“He’s a superstar in the making, but at times he’s let a lack of emotional maturity blunt his effectiveness” – I don’t believe he consciously “LET” anything. He is still a teenager and despite the fact you can drink alcohol, drive a car and get to vote by the time you are 18, most (if not all males) are anything but mature at that age. He has been thrust onto a big stage with everyone watching and has had to face some nasty treatment dished out by opposition players and fans alike. Whilst the young man maybe a a rising star and has plenty of talent, the tall poppy syndrome has also kicked in early in his career. Being held back by Mr Veart has probably been for the player’s own good in many respects as he needs to be rolled out gradually and perhaps kept in cotton wool for a while. Playing in a tournament with younger players will also aid his development in my opinion and it will be an interesting story watching how he develops over the next few seasons in Germany. We have enjoyed this early part of his career and hopefully he will blossom overseas and have a lot more success than many misplaced young players that leave these shores for the right reasons but poorly advised.

Subtle irony is a lot of fun!

Punter – we do have to be careful when throwing those sorts of figures out there. World Cup, Olympics and the likes get a fantastic response and we all know how popular the Matildas are and are riding the crest of a wave. However, that doesn’t translate really to the domestic scene and that is apples vs apples. I’d love a Sydney or Melbourne derby to get the viewing figures that SOO gets each year but it is nowhere near and each weekend of the a League season we lament the lack of an audience watching either free to air or Paramount and there are those of us who lament the lack of crowds actually attending. The way things are, I find it more enjoyable to go down to my local field and watch grassroots games along with one man and his dog. The guy is friendly and his dog likes being patted and stroked and there are no riot police in sight ????

Not all of us. Under the current model I’m all for the sharing of the facilities but I do wish that the surface could be better maintained – all those concerts etc. There is technology around that could have been invested in that would assist. I’m pretty sure the Amsterdam arena doesn’t get chewed up the same way after Taylor swift or the latest artist touring and [laying stadiums.

LH -I’m not a snowflake! Thick skinned. I like your comment about Penrith and the land……..they used to struggle to give it away out in the far west of Sydney. Certainly agree about funding what we need but we are not smart in relation to taxation and how we fund things…too caught up in preserving political status rather than investing long term. I appreciate Brisbane is different from Sydney and even Sydney is different area to area. It is a huge subject but we dwell far too long on certain aspects that we aren’t happy with and don’t really examine why things are the way they are.

I know we hear a lot of talk about institutional bias from mainstream media but to be fair to some of the named personalities, they do give it a mention at times and sometimes high up the list and not just when it is a bad news story. I think the truth is closer to the fact that Australia as a whole wanted to move away from its English roots and whilst Rugby in both codes comes from that part of the world, perhaps the rejection of what we call the global game was just another part of the breakaway. Johnny Warren talked a lot about the culture and perhaps football (soccer ) wasn’t macho enough for the hardened chisel faced Australians who wanted to prove something – not sure what exactly but definitely based around testosterone.
As for Matildas. They were ahead of their time in my opinion and were one of a handful of nations that embraced women’s football and therefore climbed pretty high in the rankings. The danger now is that so many of the traditional football nations are growing and supporting women’s football that unless the game is funded and there is a really good standard of coaching and facilities etc, the Matildas will gradually slip down the rankings and will slot into place alongside of the Socceroos who have been competing with all the powerhouses for decades and longer.

LH – sometimes we have to accept that we are in a minority despite the number of registered players. A League TV ratings – generally poor, attendances – generally poor. Does anyone want to broadcast if they think nobody is listening? Teenagers and many young adults only watch snippets on YouTube and suchlike. They don’t sit and watch a whole game – just wait for the highlights reel and then join in the conversations – if they ever take place. Optus might have gained plenty of new customers but almost without exception, anyone I talk to under the age of 40 might support an EPL side but they only log on to watch snippets, highlights and goals and maybe a bit of discussion. when I was growing up there was no live football unless you went to the ground so match of the day and the big match showing highlights was the only way to get a football fix over the weekend. These days there is so much on offer!

I have grown tired over the last few years reading about how we deserve this and that and how it isn’t fair and equitable – yes just like life itself in most western countries. I would rather that governments around the country stop funding stadiums per se and spend money on upgrading facilities that we do really need like hospitals and roads and transport infrastructure. I don’t buy into the code rivalry whatsoever. It is a total furphy in many respects. Matildas and Socceroos play at home and generate crowds and tourism; yes no argument, so do the Kangaroos, The Wallabies and maybe the female counterparts in many sports will join them as interest in the sport goes. The fact that there are more registered football players than any other code is the most overused statistic or perhaps wrongly used term in any sporting argument. There are far more people that go fishing each weekend than play football yet we don’t hear cries of the need to make our coastline more accessible or to build platforms so they can access more dangerous fishing spots.
We have 3 pretty good stadiums in Sydney and one of them is thoroughly under used like so many stadiums built for hosting olympics. WSW fans and the club argued long and hard for an upgrade or rebuild of Parramatta stadium and yes they got it but the club hardly warrants having a facility like that. all that noise and the only time the stadium is more than a third full is for one or perhaps two Sydney derbies a season and they could easily have been played at Homebush which accommodates well over double the capacity of the rebuild. It is Parramatta NRL side that tends to fill the stadium almost to capacity and kind of justifies what all the fuss was about 7 or 8 years ago. Likewise in Melbourne and Brisbane, it is NRL and AFL that put bums on seats and has people turning on the television to watch and generate advertising revenue and along with the actual ticket revenue I daresay they collectively generate a whole lot of cash for local business around the Richmond area or Docklands in Melbourne and Caxton Street in Brisbane.
I’d prefer to see a total change in emphasis in relation to stadiums. If you want a stadium, buy the land, fund it and build it – an end to government owned facilities. I totally accept that it may not be possible, nobody has that kind of money or the banks won’t lend the money in the first place – could be because they don’t see it as a good business proposition.
Meanwhile, enjoy the number of people that register to play football each season. I can direct you where to find them. They play in local parks usually council owned, most don’t care about how soft and level the grass is. As long as there are toilets, a canteen and a barbecue the hordes are generally happy. They couldn’t care less what is happening in the A League but have some interest in the national teams. They are just as likely to follow NRL or AFL, netball, basketball and many take their children to dance, swimming and a host of other activities. I understand that is a sweeping generalisation but at least it is based on what I have seen week in and week out in Sydney for well over 25 years and the main thing is that having a child registered to play or even playing as an adult does not equate to more than a passing interest in the sport that most of us on here happen to love.

AA – most fans I have ever asked the question of -put the taking of 3 points above all else. Style and swagger come a distant second. As a neutral, I want to be entertained and to see good football. As a coach and fan it appears to be a different story – all about winning at all costs.

With the arrival of Auckland though shouldn’t there be a new sponsor for the competition as it really should be the ANZ League?

Once upon a time in the Uk, lots of fans took mini radios to games so they could stay up to date with scores; then listen to match reports and finally at 5-00 pm there was sports report on BBC radio 2 starting with the classified results read by James Alexander Gordon. This was long before “5 Live” or the internet and was very informative and used to accompany many a long journey home by either train or car.

Personally, I don’t see any problem in scheduling multiple fixtures at the same time. Surely we just choose what we want to watch the same as so many leagues around the globe? I can’t spend the weekend watching every game and I imagine the number of people that do watch all the games is not that great.

Grem,
I can’t really say with any great certainty but I think we are able to look beyond the playing field and results and get the feel of a club and how well run it is; what values there are, what the rapport is like with fans….essentially what are the core values? If you build a club from ground zero, there needs to be reasons for people to follow and support the club. I know we talk a lot on here about loyalty and sticking with clubs through good and bad but that really only goes for results – not the club as a whole. SFC have turned things around. At last there is a recognition that some youth players will become good players but need game time and opportunities and they are getting them. Mr Talay appears to be a few notches above his predecessor, maintaining Courtney vine in the women’s team has been a blessing and the new stadium is very good which all adds up to an attractive proposition and somewhere to attend these days although it was hugely disappointing to go to the WWC last year – but not just there. The food and drink choices were woeful compared to what is available at A League and NRL – but that’s a minor point.

Couldn’t have put it better. The club was a great place to belong to in the early days in spite of crowd problems but once it was sold it has been an unmitigated disaster and there are thousands of fans out there these days who have nothing to do with the club.

I hope he walks or goes for a long walk off a short pier. He is just the latest in a long list of woeful signings though at a club that has totally lost sight of its roots, what it should stand for and what the fans were looking for when the idea of a second club was first dreamed up.

I’ll have to look out for that. I never pictured him or Holder, Robert’s or Joel Garner copping that sort of rubbish at cricket. I watched Somerset play a few times in those days when both am was swinging the bat with viv Richard’s further up the order and Garner banging down at some pace. Can’t say I ever noticed anything at county level.

Agreed although just about all the European countries have similar ancestry cropping up and have done for 40-50 years now but racism is quite prevalent but conveniently tucked away out of sight in many places. It tends to raise its head when Eastern European countries are involved and they become the whipping boys for European football…I can’t comment on South and Central America but I’d be willing to bet it is fairly similar.

AA- if you feel like reading a book on a flight about a black player growing up and playing professionally in the old Div 1 in England and being abused by supporters of his own club – just ask and I’ll send you the book. It is horrific – and was the late 70’s, early 80’s in London. I totally get Irakunda’s natural reactions to the treatment you described but from my experience, it is the player who has to get off the roundabout and step away. Each time there is a reaction, things perpetuate and escalate and he doesn’t need it in his life. Hopefully he will not be on the receiving end in Germany although they have their fair share of certain types of fans.

I have a feeling we are going down a branch line with the subject of prodigious talent and how much we appreciate it. For me, Irakunda needs more club time and time to mature. Much earlier this season we witnessed a brain explosion when playing away to MV after the crowd was firmly on his back all game – but he has to learn to deal with all that nasty sort of stuff. On Saturday night he went over and celebrated in front of the MV fans – kind of taunting them which to me once again shows his level of maturity or ability to cope with the kind of pressure he will encounter at a much higher level.
As for Arzani – his demotion to the bench was very much performance based imo. The past month he has been trying too hard to beat everyone in sight and score or create something spectacular and seemed to have lost sight of what his role is in the team and the fact that he has team-mates around him. He may have really good ball skills but they have to be used wisely and for me he is not a well advised player, nor does he think enough about the game and his role. He was a fine talent a few years back at MC but the move to Europe was terrible even though it might have sounded fantastic. His eyes must have lit up and most likely he was dreaming of playing in sky blue in the EPL. He arrived back and spent a season at Macarthur…why did they let him go I wonder? Now he has had to almost start over again and he appears to have an over inflated opinion of his worth to the team as a whole. Potential – huge , practical value much less.

LH – they say nothing or very little. These days WSW management appears to be interested in the corporate dollar only and couldn’t care less whether anyone else turns up – and they don’t! As far as I am aware they don’t even survey the thousands of ex members to try and find out why? Or what it might take to bring them back…(like get rid of Rudan and everything he stands for)
They love sending out emails though irrespective of whether you have subscribed or not although to be fair, most clubs do this if you happen to buy a ticket for one of their home games.

There appears to be an assumption that the RBB in 2024 is the same as in 2012 and that is simply not the case. The make up of the active support has changed dramatically over the past decade and so are we left with the conclusion that there is an inexhaustible supply of like minded individuals that come together and cause the type of problems being attributed to them?
As for the police; in relation to behaviour, they are consistent in their approach. They often appear to be thoroughly bored when there are no incidents to police and I have witnessed heavy handedness and some individuals acting as agent provocateurs; not really a picture of innocence though mild in comparison to some forces I have witnessed around the globe. I’m often reminded of a well known description – the difference between many police and criminals is a badge!

All those reasons and a few more add up to my family not attending anymore. I go to an occasional game and this is from a family that were season ticket holders and would go to at least 2 or 3 interstate away games as well as the NSW ones each season.

I’m struggling to remember if there were two teams out there tonight? I was slightly amused in the second half when the players (especially Raso) became obsessed with the near post and totally forgot the cut back or square pass across the box which would have made the score an even truer reflection on proceedings.

Definitely a time not to be “counting chickens” or making any assumptions about quality of opposition. USA are re-building now although new US coach Emma Hayes will only just be finding her feet. Likewise, since the WWC last year the Canadians appear to have re-grouped and are in much better shape than 12 months ago. We saw some excellent performances from Colombia and there is always one surprise package at a tournament. Hopefully the spotlight will be away from SK and perhaps on the team as a whole which should be a positive. There were 3 or 4 players last year who appeared to come out of their shell and they thrived when SK was out injured and wasn’t dominating the skyline and hopefully that trend will continue. I just hope the mindset throughout the squad has the right focus and takes nothing for granted. It will be a tough test.

I agree that 12 is too young to be making those sort of decisions but it goes on all the time here in NSW. The real issue is the set up of clubs and the fact that they are trying to recruit players into their “academies” from a very young age. I’d also argue contrary to FFA’s gurus in that we have way too many clubs cherry picking the best players and building hopes and dreams and fleecing parents out of thousands of dollars all designed to support what is a highly flawed system. There are not enough quality and qualified coaches and all too often clubs use out of date and flawed methods for selecting and then training and I suppose it then follows that they use other practices which have been discredited for many years.