- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
One of the A-League’s biggest problems over the years has been getting marquee signings right.
Many visa signings have said all the right things during interviews, but when it comes to performances in training and on the field it’s more than obvious they are here purely to enjoy the Australian lifestyle while earning easy money towards their retirement fund.
Brisbane Roar, with the help of the APL, announced English forward Charlie Austin as a marquee signing for season 2022-23.
On paper this had the potential for Brisbane to be considered as a title contender, finally having a ruthless striker who would be able to finish the multiple chances one of the league’s lowest scoring teams create but never complete.
Unfortunately for the league and for Brisbane, that has not translated to the pitch, with the big striker announcing he will be departing Australian shores immediately to return to England.
Austin’s time in the A-League will be remembered more for his off-field shenanigans than his on-field efforts.
His social media posts looked like a typical Englishman’s holiday to Australia – littered with photos of his young family enjoying the beach, spending time with Australia’s cute native animals and the relaxed coffee lifestyle, all while living in Queensland’s tropical weather.
(Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Austin can’t be faulted for his interactions with fans on social media. He regularly argued about how poor Australian TV is compared to British and how Hobnobs taste better than Tim Tams.
In terms of on-field performance, Austin has been caught on camera multiple times showing his frustration at his teammates, including a memorable half-time argument with Connor Chapman, that showed fans a behind-the-scenes look into how passionate players can be.
This is not the first time this season Austin has let fly at teammates he believes have been underperforming – his outbursts in training have become a regular occurrence and he has cut a very isolated figure on occasions.
Austin is a classic English No. 9. He’s scored goals for fun all the way from the non-leagues in England to the dizzying heights of the Premier League.
Seeing a player who has always earnt his keep in the 18-yard box, regularly having to collect the ball near the halfway line and pass to teammates, has left the Roar’s fan base even more disillusioned than usual.
It makes it even more mindboggling because there are plenty of players in the current squad with the ability to cross a ball or thread an eye-of-the-needle pass.
Seeing how Austin was misused will pile even more pressure onto under-fire coach Warren Moon, who is likely to be sacked before the end of the season.
Another worrying sign was Austin’s yo-yoing physique. Although genetically never the physical specimen, Austin has gone on record saying he used to enjoy multiple pints and kebabs before and after matches when he was coming up in the non-leagues of England.
He was able to eventually get his diet under control, but it appears as though the habit has been hard to kick.
Austin finished in Australia with four goals in 11 matches, and his overall contribution was best summed up when he went clean through on goal in the recent match against Adelaide United and side-footed the ball into Row Z followed by a shake of the head and a wry smile.
He is also the latest in a long list of recent players from the motherland who have been spectacular fails, including Daniel Sturridge, Jack Rodwell and Zach Clough, to name a few
A-League clubs will need to be more thorough when recruiting players from England, who notoriously have not been able to adapt to Australian football.
The Austin family will leave their sunkissed Australian adventure a couple of hundred grand richer and with memories to last a lifetime.
No matter Charlie Austin’s opinion, Tim Tams are universally recognised as better than Hobnobs. You won’t find a single Australian disagreeing with that.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.