Lionheart -do not hang up your pen. Just because you feel inundated with barrages of opinions some having basis’s way back in club history. perhaps before your time, doesn’t mean you are not entitled to your opinion.
You and I have “crossed swords” more than a few times but I have always tried to “see” the points you were making and to be honest those opinions were always based on your faith in your team.
I have been messing around local football for the last 55 years and in that time have played (not very well), ran teams in many divisions, coached, imported players many who are still with us (Jamie Young’s father for one), have got involved at club and federations political levels and have always wondered, very deeply, why our code has not advanced.
My thoughts are that fans of the code deserve more than they are getting and from my own experience I have found that those running the game, and individual clubs, always appear to
have self- interests at the root of their thinking.
Under John Morcus at Brisbane Lions I got as close as I could to getting a club near to a long term working model. John backed me all the way and we had 3 successful teams performing in their leagues with approx 22 local kids being used regularly in the NSL team.
But even that could not last and at committee level the machinations were doing their work. John was resigning to go live on the coast, and wholesale changes were envisaged. Even a new foreign coach had been secretly (or so some thought) interviewed, but I decided to try my luck elsewhere at code adminstration level. After 4 years of that, I had witnessed enough to make me re-think my priorities and I walked away from football administrations.
Now reading you and Waz I am beginning to wonder if things have changed. Cheers jb.

Waz- The crowds have been running beneath last year’s figures by around 50,000. at gsme,50.
The recent improvements you mention now show the total crowd figure as having passed last season’s total by around 5,000. the total until game 59 is 485,000, against last season’s 480,000. hope the trend continues.- cheers jb

Waz -Just to refresh your memory, Roar’s coach hiring in NSL (12 years) and A-league (18 years) is as follows .-
NSL – 8 coaches in 12 years.
A league – 14 coaches in 18 Years. Not an attractive employment prize, is it? –
22 coaches in 30 seasons.
Someone needs to be asked what criteria is required when selecting a potential manager. jb

Waz – Re..your comment elsewhere re. Fowler returning to Roar, I feel the man would be silly to put his head in a noose that is slowly, but steadily, tightening. Being a property millionaire in his own right I don’t even think money would tempt such an experienced professional.
I feel somewhat skeptical if your next suggestion , Cahn, would be tempted into a job that apparently can only have one outcome somewhere down the track, after all there are more than a few fellow coaches to “fill him in”.People don’t seem to realise just how serious the Roar’s problem is and it is to be hoped there is someone around who can start a revival. Cheers jb

Once again we see ,or read, comments from well- meaning fans prepared to accept the status quo which, as the writer points out, has lasted at least 12 years, when an overseas corporation chose to invest money in our sport. There are some who know that the “rot” set in much sooner than that and it is that fact that, as the Roar’s slides towards football oblivion as an also-ran team, that needs to be addressed. The almost constant ‘changing of the guard” both at management and coaching levels has now reached a level that sees the organisation almost reach the “point of no return”.
There is a lesson to be learned from all this hiring and firing and that is when trying to compete with the country’s top football clubs there are certain standards that have to be maintained and it in this area the whole Roar organisation has to be examined.
It is not an easy task but one that has to be addressed if Queensland is to maintain an A-league presence. jb

‘point of no return”.co

Waz – Smiled at this latest comment re. “the Enforcer” namely one Davie Mackay who played with the great Spurs team of the early 60’s and yes. he was truly a hard man, but I also remember a slight, may I say frail, master of football who played in the same team and who spent most of his game time setting up chances for 2 prolific goal scorers in Bobby Smith and the immaculate Jimmy Greaves. Died too early, killed on a golf course sheltering , or should I say trying to shelter, from lightning, as I say a “master” gone too early. jb

brainstrust – You are analysing a team that probably no one in their right mind would pick to play in an away game against such a well put together team. The popular emphasis appears to be attack, attack, attack, no matter what type of retaliation can be expected to be put up against you.
Yesterday’s result has been coming for weeks with the simple instruction ,attack Roar on the wings, draw out their centre-backs and attack the vacant central defence area. Against a player like McLaren a gift from heaven.
It would appear on occasIons that whosoever is called upon to play fullback, you name Hingert, Zabala, ,Brown,sometime Trewin , sometime the player who went to Sydney, and the blunt truth is not one of these players appear to understand the role they are expected to fill. Are they full backs in a 4-3-3-system, or are they wingbacks in a system that appears to use another 2 wide wingers already filling “their space” and normally used when playing 4-4-2 or even 3-5-2. Up front we have a raw kid running his guts out chasing interpassing players while at the same time getting little or no help from non-existent playmakers.
All of these problems point to a bad state of affairs at Roar’s A league team with players urged to get results with no apparent plan in vogue. Cheers jb

Waz – Some good points being made but I like to look at the big picture when assessing both player, his talents, and that of the other players talents both in his team and that of the opponent. and of course the system of play being used by the coach which surely has to have as it’s aim, get the best out of his players.
When you look at all these factors it is not so easy in where to use a player in order to get the best out of his talents, be they skill or vision.
I think we both agree that Caletti is not being used in a position that suits his talents and reduces the effect of his physical deficiences. If so then the responsibility has to fall back on who is picking him and playing him in a position that calls on h is normal skill factor.. Would you ever consider playing Caletti as a central striker when using two wide wingers whose job it is to cross the ball after beating the full back. Of course not and yet that is what is happening with Brainstrust picking out the success of (long balls over the top) putting pressure on a midfield not renowned for it’s aggression or power but being encouraged by someone to attack,attack,attack.!!!!!!
This is a suicidal “master plan” and can only end in more results like the one suffered this weekend.
Enjoying this debate and don’t forget, look at the powerhouses playing in Europe and remember that in his short pre covid spell Fowler had already started to move towards that system 3-5-2, by bringing with him 2 centre backs,a midfielder and a striker. Only the latter was a failure. Can you imagine how Berisha would have performed in that system with.
Back to the discussion ,could Caletti have performed better surrounded by Broich, Mackay, Murdocca and the giant who won the championship with his aerial prowess. We’ll never know but it is nice to reminisce. Cheers jb.

WAZ- You are right of course. I did not say in my comment that I envisaged Caletti as the finished article as an A League player.
I drew a comparison intentionally with Murdocca for he is probably the closest Roar have had to compare with Caletti. Nesbit, CCM is another with much the same stature but with the mean streak you mention. but you also have to remember the game is in a constant flux and obviously the Aloisi’s saw him as a midfielder though I think you and I may disagree as to that place being the best for him in a team that is obviously struggling to achieve the main aim of the game, scoring goals. Have you considered that the football player who influenced Berisha the most was Brioch who did his set-up work from the left wing using his skills to achieve success not only for himself but for others in the team. Could Caletti be used in the same job? as a playmaker, a position sadly lacking in today’s Roar team. We may never know. Cheers jb.

Brainstrust – I could talk to you all day on tactics and how they are supposed to work and if Roar are playing 4-4-2 with their two wide wingers I’ ll go back to the textbooks to see where I misunderstood. Playing with 2 wide wingers and expecting attacking wing play from your full backs is a dream too as for our A League. and yet week after week we see the two centre-backs pulled out of position in an attempt to block fast raiding wingers. That makes them look stupid as their erstwhile positions are now filled with unmarked strikers, You also mention “pressing” in this comment and as a tactic that is now some 48 years old since first used in England by Graham Taylor. It is actually quite simple to explain and simply means that as soon as a team loses possession they will individually pick up their nearest opponent and position themselves goal-side of that opponent. The idea is if everyone does this expertly they leave the now ball possessor a difficult task in finding an opponent. Simple to explain but to get a team to practice it is a hugely different problem. Cheers jb.

Waz – Actually on analysing Calettii one cannot help but notice how quickly he picks up a pass . controls it and moves it ,usually unerringly. to a teamate further forward. This in fact is the way the game is being played in the higher echelons of the game but to play it as a team requires every player to be fully conversant with the tactic. In Roar’s case this is a problem not so easy to fix for other talents are required such as “first touch” and accuracy of the pass.
Caletti has another problem not so easy to cure. He is not the tallest player on the park and is not gifted with unusual speed (like Murdocca) so as he showed in his last spell at Roar he is not ideally built for a box to box midfielder never mind doing the hard physical work needed for a defensive mid., and yet that is the position both Aloisi’s have used him. Pity.in a team set up to play push and run he could probably fit in but at Roar, no chance. jb

Lionheart. My time in football takes me way beyond the AML, and yes, the answer to your question is that the troubles at Roar go way back before 2005.
In 1980 the team had 5 players who had been picked to represent Australia and yet at that same time there were 3 local kids included every week on the run on team with another 3 sitting on the bench.
There were 3 teams playing in all leagues ,2 of them local, and both these team were “peopled” by youngsters on “white forms”, amateurs, so that they could leave if they so wished. None left.
If you doubt the authenticity to this information, speak with John Ogden who I believe is still at the club.
The NSL team was seldom out of the top 6 and won the national trophy beating West Adelaide in the final in Canberra.
At the management level the president, John Morcus had held the position for years and the secretary was well known in local football, Simon Boegheim ,so in fact a steady head office.
You should also know that at that time Brisbane Lions (as they were known at that time) owned huge acreage at Richlands and had money making possessions in nearby Inala.
So what happened? There were changes in the management group and by the time they were dropped from the NSL, late 1980″s, the men and women who had built the club from scratch had almost disappeared.
After satisfying the local football fans by winning the local league a few times suddenly the A League came on the horizon and it was then that huge changes started to take place with failed attempts to buy into local identities (ones with their own supporter). This was to prove disasterous and land that had been owned outright began to shrink with sales to commercial interests.
After having changed coaches more than a few times,in the local comp and the embryo professional league, the team started to suffer on field and it took the short spell under AP to show the management how a team could be run. Did the management learn from the experience? I”ll leave that to you to pass comment on
But yes ,the answer to your question is that the events that took place from 1980 .resulted in what asset wise was the richest team in Australia into today, a team without any real guidance as to how to succeed in the world of professional football. Cheers jb.

Brainstrust.- I read your comments, many of whjch are “on the ball”, but recently you have been aiming at Aldred and picking him out as a scapegoat and this I feel is a bit harsh when one considers the fullbacks at Roar (or are they wingbacks?).
You see when analysing performance of a team, or player, one has to start with a certain knowledge , that mainly being the playing system being used to get the best out of the players.
It is in this area you and I dis-agree and I would like to explain.
By changing coaches so regularly and often, the playing squad has to try and assess the new man’s thinking and it in this area much at Roar has to be examined.
Ross has had this team playing with wide wingers and a lone centre-forwasd running his guts out. At the back he has had two experienced centre-backs and it is in this area problems start to appear. Wingbacks are normally best at home in a 4-4-2 system where the wing backs can use the space out wide to create width in the attack but when they decide to go forward it is essential the extra men in midfield “shut the door”. This has not been happening with the result both centre-backs can be drawn out of position and this creates gaps in the mid-field and it is these gaps that have for weeks now been evident in Roar’s general play. Injuries to key players like Neville have exaggerated this problem but as you say neither he nor Aldred are getting any younger but the only other experienced centre-back in Fowlers, system of 3-5-2 (now widely used all around the world) Gillesphy, was allowed to leave and never replaced.
So you see Brainstrust I am finding it increasingly difficult to analyse just what system of play being used these last few years at Roar and I feel thIs has reflected on the team’s general play, If I find that difficult so too must the players especially the young lads just being introduced to ALM where there are multiple systems in use. Remember the edict that went out to junior football that 4-3-3 had to e strictly adhered to at that level. Another boo-boo from management. jb

Waz – the problems at Roar go back further than you have gone and I am afraid that where they are at now has an historical reference going back many years, with the only relief being attained when a coach with his own agenda used the time to put together a squad of players that could hardly fail to impress the loyal fans, who turned out in their thousands to watch “Roarcelona”.
What has happened out at Richlands? Knowledgeable fans like yourself know of the super social club now in existence at the site where once the asset richest club in football in Australia existed, but since those glory days when the National trophy was won (1980) things gave slipped back steadily to almost match the plight that saw the club dropped out of the NSL after finishing last in that comp. {late 80;s)
Can the situation be changed? As you suggest it may be too big a job to fix but it has been obvious for some time the club may be under a strong influence from people who are not in the least conversant with the running of a professional football team. This is a disasterous situation that has been brought once again to the fore with this disgraceful result. jb

Most of the comments on this subject are aimed at the performances of Brisbane Roar, one of the ALM’s founding members. Many have touched on the management performance and yet no one has isolated the clubs record in attracting quality coaches to the club.
Today, some 18 years after the foundation of what was to be Australia’s premier football comp, the Roar have used 14 coaches, so the problem of “good match performance” appears to be just as prevalent off the field as it is on. A different coach every 1.5 months !!!!!!!!!!! (average).
Who does the selecting ?????. Cheers jb.

Lionheart- yes, yes, yes, and yes, if you do get those things you mention in a game you will truly be entertained. Unfortunately those “talents” are not always evident in our league and until they become so all across the comp. our game as an attraction to “new” fans is going to be very limited, for, never forget , a potential fan has the TV with what to do comparisons with top class football from overseas. We can but hope. Cheers jb.

Lionheart- If you keep your eyes on the players you will have noted that there is a new tactic whereby the goalkeeper, having got possession, has his two defenders positioned on the corners of the 6 metre box, This has obviously been thought out to give the goalie 2 choices in his 2 full backs to maintain possession (short throw better chance of accuracy).What hasn’t been considered is that should any of the passes between these 3 go astray the goal is immediately under pressure, not to say these 2 defender’s positioning almost nullifies any “high” playing forward as being caught offside. Good tactics?????You mention Gilesphy. He is now playing regularly with Plymouth in the second grade league in England. Why was he allowed to go?. We’ll never know.
You mention Roar’s form up to now and the comments made by commentators etc. As I’ve said to you before, watch the game and the players, and make up your own mind. not necessarily believing the comments of those that are being paid to do so, Cheers jb.

Lionheart – football today is at a crossroads with most European top teams working on an age old system of “push and run” football. You can even see this being played at Wrexham,the English super story played on You Tube. So you may ask me what has this to do with Brisbane Roar and how they play the game. Therein in that question lies the source of Roar’s playing problems.
When Fowler came to Roar (four coaches ago) he made it obvious that he favoured the formation being played at that time , namely 3- 5- 2. To build his team “core” he brought five players with him all of whom we assumed would play in a line up Keeper, Neville,Aldred,and Gilesphy. 5 midfielders including another new boy in O’ Neil. all 4 new boys could be deemed successes with Roar showing one of the best stats in the GA count. The one failure was in player 5 who failed to react as his stats promised, a goal scoring front man.
Since those now far off days any regular fan like yourself or Waz have struggled to see that promise come to fruition, and much of this can be put down to the expertise, or lack of , using coaches who themselves have had little experience in team building here in Australia never mind the leading countries in Europe. tYou appear to be showing a lot of faith in the new administration and there is little doubt that is an area that should have been looked a long time ago, (Since AP and his sole decision making doctrine.
What is needed today if we are to see Roar returned to former glory days?. First of all a system of play has to be adopted to suit the available players. Presently , under Ross Aloisi they appear to be using a system loosely based on the 4-3-3 most teams were using 50 years ago. If you go back to 1974 you will find that one of the best teams in the world used a simple adaptation of 4-3-3 to almost rule the football world. When in possession the Dutch goalkeeper actually took up a position that could only be described as goalkeepr/sweeper, This allowed the movement forward for two others, one of the back four, and Cruyff from midfield to partner the striker, thereby lining up as 3-3-4 when in possession.
Roar cannot play this successfully for they simply do not have the quality players. Now you do see full backs making fine forward runs but losing possession and struggling to get back to do their defensive duties. Wide playing wingers are a no-no when attempting to use attacking wing backs. These players actually become obstructions to their own flank attackers resulting in fast breaking teams getting into 3 against 2 situations in Roar’s back third.
No my friend to get the 12,000 gates back you have to entertain and at the moment this Roar squad is not doing that. Cheers jb.

Grem it has to be remembered that Japan is in the Northern Hemisphere so in fact a move to their winter is simply to make sure their better teams are playing their football in line with the aforesaid NT.
A a matter of fact that was one of the first suggestions made regarding Australia’s move to bring our top football into line with the majority of world football, however. as usual, when our “suits” got a hold of the original suggestion, much of it was ignored.
One of the mandatory suggestions was that all games would be played in the evening (post 6’00pm) under floodlights. and this was to prove a huge stumbling block as more than half of the original NSL teams didn’t have their own grounds, never mind the luxury of floodlighting.
Remember this was in 1976 ,48 years ago, and TV sport was not then the huge industry it was to become. cheers jb.

Waz- Thank you for your kind thoughts; I have been studying crowds and their effects on the game, bearing in mind the income being generated by clubs from their hard- nosed fans.
When comparing this year’s crowds with last season we find that total attendances have, after 48 games , dropped by nearly 42,000. This is a lot of dollars in anyone’s language and the average crowd per club is 7,540 as opposed to 8,400 last year.
Now it is easy to find reasons for this drop by looking at individual attendances and find out who are the worst “offenders” , but does this really alter the status quo ????.
Recently I have noticed a factor in our game that I feel is much more to blame for the fall off than the random thoughts of pundits
By using a simple coaching method called “charting” I have been measuring how often a team passes the ball backwards, note well, not sideways, but backwards.
In a recent Roar home game I counted 198 passes made by Roar players back to team-mates and if you assume the opposition will be roughly the same (in a close scoring game),then the hard done to football fan is being “entertained” by their team moving backwards away from their opponent’s danger area. ??????
As I say, with both sides playing the nowadays old fashioned possession game, the fan may well be acting with his feet and staying away from a style of football introduced by Barcelona all those years ago.
Is this thE real malaise in our game, many I speak to appear to agree.????? cheers jb.

Waz- History tells us that the managements of what we could call “city stadiums” has not been of the highest class. The troubles seemed to emanate from the building of a brand new stadium for the 1980 Comm. Games. The cost then was issued as 8 million pounds. Upon examination by football heads from Geneva (seeking venues for the final of the under 23 world cup to be held in Australia),these men were astounded, when ,after asking what the size of the grassed area was, and being told the area was too small for football, rugby ,and League at international level were further surprised when told by their BCC guide that the stadium was not built for soccer but was for athletics. !!!!!!!!! History has told us how that 8million pounds has contributed to our city lifestyle. A white elephant indeed, QE11.
Perry Park suffered the same sort on mismanagement decision making. It is not widely known but the foundations of the stand at PP were actually designed for a double storied grandstand.
Needless to say the money ran out. So too did the calculations for a high tide when it was found the pitch and lower sections of the main building were part of a flood danger area.
Perhaps it has to be recognised that the decision makers at these levels were not fully conversant with sports stadiums and what was required if they were to be long term success stories.. Cheers jb

chris – to give you an idea of what is needed. When Queensland hosted Glasgow Rangers a simple amount of what could be termed “scaffolding type” seating was erected on the non grandstand side of PP . It was reported the crowd was in excess of 8000. jb

Christian -This is a strange article. As many have already commented, there is little evidence from anywhere in the world that being a successful player gives one the experience to be a successful manager / coach. Not only is that a fact of life (remembering the numbers involved) but your article also touches on another historical fact that appears to call for ex-players to ‘get involved” in our game. This too is “old hat” for it is now many years since the A League’s father figure, one Frank Lowy, trumpeted the same message. Was his message heeded? This is a debatable subject, but it could be measured by the fact that most of our A-League teams are now managed by ex -players, not all of them GG standard. and to be nearer the truth, many have come and gone whilst it could be argued that in Postecoglu and Muscat, we have 2 ex-Socceroos who have had to move overseas to achieve some sort of success at a higher level.
Of today’s A-League coaches only Veart, Popovic,and the perennial Radovic are the only 3 that I would say have been “long term” though an argument could be put up against Popovic these last 3 years.
So, remembering the gist of your comment, would, or has, the involvement of ex -players actually improved our game in general. There are those who would debate that very strongly. Cheers jb.

Lionheart – have you ever come across a record of Roar’s performance at selecting manager/coaches for their teams ? The A League, entering it’s 19th season, has seen the coming and going of 12 different men to the job, hardly what one would describe as a long- term career. Having dug out that info I decided to see if this hire/fire habit was endemic at the club so went back to the original NSL competitions and, surprise, surprise, found that from the opening year of 1977 to 1983. ie six seasons, the club, as Brisbane Lions, had employed 7 different coaches, so it would appear that the “disease” has a deep set root in Roar’s recruitment of these high positions. Food for thought is it not? Cheers jb.

Lionheart- Am glad to see you continue to pick up on how your team performs and what is needed to take the next step. Roar’s defence has been carrying the overall team performance for the last 2 seasons, while knocking up a performance this year, sees them with the third lowest goals against record , third only to Melbourne City and WSW.
The question is ,where does the team go from here?. The administrators have shown the depth of their ambition over the last season, using 2 coaches of extremely limited experience, even at the lower end of the coaching spectrum. Did these lads succeed? The league position suggests not and they, the coaches, should not be blamed, for how can they refuse a job when it is dangled in front of them. They can’t.
This latest “selection’ is one covered by chance ,for again the incomer has only “assistant coach” experience to fall back on. Not only does he have to overcome that “weakness’ in his job description but he has also to regenerate a team that will again win games in a style that will bring 5 figure crowds to the home games.
This is a statement easily stated but not so easily achieved.
You mention rumours concerning the departure of both goalkeepers and this too is hard to follow for they too have been part and parcel of the successful defence that has done so well this year. So instead of improvements in crucial areas , especially wing backs and midfielders, we are already hearing of reasonably successful players leaving the stable.
What is next? One can only wonder.
For the other ‘rumour’ circulating it would be interesting to know who are leaving Adelaide Utd this year, and we could perhaps follow the thinking behind the Roar administrators, after all there are a few ex-Queenslanders on their books.
We can but wait and see. Cheers jb.