Opinion
After a frustrating, chaotic and then outright heartbreaking week, there’s only one topic on everyone’s mind. But the show must go on, so let’s get into it.
Here are your A-League Round 8 talking points.
Well, 24 hours later the disgraceful scenes at AAMI Park aren’t much easier to digest.
After flares had been thrown on to the pitch near Tom Glover, the Melbourne City gloveman hurled one back into the Melbourne Victory home end. In response, hundreds of Original Style Melbourne members invaded the field – which would have been bad enough, but one moron had to take it a step further, hitting Glover with a bin containing one of the flares.
On a night when supporters had every right to peacefully protest the Australian Professional Leagues’ abhorrent decision to sell football’s soul for somewhere between $15 million and $20 million over three years, an unfortunately prominent minority set the game back much further than any suit in a boardroom could have.
It’s undoubtedly one of the most shameful acts in A-League history and the events in Melbourne last night have left an indelible stain on Australian football.
I’m still in disbelief that we are only weeks removed from a herculean Socceroos effort in Qatar that brought so much joy to this nation. It just doesn’t feel real that we’ve tarnished any goodwill that was overflowing into the domestic game from the national squad’s heroics on the world stage. I’m furious. I’m heartbroken.
(Photo by Shaun Botterill – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Alex King, the man with the whistle for the Melbourne Derby, must be praised for his swift reaction to a nightmarish scenario. The referee selflessly tried to put himself between pitch-invading fans and Glover before rightly calling for both squads to leave the field of play, then making the only possible decision to abandon the match.
Thoughts are with Glover and King, as well as the Channel Ten camera operator who was also caught up in Australian football’s most shameful day. For a competition trying desperately to enter the mainstream sporting consciousness, the A-League has a shocking propensity to self-destruct at the worst possible moment.
Is there a way back from this? I hope so, but I don’t know. It’s difficult to articulate the sense of loss and hopelessness around this beautiful game right now, and looking forward, there’s not much to cling on to – just the desperate hope that we can survive.
Whether there’s an issue between the players and Steve Corica, or it’s the deficiencies at the back, it’s hard to see the Sydney FC legend retaining his job if the Sky Blues can’t start stringing a couple of wins together – and soon.
There was a school of thought that Sydney, revitalised by a man-of-the-match showing from almost forgotten man Max Burgess, were back in business with an impressive 2-1 win over Melbourne City. It wasn’t just a smash and grab – it was a genuinely deserved victory against the ladder leaders.
But as has been the case since the beginning of 2021-22, it feels like for every forward step the Sky Blues take they also take two backwards. Leading 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Industree Group Stadium through the resurgent Paulo Retre, Sydney were behind by half-time and couldn’t find a way back into the game. That result – their fourth loss already this season – condemns Corica’s side to another week spent outside the finals places.
With marquee signing Jack Rodwell missing from Saturday’s defeat after managing only 45 minutes against City, and veteran centre-back Alex Wilkinson out until well into the new year, Corica is down to three senior centre-halves, two of whom haven’t even played 10 matches at A-League level between them.
Dwight Yorke returns to Moore Park on Christmas Eve to take on the man he set up for the Grand Final winner all the way back in 2006 at the previous iteration of Allianz Stadium. If All Night Dwight leaves with three points, could it be the end of his old friend’s tenure? At what point does Scott Barlow and the board say enough’s enough, and Corica is no longer the man to lead the club back to silverware?
Speaking of the Bulls, they’re now into fourth on the A-League ladder. The caveat is that three sides behind them – Central Coast, Brisbane Roar and Victory – can overtake them with a win in their respective matches. It wasn’t the flashiest performance on Sunday, but Bachana Arabuli’s header was enough as Macarthur claimed all three points.
We’re a bit more than a quarter through the season, so the table will still lie to some extent, but there’s definitely a chasm between City and the rest of the league. With a rookie manager who seems to know what he’s doing and definitely has the charisma to unite a dressing room, and boasting weapons like Daniel Arzani, Al Hassan Toure and Ulises Davila, Macarthur can certainly mount a title challenge.
The question is: will they?
As mentioned Sydney FC are ripe for the picking next Saturday, and then there’s a very intriguing visit to CommBank Stadium to face Marko Rudan’s Western Sydney Wanderers on New Year’s Day. We should know a little more about the Bulls after two back-to-back Sydney Derbies.
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