A-Leagues Ins and Outs: Sky Blues captain makes long-awaited return, Matildas veteran back in the mix for Victory

Sorry but Why the fuck is Jed Drew starting before Toure and Arzani?! 

Drew was terrible. He ran hard and got plenty of the ball but did nothing with the ball. Arzani is surely a much better option.

Gauci clearly man of the match, had a brilliant game, some top quality saves.

Because Arzani and rhe whole team are a bunch of useless divers. 

During the post match interview, Arzani said he was ill during the week so he hadn't trained at all this week. The only training session he had was on matchday. Understandable to bench him. 
That being said, he was still frustrating to watch when he did come on. The guy obviously has an abundance of raw talent, but his attitude is dogshit. He needs to stay on his feet and stop having dramatic sooks to the ref everytime a call doesn't go his way.
Also Adelaide didn't win that game, Gauci did. Epic performance from him. 

Thanks for info 👍 i watched game but turned it off straight after final whistle. Illness helps - but doesn’t justify - Arzani missing volley at goal in what was best goal scoring chance for Bulls in 2nd half. 

Yeah Gauci should be in the next Socceroos squad with Ryan and someone else. He is the future

Next window should be Ryan, Maynard-Brewer and Gauci and the two youngsters should get at least 45 minutes each. Make no mistake an international match against good opposition is at a consistently higher level than either of the two youngsters have faced - but they both show enough to suggest they can handle it. Whether they make the Asian Cup next year or the 2026 WC depends on how they go and develop. There are a few other young keepers doing well also.

Those two deserve to be blooded at full international level soon and at least one or both should be in the Asian Cup squad.Of course there is always Glover( which is an excellent name for a GK) who can manage any flare ups.

Flare ups 😆 Glover probably has the best defenders in AL helping him look better than he is imho

I wanted to watch this game but paramount+ wouldn't fire up.

Macarthur are fucked. DeSilva and Rose were available according to Keep Up, That platform is full of shit with its squad lists every week because it can't get them right.

Gauci was brilliant. 

Yeah didn't see the game was out then Paramount wouldn't load. Bit fotmob has gauci as mom 

We have a double header Western U v Sydney in ALM and Western U v Roar in ALW in Hobart today.

Pre- game publicity has been  almost non-existent in  mainstream media, despite a mate of mine , a long established football journo, has provided local tabloid with info weeks ago.

Most other publicity in the last few days  has been about  local player, Aimee Edwin, playing for Western U in ALW. There was another article yesterday about ALW with WU's American import, and finally 2 articles today on ALM.

Supposedly there will be a decent crowd, because junior players have been given free tickets - which will drag parents along. I'll be watching both games live as a neutral.

Just as a matter of curiosity about today's match down there, would the stadium be conducive to a future A League team?

Yes.

But it would need a lot of work.

Since the last Stamoulis/Belteky A L bid, basketball has established a national team in Tas,  generating  a lot of support ATM, and AFL should be getting one - but with a furore over a stadium.

Football has missed the opportunity.

I know its a mute now because he copped 2 yellows to get sent off but I was impressed with the play by Jake Hollman.

Its rare you get an young playmaker playing in this league but even more rare that he plays from a deeper position with more responsibility that's required and he did well with he's decision making but also has a good passing game.

https://keepup.com.au/news/live-blog-isuzu-ute-a-league-men-adelaide-macarthur-january-20-goals-highlights-video-scores-reaction-analysis

That was one boring half of football.

How slow is westerns build up play 

Great goal and post game interview 

Thank goodness for that goal. That match was awful.

Moon has done pretty well with roar 

Just noticed Roar's home ground is called Kayo Stadium.

Yep, Kayo only just recently got the naming rights in Dec. It's because the Dolphins join the NRL this year. 

Apparently Andy Harper says Yorke leaving Bulls to maybe coach Sydney FC

Ridiculous to send off Clisby after being kicked in the chest by that little wanker. 

X2

Clisby had to go off for retaliation just like Ikon did.

and just like Tom Glover didn’t….

Not considered a red card action by the referee.  Not considered by VAR to be a red card action.  Unable, by FA regulation, to be dealt with by the MRP because it was seen by the referee.

Maybe we need the same facility as in England where they consider that a players action, whether deliberate or not, that directly impinges on people off the field of play is a matter so important that the competition regulator must investigate and act on it appropriately.

Not sure of serious, Adelaide are the dirtiest team in the league? 

Wanderers are the dirtiest team in the league - at least in terms of fouls committed.
Adelaide are 4th

https://www.aleaguestats.com/A-League_38FoulStats.html#Season2022

Fouls don't mean shit in this league.

Adelaide have involved in some really ugly tackles this year, muscet-esque, they should take the mantle

I agree with all our reds besides the rescinded ones but muscatesque is a stretch. 

Rudans teams too. Same type of coach. 

Can't remember which game but one of the commentators (possibly Hill) compared the number of red cards in the AL to the EPL and after have a quick look at those stats, the A-League is looking pretty poor in the discipline department this season. Overall, I think the majority of the reds have been due to negligence rather than malice, but it's still not a good look and a little concerning.

EPL - 396 games played / 10 red cards
Championship - 666 games played / 20 red cards
League One - 624 games played / 17 red cards
A-League - 154 games played / 26 red cards

Far too many people going into tackles stupidly this season, no idea why.

To my above points:

United red cards:
vs sydney - rescinded (after costing us the points ffs)
vs Brisbane - 2 yellows
vs Nix - 2 yellows including one for petulance 
vs Mariners - straight red - stupid, unco and not very pretty tackle 
vs Macarthur - straight red after initially being a yellow - dumb desperate lunge

We have  discipline problem but not in a leg breaking malicious way.
The two straight reds were hardly going to end careers.
More just desperate foolishness after basic errors and petulance

Maybe not this year but what I meant was his teams have always been full of niggle and professional fouls and dirty play. Not necessarily rough or violent but dirty

Go on Taggart! 

However you choose to experience your A Leagues, just do not sniff Daryl Lachman's finger, that is a given.

Ah bugger I didn’t realise it was a Nix game today so didn’t think to check what games were on till almost too late. 

No bias as usual from kiwi commentators 😆

You show me the the lines for that first goal, and I'll apologize for thinking Shaun Evans is a APL stooge

1-1 atm

What a terrific afternoon's live A League football in Hobart took place  this weekend! The double header Western U v Roar ALW and Western U v SFC ALM was great value for money at $20 per ticket for general admission. We managed to secure a seat in the small Ryde St stand at the half way line.

I'm so envious of all the people reading this, who live close enough to an AL team to view fortnightly AL action. Live sport is so  much better than watching it on TV.

 We had no programs, so  I didn't know all the players' names on the pitch. 

 WESTERN U v ROAR ALW

*Katrina Gorrie was a class act as the controlling midfielder. Wonderful vision, game sense, and superb movement off the ball, plus she constantly scans the field of play, looking over her shoulder as she waits for, or calls for the ball. She also uses her body superbly to protect the ball and times her tackles well.

*Was surprised how effective a ball winner the heavily tattooed Matilda, Crummer?, was as a central striker. I was told by  couple of my fellow watchers who are younger current and recent past NPL players, that she used to play as a Right Back and has only recently converted to a central striker. She won so many hard balls.

*Roar should have scored more goals. I felt like they had more territory and possession than WU ( although I missed the first 30 mins), but the latter were more clinical in the penalty box. 

*It was also terrific to see local Hobart player Aimee Medwin play as RB and LB, although she always seemed to be playing on  the opposite side of the pitch from our vantage point. 

*It appeared the keepers made a lot of desperate saves.

*There was a lot of good game sense, quality positional play and sustained possession on show from both teams. It seems like the women seem to Squeeze moderately most of the time, instead of  intensive Squeezing.



WESTERN U v SYDNEY FC ALM

Ditto  the ALW - the keepers, Young and Redmayne, made plenty of superb saves.

Given WU are/were third on the ladder and SFC currently  8th, it seemed like a pretty even game. Thankfully, Diamanti sacred that fabulous goal  from range, catching Redmayne off his line.

*There were a few  of young players who impressed me. Often viewing live, it is easier to appreciate players fast feet and technique from more of a side on position, closer to the ground level than the elevated TV cameras. A few years back it was astonishing to see how quick Archie T was  at receiving and accelerating to a fast speed very quickly.

*Max Burgess, SFC, showed some consummate skills in  the first half. He is also very quick to assume ideal body position, as he receives, from sometimes initially  being in an unfavourable body shape. He also received some balls under close defensive marking, but could still turn the action into advantage for SFC. Burgess is very neat and skilful on the ball.

*Dylan Perreira ( is that his name?). The number 5 right winger for WU displayed some consummate dribbling and ball carrying skills under limited time and space and close attention from 1-2 SFC markers.

*Lachlan Wales  made a few clever runs on the ball for WU.

If these three players are still young enough,  and are not being selected for under 23 Socceroo squads, we have far greater depth of talent than in the past.

*Rhyan Grant appeared to have a quiet game  in terms of getting forward, like he has done in the past.

* Both Luke Brattan and Neil Kilkenny were  the controlling midfielders for their teams, a bit like Gorrie was for Roar in ALW. Their range of passing and handling speed was impressive. Both the  male players are not clean enough ball winners though. Anthony Caceres is a cleaner ball winner than both in central midfield.

* The very tall midfielder for Western U looked to be the worst player  on the  pitch, playing out of position. In general WU had three players who were too tall. Donachie is a big CB  for SFC and he looked short compared to  T-S and the other even taller  WU CB and the very tall WU central midfielder.

* T-S looks a bit  cumbersome  on the ball,  but my fellow  spectators drew attention to his effective long range pin point diagonal passes to the wings, when given sufficient time and space.

* Anyone  watching this game  on TV, should the other disallowed WU goal have stood? Was it offside?

* As both teams tired in the second half the distance between the lines increased and  there was more end to end play, which was exciting,



* I have not watched any live AL M games for some years. The standard has improved out of sight.

*There is far less play in what during the Qatar WC was termed the Contested Ball Phase ( Transitions in football coaching vernacular) and far longer periods of sustained possession by both ALM teams. Teams are  more comfortable in possession.

*The ball circulation was much faster and players' handling speeds have sped up. 

*The  ball is played on the deck a lot more.

From watching the ALM this year, using  football specific  game criteria/analysis, the standard of the ALM has improved out of sight.

 So many of the objectives set, after initially diagnosing the weaknesses of Aus players and teams by Han Berger and Rob Baan's FA Tech Dir tenures, in attempting to change Aus's and the AL s playing style, are currently manifest on the pitch.

The main concern is the performances of our teams in the ACL. I just wonder if the top teams in more Asian leagues are much more dominant in their domestic leagues? They are of course the teams that play in the  ACL. 

Given yesterday watching 8th placed SFC playing 3rd placed Western U, which was pretty even, watching it from a live respective, I wonder if our ALM mid ranked and lower ranked teams would be far are competitive  playing some of the equivalent teams on the table in those Asian leagues?

Have the big teams in Asia leagues - Japan, South K, Thailand, China, Qatar, Saudi, Iran, UAE, et al - got a lot more money to attract big name imports to these big teams in these leagues than the A League?

Also, Asian football is improving relative to other confederations. We've been dragged along.

 

Decentric.  It is Western Sydney Wanderers who are 3rd.  Western United was behind Sydney but the win took them one point ahead of them in 9th place.

Ta.

We were discussing it on Saturday at the game. Everybody else said WU were further down the ladder, but the person who looked it up, sad they were third, like me.

How could two people make the same mistake?

Are WU women third?

Do you live in Tas, Flytox? Were you at the game?

If you weren't, you missed out, mate. The pitch surface was slick at North Hobart and the standard of football was good from both  genders.

Hilarious that Corica is still coach of Sydney FC.  No wonder the players aren't performing if there is no accountability anywhere in the club.

I honestly feel like the players have given up somewhat in anticipation of a sacking that inexplicably hasn't happened yet. 

He rode the coattails of Arnie's moulding of the squad into a professional unit with a winning culture, with the genius on Ninko to get us over tge line when often we didn't deserve to. We have played truly dour football more often than not, with the exception of le fondre and Brattan some awful recruiting and now we are having the worst season in a decade in the most important season in 5 years.

 Fuck off Corica please.

Genuine question. Would the SFC fans be happy with Yorke over Corica?

From a neutral's perspective at North Hobart last Saturday, I thought Sydney were fine against Western U.

I thought the game could have gone either way.