Search: ' Brisbane Roar'

It’s been a funny season for the A-League with financial chaos tempered by a record-breaking climax. Robert Forsaith explains

“What a fantastic game, what a fantastic spectacle for the A-League. The game has been crying out for something positive this year.” That was the verdict on the final match of the season from Graham Arnold, the coach whose side Central Coast had just been beaten in a penalty shootout.

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Mike Ticher describes the Australian season which saw Eastern Suburbs overcome Marconi Fairfield on goal difference

The long-term significance
As the first national competition of any winter sport in Australia, the National Soccer League (NSL) was hugely ambitious. Unlike Australian rules and rugby league, which spread gradually from their respective strongholds in Melbourne and Sydney, the NSL had to juggle a geographically balanced competition from the start. With impressive sponsorship from Philips, the project was driven by two Sydney club visionaries hoping to build on Australia’s 1974 World Cup exploits: Frank Lowy of the Jewish club Hakoah and Alex Pongrass of St George Budapest.

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Mark Bosnich is back in the headlines – and for all the right reasons so far, as Matthew Hall reports

“They say you don’t truly miss something, or know how much it meant to you, until it’s gone or taken away from you… and I have missed it.” And with that, Mark Bosnich, aged 36, returned to professional football, if signing a seven-week contract with Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners can be considered anything of a return.

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WSC readers and fanzine editors weigh up the coming season

BARNET

John Cosgrove

How will your team do this season? Bit hard, this one. Our new manager has currently signed five new players with the promise of more to come. Even so, we can’t expect too many great things from a bunch of Peterborough rejects. Realistically we’ll come mid-table (again).

Who is going to be the most important figure at the club this season? John Still, our 7th manager in 12 months! We need to bring a bit of stability to the club after the Alan Mullery debacle.

If you had to come up with a new piece of merchandise to sell at the club shop what would it be? As we have a club shop which can rightly claim the title of “Worst Shop in The League” (to go with our proud “Worst Ground in the League” award), any piece of merchandise would be nice. Getting the new kit on sale before Christmas would be a novelty.

Which player at your club most divides the home support and why? You name him! Barnet fans tend to sway towards the fickle side. Even Sean Devine (top scorer two seasons running) gets some stick.

Which element of the matchday environment would you most like to change? Topical one this. One of the editors of Two Together was recently refused service at one of our snack bars on the grounds that they were closing. It wouldn’t have been so bad but there was still over half an hour of the game left to go. Jobsworths are alive and well at Underhill.

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Sunday 1 Leeds jump up to mid table after two early goals, including Ian Rush's first for the club, see off Chelsea at Elland Road. Civil war within the Premier League is being predicted after the announcement that Rick Parry is to leave his job as chief executive to take up a similar post at Liverpool, where one of his first tasks may be to negotiate the club's first pay-per-view TV deal. "I believe there is stability and vision at the top of our great game," he says in signing off. He may have been laughing. Tabloid coverage of Parry's departure includes reference to the "so-called Big Five" of which Newcastle now appear to a member, to the exclusion of Spurs. That should swell Alan Sugar's postbag.

Monday 2 Liverpool are second after a 2-0 win at Spurs, their second a tame McManaman shot that takes a freak bounce over Ian Walker, almost identical to a Collymore goal at Blackburn last season. "It was lucky we brought that portable divot with us," says Roy Evans. Arrigo Sacchi leaves his post with the Italian national team to return to AC Milan. It is thought likely that his successor (under-21 coach Cesare Maldini is favourite) will restore some of the players omitted by Sacchi, including Baggio, Vialli and Signori. But probably not Silenzi.

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