Sydney face Champions League exit after 3-0 drubbing

City playing tonight in the ACL

The most damning thing about the ACL is not the results, but the lack of interest and awareness in the competition. Like the A-League, you struggle to know if was on at all, and even in Asia interest in the AFC Champions League tends to be second fiddle to European competitions. The competition also lacks the kind of rich tradition that not only European, but South American and even African equivalents provide - glorious teams and legacies galore.

You can bet your house that Corica will always make the most conservative choice possible. It’s like the old adage that you can’t get fired for buying from a big name supplier. If he plays all the classic players than he look good in front of the board. If he played a couple of younger players and they made a mistake than Corica looks bad because he took the risk.

SFC have never done well in the ACL, they need to remove the "We are to good for Asia" mentality. Also playing in a league without no favoritism does help to much.

After the 7 previous ACL matches being ignored why all of a sudden is coverage produced when its a bigger loss. Marinos played their A team this time around, the previous match up was the B team. Marinos rotation means they win 2 matches while Corica loses 2. I would have liked to have seen the starting line this time around, without Narsingh in the previous match. What Corica seems to have done is keep going to the well till the team falls over then bring in fresh players as a last resort. Kamsoba was the best player on the park, and also the hardest working, I dont understand the COrica policy which seems to be an old player has a heartbeat they get on the field, the rest of the squad the slightest injury seems to be always keeping them out. Barbarouses started this game after not playing for a while, he did a fair amount of running, it was a reasonable performance, he had a huge one on one on a bit of an angle, he then chose to pass to a marked player rather than shoot . Patrick Wood finally started a match , he did find it tough going to keep the ball under pressure, he didnt do a lot of work but when he did he pressed with intensity made some runs, he put a good through ball for Narsingh, his big moment was the red card, he stole the ball off the last defender who then brought him down. The commentator didnt seem to look at the implications, Wood only held up a hand for a foul, but if it had been Adelaide their whole team plus the coaching bench would have been running in frothing at the mouth appealing for a red card. The reward for doing that Corica takes him off, thats beyond pathetic. The biggest problem Sydney had up till the red card were Narsingh and Donachie. Narsingh he is on his own planet, you can understand players being lazy, unfit not pressing, but when they get a golden opportunity then they put in the effort . Take Janko for example noted for him walking behind the defence exhausted, but then he would spring into action. Narsingh is constantly jogging and shifting around without doing any pressing without the ball . He does make some good runs and thats when its gets really weird, he gets put in the clear, but whether its a lack of fitness or something else he then loses speed , I have seen him stop and pass the ball back casually when through on goal in the Thai match, this match first time he just lost speed and then had to stretch out to make the shot and go into the side netting. The second time instead of pinning his ears back with a one on one he slows down the defender overtakes him and then goes to ground with the ball, then Narsingh doesnt even want to bother to fish the ball out from the defender on the ground. Yazbek was the only one who utilised a one on one and he missed his shot. So if you think with a send off Sydney would have the advantage well Corica while he took Narsingh off for Bobo which is like for like, useless for useless, bringing on Amini negated the advantage. The opposition could have easily had two goals not one in the final minutes with Amini there, and the irony was in defence he didnt covert for Talbot moving forward, but in attack he stayed in the far left corner and didnt help when they played out. The subs Corica brought on were tired out from the previous matches . Buhagiar missed from a meter out from a cross though his view was limited by Bobo going for the cross and missing the header. Corica I am not sure what players he has there, he needs just to put in 4 or 5 new youngsters from the NPL just to take the workload because by the time they get back to Sydney even in the unlikely event they are still in contention they will be worse than Perth by the time they get back.

Likewise as I don’t care who from the A League does well in the ACL as long as we start to consistently get out of the group stages. That would be a massive sign of growth in Aussie football.

They should have kept Devlin as well. I think Alf will come good, but this season is nearly gone. I'm not sure about the defence as those first 2 goals last night and some near ones were the result of some lax marking. Sydney need to make sure they hold onto players like Yazbeck, Talbot, etc as they may be the new Tilios, Kings, etc. The rebuild and new tactics are needed, but they aren't likely to be participating in next year's Asian Club Championship. I just hope that Melbourne City can get all their players on the field and go far in the tournament. As an Aussie I want to see our teams compete.

Sydney’s position in the A League and goals scored is a pretty good indicator of their current status which is bottom of the ACL ladder. But its probably the toughest group as the top J League teams are probably best in the comp. City are excellent going forward but Glover has had a fumble in every game so far. He really needs to rebuild his confidence as he has the skills and athleticism but sometimes his decision making is pretty poor. In the victory derby I am not sure what he was thinking for the first 2 goals.

I don’t know, I would have thought that Sydney’s performance in this year’s ACL was typical of previous campaigns. They have never looked quick and controlled enough with the ball to cope with the better Asian opponents. This year SFC have not played too badly in defence and midfield; but have been worse than blunt in attack. Poor ALF looks as if he has completely lost touch, confidence, or both. In the humid conditions Bobo is not the answer. Buhagiar is quick, but his touch is often poor. How Sydney must regret not having kept Tilio. The contrast between Melbourne City’s attack and SFC’s attack is excruciating to watch for this Sydney fan.

Disappointing - Sydney have been in a few Asian Club Chamlionships and should be doing better. They have the capacity to win the competition, but have only once come out of the group stage. To be a premium team in Asia, they need better results than this.