposition, rather that it makes the opposition more predictable. The keeper then has confidence that his decisions are more likely to be correct. For example, an opposition player is in a position to shoot, but the defenders are not putting enough pressure on. The player has time to choose to shoot in any direction making the keepers job tougher. One of del Piero’s goals against Roar early in the season springs to mind. Put just a little more pressure on, and the player may only have one direction to shoot, or will instinctively shoot the way he normally would, giving the keeper more confidence about which way to go. The goal mouth scramble against Adelaide last Sunday was a case in point. Theo pulled off a great reflex save, but it was made easier by him being instinctively aware of where any shot was likely to go (and being good enough to do it of course). In both cases, there is a chance, but one is easier to save then the other. It’s not necessarily even a conscious thing by the keeper. Having played as a keeper at various points in time, and having seen this phenomenon on many occasions with different keepers and teams, it is the only logical reason I could ever come up with.

Dinoweb- An interesting analysis based a lot on opinionative discussion (he is better than him) but you have still failed to convince me that this squad is stronger than last year's team which finished second in the league.North,an international of some experience,has been brought in to replace Adnan,another international,in a perfectly logical & successful solution to a problem. You say Theo's improvement could be related to a better defence,I don't measure defence in that manner,I look at the number of chances still being "gifted" to opponents as a measure of how successful that "defence" is, & there is little doubt in my mind Theo has HAD to contribute in keeping those 'chances" unsuccessful,so I would say Theo has more than contributed to the success of your "latest" defensive line up. At this point I should say the young Donnachie could be one for the future. I agree wholeheartedly about Nicholls & if Mulvey has turned the lad's attitude around he deserves huge plaudits for that alone. You are obviously pleased with the Franjic move but I ask you to consider,why was he moved in the first place,,was it because Hingert forced him out or was it because there was no one else to add punch down the right flank???????. Re. the 3 you want to be "given a chance", that is precisely the thing that I do not see as a plus for a team wanting to win the Asian Cup.Let others do the "giving a chance" & do what Tony Popovitch has done,sign up the experienced "also rans" & use them, moulding them into a successful team,so that they too lift their standard accordingly,to be better players. Apart from these few observations you are entitled to your opinion and that's how it should be . your mate. jb

Starting line-up for Roar in the 2012 grand final for Roar was, Theo, Franjic, Adnan, Smith, Steffanutto, Paartalu, Nichols, Murdocca, Henrique, Broich, Berisha. Starting line-up v Adelaide, Theo, Hingert, Donachie, North, Steff, Lustica, Nichols, Bratten, Franjic, Broich, and Berisha. Any way you look at it, that’s half a team that wasn’t on the field this time last year. I agree entirely that young or old, age is immaterial to quality. My point re age is that it is a youngish side that has and can still improve a lot, while I never had much belief that last years team could play much better. I will take Bratten over Partaluu. Partaluu had a good season in 2011, but was not really good enough for most of 2012, and I was not sorry to see him go this season. Donachie can learn to do more with the ball, but has really impressed me defensively. Maybe not as good as Adnan at his best, but more consistent. North has added leadership at the back in a way that Smith has never really done, and Hingert is no slouch as a replacement for Franjic. (Bit of a headache for Mike when Smith is fit). I've often found a keepers form is directly proportional to his faith in his defence, and Theo's form has increased dramatically. Nichols has found consistency in the past few weeks, something that has eluded him for much of his career, and is probably playing as well as I have seen, though it’ll take another half a season of the same or better before I no longer worry every time I saw him walk on the park. For me, moving Franjic forward has been the big plus. He always defended well and looked dangerous when he went forward, but as a midfielder just threatens so much more consistently up front than anyone else has done on that flank since Barbarouses left. Still more for him to learn there though which only excites me more. I have said for 18 months that Broich needs another genuine threat coming from midfield to take some pressure off and give him just that little bit more room. I think Hingert combining with Franjic on the right has done just that. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Broich’s form started to improve at about the same time, and I repeat it's a crucial blow to the balance of the squad come Friday night. Lustica and Nijland, my understanding is they both might be at Roar next year. Both have potential. Nijland certainly impressed in his first appearance, but my feeling is he values his opinion more than the coach. Along with Halloran, they still have more to prove, but I'd be happy to see them all get the chance. Overall then, I feel more confident in Roars defence, and more optimistic about their attack than this time last year, and I am not unhappy with the options on the bench. I agree the depth of teams right across the A-League needs to improve, but I genuinely feel Roar currently have a squad that can.

Roar do have the upper hand with finals experience in the last couple of seasons but each of the away games they have played during those successful finals have been at less than 50% capacity Gosford. Friday night will be a very different experience. Roar simply need to play like Mariners to beat WSW. Crisp passing along the ground and don't let them counter.

Brilliant...the Wanderers and our little ol A League making news around the world.

WSW getting more column inches in the NY Times than they get in Aussie papers! http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/04/10/sports/soccer/10reuters-soccer-australia-wanderers.html

Smith - No new information, so no chance. Henrique - Ankle, don't know. No new information so probably not. Hingert - No Chance Brattan - Trained freely, almost definite. Broich - They said he should play, but said that showing footage of him on crutches so I don't know.

I fear the loss of JH will be a bigger one than most anticipate. I say that not only because he has been performing well, but because it means IF may have to return to right back. IF has been a revelation up front so having him deeper will be a shame. I can't see Brisbane winning if either LB or TB join JH on the sidelines. Mail today was that both should be right, but time till tell.

dinoweb - An interesting interpretation on exactly what I have tried to say. Mike never used the "fade out" phrase last week when Thomas came off, he used it 3 weeks ago when Nichols came off with what was described at the time as a sore back. Now I note you have reverted back to age when discussing players but age doesn't worry me in the slightest,if a player is good enough his age doesn't matter in the least. Ask yourself the following questions,is Hingert a better fullback than Franjic?,Obviously not in MM's mind ,at the moment,he takes off Hingert when putting on a sub.Is Halloran a better winger than Franjic?.Again not in MM's mind for who starts.? Lustica & Nijland are not Roar players & will leave at season's end unless Roar sign them.Personally I have my doubts about the Dutchman, & Lustica is another player who is being replaced after an hour,is that contributing to "the fade". or is it a physical fitness problem?. You then mention Murdocca & Henrique but they, with Theo,Franjic,Steffanutto,Nichols,Berisha & Broich were all members of last year's team, the one you reckon is not as good as this year's. team, & as the only differences can be Hingert, North, & Bratten it is from those three the improvement must have come?????. North I could agree with, Bratten is starting to impress me but is he better than a motivated Paartalu?,I will reserve judgement a bit longer,& that leaves Hingert, & I don't suppose he has made much difference for Franjic filled the same position well last year. Your last statement may well be correct but last night CCM minus at least 6 of their best players performed well in the Asian Cup despite losing 2 goals in the dying minutes. That is the standard our top teams must aspire to & to that end I still think this Roar squad could be improved, no I'll change that, .it HAS to be improved, for continued success.Your mate jb

An interesting argument jb. I think this years Roar has a much more youth focus with Hingert, Donachie, Bratten, Lustica and Halloran all 23 or younger, Nichols and Nijland at 24 and even Franjic only 25. With Murdocha and Henrique on the bench as well, I think there is plenty of depth in the side for the A-League. I find it hard to believe but I actually feel this is now a better Roar team than last year. The side last year was less balanced than this, and the younger players are a year older and a year more experienced. Encouraging for next season then. Broich has been outstanding in the past three weeks, and I think it is only reasonable that the team would drop once he went off. His efforts would have been literally inspirational to the younger players during the match. Not only then does Roar lose an outstanding player, but the on field example as well. There aren’t a whole lot of players at any club in the country who could fill in for a player of his quality in that sort of form. As for the ACL, I wonder is it possible for any A-League club to have sufficient depth given the squad size and salary cap limitations? I don’t think any a-league squad has ever shown any great depth. CCM, and Roar perhaps, are the only team to have now consistently challenged at the top of the table for an extended period.

The finals system is a excuse for a championship.

dinoweb - once again you touch on a very important point without going into detail & yet it is highly indicative of something I have written elsewhere. You state it was "only forced injury changes that brought them down a peg". I agree totally, but this has happened in the last 3 games when substitutions were made,with the same results, as MM put it publicly, a "fade out". This points to an inexorable fact ,this squad needs strengthened & it is to be hoped the young manager is aware of this ,for it is the Achilles heel that affected greatly the 2 preceding teams which, although performing to the highest level here in the HAL, were shown to be found wanting in Asia. It also manifested itself at the start of this season & has taken many weeks to get some improvement,but, as you suggest, the task is not yet over,in fact it is just beginning for one,Mike Mulvey.jb

Mahler - I do wish people would get off Mulvey's back & let him develop what he wants to do in a reasonable time frame. Roar as a team did not start to improve with his arrival, the improvement has been more to do with a change in the team's attitude which could have been caused by many different factors, such as the influence of North at the back,a return to form of Theo ,who has been outstanding in recent weeks, a huge improvement in work rate by Nicholls in midfield, the somewhat chancy but nevertheless reasonably successful moving of a defender into a free- roaming role, the growing confidence of young Brattan, all of these factors aiding & abetting a return to form for Broich & Berisha. Now there is little doubt MM could have had a hand in setting all of these improvements in motion but he is not Merlin the Magician so lets just sit back & enjoy a team coming into the form we could have expected way back at season's start & let him get on with the job of managing those factors that get no publicity. What are they you may ask?. How & where can he improve his team & his squad for next season, because, confidence building aside, they still finished far to far down the league tabe for his well being & it is in team building & squad strengthening, (factors absent in the immediate past) that his real worth will be judged.Let's give him a go in that area. jb