The Roar
The Roar

The Roar

Mike Tuckerman

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Joined December 2008

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Good point. The football’s been really enjoyable thus far.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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1d

For a few years the local council has been trying to entice the Tigers to move to Campbelltown permanently, which is hardly beyond the realms of possibility as the Western Suburbs Magpies have been the controlling interest in the Tigers ever since the Balmain side of the merger went bankrupt. But the Tigers are keen to retain a footprint in the Inner West and don’t want to lose access to Leichhardt Oval.

So Campbelltown City Council has been annoyed that they tipped money into the stadium for an NRL side that only plays three games there a year. It was one of the biggest reasons they threw their support behind Macarthur FC and gave them a peppercorn rent.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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1d

No chip on my shoulder, Middy… I simply call things as I see them.

For what it’s worth I wrote at least two ‘positive’ stories in the build-up to the new season and couldn’t get them published anywhere. There’s no interest and no money to pay for it.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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1d

I know what you mean, Buddy.

I was a bit surprised by the analysis of Newcastle’s goal yesterday, just because no one seemed to mention that it was aided immensely by Macarthur striker Matt Derbyshire taking possession of his side’s own free-kick near the halfway line, turning and passing the ball backwards about 40 metres to Adam Federici.

If you only watched the Fox Sports replay, you would have thought Newcastle scored the goal purely because they put a press on the Macarthur defence playing the ball out from the back. But that’s because the replay was cut after the first phase of play. In reality, it was Macarthur’s unwillingness to go forward from their own free-kick that put them back in their own half to begin with.

I would have thought that was an interesting phase of play – and indeed I mentioned it on Twitter – but no seemed to notice, or care, and certainly no one responded. That’s fine with me and I can find plenty of other things to write about, but I’ve never felt like there’s much interest in discussing what actually happens on the pitch here in Australia.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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1d

I’m sure the NRL can handle it.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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Football
 
1d

It’s home to more than 300,000 residents. Most of whom you’d assume have heard of it and know full well how to get from their house to Campbelltown Stadium and back.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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Football
 
1d

It’s not the media’s job to be cheerleaders though. If we only want to read sanitised match reports that neglect to mention key moments like controversial stoppage-time handballs, we’ve got the A-League website for that.

I reckon it’d be more accurate to say football fans in Australia don’t want to discuss any on-pitch action, as opposed to the people who write about it. Every time I write anything to do with an actual match, very few people respond.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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Football
 
1d

They should get decent support from the local council too (who are deeply unhappy with the Wests Tigers). I’m not sure those from outside Sydney realise quite how large Macarthur’s catchment area is.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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Football
 
1d

It’s been a fairly entertaining start to the season. Hope it continues.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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Football
 
1d

They’ve enjoyed a bit of luck in their matches so far and Sydney FC will be a stern test in a couple of weeks, but on paper at least they’ve got a squad that should really give the top six a genuine shake.

Does anyone care that Macarthur are a decent football team?

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1d

I’ve been to a City game down there. Really enjoyed it. Great stadium.

Is the A-League about to become what we've always wanted it to be?

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2w

Warren’s been great. I can’t wait for next Sunday.

Is the A-League about to become what we've always wanted it to be?

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2w

What a screamer.

Is the A-League about to become what we've always wanted it to be?

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2w

I actually think Brisbane Roar are in a better position than they were last season. Dolphin Stadium is an excellent venue, albeit one far from the city, and if they win a few early games up there, I reckon it will be packed more often than not. They’ve got a decent coach, a good chief executive, a boutique stadium and the squad that surprised everyone last season. I think they’ll be fine.

The A-League has a new look, but can it win back some old fans?

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Dec

I think that’s a really harsh assessment of what Andy has actually achieved. He’s not personally in charge of Fox Sports and he has nothing to do with their decision making. One of his jobs is as a Fox Sports commentator, who happened to use his spare time to write a 335-page thesis about football in Australia. To diminish that by complaining about Fox Sports’ involvement in the game is to do him a grave disservice.

The A-League has a new look, but can it win back some old fans?

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Football
 
Dec

Bit harsh on Andy. I also thought it was interesting that all three of the people I spoke to mentioned owners as being a potential obstacle – not just a potential solution – on the road to reform.

The A-League has a new look, but can it win back some old fans?

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Dec

It’s up to the clubs now to market the A-League. That’s something that’s been sorely lacking for the past few seasons.

The A-League has a new look, but can it win back some old fans?

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Football
 
Dec

Agreed. I don’t think we can fault the responses of authorities in Australia and New Zealand.

The A-League better hope it has a Plan B

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4w

I think the clubs – and fans – are going to have to be flexible one way or another.

The A-League better hope it has a Plan B

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4w

There is zero appetite from mainstream media to run A-League content, and to prove that point I wrote Friday’s column specifically for mainstream media and offered it to several outlets. Some said they didn’t have the budget, others said they wanted to protect their own journos, while others prevaricated and said they’d get back to me and never did.

I think as A-League watchers we need to move on from this idea that it’s the fault of football journalists for not getting stories into the mainstream media, because media outlets of every shape and size simply won’t run them. There is absolutely zero interest in football stories.

The A-League better hope it has a Plan B

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Football
 
4w

jbinnie, I think these are probably two separate issues. On a personal level, I have no problem with clubs importing foreign players and, in fact, I encourage it. An A-League without the likes of Thomas Broich or Besart Berisha or Shinji Ono or Milos Ninkovic is not a competition I’d have been as invested in, and I think that’s probably true for much of the general public. High-quality foreign players raise the standard of the A-League and the domestic talent around them.

As for coaching of grassroots footballers in Australia, that’s a different story. It’s not a subject I can claim to be an expert in, but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say there are plenty of good youth coaches in Oz football, even if the curriculum they coach to has been chopped and changed. I’d say one of the reasons we might not be producing the sort of players we used to is because of the talent pool on offer, as opposed to the coaches. I’d argue that’s a bigger issue for Oz football.

The A-League better hope it has a Plan B

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Football
 
4w

I’ve watched a couple of BBL games this season and have been bored witless. If that’s what cricket serves up on a regular basis, I don’t think the A-League has got much to worry about.

The A-League better hope it has a Plan B

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4w

MC Four Eyes.

The A-League better hope it has a Plan B

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Football
 
4w

Cheers for all the replies on this one. I’ll delve into some of these issues in my column on Monday.

The A-League has a new look, but can it win back some old fans?

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Football
 
Dec

But you only ever get on here to make negative comments, Mahler. You’re addicted to the thing you say you hate.

I'm not sure how much more of the A-League I can take

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Sep
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