Tommy Oar left out of APOEL's Champions League squad. So much for that career move then ....

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1727409290896036&id=1448776152092686

Sadly for Tommy he peaked in the Eredevise and has not improved at all since.His stint in England and with Brisbane was meh and unless he can get out of his rut,He looks destined for mediocrity.
To think when he went to the World Cup,pundits said it would be his making.

Sad but true Crimson

im really sadden by is dip in form.

To me he had the potential to be our greatest winger.

No one can wip a ball like he could. He was quick and skilled.

Still relatively young, but really 1 at max 2 years left to just being a disappointment. 

agreed lolitsbigmic

It's probably more mental than anything else, but Cyprus is a great place to live so hopefully he enjoys life and kicks on from here.

It's probably his squad position missing that leaves us 22/23 at the moment ... hopefully it's closed before the season starts

Well, the usual suspects plus Holman will be missing tomorrow:

http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/roar-star-luke-devere-still-harbours-world-cup-dreams-but-knows-surviving-aleague-season-is-key/news-story/1ac4ed18286c7deb63dd7b376f26029e

Jeez this is getting ridiculous.Unless Aloisi is playing some massive mind games.He should be getting his planB and planC ready,because at the moment his senior ranks are full of crocks.
If three star visa players ,cant play a preseason game in almost three months,it's time to look for injury replacements and seriously consider putting them out to pasture.Holman with old age twinges as well os problematic.
BKF is looking like Faty and Tavares in their final season.Spent! and Kristensen ,Avram Papa' and Gameiro must be close to being passengers.
Can you imagine any of them stretching out,without fear of breaking apart?

Eric Bautheac.....is he coming to Roar ? he has said he is on instagram..midfielder...and young ...only 30 !!!! Ligue 1 player

Maybe he knows BKF?But the youngest of our visa players so far,which is a big plus.

CM story. Doesn't offer much more but hey ...

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/football/brisbane-roar-secure-services-of-frenchman-eric-bautheac-on-twoyeardeal/news-story/17ee3930c6af583f1e9ed945730ac3f1

https://youtu.be/L3CqPT201kk

Brisbane won 3 nill vs Olympic FC

Goals from Skapetis, Big Mac and Brady.

Squad list for the game

Brisbane Roar FC Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Squad now complete with 23/23:

Goalkeepers: Michael Theo, Jamie Young

Defenders: Daniel Bowles, Corey Brown, Luke DeVere, Jack Hingert, Dane Ingham, Jade North, Connor O’Toole, Avram Papadopoulos

Midfielders: Joe Caletti, Brett Holman, Thomas Kristensen, Matt McKay(c), Mitchell Oxborrow, Jacob Pepper

Attackers: Eric Bautheac, Shannon Brady, Nick D’Agostino, Corey Gameiro, Fahid Ben Khalfallah, Massimo Maccarone, Petros Skapetis

Read more at http://www.brisbaneroar.com.au/article/confirmed-dynamic-french-ligue-1-winger-eric-bautheac-joins-brisbane/1mjbg0q3r79731a28mv0tg0hsb#FbHJQG0tfKihbs0M.99

JA doesn't know how to fix a leaking defence nor has he attempted to rectify it with improved quality players. More of the same me thinks.

Still sticking to between 3rd - 6th placed finish this season although we seem to have a divine right to be in the top 3 no matter how hard we try to mess it up.

@ paulc

Here's the dilemma - Avraam is the best CB in the competition by a country mile, DeVere is top drawer, Kristensen is arguably the best DM in the competition. North and Bowles are more than adequate back ups and Brown and Hingert are good enough. In goal Theo and You g are more than good enough, there's few sides that have two quality keepers.

So he has the quantity and quality of players needed, and did deliver the third best defence last year.

The question is why can't the coaching team make a lean n mean defence out of that? is if the players fault or the coaching - I'm inclined to think it's the coaching.

Now on your 3-6 prediction, I'd be interested to see who you think will finish 1-2?

With less than a month victory only have 16 players on their books and are about to sign a winger from turkeys second division ... what would people be saying about Roar in such a situation?

SFC and WSW for 1st and 2nd. Rubbery prediction for sure and I'm not entirely gauging it by their players but rather their coaches attitude to keep mixing and adding for improvement. JA has simply done a repair job. No magical striker and no changes to the defence. Just 1 good Broich replacement. I can't say I'm tickled pink.

Skapetis will surprise you then. Better than anything SFC or Wanderers have;

I'm still not convinced by Maccarone having seen him play 4 times now but one things for sure, the bugger can't stop creating goals - 2 more assists again last night.

I wouldn't swop Roars squad for anyone else's right now, there's a couple of coaches I might be tempted by though 😉

How does the average age of the likely first XI shape up compared to last year. They lost so much movement because of it last season so much so that when Borello played the team looked much better because of his work rate, without him it will probable look like, well, this current team.

@ paulc

Mariners won the wooden spoon with one of the lowest average ages in HAL history, SFC won last year with one of the highest. So what is the best age??

Borrello was a show pony, didn't score enough, didn't create enough, but had I agree impressive work rate. But that created an imbalance in the team - go down the left and we had Broich trying to play Roars game of 5 years ago but go down the right and you had Borrello playing a classic counter attacking role.

Maclaren suited Birrellos play more than Broich's as Maclaren played best on the counter as well - how many assists did Broich give Maclaren last year? Very few because Maccers fed off long balls which is not Broich's style.

And despite any criticism Aloisi did well over the past two seasons to assemble a 3rd place finish with squads built in winter crisis and self-imposed transfer embargoes...

This winter he's had no such problems so at the very least we can say this is his squad, built his way, and all bar Brady and Brown, he has signed new or resigned again.

In terms of replacements for last years departures:

Skapetis > Maclaren
Bautheac > Broich
Kalfallah > Oar

Borrello doesn't seem to have a direct replacement although you could argue Gameiro?

And then you add in Maccarone and D'Aggers and the front looks extremely strong and well ballanced. Bautheac was the missing link and Roar have done extremely well to recruit him.

My concerns for next year are:

1. Can we keep our defence from stuffing up regularly and conceding crucial goals?

2. Can JA make any new formation work or will we look like Ange's Socceroos?

Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi unfazed by lack of top-flight trial opponents

Marco Monteverde, The Courier-Mail
September 10, 2017 10:57pm

A LACK of pre-season success against top-flight opposition will be fine with Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi provided his side start their A-League campaign in style against Melbourne City on October 6 at AAMI Park.

The Roar notched another win over lower-tier opposition when they beat NPL Queensland club Olympic FC 3-0 at Goodwin Park on Saturday night courtesy of goals from Peter Skapetis, Massimo Maccarone and Shannon Brady.

They have also beaten Brisbane Premier League clubs Lions (2-0) and Peninsula Power (4-2), as well as the China under-22 team (2-1) in recent trials.

However Brisbane’s FFA Cup/trial record this pre-season against A-League clubs doesn’t make for a pretty record.

They were thrashed 5-1 by the Victory in the Cup, defeated 3-1 by the same club in a Ballarat trial and spanked 4-0 by Western Sydney Wanderers in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Robina.

The Roar’s away clash this Saturday against champions Sydney FC is their last chance to beat an A-League rival before the start of the season.

TRANSFER: Roar signing guarantees French flair

“I’d like to see a win against every side we play, but what I like to see most is the improvement in our side and making sure that we’re ready to go when we play against Melbourne City,” Aloisi said.

“It’s important that we win Round 1 and all our A-League games — that’s what we’re looking forward to.

“It’s not important that we have to go get the win (against Sydney) for three points because it’s not for three points. It’s a friendly game preparing for October 6.”

Aloisi can also rest easy that he will be able to call on a host of players that have seen little or no action in the pre-season.

They include attacking weapons Fahid Ben Khalfallah and Corey Gameiro, key defender Avraam Papadopoulos, and latest signing, French winger Eric Bautheac.

Bautheac arrives on Wednesday and should be fully fit, having started the French season with Lille before being granted a contract termination to allow him to join Brisbane.

“It’s close to 100 players, if not over 100 players that we’ve looked at in the last three months in that position and it was important for us to find the right player,” said Aloisi, who was desperate to find a player already in match condition after being stung in the past two years by signing since departed pair Javi Hervas and Manuel Arana, who were not match-fit when they arrived late in pre-season.

“We spoke about finding someone that’s been training and been with a team, and done a full pre-season over in Europe if we weren’t able to sign him in the off-season,” Aloisi said.

“Luckily the right player did come along still with time to get to know our style of play, a quality player and someone that we’ve been looking for.”

Gotta say I'm acually keen for this season to get underway. Seriously thinking about a membership, last one was 14/15. The Roar seem to have a number of blokes who can score this year, so the negative of last year has been well offset.

Overall, the quality of the League seems on the up. Just wish the FFA could do better. Its TIME WE HAD MORE TEAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ha Ha, optimism form a BRFC supporter, didnt you get the memo????????????????

I think BRFC will do okay this season and will be very entertaining to watch, 3rd again might be the best you can get with an ACL in teh way. I think $500k would have been better spent on someone else other than Massimo Maccarone but I live to be proved wrong as he has the talent. SFC and WSW to fight it out for the title, BRFC a close third, Vuck to struggle in to 5th or 6th place again, and a Top-3 three way fight for the Championship but most likely an al Sydney Derby which will be remembered for the day Gallop finally wet his pants in public

When you get to a certain age they just put 1 candle on your cake

@ footballkingz

Me too, hate the bloody length of our off season.

I kinda share other people's reservations on Maccarone, having watched him in 4 games now it's a bit like watching the Hare and the Tortoise - he doesnt waste any energy, doesn't look unfit but he knows he's not fast, so where's he going to fit in?

But at least he can't stop creating chances for others which, with Roars firepower, may be worth his salary alone.

Assuming we're sticking with something like a 3421 I recon the front three is likely to be:

Skapetis
Bautheac, Holman

With a bench comprising Maccarone, then maybe one of Kalfhalla, D'Aggers, Gameiro and presumably Brady (who's got a lot of preseason game time so far) in support.

If Maccarone doesn't work out and BRFC don't win the title, John Aloisi will have a lot of explaining to do. $500k might have been enough to turn this squad in to champions?

@ Fullback

If Bautheac were the marquee signing (and I doubt he came cheap) and Maccarone were under the cap I doubt there would be that much debate - it's just our obsession with the marquee concept that creates this debate.

Probably one of the most significant changes for Roar this season will be the absence of Broich.He has been the go to man for a long time.
I am still concerned there is no playmaker to distribute the ball to the attackers.
Maybe BKF will fill that role.He wanted it in Melbourne ,but never delivered there.
Kristensen will be vital to protect the defenders.If he is in and out of the team with injuries our midfield defence looks shoddy.
On paper our backs look ok,but as preseason has shown,if the attackers can stroll through midfield ,then even the best defenders will struggle.

I am still undecided about becoming a full member, last one for me was back in 14/15 as well, might go with that 3 game membership this season.