AOK. Very good analysis.

And I’m fine with your stance. I just wish you (and others) would carry the battle to all the other codes that are getting these deals. It is hard to argue that football clubs in this country shouldn’t expect the same  deal as the other codes

The style of play from Brisbane might not be attractive, but the truth is they are creating enough chances (apparently in the top 4 of the HAL) for a decent striker to put them away.

That would be a nice starting 11 (maybe with Hingert in for Neville)

All I will add is that while what Waz keeps saying ie. "we are defending well we just need to add goals" is true, I believe you are really only defending well because of how deep everyone is sitting. That makes it very hard just to "add goals" as you will never create the volume of chances A-League players need to score regular goals.

Even when O'Donovan used to score goals he always missed as many or more than he scored. He will not suddenly score his solitary chance per game. Serie A strikers maybe but not A-League strikers.

I was the person who said Brisbane were the worst team I had seen at Hindmarsh. I said that at half time and actually added 15 minutes later that Adelaide were then playing even worse than the worst as you did start to get on top for 20 minutes or so.

That first half though was hand on heart some of the most horrible football I had seen there and it shouldn't be dismissed as a mere troll. 

Even besides the tactics Brisbane players were awful. 99% of the time a Brisbane player was waiting to receive the ball on his heels and I lost count how many times an Adelaide defender nipped in front to steal it away. It was crazy to watch.  I would have gotten an absolute roasting if that had happened to me more than once in any of my amateur teams down the years. 

Brisbane came for a draw (nothing necessarily;y wrong with that). The keeper should have been carded early on for time wasting it was absurd. He would prepare for the goal kick then move the ball and prepare again and it took 4 times for the ref to start hurrying him. It started in the 3rd minute!!!

I have to believe it is the game plan to play the first half of every game with 10 behind the ball and get to half time 0-0 because it's sure as hell a pattern now.

I'd prefer McGing out and Neville put out wide right, with JCP wide left. Bowles, Aldred and Gillesphie as the 3 CBs. I still think Amadi-Holloway and Inman to start, as I think that is our best chance at opening up defenses. I'd also be interested to see ROD and DWH pressing and running at tired defenses for the last 20 minutes of a game.

Very good post. I’m a Mells fan he is an 8.

I would like to see that.

I don't think it would be much different to the setup and game plan Robbie already has in place. Do you see Neville as the third of the back three like in pre-season though? Bowles? Hingert (my personal hope)? Just wondering who you see as first choice at this stage of the season.

Holloway and ROD as the two strikers for me and add in DWH with Mauk as subs and it might all fall into place.

I'm fine with Brisbane priately funding their own stadium, provided they don't expect the government to either build important infrastructure specifically for the stadium or to be gifted the land for free or at a severely reduced price.

Agree that’s a great post. I wouldn’t argue with much of it and the depth and detail in the post highlights just how much could be going through Fowler’s head. 

So whilst not disagreeing with your post, if I were to simplify it and state the top three problems as I see it then:

1/ Roar demonstrate an ability to go missing for long periods of a game with only the defence functioning.

2/ They’re creating more chances than most teams, but they’re just not converting.

I cant think of a third, there’s no doubt stuff that needs to be improved but these two are head n shoulders above the rest for me.

Is there a link between the two?  If there is i cant see it.

Against Glory and Adelaide the first half was extremely poor but was corrected in the second half without a change in personnel - this suggests it’s a failure to execute team instructions not a player ability thing, or a positional/formation thing. 

Then, the number of chances falling Roars way, good quality chances not just speculative ones, is astonishing but they’re being missed. And it’s multiple players missing them too although ROD gets a special mention as it’s actually his job and he was meant to be the “safe signing” and provide the goals. 

So so I wouldn’t be changing much. If you go glass half full we’re competitive in every game, we’re creating chances, we’re defending well, there’s not a lot that needs changing other than playing a 90 minute game regularly and composure in front of goal. 

To that end id leave the back 3+2 as they are only insert Courtney-Perkins at wide left and McGing on the right. This was our best set-up in preseason I think. 

The front two need to be a front two - any two strikers will do from the three we have. 

The midfield three need sorting - for me it’s probably O’Neil, O’Shay and Inman there with Mauk of the bench later. 

Saying “watching Brisbane bring League 2 football to our great country” isn’t contributing to this thread in a responsible manor; it’s deliberately provocative. 

@Bender Parma

Good post mate.

I am not going into games expecting to win yet, but I am excited for every game and always hopeful - not of a lucky win but a well earned one.

This Melbourne City game is actually going to be a huge game.  So far it is The league's best attack vs the leagues best defence.

Fowler's substitutions have been criticised as being too late.  But this view is too simplistic.  As a general rule, the 60th minute is when subs are usually made.  The way games have been progressing, Roar ahve been performing at their best at the 60 minute mark. It would have been silly to make changes earlier in these games because the team was starting to assert their dominance. You need to be able to read the flow of the game and Fowler seems to have done this reasonably well.  Time will tell, but i dont see an issue with his use of the bench in the same way that Aloisi used to have his rigid plan.

On the new recruits, i think they have all been improvements on what we had (with the exception of ROD for Bautheac but the writing seemed to be on the wall for Bautheac before Fowler was even hired, anyway.    It is ironic that for all the criticisms i read on here, it is the proven A league player who is the biggest problem.  From memory last years imports were Bautheac, Cortez, Christiansen, Mikelson.   All had better resume's on paper, and i am sure cost more, but realistically is there anyone who would seriously consider swapping back last years version of those 4 players? Only Bautheac would have made the side this year.  Also, i think that Inman and O Neil have been big improvements in the squad.  Taht shouldnt be underestimated.  Particularly since age actually played a big role  in removing several other very good players.  

Looking at the squad overall, i think there appears to be a bit of a worrying lack of depth, but it only takes one or two players to grab their chance with open arms and that would change.  At the moment, i think the side's weakness is one right back, both wings and obviously the forward position.  I do think that there is potential for non selected players to actually improve things.  I also wouldnt be surprised to see one or two astute signings in the transfer window and this would potentiall completely change things.  I wont speculate here but from within the squad itself, i see the following players as having a potential impact.

Wenzell Halls and Amadi Holloway.  Holloway is clearly our best striker and i think he has looked very good.  I will be stunned if he doesnt start very soon.  As bad as ROD has been playing, he should excel with the extra space and attention Holloway gives him when he starts.  I think that he will transform the team and his selection will be a massive difference to the misfiring attack.  As much as i like Wenzell Halls, i am pretty sure that his selection will also see ROD pick up his form.  Essentially, if all goes well i think that this will be the equivalent of putting 2 much better forwards in than what we have now.  Not sure what this will mean for Wenzell Halls.  Probably he will be a huge option off the bench, but i wouldnt consider it out of the question  for him to establish a spot as an attackin central midfielder or as a winger. O shea is going to be hard to replace but he may be able to play a different position.

Wingers are one of our main problems.  At the moment, i think that Connor O toole is a hell of a lot better than what people give him credit for.  On the other side, Hingert is also a lot better than usually given credit for.  If he returns (and hits form, i admit that he was poor last year) i think that those two do give a potential massive improvement on the McGing and Neville combination we have at the moment.  Mells, Ingham, are two others who could potentiall improve the side if they hit a purple patch of form.  Akbari and Courtney Perkins are the two youth players who seem to be bandied about as hopefuls to improve enough over the course of the season to establish a spot here and both do seem capable although one never can tell.  I dont think any youth will get much chance until late in the season but the two wing spots do definitely appear the most likely for us to see the emergence of an exciting talent.  It would certainly really improve the side. 

The only other thing i see as possibilities is the repositioning of more centralised players.  O Shea for example reminds of a poor mans Thomas Broich (that is a complement not insult).  He might just play a similar role wider on the wing and might enjoy the extra room.  Inman to me looks like he might also enjoy playing on the wing and defensively i think he would be very good.  A pairing of say Inman and O Shay  on the wings is not out of the question although obviously a little experimental.  If such an experiment were to succeed, i think that it would really strengthen the side. 

This leaves the troublesome back three Positions.  Aldred and Gillesphy have been good, despite the naysayers.  Gillesphy really does have a great left foot and i think he is very underated.  The right side is the problem and both our goals seem to have come from there.  Between Neville, Bowles, Mells, Pepper, McGing, Hingert you would like to think that one of them will hit a purple patch of form and cement the position.  It hasnt really happened (not that anyone has been shocking) but all are capable of a good year if they hit form. You would have to think that at least one will have a big year.

So, despite poor results so far, and i really hate looking at performance over results, i think that there are signs there that this season if far from lost.  In fact, i actually think that there is still a potential for this year to be a title winning side.  We are not that far off where we need to be, and more importantly, we do have the ability to improve. This next game against the league leaders, at home, is very important.  I think a big win will completely turn the season around and i actually think that they will get a big win this week.   

Look, I'm a Brisbane fan, but some of you guys (fellow Brisbane fans) need to get a little perspective before criticizing (and in some cases insulting) fans of other clubs who are in this thread. On the whole I think most of them, including thekingmb, seem to be genuine football fans who are contributing to this thread in a responsible manner. Now I don't always agree with their opinions, but they are trying to contribute to a discussion and in many cases are giving reasons for their opinions, and we should respect them for that.
Play the ball, not the man.

Personally I think the fixation on sport reflects both a shallowness and an immaturity in Australian culture. En mass we don't engage with with anything much beyond superficial, so sport is the perfect national panacea.  It is entirely superficial but Australians invest it with bogus profundity so they can avoid difficult questions. 

Having said that, I do love my football 

You just can't help it can you ???

You just have to insult Brisbane???

what is your f$&@$n problem??

Well, I was hoping for something more along the lines of another troll like post, I was only bored because we had to cancel trials tonight due to the smoke. 

I don’t necessarily disagree with your stance - the overspend on state infrastructure is shocking, particularly stadiums which seem to become vanity projects.

So your  assumption Roars stadium (if it happens) is to be funded by government is a mistake, that’s an assumption you make when the government has stated clearly they won’t fund one. So planning for finance currently sits outside of that. 

However, AFL, NRL, Netball, Basketball, Horse Racing, swimming, and numerous other sports have either got, or are in the process of getting, tens of millions of dollars for stadium infrastructure directly from the public purse so if you’re serious about this post you might want to campaign against those. The email you’re looking for is:

. hpwdts@ministerial.qld.gov.au

which is the Minister for Sport in QLD. 

For football, the promise of government funding for stadiums is a curse.  It’s in fact this belief that “the government” will fund our stadiums which is holding us back and the sooner football divorces itself from government infrastructure the better. That’s why we, as a supporters group, have been promoting a privately funded stadium for Brisbane Roar. This we believe is both feasible and can deliver a stadium for less than $100 million - and we have the costings to prove that. 

And thankfully there is plenty of spare land to actually build a stadium on, not everything has to be built on prime residential land. It’s a hard battle but I’m confident people who genuinely care about the code and the wider community will find a way to get this done.

Like that sandpaper thing with cricket. National disgrace apparently.

Apparently not disgraceful when guys like Matt Lodge or Wayne Carey beat the crap out of their partners or when Gary Ablett made a young woman OD on heroin.

Excellent post. 

There is a tendency in this country to get sport seriously out of perspective. 

So why exactly does the Roar deserve it? 

You'll argue well "Roar puts x amount of $ into the local economy during match days". I say that simply represents an opportunity cost. Roar fans are not introducing new money into the economy, it is merely redistributing their income, which would otherwise be spent in other sectors or saved. So I disagree that sport = more revenue for businesses with no net effect anywhere else. 

The Roar are also a private enterprise (yes, I know you'll say something like legally they're a non-profit/trust, whatever) this doesn't change the fact they are owned by a billionaire family which views the Roar as a plaything if anything. Why exactly should any level of government fund expensive infrastructure which doesn't provide a public good or service to a private entity? Capitalism inherently contains risk and reward, why should any risk be borne to the taxpayer when again funds for a stadium and its long run costs are an implicit cost as well? If the Bakries care, put their own money in. I apply to this every single top level sporting organisation - so don't think I'm fine with the Broncos/Lions/Reds receiving the lions share of sport funding. I'd rather it be put into the grass roots, community clubs etc., where it would have the most effect. 

Just to be clear: if you don't like Rupert Murdoch or Clive Palmer receiving government money - why should the Bakries be exempt? If they want a stadium, go liquidate their assets or take out a loan or sell equity, or go without. A sporting stadium is an important input for sporting clubs to run. Funding a stadium would represent a subsidy to the Bakries not an investment with actual returns to the state. It is also incentives the Bakries to simply continue running as shit as they want. A private firm has the incentive to keep costs down and to organise their labour and capital in a way that is able to bring them profit. If they can't do that, they go out of business. 

The land given to the stadium also represents a very high opportunity cost. In an age where home ownership is getting out of reach of many people and where Australia continues to simply accept more immigrants, without any plan other than just put them in Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne, restricting the supply of a finite resource such as land simply drives up the cost of its use, especially when you all seem to want it within 15 mins to the CBD.

Sport = entertainment. Don't pretend it's like health care or education - these are needed services for the basic function of society. Sport can aid in bringing people/communities together hence why I believe any government funding for sport should be directed to community organisations, non/profits etc. The AFL/NRL don't need more money with billion dollar TV deals and sponsorships.

See the crap with countries and cities that host the Olympics/World Cups/other large sporting events. They're left with massive debt (which isn't even useful debt) and white elephant stadiums. Look at the NFL where owners can hold cities to ransom to build a stadium and then simply move when they feel like it. 

I hope you can understand why I don't want sporting organisations and private entities anywhere the government trough. 

They can’t stop a stadium being developed and no, the stadiums Queensland Act doesn’t prohibit it. A private stadium though won’t get any government backed events such as concerts and visiting international sides though. 

But I was interested in the “don’t deserve” comment tbh 

...and more importantly why would the QLD govt suddenly allow it ? .....it would mean they lose a summer tenant for Suncorp ....plus...I thought any stadium over 10,000 seats had to be owned by the QLD  government ?

Deserve a second stadium , problem is where?

I’m bored, so i’ll ask - why don’t they? 

City got players out this week so I’d say we are a chance , I’d be starting halls though as his cheek will drive Good mad

Been trying to stay positive with the way we've been playing and thinking that the goals and results will soon come. But after yesterday, f**k me... So frustrating and my positive thinking is now gone. What a disappointing start to the season after such high expectations and positivity around the club.  

The FFA won’t have any influence on expansion as that will be down to Indy HAL. 

and as Cav sits in BRFCs Advisory Board and is a close friend of David Pourre he’s probably conflicted in that decision anyway. 

The stadium is not of interest to the FFA so no change there. 

Opinions: assume Robert Cavallucci becomes FFA CEO as he seems to be in the final three choices, what happens to the Roar, a second Brisbane/SEQ team, and would you be more optimistic about getting your precious boutique stadium (which the Roar don't deserve, btw)?

Maybe we’re not looking at the same thing? 

However, my original comment was (for discussion) that last season some prick of a defender would have pealed off and kept him on side. Small wins. 

He really isn't lol. This is a pointless debate anyway. He's offside. The margin is irrelevant.