Are the Brisbane Roar on their way to a remarkable comeback?

A "slow start" - well they lost 5 out of their first 6 HAL games, got knocked out of the FFA Cup before the season proper had started, Miller walked out amid wider player discontent, Kurtishi was a flop but getting regular game time, meanwhile Solorzano was "out of favour" with Mulvey, a first choice right back (Bowles) was being left out while a Center Back was played out of position (Donachie), we hadn't replaced Franjic or Berisha, Young was clearly out of his depth and struggling with our style mesnwhe Acton who was familiar with our game sat on the bench and watched, to cap if all the team was unfit and Ron "Mike Mulvey says I'm the best signing" Smith was locked into a politics battle with Ken Stead!!! As slow starts go that takes some beating! What blame Mulvey must share will probably be never known but he was at odds with his manager over style and philosophy and since he left we have only lost twice in 12 games .... and we look much, much better - the fact Mulvey isn't being dropped straight in at Mariners tells a story in my opinion. No one is in a rush to hire him and yet both Mariners and Jets obviously need new management but there's a reason Mulvey isnt in there either as coach or technical director.

Form is form based on games Won, Lost and Drawn. Since the Asian Cup P5, W4, D1, L0 and 13 points out of a possible 15. There can't be any arguement - that is their form! You can add in a win and a loss in the ACL and make what you will of those ..

Maybe I wasn't clear. I fully exoect Brisbane to make the six - but I do not agree with some commentators (see Robbie Slater) that they are in a glorious vein of form. They are not the form team he makes them out to be since the Asian Cup. Janek conversely does not rely on that form but points to their good performance in the ACL and their record in knockout matches.

What do you mean? He got a point on the weekend, which was all he deserved. And Kevin Muscat was full of complaints afterwards ;)

Waz the performance against the jets was awful and they were fortunate (lucky) to get pts. The game against wellington was, I thought evenly poised and again it looked like a draw courtesy of theo gifting them a goal (unlucky)? or good hassle by the striker? But we manage to score in extra time to win it instead of share the points. I take your point, but my feeling on winning that game was relief and good fortune that we had the last kick of the match to take the points rather than an overwhelming feeling that we deserved the win. Unlike yesterday where we were clearly better and deserved to win. In my opinion the performance last night was better than I have seen in a while (noting i don't see acl or away games unless they are fta). Even though it was against the bottom team the ball movement appeared much better, but scoring or putting threatening shots on goal still needs work.

I agree with Waz. Rather than focus on what might have been ... rather focus on the form of the teams going into the finals. For me Adelaide has gone off boil. Perth too has not found a way to win, and has relied on luck to gain a point. Sydney FC has been winning ugly. MV simply find ways to squander chances. Don't be surprised if a 'sllent' team that nobody has given any chances creeps up on them.

TK - I think many have doubt and the only thing that will change that is time and continued improvement in results and performance. I do struggle with general assessments of Roar being lucky against Jets and Nixs; at 1-0 up against the Jets who were all but out of the game in all but the scoreboard then they get a lucky deflection, the ball evades Corey Brown who then makes a great recovery tackle and - with 4 Roar defenders to one Jet - the ball pops up in the one place possible for the Jets guy to score and he does. Why don't commentators find that "lucky"? And for the Nix who were second best on the night to Roar who just struggled to put chances away - in the end we scored the winner in extra time and STILL found time to create another chance afterwards which the keeper managed to just keep out with his toenails to prevent a 4-2 score line. If as people say "good sides make their own luck" why are Roar considered lucky and not a good side?

Ah sqizz, a master of the "should-have/would-have" school of football I see - before I play too would you care to say who in the top 5 is "convincing" ... ? Now, back to your game of should-have/would-have football: R1: Brisbane L1-2 at home to Adelaide, lost to a needless own goal. Should have been 1-1. (Please add one point to your calculations) R2: L2-3 away at Perth, Andy Keons shot is missing, deflects for an own-goal (but is mysteriously awarded to him after he scores a "third") in the 74th minute changing the game to 2-2 (do you want to award us two or one point for that?) R5: L1-3 at home to City, at 1-2 it's only their former Roar keeper playing a blinder thats the only thing stopping roar winning the game (please award us 3 points) R7: L0-1 to Victory. We bore our way to 0-0 until North scores a needless own goal. Please rearward a point to Roar. R9: L0-1 to City. Clear dive gives city the winning penalty goal. Please rearward Roar one point. R13: D3-3 away at Mariners. Ball wont stop "luckily" falling at a Mariners strikers feet on rebound, two lucky goals gives them a draw. Please award Roar the extra two points. By my calculations in your should-have/would-have football league Roar are due an extra 10-12 points! (Could you contact the FFA and arrange? also got that Andy Keown hat-trick nullified please) My point (laboriously made I know) is if you're going to reverse engineer the last 5 games you should at least apply the same principle to the entire season and see if it reveals anything - I would argue Roar aren't as good as recent form Suggests nor as poor as previous form suggested. What is undeniable is their results, since Theijssen took over, are as good as anyone else's in the league. Two defeats in 13 games delivering 22 points (use your should-have/would-have logic and apply that form to the 5 defeats in the first 6 games and suddenly Roar are top).

The form is certainly coming back and confidence is growing. Injured players who have returned are finding their feet. Old and new boys like Solorzano and Borello are flying, and crucially there is new DEPTH in the squad. March is the big month. If Roar gets through this month like they did since the resumption of the league, then think twice before betting against them. At the moment, I like what I see. Still there is improvement coming - which is the good news. Most top teams are already at peak and some like Perth/Adelaide and even MV have plateaued. On the issue of Mulvey, no point talking about hypothetical scenarios. The thing that got Mulvey sacked was not the run of losses - it was his relationship with Roar board that was terminal. He also had issues with some of the players as well. Since Mulvey there is a renewed unity - one key ingredient in a winning club. IMO, still a little too early to tell but the signs are good.

13 points from 15 since the Asian Cup sounds good but they have not been very convincing. First game back was a very rusty performance against an equally rusty Nix Second game relied on an own goal by a late substitute in the last 10 seconds to claim the points against the low flying Jets. A 2 -0 win over the Mariners from two deserved spot kicks in the second half seems convincing - except for the 3 more deserving spot kicks the Mariners should have received in the first 13 minutes. The game against Perth Brisbane looked good until the red card. Tonight a few centimetres ensured Brisbane kept the points when Juric's short bounced on the line. So 13 points from 15 - but could oh so easily have been considerably less.

It is the inconsistent performance that brings doubt to my mind. They are on a bit of a run and have been a bit fortunate, which you need no doubt as a team but can't rely on. The late win against the jets and nux were fortunate, noting that Theo gifted the nux their second goal. I haven't seen their last three games (acl x2) or vs perth so don't feel I can say whether there is genuine improvement. There is no doubt we miss berishas freakish ability to score and I think that gets forgotten a bit in these comparisons...even when roar were off their game in the past, he would win it through individual brilliance giving us 3pts instead of 1. These days we don't have that luxury and have to play well as a team to score goals and we are struggling with that this year. I am looking forward to the game tomorrow night to see how they go. Interestingly sydney struggled a bit last night against the jets, so even the team on their streak looked inconsistent. I really think confidence will be a key...if brisbane get their self belief up then I think they could get on a roll. But the next month is going to be tough but if they get more wins than losses..look out finals.

I think Roar might make the six, and who knows, anything could happen. I think Victory will be a real chance if they remain injury and suspension free, but Phoenix, Glory, Sydney FC and Adelaide United are also all a real chance. Maybe Melbourne City with some tall timber now may spoil it for everyone.

Uncle, on your comment "especially since Mulvey left, the Roar have played some of the most uninspiring football I’ve seen" .... things went south under Mulvey for some reason and the rot started there - the victory game was just dire even though we nearly got a point. After he went the team seemed to be in triage for a month and it's only these last 3 games where we're now seeing a return to the slick passing of the last few seasons. I for one am still af a loss to know what happened to this team in the seasons first half

Brisbane are a consistent football team they had a slow start to the season and unfortunately Mulvey was the casualty out of it, they're somewhere near a top four team in saying that at least 5-6 teams are in the same boat .. If they can get to a semi in the HAL it would be a great effort and go deep into the ACL would be interesting . There's not a great deal of difference also in manager between Mulvey and Thijssen both can coach ? ...

It was. And Kevin Muscat was full of complaints afterwards .. probably the only time this season he's had a point ;)

That was Mulvey's last, game, I believe.

The worst game of the season was Victory where we appeared to be deliberately slowing the game down. Roar not moving it forward quickly remains an issue but results have turned so lets see. We can't blame the Suncorp pitch either as we've only played there twice in 3 months

Fair enough. I think, especially since Mulvey left, the Roar have played some of the most uninspiring football I've seen from them in the A-League. Even before Ange, Brisbane's teams were always known for their flair and attacking intent. This season when they move the ball it's like they have lead in their legs. Maybe the Suncorp surface isn't helping Brisbane's quick passing game. I noticed the pitch in Saitama seemed beautifully manicured. And Brisbane were able to zip their passes around in neat triangle like they used to when they dominated the A-League in the past few seasons.

UJ - I disagree with your comment "The previous week they were rubbish in the ACL at home" .. I was at that game and commented at half time that was one of our best 45 minutes football of the season (but yes, not as good as last year). It was just in the 2nd half we looked dull against a 5-4-0 Beijing highlighting our lack of consistency this year. Roar are good enough to win it at the moment, they're just not consistent enough imo

It depends whether you're judging Brosbane by comparing their performances to last season or judging them on their recent results. With 10 games left IF Brisbane were to maintain their form they'll finish on 43-45 points, enough for 2nd last season but who knows this year? The article wasn't titled "are Roar back to their best?" (they're definately not) but it is asking the question "is Roars recent form (past 11 games and the most recent few games) enough for a late title charge?" ... It's hard to argue it isn't good enough for a late charge having played Phoenix and Glory and matched both recently - if Roar finish strongly could they win it, yes to the "could they" is the only possible answer - the question of "will they" is not at all clear. It's an exciting season all round