Six talking points from A-League Round 5

The A-League returned to action after the international break that, for devoted domestic league followers, always feels like an eternity.

The football delivered on and off the pitch, so let’s start talking about the major points from Round 5.

It’s all about balance
If you saw Ernie Merrick’s reaction when Andrew Nabbout scored the goal of the season last year in Sydney against the Wanderers, you’ll remember that Ernie is rarely, if ever, impressed.

Just to confirm as much, he was even less enthusiastic (if that was possible) when Riley McGree scorpioned his way to international recognition.

Ernie doesn’t get impressed.

Did you lose the match? Ernie’s not happy.

Did you score a goal of the year contender to salvage a point? Ernie’s not happy.

Did you win your first game for the season after a hard-fought 2-nil win over an in-form opponent away from home? You guessed it, Ernie wasn’t happy.

“I thought they deserved something out of the game,” Merrick said of Marcus Babbel’s team on Friday.

“I thought we played our worst football and we won, and a clean sheet as well — I couldn’t believe it. Really it was an even game, a bit scrappy because of the surface, but a win is a win.”

Ernie has a point. If you look at the stats, while the Wanderers were marginally ahead in all the major statistics – possession, shots, passes – the Jets ultimately finished ahead only where it mattered: the scoreboard.

Now, you could argue that Ernie is being a little bit of the Grinch about his side regarding whether they should have won, but the Jets rode their luck, Wanderers missed their shots, and Newcastle left with something of a smash and grab job.

The thing about football though is that for all the statistics that matter, while the only definitive manner upon which to determine who takes away three points, or who wins trophies, is goals, the make-up of truly great teams is an ability to shine across all facets of the game.

Some of the great teams of the last 50 years – whether they are club sides such as Barcelona, or World Cup winners like France – is the ability to score goals, or defend goals, or choke possession, in a manner necessary to win the game, and when it mattered.

Every winning team is open to criticism. Heck, even Barcelona when they were winning countless La Liga titles (still), and four Champions Leagues titles with the greatest player to grace a field, Lionel Messi, were criticised for playing boring possession-based football.

The key, though, is getting the balance right, and in order to get the job done, you need to be good across the board, in terms of attacking, defending, and scoring.

Consider Brisbane versus Melbourne on Saturday.

The possession statistics for that game were scarily in Melbourne’s favour, almost two-thirds, but Brisbane got the three points, thanks to their marksman hitting the mark (twice), while tellingly Melbourne left their Uruguayan striker at home (more on that later).

Brisbane didn’t need the ball to win their game, they just needed to take their chances, and break up their opponent’s rhythm, where necessary.

Two different matches, two completely different tales, but the same results.

It’s a funny old game football.

(Photo by Nigel Owen/Action Plus via Getty Images)

Sorry state of playing field affairs
While talking points is making an avid attempt to accentuate the positive about the A-League this season, it unfortunately cannot go without passing the discussion about the controversy surrounding the pitch for Friday night’s match.

In my defence, at least we aren’t talking about VAR.

In a smaller context, the plastic shards and metal nail found on the Spotless Stadium pitch were an unprofessional look, and a hazardously unsafe surface for players to have to play sport on.

But from a much larger context, the words “unprofessional,” “hazardous,” and “unsafe” shed a much sadder light on the current state of the game.

That it took until only an hour before kick-off for the debris to be found is mind-boggling in itself.

And, granted, plastic shards and a nail on a pitch perhaps looks inconsequential in terms of player safety after the Copa Libertadores final second leg was postponed after the Boca Juniors players’ bus was attacked by River Plate fans, causing actual injury.

But hazards caused by fan behaviour versus administrative oversight are two entirely different beasts.

At least the Wanderers didn’t themselves have to postpone this game, although they have indeed had to do so in the past, again due to playing surface concerns, last season against Wellington.

The whole and entire selling point of the A-League, in fact, the birth of the FFA, was the notion of “old soccer, new football.”

Gone were the days of the unprofessional (so we were led to believe) NSL, and in its place was the shiny new A-League, with all its national and professional trimmings.

Again we have the saying that as much as things change, so do they stay the same.

The playing surface on Friday was amateur hour, and as a new FFA board takes power, it’s a timely reminder that in the 14 years of the new professional football in Australia, as much as so many things have changed, too many have stayed the same.

The foreign raiders
The problem for Adelaide is that they have to play so many games at home.

Winless at Coopers Stadium so far this season, Adelaide are happiest anywhere but, well, Adelaide it would appear.

Adelaide, granted, have beaten the Mariners and now Wellington away from home, two teams that somewhat disappointingly continue to disappoint, but Melbourne City travelled to Gosford and couldn’t take three points, while Wellington is historically a difficult trip for all Australian teams crossing the Tasman.

And Adelaide have had comparatively harder opposition at home, facing the teams in the top two on the table, and Newcastle, who are no easy beats at the moment.

Marco Kurz will be hoping that his team can get the formula right in time for next round against a Roar side coming off a win, and open up their account at home.

I said after the FFA Cup win and early season form that Adelaide would be in this to win this, and five rounds in, I am still of that opinion.

But a win at home would surely shut down a lot of the doubters.

Where’s Bruno?
So let’s just re-visit the timeline on this one, and let’s go back two weeks.

To kick off Round 4, Melbourne City defeated Wellington 2-nil at home, one of the goals being scored by the Uruguayan marksman Bruno Fornaroli, and Melbourne City looked to be turning their season around.

During the week just past, rumours were coming out of Melbourne that Bruno was out.

On Saturday, Warren Joyce sent out his team sheet, and the scoring marquee man was nowhere to be seen.

John Aloisi, thinking he was dreaming or April 1 had come quicker than usual, ran down the road and bought himself a lottery ticket.

“I was pleased to see that he wasn’t on the team sheet,” a jubilant Aloisi said after the game.

And Brisbane won their first game of the season 2-nil, while a possession-dominant City failed to get on the score sheet.

Reports then emerged that Fornaroli, instead of committing any behavioural or disciplinary infringement, was being punished for not meeting fitness standards.

Essentially, Bruno (or Fatso the Fornaroli) was out of shape. What a story!

Meanwhile, Joyce seems to have a chip on his shoulder when it comes to star players.

He was never happy playing Tim Cahill, and in the game against Wellington he banished Luke Brattan to being a spectator, and now, Fornaroli didn’t travel with the team.

In the words of Jason Bateman: it’s a bold move Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for him.

Whatever message Joyce is trying to send his players, and I can only fathom that he is trying to show the players who is in charge, in the truest live by the sword, die by the sword scenario, if his form of power play is going to mean poor results, then Joyce will need to be careful not to lose the dressing room.

After all, showing the players who is in charge is one thing, but being in charge of players that have no interest in playing for you, is entirely another.

We continue to watch this space.

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Keep taking the game to the people
If the A-League read the tea leaves accurately with Western Sydney holding their home match at Mudgee, then whoever thought of holding the Big Blue at Jubilee Oval deserves to find another level on their house when they went home.

I will leave it up to the readers to decide, but what looks and sells better: a half-full stadium with empty seats as far as the eye can see, or a packed full oval labeled a sell-out, and nothing but a crowd as far as the TV camera can capture.

I am in the latter camp on that one.

This is a unique opportunity this season for Sydney and the Wanderers to take their games to the people, perhaps pick up a new fan here or there, and spread the game while their respective stadiums are being re-built.

One of the heavy knocks on the A-League is that it has disenfranchised the dyed in the wool supporters from the game, so if taking A-League games to the suburbs and rural areas of the country will bring those fans into the fold, then keep travelling.

The Big Blue will rightly deserve the biggest available stadium, I understand that, but if the Round 5 edition was anything to go by, Jubilee looked a fitting venue, and by comparison to Friday’s subpar venue, with 19,000 and some change in attendance, Jubilee Oval looked like a good old fashioned football occasion.

There are other parts of the Greater Sydney area thirsty for football, exhibited by the 15,000 who attended the Matildas at Penrith stadium recently.

Sydney FC can take the game, perhaps not that far west, but, in light of the news that expansion is currently on hold, some more of those northern and southern beaches would surely be a prime opportunity to broaden the A-League horizon for Sydney FC to stake their claim before new teams arrive.

Of course, coming off their first loss of the season, Sydney FC may not be feeling so generous in terms of playing away from their SFS confines, and perhaps they will be hoping the stadium is completed much sooner than later.

As for Melbourne, those opening losses in the first two rounds seem like a very long time ago.

Who would want to be a defender?
I coached under 13s this year, and will be taking over under-14s players next year.

When I spoke to each boy individually about where they wanted to play this season, the responses were largely midfielder (80 per cent), striker/forward (15 per cent), goalkeeper (5 per cent – the one kid picked as goalkeeper).

There was nobody jumping up and down yelling: Centre defender? Pick me, pick me!

And you cannot blame them.

You don’t get to score goals, you spend large chunks of the game not doing very much, you are always under pressure from speedy attackers, you get very few plaudits for doing your job properly, and you cop your fair share of criticism when your opponent scores.

And when you score an own-goal? Given there is nowhere to hide, it is as close to feeling the very definition of sporting death as you can get.

Tomislav Mrcela was on the spot, and on point, as he connected with an Andrew Hoole cross, to lob the ball into his own net.

Aah, the unexpected surprises of sport.

With Perth commanding the game, with that controlled Tony Popovic play on display, Mrcela undid all that first half good will in the blink of an eye.

Defenders – it’s a job few want, but somebody has to do it.