My very biased minute by minute analysis

4th – Murdocca passes back to Reddy, Thompson has a fair chance to score
7th – Moore pulls off a risky hold in the box
9th – I thought Kruse was going to pass the ball off to Reinaldo, but what a goal
10th – Marcinho takes a shot, nice save from Theoklitos
17th – Seo goes down by Hernandez, not his fault though. Every times Seo goes down, the crowd is worried
18th – Marcinho to Ognenovski shots. Brebner blocks well.
11 shots to 1, this is the Roars game so far
21st – It takes four players to get the ball out of the danger area – teamwork
25th – McKay hits the outside of the net, the crowd is on their feet
28th – Thompson and Moore jostle inside the box. Moore injured
31st – Moore comes off. Griffin on. Tim (my older brother) and I swear profusely. We both hate Griffin (arrogant and useless)
34th – Kruse down. Ball not put out for a while. Roar kicks out. Melbourne not chivalrous. Keep the ball within the team, not doing the usual pass back to the opposition keeper.
35th – Griffin doesn’t know how to do a simple step over
37th – Caceres only has Reddy to beat, but shot goes sailing over the goal
39th – Marcinho to take the foul. I’m worried. Thankfully, it’s at least on target.
43rd – Ognenovski takes a shot from almost halfway. If that had gone in. . . . . . .
45th – Griffin almost scores for Melbourne

HALF TIME

47th – I come back from buying drinks and not that Love has come on. I’m a bit worried; I’ve seen what he can do
49th – Williams overrules his assistants call. Hmm.
50th – Packer gets a yellow card and fires up over it. Bit of push and shove in the box between Ognenovski and Allsopp. Even after Williams has words to them, it continues
52nd – Marcinho goes down – card to Vasilevski, only Victory player to get carded
53rd – Kemp takes Kruse down, this continues throughout half
54th – McLaren gets carded, fairly I believe.
58th – After a nice feed from Thompson, Allsopp would have done well if not put off by Reddy
59th – Seo takes a shot, but it lacks to power we saw from him in the first season
63rd – Kruse goes down near the box. Caceres does the same thing down the other end. Nothing from Ben Williams
64th – Kruse hit the post L
67th – McLaren collides with Pantelidis; the game is getting very aggressive.
68th – Kemp is booed off by the home crowd
73rd – Marcinho walks away from kick, not realizing that it’s him to come off. I’m looking forward to seeing what Minniecon can do
75th – Allsopp goes down, Griffin get a yellow. Yet Williams is a mile away, still worried about the tussle Reinaldo was involved in
77th – Hernandez thunders the ball into the post. Reddy remained stationary – would have been a goal if just a little to the side
78th – McKay goes down. His mother jumps up
81st – Lynch must remain on the sideline for about three minutes
84th – I give Kruse a standing ovation (he’s one of my favourite players)
86th – This is where the Roar usually let it go. Tim says “Well, at least we’ll get one point”
90th – 4 minutes of extra time! Remember what happened last time we got a huge amount of injury time??
95th – Game over. Relief! Joy! Plus 88 more emotions!


THINGS I NOTICED THROUGHOUT THE MATCH

Most of the Roar team is participating in Movember, including Stuart McLarens weird little cheek things and Sasa Ognenovski and his Ivan Milat chops. Congratulations boys. Some of the Melbourne players were also supporting the event. I wouldn’t want to come across Archie Thompson in a dark alley at night when he’s sporting that moustache

Frank Farina could power Suncorp Stadium if you hooked his jaw up to a generator. Watch him on TV during the games. He’s always chewing gum, but he was going overtime on Friday night
Kruse and Marcinho kept switching sides of the field

Even though we were about five minutes late arriving to the game, there was still a huge line up of people outside

This was definitely the most vocal and enthused crowd I have seen in all three seasons

I absolutely love watching Liam Reddy celebrate his teammates scoring a goal. He never gets to, and is often seen as the villain when he lets goals through, even though more often than not it is because of a poor defensive line

M’n’M were mighty quite, and both seemed a bit off their game

Every game of the Hyundai A-League I watch, there is always some lady screaming just under the camera, Geez it annoys me

Kruse leaves the opposition wondering what happened sometimes with his stepovers

The commentators seriously need to SHUT UP sometimes

Griffin should not have slotted directly into Moore’s role. Seo or Packer should have been pushed into central defence, as they would have been better suited to taking on Archie Thompson

Ben Williams needs to learn what an advantage play actually is

Massimo Murdocca has some speed, and Seo does too.

Vargas is a damn good player. He had me laughing when he tried to catch Reinaldo offside
Marcinho is useless off a dead ball, especially with his corners

• 
  17207 people turned up. Good on us

What is with the defense and their diving headers? All it ends up doing is puts them on the ground, unable to do anything useful (and legal) if their header doesn’t work out the way they planned

Kruse is getting hacked up and down the field. Poor kid

Liam Reddy could almost score a goal from some of his kicks. A bit of his father shining through there

Ben Williams obviously failed Maths in school, not being able to realise the difference between four and five minutes

And finally, although Kruse was very close, I give man of the match points to Andy Packer

Oh, and Hamish. I spent half time looking for a man with a frangipani behind his ear, but could not find one.

To mesh or not to mesh, what are they doing?

QUEENSLAND Roar teammates Reinaldo and Andrew Packer had to be separated at training yesterday as the intensity cranked up a notch ahead of tonight's A-League clash against cellar dwellers Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium.
Big defender Sasa Ognenovski was forced to intervene when a nasty push and shove developed between Packer and Reinaldo, who wasn't pleased with an earlier tackle made by the defender in a high-intensity training drill.
Roar coach Frank Farina later dismissed the incident, saying there were "no dramas" and that it showed "they're all ready for the game".
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22656138-5003412,00.html

After reading this, it kind of made me wonder. Is the reason the Roar aren't reaching their full potential because of the players skill level, or because they simply aren't melding as a team? When you have fighting in a game between opposing teams, that's bad enough. But when someone has to separate two teammates, it really makes you wonder what's going on.
The reason that Kruse and Zullo work together so well is because they actually like each other. The fact that they've played together for so long would mean practically nothing if they hated the sight of each other. Look how much they've helped our campaign through their obvious displays of unselfish teamwork!
The fact that Farina later tried to play the whole incident down shows that there is much more to it than meets the eye. Reinaldo is a fairly arrogant player, as is Andrew Packer. Packer also strikes me as the sort of fellow who won't take any s*#t from anyone (being from Ipswich and all).
Maybe instead of spending so much time at training injuring themselves (has anyone else noticed the excessive amount of injuries sustained at training?), the players should be doing teamwork building exercises, trust exercises and how not to attack your fellow player exercises!
That aggression should be channelled into the game when it is being played, not against each other while you are practicing.
I honestly think that if the players learnt to trust and respond to each other, we might be able to break the three season slump that disappoints us every time.

Introducing our newest member

Ok. Last blog I raised the point that my father reckoned their should be a refs analysis page regarding to the A-League. We all know the usual suspects, Breeze, Shields, Zetter, Williams and so on. Well, he went ahead and made his own blog, dedicated to the refs of the A-League. We all hate them, but I guess we owe it to them to have a fair report each week. Check him out:
www.refscall.blogspot.com
Hey Hamish, is it too late for him to join the Bloggers Cup? He'd probably overtake me even if he started on zero!!!!

All hail King Zullo

Ok. I've been seriously lazy with my blogging. I've been keeping relatively up to date with my tips, not that the results actually reflect that!!

I have been religiously watching and attending all the Roar games, but can't remember much of any of them. I do remember Mark Shields looking like he was about to fight . . .. . . Muscat maybe?, but yeah, that's about it.

I promise to try and be more regular with my blogging.

I would like to point out to everybody reading this, even though you probably all know, Zullo and Kruse rocked! It's about time we had young people with nothing to lose and everything to prove puting themselves on the line for the sake of the Roar, and it actually paying off. On a not so positive note, they both seemed to suffer from cramps. Heat? Inexperience? A combination of the two?

Also interesting to not that when Craig Zetter was telling Reinaldo to get off the field during a cramp of his own, it was not a Roar player but in fact Aloisi who ran over to help him stretch it out. Never picked him as the type.

Well, on my once a day Google Alert (very imformative, you should sign up) it said that Aloisi was being cited by FFA for his attack on a defender. The only incident I can think of that would relate to that (but an attacker, not a defender) was when Robbie Kruse went flying over the sideline. Was that Aloisi? Was that the incident in question?

It started with Tiatto. It's going to continue. Unfortunately. I don't see the point in things that happened during the game being dredged up and the players potentially being suspended for something the referee did not pick up. Is this a poor reflection on the referees? Or is it just people looking for answers where they shouldn't be?
Opening a pandoras box I believe Miron Bleiberg said at the time of Tiatto's hearing. And it's completely true. Are the soccer matches going to be so much like Rugby League that we have to stop the game for the video referee?
I mean, fair enough if people want to debate red cards. But I don't think it should change it. They did the wrong thing, they should be mature enough to deal with the consequences.

If we suspend people for a game on hearsay, who knows what sorts of rubbish could be made up and believed (definetly not saying Vargas was lying. Don't get angry at me Cestaz!!!)
But unscrupulous players would have seen this event being taken to the extreme it was, and use it to their own advantage, be the incident fact or fiction.

Well, that's my little rant for the evening.

It's raining here at my place. Makes for a nice little change.

Good luck for the boys on the next few away games. I reckon that we can win them. I hope. Just get that useless Brazilian off the pitch. And I'm not talking about the one that most of Suncorp seems to hate, and Farina seems to love. I'm talking about the one who's had one shot on goal the whole season, and who stuffs up practically every kick he's taken.

But that's just my opinion

By the way, we all seem to talk about the players every week. My dad wants someone to talk about and review the referees each week. Anyone up for the challenge??

Round One. It felt like defeat.

Words can not describe the anger I felt coursing through my body earlier tonight. From the disallowing of our would be second goal to the sending off of our captain, I somehow managed to not only shout myself hoarse, but also scare the person sitting in front of me from ever coming to another Roar home match!!

I walked through the gates not long after they had opened and collected my members bag; positive that today was going to mark the beginnings of a great season for the Roar. I could not have been more wrong. A fluke shot early on slipped right through the defence and with the same ease floated through Reddys gloves.

The game was dirty from the moment those players stepped onto the pitch, and the referee did nothing to appease the situation. He let most calls go, but when he did start to call them, he didn’t call the necessary ones. He pulled up the ones that weren’t at all vital to us continuing, probably more hindering than helping at some stages, yet let go the ones right in front of him that were plain as day a foul. I think he must have left his glasses in the dressing room.

That did not stop him from disallowing our second goal for what was it again? Quoting the Roar website “Ante Milicic was adjudged to have obstructed the defensive wall.” BULL! He did not and it was just a poor excuse to not give Queensland the lead.

My sincere gratitude must be extended to Matt McKay and old mate Sasa, for their respective goals. Too bad it couldn’t have been one more. Then we could have been nearer to the top of the ladder, and I could have got a couple of my tips right!!

By the way, if any of you heard, or joined in the bullshit chant following the dismissal of Craig Moore from the field, that was us again. Yep, we started it.

Oh, and I’ve come around to realizing what a good signing Tiatto is. What a little terrier devil!! He’ll have to watch he doesn’t accrue too many yellow cards though!
Thank you, and good night.

New Season

Ok, I haven't blogged in like, forever, so this is just going to be a random rant of absolutely anything that pops into my head in the next however many minutes it takes me to write this thing!

Well, I did go to the game before the pre season at Richlands, the Roar trialists vs the Strikers, but that was so long ago I can't even remember! And I'm sure you guys went to the Roar vs Racism, which was pretty mad fun, so I'm going to jump for to the pre season match against Sydney at Mooloolabah.

My mum, dad and I travelled all the way to Caloundra because I was hell bent on eating at a dine in Pizza Hut as my birthday present. Turns out though, we drove all that way for nothing and ended up eating UTK in a local shopping centre :(
On the upside though, we did end up getting to the sports grounds really early, so we had our pick of the seats, plus our car was within spitting distance so we didn't have to stay in the cold too long!
Truthfully, I also don't remember too much of that game, except that we could audibly hear Matt McKay yell at the referee "What am I getting that for?" when he got his yellow card, and I yelled at the opposition keeper for time wasting, which my side of the field seemed to find exceedingly funny ?!?! (I still don't know why)
Well, the game ended 0-0, and I went back to our car absolutely frozen! I'm serious, I could not feel my fingers for about fifteen minutes!

I was absolutely zonkered at this stage, so I fell asleep in the car. I was woken up when we pulled up at a servo for coffee, but in my daze failed to notice my #1 favourite Roar player walk straight past me on his way to McDonalds. That's right! Matt Mckay!!

All that aside though, I fail to see the reason for our new marquee player, Craig Moore. We've already got a fairly solid defence, and we just signed Danny Tiatto (who's a tad too agressive in my opinion). Who we should have signed as our marquee player is a solid striker, someone who can convert all our opportunities into goals!

Well, only time will tell. Version 3, here we come!!

P.S. Does anybody know what's happened to Jonti Richter? I can't find his name in any club lists, and am absolutely dying to know what happened to him!

Will they stay or will they go?

Murdocca says that everybody on the team have question marks over their heads. So will they be here next season? I have put these in numerical order for simplicities sake.

#1 - Thomas Willis - Maybe. If he is given a better offer by another team, he'll take it. He knows unless Reddy makes some pretty bad mistakes, a seat on the bench has his name on it, unless he is injured. However a brilliant display by Velaphi may have some heads turning at Roar camp.
#2 - Andy Packer - Yes. He is playing in his home state and is constantly getting game time. We may be a step down from Champions Sydney, but I find no reason for him to go.
#3 - Remo Buess - Yes. He hasn't been getting exessive amounts of game time this season, but I severly doubt that he will go to New Zealand, especially after everything that has been happening over there. He will probably stay for the simple fact that he does get some game time.
#4 - Chad Gibson - No. After everything that has gone down with Chad, I don't see him putting himself through that again next season.
#5 - Josh McLoughan - Yes. He has no reason to leave. He's a vice-captain, has been playing well and has been playing frequently. He may even be captain next year, if they permenantly take it off Chad.
#6 - Stuart McLaren - Yes. Why not? He seems to be right in Frankies back pocket. Except he has fallen out of favour a little since the New Zealand match he supposedly performed horribly in.
#7 - Marcus Wedau - No. One of our big name signings, he hasn't been playing and when he does, he hasn't been performing. I don't think he's wanted any more.
#8 - Massimo Murdocca - Maybe. He's good, which is why other teams would want him. He's someone who could end up overseas. We'll have to work hard to keep him, especially if Melbourne gives him an offer.
#9 - Simon Lynch - Yes. Even though he has played for bigger and better teams, he'll stay for at least another season. I believe he still has something to prove for us.
#10 - Ante Milicic - Yes. He's not playing fantastically so I don't know if other clubs will want him. He still has moments of brilliance (when he plays), but is getting older and slower and will have to be put out to pasture soon.
#11 - Reinaldo - Yes. I previously thought no, but he has finally been getting some game time and the recognition he deserves. He is a good player and is looking to be naturalized. So that just proves he wants to stay in Australia.
#12 - Zhang - No. It's pure and simple. He's crap and we don't want him. Celebrity status in China means nothing on the Australian pitch mate. Stop smoking, start jogging.
#13 - Spase Dilevski - Yes. Unless he goes overseas. He's being playing abroad since he was sixteen and came back to play for us in the A-League, but I doubt he'll go to another club.
#14 - Ben Griffen - Yes. He's starting to get more game time and experience. Somehow I think he may go to another club if offered though. Depending entirely on which one it was.
#15 - Matty McKay - Yes. Everybody loves him, he's always playing and he's always playing well. I don't think he'll go overseas, he has it all here in Australia. And I don't think he'll go overseas. Matty has just signed another two year contract with the Roar.
#16 - Seo - Yes. We brought him here and he has played almost every minute possible. He's doing more than well enough for the Roar to want to keep him and I seriously doubt he would go to another club. Fingers crossed.
#17 - Damien Mori - No. He's already proved he doesn't mind changing clubs and the Central Coast Mariners have already expressed interest in having him back next season. Unless he wants to be the first player to play for every club!
#18 - Dario Vidosic - Yes. German clubs already want him, but the Roar want him to stay for another season so he's better developed as a player. The fact that he will help us imeasurably is a minor detail!
#19 - Sasa Ogdonovski - Yes. We plucked him out of a State League and stuck him in a National one, where he's been playing constantly and performing consistantly. He's opened everyones eyes to his skill. He's a rock, and a good one at that!
#20 - Liam Reddy - Yes. He said it himself that goalkeepers don't reach their prime until about 27-28. Which means he has another couple of years ahead of him that we can only hope he serves with the Roar.