The A-League is the national football competition of Australia. This was a girl's guide to it - mixing swooning with a sheer love of the game - and a fear of it failing.
The fear of failure still exists, and I still swoon occasionally, but my blog now involves my coaching (mis)adventures and things that happen at uni/work.
Queenland head over to Kiwiland this weekend to play the Knights. Miron Bleiberg is one of my favourite A-League coaches, actually, he probably is my favourite. Merrick annoys me at times. I also like Queensland because my favourite player to swoon over plays there - well, sometimes anyway. (See! I managed to finally incorporate some swooning into a post!)
Anyway, in case you've been living under a rock, the Knights haven't been doing too well. And little support from the stands is not helping their cause. Bleiberg would like to see a crowd at Kiwiland, “I would be more than happy to see a big crowd there even if they are all cheering against us.”
Re: Blatter. I don't like this guy - he seems to be off with the fairies a bit. As an example, as a girls who plays* the game, his idea of getting the girls to essentailly wear less clothing is not only belittling, but also quite stupid. Maybe because when I play I end up with all kinds of scrapes and bruises just from slide tackles and hitting the ground. This got worse whenI first moved into goals - and once I ended up playing there all the time I switched to long pants. Anyway - he's a moron. But that's just my opinion.
And now he's decided to apologise to Australia for that penalty. Or rather, that dive. Why, hadn't he noticed that 'simulation' had gotten out of control? Smeghead! But I think he's put the whole World Cup into direpute by essentially calling the World Cup winners cheaters. I'm sure that I was as upset as any other Australian about what happenned (my lab book has a bit of an anti-Italian prose in between experimental data), but seriously, talking about it now? Months after it occurred? Sorry Sepp, but an apology doesn't go far unless you intend to seriously stamp simulation out of the game and make plans how to do that.
Re: the AFC The AFC wants FFA to submit two teams for the Asian Champions League, starting in March 2007. That's after our A-League's wrapped up. So you'd think that our representatives would be determined by A-League season 2006/2007. Sadly, we may end up being represented by Adelaide and Sydney based on their performances last season, as the the AFC wants names. By December. Twats. FFA are lobbying to put in Australia 1 and Australia 2, or something like that, but... I suppose we'll have to see what happens.
--------------------------------------- *Haven't played since sustaining an injury to my knee in late February. :o(
Sorry about the (what I think is) tacky music. I swear if I had the time I'd be making all sorts of compilations... or even better, showing exactly the footage I want.
1. Okon's an idiot. Seriously. What was he thinking? Heck, he evidently wasn't thinking! In case you missed it, he conceded a penalty because he decided to grab Qu's shirt. Now, I don't like cheating, although that's a bit of a hypocritical comment considering what I've done, but at least do it so the ref doesn't see. My rule for football is, you only have to follow the rules when the ref's watching. And sure, the refs in the A-League are complete rubbish. But they're not so bad that they can't see your outstretched arm pull the back of an opponent's shirt so he ends up on his bum! Ok, Okon? 2. Nicky Carle's goal. Exactly why every kid in Australia needs to learn the art of the deceptive kick. If you can get your hands on a copy of this, stick it into your scrapbook, and show it to every kiddie who decides to kick a ball. Aside from the fact that he had a brilliant run from his own half, and that he must've been dog-tired, the finish to this was all class. And the best thing about this 'deceptive kick' that I really love, is that you don't see it coming. Whereas most shots involve pushing the ball forward a bit, winding up your kicking leg and giving it a crack, the deceptive shot is nowhere nearly as obvious. But lovely when it works. Essentially you take your shot with your stride. So you let the ball 'sit' back a bit on your kicking side. And when your kicking foot makes the action to take the stride, you kick the ball instead. Once you've mastered the deceptive kick, you can have all sorts of fun, such as Thierry Henry...
This isn't just showboating... he also does it in the 7-0 win over Middlesborough. I think they were 5-0 up at that point. But I just can't find the video on YouTube at the moment. I'll link it later.
3. The refs need specs. If there's one thing that driving me nutty about the A-league, it's the linesmen, sorry, Assistant Referees and the Referees. For example, Vaughn Coveny's yellow.
4. Unprofessionalism from players. Joel Griffiths had a shot towards the end of the match at one point. He didn't miss the goal as such - the ball didn't go into the goal, but (and this is crucial) was still in play. In fact, it happenned to go his way. I was waiting for him to have a follow-up shot. But no, he was so caught up in having missed his first shot, hand on head, etc., that he didn't follow the play until the ball was dead. Grrrrr...
5. Jade North. Ok, make it be known, that sometimes I don't like the guy. But if there was a time to get sent off in a match, I'd rather it be for using a hand to keep a certified goal out then some stupid tackle. Of course it helped that Veart missed the 2nd (or 3rd if you count the retaken one earlier) penalty he took. Was that the same end that he missed last year when he had to retake it?
All up, it was a great match to watch. It may be a skewed view, as I have to admit I was going for Newcastle. I was over the moon when Coveny got that first one in, and then ever so furious at Okon. Like North, I don't like the guy. Or unlike really, as I only sometimes don't like North. Oh, and one more thing..
6. Stop running uselessly!!! I don't understand why players want to transport the ball so much. The more you transport it, the more tired you become, and the more likely that the shot or pass that you aim to do at the end will be inaccurate. Especially at the end of the match. Also, the game slows down to your pace. If you have team-mates around, use them. Not only will the ball out run you when you kick it, it doesn't get tired. Of course, there are exceptions to this, such as when you counter and there's no support - in which case, slow the game down, hold the ball and wait. The other exception is when you're near your goal - take a defender on. Especially in the box, where they're much less likely to tackle you. Unless they're Paul Okon and he'll pull on your shirt.
So much for a girl's guide, eh? I'll try and make an entry solely about players' looks eventually... But not right now - you see, I think I have my priorities straight here.
My MSN spaces blog has been overtaken by the A-League. As a result, I am now seperating my A-League commentary from my spaces blog. Not only does this make my blog more enjoyable to my friends (most of which do not follow football at all), but it means that I can now whinge and moan about football in Australia to a greater extent. Enjoy! :)
