Almost 12 years after the Bakrie Group took full control of Brisbane Roar, the question that has vexed football fans in Queensland remains – what exactly do they hope to achieve by owning the club?
Melbourne City’s 8-1 annihilation of the Roar on Thursday night was the equal highest-ever winning margin in an A-League Men match.
It would have been a record had the Roar’s 16-year-old substitute Rylan Brownlie not scored his first ever A-League goal on the hour mark.
The record defeat came on the back of a difficult week for the Roar, after former head coach Ross Aloisi announced he was leaving the club following just nine league games in charge to join Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai Port as Kevin Muscat’s assistant.
Aloisi was Muscat’s assistant when the pair won the J. League with Yokohama F. Marinos in 2022, but his departure was still seen as a major shock.
And the way the Roar conceded those eight goals on Thursday suggested a few players didn’t have their heads in the game.
A soft set-piece opener to Curtis Good was followed by the Roar getting caught on the break for Jamie Maclaren’s first of the night, before Aziz Behich played one of the passes of the season for Maclaren to bag his 150th A-League goal before half-time.
Jamie Maclaren celebrates with teammates (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Yet as soft as many of the City goals were, it’s worth keeping the defeat in perspective.
Good, Behich and Maclaren have all played for the Socceroos while the stand-out player on the night – City’s classy German import Tolgay Arslan – was one of Udinese’s key players in Italy’s highly technical Serie A.
The Roar, meanwhile, started with Matt Acton in goal and Alex Parsons up front.
Interim coach Luciano Trani was right when he said in the post-game press conference that Melbourne City – with the might of the City Football Group behind them – have access to resources rival clubs can only dream of.
But that doesn’t mean the Roar don’t have a few issues of their own making.
Skipper Tom Aldred is yet to agree terms on a new contract and has been a passenger in recent weeks, while the decision to drop goalkeeper Macklin Freke and replace him with Acton backfired spectacularly.
Just as noteworthy are the rumours around who has been calling the shots.
“Our focus remains to (sic) fill our No.9 position and more defensive cover,” said the Roar’s new Chief of Operations, Zac Anderson in one of several ‘management updates’ published so far this season.
In the end, there was no visa signing and the only defensive cover ultimately signed was Aaron Reardon from NPL Queensland and a club-less Antonee Burke-Gilroy.
It’s Anderson who has been heading up the Roar’s recruitment and it was the former A-League defender who told News Corp journalist Marco Monteverde back in July: “We can be clear that there are enough funds from the owners to get the right players”.
He, along with the man Anderson recommended as the club’s new chief executive, Kaz Patafta, have made a number of notable moves early on in their tenure.
The most significant was undoubtedly the decision to sack A-League Women head coach Garrath McPherson four rounds into the season and replace him with first-time head coach Alex Smith.
McPherson had failed to qualify for the finals in each of his two seasons in charge, while Smith knows the competition – and Anderson personally – following a couple of previous stints as an ALW assistant coach.
But it does beg the question of where the buck stops when things go awry.
The new leadership duo is known to be big fans of Ben Cahn, who Anderson played under during his time at NPL Queensland heavyweights Olympic FC.
And their ‘Queensland first’ mentality is a sensible strategy for a club that has lost its connection with fans.
Cahn deserves his chance as an A-League head coach, but for now it’s the experienced Trani in charge.
Meanwhile, Anderson and Patafta have a bigger question to solve.
How do they convince Brisbane Roar fans to keep supporting a club the Bakrie Group seemed to lose interest in long ago?
Waz
Roar Rookie
P.S. if the signed Striker is Bernie Ibini, as rumoured in preseason, be prepared for a massive backlash
Waz
Roar Rookie
Good updates John, It’s not the first time Roar have an injury crisis longer than 2-3 other clubs put together; and that’s one of the issues with the club - it continually repeats past mistakes. Brendale never looked big enough to host all sides so looked like an issue waiting to happen; although it’s disappointing to hear Roar will be looking at up to three different venues for men’s training - this is inefficient, expensive, and will likely lead to sub-optimal training surfaces and the spread of club assets too thinly. 3 venues will also reinforce Roars lack of identity and rather nomadic existence, it smells of insufficient funding from club owners and a problem most other A League clubs have resolved (no, not you Perth!). Good to hear there are signings coming - let’s hope they’re match fit which is another common mistake of the past. And my advice stands: if you know something that’s not in the public domain don’t try and defend the club - they need to get their message across and not use Fan groups as a proxy. I’m following the various debates on line, it’s been the same for 10 years - the only solution is to stay clear surely??
mrl
Roar Rookie
Football is much like alcohol...the cause and solution to all of life's problems.
John Lang
Roar Rookie
New Ladder has MV in 2nd spot
John Lang
Roar Rookie
Waz just a few points. It is unusual for Kaz and Zac to go missing, I asked where they were and was told Busy. Appears that was right, they were lining up their ducks (Which they should have done before jumping to name Trani as interim coach) But on some of your points (These have not be relayed to fans who deserve better) Injuries last I checked and may not be entirely accurate 14 of our 27 players are either injured or coming back from injury some coming back can't play 90+ minutes - (There is an in depth review into why this has happened underway now) Training Grounds - Brendale will be handed over in the next week or so but won't be ready for this season as more work needs to be done and will be as originally designed (Despite Fongs suggestion it was for the men) for Women and Youth, funding was given to Moreton Council on that basis. The new management have found in our climate they need a mix of fields to train at and are are looking at possibly 3 venues for men to train at, so the fields don't get overused. I am led to believe the club has either signed a nr 9 and a back (One of the hardest positions to fill a good backs are hard to find) but they have to wait till he Window is open. Unfortunately often in my position I am often aware of things that the club should be addressing directly to supporters. This is why I get caught up in supporting the club when others (Often just a small but vocal group) believe otherwise. But new year, New Coach and I will continue to push Kaz and Zac to be more open. They are 1000% better than Fong and at this stage have been more open and truthful than the previous manager. We live in hope.
John Lang
Roar Rookie
I believe Strikers are only a sub tenant of the YMCA and work is going on behind the scenes to get something done.
John Lang
Roar Rookie
Despite popular opinion very few clubs actually have Marquee players last I checked there was possible 2 across the league.
Grem
Roar Rookie
You need to meet Nick!
NickA
Roar Rookie
To be fair I have felt that the debates and disagreements on the Roar are much more respectful than on other platforms. Still a fresh face around here but I enjoy being able to have a proper debate rather than resorting to stupid social media comments that are seen on FB, Instagram pages re Aussie football.
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
As Waz said, the club decides which marquee player to buy. The only time the APL gets involved is if the club asks the APL to contribute to the marquee's salary. The APL then decides if the marquee is high profile for the whole league to benefit. If so, then they contribute, otherwise the club wears the cost.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
WU was always going to struggle financially with the evergrande group behind them - it will be intersting if they are dragged into the court battle currently thats going on and finally bankrupting them It came as no surprise to me to see pehlivanis jump off that sinking ship the club have definite cash flow problems, the players have not been paid on time at least once this season that im aware of. my consulting gig with them also ended abruptly in may last year after they finally paid up what they owed me (equated to almost 5 weeks worth of wages I was far too patient during that time out of loyalty to JA (but you saw where that loyalty got JA)
Waz
Roar Rookie
Nope.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
breaking my NY's resolution is becoming habitual, but two Brisbane Roar updates in a little over two hours on New Years Day is something I didn't expect. The execs have certainly not been sitting around and celebrating the new year. They've been hard at it. Ben Cahn it is, now.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
where is this information from? on the official site it has MV on top of the table on goal difference over Wellington. Personally do not give a stuff either way sounds like someone has wound you up.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Another fiasco from the APL coming to light today. Goal Difference being replaced by “Wins” to determine ladder position when points are equal (they didn’t bother telling anyone else so 10 rounds in we’ve all been looking at the tables wrong) Yet another deviation from the football norm in other countries (and the rest of football in Australia), why and for what purpose?? It is almost like the APL are unfit to run this competition.
pete4
Roar Rookie
Tbh I think clubs like SMFC will take a long time if ever to attract the crowds they had 30 years ago. It's a big jump up from semi-pro to being fully professional football club
Waz
Roar Rookie
So do I. As it should have been from the City game.
Waz
Roar Rookie
South’s should have been in ages ago. It’s criminal WU got in ahead of them but a Lowy was making the decision so no surprises.
Knocka
Roar Rookie
South Melbourne would at least bring an existing fan base and stadium, as well as a pretty respected history. If they develop a plan to more broadly embrace the southern Melbourne region and not just their traditional Greek community, they could easily emerge as a true giant of Australian soccer......again.
Waz
Roar Rookie
John As you know, I love your work and yes - it’s difficult standing to support Roar in the face of sustained hostility - as we know, many critics are in it for the sport. But keep your heads up and ignore the bull. It is important that supporters groups and especially the new supporters committee or reps carry the voice of the fans in to the club and not the other way around: Why do we have an injury crisis unparalleled in other clubs? Why was our squad so threadbare we couldn’t withstand injuries? Why are we critically short in key positions - striker and CB? - Why are we nomadic on both games and training venues? Enough said on the 1-8 result … clearly other things are in play that BRFC won’t want to air. But Club Management need to think of supporters - in a cost of living crisis supporting any club is expensive. They will do well to understand and acknowledge that. The RSF, The Den, The Roar Corps are all doing a great job this year - don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.