What are we to make of the Asian Cup and Australia’s performance in its first foray into the competition? The tournament was a mixture of the wonderful and the woeful, with Iraq’s triumph over the odds and domestic mayhem the highlight. Though much has already been...
Football 2007
Ross County 1 Airdrie United 1
Ross County threw away a great chance to win a tightly fought Scottish Second Division match at Victoria Park against Airdrie United on Saturday 1 September, when striker Andy Barrowman had his penalty kick saved by Stephen Robertson in the 89th minute, leaving the...
Scotland 3 Lithuania 1
Thanks to the good offices of the departing Scottish press officer Andy Mitchell, who helped me with information on my grandfather’s career, I was lucky enough to get a press pass to the Scotland versus Lithuania European Championship qualifying match in Glasgow on...
Victory are champs one year bottom the next
Geelong Advertiser, 13 August 2007, p. 31. Melbourne Victory’s poor pre-season run continued when it lost by a goal to nil to Sydney FC at Olympic Park on Saturday night. Last year’s A-League champion thus finished last in the pre-season cup. Victory was without...
Soccer in Geelong is more than a hundred years old
Geelong Advertiser, 1 August 2007, p. 43. For many years the first evidence I could find of a soccer match being played in Geelong was in 1920, a reference I owed to a former colleague, GaryCotton. I knew this was far too late, but finding earlier games on trawls...
Hunger for Victory hasn’t been satisfied
Geelong Advertiser, 18 July 2007, p. 46. They say that defending a premiership is harder than winning it and Melbourne Victory may find the truth of that old saw this season. Having lost its three Brazilians, particularly the charismatic Fred, young star midfielder...
Old soccer versus new football
Geelong Advertiser, Thursday 21 June 2007, p. 00. Billed in some quarters as old soccer versus new football one of the powerhouses of the National Soccer League, South Melbourne, formerly Hellas, took on the A-League’s Melbourne Victory in a practice match at Bob Jane...
Fans voting with their feet
Australian and British Soccer Weekly, Tuesday 12 June 2007, p. 11. and Geelong Advertiser, Wednesday 13 June 2007, p. 46. If evidence were needed of the sea change in Victorian football support then the attendance on Wednesday night for a practice match at Richmond...
International poaching of players
Edited version published as 'Poaching when the boot's on the other foot', Geelong Advertiser, Friday 6 April 2007, p. 31. The news that the Croatian national football team has been trying to persuade Geelong’s Matthew Spiranovic to play for the country of his parents’...
Victory stripped of talent
Edited version published as 'Reds snare Sarkies', Geelong Advertiser, Monday 2 April 2007, p. 27. Melbourne Victory is being stripped of more of its championship winning talent with the news that Olyroo midfielder and playmaker Kristian Sarkies has moved on a one-year...
We must not overlook the small, skilful players
Geelong Advertiser, Tuesday 13 March 2007, p. 41 Is it about time we started examining the processes by which we select and develop our young sports people? One concerned coach, Peter Richardson, has been observing the way young players are selected for regional and...
The future of Australian football
Australian and British Soccer Weekly, Tuesday 27 February 2007, p. 4 Also published as 'There's room for all the football codes' in, Geelong Advertiser, Saturday 24 February 2007, p. 93 In the aftermath of the extraordinary A-League Grand Final when 55,000 fans...
Victory fans win off the field as well
Published as 'Easy Melbourne Victory in the battle of the signs' in, Geelong Advertiser Tuesday 20 February 2007, p. 38 The Melbourne Victory team won the Grand Final of the A-League comprehensively on the field on Sunday night, and the Victory fans won off the field...
Melbourne Victory destroy Adelaide United in superb Grand Final
Published as Five goal Archie destroys United, Geelong Advertiser Monday 19 February 2007, p. 36 The second A-League Grand final will be known as the Archie Thompson show after the Melbourne Victory striker completed an incredible five goal performance to win the Joe...
Crushing Victory
Geelong Advertiser Monday 19 February 2007, p. 37 ‘IT was an historic occasion which will never be repeated in a Grand Final,’ the Victory’s coach Ernie Merrick said last night. The Scottish coach was linking his team’s win and Archie Thompson’s individual heroics....
Victory faces its final hurdle
Geelong Advertiser, Saturday 17 February 2007, p. 58. Having wrapped up the home and away league title and reached the grand final, Melbourne Victory has just one hurdle to jump to be crowned as the champion of the A-League. On Sunday night it takes on Adelaide United...
V-League deferred
Geelong Advertiser, Friday 16 February 2007, p. 48. Geelong will have more time to prepare an attempt to join the Football Federation Victoria’s proposed new V-League. Yesterday the FFV deferred the introduction of the new league, which was originally scheduled to...
Has Scotland got lessons for England once again?
Geelong Advertiser, Wednesday 14 February 2007, p. 49. So here we go again. Steve McLaren, the manager of the English national team is pilloried for a narrow loss to Spain in a friendly match and calls for his resignation go out from sections of the English press. The...