The fanbase is amazing and the best in the league as well.

Yes to this!

😂

Forget the APL.

Let’s as fans put the focus wholly and solely on the individual teams we support.

The club works for us, works with us. We in turn work for them and work with them. It should be a symbiotic relationship.

One party though should not be able to get away with coercive and emotional abuse though and there are clubs that do this to their fans or fans that do this to their clubs.

I’m just gonna watch football whenever I want from now on. I am sick of feeling this obligation to watch to keep the sport alive.

I get more joy out of coaching and watching my soccer team then watching anything A-league related. With my team, I put effort in and get effort back. My club puts effort in and it gets effort back. It’s not perfect but it’s more than what many current and former fans have with their respective A-League team.

As a supporter, I prefer the 3 points.

As a neutral, I prefer a contest that has minimum 3 goals.

Wellington Phoenix fans will be happy as they are first.

Would they be happier if it was an attacking/attractive brand? Of course.

Ask Tottenham fans how they feel? They play both attacking, attractive and possession based football but they also aren’t winning all the time.

There aren’t many managers who can get the team motoring in all departments.

Winning had to come first though.

There aren’t many teams who have been able do to both. I feel as though Brisbane Roar between 2010-2014 did a good job of it.

Also, scoring goals doesn’t also mean some will perceive it as attractive. Depends on how they go about scoring.

I feel most would prefer possession based football as opposed to counter attacking football.

Good on Wellington though! Wish Roar were coming first.

I won’t go home. I’ll just warm the bench, watch, observe, listen. See what people have to say who are providing facts about the situation.

I can already see this conversation going nowhere.

I’m out on this one today.

Article was going well until we brought up the active supporter issue.
I completely disagree.
We live in a day and age where group think tends to dominate the individual thought.
It seems that if a fan and then friends of said fan, perceive mistreatment, they’ll just walk out.
Some will even go into battle for a friend, even if they know the friend is wrong.
Some will even go into battle for a friend, even if they don’t know what the friend did.
Not once in 21 years of going to NRL or A-League, have I or a family member or group of friends, been subject to mistreatment from police.
Not one line in this article actually points out the facts of the matter as to why either the RBB or the Den, walked out.
We’ve seen this time and time again.
The vast majority of fans which aren’t active support, do not feel the need to leave and abandon their team.
The football and team comes first.
For active support, the way they’re treated clearly comes first.
Yes, there are examples we can refer to regarding mistreatment of fans, but those have facts and not just feelings, but these incidents don’t speak for everyone or the vast majority of fans.
Mike, this is merely subjective speculation about matters which you’ve provided no grounds or insight to prove your point regarding the police.
I’ll happily stand corrected on these three issues if you can provide the facts, but until then, we’ll merely speculate until clubs, football australia, APL and police, have had their say.
No matter what though, the loser in all of this will always be the fans.
For if it’s found the behaviour of a group of fans was deemed inappropriate by all, the group think will still dominate and then those fans and the club will have a disconnect once again.
If it is deemed the police or lack of support to fans, its us fans who lose again.
I’m growing tired of the constant issues these active groups seem to consistently find themselves in.
You either have a active supporter issue or you have a policing issue.
Or maybe it’s both. Who knows!?
But each time a fan group walks out, talking about it is only going to create further division.
It’s what football and it’s fans love to do!
Just saw the article about the brawl after the derby and seen the reminder of fan violence last year.
I’m sorry, but I’m beginning to have no Sympathy. I just want to watch football.

My tips:
Macarthur
Western
Newcastle
Wanderers
Wellington
Brisbane

Daughters tips:
City
Perth
Newcastle
Sydney
Adelaide
Brisbane

Sons tips:
City
Western
Mariners
Sydney
Adelaide
Brisbane

I lost track of my ladder, need to get it sorted!!

What position should Nisbet play if he wanted to make it into the Socceroos?

Good morning, all.

Another good write up, Mike!

Mariners today, compared to Mariners of last year, are two very different sides.

Last year was fun to watch and they captured the imagination of many as to what they could do and achieve.

This year, the only thing aiding them is the fact they’re in the AFC Cup. For if it were not for this competition, I would have lost interest in their cause.

I think the reason, I now think like this is due to their sustained success. More so, it is honestly more to do with their behaviour and character when playing.

They are quality, don’t get wrong, but I’ve noticed a lot more now, this arrogance that’s being expressed by a fair bit of the playing group.

They are really giving it to opposition fans in terms of their celebrations, especially their import players.

Perhaps it’s just me and my personality, but this new found arrogance is rather off putting. It might just be me who has noticed it, but the Wellington this year, feel like Central Coast last year.

So I’m backing them in. It’s good for their club. It’s good for the sport. It’s good for the A-League. And it’s good for New Zealand.

With Auckland being formed as we speak, Wellington’s success right now will help tremendously.

As for the rest of the competition, Sydney FC fans continue to lead the way.

Victory were so lucky to beat Western. They earned it, but jeez they left it late!

Western just keep keeping on. It’s been a difficult year for them both on and off the field. The sooner they get to Tarneit, the better!

Brisbane Roar have been greatly affected by coaching changes and upper management for years. The weather has been dire almost every game and it’s a shame cause I genuinely believe that when Roar have done well in the A-League, the competition has done well. Might be coincidental that thought though.

Roar at this rate can put a line through this season and have a good discussion about what could have been. It’s not their time yet, but they need it, a lot of teams do.

Perth Glory picked the best, but worst time to hand out 3,000 free tickets to u16’s. At optus stadium 50k+ turned out for WWE live event, elimination chamber and whether you’re a fan or not, it would have been a spectacle to see. I’m a fan and was caught between flicking channels.

I had WWE, Perth Glory and Matildas to watch and due to bm the WWE event being what it was, to be honest, Perth came last on my priority for evening entertainment.

Just quickly, and whilst I think of it, kudos to Mariners for breaking their hoodoo, especially after Thursday night’s game against Macarthur.

Kudos to Macarthur as well against the Jets.

Jets and Roar are the two clubs that now need to be sorted.

Roar need a 15k to 20k purpose built stadium.

Newcastle’s stadium looks cavernous as well.

Give them a 15-20k purpose built stadium.

There was a man in America who revolutionised the game for MLS, in the way of starting the concept of purpose built stadiums.

Can Auckland’s be owner, who is also American, be the man to start an A-League revolution as well?

The state of the football pitches for Roar, Sydney is just beyond a joke now.

Let’s put a line through Adelaide. Let the coach stay. I believe he’s earned it. Too many players lost. This is Adelaide though and he’s played his part. What the club owners do with the money will be important to note. Other than this though, Adelaide appear from the outside, good.

New Perth owner has work to do.

Melbourne as a city appears to be in a pathetic state regarding support for football.

I believe the four clubs in the second division will offer something new and unique for Melbournians down there and I have a feeling Victory and City will suffer.

I would like to see City owners do something for the A-League for once and go against the grain and actually bring a fantastic marquee across.

The A-league and Melbourne would benefit greatly.

I know youth is the way forward, but there are other metrics at play here and bums on seats and eyeballs on phones or TVs are key.

Anyways, another good round to look forward too, but now Rugby, League and AFL are all returning, let’s see how attendances track in the later stage of the season.

The biggest positive will be the grand final host being the highest placed team again.

Cause Roar aren’t going to do it, I’m hoping for a full cake tin! Give me Phoenix vs… Sydney FC with Nix to take it. I feel like Sydney FC are good enough and would make for great opposition.

The fact Ufuk is previous Wellington coach writes another story itself.

And seeing Australia’s best club vs all of NZ would be great! I reckon the Sydney faithful would travel in good numbers too.

During the game, Phil Moss in commentary made a comment about the Shed and how Perth will be pushed by the support.

Literally within the next minute or two, Glory score and his comment was vindicated.

He’s not the most vocally entertaining but I do not mind him to be honest.

All of that doesn’t make for a good read, but what it does do is afford hopefully is a clean slate for Pelligra.

If the Perth faithful were aware of all that has come before, they’ll merely want what Pelligra has stated after the win against the Roar. He wants them to get to a point of sustainability and be a community club.

Keep focusing on the junior’s there, follow a similar model to Adelaide and Central Coast and slowly watch the interest come for these developing players.

At least that’s my take on it.

Happy Monday, all.
Morning, Mike!
Another well written, rather balanced article that also touches on a few points worth noting and leads into another exciting week ahead.
Regarding Jacob Farrell, he should 100% have received a second yellow.
Mariners were very lucky to take all 3 points in that contest.
And Wanderers will continue to feel Aggrieved but I can’t blame them to be honest.
Wanderers will find it tough in Adelaide this coming weekend.
Adelaide’s home form has been extremely inconsistent with 3 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses. And 2 of those wins came in Rds 1 and 2.
If they want to play finals football, they are going to have to grind out a win at home in what I suspect will be another 9k+ crowd.
Another side in good form, like Perth Glory, is Sydney FC with 11 points out of 15 in last five games and one of those games was ruined by the officiating against Victory.
They’ve sneakily been creeping up that ladder and are right in the contest now for top 3.
Onto Victory and if they cannot beat Western this Tuesday night and Sydney knock off an inconsistent City this coming weekend, 3rd is all Sydney FCs.
Rather impressive given they’ve also had a coaching change this season.
Regarding Brisbane Roar, I swear if they don’t pull their socks up and start grinding out the games they should win, this season may go down as a season of what ifs.
They are more than capable of playing some of the most attractive football out of all the teams but they’re extremely inconsistent.
They’re back at home against Western this Friday night and given Western have a game Tuesday and have to back it up again Friday, anything but a win will be deemed a huge failure by the Roar.
Back to the Mariners and the more costly situation is that Farrell and Theoharous both picked up their 5th yellow cards for the season and will miss their next fixture against Victory.
However, before we even get to that fixture, we have a historic clash this Thursday night – Macarthur vs Mariners in the AFC Cup Zonal Finals.
I’m hopeful we see a good turnout for a historic clash. 5k would be nice.
Newcastle may see this as a perfect opportunity to try and kick-start a hopeful push for finals against an otherwise tired Macarthur. A goal from Apostolous Stameptelopolous anyone?
Just quickly, the race for golden boot is well and truly on!!
Macarthur, on the other hand, will want to keep touch with the Mariners and Wellington, as they sit 3rd and have Victory and Sydney breathing down their necks.
Victory face Western tomorrow night and I have a feeling Western will be up for this one!
This means Victory will want to really give it to the Mariners who will also be fatigued.
Perth Glory remain at home and Wellington on the road in the OG distance derby.
I look forward to this fixture. This will be another banger as this will be must win for both sides.
Wellington are beginning to see slightly into the distance the premiers plate and each win and slip up by other teams, only inches them closer to a historic first title.
Perth on the other hand are buoyed by a new owner and thrilling wins on a Saturday night.
It is must win for Glory if they want to mount a push for finals football and avoid the constant jockeying between teams placed 7th to 11th.
No matter your cup of tea, there is always plenty going on to talk about and I cannot wait for another round.
My ideal is as follows:
Western beat Victory
Roar beat Western
Sydney beat City
Adelaide beat Wanderers
Perth beat Phoenix
Newcastle beat Macarthur
Victory and Mariners draw.
This creates even further drama heading into the next round of football!!
Jeez, how much better would if be if there was the possibility of relegation. That’s a dream for one day though.

Sounds like a good idea!

But the question is, which one!? They’re all very capable on their day, but if you had to pick one as of this moment, who would you go?

Let’s go Adelaide this weekend! 😁

Mariners vs Sydney with a great crowd. Everyone else was ok.

I swear every Brisbane game bar maybe one has been raining. I would go as far as to say this is the worst season Brisbane have had in terms of home game weather. Can we just get a 4 or 6pm kickoff on a Saturday with no rain?

Despite how poorly the results have been, Adelaide fans keep turning up.

Fantastic write up, Mike.

Now, TheRoar football community, let’s do our part in contributing to the discussion even further!!!

Who saw that weekend of football coming?

1 out of 6 tips correct.

Never expected Roar to come out and do that to Melbourne City. Wish I went.

The Central Coast Mariners were on a 12 game unbeaten run? Something like that and bang, Sydney FC just come out and walloped them!

Wellington, just love what they’re doing this season. Hope it translates into more fans coming. I feel like the announcement of a new NZ team has kicked Wellington into gear and they know they have to get their stuff together.

The first NZ derby is definitely going to be a cracker and Wellington need to host it at the cake tin! I can’t wait for that fixture.

Adelaide fans honestly deserve a round of applause. The football has been so inconsistent but the fans must keep turning up. Adelaide fans, please be aware that others east and west look with admiration at how supportive you are as a fan base.

On a player note, I hope Nestory finds his groove again because we as fans do want Australian players to do well.

Give him the next penalty to take and get that confidence flowing again.

I genuinely feel for Western United.

Such poor results on the board but their football isn’t exactly bad.

Only 10k for Victory yet they were the only undefeated side left. What’s going on in Melbourne?

Good to see Bruno back. I have a feeling this loss might be exactly what Victory need. Sometimes losses can prove to be a good thing.

What a cracking game between Wanderers and Newcastle. Loving Rudans interviews at the moment.

Perth against Adelaide, another win they let slip but they’re always in for the fight.

Perth vs Roar will be a cracker hopefully.

Macarthur appear to be the quiet achievers. 3rd and only 5 points off 1st!

They’re attendances have also seen slow incremental improvements.

This weekend ahead looks even more mouth watering than the weekend that just passed.

Thanks again, Mike!

I do remember that. 12k, that’s absurd!

Lionheart,

Let’s say the break even is 8k, for arguments sake.

If they get 15k, do Brisbane get more money?

Jeez, if that’s what gets our game media attention, can we get Kosmina back in the coaches box? Can Vidmar talk of p***ants? Can Kossie and Muscat go at it? Can Miron talk in code?

That was rather tame and I can see where he is coming from with respect to his view. I believe there is a stigma around the club, not sure exactly what it is, but I get the feeling it’s fan/ club related.

Rudan isn’t wrong on the poor decision to yellow card the city player. It appeared rather intentional.

As for the referees targeting his club or him or the players, hmm not sure on that one. Gotta be very careful as those sort of comments do get you into hot water and it appears that is exactly what’s happening.

I actually don’t mind much of what he said though. I enjoyed his passion.

Hey, it’s given us a talking point. And there are always many talking points to be had.

I cannot wait for the clash this arvo at 1pm between Phoenix vs Central Coast. I would love to see 15k.

There have been plenty of articles in NZ where club owners have made it apparent that a good attendance actually bodes well for their back pockets.

Which is another very important topic!

If 25k for Phoenix would set them up for a possible year (clubs words, not mine), then what kind of deluded arrangements do we have for all our other clubs.

My understanding was that’s not how it works for clubs like Brisbane.

Can anyone fill me in on this? If clubs actually get good attendances, like Brisbane, does it actually help or due to agreements with the stadiums, they’re still no better off. I genuinely would love to know a little more on this issue.

I’ll still confused 😂

Marcel, forgive my ignorance, but I do not know this man. What have I stated that was similar to what he stated?

Congrats to Gauci! The journey doesn’t start now though. It started as a kid and continues onto Aston Villa. Let’s see what’s in store for him there. We all hope he does well and he dreams big.

Love watching Perth Glory in the East on the late Saturday night games. They’ve been very entertaining to watch in a lot of their home games and it makes for entertaining viewing.

Central Coast are the team to watch currently. 12 games unbeaten? Was there much to turn around or is it more a matter of he just needed a few weeks to settle in? The culture at the Mariners looks just as good. It could be argued its even better?

I’m going to make a prediction about Tuesdays fixture between Phoenix and Mariners. 15k will be there in the top of the table clash and I can’t wait to watch.

Prayers go out to Cahn. No complaints about the 4th coach this season when the loss is a result of unfortunate health.

Germain does appear to stomp on the Wanderers player in that highlight. A wider camera angle would have helped, but from the limited angle available, it doesn’t appear good.

Same with the final goal given. The camera angles were very much limited.

This is football. This is the way football was for 100+ years.

VAR is there to help, but it will never get it right or even be able too.

Was an enthralling encounter for the neutral though. I know I enjoyed it.