Finally, we have a football shirt.

Thank you Central Coast Mariners.

That was it.

Last night was a show of how far the A-League needs to come. It was also a show of how our Fox Sports commentators need to be more critical. With two commentators calling every game on Fox Sports, there is obviously the capacity for one person to be the play-by-play announcer and the other to offer some critical analysis of the came in progress.

Last night Andy Harper and Mike Cockerill did their usual jobs of describing the play - well, kinda. There were times last night that they would describe some of the play - or make general comments on how much better Gamba Osaka were than Adelaide. But they offer nothing to those who watch the game and want to really learn something. The sad part was that everything was easily blamed on Adelaide's smaller budget and how young the A-League is compared to the J-League. It was almost as if it wasn't Adelaide or its players' faults that they were being played off the park last week and last night.

Finally, a shining beacon of truth came along at half time. Ross Aloisi typically has me rolling my eyes - how can I take such a thug seriously in a suit and with a microphone in his hand? Well, it turns out that the thug in a suit was the only one who could either see the lack of spirit in the Adelaide boys or had the balls to actually voice his opinion. Craig Foster is another face of TV who is known for his criticism - but he tends to criticise everything possible. A lack of proper acknowledgment has worked against him and I know that many fans of football tend to switch off once he opens his mouth.

Last week Robbie Cornthwaite was a disappointment, whenever he was beaten or needed to back-track, he'd just jog along behind the play. No desperation. No hunger. Did he really want to be there? Last night, the same thing happened. But it took the half-time break for someone to point it out. Aloisi also criticised the rest of the defence. Unfortunately being an ex-player does not mean that you are able to be a good critic or offer that extra piece of information to fans about the tactics that are working, or conversely not working. Andy Harper anyone?

If a team was "built from the back," as Harper would say of Adelaide (or something like that), you would expect a team that had a rock-solid defence that would play the ball out. Instead Adelaide have a brainless defence - any time there was trouble, they would play hoof-ball forward. That was how the poor Birighitti ended up being put under pressure due to Valkanis, and how Gamba scored their first goal due to Ognenovski.

Unfortunately, it's a style of play that is deeply embedded in our football psyche - perhaps an artefact of so many youngsters being saturated with AFL. So until our youngsters stop playing Route 1, perhaps more hoof-ball is what we should not be suprised at seeing. We need to ensure our coaches at all levels readily criticise the style - after all making contact, whacking the ball with some strength, getting it in the right direction AND getting it to a team-mate is a lot to muster in one move. It is a risky move. That is not to say that players should not play that way if they can - but in all seriousness, first touch is something that is lacking in many of our A-League players. If such a basic skill is missing, how could we possibly expect success in more difficult skills?

Last night was not about Adelaide "choking" as some have said. It was a reflection of Australian club football. To lose 5-0 on aggregate would not only be a disappointment to Adelaide fans, but it should be a disappointment to all Australian football fans - regardless of which team you follow in the A-League, if any.

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In other news, best wishes to Craig Moore and may he have a speedy recovery.

Are 'keepers crazy?

I think not. We just get thrown into some deep shit at times.


You've been watching your team play Mickey Mouse passes for the past 90 minutes. You've only seen fleeting moments of hunger, but there's no denying that of the two teams - the other has been more desperate.

You're already three goals down, and you've lost the one player with the best ability to read the game. But he too, has only been a shadow of his former self. He's been getting you out of trouble sometimes, but he's just as casual as the rest of the team.

Then it happens. A break. From about half-way. Keeper's instinct is to go up and close the player down. Reduce the amount of goal available for the shot. But the run for the player with the ball is too far.


And you run out of box.


Shit.

Is this it?

Where's the hunger Adelaide? "Loved" that sight of Robbie Cornthwaite jogging down the right flank in such dire desperation to stop Recoba/Endo.

Handy that they're more or less wearing the same shirt.

In other devastating news - Leeds are finally on the telly... but of course I have to be in Brisbane at the time. As a Melbourne Victory forumite put Brisbane as being five years behind Melbourne, I think I'm more or less screwed in watching the boys. I think we're going to try the casino, but if anyone has any bright ideas on how to get my eyes on a TV screen showing a football match that kicks off at 5.45am I'm all ears. Or eyes if you choose to comment.

My left foot

Or rather, Bolton's left leg... was he playing injured?

Dad and I were watching the match and noticed Bolton didn't seem quite like himself. Tentative and half-hearted we initially suspected he didn't feel like playing. The reason Dad thought of was no Socceroo call-up. Seriously, looking at the number two goalkeepers that we've had playing in the past few friendlies we certainly couldn't do any worse than Bolton, or even Beltrame, in my opinion. Perhaps he'd gone into a "what's the point?" frame of mind...

And then he fumbled that ball for the second goal (the first also being a goalkeeper 'error' although in hindsight, an injured left leg would also have had a significant role in preventing Bolton from diving to the right considering you need some push off from the left). Something was definitely up.

His goalkicks and any free-kicks he too were all weak, his supporting leg behind the ball, with no follow through. Which, going on my left leg hypothesis, makes sense as putting a good follow through with the right leg means putting the body weight on the left leg. He was also taking his time with all the kicks, even at 2-2 (which in my opinion is 'losing' considering Sydney were playing at home).

And then there was a moment when I'm sure I saw Bolton land normally on his left leg, and quickly distributed the ball. As the camera panned away from him he was hopping about. A second fumble eerily similar to the second goal began to confirm the suspicions of my Dad and I. It was almost as if Bolton was making a real effort not to use his left leg for landing or pushing off - even if it cost Sydney a goal. Luckily this 'fumble' had some bounce so Bolton caught it one-handed.

I could be wrong, but I'd like your opinions. Not that I have a massive amount of readers or that any of you are as goalkeeper 'obsessed' as I am.

I'm still a bit gutted about Willis - sure he didn't sit on his line and lacked some assertiveness, but he had the makings of a decent 'keeper. The last thing I need today is for Bolton to be injured. C'mon Beltrame, let me finish today on a high.

Sydney are back!

I'm back too! It's been a while, but you can't get rid of me that easily!

I’m quite excited about this (as in Sydney's return to being decent), I was quite worried that they would be very poor representatives of the A-League, and consequently make our league seem like a joke! But to play in some style when it mattered most – away, in their first Asian Champions League match – wooooooooo! Luckily for everyone*, Culina has done an excellent job in moulding a team that plays free-flowing football.

But first, let’s go to the Adelaide match against Shandong Luneng Taishan (from China). Shandong started with blistering speed, and scored early. Fortunately for Adelaide, the assistant referee incorrectly deemed it as offside and the referee disallowed the goal. Every single other offside flagged by the assistant was spot-on though, and I’m assuming he hadn’t ‘warmed up’ yet with respect to the first one. I have to give Adelaide some credit for what they did next. Adelaide were completely out of the match, simply because of the speed that Shandong played their game. So when they had possession, Adelaide slowed the game right down to try and establish their own rhythm. Alright, so in the grand scheme of things this tactic didn’t really work. But aside from the own goal, Shandong were never really convinving winners… unlike Sydney…

It really was a sight to behold. I haven’t visited the Sydney forums yet, but I don’t particularly feel the need to. I hope the fans are happy. Not that I though Butcher was all that bad (anyone who plays at a World Cup is a semi-hero to me), and I didn’t find Sydney particularly fun to watch, but woah! Their football last night was smooth! Whatever Culina’s done, I’m a very happy football fan. I think Carney had a lot to do with it – he seems to be back to his best, and it made a difference.

Favourite moment was a draw between the start of the first goal and Talay’s completely surprised and excited face after he scored. I think Carney’s interception of the ball that was played back by Shanghai to the defender was lucky. But sometimes luck is all you need, and by attempting to get that ball Carney did more than some other players would have. And it was the fact that he intercepted the ball and it was the intercept that started the goal that made it one of my can’t-stop-grinning faces. Add the great 2nd touch to control the ball, and the perfectly timed pass in front of Corica, so that Corica could run onto the ball – beautiful stuff.

Talay’s shot was awesome. My jaw hit the floor and then I was grinning from ear to ear. But what I really liked was Talay’s excitement and slight-disbelief that he scored. I think not having any A-League matches has had a serious effect on my emotional senses – a Melbourne fan, happy because Sydney was playing well and winning!

Anyway, I only saw the first half as I really needed to get to bed. Call me weak, meh, at least Sydney didn’t concede while I was awake. Speaking of conceding… Valkanis… enough said I think. Well, not quite, perhaps Beltrame could have done more with the cross, or actually, perhaps Beltrame could have done something about the cross, so that it wasn’t touched by the Shandong player. There were a few great saves from Beltrame. Bolton also had a solid first half from what I saw and a good second half from what I read – even though he did concede one.

Sorry to regular readers who may have expected a different kind of post, but I’m just warming up again.

For a better review than what I've just knocked up, visit the Football Tragic.

In the meantime, Adelaide can look forward to these conditions on April 25th…


*Sydney fans, A-League supporters (as in those who support the A-League and want the A-League to succeed, even if it's at the [short-term] expense of their team), and other supporters who don't yet know what's good for them.

P.S. I'm meant to plug something, but I'm yet to give it a listen myself, so I won't be plugging it yet! (Sorry)

P.P.S. No Costanzo gushing today, he wasn't as spectacular as he had been, but I think the move up the field isn't the best for him. Still, he put it a good performance, and Adelaide don't really have the players to put in there... I also though Djite did a decent job of playing alone up front, and I agreed with the tactic.

P.P.P.S. Branko, can you please do something about your defence? Middleby's quick, but short (I wonder if he could ever attempt a header?) and lacks some strength. Topor-Stanley's the opposite - strong but slow. I can't really think of a solution at the moment except for the inclusion of Zadkovich on the right - he wasn't too bad under Butcher (muttered under breath).