Roar Rookie
Joined December 2020
28.8k
Views
39
Published
601
Comments
Author of Unashamed Football Novels, football writer, part-time blogger, Sydney FC member, Geordie boot boy, over 45s player, park football referee, football dad. Member of the Meadowbank Ultras.
Published
Comments
Football purists all over Australia were cringing this week at the announcement of three blockbuster end-of-season exhibition games bringing English Premier League’s perennial underachievers…
The halftime whistle goes at the Emirates Stadium and a bumper WSL crowd heads for the concourse. Queues have already formed for stadium food…
Mary Fowler delivered an incredible strike on the hour for a frustrated Matildas team as they finally clicked into gear to overcome the stubborn…
Tony Gustavsson’s press conference following the dismantling of closest rivals, the Philippines, in the second round of Olympic qualifying took us back to the…
The 2023 Australia Cup final at the Sydney Football Stadium almost emulates the famous Community Shield fixture in England and spells the beginning of…
Spain and England put on a show on Sunday night for the World Cup final that put their semi-final victories into perspective. These were…
Wednesday night’s blockbuster semi-final at Stadium Australia highlighted just what it means to be an active football fan in Australia. The long-suffering supporters, who…
The biggest turnout for a 'MD-1' (match day minus one) press conference of this tournament descended on the media centre at Stadium Australia on…
After guiding Australia to the semi-finals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, an emotional Tony Gustavsson broke away from his post-match on-field interview…
Caitlin Foord, fresh from a match-winning player of the match performance in Monday night’s FIFA Women’s World Cup round of 16 game against Denmark,…
The FIFA Women’s World Cup has been thrilling us all through the group stages, and now that we have a day to reflect and…
The Matildas came into Monday night’s crunch game at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium with only one thing in mind, and judging by what transpired on…
A lot has been written about the failings of Tony Gustavsson’s Matildas team on Thursday night as the desperate long-ball tactics failed to rescue…
Brazil cruised to a comfortable four-goal victory at Hindmarsh Stadium as they found their rhythm in front of a partisan crowd to ease to…
The art of queuing was on full display on Thursday night as the football community descended on Stadium Australia and tested the venue to…
For all those people stressing about tickets for the FIFA Women's World Cup, you needn't have stressed too much. Aside from the opening game…
Australia is a proud nation, a population obsessed with sports, with fans willing to travel great distances over land and sea at great expense…
We are another step closer to the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. The provisional Matildas squad has been announced, and while we are no…
It's coming. The hype has started. The FIFA Women's World Cup is coming to Australia and New Zealand in a few short weeks, and…
As football fans, are we allowed to turn our attention to the FIFA Women's World Cup yet? Are we still glancing behind us for…
Thanks for the insider information. The Sky Blues have two exciting wingers ready to cause havoc and some top quality youngsters to inject to kill off / rescue a game. It will be intriguing, I’m so pumped for this one.
Tasty Australia Cup final promises to set the table for exciting season of Aussie football
Love it. Mentioning Sydney FC in this context is music to my ears after the last two seasons. Come on you boys in blue!
Tasty Australia Cup final promises to set the table for exciting season of Aussie football
Agree with the hating other sports, but in reality the vast majority of fans have another code they follow too. The A League is something special, it’s not like any other league in the world. Where do you think ‘peak a-league’ came from? It just never stops surprising.
Tasty Australia Cup final promises to set the table for exciting season of Aussie football
Code war! Code war! Code war! No seriously, no need for that, football has the spotlight and it needs to just not shoot itself in the foot. Only good stories to come out of this year’s Australia Cup final, please.
Tasty Australia Cup final promises to set the table for exciting season of Aussie football
If there’s not a goal from a Jay O’Shea set-piece in there, we’ve been robbed. Sydney to win in extra time.
Tasty Australia Cup final promises to set the table for exciting season of Aussie football
I’d also forgotten about the moment Earps took a free kick in additional time fully 20 yards further up the field from where the infringement was. Referee just didn’t seem to care. Yet, the officials were so picky about where the throw-ins happened from. This was such a good game, I think I needto watch the full replay to see what else I missed.
Bittersweet finale to incredible tournament for Aussie fans as England schooled by masters of the dark arts
Yes. They were so relaxed in possession too. If this is their team without a host of superstars who refused to play for the national team under Jorge Vilda, imagine how good they would have been with all those players. And that penalty save; I wonder why that wasn’t called back for a retake? Special World Cup final rules? They took so long to work out whether it was a penalty in the first place, how could they have collectively missed it?
Bittersweet finale to incredible tournament for Aussie fans as England schooled by masters of the dark arts
This could be the catalyst for a lot of people to enter the addictive realm of football tourism. We’ll not get it back here in a lifetime, but the world is our oyster. Imagine doing a World Cup, following the Matildas or the Socceroos, in another country. It’s bloody amazing!
Bittersweet finale to incredible tournament for Aussie fans as England schooled by masters of the dark arts
Not sure you’d ever get any of that at a Socceroos / Matildas game. Everything has to pass the pub test first.
Australia, do we want active football fans, or not?
Are you going as a neutral on Sunday? There seems to be little love for Spain due to their coaching dramas, but they are great to watch. England should surely be favourites!
Australia, do we want active football fans, or not?
The songs are easy to join in with. It’s just that Australians are hard-wired to be self-conscious when singing. That needs a bit of re-wiring, and being in a pack makes it easier to break through the shyness. It works at A-League level, should be easier to do at national level.
Australia, do we want active football fans, or not?
Stadium Australia’s configuration does make the noise disappear into the void when you’re at the front, but I had a different position on the Western side and could hear them all game. Compare that to Commbank Stadium or Allianz Stadium, where the singing and chanting is captured in the stadium, and even with 50% less people, the atmosphere is so much better.
Controversial opinion, but the “oi oi oi” chant seemed to work; there were several going at once from all different parts of the stadium. I’m definitely not advocating it though!
Australia, do we want active football fans, or not?
I wouldn’t call it attention seeking. It’s simply a desire to make an atmosphere and be part of the occasion. Like dancing at a concert or roaring a horse home at the races. Unfortunately ticket-holders for FIFA events getno choice on where they sit, apart from category 1,2 or 3 – just ask those who got in early for top category tickets and got shafted up the back in the 600s.
And yes, more communication with fans would be a good thing!
Australia, do we want active football fans, or not?
The pressure on the Lionesses comes from their zealous media. The persistence with a narrative (such as the traditional sporting rivalry between Australia and England) until the journalists hear what they want is manic. I experienced the same thing in Qatar where the England players were asked the same thing repeatedly in different ways as the media tried to create a story out of nothing. I feel sorry for the players who have to be on guard at all times, it really is tough.
Hopefully the pressure gets to England. The Matildas have that special something, a devilish glint in their eye and they are prepared for what is a massive opportunity to create more history in their home World Cup. What a marvellous occasion this will be, whatever happens.
Tony Gustavsson talks underdogs, mind games and the 'single moments' the Matildas need against the English
Stepping into murky waters, BT. There are some uncomfortable truths out there, and I’m sure they will eventually be told.
After making Matildas history, is Gustavsson really a master tactician?
Yes it will. That start to the second half of extra time on Saturday, when the Matildas went straight at the French defence, was a statement of intent. I like that. Understand when you are on top, and take advantage.
After making Matildas history, is Gustavsson really a master tactician?
It will take more than a quarter-final success to convince many others. He certainly has his players peaking at just the right time. Time to believe again this Wednesday night.
After making Matildas history, is Gustavsson really a master tactician?
Oh! Anything you’d like to share?
After making Matildas history, is Gustavsson really a master tactician?
That’s wonderful. Surely the sport of football, and especially the women’s game, will have some new followers as a result of this world cup. Even if the Matildas fall short, we’ve all seen enough of the other countries in the last eight to get invested and enjoy the spectacle. Hope you get the maximum out of the final week, and that we’re talking about our home World Cup for years to come.
Among the noise, the Matildas understand they need to grab this once in a lifetime opportunity
Love your positivity! So, if the Matildas bow out at the quarter final stage against a top quality European opposition, do we regard this as a success, or will this be labelled as a failure? I can’t help thinking that we’re in the ‘anything’s a bonus’ stage now, and any wins from now onwards will be just incredible.
Among the noise, the Matildas understand they need to grab this once in a lifetime opportunity
This was a brilliant team performance from Australia, and with Sam Kerr and Cortnee Vine coming on as “game changers” we showed we have depth from the bench too. Saturday cannot come quickly enough!
Foord Fiesta! Caitlin and Raso fire Matildas into quarter finals as Kerr makes long-awaited return
That is so true. The strip clubs seem keen to attract the crowd their way, so why not the local A-League club? And whoever owns that house next to the Caxton Hotel, I love your vibe on game day. There always seems to be a party there. Enjoy the England v Nigeria game – I had contingency tickets for that fixture just in case Australia finished second in the group and they were snapped up in seconds when I put them on resale. Should be a momentous game with a lot of England fans in attendance.
The Women's World Cup has been dazzling - and Infantino may be on to something
On behalf of the code of football I apologise to the code of rugby for having traces of line-markings. As long as you promise never to do it again, we’ll call it quits eh?
The Women's World Cup has been dazzling - and Infantino may be on to something
I’ve been at a few games recently where, at the end of the game, a guy comes on with a hose contraption and blasts away the line markings as the goalposts are dismantled and any trace of football is sanitised. Admittedly that was after a single game and two weeks of football is probably going to leave traces.
The Women's World Cup has been dazzling - and Infantino may be on to something
Yes, good to be back after my own hiatus. Refreshed, reinigorated and raring to go for the new season.
Tasty Australia Cup final promises to set the table for exciting season of Aussie football