Western sweep aside Victory to reach first A-League Grand Final

JB, I haven't been a big Olsen fan, he gives away too many balls with stray passes and has the ball stolen from him far too easily for a strong lad. But I know he's got a lot of fans. I think the biggest problem for Roar has been injuries, backs especially. I've been over this before, I really don't think they can be criticised too much for the instability at the back when all of their first choices were out for long periods of time. Of course we've got to do better. The ongoing question, as you ask often, is the club's aim to give a pathway for young Queenslanders to professional football? Or to win titles? It's a mix of both of course, in the hope that one is the path to the other, but that may get overlooked by the coach sometimes.

Waz You apparently try to explain something to me using contractual clauses to cover what I was originally asking. In recent games we have had to watch endless changes in team line-ups with up to 5 changes being made every game. While some may have been due to injury, it is beyond my comprehension as to why you would use a player in a team if - (1) you knew he was going to be out of contract in a few weeks, (2) he was not in your long term plans as a player, (3) The player concerned , in the selectors eyes, not to have the talent required to succeed in the ALM. Take the two players concerned The lad Olsen has been used as a full back, a wing-back and a defensive midfielder and in my opinion has not been a total failure in either of those positions and yet we are now to believe the management don't rate the lad. The lad Parsons is apparently regarded as a midfielder or a striker in the eyes of the selector , yet he too is going despite the fact that he is actually among the leading goal-scorers over the season. Watching the lad perform I get the distinct feeling he himself doesn't fully understand what is expected of him in the structure of the team, but again that is a flaw that could be easily fixed, yet once again he is on the move. Now put yourself in the managers position. What have you to learn from Hingert or Brown's game? both veterans well versed in Roar culture but age wise on the downslope of each career. With the signing of Chapman ,a tried and tested Centre back in the ALM, one has to try and analyse how he, Neville, and Aldred are going to be used. With all three having experienced a "back 3 formation" overseas it is not hard to picture how they will be used with young Trewin available to "sub" any of those three. Over the season the wing-back positions have been 'tenanted " by Hingert, Neville, Zabala,Trewin, Brindell South Brown and Olsen ,with apparently the latter the only one earmarked for elsewhere. Up front is where Roar have their biggest problem ,a problem that has been in existence since the glory days of Berisha. They don't have a recognised striker of goals. Players have come and gone ,names long forgotten, but to mention a few now playing elsewhere, Oar, Kruse, the Frenchman, all wingers, but the central striker role remains empty. The latest pair to be tried are Ivanovic and Mileusnic, both reasonably successful left wingers with their former clubs ,Sydney fc and Adelaide ,but as pure strikers doubtful. That leaves the engine room of the team with 2 ever present performers J O'Shea, a Fowler signing, and Akbari, a promotion from Roar's reserve team. Over the season O'Shea has become a marked man, stop him and you stop Roar's attack and it has not been until recent weeks with the introduction into the squad of Hore that this pressure on O'Shea has been somewhat relieved. Yet even then we see the youngster being substituted and some other academy product used in his place, usually an attacking player playing wide. Waz, there is much to be done if Roar are to get back to their position of strength in the ALM and it is in the retention of the right players that will hasten that improvement along. Cheers jb.

The question is what are the coaching staff there for, they are there to provide the knowledge and experience , players are there to play on the field. Its not like the older players are on an extra year at a lower wage like in the old days, they are taking most of the salary cap. Its not like building a house, Berisha didnt come in build the foundation and leave something for Prijovic to build upon. Your average did include Young who is a goal keeper 36 thats not really relevant. The team that is performing only Kilkenny is old 36, the rest are 32 and under. The prime ages for footballers is usually 25-32 . Its not about the average age, its about how many mid 30+ you can carry in a team. In the premier league for example I looked at the stats one year, and players 22 and under hardly got any game time. Players 35+ there was only one regular starter across 20 teams. The A-league model of players under 22 and players 35+ is why these teams are struggling to compete in the ACL. The rest of the world dumps older players as soon as they dont perform and younger players struggle to get a look in. So why is it in Australia we have this experience worship culture now that has now grown in the A-league. I would say its a lot of back scratching and shoulder rubbing from the self serving older generation.

Says a lot about our production line JB. Tough to see youngsters you cheered on while they learned the ropes, playing elsewhere, but I think our next generation are a step up on Wenzell-Halls (& D'Agostino for that matter). Very disappointed to see Alex Parsons leave but I'm not surprised other clubs are coming after our youth players, they're quality. It shows we need to address transfer fees and squad sizes, and even marquee payments. Don't know where Parsons is going but he'll be a bench sitter at some clubs. He'd be better staying, for development, and I think we'd be better getting subsidies to keep him rather than help with a marquee. Jamie Young's a match winner but I don't think his skills are missed as much as I thought they would be. Holmes grew a lot this season and is a better ball distributor.

Brainstrust - Pity you don't read as well as you write. I never said who signed Diamanti and Berisha, simply passed the comment that they were at the club when JA took over and could have been regarded as "building blocks" in a team spine, As you rightly say age has probably caught up with both those individuals, but my comment re. the average age of the team did not include that pair in the calculation, I used the players who played in their last game . OK? Cheers jb.

Aloisi wasn't the coach the previous years that was Rudan. So Rudan fails two years in a row with an even older squad and your saying age and experience were the secret to success. Diamanti has been a hindrance this season. Berisha is not there . How do these combine to be the building block of this years success.

“ The question? why were they being used if they were not considered to be long term investments”. The PFA has made it difficult to lock young players down to contracts jb, and the Cap increases the risk of signing young players to long term contracts. Young is defiantly a great keeper, should Roar have kept him? Possibly, although his “disagreement” with the club was the need for an extension to his contract that should have been running out now. DWH - does anyone honestly think it was a mistake to let him leave? I don’t.

Loved the game last night and today's will be a beauty as well. Before last night's game I wanted Victory to win to ensure a good crowd. After listening to Football from A to Z (podcast with Archie and Zappa - great podcast) and hearing an interview with Jason Sourasis (Chairman of Western United and very impressive) I am glad they are in. The plans for this club are amazing and if it works as good as it sounds they are going to be a real force for our game. So now I would love to see Adelaide be the next underdog in, but it will be a great grand final no matter which other team makes it. For the next 2 games I will simply enjoy what's in front of me and cheer for - football!

Lionheart -Can't help but ask, how do you feel about the fact that it would seem 2 Roar players from last season will be playing in the Grand Final less than one year later.!!!!!!!! Now we are being told that 2 of the "young " lads who have been featured in recent Roar games are being allowed to move on. The question? why were they being used if they were not considered to be long term investments. jb

great game, well done to Aloisi and his team. I'm no fan but acknowledge his achievement this year.

Waz -Don't completely agree with your latest comment. There is little doubt that JA was given a job, both at Heart and Roar, based on his reputation, not as a coach, but as a player. There is much evidence ,not only locally, but internationally, that this practice goes on unabated up till today. Back to JA, He withdraws from the game for a few years and literally goes off the radar not re-appearing until a new identity into the A-League once again decided ( probably based on the aforementioned reputation) to give him a go as manager. Almost immediately he showed an improvement on his previous "form" by setting out to build a team based on experience and structure, the procurement of recognised players like Diamantin and Berisha being essential building block in modern game structures. This year that team building continued with the procurement of Young, Risdon, Imai, Lacroix, Garrucio, Kilkenny, Pain and Pritovic adding to a potentially experienced 4-3-3 formation (It may surprise you that the average age of those eight players is 31+ so heavily based on experience). So to the Grand Final. If he has done nothing else JA has proved that his time away from the game has not been wasted ,he has read the A League development well and has proved many doubters wrong. Good luck to him and his "oldies". Cheers jb.

Spot on. Should have won the Plate in his first year at Roar and only a 90 minute defensive performance from Victory at AAMI Park denied him the trophy. The irony won’t be lost on him today lol. But yeah, in the second season his team went backwards, the third season it was worse again as he just scraped in to the final, and his final season he produced the worst side the club has ever seen and on a $$$$ budget that was one of the biggest in the league (nearly $7m). Has he learned from this, we should find out next season.

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Aloisi was good at Heart initially with youth, he was in charge of the youth team initially and brought through a lot of players, he would have made the finals first year if he didnt have so many injuries by the end. Then he comes in with the old players second season , he did that at Roar as well. The real test if he hires 35-40 year olds for next season and keeps Diamanti on then he will probably get sacked next season.

Congrats to JA. He didn’t have success as a coach at Heart but that was due to inexperience. He’s learnt and learnt well. Now off to AAMI this afternoon to watch the game with heart in mouth :laughing:

Topor Stanley apart from parking the bus in the area where he is better tham Imai in the air what use would he be? Imai is great on the ground, better distributor, and more importantly he is not playing right back where he was beaten quite often. Risdon at right back is a big part of their finals revival.

The pre-match feature on Rojas gave an insight into how football could be on a caring FTA broadcaster. A great product last night all told. Now for FA to sell the NSD rights to P+ and increase to 12-16 matches a week and as many two-leg finals as can be fit into a season.

Victory best form of attack and defence through the season was their pressing. Especially when you have a no 9 like Dagastino as well. The front four for Victory they not only hung off pressing, they were slow to turn around when the ball bypassed them. The first goal from WU there was no pressure on the cross from the edge of the area, in previous matches MV didnt allow anyone time on the ball in their own half let alone the edge of the area. WU they have gotten more energy as well in every successive finals match and a world away from their performances in the back half of the regular season. The big question about WU is what they will do in the grand final , if they reproduce that level in the final then they can win the title.

Victory's attack has been underwhelming all season. It's unbelievable they were within coo-ee of the premiership. Also, Victory should be embarassed that a team that has averaged one goal per game all season, all of a sudden put four past them.

And to think, ALL the Paramount & Channel 10 experts picked Victory to win. Western United’s rise is a true underdog story. John Aloisi, the legend who formerly kicked the Socceroos into the World Cup, awaits his coaching redemption. What a story. Western United were a team who fell into a slump during their last three A-League games. Yet tonight, they blasted four big ones past Victory. Not bad for a new club. This gives hope to Macarthur. It tells the Bulls that anything is possible. Popovic’s fairytale narrative has been destroyed. No longer can journalists dip into their “from last to first” repertoire. Re-write those scripts, clean the football slate, because that was the best final’s game in a long time.