- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
After collecting just two points from the 21 on offer since the last time they played Perth Glory, maybe Brisbane Roar deserved a bit of luck in interim coach Nick Green’s first game.
Green was the width of a post away from watching a hard-fought win turn into another frustrating draw in the Roar’s 2-1 victory over Perth Glory in Redcliffe on Sunday afternoon, after Glory substitute Adam Zimarino watched his long-range rocket crash back off the inside of the post in stoppage time.
The Roar had already ridden their luck to get to that point, and there was an element of good fortune when former Perth Glory man Henry Hore blasted a low drive directly underneath visiting shot-stopper Cameron Cook to hand the hosts the lead.
But on the whole the Roar were good value for their win, just a week after a stoppage-time equaliser from their former youngster Alex Parsons saw Sydney FC snatch a point in another deflating draw at Allianz Stadium last Saturday.
The writing had seemed to be on the wall for former coach Warren Moon a week earlier when the Roar slumped to their third straight loss in a 2-1 home defeat to the Central Coast Mariners.
But in typical fashion for the Roar’s much-derided owners the Bakrie Group, they didn’t pull the trigger until after Moon had almost fashioned a victory over one of the competition’s heavyweights.
A one-time Roar player and long-standing servant to the club, Moon did his best under a trying set of circumstances – even if an overall win rate of 33 per cent suggests otherwise.
Warren Moon. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
But the manner in which certain players left the club rubbed some fans the wrong way, and after finishing second-from-bottom last season, Moon always looked like he was on borrowed time.
He wasn’t helped by marquee man Charlie Austin turning out to be a bit of a bust, while Japanese import Riku Danzaki looked a shadow of his former self in his second stint at the club before departing for Motherwell.
However, the Roar responded well under interim coach Green on Sunday, even if few in Brisbane knew much about the young Englishman – myself included.
But the bigger issue at Brisbane Roar is undoubtedly the owners.
I’ve been loath to criticise the Bakrie Group in the past for one specific reason – I’m not convinced there’d still be a professional club in Brisbane without them.
For all the brickbats continually flung their way, there’s no denying the Jakarta-based owners have pumped considerable funds into the club.
They kept the Roar afloat during COVID, attracted big-name recruits like Austin and former coach Robbie Fowler, and attempted to improve the matchday experience with the move to Redcliffe.
Yet the club has been run on the smell of an oily rag for the past few seasons – and the move to Redcliffe hasn’t worked.
Despite offering a far superior viewing experience, the recently re-christened Kayo Stadium is just too far from Brisbane to attract the sort of crowds the club once commanded.
A permanent return to Suncorp Stadium is on the cards next season, but perhaps the more intriguing news is the fact Brisbane Roar may soon have some competition in the River City.
Missed by many in the online discussions around a new National Second Division – I was tipped off to its presence by someone in the know – was a cryptic tweet of the logo and name of a club that looks set to throw its hat into the ring for a place in the new competition.
Brisbane United first competed in the National Soccer League in 1991 before eventually changing their name to Brisbane Strikers, and the original name and colours could be back on the national stage if this new project gets the go-ahead.
I can guarantee right now that if a newly created professional club starts playing in the second tier, Brisbane Roar will have a fight on their hands for supporters.
That’s football. On a weekend in which NPL action returned to Queensland, a little bit of competition might be just what Brisbane needs.