Tipping Away Week 19
This blog has always had a personal, indulgent dimension so just for everyone's interest, and completely oblivious to the fortunes of my team, 2007 has started positively and warmly for me. Right now it's even raining, which for a Brisbane burgher is very good indeed. Happy New Year everyone.
Well my first season on the job as a football fanatic has been an emotional rollercoaster. After the Roar's effort last week I've hit a sort of zen plateau of passive observation. Sure McLaren, you need to win all three games. My guess is the Roar will win one of them, but I'm not prepared to call which one. My hope is it will be the one against Sydney in week 21, just for the sake of the home crowd. After that there's just debriefing, analysing, blaming, recruiting etcetera. I am not a Farina fan, at all.
Anyway, here are the scores for the Down Under Football tipping comp so far:
Tony: 29
Hamish: 29
Drsimmo: 27
Jacob: 27
John: 25
Dave: 23
Tony and Dave didn't play unfortunately, which was probably my fault for putting the post up too late, so I've given them a point each. Next year I'll come up with a better routine and system.
A reminder that it is 3 points for a correct score, and 1 point for a correct result with a different score.
My tips:
Adelaide United FC vs Queensland Roar FC
Adelaide 2:1
Newcastle Jets FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC
Draw 2:2
Sydney FC vs New Zealand Knights FC
Sydney 2:1
Perth Glory FC vs Melbourne Victory FC
Melbourne 0:3
Jacob's Tips:
Adelaide United FC vs Queensland Roar FC
Adelaide 3:0
Newcastle Jets FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC
Newcastle 1:0
Sydney FC vs New Zealand Knights FC
Sydney 1:0
Perth Glory FC vs Melbourne Victory FC
Melbourne 0:3
Well my first season on the job as a football fanatic has been an emotional rollercoaster. After the Roar's effort last week I've hit a sort of zen plateau of passive observation. Sure McLaren, you need to win all three games. My guess is the Roar will win one of them, but I'm not prepared to call which one. My hope is it will be the one against Sydney in week 21, just for the sake of the home crowd. After that there's just debriefing, analysing, blaming, recruiting etcetera. I am not a Farina fan, at all.
Anyway, here are the scores for the Down Under Football tipping comp so far:
Tony: 29
Hamish: 29
Drsimmo: 27
Jacob: 27
John: 25
Dave: 23
Tony and Dave didn't play unfortunately, which was probably my fault for putting the post up too late, so I've given them a point each. Next year I'll come up with a better routine and system.
A reminder that it is 3 points for a correct score, and 1 point for a correct result with a different score.
My tips:
Adelaide United FC vs Queensland Roar FC
Adelaide 2:1
Newcastle Jets FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC
Draw 2:2
Sydney FC vs New Zealand Knights FC
Sydney 2:1
Perth Glory FC vs Melbourne Victory FC
Melbourne 0:3
Jacob's Tips:
Adelaide United FC vs Queensland Roar FC
Adelaide 3:0
Newcastle Jets FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC
Newcastle 1:0
Sydney FC vs New Zealand Knights FC
Sydney 1:0
Perth Glory FC vs Melbourne Victory FC
Melbourne 0:3
Labels: Tipping
posted by Hamish Alcorn at 6:28 am
13 Comments:
Rightio, time to make up some ground...
Adelaide v Queensland: Draw 1-1
While Queensland played poorly last week against NZ and deserved to lose, they played well the week before. Two of the most inconsistent teams in the A-League.
Newcastle v Central Coast: Newcastle 2-1
Another great crowd expected for this one, and I reckon the fans won't go away disappointed this time. I just hope the pitch is in better condition than it was for the Sydney game.
Sydney v NZ: Sydney 3-0
Sydney's defense has been second to none of late and despite NZ's resurgence, I don't think they'll crack this week either. Hopefully the pitch at Aussie Stadium will have recovered from that bloody Robbie Williams concert.
Perth v Melbourne: Melbourne 1-3
There just seems to be no stopping Melbourne at the moment, especially against teams with a leaky defence. It'll be interesting to see what happens come finals time though. Perth play better at home, but Melbourne play even better away.
Reds 0 v Roar 1
drsimmo is spot on - two very inconsistent teams. Could Qld run any more hot-and-cold than they have in recent weeks? If the Roar go to form, they'll rightly regard last week as a shocker, give themselves a right royal boot up the backside and come out and beat Adelaide. I think Owens' withdrawal will affect the Reds more than Lynch's sidelining.
Jets 2 Mariners 2
Pardon the pun, but this one looks like a real dogfight. Both can secure outright 4th with a win - which is exactly why neither will succeed. I expect a free-flowing affair with plenty of goals.
Bling 2 Knights 1
The NZers showed some real fight against the Roar, and I'm sure having their contracts sorted by the FFA was a tremendous weight off their collective shoulders. They can go into this one with confidence, but it would be the upset of the season for them to get all 3 points here. With Brosque finding touch, the Bling should be too strong.
Glory 2 Victory 0
In other circumstances, you could pencil this one in as a win for the Vics; but with suspensions and Ernie Merrick deciding to experiment with younger players, I suspect the Glory will be looking to take full advantage. For the boys from the West, their season is effectively over, so they might as well have some fun. They have nothing to lose, and the Victory have nothing to gain by risking key players.
Best of luck everyone.
.....Tony and Dave didn't play unfortunately, which was probably my fault for putting the post up too late, so I've given them a point each...
Good to see you in the spirit of giving Hamish, thanks :-)
Truth is I was down south, on the NSW south coast of Jervis Bay,not a computer or internet cafe in sight. After two games I was struggling anyway (was thinking PG 1 v AU 2 and NZK 1 v QR 1 - I have a bit of time for Ricki Herbert) but like you was thinking 2-1 to Melb. As for Monday, not knowing the ground was so poor, was thinking 1-1.
Here are my tips for rd19;
AU 2 v QR 2
NJ 1 v CCM 1
SFC 1 v NZK 0
PG 1 v MV 2
Happy ny to all and what's the latest on the Terrorists?
Adelaide United FC vs Queensland Roar FC
Roar 2:0
Newcastle Jets FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC
Newcastle 1:0
Sydney FC vs New Zealand Knights FC
NZ 0:3
Perth Glory FC vs Melbourne Victory FC
Perth 1:0 (seeing the Victory players intentionally picking up yellows was too much for me - just so they wouldn't miss the finals)
Thanks for playing everyone. I'll add Jacob's tips this evening when I see him.
Feel free, incidentally, to send me tips by email and I'll include them in the main post.
Dave, can you please explain to me the origin of the term, Bling for Sydney?
Tony, the Terrorists first season ended a couple of weeks ago with a 3:2 defeat which went right to the wire. The last five minutes were very exciting, with a constant hammering at the goal of the opposition. The Centre was using penalty shootouts that day to determine draws, so it was a close thing.
That was their first Indoor Soccer season and that being so they really went well. Almost all the other teams (and all of the ones who beat them on the ladder) have played seasons before. I asked around kids and parents and they're all really excited to continue. The next season runs from the 27th January through to the beginning of the winter Soccer competition, where I think Jacob will be playing for El Salvador (Football Club) again.
John, your optimism and loyalty are truly glorious. Your loyalty to a style of game seems as strong as to your team, reflected in your call for the NZ vs Sydney (Bling) game. I do fear your prejudices are not serving you well in the tipping comp however...
Finally, the prayer, which I missed last week. I think I got this idea from Pele's biography, where he described the national team developing a habit of a prayer meeting, which even the atheists participated in, before the game. They never prayed "that we win," and I've roughly modelled my prayer on theirs.
May the fans witness great football this weekend, may the best teams win, and may there be no serious injuries.
Peace.
Hey Hamish,
First off, sorry about last week - in the Xmas whirl I actually lost track of what day it was.
As for Sydney FC, the nickname "Bling FC" came from last year when they were seen as big spenders; especially when they had "All Night" Dwight Yorke in their line-up. This season of course they've been more restrained, but I happen to like the tag, so I use it in preference to the more prosaic official name.
On the subject of nicknames, I've read of Melbourne being referred to as the "Tards". Can anyone explain that one?
Cheers,
Dave
Glad the kids enjoyed their first futsal season Hamish. From my experience, and I've played it on and off for the past 12 years, it really does do wonders for ones technical level (first touch, vision, passing success, ability to read the game etc).
It doesn't necessarily ensure you will be a better outdoor player, but from my experience and those of my friends I reckon it helps because the focus is on plenty of touches of the ball, and that can only help.
Would be interested to know if you felt it imporved the kids over the season, and particularly whether you thought Jacob has improved?
Good on you and kids for sticking with it.
As for the bling thing, I'll leave it up to Dave or a Sydney fan like Mike to elaborate, but when Sydney burst onto the scene and snapped up Dwight Yorke, renowned for his bling, I think one of the papers ran a headline around the theme of Bling FC. It stuck, and everything about the club was meant to be bigger and grander.
Some of the fans at Syd's earlier games played on the theme, turning up with massive clocks and chain dangling around their necks. It was funny stuff.
I think the $6mil debt at the end of last season, all the off-field drama and the departure of Yorke and Littbarski shifted the perception in season 2 and today you rarely hear the club being referred to as Bling.
These days the nickname is Drama FC.
Speaking of drama, there will be that and more if John's prediction on Sunday's game is accurate.
Hey Dave,
The nickname Tards relates to - how can I put this diplomatically? - the apparent mental age of Melbourne Victory supporters despite of their actual age. While their crowds are loud and boisterous, their behaviour after games often leaves a lot to be desired, with away fans needing to be "evacuated" by security on more than one occasion. The term was originally coined by Sydney fans in the Cove I think, but is now used by fans of several other teams.
Oh, and Tony, I reckon Budget FC is a more oft-used name for Sydney these days ;-)
Congrats to the Roar for last night's game. If CCM and the Jets draw, Queensland will end the round in outright 4th! Of course, Sydney will now end up in 2nd no matter what happens on Sunday against the Knights.
On that issue of A-League team nicknames:
SFC: Bling was the tag from the beginning (I even suggested that the supporters' bay, now the Cove of course, be known as the Curva Bling). Drsimmo is right - Budget FC or Shoestring FC would be a better appellation right now, particularly after the salary cap fine!
MV: The originator of the Tard term was actually my Well-Informed Covite friend. Amazing how quickly it caught on.
AU: Barrels was the original nickname, but one that's gained currency recently is the Cakes (a reference to the website of their supporters, "The Gate" - it's www.gateaufc.com (!)
QR: The Clogs, for obvious reasons.
NUJ: The Planes, again obvious.
CCM: Salty Dogs, ditto.
NZK: Known as The Shambles in some quarters. ;-) Apologies, John.
PG: The Sandgropers.
BTW Hamish, you may be close to making me eat my words vis-a-vis my finals predictions after last night...
Congratulations Dave for getting the score right for last night. Jacob and I both suffered for our lack of loyalty I'm afraid. John's loyalty came through for him and he at least picked up a point.
Thanks for the explanation of Bling too. It seems you have kicked off a bit of a theme. I am interested and thankyou everyone, especially Tony.
Tony, I reckon Jacob and the boys have improved through indoor soccer. As you say it's about fast passing and constant movement and positional play off the ball. They love it for its speed and excitement, and I can't help thinking it helps them. If nothing else they are at least playing off season. Frankly, it's bloody cool to watch as well.
Incidentally, it's not Futsal they're playing. The main difference with Indoor Soccer is that there is no such thing as 'out', so they can use the net surrounding the pitch as a player, sort of, and 'pass' it past a defender.
Hamish, indoor, off the wall with a big furry ball,is heaps fun. I remember playing it as a kid and exchanging (or attempting to exchange) more than the odd one-two with myself, but i suggest to get the boys into futsal as the next step where the emphasis on keeping the ball in will aid their development.
Whatever they do, as long as its fun.
Drsimmo/Mike, stand to be corrected, just that I'm sure I'd heard to odd Fox pundit refer to them as Drama Fc given the week to week goings-on. No doubt Budget or Shoestring are apt.
I mixed up Mike and Tony again. Red face and apologies to Mike. At least I don't think it is insulting for either of you to be mistaken for either of you. You're both brilliant FB analysts in my view and in my journey are the original A-League bloggers - thus my confusion.
Anyway, thank you Mike for the elaboration of nicknames. And it's gonna be tight but I truly hope I will be making you diet on your words re: The Clogs. As I've said before, Queensland sport has a bit of a theme of squeezing through at the last possible opportunity, so until the numbers just show it as impossible, there is hope.
Re: Sydney, I prefer Drama FC. Budget FC is a bit rich. They'll get over their fine, and with Lowy as a major stakeholder Sydney is probably the most financially secure club in the League, despite their relatively poor crowds. In fact, let's avoid the irony altogether and just call them Spendbig FC, as that is what got them into strife in the first (and second) place.
Hi Hamish
I think Anthony LaPalia is the one who wants to put more $ into Sydney FC. Funny thing he played for Adelaide - goalkeeper - (and grew up there) and some of his family live in Brisbane.
I guess Adelaide and Brisbane were taken.
Pity they can not get him to back Perth or NZ.
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