I think this is where we differ in our views. You are more accommodating to things like fixture schedule and injuries, whereas I look at those things and think that the club should be prepared for it. 

Covid affections have been part and parcel of our environment for some time, so we should be aware that they can disrupt us at any time and be prepared for it. Injuries are part and parcel of the game and that is why you build a squad for those instances. It is also why you address fitness and conditioning if there are issues in which players are getting injured regularly. 

I don't compare to other clubs and their pockets because there are far too many examples of smaller clubs doing well if they do things right, so it's not about comparing to other clubs and their budgets. I am 100% looking at us and our progression. I don't see how we have positioned well or progressed in the manner we should. 

Well I think we have address the DM issue with rumoured Steinmann pick up. It's all over the Indian news that he gone to the roar. 

With players moon has brought in only kudo and golgol are not up to scratch. Really kudo we just not using his strength as the few times we do get there he shown his quality. But if we not using him a waste of visa.

Danzaki Daley, brindall south, chapness (as much as I hate him) have been good at this level. Akbari certainly step up after returning.

Then the promoted talent has not look out of place.

I think it would be interesting to see who we sign and who we let go. It's clear moon has said to Jamie your not going until your contract is up. We resigned Aldred and O'Shea. As much as I want to keep Gillesphey and certainly be pissed if he goes to a league side. We got Trewin to go in that position with Nevil back. But It will give us indication on what way moon wants to play. 

We have progressed as a club in defence ,but not in attack.
Having a tight budget and limited depth has contributed to the wheels getting wobbly under sustained games pressure.
Losing Macca and having a Visa Player Kudo who has not performed like say a Urena at CCM has exposed younger players who are not at a high enough level.
Daly and Akbari together showed they can keep the game ticking over but dont have the X factor to create a goal scoring chance.

We move forward on a knifes edge like WP ,PG and WSW.A loss or draw to NJ’s and we are pretty much done,fighting for 5th or sixth and requiring wins to get there.SFC,MB& AU have their necks in front as they have a four point buffer.CCM a five point buffer.

I think generally yes we have progressed since the 2014 GF, for the reasons above. 2011-2015 were the bakries coming in and thinking that the club was running well because of the on field success, they were happy to let the locals run the club because at the time it was working but really it was a a team and club coasting on the back of 2 extraordinary individuals. 2015-2017 saw the club reap the lack of investment/development of the club by the locals in those years. the development of the players wasn't happening, and the football department had no direction, but the first team philosophy was still being carried by Broich.

2017-2019 saw the first team philosophy (and on field performance) go starkly backwards and really by the time JA left, the top team was in a shambles on the field but in that time the academy was being set up properly (so progress) and changes were being made to the club structure (also progress). RF came in and further changed the club structure and instituted a proper first team philosophy (progress). we saw marked improvement in the performances on the field from the top side, and i think this season has again been a step up from last season in on field performance (take away the hectic schedule at the moment). so i really do think that given the progress off the field in the academy, football department, and generally how the club is run we have progressed. 

i can see your point that the on-field performance has not progressed since 2014 but it was the part of the club that went backwards the most while focus was elsewhere. but i do think we have gone forward since the low point of JA, but i will admit it has been slow progress. 

I'm not sure I can say this is a coherent point. I agree that under Fowler I saw a little something, but what you are also saying is that since the Bakries actually got involved, we have gone backwards from when we won stuff. 

If the Bakries have been active since the 2014 GF which Mulvey won, then surely you can't say it's progress under them. We've lost a clear footballing identify. We had periods where players and staff had no pay. We had the numbers on shirts debacle. We have had poor on field performances. We have had mediocre positioning. We had JA running our first team poorly (which as you say was in poor shape when he left) and that is on the owners to have allowed that. We have had CEO, CFO, and internal staff issues.  We had the owners refuse to accept credible offers to buy the club when we needed it most. We have had issues with paying rent at Red Hill and Suncorp and, whilst its nice we have moved to a boutique stadium, it has shut out half the population from attending regularly simply due to distance. 

If I was to sum it all up, it sounds to me like we have not progressed since the Bakries actively got involved like you say, and all these academies and training facilities are a smoke screen to the deeper problems that actively exist and are not addressed. 

I guess my point was that the "glory years" of the roar (2010-2014) was not built on the back of a well run club with the backbone built for success. it was 2 extraordinary individuals that papered over and distracted from real systemic management/club failure (or business immaturity) which long predated the bakries. which is why i feel that we have progressed as a club since that time. 

there is definitely still things that need to be improved (a permanent training base, an appropriate stadium in the city, profit for the club and a bigger player budget) but if you asked me if i would want todays club or the club from 2014 ignoring the first team i would take todays club every day of the week.

Speaking from having been in the inside and seen the inner working at the time of our success, it was not just 2 individuals. It was very much a well rounded team effort. The Roar were struggling when Ange was there too, we almost ended up with Clive Palmer as our owner, but fortunately that did not happen and the group we had at the time bought in to the vision and the ideas and all worked for it. 

Progression has to always be measured on what has come before and whilst yes we have progressed a bit in terms of certain aspects, we haven't really progressed as a whole to where we should be. This more so considering we are a one state club

Without having all that much knowledge of the backend of the club, I sit with you on this sirhcdobo.

Our success may not have been because of two individuals alone, as zimbo05 has noted, but no-one could argue that our level of success would have been likely without them.

I look at the youth coming all the way through to our team now (and to other teams in the aleague for that matter) and can see that, with a few extra quality individuals recruited into specific roles they can make up an aleague level side - and as both team members and individuals are improving the more game time they get.

The only place that I see our club struggling at the moment is in the men's senior team (which I accept is our showpiece and what many judge a club on). Continuing as we have in the last five years or so, we can expect even more of our youth to make the step up to the senior level and we can only hope our recruiting does fill those gaps that you just need extraordinary skill or great experience in if you have not 'got it' locally.

Overall, a better positioned and run club to my ignorant eyes.

If anyone is using the JA era as the basis for improving, I’m afraid that’s quite uninspiring.

We have struggled to meet the top end of the table, player acquisition has been poor - from dad’s army to skill-less robots to without any individuals of star quality. We have lost our way.

The club can’t even give us an update on the potential of a new stadium they publicised a year ago and the owner and club simply doesn’t care.

Improving as a club when the evidence points to the opposite direction? Don’t think so.

Ignoring the JA slide, when you add the 'off to the pub' old boys club feel of years gone by to the 'rest out the last couple of years of your career' mentality that ran through the whole league, then add in the academy and youth development with subsequent progression into the senior level, then also consider the women's side of the club and their strength in an improving women's league - I think that alone says enough about the club progressing.

My reference to the JA era was more about how my expectations were blunted during that period to the point where keeping a clean sheet was a season highlight rather than any comparison with that as a base level for performance.

The Bakrie Group may not appear to care about our progress (but I have no idea how they really feel) - or maybe they are now happy playing a longer game - waiting for the Academy and Youth to produce enough aleague quality to then invest in a few really good players to tie it all together. Does Chris Fong actually negotiate on ground development? I cannot see how he would have any sway over the Queensland Government, whose focus is purely on their traditional support base and the number of people who turn up to watch the games they so publicly endorse (noting that the number of people who turn up determines who gets public support rather than any personal level of support getting in the way of it). I am not bringing politics into this discussion, but I would not be surprised if a government suggested they would support our case for our own stadium in the lead up to elections and has gone cold and quiet on the idea now - leaving the club now on its own to put its plans into place. Would be great to hear more about it - that part is totally on the club.

Maybe Moon has not asked for a specific star quality player that he has found and believed the players we had were good enough to win. That is not on the club or owner - that is someone learning more about coaching in the aleague finding what works. He must have asked for Danzaki, Kudo and Champness and he got them. Two out of three working out well, and as others have said Kudo isn't being used the way that would allow his strengths. That is not a club that does not care.

Our end product - in the senior mens side - is struggling now. That I think we all agree on. Our disjointed rotational squad has lost the combining of all the lesser parts that allowed us to punch above our weight. I don't blame the club for that - it is the world we now live in. A number of posters, probably including you, said earlier in the season that our depth was not sufficient and I disagreed. I did not expect two games a week for an extended period and thought blooding a few youngsters within a settled core was well within our capability. I have been proven wrong on that - but having not seen it myself I am more open to the thought that others may reasonably not have expected it either. I don't care that this is business and people are paid to think of such things - on a personal level I am OK with that.

And on to Jets v Roar.

Once again, how important is this game in our seasonal context?

We win and we hold off the pack for one more week. We lose and we are sure to be out of the six and fighting to get back in against some tough opponents in our last few games.

As tired as the expression is - this is our must win game. A win to either Nix or WU in their game and they are on 31 with us. Five teams on 31 points competing for sixth place. We cannot afford to let that happen and it is on our team to win this Friday. They will know it too but will the youngsters have the presence of mind to hold their composure? What a great test and how valuable another win would have been in our catch up games.

Will we see Aldred back finally? Will Moon be able to select our best side after resting key players in games when my personal thought was to have pressed for a win?

I am excited about this game.

Come on you orange and black!

I am excited and nervous for the game. as you say huge in the scheme of our finals hopes. with city next up (where we are unlikely to win unless they rest their first team as they did mid week, after wrapping up top spot against the mariners this weekend) we need the points from the jets. even then it may come down to playing perth in the final game to see if we get in, at the very least that final game will probably determine where on the table we end up.

exciting end to the season for a lot of teams and i really hope that we can get through it. Aldred should be back but probably off the bench. JBS is out so neville will most likely move to the right wing back position and JCP into the centre back. Possibly the new guy to right wing back though, it will show how much faith moon has in the new face. Im guessing Champness wont play as part of his loan agreement so a start to parsons, dwh and danzaki up front i guess. 

I'm sure many (most?) will not agree with this, but I don't think we have lost anything defensively without Aldred. In fact, my feeling based on my recollection of performances since he has been out (I haven't looked at stats which may indicate otherwise) is that we may even be better without him, especially when we have the ball as I've always thought that Aldred does not look particularly comfortable when in possession. It will be good to have him back to give us some depth, but I've been quite happy with the back 3 of Neville, Trewin and Gillesphey.

I know where you are coming from with our back 3 since Aldred has been out.

The positives have been there for all to see.

What Aldred does bring though, along with leadership and a body that holds the centre better, is that he generally does not make the few mistakes that the younger guys do.

When we have Neville, Aldred and Gillesphey at the back I feel like we are solid.

I agree with you on the leadership point. However I think Aldred makes a number of mistakes that the others don't make, mostly from a positional perspective. I think Trewin actually holds the centre of defence better because I think he reads the play better, shuts down attacks efficiently by intercepting more passes, and is rarely caught out of position.
Just my opinion, again I don't expect many to agree.

I've been impressed with Trewin's performances. With Aldred returning, could he be pushed up to the DM position, relieving O'Shea of that role and pushing him forward. If it would work, the team as a whole would have a better balance to it.

What is Trewin’s actual main position? 

Not wing back judging by his performance.I counted five turnovers.

If Gillesphey was still on I doubt we would have conceded that goal.

The experience, composure and decision making of both Gillesphey and Aldred showed tonight - and again the more fragile we feel defensively without them both on.

Aldred comes out when he is needed and challenges for the ball when there is danger. He puts his body where it needs to be often before the danger is converted into a threat. That comes with experience and our younger replacements have not had the time to build that yet. They'll get there but until they do I rate Aldred and Gillesphey (as a pair) as good as any two CBs in the league and better than most.

Defence aside, we had a hideous start to the game with misplaced passes and turnovers all over the pitch - then did the same at the start of the second half. Worse was when we did it consistently in the last 15 minutes or so to allow so much pressure to build against us.

Something about our preparation makes us slow to find our passing channels and kick a ball straight.

Then when we are ahead and looking to protect our lead we don't look to be even trying to protect our lead or the ball. Stupid decision making in the last 15 minutes saw us giving the ball back and when we did it in the last 2 minutes despite there being safe passes backwards and sideways I was waiting for the equaliser. We just lose our smarts at the end of games.

We played well enough to win that game comfortably when we got our act together - and we played poorly enough to lose the game easily when we didn't.

A lot of good things in the game and a step up again from our recent performances. Frustration is speaking through my fingers because we are still so much better than that whole performance.

Very valuable 3 points in the bag, and very happy that we got them however we got them.

Hasn’t played as much as I thought he would, but you can tell he’s a footballer. Already been involved in a handful of Roars goals, and looks dangerous everytime he receives the ball.

You can tell that Moon believes we have a clear best eleven and that we need them all on when it counts.

Shows that he recognised what a huge game that was for us in his choice to leave them on. Might also have been looking to boost their form together given the disruptions of injury and rotation. Smart move.

Tuesday against MC.Who knows what team to put out.
We have little chance of winning this even with a fresh team.Could our second team get a point?Probably not.But can we afford to risk injurying key players by over playing them?
Second team and park the bus Fowler style for the  first half and bring on the first team for the final 30mins?

WSW away the following Sunday.We will need to win that.Then Perth the following Wednesday.Then SFC for the final game two days later😱😱😱

Poor DWH getting stuffed over by these offside calls, I can recall at least two times now where he scored and it happened. These are the types of things than can ruin a players confidence.
Besides that, happy with the win, if all things fall in place we could finish 2nd, but really could be anywhere in the 6 or not make it all, our last games are going to be tough.

For offside they really should use that thick line concept.Because as a player,if its that close how can you know if you are offside?So players then have to overcompensate,which is unfair.You end up being penalized because you have a great reaction time.
With the current workload ,i hope Brisbane are leaving no stone unturned to freshen up players.Hyperbaric chambers,whatever,...

Tomorrow's Western Sydney vs Sydney FC derby creates an interesting test for how Roar fans really see this years performance so far.

Are you hoping for
1. A Sydney FC win, which really increases roar's chance of making the top 6.
2. A West Sydney win, which really increases Roar's chance of making the top 2 and winning the Grand final.
3. A draw, which is the go to safety first hope that has advantages both ways, for those who just dont know.

Personally i want the Sydney FC win and all out bid for the win because i always consider anything below a win as a failure but if i am honest, i just dont know what is the best result for the Roar. 

It is interesting.

We play both Wanderers and Glory - both teams we are fighting off to keep sixth place at the moment. If we can't beat both of them we aren't playing well enough to hold sixth place anyway. Then we play SFC.

I want SFC to lose because they have not been their usual dominant selves and yet there they are up near the top. I want Wanderers not to make the 6 because of the disloyalty of McDog. I do not want the chance to beat them and keep them out of the six - I want them out of the running without a sniff.

With our best team available I would say SFC to win tomorrow and we pick up the extra point on them when we beat them in our last game.
We surely cannot field our best team on Tuesday, then back up the next 3 games and still be shiny come finals time - so anything that limits everyone else (like a draw) helps us in terms of table position.

So I am torn between all three options.

Forced, I would say SFC to win and let us show that we can catch them rather than us limping into second on the back of poor results above us.

The only good option would be:
4. Alien abduction of both teams - double forfeit.

I would prefer SFC to lose.I just dont like them winning .Lol
But then destiny is in our own hands.

A look into the minds of Roar and City, I think Roar can pinch a point, even with their seconds involved who have shown are more than capable. Everyone thinks it will be a City win for good reasons and this will be their handicap 1-1

I think step by step so secure top 6 spot first and best outcome is for WSW to lose regardless of opposition.

Then as bonus McD is possibly out too.

i have no problem with McD going to whoever but mid season move like that stinks in my world. 
Maybe he had a good reason but I get the feeling McD may be a difficult personality in a squad. 
Sydney to win. 

I think the earlier game against city was a glimpse into moons thinking. if ever there was a game to rest your first team it was that game (3rd in a week against a city team that was gunning to stretch their lead at the top, with another Wednesday game against a much more beatable CCM to follow 3 days later),he put out his best 11 in that game. 

I think we will see our best 11 again in the hopes that city have partied a little too hard after confirming the title on the weekend. after the results from the weekend we can jump into outright 4th (and a likely home final) and second spot still ours to loose.