A-league Algorithms
Last week I got all excited about the possibilities for the last two rounds with Crunching Possibilities. I got the title for this post from a comment on that post by Wayne, my favourite Central Coast Mariners supporter. Wayne is a gentleman and a poet, and I raise my glass to him and his team in a respectful farewell to their possibility of being in the finals. As Round 20 comes to an end, they are the third to technically lose hope, after New Zealand and Perth.
The other news is that Adelaide has joined Melbourne as a cert for the top four. Even if Central Coast beat them next week, they can realistically finish third at the worst (ok, fourth if Newcastle defeat Melbourne by about five goals).
So we are now down to three teams fighting for two spots. Newcastle will be fighting Melbourne for living breath. If Newcastle lose that match, the rest of the round will be largely academic, except for the question of who will be playing who. But if Melbourne continues its rough run and Newcastle gets the points, it will make the game between Sydney and the Roar at Suncorp stadium a grim struggle indeed.
Just for the drama of it I hope this happens. Sydney under Bad Boy Long Ball Butcher thinks it's the shit, and has hubris coming from every orifice. Queensland has had a highly principled slump and only two weeks ago was number 7. I'll be there. I'm prepared to wish for the risk of losing for the possibility of the highest elation since my first LSD trip in the 80s (I didn't inhale).
Go Newcastle!
The other news is that Adelaide has joined Melbourne as a cert for the top four. Even if Central Coast beat them next week, they can realistically finish third at the worst (ok, fourth if Newcastle defeat Melbourne by about five goals).
So we are now down to three teams fighting for two spots. Newcastle will be fighting Melbourne for living breath. If Newcastle lose that match, the rest of the round will be largely academic, except for the question of who will be playing who. But if Melbourne continues its rough run and Newcastle gets the points, it will make the game between Sydney and the Roar at Suncorp stadium a grim struggle indeed.
Just for the drama of it I hope this happens. Sydney under Bad Boy Long Ball Butcher thinks it's the shit, and has hubris coming from every orifice. Queensland has had a highly principled slump and only two weeks ago was number 7. I'll be there. I'm prepared to wish for the risk of losing for the possibility of the highest elation since my first LSD trip in the 80s (I didn't inhale).
Go Newcastle!
Labels: Tipping
posted by Hamish Alcorn at 8:51 pm
9 Comments:
A bit of a dilemma for us Victory supporters.
Most of kind of like Newcastle and Roar and really hate Sydney
All of us hate Butcher and all he represents with a passion and want him gone.
That said we are a bit worried about our form at the moment and don't want to come to the final having lost the last 2 games.
What to do? its a real dilemma, I guest the players will go there and play the best they can, its just us supporters that are a bit conflicted.
PS: We have a better chance of winning because the game is in Newcastle, as you know our form at TD is really bad (Luckily Melbourne fans at all sports are very loyal).
This is a great post on the victory forum that goes through all the different possibilities for the next round ---> http://www.melbournevictory.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24581
Vale Hamish! I desperately want to see a Qld-Melbourne GF, so I would be happy to see Newcastle go down early, even if I am not the Jet hater that most of us CCM fans seem to be - I just like the idea of Football getting a good hold up there, and nothing works better than success. Imagine getting crowds like Victory gets year after year..My boyhood football mates live up in Briz-vegas these days as well, so my bias has a personal dimension. Your schemata has merit, and its ethics are sound. Nevertheless, be careful what you wish for..
Hamish, I believe you inserted an extra word unintentionally in that piece:
Sydney under Bad Boy Long Ball Butcher thinks it's the shit...
The current feeling among Sydney FC fans would be better articulated this way:
Sydney under Bad Boy Long Ball Butcher thinks it's shit.
In all seriousness, next week at Suncorp will be a corker. Can't make it unfortunately (a wedding I committed to ages ago...dammit!), but enjoy!
Qld without McKay (big loss) and McCloughan (less so but still important), versus Sydney without Milligan (HUGE loss) and McFlynn (hardly a loss at all, IMHO), plus possibly Ceccoli.
Hard to call, but I have a sneaky feeling that (a) you guys will win, (b) we will actually still sneak into the finals, as I reckon Melbourne will actually take the Newcastle game seriously.
Cheers...
THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!
I'm calling this the most important game in the Roars history. And I wouldn't miss it for the world.
I'll be wearing my Dutch shirt and cheering for you. Hope you can hear me from down south!
'Twill be a corker indeed Mike. Thanks to all the non-Roar support. I'm sure some of it will dry up (Scary and Watt) if we face you in the end game. But until such a conflict should unfold, it's nice to feel the Roar attracts such appreciation from so far south of the Tweed.
Wayne, after the rollercoaster of this season so far, I'm trying to be zen-Budhist about the whole thing, and not be attached to any result. I'm not saying it's easy. It may even be an innovative path to a more enlightened reality. Then again, if the Roar do win, Nirvana will come that much more easilly.
Shame you can't make it up Mike. It would have been great to meet you and talk about... um... well who knows... music or The Ashes or something. ;)
Jecce, if you see two guys in orange shirts, one pushing 40 and the other about 11, that'll be Jacob and I. Do say 'hi'. Seriously, if you feel like touching base email me and I'll send you my mobile number. We'll probably be with John of A Seat at the A-League.
Over to the gods...
Hamish, I think Queensland are going into the match against Sydney in the right condition. I don't know what effect the absence of Matt McKay and Josh McCloughan will have on the Roar but the fact is Queensland is on a good run at the moment which is what you need at this stage of the season.
I also have a sneaky feeling that Newcastle will inflict Melbourne's first away defeat and if that happens then the Queensland/Sydney match will be real cracker of a game.
hum this is a tough week for football addicts - particularly Qld ones
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