The Western Sydney Wanderers will confirm one of two things this Sunday afternoon. The first, is their status as the A-League Champions. The second, is the unwanted tag as the A-League ‘chokers’.
Tony Popovic’s men have been the most consistent side across the league following their inception in 2012, taking out the Premier’s Plate at the first offering before going down to the Mariners in last season’s championship decider.
And while Western Sydney finished this regular season in second place, the side was not at its destructive best on the counter in the opening rounds.
The last time the Red and Black ventured to Suncorp Stadium, they were met by a ruthless and creative midfield, conceding twice inside the first 20 minutes as they were torn apart.
On that occasion, the Wanderers looked sapped of energy and offered very little going forward. Their defensive fragilities were exposed by the brilliance of Brisbane’s – and the A-League’s – best player, Thomas Broich.
The Wanderers will have to be at their best for the full 90 minutes to overcome Brisbane. Although that might sound a cliché, Brisbane proved in 2011 that a champion side must compete from the first whistle until the very last.
Having only entered the competition some two years ago, it may sound strange to say the Wanderers’ ‘premiership window’ could be close to ending. But it is.
Marquee import Shinji Ono will depart the A-League at the end of this game, as fellow stars Aaron Mooy and Youssouf Hersi relocate to Melbourne and Perth, respectively.
Still yet to confirm replacement signings for next season’s campaign, Tony Popovic’s dynamics are sure to change when he loses two influential attacking midfielders in Ono and Mooy
It will be challenging to find new recruits who can fit this mould without detracting from the side’s natural game also.
Losing one grand final is one thing. Losing consecutive finals is another.
And while the old adage ‘You have to lose one before you can win won’ may ring true come Sunday, the away side may again be empty handed come full time at Suncorp if the demons from last season’s decider creeps into their minds.
wanderer
Guest
hey ryan show us your ASIAN BUDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! chokers no more mate
JB
Guest
Western Sydney Wanderers are CHOKERS!!
Scrubbit
Guest
Pretty sure it should have been the magpies vs broncos
Scrubbit
Guest
But it's not a knock out cup... It's a finals format and finals format = finals series.
AGO74
Guest
Not this year.
Adam Smith
Guest
Oh come on! Losing one grand final doesn't make a team 'chokers'. They made it through to the final 16 in the ACL so they're doing great. If anyone can be called a 'choker' it's the Spanish soccer team or the New Zealand Rugby Union team who were always considered very good (if not the best) but never won a world cup. Now, things are completely different with both teams winning world cups and seemingly unbeatable.
Rob
Guest
Glory lost a few before they snagged one in the old nsl... Wouldn't suprised me to see wanderes do the same - massive expectation
Bob
Guest
Prof, The glory "hole/whole" play on words was seemingly too subtle to have registered even to the intelligentsia. Will try to both dumb it down and improve my material for future posts. Regarding "cupish", I believe it was the correct use of the suffix "-ish" but am happy to be corrected.
Bob
Guest
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
I may be willing to back you, but with people calling you a "noob" (MattQ), others "nob" (do they mean "knob"?), and with you talking about cardiac defects ("hole heartedly" -- possibly "wholeheartedly"?), and with spelling errors ("prevelent", "cupish") -- I can barely understand what the conversation is about. However, I thank you all for the exchange. Next time somebody asks me why spelling and punctuation matters, I'll just refer them hear -- uh, I mean "here". For the record, losing a "grand final" is not "choking", even if you do it 10 times.
jamesb
Guest
The gf should have been the nix v heart
Ryan Selvage
Roar Guru
'Outsiders' in this match, yes. But having accumulated more points than any other side since their inception, is it wrong to assume they are not the best side in the competition?
Bob
Guest
Oh well, maybe I should just get on the wagon and enjoy the fun. I have a ticket to the game so I can see what all the fuss is about. Will there be a march by WSW? Is it worth watching? What will the pre-game activities be like?
langou
Roar Guru
Bob, the rest of us are having a blast this week. Talking about the game , sharing the excitement, watching tickets sell so quickly. The weekend is going to be even more fun, the big build up and then watching two great teams go at it, with everything on the line. You really should get some new friends and join in the fun or perhaps you, Boomer, Clayts and Stevo can go out for High Tea or something and let us celebrate the biggest annual day in Australian football.
Reginald Bomber
Roar Guru
Why would FFA get rid of the GTS and final series, when finals attendances are up 22%, the grand final alone is going to gross $3M and the final will be watched by 250 million people around the world.
Ian
Guest
from all the experts tips and players two-thirds are tipping Wanderers to win. looks like Roar are up against it. I'm not counting my chickens and it would be ridiculous to do so. WSW are in very good form. It's 50-50 at this stage until the teams get out on the pitch and see who's brought their A game so to speak.
Ian
Guest
Wow - 'better than 50% chance' 'finished better for last 7 minutes' because it happened in injury time means its worth more ref blew full time whistle early with Henrique 1on1 with Coe lets not worry about anything else that happened in the first 90 minutes or Victory's fitness for 30 minutes of extra time yep - they DESERVE it.
Reginald Bomber
Roar Guru
You're lucky I didn't pull out the knives from the My Kitchen Rules grand final. :)
bill boomer
Guest
I'm with you bob. The dunny seat cup has to go and the idea that it is "unaustralian" to not have is as wrong as it is stupid. What the seat is is un football.
Bob
Guest
Dang it Stevo, back me up here! I am getting rolled by the vocal majority. Reginald pulled the old Masterchef card (and called me Bob the nob to boot). AZ has proclaimed the end of Westeros, mocking my attempts to pour water on everyone's enjoyment of this weekend's festivities (not a bad analogy to be honest - it feels like you and I are a bit like the Night's Watch facing obliteration at the hands of Manse Ryder's army). Meanwhile, MattQ wants us to bathe in Sergio Ramos' glory....hole heartedly I disagree with this sentiment.