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What happens if Western Sydney lose tonight? After a season of unprecedented success, will Wanderers fans react with good grace in defeat should their side succumb to Brisbane Roar?
These are unchartered waters for a team which has racked up an impressive 12-game unbeaten run, drawing in waves of supporters on the back of finishing top of the league.
The A-League’s much-debated new finals system does the Wanderers few favours, with Western Sydney running into an in-form Roar on the back of a two-week break.
If the Roar prevail and reach their third consecutive grand final, the debate will kick off as to the merits of a team losing out on the championship despite not tasting defeat since the first week of January.
My personal view is that every team goes into the finals knowing what’s required of them, so I won’t lose much sleep if the Wanderers fail to secure the championship trophy at the first attempt.
Truth be told, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Roar, and in particular their fluid style under former coach Ange Postecoglou.
So I was somewhat surprised to be labelled “one of the most outspoken Roar haters” during the week, even if the nature of publicly sharing one’s opinion invariably invites criticism.
It reminded me of the rigmarole one of my favourite football writers Phil Ball used to go through every time he posted a new column on what was then known as ESPN Soccernet.
In the mid-2000s, after Ball had written his critically acclaimed biography of Spanish football Morbo and an historical account of Real Madrid in quick succession, numerous posters in the comments section of his column began to accuse him of being a Real Madrid fan.
The inimitable Ball – who was born in Canada, raised in England and has spent more than twenty years living in the Basque town of San Sebastian – would occasionally respond that he was, in fact, a Real Sociedad supporter.
The net effect was to cause Real Madrid fans to label Ball a closet Barcelona supporter – as though it was literally impossible for anyone to follow a club outside the big two.
I suspect the majority of those flinging such accusations had never been to Spain before, but it was always amusing to witness the back and forth about a writer who repeatedly stressed his lack of affinity for either club.
When I’m not being accused of putting the Roar down, I’m generally being labelled a “self-confessed Melbourne Victory hater” – admittedly a more realistic title given that I’ve often announced they’re far from my favourite club.
I don’t mind the labels – it’s all part and parcel of writing opinion columns – but in the case of the Roar, it shows how fanatically fans support their team given that my only criticism of them this season was to highlight the obvious fact they were out of form.
It often seems the case that fans would rather read nothing than read something negative about their club, so I do wonder how Western Sydney supporters might react to a potential defeat over the next two weekends.
Having said that, one look at yesterday’s laughable twin attacks by The Herald Sun and it’s easy to see why football fans can get so defensive.
It was hard to know where to look first; towards the black humour of “Police consider AFL bans on soccer hooligans” or the sledgehammer subtlety of an editorial claiming that ‘soccer’ is being held hostage to fan violence.
No prizes for guessing that tickets to Melbourne Victory versus Liverpool at the MCG coincidentally went on sale yesterday – the first allotment sold out in about half an hour – though some took umbrage to my quip on Twitter that I’d volunteer to be banned from attending AFL matches.
I’m not ashamed to admit I’m not interested in the sport and I don’t think anyone, not even The Herald Sun, should be prevented from voicing their opinions.
And when it comes to tonight’s clash, I think the Roar will prove too strong. They’ll win 2-1 with Besart Berisha bagging a brace.
You read it here first.