The A-League Thread

[Titanium_BD1103]

** ROUND 2 A-LEAGUE SQUADS** From: www.a-league.com.au

Newcastle Jets v Queensland Roar
Friday 1 September, 8.00pm AEST (7.30pm ACST, 6.00pm AWST)
EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle


Newcastle Squad: 20. Ben Kennedy (gk); 6. Andrew Durante, 8. Matt Thompson, 9. Vaughan Coveny 10. Nick Carle, 12. Paul Okon (C), 13. Adam D?Apuzzo, 15. Stuart Musialik, 16. Labinot Haliti, 17. Tolgay Ozbey, 18. Joel Griffiths, 19. Mark Bridge, 22. Steven Old, 23. Shane Webb

In: Unchanged
Out: Unchanged

Unavailable: Craig Deans (knee ? season), Jobe Wheelhouse (ankle ? 2 weeks), Steve Eagleton (injured ? 1 week), Jade North (knee ? 1 week), Milton Rodriguez (awaiting visa)

Queensland Squad: 1. Tom Willis (gk), 2. Andrew Packer, 4. Chad Gibson, 5. Josh McCloughan, 6. Stuart McLaren, 8. Massimo Murdocca, 9. Simon Lynch, 10. Ante Milicic, 11. Reinaldo, 15. Matt McKay, 16. Hyuk-Su Seo, 18. Dario Vidosic, 19. Sasa Ognenovski, 20. Liam Reddy (gk), 21. Steve Fitzsimmons

In: 21. Steve Fitzsimmons (promoted)
Out: 7. Marcus Wedau (hamstring ? 1 week),
Unavailable: Spase Dilevski (groin ? 3 weeks)


New Zealand Knights v Adelaide United
Saturday 2 September, 12.30pm NZST (10.30am AEST, 10.00am ACST, 8.30am AWST)
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland (NZ)

New Zealand Squad: 1. Danny Milosevic (gk); 2. Darren Bazeley, 3. Greg Duruz, 4. Che Bunce, 6. Neil Emblen, 7. Richard Johnson, 8. Scot Gemmill, 10. Sean Devine, 11. Jonti Richter, 13. Jonas Salley, 14. Malik Buari, 16. Adam Casey, 18. Michael White, 19. Sime Kovacevic, 20. Michael Turnbull (gk)

In: Unchanged
Out: Unchanged
Unavailable: Matt Carbon (groin ? 3 weeks), Dani Rodrigues (hamstring 2-3 weeks), Noah Hickey (knee ? 1 week)

Adelaide Squad: 1. Daniel Beltrame (gk); 2. Richie Alagich, 4. Angelo Costanzo, 5. Michael Valkanis, 6. Ross Aloisi, 8. Carl Veart, 10. Fernando, 12. Greg Owens, 13. Travis Dodd, 14. Aaron Goulding, 15. Nathan Burns, 18. Robert Cornthwaite, 19. Shengqing Qu, 20. Robert Bajic (gk), 21. Jason Spagnuolo

In: Unchanged
Out: Unchanged
Unavailable: 7. Lucas Pantelis (knee ? season), 11. Dez Giraldi (foot ? 3 weeks)


Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC
Saturday 2 September, 7.00pm AEST (6.30pm ACST, 5.00pm AWST)
Telstra Dome, Melbourne

Melbourne Squad: 1. Michael Theoklitos (gk), 2. Kevin Muscat, 3. Daniel Piorkowski, 6. Steve Pantelidis, 8. Fred, 9. Daniel Allsopp, 10. Archie Thompson, 12. Rod Vargas, 14. Adrian Caceres, 15. Adrian Leijer, 16. Simon Storey, 17. Grant Brebner, 18. Alessandro, 19. Claudinho, 20. Eugene Galekovic (gk)

In: Unchanged
Out: Unchanged
Unavailable:

Sydney FC Squad: 1. Clint Bolton (gk), 2. Iain Fyfe, 3. Alvin Ceccoli, 4. Mark Rudan, 6. U*** Talay, 7. Rob Middleby, 9. David Zdrilic, 10. Steve Corica, 11. Sasho Petrovski, 12. David Carney, 13. Jeremy Brockie, 15. Terry McFlynn, 16. Mark Milligan, 21. Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 20. Justin Pasfield (gk)

In: Jeremy Brockie & Terry McFlynn (both promoted)
Out: 14. Alex Brosque (ankle ? 2 weeks), Dwight Yorke (Transfer to Sunderland)
Unavailable: Ruben Zadkovich (knee), Jacob Timpano (groin)


Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners
Sunday 3 September, 3.00pm AWST (5.00pm AEST, 4.30pm ACST)
Members Equity Stadium, Perth

Perth Squad: 20. Aleks Vrteski (gk), 3. David Tarka, 4. Simon Colosimo, 5. Jamie Harnwell, 6. Jeremy Christie, 7. Mislav Saric, 8. David Micevski, 9. Luka Glavas, 11. Stan Lazaridis, 12. Leo Bertos, 13. Ante Kovacevic, 14. Jamie Coyne, 16. Adrian Webster, 17. Stuart Young, 19. Naum Sekulovski, 30. Andrew Crews * one to be omitted

In: Luka Glavas (promoted), Jamie Coyne (back from abdominal injury)
Out: 18. Josip Magdic, 23. Tyler Simpson (both omitted)
Unavailable: 1. Jason Petkovic (ankle ? 1 week), 2. Ryan Townsend (back ? 1 week), 10. Bobby Despotovski (back ? 3 weeks), 15. Mark Robertson (groin ? 1 week)


Central Coast Squad: 20. Danny Vukovic (gk), 2. Wayne O?Sullivan, 3. Paul O?Grady, 4. Noel Spencer, 5. Bradley Porter, 7. John Hutchinson, 8. Jamie McMaster, 10. Tom Pondeljak, 11. Damian Brown, 12. Stewart Petrie, 13. Tony Vidmar, 14. Vuko Tomasevic, 15. Andrew Clark, 17. Matthew Osman, 18. Alex Wilkinson, 19. Adam Kwasnik, 30. Matthew Trott (gk) * one to be omitted

In: Bradley Porter (return from shin splints)
Out: Andre Gumprecht (adductor injury ? 1 week)
Unavailable: Nick Mrdja (knee ? 2 weeks), John Crawley (hip ? 12 weeks), Nigel Boogaard (osteitis pubis ? 3 weeks)


N.B. Squads subject to change

[Grimmace]

Sydney's hunt for a new Yorke
Aaron Timms
September 2, 2006

"It's pretty much a sad day for me, and pretty much for all of Sydney and the fans there and Sydney FC, but what can I do? It was really out of my hands," Yorke, who arrived unannounced at Aussie Stadium earlier today, told reporters. "In many respects, without saying too much, if Sydney didn't really want me to go, they wouldn't have let me go - because they've got the pulling power so to speak, because I'm under contract to Sydney."

Yorke, widely regarded as the face of the A-League, had six months left to run on his contract with Sydney. He will join Sunderland on a two year deal believed to be worth $3 million a year - $2 million more than he was on at Sydney. Yorke, who acknowledged that his time at Sydney had been instrumental in giving him a "new lease of life" and a new appetite for the sport, insisted that money was not the major motivation for the move. Rather, it was a question of securing his long-term playing future.

"At the end of the day I've got six monthsd remaining on my [Sydney] contract, and [then] I'm out of contract," Yorke said. "And there was no talk about me extending that. Whether that was spoken about behind closed doors, it wasn't documented to me or my agent that that was going to be the case. And here I have a two-year deal in England - forget about the money aspect of it, I had to really think about it."

Yorke was cagy when asked whether he would have stayed had Sydney offered him a better deal.

"I'll let you read between the lines," he said. "This was an opportunity I had to look deep and hard at. ... Sydney hasn't come out and said, 'We want you,' or, 'We want you to stay,' or, 'We want to extend your contract.' There was no indication, and for me that's the most disappointing thing."

The task for Sydney now will be to find a marquee player to replace Yorke - a tough ask, in light of the fact that the transfer windows for both the A-League and the majority of the important overseas leagues have already closed. The club, while confirming that it has already begun the search for a replacement, declined to divulge the names of those it is looking to bring in. Former England great Alan Shearer is one option, as are Italian strikers Benito Carbone and Roberto Baggio. But options remain perilously thin.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/...817077936.html

[Grimmace]

Update: 79 mintues
ROAR 2: JETS 2

[Grimmace]

Final Score
JETS 2: ROAR 3

[Titanium_BD1103]

Note quite Grimmace...

From: www.smh.com.au

Roar beat Jets 3-2 to move top of table
September 1, 2006 - 10:43PM


Queensland Roar won its second match in a row and jumped to the top of the A-League with a 3-2 victory over Newcastle Jets at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Friday.

Queensland striker Simon Lynch tapped in the winner in the 87th minute after Jets skipper Paul Okon failed to clear a free kick inside the box.

It was a disastrous night for Socceroo Okon, who netted an own goal in the first half after Roar captain Chad Gibson did likewise at the other end.

Queensland roared to the top the league with six points, while the Jets have one point from two matches.

Adding further disappointment to the home side, striker Joel Griffiths was sent off two minutes into injury time for a second bookable offence.

Both sides lived up to their attacking reputations, playing with three strikers.

The 4-3-3 system left their defences vulnerable but produced an exciting encounter for the 7276 fans.

Queensland started the match superbly with Brazilian striker Reinaldo belting home a goal after five minutes.

Reinaldo broke free into space on the right, arrowed towards goal and smashed a shot past Jets goalkeeper Ben Kennedy - his pace embarrassing the static Newcastle defence.

The Jets reacted quickly with Griffiths hitting the cross bar two minutes later, but it took a Roar mistake for scores to level when on 26 minutes Gibson mistakenly headed the ball into his own net in a mixup with Roar goalkeeper Liam Reddy.

Jets defender Andrew Durante lobbed the ball into the box, Reddy came to collect it but hesitated, Gibson froze and the ball careered off his head into the net.

Reddy joined Queensland from Newcastle in the off-season after Nick Theodorakopoulos was appointed Jets coach.

The away team regained the lead on 38 minutes when Okon shockingly put the ball into his own goal from inside the six-yard box.

Reinaldo played a dangerous cross into the box from the right wing, which Okon side-footed into his own goal.

Newcastle striker Mark Bridge restored parity five minutes before half-time with his first goal of the season.

Bridge ran onto a throw-in and fired a low angled shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Queensland coach Miron Bleiberg replaced Gibson at half-time with Stuart McLaren.

However it was Lynch who provided the necessary spark, tapping in from close range after Okon failed to clear a free-kick.

? 2006 AAP

[Steve Dangerous]

and to think the roar had trouble finding the back of the net last season!

6 goals from 2 games. ain't bad.

[Grimmace]

its all good probably didnt really take that much notice anyway its good to see the A-league on foxtel rather than sbs as i can see it live but yeah it was an exciting game just wish there was more people at the ground though......... couldve gone but couldnt be bothered

[Grimmace]

Dwight blames Sydney
By David Lewis

September 02, 2006 12:00

DWIGHT Yorke has blamed Sydney FC for his surprise departure from the A-League to Sunderland in the English Championship.

Yorke was out on the golf course yesterday enjoying his last days in Sydney. While admitting he will miss Australia, he said that with no indications from Sydney FC that he would be re-signed beyond this season, it was in his best interests to head to Sunderland.
"If they did not really want me to go they would not have let me go, because they have the pulling power, so to speak," said Yorke.

"I have six months remaining on my contract. There was no talk about me extending the contract. That being the case and I have a two-year deal in England, I had to think about it."

Yorke's walkout leaves a galaxy of fading stars knocking at Sydney's door to replace him.

Amid claims by Sydney CEO Tim Parker that the club's well-paid captain was not a victim of cost-cutting, a host of thirtysomethings were touted as successors.

The transfer fee from Sunderland was worth $500,000.

Parker claims the phones have been running hot with would-be replacements for the past 48 hours, but refused reveal any identities.

But it's believed former Everton, Newcastle and Rangers battering ram Duncan Ferguson, 35, and 33-year-old Chris Sutton ? released by Birmingham after spells with Blackburn, Chelsea and Celtic ? are keen to move to Australia.

And the Italian attacking midfielder Benito Carboni, 35 ? once of Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford, Inter Milan and Torino ? has expressed a desire to move to the A-League, possibly as a guest player, after completing pre-season training with Serie B side Vincenza.

A cross between Gianfranco Zola and Paolo Di Canio, the flashy and feisty Carboni shares some of the qualities of Yorke, but lacks the marketing cachet. Japanese legend Hidetoshi Nakata is also available after severing ties with English premiership Bolton but is believed to be keener on scoring goals in the corporate arena than on the field.

"It's flattering to see what a destination we have become by the pedigree of the people who have been approaching us," said Parker.

However, Sydney are hamstrung by the closure of the transfer window, with the only players available those currently out of contract.



The post-Yorke era begins tonight when Sydney take on the Victory in Melbourne.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...001023,00.html

[Dakink]

A parting of two very ego centric parties here. Yorke is known for his love of being a big fish and Sydney pride themselves on being the "Glamour" club of the A-League.

They will ensure that they attract another high profile player!

[Titanium_BD1103]

Actually Dakink, the club is trying to move away from the glamour tag... this season its about hard work and the fighting spirit.... even though everyone else will always see us as a glamour club, Sydney FC is trying not to run with that ideal, hence the new song and some very cool new ads at the ground....

But yes we will get another player, probably on short term contract as the transfer window is closed, but it will be high profile guaranteed.... that aspect ain't changing..

As for the Roar, CONGRATS not even I expected them to do so well when I did those predicitions, I knew they'd rattle a few cages but they actually seem to have the attacking flair now to post scores and test sides, just need to build on combinations which will take time but they are on their way towards the bigger end of the league...

[DeeGan]

The football season has started magnificently for QLD and Manchester Utd.

[Grimmace]

Get ready for a big shock
NZ Knights shock Adelaide with 1-0 win
September 2, 2006 - 12:55PM

sensational late goal by Malik Buari gave the New Zealand Knights their first ever A-League win on home soil 1-0 over Adelaide United today.

Midfielder Buari evaded a defender at the corner of the penalty box in the 88th minute and his perfectly placed kick curled into the top right-hand corner of the net.

Goalkeeper Robert Bajic had no chance and the goal ended nearly 90 minutes of frustration for 4,100 fans at North Harbour Stadium in a game dominated by the Knights.

The shock loss for Adelaide at at the hands of last year's wooden spooners is its second straight defeat after winning the pre-season competition.

The Reds rarely threatened the goal in a disappointing display by John Kosmina's men, who won the minor premiership last season.

The New Zealand team had four scoring shots to two in the first half but could not find the net by the break.

The Knights first threatened when Buari broke clear to the left of the goal but defender Michael Valkanis booted away Buari's dangerous cross.

An even better opportunity went begging when an Adelaide failed to clear a dangerous situation with Knights striker Sean Devine's header finding Jonty Richter, whose kick went straight into Bajic's arms.

The Reds best scoring attempt for the half saw Carl Veart find space at the edge of the box, bringing keeper Danny Milosevic off his line to make the save.

A New Zealand goal looked almost certain when Devine trapped the ball at the corner of of the penalty box and got past a spreadeagled Bajic.

But Devine's momentum left him too deep to score and his tap into the goal mouth failed to find a teammate.

Adelaide midfielder Ross Aloisi blazed away over the cross bar early in the second half and at the other end Devine found the keeper again with a long shot.

In the space of a minute the Knights came agonisingly close to scoring twice when Salley's shot shaved the cross bar and Buari's header went narrowly wide.

Bajic brilliantly saved another Devine shot which appeared bound for the corner of the net, leaving the Knights wondering they had to do to score.

They found out when Buari's flash of brilliance brought the house down.

AAP

[Titanium_BD1103]

GO NZ... WOOT... Happy cause New Zealand won... oh and it was against Adelaide.. :lol!:

Nah seriously Congrats to New Zealand, it is good they are winning as it means that crowds will come to their home games and watch the side who will give it a good shake up against the rest....

Seems like as I said they no have the midfield and attack to complement their decent defensive lineup last year and that means the defense can hold firm for longer... so that is good for the A-League that it is occuring.

GO KNIGHTS, strength to strength and ensure a solid A-League...

[Grimmace]

Melbourne 3 Sydney 2
A record A-League crowd watched a fierce new Australian sporting rivalry develop as Melbourne Victory beat Sydney FC at Telstra Dome tonight.

Before an ebullient crowd of 39,730 - easily the biggest to watch an A-League home and away clash - the Victory again shone to beat the reigning champions thanks to a Danny Allsopp brace and a penalty from captain Kevin Muscat.

Defeat was bitter for the visitors, who had a defender fouled off the ball, their acting captain sent off and Socceroo Mark Milligan brought down on the hour by a raised elbow from Melbourne striker Fred.

As Milligan was being treated for what appeared a blow to the throat, a heated exchange of words broke out between Melbourne players and Sydney coach Terry Butcher and his assistants.

Milligan later sent a verbal volley Fred's way after the Brazilian was substituted.

In a match chock full of incident, Melbourne went ahead in the eighth minute when Allsopp scored, but only after the Victory's Adrian Leijer ran through Sydney's Robbie Middleby as the corner came in.

Middleby left the ground favouring a collarbone.

Muscat doubled the lead three minutes later when he converted a penalty awarded against Sydney goalie Clint Bolton for his challenge on Alessandro, who charged into the penalty box with only the keeper to beat.

Alessandro copped the ire of the visitors two minutes later as Sydney's Mark Rudan - acting captain following Dwight Yorke's return to England - was issued with a yellow card for a feet-first tackle just near the left corner flag.

Referee Mark Shield then sent Rudan off when the Sydney defender put his leg into Alessandro as the Melbourne player lay on the ground.

A man down from the 13th minute, Sydney did well to score twice - first through Iain Fyfe's commanding header in the 18th minute and then through a David Carney drive in the 83rd, deflected off Melbourne's Rodrigo Vargas.

The visitors battled hard in the dying stages in an effort to find an equaliser in what would have been a brilliant comeback.

Earlier, Muscat and Allsopp combined in their own share of brilliance, as the Melbourne captain arrowed a pass down the ground, which Allsopp latched on to before lobbing the ball over Bolton for the Victory's third goal.

The crowd figure easily eclipsed the 25,557 attendance which watched Sydney FC and Adelaide United late last season.

AAP

[Titanium_BD1103]

Geez I so thought I posted that article already... oh well too many forums...

Well we lost, but we lost with spirit and never gave up in the end, I am proud of the FC boys tonight, they did a great job...

Bit of a question mark on Butcher's decision to keep Carney and Sasho on the bench to start the match, I think he was going defensive strategy, but that didn't work at all...

Completely shafted by the ref tonight, penalty for first goal wasn't a penalty, and Fred should have been sent off for striking Milligan... but we just couldn't get there in the end...

Top effort for the crowd, that is massive, FOOTBALL IS ALIVE AND WELL...