'Return to the Glory days': A-League strugglers Perth's new ownership confirmed

I agree with the observations regarding the City game. Brisbane Roar seem to run out of steam after around 60 minutes. By then they were 5 nil up. City subs came on and City started to dominate. But the mountain to climb was insurmountable, and Freke pulled off some good saves. It was similar v Perth. Roar seemed cooked at the 60 minute mark. Perth were very much in the game at that stage. It appeared like RZ changed formation to three at the back to try to match Perth's formation, and neutralize their threats. I have no issue with that. The issue was that the players Roar brought on did not energize the squad and did not pose a threat to Perth. The Perth subs did precisely that to Brisbane. For me, the issue lies with the players selected by RZ to come on an energize the squad. If Rojas is not fit enough for a start, I certainly question if he is the right player to come on an re-energize the attack Sadly, Brownlie is injured. But where was Majok? Where was Markovski? MacNichol? The energetic Perth subs won the game. Although Roar's defensive lapses certainly helped them.

My biggest concern is that Roar seem to hit a the wall around the 70th minute in most games. I would go as far as saying we looked cooked after 55 minutes in Perth. That trait goes back as far as the Australia Cup final. Same against Melbourne City, where thankfully, Roar were out of sight after 46 minutes. I think RZ tried to sand bag the lead, by going to a back three, and hoped to bolster the midfield to stifle Perth's attacks. Given he was matching up the Perth formation, the question we need to ask is how did Perth keep coming and Roar continued to fade? It came down to who Perth brought on v who Roar brought on. I don't think RZ was wrong tactically. It was the selections (i.e the bench) that were wrong. Berenguer and Rojas were never going to give Roar the energy required. I am not sure why Majok was not on the bench. We have not been told he is injured. Markovski would also have broughta bit of energy also. Unfortunately Brownlie is injured. Had we been able to introduce some youth and energy we may have got something out of the game, despite errors by Aldred and Nikolovski. I will stick my head out and say, that if Rojas is not fit to start, he should be left out of the squad altogether. Whilst he may have the pedigree and the skill, he does not have the energy levels needed to turn the games around. It would be great for him to prove me wrong on Friday night, but I am not holding my breath. It doesn't sound like he wants to be Roar next year, so we should bring in energetic players that want to be.

Congratulations to Perth Glory. It's good for the competition, and a resurgence of any clubs outside of Melbourne and Sydney has to be a good for the game. That said. I am not sure that the badge for longest suffering supporters goes to Perth. There's a team up here in Queensland that sadly owns the franchise on that. Despite what he just did to Roar at the weekend, I am looking forwards to seeing Adam Taggart in the Green and Gold soon. Hopefully , it will remind Arnie that there are as good, if not better players outside of Melbourne and Sydney.

I think coaches need to realise that just because they have 5 subs, doesn't mean that have to use them. If the team is gelling, and there is no reason (fatigue, injury, tactical) to change it.......then dont. All these players should be able to run out an entire match, not just the CBs and O'Shey.

The difference is against City though Roar did have chances on the counter once City dominated. This was one way traffic and Perth could have scored more.

Doesn’t FA already have this? Might be something different to what you are referring to. https://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news/football-australia-unveils-first-ever-domestic-club-licensing-regulations-australian

Even before Stajic lost Kehlifi and Bozanic he was complaining about not being able to bring in others, STajic first choice is seniors. Stajic resorts to young players when he cant get them. So at the moment things are going well because Beevers is out injured, the minute he is fit Stajic will bring him back and move Susnjar to left back and they are back at ground zero.

Chopper - how right you are. How a team can be 2-1 up, playing reasonably well, and with all the indicators, possession, shots at goal etc. showing in their favour, apparently need 5 changes when only one player, Gilroy, was apparently injured, almost beggars description, You mention 2 subs, Rojas and Berenguer and when you consider each player and his style, Berenguer should only be used as a back up for O'Shea and Rojas as a replacement winger. yet he went on as a midfielder, replacing who? I'm not sure .jb

I fail to see why Colli has a regular starting spot .Sure he has good games but other times hes lacking. I have yet to see anything out of the ordinary from him.

Brainstrust- The warnings were on show during that memorable 5-1 victory over City. Up until the wholesale substitutions started around the hour mark Roar had shown what they could do and yet in that last 30 minutes City became the dominant team and could have scored more than that lone reply. Last night was the same. After Half Time glimpses of that magical form appeared and yet , on the hour, wholesale changes in the personnel began again. Perth almost immediately became the dominant force. Are these substitutions really necessary. jb

So I was wrong and I will not take all the blame because at 2-1 up the coaching staff decided to go defensive, changed the setup to a back five and took away the point of attack. Roar are doing something drastically wrong when they have Rojas and Berenguer come on as subs and they make no impact.

Seniority first? Joel Anasmo recently came on and scored in his first game, I think he is 18(?). Colokovski is 24, Gorman is 21, Bennie 18, Carluccio 23, Zimarino 23, Ostler 22, Martis 24, Colli 24, Pearman 18, Warland 22, Majekodunmi 20, Bodnar 24, Muir 22, Koutrombis 26, Rawlins 20, Lebib 18, Cook 23, & Sail 28. Then you have the 6 veterans Beevers, Williams, Taggart, Susnjar, Lachman, & Amini who have all been quite good.

Roar were looking more likely for the three points till Zadkovich went to a back three then Perth dominated from that point on. This reminds of when Zadkovich was finally going well at Perth then brought in Elsey from Newcastle except its the return of Aldred that now causes the issues. Was the reason they went to back three is Zadkovich wanted to make it up Nikolovski for leaving him out after a 5-1 win. Going to back three if you sub on a centerback you end up with a fresh center back doing little, and the rest of the team including tired players having to run more. Your much better off moving a fullback into the back three and bringing on a fresh player in another position. Perth starting Williams didnt work, however once Kamau and Williams went off they ended up with a lot more youthful energy. Koutrombis and Wooton out they now have Susjnar central and Rawlins and Warland as fullbacks. Aldred return they now have one less attacking sub, Rojas, Berengeur and Armiento on the field at the same time as subs lack of running speed and a presence in the box.

its seems papers are more interested in blanket coverage of Taylor Swift :unhappy:

Really no coverage of the Melbourne derby???

I’m not so sure other broadcasters wouldn’t be interested. Before AL signed with 10, there were reports 9/Stan were interested: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/stan-sport-could-be-keen-on-a-league-but-only-if-it-stays-in-summer-20210219-p5746g.html That may no longer be the case but given they secured the rights to Super Rugby, they have shown they are interested in “niche” leagues outside of NRL. From a national team perspective, it would be pretty compelling for 9 to have the rights to all three national football teams potentially. Plus with AL, they would be charging $26/mth for AL subs compared to the $12/mth or whatever it is that P+ charge so there’s bigger upside to AL for Stan than there is for P+. Another thing I remember reading at the time was, broadcasters around the world have often found it difficult to make the rights to UEFA Champions League work financially if they don’t also have the rights to the local domestic league, which is why the rights to UCL often bounces around so much (in Aus it was BeIN to Optus, Optus to Stan Sport).

Yes, Jordan Sports Fan, that is exactly what I was thinking which is why I said it is at risk. We'll know soon enough I guess. I'm hoping they extend. Although Ch10 can do much better, it is still way more than what we ever get from other commercial stations. They cover the Aleague in their news bulletins like never before. I don't know which other commercial network will do better considering their vested interests in the other codes. As for ABC and SBS they are broke and just don't have the money the game needs. So the only other options are streaming services, provided the league has money to produce all their games. Interesting times.

I’d love to see them with a big commercial return, but that’s not happening - if that’s their goal then they are really stuffing up. It’s such a shame that they left FA ownership at the time that possibly the best leader took over. With some positive growth, that has happened, and James leading (with the Socceroos and Matildas success) it could have been a real winner.

I’m not 100% convinced the owners have the right intention. Their intention seems to be a sole focus to drive the biggest commercial return they can to drive the valuation of their “licences” higher … presumably so they can sell? I don’t see club valuation on any fans agenda and whilst fans can’t be trusted to run a club they’re not writing the cheques for - yes I’d sign the Bakries money up for a multi year Messi contract tomorrow - what fans want from their club, is a football club not a McFranchise. So I think the franchise v club thing plays out at a micro level between owners and fans, as well as with NSL-biters. That’s why moving the GF was so easy for them: fans didn’t exist outside of Sydney, didn’t factor in to their thinking, and the opposition to it fell on deaf ears … There is a middle ground but I’m not sure many owners want the middle ground. They want what they want and I think many football fans have realised that and aren’t coming back. Owners need to be forced away from running the league (let the executive team do that) and instead run their clubs we would be better off.

My interest may be enough to buy a nice fish and chip lunch washed down by a Coke. That will be king fish that is crumbed and not battered. I would need my chips to be golden brown with perhaps a scallop as well. This needs to be lightly covered in chicken salt. The salad should have a nice Italian dressing. And it will be a Diet Coke as I need to look after my waistline! No thought at all!