Roar Guru
Joined December 2009
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Those bastions of Warner Brothers cartoons, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd engage in a famous skit whereby Daffy and Bugs try to…
On a spring Friday evening in Gosford in 2018, more than 10,000 fans flocked to Central Coast Stadium to watch a pre-season game. This…
Chances are, if you drop the name Edson Arantes Do Nascimento into a conversation, the football followers in the group would nod and smile.…
There's a scene in Terminator 2: Judgement Day where the teenage John Connor asks Arnold Schwarzenegger's character if there's any hope for the human…
Since the start of the A-League in 2005, it's quite possible Monday's announcement that the Grand Finals - the showpiece event of both the…
In 1997, the band Everclear released 'So Much For the Afterglow', a particularly poignant tune in light of a fateful Socceroos night at the…
There was a time, not so many years ago, before the "C" word sent the world in general and sport in particular into hibernation,…
The word 'fan' derives from the longer form 'fanatic' and being a Socceroos fan is an exercise in fanaticism.
It was as predictable as the Sydney rain - less than 24 hours after Australia's 0-2 defeat to Japan, the rumours were gathering force…
In high school in the late 1970s, our English teacher set an assignment for us.
It was only supposed to be for a few months. Besart Berisha was plucked from relative European obscurity by then-Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou…
On a black-and-white portable TV, with a screen size about one-fifth of today's flat-screen, pristine, HD gems, the old rabbit-ears aerial pointed strategically towards…
Since his passing two days ago, there has been significant reflection on the contribution Frank Arok made to Australian football. My previous article contained…
Former Socceroos coach Ferenc 'Frank' Arok has passed away at the age of 88. He was one of the most influential football figures in…
There are many sportsmen and women who can lay claim to being the greatest at what they do. They can be called champions. They…
The National Rugby League are planning to restart the competition on May 28, despite the probability that most of the population will still be…
A flick through Fox's various sports channels revealed the way in which the pay TV provider was filling the massive gaps left by the…
The 1970s had turned this gangly kid into a football tragic, complete with the requisite muddy role-playing of rain-soaked English games in a northern…
It was a May night in 1972 when my mother and grandmother made a decision that would change my life. They woke me up…
One heel click of the red-and-black shoes and the Western Sydney Wanderers were back where they belong. Not in Kansas, but Parramatta, to the…
Respectfully disagree. if picked in a midfield that includes larger players (such as Jackson Irvine), Nisbet would be a fantastic asset. He has shown this season that he is adept at the 8 or 10 role, and his box-to-box energy is a considerable asset. He has improved substantially in the last two seasons, and on the rare occasions that he does turn over possession, he usually wins it back or harasses his opponent into a mistake. His passing range is great (the through ball for Angel Torres’ goal in the AFC Cup game against Macarthur was wonderful).
The Central Coast Mariners are a reminder of what's good about the A-League Men
Don’t be too harsh on him. That miss ensured I won my head-to-head Fantasy League cup final, robbing my opponent of 10 points!
The Central Coast Mariners are a reminder of what's good about the A-League Men
You missed the ever-popular “Burning Hammers” Mixed Croquet team. They’re a joy to watch.
The Central Coast Mariners are a reminder of what's good about the A-League Men
5 years ago, I wrote an article on this very site about the Mariners importance to the A League.
Why the Mariners may be the most important club in the A-League
Thankfully, they rode out the horrors of that terribly barren spell where many were calling for their axing, saying they were at best an NPL 2 standard side. they are now the example the other clubs should follow.
The Central Coast Mariners are a reminder of what's good about the A-League Men
I don’t think I can handle any more eggs. Stuart has already kicked our asses.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 19
It’s not, it’s not…Ron Jeremy is it??
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 19
Don’t forget that Central Coast Stadium hosts a Motocross event this weekend. Concerts are one thing but f*** the bikes off to actual bike tracks.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 18
We have world-class goalkeeping coaches in Australia producing world-class goalkeepers. So where are the forward coaches, working with strikers to hone their skills and instincts?
'Devastating', 'painful', 'punished': Socceroos OUT of Asian Cup after Miller's moments of madness
Respectfully disagree. We were not “outplayed” when the Koreans, for all their possession, could only muster one tame shot on target in 95 minutes. We were not outplayed when it took a great double save from the Korean keeper to keep Martin Boyle out, and then Mitch Duke missed the open goal. We didn’t take our chances, yet we restricted the Koreans to none, until the 96th minute.
'Devastating', 'painful', 'punished': Socceroos OUT of Asian Cup after Miller's moments of madness
And yet it was one minute away from working. I also find it inevitable yet curious that defenders or goalkeepers have their mistakes highlighted. However (and I totally admire him as a player and a person), Mitch Duke should have buried both chances and we should have been talking about a historic 3-0 win over a legitimate Asian powerhouse. Strikers can miss a hatful, but one defenders error and they’re hung out to dry.
'Devastating', 'painful', 'punished': Socceroos OUT of Asian Cup after Miller's moments of madness
I’m just checking that you’re not being tongue-in-cheek over the Usain Bolt thing? I went to the game in Gosford that drew a big and curious pre-season crowd when both Bolt and another guy call Josh Nisbet made their debuts. It was abundantly clear even to the casual and curious fans in attendance that Bolt was absolutely not good enough to be playing A League standard football. I guarantee the novelty would have worn off after a couple of games and would have forced then-Mariners coach Mike Mulvey to play with 10 players if he was obliged to give Bolt a starting slot. Let’s not forget that Bolt was offered a deal but he wanted a ludicrous amount of money, and so he turned down the offered contract.
Townsend and APL at the heart of Australian football's latest self-sabotage
That’s the one! Always makes me laugh. And Daffy’s response? “You’re despicable!”
It's open season on A-League coaches - who might be next in the firing line?
It’s usually interest rate rises that are hidden on Melbourne Cup day. Now it’s football coach sackings! Commiserations to Steve Corica, who has been an icon of the Sky Blues.
No delay Talay: Sydney FC announce new manager just a day after Corica's sacking
Instant folk hero status.
Record crowds, star players, entertaining games: A glimmer of hope for the 'basket case' that is Australian domestic football
And lets remember that 5,000 is half the crowd Luton Town gets, and they’re in the EPL!
Record crowds, star players, entertaining games: A glimmer of hope for the 'basket case' that is Australian domestic football
Mid
There was a relentlessly negative article in SMH online written by a “journalist” who had clearly not gone to the game. I expect it was written to appease the paymasters of the site owners, who also own the rights to the NRL, and who wouldn’t be able to replicate an atmosphere like the one on Saturday night.
The rime of the modern Mariners
Good grief; what an oversight. Eds, please fix that up. Apologies to JASON Cummings! (Daniel McBreen must have been in my head!)
The rime of the modern Mariners
It failed to deliver on atmosphere?? Were you there? It was one of the best atmospheres I’ve experienced at any football game, let alone the A-League.
Paramount cock-a-hoop with Grand Final viewership, as A-League clocks up some impressive numbers
Central Coast Mariners are on the East Coast, and if one team constantly suffers from horrendous refereeing inconsistency, it is they.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 21
In the early 1980s the NSL would play a pre-season tournament, and I remember travelling to Marconi Stadium for a Youth team game which kicked off at 3pm. It was 43 degrees. At half time, there was no team talk; we simply sat on a cool (by comparison) concrete floor and poured cold water over our heads.
NPL competitions in NSW kick off this weekend and the youth leagues start in 2 weeks. It’s going to be really hot. But the demands for more games, at both youth, NPL and A-League level, means an inevitable clash with the hottest months no matter when the competitions start. However, it it utter madness to be dictated by TV requirements. A temperature policy operates for the aforementioned NPL in NSW, which seems to get abandoned at A-League level.
Player welfare abused by A-League scheduling
With respect, Ad-O, whatever your view of what’s cheap or marquee, the A League Grand Final was a point of difference between football and the AFL and NRL. It has been held in every mainland capital, plus Newcastle, in the last 17 years, and prior to Covid, always sold out the stadium it was held in. There was never a clamour from fans for a “neutral” venue and there was already a tradition being established. It’s one thing to mimic the other two codes, but the A League GF was truly “national,” and doubled as a reward for the highest placed teams in the competition.
'Look at me!' Why do some football fans always make it about them?
I take your point and certainly not siding with the mob. But throwing a flare onto a sparsely populated ground – stupid and dangerous as it may be – is inherently less risky than lobbing one back into a crowd.
City keeper may be punished for throwing flare as Victory slapped with show-cause notice over pitch invasion
As a former keeper who had the odd object thrown towards (or at) me at times, I can tell you, my last reaction would be to pick the object up and throw it back at the crowd. This is not to absolve the outright thuggery of what happened next, but at the least, I think Glover has a case to answer.
City keeper may be punished for throwing flare as Victory slapped with show-cause notice over pitch invasion
Fabian
Players in a variety of professional sports, including football, operate under a code of conduct which includes not inciting a crowd through actions, gestures or words. Yes, “they” threw the flare first and there is no way that anything that follows can condone the behaviour of thugs jumping the fence and attacking a player. But pegging a flare back into a crowded section was not a smart thing to do.
City keeper may be punished for throwing flare as Victory slapped with show-cause notice over pitch invasion
Superbly put, Stuart. there is much to love in the domestic game. I can be almost guaranteed of seeing an exciting, all-action goal-filled game in any A league mens or womens round. The story of the A league Mens top two is pure Hollywood – Wellington and Central Coast, friendless (apart from the hardcore faithful), penniless and often pointless, now showing the rest of the competition how to rebuild a club from the ground up. The drama at Adelaide last week with the insanely talented Nestory Irankunda. The pulsating Sydney derby, which is hopefully on its way back to being the hottest sporting ticket in the Harbour City.
Forget those bringing down the game, what if we embraced the A-League and Australian football cups are actually half-full?