As you rightly point out, I think this has to be one of the hardest games to predict in the round.

Glory have had the wood on Victory in recent encounters, but you can never write Melbourne off with the players Muscat has at his disposal.

Since their last game, Glory have had a much more consistent line up and this has shown in their performances. Fewer goals conceded, better passages of play and considerably more possession. Earlier in the season Perth were limited to playing (and frequently scoring) on the counter, but were always on the back foot and thus conceded a lot of goals. This has changed in recent games and they are now dominating possession for considerable periods.

Even as a Glory fan, I’ve tipped a draw but I am far from confident in my tip. The game could go either way and as you say, Melbourne have very few draws to their name. It will really depend on each side on the day as both teams have the capacity to win this one without it being considered lucky. Perth arguably have more to play for given that Melbourne has almost wrapped up second spot whilst Perth are still battling it out with Brisbane and WSW for third. From my own perspective, I hope this is enough to get them over the line. I just hope the ref doesnt ruin the game and dominate the post match headlines as has occured in so many previous encounters.

Has anyone come across any announcements re: the Australian side. All I know is that Frank Farina is to coach.

At $79 for a GA ticket, this might be one for the ManU/England fans only, even if it is for a good cause.

I am confident we will make the finals but then bow out in week 1, at best week 2. We do seems to step up for the big games/teams but lose concentration against supposedly weaker sides. Just another sign that the kenny isnt capable of getting 110% out of his players

Williams tweeted about going to the cricket the other week with a couple of the lads so i dont think its quite as grim as the media would have u believe. Perth definitely didnt want him to go to another a-league side (particularly top of the table sydney) and Rhys was frustrated cos he wasnt getting the game time to attract the interest of any international sides. He came to Perth underdone though and probably shouldnt have been played until he was fitter but the aforementioned injuries to our back line forced Kenny’s hand and he was thrown in.

I think Kenny has a lot of respect from the players, hence Id like to see him kept at the club but in a different role. We need someone capable of taking the next step to push for a top two spot, not just top 6.

I was waiting for an article like this. I couldnt agree more with the general sentiment that Perth are unlikely to ever achieve more than a mid table side under Lowe. Sure he seems like a nice guy and he has a decent track record of teaching kids from a technical perspective, but I feel that we have underperformed tactically under him. This season has been particularly inconsistent and frustrating from a fans perspective.

Tony needs to ask himself if he is content for Perth to sit in the middle of the table or if he wants to push for the top. It seems to me that he is will to put his money into buying top quality players (you dont breach the salary cap by being tight) so I believe/hope it is the latter.

Does anyone know when Lowe’s contract expires? Does he have another season? Perhaps he could be kept on as youth team coach or in a technical capacity…

I dont have any insider knowledge but I agree that something is clearly not right at Glory HQ. Has Kenny lost the changeroom? Is our training routine leaving our players fatigued? Is their diet not right?

I will acknowledge that our back four has been inconsistent through injuries, suspension, socceroos duty etc but the issues are apparent right across the park, not just at the back. The fact that Reddy leads the league for saves indicates that our whole team is defensively not performing. Even counter attacking football usually involves greater posession than Perth had on the weekend.

Perth didnt look at any stage like they wanted to win against the Jets or the Mariners a couple of weeks before. Even in drawing 3-3 with the Mariners in round 1, there was clearly a lack of focus. A good display against City left fans believing the Mariners game was just early season rustiness but clearly the City game was the anomoly. Especially when you consider the referee assisted win over Adelaide (I am a Glory fan) and pure luck against Victory. Its been a funny ol’ season so far

Even as a Glory fan I must acknowledge that the standard of refereeing was appalling during this game. In this case it went in our favour, but I have some sympathy for reds fans as I would be livid if I was in their shoes.

The less you notice the ref the better, but Gillett seems to end up the centre of discussion every time he officiates. No common sense at all.

A certain journo from one of the major Australian papers also pointed out that the trip from Perth to Abu Dhabi is a lot shorter than from Melb/Sydney.

Since the renovation/upgrade a couple of years back, NIB is actually a great boutique stadium. I understand that money talks though and 40,000 fans sparecely populating the MCG or ANZ Stadium still brings in a lot more money than a sold out 20,000 seat stadium.

I am not familiar with the internal goings on of the Roar but I do remember that this isnt the first time that Moore has led a revolt. If I remember right, him and Tiatto didnt exactly see eye to eye with Postecoglou when he first came in. History tells us that the club made the right choice in packing the coach over the players in that instance but as an outside observer it doesnt look like Craig likes being told what to do.

Just saying, I am sure that there are multiple sides to this story and there is a lot which will not have been made public

Spot on re: poor timing in this instance. That said, the relative success in the past of drawing big crowds to glamour friendllies (think Liverpool and even Galaxy) has signalled to promoters that Australia has a strong demand for them.

Unfortunately I think they have misread the market in this instance. Be it that they overpriced the tickets, didnt understand the pulling power of some teams over another or suffered from the apathy of an audience who knows they wont see the same 11 they watch on tv every week.

It is also very expensive to get the sides out here. Despite pulling respectable crowds for Celtic, Fulham and Wolverhampton (who arent even the household names that Liverpool, Madrid or Juve are), Perth have stopped putting their hands up for these games as there’s just no money in it unless you can pack an MCG at $80 a ticket. Perth now travel themselves as part of their preseason schedule and have arguably gotten more out of it.

I’m not against the idea of a glamour friendly, as lets face it, when is the next chance I will have to watch a top Euro side? Promoters will have learnt from the current experience that it has to be the right side, in the right offseason, at the right price.

He’s an attacking midfielder and has only been played as a striker in the Socceroos due his versatility and the absense of a true striker (kinda the point of my original article).

No need for personal attacks

Not denying the success of earlier German teams but if you have ever watched the 1990 final you will have to acknowledge that the German style has changed (and for the better in my opinion).

Germany won Euro 96 but then failed to win a single game in Euro 2000 when they wheeled out nearly the same squad. This led to a review of football in Germany and an overhaul of its academies.

The 2002 WC was a bit of an anomoly caused by the emergence of a few outstanding players (Kahn, Klose and Ballack) but it wasnt until 2006 that the impact of the strategic overhaul was really evident. Under Klinnsman, Germany played an attacking and exciting brand of football (in total contrast to the style played under Beckenbauer).

Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that two of the most famous current generation of South American players Messi and Neymar both came from middle class backgrounds and were trained in academies from a young age. The last big time players I knew to have come from poor backgrounds were Adriano and Tevez. I think the number of Maradonas/Adrianos/Tevezs who make it today are far outnumberred by the number of Messis.

What I find so inspiring about the German situation since 2000, is that they appear to have developed a production line. They are no longer relying on luck to find great players. Their success since 2000 is not built on a a golden generation but on a development program which is both repeatable and successful.

From Australia’s perspective, the former is the most important thing. By being repeatable, it means that Australia can copy it. Germany may have a population of about 80 million (nearly 4 times that of Australia) but sports do not feature in the nation psyche as much as they do here in Australia. Australia has a history of producing excellent atheletes and overachieving in terms of population. Being a wealthy nation capable of funding elite sporting programs helps but I would argue that the only nation to overachieve in the sporting arena more than Australia is New Zealand (Rugby, Cricket).

Its good that the FFA have realised that there are some quality stadiums outside of NSW and VIC which arent torn up by rival codes on a regular basis.

Living in Perth, I am speaking specifically about NIB stadium which is perfect for Ange’s style of game.

That said, I am realistic and can accept that money talks. Its hard to argue against filling a 50,000 seater stadium when NIB only holds 20,000

Do the Kiwi’s have anyone??? hehe

Quality of player doesnt but style certainly does. As much as I am a fan of what Ange has done to this team, he is not very flexible with his style (which is based around keeping the ball on the grass and passing it lots). I think he would rather lose than revert to a long ball game

Both Kruse and Cahill are wingers, but Ange has been playing them up front in the 4-3-3 formation. I wasnt saying that either player is of the calibre of Ozil or Muller, but that they fill simular roles for their countries and in both cases are relied on more than they should be to score.

Viduka may have been unique for Australia however there are many players in his mould around the world. Australia should be looking to find ways to produce quality players all over the park, not just playmakers who would sit behind the striker in a traditional formation

My point was that both sides lack a #9 (Zelic, Okon etc weren’t #9’s). I think Germany have come to realise that they play better with that focal point in the team. Australia is in the same predicament.

I must disagree with you Vas on your assessment of the gagme, however I recognise that you are not the only one to feel that the game was ‘arduous’. I have heard it described as arduous/boring/uninspiring, but I have also heard it described as one of the greatest tactical clashes of all time. You are definitely right about the shootout being farcical though

I think you fail to remember that aside from Ozil’s goal, Buffon made at least two point blank saves, Germany hit the post and Gomez missed a sitter that he would normally have been expected to put away any day of the week. Germany could have won this game 3-0 were it not for an uncharacteristic error by the otherwise brilliant Boateng and a bit of bad luck.

Word has it that Perth has lost out to an Indian club for the services of Castro for next season, when we just couldnt match $1,5M per season. This is what drove the interest in Carrick (I havent heard anymore on this front however).

I think Lowe is going to have to play a few guys out of position once you consider the that four of the five signing mentioned above are defensive players. Added to which we already a have Djulbic, Lowy and Grant.

In my opinion we still need someone to replace Castro as the link between defence and attack and I wouldnt mind one more striker to back up Taggart, Harold and Keogh

I acknowledge that the cap is holding back teams like MV, WSW, SFC and Perth, but we need to be very careful not to go the way of the SPL, Spain or even Germany where one/two teams dominate and everyone else falls into a distant third.

Per my understanding (which may be wrong) I believe he still has another year on his contract

Great signing. It will be interesting to see where/how Kenny uses him. Perth have signed a very strong backline, and if we can keep Castro; a very strong attacking third. The Hungarians were decent last season,but aside from his free kicks; Nebo doesnt offer a lot in midfield. I still think we need a couple of other strong midfielders

In my sceptical opinion, I think the bulk of our Australian signings are in part through Kenny’s history and in part through neccessity. Back in the NSL days, Perth was able to build a strong squad by simply paying more than any other NSL club could. We were able to convince the best players from the Eastern states to move to Perth by offering them the best quality football, biggest crowds and highest wages. Once the A-league started and MV and Sydney were able to offer sizable crowds and decent wages, Perth struggled to get Aussies to move West. I still think we face this problem, but fortunately we have developed a generation of young players of our own who are capable of matching it with the best Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane can produce. Kenny is simply working hard to bring these guys back home.

Perth needs to build on this generation to make sure they are replaced when they leave. We dont want to end up like the Socceroos, who struggled for years after their golden generation moved past their prime and have only recently started to look the goods again (having coaches who did not understand the Australian psyche didnt help either).

The fan base is there for Perth, but I would argue that we have among the highest percentage of “eurosnobs” in any city across Australia (myself included). In the NSL days, the Glory was fresh, successful and offered an experience you couldnt get in any other sporting code. Then as the A-league started, Perth stopped winning, the off field dramas never ended and the crowds started to fall. Football itself is very popular, given the high number of British immigrants in Perth, but the Glory has simply failed to connect with many of them until now.

Lets just hope that Tony has learnt from his mistakes, Kenny keeps signing the right players and Peter F (CEO) builds on the good work he started this year.

WSW v CCM – WSW. Should be pretty one sided

Well v MV – Well. I expect the Kiwi’s eratic form to continue in this game. Going in their favour is the fact the game is in NZ, and I dont see Barbarouses and Finkler really having their heart in it.

SFC v ADL – ADL. Easy win

BRI v NEW – BRI. Also an easy win

PER v CTY – Game of the round and even as a Glory fan, its too hard to pick. That said, I doubt it will be a draw.
Up front its Keough v Fornaroli. Mooy v Castro and Novillo v Harold. I really cant split the difference here
In the midfield its Zullo, Garuccio and Fitzgerald against Marinković, Vadócz and Sándor. I think Perth edge out City here
At the back its Franjić, Malik , Wilkinson and Kisnorbo against Lowry, Grant, Risdon and Warren. Whilst Perth’s defence will occasionally push forward and offer more in attack, City’s are arguably more solid at the back. Is this where the game will be won/lost?
A mouthwatering game by any assessment. Cant wait for it

Hahaha yep. I just told mine that I was reconsidering my plan to cancel our Foxtel subscription at the end of this season (she barely watches TV) and she rolled her eyes

As much as I hate to admit it as a one-eyed football (soccer) fan, I am led to believe that EPL viewing numbers werent actually that great for Foxtel when you consider the times of the games and the fact that fans would tend to watch their team but rarely more than a couple of games per round. This meant that whilst the consolidated EPL viewership of a round might be ok, individual games would not rate anywhere nearly as well as NRL/AFL.

I was one of those people who was intending to cancel their subscription at the end of the season but now I must admit that I am reconsidering. The BEIN deal is good news for the A-league too (assuming it stays on Foxtel) as I think a lot of casual A-league watchers would have been lost to the local competition if it was split from some major European football league. I realise this makes me sound like a Eurosnob, but I dont quite think the A-league has enough of a supporter base yet who are willing to part with $50p/m.

They werent the worst fouls Ive ever seen, but CCM have no one to blame but themselves for the two red cards and string of yellows. As a Glory fan, I feel sorry for their fans as their coach has no idea. With so many tackles from behind, it is inevitable that players will get carded. You have point your finger at the coach when their players are consistently found out of position and forced to dive in to reckless tackles from behind. In contrast, Glory’s defenders nearly always had the opposing player in front of them and werent made to chase CCM’s players hence no yellow cards.