Lionheart – just lately I have been watching Roar with what I would term a jaundiced eye. Every match they play I look at the line up and try, in my mind, to work out what the lot, as a team, are trying to achieve. As you know, since Fowler left we have had a plethora of coaches and to be fair it has to be said that every “new” coach has his own ideas as to how his charges should play the game. This has just not been happening and much as I appreciate injury can play a big part in team selection, it cannot be held responsible for individual players almost constantly being played out of position or in a different position from the preceding game so causing a breakdown in on field comprehension as to what the team is setting out to achieve. To my way of thinking Hore is being played in midfield because of his never say die attitude to the game but IMO he is totally wasted there as he can be a serious opponent to any opposition playing in a central striking role as he has never been afraid to have a shot when close to goal. That is just one example of where I think Roar are continuing to shoot themselves in the foot.
Fit players into positions that suit their capabilities, pick a system that suits individual talents and once done let them play as a team not as 10 individuals. jb

Leon – The thoughts going through my mind after reading most of these comments is, just how much do some fans really understand when words like “possession”, “defensive,” “attacking”, and “press”. are used, not only here but on the TV, through the words of some pundits, who should know better ?????.
“Defensive” has it’s roots in Italy around the early 1960’s “when we get a goal hold it at all costs. If that means getting 9 outfield players behind the ball then so be it”. Catenaccio.
A development from that tactic some 60 years later (today) , sees our “defenders” pass the ball back and forth across the field while their opponents scurry back into their own half. The “attackers “in “possession” then find themselves totally outmanned in midfield by players who are actually faced by players employing a “high press”, a word being bandied around by our coaches and pundits alike (today), and yet that tactic came to the fore in the late 60’s . in England -Graham Taylor , Russia Lobanovsky and Holland -Michels.
The old adage of “you cannot score without the ball” has been bastardised so much by coaches and pundits that we now sit and watch teams keeping possession in their own back third and even passing to their own goalkeeper ,and think that by doing that , and keeping possession while “playing out from the back”, is like watching teeth grow.
Since our game began it has always had one main aim, score more goals than your opponent and that’s what fans like ,a winning team. jb

Waz- nice to see something positive about Fowler’s brief stay at Roar. You mention him setting up a 3-5-2 formation, a system being widely used in Europe even until today. He even brought 4 players to the club with only one, the centre- forward, failing to make an impression. However results showed the defence proved to be the most efficient in the league
With Fowler’s resignation player Gillesphy, one of the centre- backs he brought to Australia, left to return to England, where he is still playing today
Since Fowler’s departure in 2020 (4 years) Roar have used 6 different coaches not one of whom have managed to match the performance figures attained by Fowler’s teams.
Is there a lesson to be learned ??????, jb

Waz – I have often wondered if anyone had noticed the shift in Australian coaching from the habits of yesteryear , getting a foreign educated coach into our top leagues so that player education can continue unabated.
F. Lowy started something off when he issued an order that we needed to recognise ex Socceroos and make sure they were raised to “hero” levels so that youngsters could be impressed by our standing in the world game.
Has Frank’s edict gone too far? Today we have 12 teams playing in our top league and 9 of those are coached by local ex-Socceroos, that is not ex-Socceroos who have built up a huge amount of learning time in coaching environments but rather in localised coaching jobs and that raises the question, how well are our top teams being kept up to date in the latest tactical knowledge from elsewhere?
It could be co-incidental but one of today’s top teams, CCM have performed extra well under 2 ‘foreign” coaches these last 2 seasons whilst other teams have struggled to maintain standards.
Every game I watch I see an absence of technique, especially in the basic skill, shooting .Week after week I see young , promising ,local players balloon shots over the bar or way wide of the goal and yet I have heard it said that “shooting” is not included in many of today’s local coaching sessions. jb

How time changes facts. When the A-League commenced in 2004/5 the “number crunchers ” employed by F Lowy did release the figure that to EXIST, a team had to average crowds of 10,000. We are now almost 20 years down the track and there are very few clubs even averaging that figure. Who to blame, game managements, club managements, publicity organisations, or is our standard of football still below the standards that attract big crowds overseas.
Examine those and you may find the answer to your poser, where we we going wrong.?

Leon – the heading to this article uses a word that most deep pundits of the game would start to question, I cite the use of the word “creative”. Unfortunately creative players are not actually born, or for that matter, nor are they made “creative” by some form of coaching, but to use another word, as they “develop” as players some inner talent emerges, that being the ability to see the game in a manner others don’t.
So how does one describe the word “creative” when it is used to describe a player, no matter what level he is playing at or, for that matter, playing in a position with expected talents.
The ability to see things others don’t is usually found in midfielders and it is their ability to see opportunities that others don’t that sees them moved into the busiest part of the field that being the middle third where most of the action takes place.
Can Australia produce creative players? This is a question that could cause much discussion but the evidence is there for if one cares to look over the past 10/20 years the numbers are not overwhelming. Think for a minute or two before answering that query. Viduca was a centre forward, Kewell a winger, Grella a workhorse defensive midfielder, I could go on but no Franz Beckenbaur, Martin Peters, Bob Charlton, or a host of Brazilian midfielders jump to mind.
So can we create a truly “creative” player here in Australia???.The vital learning period has to be between ages 12 to 15 and for years now pundits of the game have been expressing their disappointment in the coaching activity in that age group. Creativity has to be developed among out standing youngsters who are encouraged to do their own thing not to follow those instructions being issued by a well- meaning coach who is trying to improve his own standing in the game. jb

Waz – The QE2 fiasco is unlikely to be given any air time mainly due to the embarrassment caused over the years. When the stadium was first built it coincided with football staging a World Cup (under 21) to be played in Australia .When the Swiss dignitaries visited Brisbane to assess what grounds were available they immediately allocated the final to QE2, that was until one of the keen – eyed visitors asked what size the “grassed area” was. When he was told. he pointed out to the BCC official that it was too small for any international code of football!!!!!!
We then move on to the games when 60,000 people were accommodated on opening day.
After the games a litany of strange goings-on. Concerts were tried with seats sinking up to 6 inches on the turf.
On to the Suncorp re-build and Broncos head honcho asked that HIS advertising for HIS brewery replace the XXXX contract. No go and Broncos moved to QE2 with imitation grass being used to make up the design shortfall. The Broncos record gate still stands at QE2 at around the high 50,000’s. Steve Renouf also complained about having to wear nylon tights to prevent skin burn from the imitation grass.
After the Broncos move back to the re-built Suncorp it surprised somewhat to see BCC spending continue unabated on the now ageing stadium. A new grandstand was built and a huge TV screen erected thus reducing the max crowd to 45 000. Development of a training facility down behind the old main stand was obviously aimed at budding athletes but apart from
major school athletic days the main stadium was seldom ever used, 5 or 6000 being the upper limit at these meets.
Use it for soccer? It is debatable if the “grassed area” problem has ever been fixed for the running track around it has been re-laid many time now.
The bus to the ground arrangement could be re-introduced for the buses are not used to the full at weekends and with a motorway to use it would be interesting to time such a trip.
Waz ,once again into the too hard basket, jb

Lionheart/Waz – this discussion you are having about the pros and cons as to how Roar are being run does have to go back into the localised history of our game for it is not the first time this club has faced the ups and downs of performance level.
In 1957 a group of Dutch migrants out in the Western Suburbs decided to have their own football club which they named Hollandia. They worked extremely hard and inside a few years had not only purchased acreage at Richlands but had seen their team progress up through the local leagues to become a local first division team. Altogether what one would say a very successful decade.
As is quite normal in our game jealousies began to surface between Hollandia and the also ran clubs who made up the competition, jealousies that reached their peak when the ASF announced there was going to be a national league and entries were to be forthcoming. Hollandia were the only Qld team with the means to enter but quickly ran into opposition from the top Qld body, the QSF. who DEMANDED that the NSL games would HAVE to be played at Perry Park for at least 3 seasons, this meaning Hollandia/Lions could not use their own developed ground at Progress Road.
By now the Lions board was being run by a chairman with some 15 years experience in the job and he ,and his team, set about making the changes needed for the team to be a success in the national league. John Morcus opened the management committee to other nationalities mainly due to the fact that many of the original “starters ” were now pensioners and more interested in watching “their” team winning, than toiling in back breaking work.
Changes were made right down the line and each director was given a job and it was him who had to report to the committee as to his departmental performance.
This began to have an effect and by 1980 the first team was sitting in a comfortable position in the league whilst winning the national trophy. Very quietly ,not publicised, was the fact that every time Lions took the field there were at least 3 locals in the run on squad and another 2 or 3 locals sitting on the bench
However this was not to last and by now the previous jealousies that had existed between the QSF and some other clubs began to assail the boardroom at Lions. The men who had supervised the changes in management, Morcus and secretary Boegheim, left the club for various reasons and the coach was replaced in a hush hush manner by someone in the new committee, being brought from Holland, but unfortunately was another example of bad decision making . He lasted 2 seasons.
Unfortunately a downward spiral now commenced aided and abetted by departure of players some experienced , some to better their chances. Jim Mclean, Alan Hunter, Danny Wright, Steven Jackson , John Stewart all moved south, while Jim Hermiston retired, Bobby Ferris returned to Scotland, Calvin Daunt went to Taringa, Billy Willianson left to go coaching, and Steven Hogg and Paul Ontong left to follow their job careers.
It became obvious the new management were caught short and by 1986/7 the team was dropped from the NSL when they finished last in the comp. Brisbane City had already been “dropped” so Qld was left without a team in the national league. So in only 7 seasons disaster had been achieved ,while the habit of changing coaches as a be all end all cure commenced using 8 different coaches in 10 years.!!!!!!
Come 2004 and it was announced there was going to be a fully professional competition. Lions had been enjoying a long spell winning the local competition albeit far short of the standard required but undeterred, the management ploughed ahead and problem followed problem as committees/owners changed, financial aims were proving difficult and as year passed year it became harder to work out how decisions were being made from boardroom down to the reserve team.
Come 2009 a glimpse of hope. Another coach was employed, rumoured to be a “I’ll make all the football decisions man” and for 2 glorious years Hollandis/Lions/Roar dominated the league. Unfortunately it was not to last and we appear to be back in the “dark days with Lionheart ever so hopeful and Waz apparently past that stage. jb.

Punter-Want a laugh. Key into You-Tube and pull up a Glasgow comedian called Ricki Fulton doing a Rangers signing. It opens with him sitting in the Blue room,his office, doing the pools, when he is interrupted by his chief scout. Laughs from there on. jb

Harry – Don’t know if you’ve noticed or not but in the top circles of our game the “dribbler” has all but disappeared. Gone are the Johnstone’s and Hendersons who , though despite a huge lack in height and weight were supreme entertainers for the big crowds they attracted.
In today’s game where defenders are instructed to ” erect” a wall with as many as 3 defenders ,even the best dribblers find the going extremely difficult. Tilio, early in this game showed his eagerness to take on men but usually “stumbled ” before he could complete what he was trying to achieve and in todays European football that is just a no-no. The 5 million dollar man at Adelaide is suffering from exactly the same ailment. Tilio should have seen the error in his ways when two of his team-mates played the ball from the goalmouth to the Victory danger area with two passes where all he had to do was use his pace and shooting skill to demonstrate how it could, and should be played. If he views the video he will note the simplicity in the overall move. jb

Lionheart – good to hear from you again and it is noticeable that you are starting to pick faults in how your favourite team is performing. Even when they are a goal down the overall emphasis appears to be “let’s keep possession at all costs”. even if that means anything up to 10 passes being made across the field, or, worse still, “backwards!!!
It’s got to a state that I know how a certain defender is going to play the ball before he does what I have thought. If I can pick that on TV then an opposition player will pick up on it very quickly.
And worse still you just have to look at the number of absent fans there is to realise what they, the absent fans , think about the style of play.
I sometime wonder if these things ever get through to the club management. When AP”s team was winning games evert week the crowds were pouring into Suncorp.
Changed days is it not?? Cheers jb.

Waz The pressure being built on to this kid is almost unholy. Look at the formation Roar have been using for weeks now and it has to be recognised that two ‘extreme” wingers, playing very wide, give little or no support to a kid just learning his game.
The club management have chosen to go with coaches freshly out of junior or youth football who are, by instruction, using a 4-3-3 formation as the nation curriculum dictates. A full time professional squad deserves a formation that will fit the available players and this is not being done. This means that kids being promoted have to be instructed by their teachers on how to play different formations. If Wadoo needs this help he is going to have someone with him in the opponents back third where he can accomplish much more than the almost endless running he is being asked to do. Personally, I would love to see Roar playing a 4-4 -2 formation with Hore (under instruction) playing alongside this kid. The Roar squad is not equipped to have 2 players playing as wingbacks, positions that demand supreme fitness and an almost endless desire to go forward. As it is at the moment it would appear the full backs being used are not getting thei jobs done and it is noticeable that most of the goals being conceded by Roar have their origins created out wide on their defensive flanks. It is going to take more that “Waddo” improving his game to make this team more functional. jb

S/Wed – While agreeing with most of what you say I assume you never saw Beckenbaur when he was at his peak. He began his movement when the used as a “sweeper”, a role that had come into play but soon tired of being a spectator for much of the game and began his forays into the midfield with much success and it was not long before he began to appear on the scoring list. Yes, the complete player ,or as near as you could get. They even christened him “Der Kaiser” (the boss). jb

Tony – Your name and history have me intrigued. Many years ago I came to Australia and got to know a football mad family with the same surname as you. The father was called William but was bettwr known in football circles as “Pop” He had 2 sons one ,Arthur was a top referee ,he officiated at the Qld v Man.Utd in 1967. and his brother Keith helped his father run a first division side called Latrobe.
Any connection?????? J Binnie.

Waz Henry Hore is the pick of the young players coming through at Roar .but over the last 2 games I have started to wonder if the kid knows what his job in this team formation, he plays in his only penalty box, he works hard in midfield, and yet still has to get up to help his “lone ranger” pal up front. What does he get for his effort?.Pulled off at the 60 minute mark. Not good. jb

Waz – Glad someone else noticed. Why would anyone want to change a side that is a goal up, and playing some good football, by introducing 5 new players into a system that had apparently borne fruit in the first hour against Melb City, and was more than holding it’s own in the first 15 minutes of the second half in this game. It’s not only the changing but when one examines who went on for whom the plot deepens for taking off Hore and his young centre forward mate almost dissipated Roar back to the bad days of yesteryear.
As an inexperienced coach Ruben has to learn that you don’t change a winning team on the 60 minute mark just because everyone else may be doing it. Against Melb his changes caused an immediate shift in the game after he chopped and changed the ‘take the field” eleven and the same thing happened in this game. Watch it Ruben, do what your vision tells you, not what others may be doing. jb

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

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

Tony Harper- the one factor that everyone seems to be ignoring is how our game is being presented to the paying public .I refer of course to the tactic “possession football” which AP used so successfully all those years ago. Personally I am sick of watching back four players inter-passing the ball,sometime back to the Goalkeeper. That is just what the paying public want to see/ I think not. jb

Grem – Sorry, got the wrong end of the stick there.
Craig Johnstone has never been the figurehead to Aussie football he should . or could, have become, mainly I think because he chose not to represent Australia in international football.
(You may or may not know that when playing with the great Liverpool side he could have played with England , South Africa or Australia. He chose not to play with SA or Australia and many here branded him a “traitor” when he finished without ever having represented any of those 3 countries.
You mention skills and how they play a part in the game. They are namely 5 , ball control, shooting, tackling, passing and dribbling. Heading was included but medically I think the football hierarchy would like that “skill” to remain under the carpet and it is obviously a dying art when watching many of our younger players playing in a game.
What you must also remember is that the game too changes and right now the emphasis shown in European football is to move a ball quickly and accurately forward to your front players. In the old days this used to be called “push and run) but when watching our A-League games it is obvious the thinking is still heavily weighted towards possession at all costs, no matter where the ball is being played, a system played some 10-15years ago by a top Barcelona team. jb

Grem – I suggest you get your thinking gear into action. My suggested change to the offside rule has nothing whatever to do with the “Australianisation” of our game.
The offside rule has been with us far too long in it’s present form and deserves to be looked at by those that claim to have the interests of the game at heart.
People want to be entertained and most critics you talk to have one complaint in comment, not enough goals being scored. not because of the size of the goals but by the times the ball finds the net. Cheers jb.

Stuart- this venture into stat analysis is as many suggested a complete and utter nonsense.
I refer to the most hated and misused rule in football’s handbook and wonder when the powers that be are going to do something to rid us of the fights, arguments, claims and counter claims that surround this ancient rule.
The reason I call it “ancient” is obvious, despite today’s billions of dollars being spent on making players, fitter, faster, bigger and stronger, and we are led to believe better, nothing has ever been done to better the “place of operation”, the pitch.
The analysts long ago decided the action areas numbered 3, the defensive, middle and attacking thirds, and yet few, if any. of the pundits. care to come up with suggestions that will increase the size of the middle third where stats show us, most of the action takes place.
Now if only we could make the middle third bigger we would be creating more space for attacking players to attack and less space for defensive players to defend .
How could this be done without a magnitude of world- wide spending?
Extend the front 18 meter line out to touchlines, immediately creating the potential “action area” in front of each goal. This would result in more goals (all present offside stoppages would be reduced). An added benefit would be that the ultimate offside decision maker, the linesperson, would only be policing 18 meter “box” thus making it easier to keep up with the play
When oh when is some pundit going to come up with a system that will nullify this tiresome “possession at all costs” dictum. This reduction in offside decisions would go a long way towards making our game brighter and better. jb

Leon -one of the vagaries in signing overseas players is that there is a personal side to every signing that has to be carefully assessed.
I refer of course to married couples where the husband, the player. is always looked after, mixing every day with fellow players ,club workers and even fans.
The same cannot be said for players partners , and children, who are still young enough to miss their families many miles away.
So you see. the question has to be put, why did Austin, Gillesphy. Broich. and Berisha choose to leave Roar, while in the case of Gillesphy and Austin both are still playing in a reasonable standard of football, England’s Division 2 and Berisha who had a good career post Roar, with Victory. As I say, picking up, and. more importantly, settling a player and his family down to a new hope. is not always apparent to the untrained eye. jb

Waz- the best defensive records were set in the seasons following Fowler’s arrival .He brought 2 CB’s with him and with the dependable, Neville already there, it was not long before Roar were playing the popular 3-5-2 formation which allowed for added strength in mid-field and a helper up front. With Fowler’s ,and Gilesphy’s departures .once again replacement was apparently nor considered and Roar drifted back to playing 4-3-3 with the latest formation using 2 wide playing wingers and a totally isolated central striker. This formation does not suit the available talent on Roar’s books. jb

Cool – why stop there. In the 18 years of A-League football, Roar have employed 15 head coaches.
Not what one would say is a long term gig. jb