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The Football Thread (2 Viewers)

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

Good article this one...

Sydney FC failing to match the hype
By Simon Hill
Fox Sports Football Presenter
September 18, 2007

FOUR games, two points, eighth place on the ladder - Sydney FC's start to the A-League season makes for grim reading. And although it's early days, it's clear the club has much work to do if it's to make the top four.

Sydney is not alone in making a sticky start - but any club that labels itself the “Manchester United” of the A-League (and in fact, just last season Sydney FC player Mark Rudan used Real Madrid as an alternative comparison) must endure the same sort of scrutiny United or Madrid would have received, if either club had made such a start to the season.

To my mind, that is one of Sydney’s many problems. Such delusions of grandeur do not help a club that - despite its protestations to the contrary - is not even the biggest in Australia at this moment.

One of the keys to Sydney’s trials and tribulations is the constant reshuffling of backroom personnel.

It’s no coincidence that Madrid’s chopping and changing post-Vicente del Bosque brought only mediocrity (until Fabio Capello), while Manchester United’s most sustained period of success since World War II came under a manager who has been in charge for over 21 years. Sydney is yet to have a coach that has reached even 21 months, and the merry-go-round of other functionaries behind the scenes is even worse.

Stability is the key to any organisation. Sydney’s lack of stability has led to the absence of a clear strategy, and this is evident in terms of its playing staff. The squad is unbalanced, and contains too many players on long-term contracts who provide too little.

The departures of Alvin Ceccoli, David Carney and Nikolai Topor-Stanley have left the club with precious few options on the left flank - and there are no natural full-backs, leaving the likes of Zadkovich, McFlynn and Fyfe to try to plug the gaps, with mixed results.

The lack of a natural goal scorer is another major problem - all the pretty football in the world matters not when there is no end product, and Sydney has been going around in circles trying to find someone who can put the ball in the back of the net. Juninho is a brilliant talent, and I for one am glad to see him in Australia - but was he really the marquee player that the club needed, when Steve Corica already fulfilled that type of attacking midfield role to decent effect?

All these issues are reflected in Sydney’s relatively poor attendances. The club has haemorrhaged 7000 fans between home games one and three, which suggests that the fans aren’t happy either.

Sydney’s marketing is also an issue. Although the budget for that area has reportedly been doubled this season, the club still needs to compete more aggressively for media space in a city that has a hugely-congested sporting market.

At least Branko Culina has learnt that lesson. In throwing out the titbit that Juninho was in the frame to start on Friday against Wellington, he perhaps sold a few more tickets, and pushed the crowd up to a (still miserable) 11,000. Sydney needs to get a lot more stories like that out to a sceptical local population.

Culina, to his credit, says he will make “no excuses” for failure. But if that’s the case, then he must be seriously concerned.

His record of three wins in 15 matches (A-League, Pre-Season Cup and Asian Champions League) is clearly cause for unease, and already rumblings of discontent can be heard from Sydney’s rapidly dwindling hardcore, known as the Cove. Patience is not a commodity associated with Sydney where coaches are concerned.

There IS an appetite for football in the harbour city - 60,000 tickets have been sold for David Beckham’s visit with LA Galaxy in November. Sydneysiders will always turn up to the big events, especially when there is star quality on show.

Sydney FC needs to grab some of those fans - and keep hold of them. But its steady decline, which has been going on for the best part of two years, will be difficult to reverse.

For the sake of the A-League - which desperately needs a successful Sydney side - let’s hope the glory days of Pierre Littbarski and Dwight Yorke will not prove to be the high-water mark for Sydney FC.

And if the club's goal drought continues, what price giving Damien Mori a call?
 

veridis

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

once more sk1001 shows that despite writing 90% of his posts about sydney he doesn't actually watch the game. we have more shots on goal for than against. finishing is our problem, not creating chances. we've hit the woodwork at least 5 times at SFS this season. not once have we been outplayed, as you say we're letting in stupid goals from silly errors, yet still we're having draws or losing by one goals. results will come good, as they will for MV, unfortunately it only seems that us sydney fans can be self critical while you're as one eyed as ever.
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

You can have a million shots on goal and not score. At the end of the day, only one thing matters, the final score.
 

veridis

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

which is my point exactly. it is our finishing that is the problem.
your post in no way defends your prior claims that sydney had a problem with creating. are you going to admit that once again you're wrong or will you like always just chance the topic.
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

It was an example, cliche even. In no way did it represent SFS against Wellington. Stop making assumptions.

As Simon Hill suggests, I think it's time for you to call Mr. Mori.
 

veridis

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

so i guess that means you'll be sticking to your tactic of diversion. i love how when SFC go ok with boring football you say it's all about style, when we go bad with stylish football it's all about results.

i'd prefer aloisi to mori
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

Aloisi doesn't want to be at your club.

Great display from the Melbourne boys to draw level after a poor first half. 5 undefeated now.
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

FFS Sydney too slow.

Mori to CCM.
 

veridis

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

*waits for positive remarks from sk1001 about SFCs win*
*hell freezes over*
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

A result for SFS, although going by the stats, it seems they were under the kosh for most of the game. Wonder if they'll get a better crowd next home game..
 

matt#1

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

sk1001 said:
Great display from the Melbourne boys to draw level after a poor first half. 5 undefeated now.
Putting a positive slant on things much sk1001? Yes, Melbourne are undefeated after 5 games... but zero wins after 5 games for the defending champions is an extremely disappointing start to the season and you know it.

*Awaits typical repetitive reply about Sydney's attendances or being lower placed than Melbourne on the table... but it still dosen't change the fact that Melbourne are shite compared to last season*.
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

No doubt Melbourne is not the team it was last season. That's obvious, but pulling results like that away from home at least shows the team has the fire inside their bellies.

The same can be said of ManU. They certainly arn't firing on all cylinders, but at the end of the day, they are going to up there.
 

veridis

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

sk1001 said:
A result for SFS, although going by the stats, it seems they were under the kosh for most of the game. Wonder if they'll get a better crowd next home game..
sk1001 said:
You can have a million shots on goal and not score. At the end of the day, only one thing matters, the final score.
which one is it?
is "a results for SFS[sic]" the most positive thing you can bring yourself to say?

you're trying to claim ManUre now? lets look at the stats. ManU, 3 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss. 11/18 points. MV 5 draws, 5/15 points. at least when SFC were claiming ManU it was just about media scrutiny and expectations. MV are currently more like a Fulham or Portsmouth with their heaps of draws.
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

What are you talking about? Those events are not mutually exclusive. You got the result, that's great. You're still behind Melbourne on the table.

I never said Melbourne was ManU, I was making a simple comparison. In case it didn't click I was showing how both champion teams havn't got off to the best of starts. For some reason it seems as though you have assumed I was claiming the two were one and the same. Why? I don't know.

As for the the ManU/Sydney FC comments, I sincerely doubt they are in relation to expection. In fact, expectation is what you bring upon yourself when you label your team as the ManU/Real Madrid of the A-League. I ask you to refer to Simon Hill's article I posted before. Here is a direct extract..

"Sydney is not alone in making a sticky start - but any club that labels itself the “Manchester United” of the A-League (and in fact, just last season Sydney FC player Mark Rudan used Real Madrid as an alternative comparison) must endure the same sort of scrutiny United or Madrid would have received, if either club had made such a start to the season."
 

veridis

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

we bring expectation upon ourselves do we? do you read the papers? do you watch TWG? almost all of the criticism has been about SFC, all of the expectations have been about SFC. in terms of media SFC is the biggest club in the aleague, in terms of expectation SFC is the biggest club in the aleague. i think your obsession with SFC is a prime example of it.

you were making a comparison, i was telling you it was a stupid one.
 

Gilbert1

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

veridis said:
we bring expectation upon ourselves do we? do you read the papers? do you watch TWG? almost all of the criticism has been about SFC, all of the expectations have been about SFC. in terms of media SFC is the biggest club in the aleague, in terms of expectation SFC is the biggest club in the aleague. i think your obsession with SFC is a prime example of it.

you were making a comparison, i was telling you it was a stupid one.
We do set ourselves as the biggest club in the league, but the media does also perpetuate that thought. There is no doubt that we see ourselves as the biggest club in the A-league and we try and express that
 

veridis

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

no doubt we do, but to ignore the role the media played in creating and perpetuating this is naive in the extreme. it's the same with everyone bagging SFc management for talking so much before signing players, nobody really talked, just SFC is the team that gets the hundred articles of speculation over.
every fan wants to be able to say their team is the best and biggest, it's the media that means only SFC fans can revel in it.
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

veridis said:
we bring expectation upon ourselves do we? do you read the papers? do you watch TWG? almost all of the criticism has been about SFC, all of the expectations have been about SFC. in terms of media SFC is the biggest club in the aleague, in terms of expectation SFC is the biggest club in the aleague. i think your obsession with SFC is a prime example of it.

you were making a comparison, i was telling you it was a stupid one.
You seemed to have missed my point (not for the first time). The expection and criticism comes from the fact you have labelled yourselves as the ManU or Real Madrid or whatever of the A-League. When you make a claim like that and don't live up to it, you deserve all that comes your way. Sydney was meant to be a huge team with it's big money making part owner Anthony La Paglia, it's star signing in Dwight Yorke (at the time), and it's relatively fancy stadium. You brought it upon yourself.

Why do you think you carry the nickname "Bling FC"?
 

veridis

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

sk1001 said:
You seemed to have missed my point (not for the first time). The expection and criticism comes from the fact you have labelled yourselves as the ManU or Real Madrid or whatever of the A-League. When you make a claim like that and don't live up to it, you deserve all that comes your way. Sydney was meant to be a huge team with it's big money making part owner Anthony La Paglia, it's star signing in Dwight Yorke (at the time), and it's relatively fancy stadium. You brought it upon yourself.

Why do you think you carry the nickname "Bling FC"?
we carry the nickname bling fc because the media love it. la pag is involed(or was involved, he disappeared a bit when results dipped) cause he wanted to be and backed it up with cash. we signed dwight because he owns on the field and got lots of publicity, which is the fucking definition of a marquee. as for the stadium you're clutching at straws there, suncorp, westpac and the tard dome are all of similar size and much fancier. if you cannot see the media's role in the whole 'bling fc' thing you're completely blind, if you believe it you're stupid too. everyone pays more attention to SFC than other teams, that doesn't happen just because we like to talk ourselves up.

you criticise branko for using a ManU comparison when yesterday you yourself tried to make a ManU comparison. pot, kettle, black, figure it out.
 

sk1001

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Re: The Official A-League Thread.

rofl.

if you had no la pag, if you had no dwight, if you had no SFS, do you honestly think you would have been labelled Bling FC? You would have just been one of the other 7 teams. Note I also mentioned relatively fancy stadium, also referring to season one, when Melbourne was at Olympic Park and Wellington did not exist. Relative to other A-League teams, I'm not sure how you can argue SFS is not up there.

Honestly, how can you say the media loves it? Sydney FC played some pretty poor football last season, poor enough in fact for Craig Foster to ponder if he was watching a game from 1906. SFS also had smaller crowds in their semi-final leg than Newcastle and lost their marquee at the start of the season. What makes you think that in this country of AFL-agenda written media, that anybody would give a fuck?

The difference is Branko is the coach of Sydney FC. He said it publically, the whole world heard it. I am just an individual voicing an opinion on the internet. Just a tad different don't you think?
 

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