A fond farewell to writing on The Roar

“I slashed and burned through my 15 minutes of fame. And now it’s time for me to extinguish the flame.” The time has come for me to wrap up this column and give another young writer a crack.

Have you ever watched a testimonial game, where a serviceable but otherwise nondescript departing player is indulged the opportunity to say farewell in a relaxed and self-serving manner? That’s what this column is going to be.

The World Cup was great and I enjoyed it immensely, but I made the decision to wrap up my association with The Roar shortly before the tournament kicked off.

And Patrick Effeney, amiable editor that he is, agreed to my self-indulgent request to say thank you to those who’ve read and helped shape the more than 320,000 words I’ve contributed to this website over the past five-and-a-half years.

But first, I’ll start with a memory.

I will never forget sitting high up in the press box in Yokohama the night Kaka single-handedly destroyed Boca Juniors en route to lifting the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup for Milan.

It was football on a scale we’re not used to in Australia, and I resolved that if an A-League team qualified for the next edition, I would share my on-the-ground insights with an Australian audience.

For that I have Zac and Zolton Zavos to thank for welcoming me to The Roar, and subsequently Tristan Rayner and the aforementioned Patrick Effeney for their effective editorship.

When I moved back to Australia from Japan, I soon discovered the A-League was ripe for some candid analysis. Over time, this column took on a life of its own, with some readers embracing its strident tone and others vehemently rejecting it.

But at the end of the day, all I’ve ever been interested in is discussing football. Whether people agreed with me or not is irrelevant – it’s the football we should be talking about.

If I could change one thing about how we talk about sport in Australia – particularly online – it would be to tone down the ad hominem attacks in favour of focusing on the real issues at hand. After all, journalists are people too.

I’m looking forward to watching a lot more of the A-League through less critical eyes this season. Though you’ll often find me at the Sydney Football Stadium scowling at the fortunes of the home team, I’m also looking forward to taking my partner to some more Brisbane Roar games.

One of the joys of football is sharing it with others, and I’m happy that I can put my hard-earned into watching such an attractive outfit play in my adopted hometown.

Anyone who knows me well knows I’m an avid record collector, and as odd as it may sound, one of my favourite pastimes has always been to read the thank you list to get a sense of who influenced the making of said records.

So without further ado, I’d like to thank the following for their insight, guidance and for simply being occasional readers. It means a lot.

Cheers to Grant Rieper, Greg Stock, Simon Hill, Andy Harper, Murray Shaw, Dave Hall, Jesse Fink, Bonita Mersiades, Scott McIntyre, Michael Lynch, Ned Zelic, Uli Hesse, Phil Lutton, Marco Monteverde, Michelle Tobin, John Stensholt, Ray Gatt, Stuart Randall, Tony Harper, Philip Beech, Brian Gibson, Chris Tanner, Taka Uematsu, Michael Church, Paul Williams, Ken Matsushima and Cesare Polenghi.

Thanks also to Aaron Marsden, Adam Cuthbert, Luke Keylar, Lee Cruse, Cameron Hicks, Craig Anderson, Michael Lugton, Andrew Mackey, Dave Immerz, Matt Sourdin, Christine Whyte, Elia Santoro, Gert Poel, Jayson Merkley, Kaz Kawasaki, Shingo Miyashiro, Tom Seungmin Lee, Grant Muir, Dan Adams, Dan Allport, The Cove, Andy Carr, Ben Schultz, Justin Mahon, Katie Lambeski, Ahmed Yussuf, Dave Sky, John Porter and Adam Waterson.

Last but not least, thanks to Mum and Dad and Amanda and Martin Doerr for taking an interest. Extra special thanks to Ashton Rigg for everything.

In the words of Keith Morris, “I’ve had a blast!”