The action was apparent, the controversy real, and the arguments far and wide. No, we are not talking about another episode of The Batchelor – rather a regulation round of A-League football. Let’s get started on the talking points emerging from Round 14.
Do boycotts even work?
The natives in the Hunter are restless.
Tired of a perceived bias against them that has seen two players sent off in the last three rounds, and on a five-game winless streak, Round 14 saw the Jets lose another player to the referee’s wrath when Jason Hoffman was red carded for retaliating.
The response from the fans? That’s right, a good ol’ fashioned boycott of the next home game, which just happens to be the F3 Derby against the Mariners in Newcastle, on Wednesday night.
We have seen the Victory active supporters boycott home games in the past, the RBB boycott Wanderers home games, and now it is the patrons of Newcastle that are signing a petition to have Hoffman’s red card revoked and making plans for a potential walk-out on Wednesday, or non-attendance all together.
The Newcastle goings-on are also on the back of the disruption in Brisbane, as the Den continues their fight in Queensland, and the masses are leaving vast arrays of empty seats at Suncorp Stadium.
Will these boycotts achieve anything?
To be sure, any strong domestic game requires strong representation and action by three key stakeholders: players, fans, and administrators.
It makes sense that this (un)holy trinity of key members might not always get along.
You will have players clashing with fans, administrators clashing with players, or in this instance, fans unhappy with administrators.
All three stakeholders have a responsibility, not just to each other, but to the game.
But is boycotting your own club’s matches really the answer?
I would like to think there are better and more effective ways for fans to have their voices heard.
From the outside looking in, fans not attending home games will definitely achieve the result of impacting (likely negatively) on their own team, and judging by Lawrie McKenna’s recent tweeting that the Chinese economic downturn is affecting Newcastle’s owners, it makes little sense for Jets fans to further financially hurt the club by not going to games.
As esteemed colleague Mike Tuckerman recently pointed out, in the Brisbane fans’ dispute with the Roar, not supporting your team may cause more damage in the long run.
The other bigger issue for the Jets as well is that they are not going very well, so a boycott would just as easily be perceived as a loss of interest by bandwagoners.
Now, I am certainly not saying how fans should voice their concerns or annoyance when it comes to matters of the game that, well, matter to them.
Fans very much should voice their concerns and frustrations, as it is important that one of the three key stakeholders’ voice is heard.
And I doubt the whole boycott thing is going to really take off in Newcastle, at least, not when the cold light of day and calmness of mind finally takes over.
It is just a shame that when fans are unhappy about something, their initial response appears to be: “well, we just won’t go anymore.”
Surely football fandom has progressed such that perhaps we can start thinking outside of the box, rather than damaging the game as a whole over specific matters.
(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)
Adelaide continue that red-hot away form
Absolutely Nikola Mileusnic was offside in the lead-up play to Adelaide’s game-winning goal.
And I have no doubt that Mathieu Cordier’s foul in the box late in the game was exactly that, a foul, to which Western Sydney deserved a penalty.
Had the VAR correctly intervened in the Goodwin 66th minute goal, and the Wanderers correctly been given their penalty, by my calculations, that is a 2-1 win to Western Sydney.
But that is not what happened.
Adelaide won, Western Sydney lost, and Adelaide maintains their exceptional away record this season (the two losses they have suffered are to top-three sides Victory and Sydney FC).
Come the end of the season, nobody will remember the controversy of Adelaide’s win in round 14.
The record books will record a 2-1 win, no more, no less.
It is easy to knock the VAR for failing to change the outcome of the match, but the reality is that Adelaide are doing incredibly well away from home, and given their patchy home form, it could be the difference come season’s end between playing finals, or even hosting finals, in games that matter the most.
(Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
Flash of red amidst the Sky Blue
Okay, so here is the lowdown about the whole retaliation thing in football, and I will put my cards straight down on the table on the topic: I have never believed that the punishment always fits the crime.
The simple fact about retaliation in football is that the only reason it is called retaliation is because a player is reacting to something that has caused them to act.
Now, I am not for one second saying that retaliation shouldn’t be punished – of course it should – but the dictated reaction of a red card in every instance of retaliation seems too harsh for me when the circumstances of each case are generally different.
Did Jason Hoffman lash out, or kick out, when Brendon O’Neill stood on his ankle on Saturday? Of course he didn’t, he was simply rolling over in the direction of the referee to voice his anger at being stepped on – but he did so at an inopportune time.
However, even if Hoffman kicked out (he didn’t), but let’s say he did, if the referee awards a yellow card instead, the whole thing is laughed off, and the game continues without much more fuss on the topic.
And we do see it on so many occasions – where the referee instead of bringing out ‘ol’ red’, will err on the side of caution, and go for the lesser punishment.
How many times will you see a melee or fracas, where players converge, and shirts are pulled or heads are butted?
Referee awards a yellow to the main players involved, and play continues.
I just can’t help but think if referees were allowed the discretion to adjudicate the level of retaliation (and of course, I’m putting faith in the judgment of officials who generally butcher easy decisions in the game anyway, so perhaps my theory is shot from the get-go), the game might give itself a break when it comes to the piling up of controversies.
The City-Glory slog
Saturday night was hard-going at AAMI Park, and for a few of the high(-low-)lights from that game, a big thank you to guest Roar contributor Nick Symonds for picking out some of his favourite moments from my in-game commentary:
OPENING STAGES
16‘ – Well, to paraphrase the Joker in the 1989 Batman: this game needs an enema.
COUPLE OF MINUTES LATER
18‘ – 40 m pass to the keeper.
Ned: life’s too short for a pass like that.
Ned was right last week, and he’s spot on again today.
A MOMENT LATER
29‘ – Can someone please, please, please score a goal? I don’t even care who at this stage.
City, again, linking passes along the back.
TIME FOR A COFFEE
Referee does us all a favour and calls half time.
Well, that was pretty tame stuff to be honest.
Here’s hoping that these guys get a roasting at half time, and come out with a bit of fire.
See you in ten minutes. I’m off to have a coffee to try and wake up.
THIS MATCH IS GETTING PREDICTABLE…
53‘ – If you don’t hear from me for a while, you can safely assume that one of these teams has been passing it around at the back, and blasting it long in hope.
Oh, and then a goal kick, just for good measure.
ARE WE THERE YET?
62‘ – The commentators are playing word games with players’ names.
It’s that sort of game.
OFFSIDE? THAT’S A NEW ONE
91‘ – Lachy Wales runs onto a through ball.
What a shame he’s 17km offside.
WHEN WILL IT END?
95‘ – Oh no, Poppa with one more sub, as Castro comes off for Brimmer.
I’m just annoyed that the substitution means there is even more of this game.
I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!
96‘ – Baccus with a hit and hope, and Reddy takes it.
Can you please just blow the whistle ref and end this?!
END
Now Mark Bosnich, after the game, correctly pointed out: sometimes, you get games like that.
For the love of God, let’s hope that’s the last time this season.
(Photo by George Salpigtidis/Getty Images)
Let’s celebrate the A-League’s own Fijian Flyer
Maybe AAMI Park has a contractual limit on the number of goals that can be scored at the ground each round, and they decided to save all the goals for the Melbourne vs Wellington fixture.
Because, if the City vs Perth game was hard-going, the Victory vs Wellington game was a thrill-a-minute ride with goals flowing freer than wine at an Italian wedding.
And for mine, the standout star of the piece was Roy Krishna.
It is too easy to overlook the Fijian sometimes, and he does need to work on his consistency, but this season, he is having a blinder, whether it’s being in a winning team, or the tutelage of Mark Rudan that is making a world of difference.
Krishna took the game by the scruff of the neck early with a first-half brace, and when Victory came back, it was Krishna the most likely to wrangle control back for Wellington on his boot.
Roy could have had a hat-trick, if not for a little bit of luck, and solid second half defence by Melbourne.
A Fijian in Wellington isn’t an ideal candidate to make headlines on Australian shores, but at the end of the day, he is a freakish talent in our domestic league.
His contributions, very much on display in Melbourne, should not be so easily overlooked.
The combative spirits of two gladiators
I love the irony and the perfect combative spirit of Matt Simon clashing with Jacob Pepper.
They are two bulls that represent everything that you want to see in the game: tough play, passion, an uncompromising endeavour to win for your team.
When Pepper lined up on Simon, you just had to grab the popcorn, and wait, and come the 54th minute, wait no longer did we.
Simon, you may or may not know, is a bit of a fiery character, while Pepper is a bit spicy himself (in nature and name).
The two clashed, neither taking a backward step, and even when the referee intervened to pull the two apart, you knew that wasn’t going to be the end of it.
What was even better about the clash was that it set Simon Hill up for, potentially, the commentary line of the season, when Pepper had a follow up clash with Connor Pain: “There’s a bit of salt from Pepper.”
Delicious.
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