Ian, I was sitting on half way (same side as away support area). All the players (not sure about Ange) took a lot of time to greet the traveling fans after the game. Was a good show.

After watching games at Suncorp for many years, I finally ventured south to Etihad for this fixture. Although the stadium was far from full (bigger crowd in Brisbane last weekend), MVFC support groups provided a great atmosphere. The result was not what I wanted, however it was a very enjoyable experience. Will be returning on 4th January.

+1 Warren would struggle in NPL

Whilst scoring a goal, Henrique was quite disappointing overall. The man has a good turn, though his distribution and finishing leaves a lot to be desired. Not qualified to start up front, however I am sure that most strikers could get a goal or two given Brisbane’s midfield potency. McKay in particular, was outstanding for the time he spent on the park.

Fingers crossed Berisha is right for Rd 3, Brisbane will need him.

Classic case of heroes loving to bring a man down with them when something goes wrong. Everybody wants to fire a shot off, and Lucas has a bullseye right on his forehead. Easy journalism.

I dare say if we had Jordi Alba at LB very little would improve. Systematic problems within team – you need to defend from the front.

The counter attacking style that GA implements at CCM would be far easier (and definitely more effective) at a national team level in the short term. Brisbane’s view to retain possession with slow build up work in attack requires great confidence on behalf of the players, something that can only be established over a decent period of time – both MV and BR struggled initially under AP. The fact that national team camps/competitive games are so sporadic leads me to believe that in the short term implementing a AP esque style as seen at BR would be untenable. That being said, I would look at building towards being ready for the Asian Cup. Fairytale endings for individual players in Brazil puts future competitiveness of the NT in jeopardy. When looking at the short turnaround between between the World Cup and Asian Cups, the logical move is to put some faith in younger players and build towards being competitive in 2015.

I am sure that many people share this view.

Difficult to see them getting a result this weekend. Durante, Brockie, Moss, Bertos and Rufer are all out on national team duty, plus Italiano and Fenton are injured. Lack of overall depth in squad will be telling moving forward, hopefully they can stay competitive. The unruly trio of Muscat, Sigmund and Durante will have to be on their best behaviour, as WEL can’t afford to be missing players on a regular basis through suspension.

One observation I will make about the current Roar squad, is the ageing nature of the First XI.

With seven of the current starters over 30 – Theo (32) Smith (30) Stefanutto (33) Miller (32) North (31) McKay (30) Broich (32) – Brisbane need to make the most of what they have in the next couple of seasons. Whilst there is currently a good mix of experience and youth, more young players need to emerge in coming seasons to inevitably fill the gaps. I hope MM’s strategy of recruiting experience for short term success does not backfire in the medium term. Whilst Roar may be “super competitive” in the present, a failure to win any trophies this season should see a player turnover in order to remain competitive moving forward.

I expect that the players eagerness to perform is a direct result of increased competition for places. Unlike under Vidosic where certain players were a protected species on the team sheet (Paartalu, Broich, Nichols, Theo) even when horribly out of form, MM has shown that he is more than willing to sit any player out.

MV v BR would be far more enticing for the neutral. CCM are yesterday’s news.

Ballymore – I am sure that you will acknowledge the current Brisbane team is a vastly different prospect to what we witnessed against WSW earlier in the year. Key big game players (22, 5, 7 and 1) are finding some form, and I am sure they will show their worth tonight. BR 2-0.

Fuss, I was under the impression this forum was contingent on informed (and relatively impartial) football opinion. You should take up your issues on the relevant Facebook page.

My apologies, my information was only current until the end of last season (should have checked this beforehand). AFC states that “for 2013, losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off no longer enter the AFC Cup.” Looks like it is all or nothing for Brisbane now.

After having a brief read of the qualification process for the ACL, I learnt that if Brisbane do in fact lose tonight they will qualify for the “AFC Cup” – the Asian equivalent of the Europa League. It is the second tier competition comprising of “developing nations” from west and east Asia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFC_Cup

On the ACL, I am glad that the round of 16 is played over two legs this year, and that the Final is played at a neutral venue (not a coin flip). Asia is slowly getting their act together.

Abuse is a straight forward issue to resolve – unfortunately referee’s are given directives to show a degree of leniency on the issue. This is where the problem lies. Players continue to push the boundaries because they think they can escape punishment. In junior football in Australia there is a zero tolerance stance on referee abuse, and as a result, the number of incidences is greatly decreased – not to say that it doesn’t still happen. When players do use foul language or gestures towards officials, they are sent for an early shower, simple. However if this same standard was applied at a professional level (as it should be), teams would be finishing the match with few if any players on the pitch. FFA should send a memo to all clubs telling them that abuse will not be tolerated and the punishment will be enforced. Once a few players are suspended, others will learn that they need to clean up their act. The same method can be applied to time wasting. YC players early in the game when they start wasting time, don’t wait until the 88th minute to do so.

I haven’t had time to read all the comments in response to this article, and many of you may have already touched on these points:

1) I think diving could be solved if administrators showed some courage and punished offenders post game. There is currently a regulation in place for this to happen, though it is very rarely enforced. Until this happens players will continue to exploit the system. On field punishment of a YC is not sufficient, as a single YC has no tangible effect (I will leave the YC & RC punishment process debate for another time, though I think a time expulsion system would work far better, a la rugby). Giving a player a RC for diving is not an option, as if the referee gets it wrong we are in a worse position than we started. Not sure if you watch any Real matches Scorpio, though referee’s have a very hard time as it is, and are regularly mobbed by players after making minor decisions. Handing out red cards for diving would exponentially increase the tension.

2) Regarding video technology, captains should not be able to challenge the decisions of the referee. As we have seen in cricket, the referral system is a farce with players challenging virtually every decision. Although the umpires are usually found to be correct, it greatly detracts from the sporting philosophy of respecting the officials decision – what kind of a message does this send to younger players watching the game. They must think it is the right thing to challenge umpires. Officiating the game should be left entirely in the hands of those paid to do so.

I am not suggesting that technology should not be incorporated. With controversial decisions (such as Berisha penalty in GF last year, or where a player goes down behind play), video replay’s should be used, though ONLY when requested by the on field referee. Sometimes a referee simply cannot get a decent view of the action, and if he is not sure he can simply request a review of the play – this can be done by the 4th official who is watching a monitor set up on the sideline.

3) Finally, upper management at clubs like to be seen to take action when the club is not meeting on field expectations. Firing the coach is usually the easy option, and sometimes it is warranted (Crook at Sydney), though in my opinion, lack of coaching prowess is usually a cover story for far deeper systematic problems within an organisation. I am going to state that I am a Brisbane Roar fan before I use them as an example. Dobson, who is the GM at Roar has stated that Mulvey could be shown the door if certain goals are not reached before season end; these being qualifying for ACL and reaching final 6. In both circumstances, Mulvey’s coaching ability has very little tangible impact on outcomes. AP was very astute when building his squad at Brisbane, he signed players who were hungry for first team football and had a lot to prove. EP, Berisha and Broich were all prime examples, and performed exceptionally. Where as in the recent off-season, upper management signed numerous players to long term contracts – wrong move. My friend reminded me of a famous Wayne Bennett quote recently, “If something is not broken, break it up”. Seems to speak volumes in this situation. Why are Wenger and Ferguson so successful, they develop youth and constantly refresh their squads. Brisbane players have nothing to prove, it is a cultural problem. Nothing that Mulvey can fix in the short term. Turn the players over and start with a clean slate. Let Mulvey get on with the job.

I think Arnold’s system would suit the Socceroos. He is proven on the national stage to an extent, and would be my first pick for the role. No doubting the credentials of AP though.

I think Brisbane Roar should be investigated for match fixing. I simply cannot find any other justification for their persistence with playing Matt Jurman.

I think Nijland has a high level of chemistry with those around him (maybe they were just surprised to see someone doing consistent work off the ball – running into gaps etc, the stuff most pro’s do). His distribution was excellent, and allowed Broich some space to drift in and out as he pleased.

I think the players are suffering under the weight of expectations put on the team from both the press and fans. One of AP’s best qualities was that he deflected the media scrutiny away from the players. The focus was not on results, though on the style of football being played – this mentality has been adopted at MV, and look at what has happened there. I would suggest that management should mix up the training regime for a week or two, have a change of atmosphere and freshen everyone up. Roar have the ingredients needed, just need to put the icing on the cake again.

To say that the dynasty has ended is a sensationalist and over-reaching statement – primarily a headline grabber. Although Roar are playing well below potential through the first half of this season, they are still reasonably competitive, and at times have blown opposition off the park for small periods. The need for consistency goes without saying. Looking forward, if they do in fact make it to the finals, you would be foolish to not give them a chance of taking the title – can beat anyone on their day.

Would appreciate an EP6 highlights package at half time. Dust off some Simon Hill commentary.

The fact that Sydney FC is somewhat obsessed with signing big name players in a bid to replicate the success of the 05/06 vintage can only result in continued mediocrity. Sure, the Sydney market is hyper competitive, and the signing of Del Piero was largely to secure existing supporters against defecting to WSW, though this is no excuse for what we have seen unfold in recent seasons.

Short term profiteering has left no enduring club culture and limited continuity in the squad as a whole. To contrast this, CCM has proven that a strong nucleus of players (and no marquee), many of whom have come through the youth system together provides stability in results on the field. Sydney take note.