A-league final
 

Anyone watching this? It's a joke I've never seen such a homer ref. First he sends off Adelaides star striker for accidentally elbowing the Melbourne defender.

Then he blows the whistle and the two players contesting the ball carry on and he only books the Adelaide player.

Then two Melbourne players push the same Adelaide player in their own area and does he give a penalty to Adelaide, nope a free kick to Melbourne.

Being from Melbourne I wanted them to win, but now I'd love to see Adelaide win.

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Face. Bovvered?......:p

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:D

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What I don't get is why the ref went to his pocket for a yellow card, then spoke to the lino, who hadn't flagged, and pulls out a red. I'd love to know how that conversation went. And in no way was it influenced by the MV players or the partisan crowd :rolleyes:

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Yeah? But is it bovvered'oh?


(I'm gonna kill my 14 year old for this....'kin liberty!)

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Are you a farmer miss?

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best team won in the end....!!

matthew breeze is, sadly, representative of all aussie referees - perhaps football referees should be on the modol skills list?

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How did the best team win? The other team were reduced to 10 men when they had made the better start.

There were 3 minutes injury time at the end of the second and I was expecting at least 5, there were numerous bookings, a goal, six subs, a fight and a player down injured for a couple of minutes.

With 80 seconds to go Adelaide won a throw in which took over a minute for them to take due to some pushing in the area and a Melbourne player bleeding and refusing to go off the pitch. Yet as soon as the throw in was taken he blew up.

It was a farce of a match, a team playing a team they had beaten to get to a final:confused:

And a crowd full of happy clappers ffs, it just aint football I tell yah:p

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That's the problem with soccer. Most of the time the result is determined by the ref. But then what do you expect from a game played by pansies. :sneaky:

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He may have been inconsistent, but to call him a hommer is being unfair and a little homophobic.

Now, this chap's a whole other story . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r0_T...next=1&index=2

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Wasn't the best I will admit. There has been controversy in football for as long as I can remember, and thats back to when Geoff Hurst scored a goal that wasnt a goal in the 66 world cup final... god knows how many 100's of ref influenced blunders I've seen since then.

2 extra teams in the League next year, sorely needed to keep peoples interest up. Playing and beating Adelaide 6 times in one season is farcical.

Only way out of this finals debacle is to initiate a Cup competition with the NSL teams. Alas this country is still not ready for the ethnic connotations those encounters may bring.

Still, the league is steadily growing, as for MVictory, It's going to be really interesting to see where they are on the World stage in 20 years time. 4 years in and they are a bigger club than any NRL team. It's easy to get carried away by the enthusiasm of 50,000 plus in one of the worlds greatest sporting cities. It's a pity that yesterdays game in front of a large world wide tv audience was very ordinary.

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A poor team won a dreadful game refereed by an appalling official in a farcical play-off tournament.

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I agree about the cup comp. It should replace the ridiculous play-off games.

As for the World Stage?? They may be a big fish in a very small pond but, unless there is some massive investment in the A League, they still be ranked behind teams from Japan etc. Many countries have teams that attract large followings without those teams ever being heard of by the general watching public.

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Don't know a thing about the NSL, or the ethnic implications. Could you enlighten me OE?

The curent league structure is very weak, and two additional teams will help, but they have to be sustainable. Can't have teams going pop midway through a season.

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Most football clubs have an ethic origin, they'll be a all Greek, Italian, Serbian etc.

So obviously there are certain conflicts when they play hence not putting them on the big stage and in the public eye. Much better brushed under the carpet;)

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Quality of football is poor ,no better than the English 1st Div ,teams like Leicester ,Leeds etc wld beat Melbourne no problem,they do have pace etc but they lack a football brain, i watched Perth last year & Stan LAzirides (37 yr old & his legs had gone)was the best player by a mile ,as he had played in the UK and knew how to read a game the rest ran around like headless chickens...ah well AFL season starts off properly in a few weeks ,lets get down the Jihad Stadium to see some egg chasing :thumbsup:

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You insult Division 2. I can guarantee that teams at the top of the Division 2 would beat Melbourne and any team in the A League. The standard of defending, the organisation and the professionalism is so much better. Look at Danny Allsopp, useless at Notts County. Most teams in Division 2 have a couple of better forwards than him.. Instead of teams looking at faded has-beens, who might have once been a name, they would do better to raid Divisions 1 or 2 for some decent players. If Elliott Bennett and Andy Bishop came from Bury they would be 2 of the best players in the league..

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Is that still as much the case? A lot of the teams in Perth seem to have dropped the names associated with their original ethnicity..

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I'm no expert by any means, I'm just going on what I'm told but apparently yes it is still the case.

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:rofl:
No offence, but everytime I watch any A-League game, I cringe...

Players who don't know how to control the ball, shield it or even make a simple pass...

Add to this, the total lack of any tactical awareness...

Only two players ever showed any real understanding of how football should be played and came from down under: Kewell and Cahill.

The rest are not even at amateur level.

Sorry...

Since that's the level of footy here...I am not surprised that the ref has no clue whatsoever...

In fact, I did a brief check on that game, when one of the Adelaide players was clearly onside and was clear to race twoards the goal and yet the linesman flag him...Even though, the player was 3 yards onside!!:rofl:

Mate..If it wasn't the funiest thing on TV, it's next funniest for sure

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Craig Johnston was the 1st decent Aussie player ;)

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Used to go to Floreat Athena club to watch the Rangers matches ,they are one of the decent sides in the Perth league ,with obvious Greek ties ,good set up there as well :thumbsup:

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Almost as funny as this, complete with crap players as well.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiO6cK4XUuI

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Two bad teams on a bad night and a bad pitch ruined by a bad ref ...

All in all ...

Come on Glory.

;)

PS -How did Liverpool go :p

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Good crowd though, there is always a silver lining somewhere.

Wasn't one of my favourite games of the season thats for sure.

I want to see Glory do well also. It would be good for the Aleague.

If Melbourne cannot hang on to Carlos Hernandez, who's Costa Rican club side want 800,000 Aud and he wants to stay. Then the future of this league is suspect. It will be the A leagues first actual inward transfer.

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way i see it you have 2 choices as a fan of the game of football in Australia;


1. Attend the games, spend the money, support the teams and do what you can to improve the perception, profile and ultimately quality of the game.

2. Sit back, whinge about how it aint that good and that Accrington Stanley would beat them (they wouldn't, btw), thus keeping the many media driven football haters with not so hidden agenda in ammunition for years to come...

I chose #1 and am proud of my team and my sport....

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I fall between the 2 I have no real interest in it as I feel like a neutral. Like I said I wanted Melbourne to win when I turned on but ended up cheering for Adelaide, which is why I will never follow them I have no affinity towards Melbourne. Besides I could never support a team with crowds that have happy clappers ffs, it's cringy:p

Besides I can still be a fan and watch my team on the box;)

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I think it's fair to say that 'A' league football is f***ing rhubarb, however, I go the Glory, enjoy it for what it is & always hope they get the three points ... It's more of a social thing to be honest ...

The Western Force represent much more in terms of quality.

3

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I'm not quiet sure what happy clappers are or is. However I'd hazard a guess and say it's the North Terrace BWB lot, that base themselves, complete with flags and flares on the Ultras in Italy. Beleive it or not they have a code of ethics that is really embarrassing. Mind you they make a hell of a lot of noise, so its not all bad.

Thats why the South End, and it's very large Brit base exists. You never get to see footage of the SE on TV as the other lot are more errrm spectacular.... I'd call it lairy meself :thumbup:

Hmmm I must take you along one day, complete with pre drinks at the Carron, (the SE pub) just to show you how similar it all is to the UK. Trouble is the only big games are against Adelaide or Sydney at present. I hate to think we would get a repeat of this seasons Sydney game, which was probably the worst of the Season.

So cant promise anything, except I'm sure you'd enjoy the Carron and the SE.

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Happy clappers are those inflatable things that they clap together. I hate anything like that at football drums et al and nothing more annoying than goal celebration music:mad:

Yeah I went to that game :rolleyes:

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I'm with you on this one. So many people knock the game it's just not funny. Even media commentators. I heard a guy on the radio a while back basically bagging the game he went to (QLD v Syd I think) because "it's not the EPL". Well hello! :rolleyes:

The English Premier League has been around for a bloody long time (EPL / Div 1) and has had chance to establish traditions and loyalties, which in turn allows the game to exploit the fans to generate cash and continue to improve.

The A-League has been around for 4 years and is working towards building those traditions and loyalties but it can't happen overnight. Using rules like the salary cap at this stage means that clubs don't have the chance to overstretch themselves, go bust and effectively kill the league before it gets out of nappies.

I have been to a few Roar games but I haven't grown to love them in those 4 years like I grew to love Middlesbrough over 30 years (don't ask why, though last night was a timely reminder :)) and I suspect the same applies not only to immigrants like us but the locals who have tried to follow the game through its various incarnations for years, without even being able to display loyalty to the same team two years in a row!

A stable A-League with continuous improvement - as has been happening - can only lead more people into the game and ultimately grow its status in the region and the world. Like I said, it will not happen overnight but it will happen.

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Even Pim Verwhatsischops slags the A league off as a load of tosh, I have got to agree with him although he should know better. :rofl:

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happy clappers are the devil incarnate at football stadiums, IMHO - esp when they are being enthusiastically clapped in front of you!

but that is sponsorship and i Hyundai are spending all the money then they can have them. Just dont expect me to 'happy clap' along with the rest...!

they are a necessary evil in these corporate driven times. if they are the difference between having a professional league to follow and not, then i will tolerate them...

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Pim is lucky - he can piss off to Europe and watch EPL etc when he wants to. I dont have that luxury.

He is right in essence. The league is immature and pretty naive tactically. The teams are all very even mostly due to salary cap restrictions - $1.6m between 22 players!...

He did still pick the same players for the game on Thursday, so that says something.

he has also been grossly misquoted, again, by the (not so hidden) agenda driven media in this country who'll swallow and regurgitate any tiny piece of anti football news to better enhance the profile of the sports they have invested millions of dollars in...

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Plenty of people at MV complain about the inflatables as well. You wont see many behind either goal thats for sure.

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You missed another option which is of NOT WATCHING A-League almost...at all! :rofl:

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I didn't state my assumption which was that if one is a fan of the game of football one might be bothered to consider attending a live match.

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"...a fan of the game of football"?? :rofl:

Please spare me some!

First off, football is something completely different here...You play football with your fists!! (like boxing but you get to beat more than one opponent!!)

Secondly, a fan of football wouldn't be too pleased to watch the game here...I have seen kids at school play better and am being kind...

That final is a fair reflection of the level of the game here: dire game, clueless players and officials and overseen by presenters who'd rather they actually watch a real game!!

Bring on EPL

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Thats very similar to my feeling on the local game here. Following your UK club live at 4am on a Sunday morning becomes very tedious after a dozen years or more.

I also believe the people that knock the local game the most, are the ones that follow big teams from the comfort of their armchairs. IE: Customers not supporters.

Fact is I really enjoy and almost need the company of live support. That away game in Adelaide really took me back, it was a fantastic familar feeling that only real followers know, and i've missed so much. I'll be going to an away game next season no matter what. For me it's one of lifes rare and great pleasures.

We're getting it all now, away games, pre pub, mid week anticipation, pre match build up, Sunday paper analysis. The trappings of football that I thought was gone forever.

It's still fragile though, So come on Queensland, Perth and Wellington, get your collective acts together and win something so as to make this league rock solid.

:thumbup:

Sydeny, do you realise, that before this Aleague there was 25 years of Nothing, I repeat NOTHING, now anything even this low standard is better than that. So when you wake up to the fact that you will probably never enjoy a live game of high standards again, say in about the 12 years it took me to wake up to tht fact, then you might absorb that fact. So instead of moaning about the situation, might as well jump on board, put your 15 bucks entry fee in, and help the standard grow by participating.

Fact is it's better standard now than season 1, its a slow road, but things are getting better.

I wonder how many times I'm going to have to spell it out for people

I'll put it another way, Sydeny just follow AFL, Following football from the UK at 4 am is a bit like kissing your sister, a claytons way of support. It will get to you.

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Whatever - you are obviously in the 'happy to not engage the local game and even happier to sit back and slag it off' category.

Dont expect the quality to improve if you sit on your hands and do nothing about it.

Association football is the name of the game. Even the governing body has the word football in it's name.

I also disagree that the final was a fair reflection on the game - i have seen some cracking contests between two commited and evenly matched teams in the last 4 years.

I can only presume you are Sydney which has obviously clouded your judgement somewhat....