a) Brisbane Roar have signed defender Ryan Lethlean until the end of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.

b) Brisbane Roar have signed Olyroos midfielder Keegan Jelacic on loan from Belgian Pro League club K.A.A Gent for the remainder of the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League season.

Agg..gg ha

Anyone has any opinion about 6 matches per weekend if there are 33 rounds?

How about 5 matches per weekend while there are 33 rounds (12 clubs)? This will extend the season more, say 8 to 8.5 months.

A-league cannot have 14 teams yet. It is not sustainable or viable for the time being because of the membership size.

With 14 teams, there may be 7 matches per week if the season length remains. However, if it is not economical to have 7 matches per week, then the season length has to be extended, making some clubs having 1.5-weeks-rest per round sometimes and maintaining around 5 matches per week.

The season can also be extended with 10 teams by having only 4 matches every weekend. This is good to the clubs with ACL involvement. However, the competition with other sports is intensified because of the overlapping.

How about 12 teams? If there are only 5 matches every week, then the season is extended naturally.

At the moment, A-league can or cannot survive 10 teams?

After the A-league finale, I have quit Foxtel.

Anyone can tell me which channel I can watch socceroos matches?

What is the purpose of a friendly soccer match?

1) Building up a national team (including assessing new players and gelling new and old players…etc)

2) Earning revenue to support the association (like FA and FFA).

What else?

Who would say “Let the players have a game for fun and the spectators to have entertainment”?

Yes, it is a friendly match. Still, it is one of the matches building the socceroos for the 2018 World Cup.

Ever since Mckay’s hand ball in the match against Japan in Japan, there have been many criticisms on him . I did not involve. However, Mckay has very good footwork and his off ball movement is excellent too. Also, he has very good passes. I thought he is going to retire from International duty gradually. Still, his inclusion this time is not a big surprise to me. Just that his age has come close to retirement. He still performances well. Nevertheless, there are Brisbane Roar fans criticizing his performance in the 2015 to 2016 A-league season. Just do not know why.

As for Milligan, I used to be his hater. However, he played well in Melbourne Victory last season to assist his club to win the premiership and championship. Do remember that he can play more than one position. He used to play as a fullback when he was young; now, he plays as a midfielder. In wiki, he has four positions. However, more importantly, he can strike. Some of his medium range strikes are still so memorable. In a tournament like World Cup, the coach has to have some talented players who can play a number of positions for the sake of possible injuries of other players.

I’ve watched only Leicester vs MU lately and Foxes defended to counter attack. So, I like to ask whether Foxes play attacking football in matches against weak or weaker teams usually? If a team can change the way of playing suitably and variably, both the coach and the team are good.

You only lose your head if Foxes win the premiership again next year.

Thank for the link.

Basically, from what is written in the essay, Leicester is a defend-and-counter-attacking team. As I ve only watched one Leicester match, I am not sure. Still, they have won with 2 spare matches.

Model? What model? Please explain as I have not followed EPL for years.

Have not seen any EPL matches for years, excepting MU vs Leicester on last Sunday. That match was crucial for MU to get into the top 4 and Leicester to get the Championship.

That match was not impressive.

Has the EPL gone down in quality?

Why and how Leicester City can have got the championship? Someone told that the top teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, MU, Manchester City FC etc have slipped in this season. However, there are other 15 teams in the league. Why not the other but Leicester City FC?

So, I check the UEFA Champions League to find for clues. There were 3 English clubs in the top 16; one (Man City) in top 8; and one the semi-final. There is no clue.

Anyone can explain?

According to wiki, Mark has played 6 in Foxes this season. However, how many are in league?

There are other reports. Read http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2016/05/03/epl-champion-schwarzer-sets-numerous-records-after-leicester-fairytale

Different people have different perspectives.

“Many people can quote the WHAT, (like a 2-0 result) but have no idea of the WHY.”

Do we need to talk about it?

Anyhow:

WSW players were sleeping when they lost the first goal. This is interpretation. Some though (before the match) that WSW were just not lucky losing 3 goals in start of the match vs BR. However, their defense has been bad.

As for the 2nd goal, that is world class. This make me think why Brisbane Roars man-wall was so mistakenly set up. The Brisbane Roar have had terrible defending performance in the second half of the season. They keep making school boy mistakes.

Seconds before AU scored the 3rd goal, I told my friend that WSW is going to lose another goal. The AU players pressed so hard and effectively.

As for WSW’s goal, it makes me think of the left-foot-right-foot-theory that happens so often recently in The Roar.

That goal was a right-foot-outer-flank-strike, curling to the right. That is a very good one too.

To me it doesn’t matter right or left foot player as long as a good player with good skill and footwork.

If the occasion comes that a player has to strike with right foot, he can make a curling left ball flying with the inner frank of the foot.

No surprise as he was once reported to lose in Las Vegas. His attitude and responses during his socceroos time told his state too.

Twenty millions?

They are not fans. They are football party goers.

In 2010 to 2011, Brisbane Roar had 12 clean sheets. Same as Adelaide United this season, 2015-16.

As for Brisbane Roar in this season, they have only got 8 clean sheets.

How many goals Jamie Young has saved in this season? How to find out? Is he a good keeper?

Cannot blame Jade North as he is recognized as the league’s best defender. Corona is the best too.

The LB, RB or the MF had a problem in this season?

Seems there is a lack of a good mid-field defender in the squad.

Some said Paatarlu’s departure made Melbourne City’s results fell.

Could Clut have done a good job in mid-field defense?

Can Hervas do a good mid-field defending job? For sure, he cannot. He can only play long ball.

Hire a defending coach or sign a very good defending mid-fielder?

Can a defending coach work well with fierce Ross? Will there be a blame game?

The 2014 to 2015 season tells that there are too many middle management. Is BRFC going back to the same mistake?

J Aloisi has kept saying he wants total control that he had not got in Melbourne Heart. So, can he find a good defending coach he trust?

Seems signing a good mid-field defender is suitable.

Right before the last 2 qualifying matches a month ago, Jedinak made an astonishing saying that socceroos will surprise the world in the 2018 Russian Cup (http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2016/03/22/socceroos-skipper-jedinak-targets-leicester-surprises).

I thought why he would make such claim? The reason being that socceroos had not even qualified in the first round. There is a second round to come. His saying was a big surprise actually.

Then in those two matches, socceroos performed superbly.

So, if socceroos can really surprise the world in two years (2018), Ange may attract big clubs’ attention.

That is not too far away, two years.

The good thing about internet-discussion is that bloggers and fans can speak something that journalists may not dare doing so.

There is no comparison between these two coaches.

Aloisi is good but not good enough to be the head coach of Australia.

He has not won any yet while Popovic has won a plate and AFC championship.

Secondly, Popovic can adopt different formation with different opponents. His rotation strategy is admirable, despite he refuses the existence of such philosophy. On the other hand Aloisi plays the same lining up most of the time. If Aloisi takes the role of socceroos, he probably make selection like Osciek.

Thirdly, his ability of youth training is in doubt.

It is understandable that why some fans rate Premiership higher than Championship of A-league. They do so because, perhaps, some journalists naively or deliberately (with sour grapes) downgrade the Premiership with the saying of “minor premiership”. This is ridiculous. This practice shows the ignorance in soccer.

Conversely, it is equally biased to a far extent to advocate that Premiership is superior to the Championship.

Premiership and Championship are two semi-inter-wound-but-separate competitions to me. They are equally important.

One of traits of this arrangement is to make sure the the last match of the season is the match between the two very best teams, ensuring huge attention.

It is a good system.

PS

I did not mean to make Adelaide handicapped in having a holding right in bidding the Grand Finale because of such an AFL egg shaped stadium. If really, FFA is to open tender (or bid) for the Grand Finale right, Adelaide government may invest to build a new square stadium. History tells that Victoria Government took the F1 holding right by building a new circuit in Albert Park.

BTW, ANZ stadium is to be a biggest square stadium in the southern hemisphere in 2022.

This promotes both economy and soccer.

Post hoc,

In my original writing, I have already suggested that the other final matches have the home advantage remains. Just the Grand Finale is different. That is to say, the match between rank 4 and 5 is to be held in the home of the rank 4’s city; match between rank 3 and 6 to be held in rank 3’s home city. The same applies to the match between the rank 1 with the winner of the play off matches (or semi final). Also, the same applies to the rank 2 with the winner of the other play off matches (or semi final).

Lionheart,

Thank for the reply.

Yes, apparently the downside is the loss of a home match. However, at the start of the league, no one knows who are the last 2 to be in the grand finale. Using the UEFA Champ League for example, Milan is host the 2016 Grand Finale. If the Milan clubs or other Italian Clubs can get to the finale, the Italy club has the home advantage. So, it is not necessarily that such an arrangement means neutral away match.

Secondly, even if in 2016 the set venue is in Brisbane’s Suncorp, it does not mean necessarily that the Roar can be in the Grand Finale. If really, Brisbane Roar (as the 3rd place finisher in the league) is in the Grand Finale, then credit is going to the Queensland Government for making the advantage. At least, there is such prefixed arrangement in Rugby League.

Yes there is a small downside. However, it is better than booking 4 stadiums.

Also, you mentioned about the Adelaide Oval. And it is that egg shape stadium make me think of having a holding the Grand Finale in another stadium. This thinking came this morning. I thought why not having the 2016 Grand Finale holding in Brisbane or NSW (or even Perth)?

Thank

The A-league will be more improved and promoted if the Grand Finale is to be prefixed at a venue like UEFA Championship League Grand Finale.

Obviously, FFA have headache over the venue of the Grand Finale this year. They have booked 4 stadiums. It is a huge waste of money.

So, why not prefix the venue?

FFA will get double benefit for doing so. Firstly, the wasted booking fee is saved. Secondly, FFA may get cities to compete the holding right with a sponsor fee.

Higher ranking teams still enjoy the home match privilege in quarter and semi final matches. Just that the Grand Finale is prefixed.

This will promote A-league further.

Imagine that Perth has got the holding right. Then there may be tens of thousands of fans going there for a match and vacation.

Also, I suddenly remember, Rugby League has a prefixed venue.

Think about it.