Congratulations Adelaide. A 3-0 home win last night against Bunyodkur of Uzbekistan all but secured their passage into the final of the Asian Champions League.
Although blessed with Brazilian greats Zico as the coach and Rivaldo on the pitch, it’s tough to see Bunyodkur chasing the deficit. Admittedly, stranger things have happened in football, but a betting man’s money would surely be on the Reds.
Even though it’s not Sydney, it’s still great to see an Australian team flying high, and Adelaide have produced a master class effort in their prolonged run in the biggest club championship in Asia.
Adelaide has always been a fun team to watch, especially back in the Kozzie days when the attacking quintet of Nathan Burns, Bruce Djite, Jason Dodd, Jason Spanuola and Ross Aloisi would tear into the opposition’s defense.
Even though much of the personnel have changed, Aurelio Vidmar has still managed to keep the attacking trait and it was refreshing to see that he did not forego this attacking mentality in light of the magnitude of last night’s game.
Hats off to Vidmar, who had to step into the big shoes left by Kozzie, and though he was recently criticized for favouring the ACL over the A-League in his team selections, everything will be redeemed if they can go one step further and be crowned the kings of Asia.
Go Adelaide, win it all. From a Sydney FC fan, I salute you.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Season So Far...
Anyone bother to check the Premier League table after last night’s round of matches? Seven rounds have been completed, and Chelsea deservingly sits at the peak, sharing the spot with an unpredictable Liverpool side. While Chelsea has displayed the fantastic football we expect, Liverpool’s position upon the lofty perch is a bit questionable considering several weeks ago they backed up their win over Man United with a draw at home against the might of Stoke City.
Next on the ladder? Man United? Arsenal? Nope. Sitting in third place with a healthy 14 points from a possible 21 is Hull City. Admittedly, I didn’t expect them to get 14 points for the whole season, so hats off to Phil Brown and his men, who have shown a lot of energy in the several games I’ve seen of them.
Arsenal and Villa, probably an accurate indication of their final season standing, round out the top five. Man United are still there or thereabouts, a little off the pace but with a game in hand. Watch for them to hang around the top, then fire on all cylinders come the New Year and make a belated charge up the ladder like they do every year.
Man City and all their riches have only bought nine points so far, and they could do worse than spend some of their cash on a decent defensive midfielder, as Hughsey’s method of four backs, one central defender playing out of position (Vincent Kompany as a def mid?!), and five strikers isn’t really working out for them.
And how about the bottom of the ladder? Newcastle third from bottom and Tottenham in last spot! The Magpies have had their fair share of internal troubles this year, with King Kev walking out (or getting fired, depending on who you listen to) after just four games, compounded by the appointment of the much hated and totally inept Dennis Wise into the head office. A fans’ revolt is on the cards, and the rumoured buyout by a South African consortium can not happen fast enough.
But how about Tottenham?! The rest of the league were cheering in admiration at the Spur’s spending during the summer, believing that finally someone was going to step up and challenge the top four. Now they are watching Tottenham with a sly smirk and wondering how low they can possibly go. Having brought in over 60 million pounds of new talent, there was an electric buzz around White Hart Lane in pre-season. However, Robbie Keane’s and Dimitar Berbatov’s surprising decisions to abandon ship knocked the stuffing out of the Londoners. Their only game of note was the hard fought 1-1 draw in the derby with Chelsea, and have had to endure demeanours such as home losses to Villa, Sunderland and most recently Hull.
Seven games into the season and this is actually looking like it’s going to be a pretty fun year. My Villa are flying high, and there’s an air of unpredictably about the League. There is much promise to the rest of the season, with everyone keeping an eye on Man City’s revolving door come the January transfer window, as well as wondering when Tottenham are going to wake up to themselves.
I can’t wait for next week.
Next on the ladder? Man United? Arsenal? Nope. Sitting in third place with a healthy 14 points from a possible 21 is Hull City. Admittedly, I didn’t expect them to get 14 points for the whole season, so hats off to Phil Brown and his men, who have shown a lot of energy in the several games I’ve seen of them.
Arsenal and Villa, probably an accurate indication of their final season standing, round out the top five. Man United are still there or thereabouts, a little off the pace but with a game in hand. Watch for them to hang around the top, then fire on all cylinders come the New Year and make a belated charge up the ladder like they do every year.
Man City and all their riches have only bought nine points so far, and they could do worse than spend some of their cash on a decent defensive midfielder, as Hughsey’s method of four backs, one central defender playing out of position (Vincent Kompany as a def mid?!), and five strikers isn’t really working out for them.
And how about the bottom of the ladder? Newcastle third from bottom and Tottenham in last spot! The Magpies have had their fair share of internal troubles this year, with King Kev walking out (or getting fired, depending on who you listen to) after just four games, compounded by the appointment of the much hated and totally inept Dennis Wise into the head office. A fans’ revolt is on the cards, and the rumoured buyout by a South African consortium can not happen fast enough.
But how about Tottenham?! The rest of the league were cheering in admiration at the Spur’s spending during the summer, believing that finally someone was going to step up and challenge the top four. Now they are watching Tottenham with a sly smirk and wondering how low they can possibly go. Having brought in over 60 million pounds of new talent, there was an electric buzz around White Hart Lane in pre-season. However, Robbie Keane’s and Dimitar Berbatov’s surprising decisions to abandon ship knocked the stuffing out of the Londoners. Their only game of note was the hard fought 1-1 draw in the derby with Chelsea, and have had to endure demeanours such as home losses to Villa, Sunderland and most recently Hull.
Seven games into the season and this is actually looking like it’s going to be a pretty fun year. My Villa are flying high, and there’s an air of unpredictably about the League. There is much promise to the rest of the season, with everyone keeping an eye on Man City’s revolving door come the January transfer window, as well as wondering when Tottenham are going to wake up to themselves.
I can’t wait for next week.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
I Like Shannon Cole
I’m jumping on the bandwagon. FC newcomer Shannon Cole is a gun. Much has been made of the 24 year old who was plucked from obscurity at the start of the season by Kozzie, but after watching him live for the past couple of home games, I’m definitely agreeing with what everyone are saying.
He first caught the eye thanks to his dead ball abilities, and they are all justified. Firstly, he’s truly ambidextrous, which is such a limited commodity in modern football. Secondly, he strikes the ball cleanly (you’d be surprised how many professional footballers don’t have the correct technique in striking a football), and his deliveries combines whip, dip and pace – three elements which drive defenders insane. If he can improve on his accuracy, then he could be the best dead ball specialist in Australia. Lastly, he’s ambidextrous.
But while his free kicks and corners have made the headlines, he also has several other elements to his game which pleasantly surprised me. The guy shows an impressive burst of speed up and down the flank, he defends fairly well considering he’s only played seven A-League games, he displays a good football brain with his movement off the ball, and most importantly he’s got a bit of flair, willing to back his dribbling and take on defenders (the guy has a double step over!!). And did I mention he was ambidextrous?! This trait alone allows him to play in four positions (on the wing, and wing back on both sides of the pitch), giving Sydney more versatility.
And has anyone seen him in post match interviews? He’s fantastic. While definitely not charismatic, he's laid back and seems really genuine in everything he says, and he seems very likeable. FC has not had anyone like him since Dave Carney left, and Sydney could do a lot worse than to keep unearthing youngsters like Cole.
Cole was this week selected in the preliminary 35 man Socceroo squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Qatar. I think it’s a smart move from Pim Verbeek. Even if he doesn’t play Cole, having him in the squad will give him a shot of confidence, and will hopefully encourage Cole to put more efforts into improving his game. If we take the aging Scott Chipperfield out of the equation, Cole’s main rivals in the national team will be Brett Emerton and Carney for the wingback roles, and given a few more years of experience, I think he has the potential to definitely challenge them for their positions.
Cole just signed an improved contract with Sydney this week, and hopefully he will see it out before he sets off overseas. A few years in the A-League establishing himself would be beneficial, after all, his professional football career is currently still just at seven games. Rushing off to Europe too early might have a negative impact on his game.
So far, all things are pointing up for him, hopefully it continues this way. Shannon Cole, go you good thing.
He first caught the eye thanks to his dead ball abilities, and they are all justified. Firstly, he’s truly ambidextrous, which is such a limited commodity in modern football. Secondly, he strikes the ball cleanly (you’d be surprised how many professional footballers don’t have the correct technique in striking a football), and his deliveries combines whip, dip and pace – three elements which drive defenders insane. If he can improve on his accuracy, then he could be the best dead ball specialist in Australia. Lastly, he’s ambidextrous.
But while his free kicks and corners have made the headlines, he also has several other elements to his game which pleasantly surprised me. The guy shows an impressive burst of speed up and down the flank, he defends fairly well considering he’s only played seven A-League games, he displays a good football brain with his movement off the ball, and most importantly he’s got a bit of flair, willing to back his dribbling and take on defenders (the guy has a double step over!!). And did I mention he was ambidextrous?! This trait alone allows him to play in four positions (on the wing, and wing back on both sides of the pitch), giving Sydney more versatility.
And has anyone seen him in post match interviews? He’s fantastic. While definitely not charismatic, he's laid back and seems really genuine in everything he says, and he seems very likeable. FC has not had anyone like him since Dave Carney left, and Sydney could do a lot worse than to keep unearthing youngsters like Cole.
Cole was this week selected in the preliminary 35 man Socceroo squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Qatar. I think it’s a smart move from Pim Verbeek. Even if he doesn’t play Cole, having him in the squad will give him a shot of confidence, and will hopefully encourage Cole to put more efforts into improving his game. If we take the aging Scott Chipperfield out of the equation, Cole’s main rivals in the national team will be Brett Emerton and Carney for the wingback roles, and given a few more years of experience, I think he has the potential to definitely challenge them for their positions.
Cole just signed an improved contract with Sydney this week, and hopefully he will see it out before he sets off overseas. A few years in the A-League establishing himself would be beneficial, after all, his professional football career is currently still just at seven games. Rushing off to Europe too early might have a negative impact on his game.
So far, all things are pointing up for him, hopefully it continues this way. Shannon Cole, go you good thing.
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