A-LEAGUE launch: "New Football"

22tone · Post by **22tone** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 3:43 am

spinDr wrote:someones never been to a football match...

maybe more then someone but i have.

hot_dogma · Post by **hot_dogma** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:11 am

Going to the Sydney FC End of Season Awards Dinner at Star City tonight.

Should be interesting.

Simmo79 · Post by **Simmo79** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 2:41 pm

22tone wrote:
Geeze people, its not like Im murdering the royal family.

Who cares if I like it or not
Thats soccer fans for you.There idea for pre-match entertainment is to go around a stick knifes and bottles into the visting teams fans.Then you have the celebrations by players when they score a goal and start whipping there tops off to show us there very average bodies and all jump on each other like a gay sauna orgy( well sol campell and ashley cole might know a thing or 2 about that one )

you've got a real thing about gays don't you? The bit in bold leapt out at me as the reason you prefer league and union. [/quote]

Hiraldo · Post by **Hiraldo** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 4:05 pm

Tony Labbozzetta, controversial former boss of Soccer Australia, is standing for Parliment - in Italy. He will contest the republic's April 9 election as a candidate of the far right-wing Fiamma Tricolore on the "Italians Abroad" list. Labbozzetta, once heavily involved in Bossley Park's Marconi Club, was a loyal ALP member.

From the Sun Herald.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:42 pm

Hiraldo wrote:
Tony Labbozzetta, controversial former boss of Soccer Australia, is standing for Parliment - in Italy. He will contest the republic's April 9 election as a candidate of the far right-wing Fiamma Tricolore on the "Italians Abroad" list. Labbozzetta, once heavily involved in Bossley Park's Marconi Club, was a loyal ALP member.
From the Sun Herald.

I read that - what is it that attracts him to unstable and rowdy chambers.

hot_dogma · Post by **hot_dogma** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:38 am

The current powerplays in the Sydney FC boardroom make for interesting times ahead. Who said there wasn't 'old soccer' in 'new football'?

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:45 am

'old football'

Has been in Perth all season

Whats this new football your talking about

spinDr · Post by **spinDr** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:12 am

Im still wondering how genuine it all is, it sounds just like a bit of fiction sydney have created just to keep them in the backpages over the offseason.

libbs · Post by **libbs** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:31 am

spinDr wrote:Im still wondering how genuine it all is, it sounds just like a bit of fiction sydney have created just to keep them in the backpages over the offseason.

And why shouldn't they even if that's the case....the AFL and NRL have been doing it for years, in particular the AFL in Melbourne, they never seem to leave the papers!

yob · Post by **yob** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:48 am

spinDr wrote:Im still wondering how genuine it all is, it sounds just like a bit of fiction sydney have created just to keep them in the backpages over the offseason.

Well, that $3-4 million loss is pretty genuine, so i'd say the infighting is as well.

BTW, how exactly does a club lose 4 million, especially considering the $2 million cheque they received from the WCC?

Let's brainstorm areas where they may have over spent:

players

spinDr · Post by **spinDr** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:13 pm

All clubs have made multi million dollar losses this season given the set up costs. Now add in the $700k and $1.1m for pierre and dwight respectivley, the rent paid for Kazu, those preseason matches in the UAE, it starts to add up quickly.

Sydney wanted to win the league, not just ease into it like alot of the other clubs have done, so they signed and spent accordingly. the loss was anticipated.

I dont see what the problem with the chairman is.

Simmo79 · Post by **Simmo79** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:57 pm

spinDr wrote:All clubs have made multi million dollar losses this season given the set up costs. Now add in the $700k and $1.1m for pierre and dwight respectivley, the rent paid for Kazu, those preseason matches in the UAE, it starts to add up quickly.

Sydney wanted to win the league, not just ease into it like alot of the other clubs have done, so they signed and spent accordingly. the loss was anticipated.

I dont see what the problem with the chairman is.

No-one's sure. He's an excellent chairman, has done a great job connecting the club with its biggest source of funds (the fans) and hasn't put a foot wrong with finding sponsors, getting a marquee player. His only fault (if it is one) is his support for the manager.

The best analogy I can think of is Perth Glory ca 1997 wanting to get rid of Nick Tana. It doesn't make sense to rid yourself of a leader who's pushed a fledging organisation in the right direction. The $3m debt is nothing that won't be recouped in coming seasons now that the club has established its brand and market position after incurring all the associated start-up costs.

Hiraldo · Post by **Hiraldo** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:00 pm

yob wrote:BTW, how exactly does a club lose 4 million, especially considering the $2 million cheque they received from the WCC?

I thought it was just over $1 million in total, with the rest of the league getting a sizable chunk of that.

Anyway, I guess this all makes Sydney (Hakoah) FC the most successful team in national league history. 2005-2006 was their fifth national league championship - the first team to reach that number - and they have now skipped clear of South Melbourne and Marconi (four championships each).

Onya Bling.

Simmo79 · Post by **Simmo79** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 4:47 pm

Walter B announced on radio that he'll be staying as chairman - the guys at SFCU were very vocal with the media and emailing both the club and the FFA. Hard to tell how much influence (if any) that had but it can't have hindered

Hiraldo · Post by **Hiraldo** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:43 pm

Phew re: Bugno.

In other news...

QUEENSLAND Roar FC have confirmed that three more players from last year’s squad, midfielder Warren Moon and strikers Jonti Richter and Royce Brownlie, have been given permission to speak to other clubs to secure themselves contracts for next season.

Roar Coach Miron Bleiberg said: “We gave Jonti Richter, Warren Moon and Royce Brownlie the freedom to talk with other clubs, either here in Australia or overseas. However, their contracts do not expire until April 30th and if circumstances change by then we will talk with them again.”

He continued: “Both Jonti and Warren feel that they need to play regular first team football. With the improvement of the team we are planning, and the players we want to bring in, with all due respect I cannot promise them the regular first team football they desire - and I emphasise the word promise.”

“I know these players well and understand them. Some players do not have the ability to come in and out of the team or the squad when required because it affects their performance and neither they, nor the rest of the team, get any benefit from that. This is not a slur on their capabilities as players because they are good players.”

With speculation building about Roar’s search for a proven marksman, Bleiberg confirmed that he was in the market for leading forward, but had not closed the door on the powerfully built Brownlie.

“Royce Brownlie is a striker and good strikers are hard to find. However he was absent a lot last year with injury and illness so as a result his productivity was not quite what we expected. We are in the market for two top strikers and if we are not successful in our search then we will revisit the situation with Royce. Meanwhile I am trying to organise some overseas trials for him to assist him with finding a club,” he said.

Bleiberg concluded by paying tribute to the efforts of all three players who he says were an integral part of Roar’s inaugural season, but explained that the decision was taken after discussions with the club’s executive regarding plans for the team next season.

“We have to try and improve the team; that is our ultimate aim. For all the positives we took out of last season the fact remains that we finished sixth on the ladder. Everyone connected with the club wants to improve on that and challenge for the finals, so unfortunately we have to make tough decisions from time to time. We might not like it but it has to be done and in football clubs all over the world this is normal practice.”

The Roar Coach indicated that moves to replenish the squad with quality additions for the new season were advancing well.

“We are progressing nicely with our plans to bring excellent new players to the club. I have been inundated with phone calls from both players and agents from the Hyundai A-League. It is flattering that our club has built a reputation for being professional, progressive and well run, but we will take our time and make the right decisions for the team and the club,” he said.

- www.qldroar.com.au

Sydney FC has released defender Andrew Packer from the last year of his contract so he can return to his native Queensland, where he has signed a three year deal with the Queensland Roar.

Packer, who started in Sydney FC’s Grand Final victory over the Central Coast Mariners, wanted to return to Queensland to be closer to his family.

“It is simply a family decision for me,” Packer said. “I have had a great year at Sydney FC, made some good friends and enjoyed winning the A-League with a good bunch of blokes but I needed to make this decision for my family.

“My whole family is from Queensland and my fiancée has been spending a week in Queensland and a week in Sydney all year and obviously that’s not ideal.

“I would like to thank Sydney FC for understanding my situation and I would especially like to thank the Sydney FC fans for the way they have supported the team and also me, especially in the last few days when it became known I was speaking with Queensland Roar.”

The 25-year-old’s fiancée has been commuting between Sydney and Queensland and Packer approached Sydney FC about the possibility of breaking the last year of his contract to return “home”.

Sydney FC agreed to let Packer go to Queensland Roar on a free transfer and wishes him the best of luck with the Queensland Roar over the next three years.

“Andrew Packer was a good servant for the club in the first year and he will go down in the history books as a key part of our success in the inaugural Hyundai A-League,” said Sydney FC CEO Tim Parker. “On and off the field he did everything asked of him and we are thankful for his contribution to the club.

“He will be missed but we understand his family situation and wish Andrew all the best for the future.”

- www.sydneyfc.com

Good decisions on Packer and Brownlie, but not on Richter and Moon - two of the team's best players IMO. Bleiberg made far too little use of them (and it seems would plan on doing the same in the future) and in Richter's case, often played him out of position in the first place.

Still don't think Bleiberg is up to it, just like he wasn't in the NSL.