Six talking points from A-League Round 3

It was a cracking round of controversy-free football in the A-League this weekend, as we look at the big Round 3 talking points.

Is the A-League getting better or worse?
In its 14th version, the little league that could is still struggling for mainstream traction, and while there are multiple opinion about areas failing the game, one aspect of the league often getting brushed over or simply ridiculed incessantly, is the quality of the play.

What do we make of the quality of the A-League this season? No, the A-League is not as good as the English Premier League, of that there is no doubt, and I stand supremely confident that opinion won’t be too readily howled down from the backrow.

The quality of Australia’s competition won’t rival any European league, and in many ways, is still coming to grips with that critique from the ever-diplomatic Pim Verbeek that the A-League would not rival a Dutch fourth division.

But, how bad is it?

Common criticisms of the league include that it is slow, it is predictable, and fundamental basic skills are lacking like passing, tackling, shooting, and positional play.

I attended the grand final re-match in Newcastle on Saturday, and at the ground itself, it didn’t feel like the quality was lacking overall.

The play feels faster live than it looks on television, the atmosphere was quite pleasant (the 9th minute round of applause for Jaryd Hayter was as touching as it was moving), the contest was gripping enough, and that’s taking into account the disappointment of the result for the home fans.

Yet not at any stage did I sit there and ponder that the quality of the play was rubbish (although, judging by the social media, I may be an easy marker).

In fact, the winning goal from Terry Antonis was of an exceptionally high-quality finish – great lead-up play, pinpoint perfect placement and fired like a rocket.

Overall, and for season ticket holders, Saturday night delivered its worth.

And the rest of the round delivered goals, good play, and games of football that you can ultimately sit back, enjoy, and admire in parts.

Remember, the A-League really shouldn’t be competing with Europe for standards to meet. Granted, being of European quality would be fantastic, but that’s as unrealistic as it is unnecessary.

The A-League, after all, is an Asian league, and so by all accounts, is competing with the big Asian leagues like the K-League, the J-League, and the Chinese Super League.

And the best way to judge the A-League against the rest of Asia is through the Asian Champions League, a competition that to date A-League teams have managed to compete quite successfully in, and in one instance, have actually won.

The A-League provided players who competed significantly well at the recent World Cup, and also develops players to a standard that international leagues come calling.

And finally, the A-League has attracted, in this season in particular, high calibre international players who want to play here.

Australians are funny when it comes to domestic leagues.

They follow the AFL fervently because it’s the best league of its kind in the world (I know, I know, but it is technically the best AFL league going round).

The NRL sniffs derisively at the English Super League.

And you will notice that crowds have dwindled in Super Rugby. Why? Because Australia is no longer considered the best in that code? I think it’s a big reason.

The general feeling seems to be, in Australian culture at least, that if it isn’t the best on offer, Australian crowds are reluctant to attend with any regularity.

So while it is easy to direct complaints about the quality of the A-League as to why the league hasn’t garnered any traction, the argument that the league must get better and people will attend seems like a fool’s gold ambition, because the A-League will never be the world’s best to attract the masses.

The A-League isn’t that bad, it’s just not (and quite rightly) perceived as the best, which is all the more reason why the A-League needs to think of better ways to connect with the public.

Nevertheless, relatively speaking, the quality of the A-League is still largely acceptable.

(AAP Image/Darren Pateman)

Is Warren Joyce already on borrowed time?
Remember last season when the owners of Melbourne City in their wisdom cut loose an Australian footballing legend to make the statement the coach had their backing to the hilt?

Talk about setting a big old rod for your back in that instance.

Melbourne City, for the time being, are not going well.

They have oodles of quality across the board, in particular, the likes of Bruno Fornaroli (a classy and clinical front man), Luke Brattan in the middle, Riley McGree, Dario Vidosic, Bert Schankeveld, yeah, they should be going a heck of a lot better than they currently are after three rounds.

Granted, sitting in the top six, just after their first loss of the season, it is certainly not panic stations (they are after all not in Newcastle’s precarious early position), and while a solitary loss would not be cause for concern normally, it really is the manner of the loss that would have Joyce scratching his head.

There’s an old-fashioned style about Joyce in his coaching, and to a certain extent, that conservatism almost seems to be working against him, his pragmatic ways belying the quality at his disposal.

It’s almost like he has no faith in his squad to play with the endeavour and adventure that, on paper at least, they seem capable of.

But the utter dismantling of Melbourne City by Sydney FC, who no doubt will do much worse to much lesser rivals, must be giving Joyce pause.

If City are to compete with the likes of Sydney FC for trophies, then if Friday night showed him nothing else, something has to change.

Joyce will need to change, and quickly, because the owners of City invested in him, at the expense of an icon. I can only imagine the pressure that came with a decision like that, and I hope the pressure doesn’t get the better of the coach.

Wanderers respond in the best way possible
Never forget the innate closeness of the A-League, given that as I have often banged on about, this is a 10-team league, where only four teams don’t play finals.

And after three rounds, we have three teams with a win, a draw, and a loss, all rounding out the top six.

It is something of a curious quirk though that one of those teams dismantled another team away over the weekend, with a statement game and result.

That the Wanderers came back from yet another derby loss to travel over the ditch and hand Wellington a footballing lesson is a credit to that club, and their new coach Markus Babbel.

It would have been a tough week for Babbel, after all the coverage of that VAR decision against Sydney, and then his red card meaning he watched from the sidelines with the clipboard in the hands of Jean-Paul de Marigny.

But he can be proud of his team, as not only did they bounce back from the derby disappointment, but they crushed their New Zealand opponent, who were gunning for their best start to an A-League season ever.

It is truly one of the most fascinating aspects of the A-League, how quickly things can change within just the space of one week.

Even more so for the Wanderers though, who went from the basement of derby disappointment to the penthouse of away winning feels, with a genuinely strong away performance, and a clear statement to the rest of the competition.

(AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)

Scoring still isn’t easy
Last week it was Steven Taylor who had trouble finding the back of the net.

This week, it’s the entire Newcastle Jets line up, who were hitting the crossbar and having shots blocked left, right and centre.

The success for the Jets last season was not its defence (they had only the third-best defence overall with Melbourne Victory behind Sydney and Melbourne City), but in an attack that was bettered, only just, by Sydney FC.

In season 2017/18 Newcastle were banging in goals at better than two per game, starting the season with a 24-game scoring streak.

Where Newcastle opened last season with those five goals against Central Coast, this season, Newcastle have managed two goals in their opening three games.

In that regard, the loss of Roy O’Donovan (serving a ridiculously harsh suspension for his high kick in last year’s grand final) is being felt more than perhaps the Jets administration thought might be the case.

Jair so far has failed to deliver, and Hoffman is no striker, leaving the bulk of the work to Ronald Vargas and the ever-industrious Dimi Petratos.

Those two can do only so much.

It will be something of a head-scratcher for Ernie, to see how he can get his misfiring attack back on track, and while their season isn’t gone just yet (bottom of the table, just the solitary point to their name), they have the week to figure out how they are going to score against a Sydney FC side that will take no prisoners.

(Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

There is a lot to like about Perth Glory
As early as it may be in this season, consider this: the teams in positions one and two after seven rounds last season stayed that way for the next 20 rounds.

Melbourne City, finishing third, were also in that spot after round seven.

So while a lot can change over the course of 27 rounds (Melbourne Victory were 9th after 6 rounds, and look how they finished up), there is still a lot of importance in having a strong start and setting yourself up for the rest of the season.

Perth are doing exactly that, their win over the Roar as disciplined as it was clinical.

Ivan Franjic seems to have a new lease on life, Jason Davidson is rekindling his World Cup form that had Craig Foster beside himself (“kick it to Jason”), and Andy Keogh is delivering the goods up front that you expect from an international player of his quality.

Perth, historically, have always been a strong football club and culture, and have done a lot for the national competition in this country, so with Tony Popovic at the helm, their strong start should not surprise.

If they can keep it up over the next few rounds, then history says they should still be their come season’s end.

Also worth noting, every team finishing second has always, always, made the Grand Final.

So Perth really do find themselves in the driver’s seat in these opening stages.

(AAP Image/Tony McDonough)

There’s even more to like about Adelaide
I said before the kick off this season that Adelaide were a team on the up, with the additions of Ben O’Halloran and Craig Goodwin adding some real firepower to an already formidable lineup, with Isaias at its heart.

Rounding out the third 3-0 away win in the third round, and nothing has changed my opinion regarding Adelaide United’s title credentials.

The telling sign for Adelaide was their imperious run to FFA Cup glory which culminated in their lifting the trophy at home, having only conceded the solitary goal, that being to Sydney in the final via a penalty.

There is just a new-found steely resolve about Adelaide, and with Craig Goodwin in career best form, the Reds are making hay while the sun shines.

Again, with the quality of their coach at the helm, it should not surprise. If anything, Adelaide’s lacklustre end to their last season should have been the bigger surprise.

But three rounds in, undefeated, one trophy already in the bank this season, Adelaide are making all the right noises.

Central Coast Mariners on the other hand? Truly is it a case of one step forward, two steps back for them.