It wasnt the best of games but the reds got it done against a talented Kashima side. Robbie Cornthwaite headed home a sweet ass Cassio cross to turn himself from villan (own Goal in the first leg) to hero!

Kashima seemed to play into the hands of united, repeatedly knocking in crosses from the wings which were easily cleared by Adelaids tall defenders. Easily MOTM in nmy opinion was Eugene Galekovic, dont think he put a foot wrong all game. In fact some media people actually said “wana swap keepers?” which is credit to eugie however it has presented some problems too.

Kashima and the rest of Japan have no salary cap whatsoever so therefore can pay players like (singled out by japan media) cassio and Travis Dodd enourmous wages ripping them from the salary-cap haulted A-League. Thsi is something that needs to be address and addressed immediatley if we wish to continue competing for glory in Asias top competition.

Another thing that got on my nerves a bit was the fans…of adelaide no less. I mean the joint was packed to the rafters but all i could here was ohhhhhhhh aaaaahhhhhhhhh and boring chants of United…United…United wtf!!! At times the Kashima supporters were louder! This isnt on! Show some flair you reds, ill write you up a song book if you want just do something!

end rant..

So yea United progress to the next stage where Adelaide will meet the winner of a match also taking place tonight between domestic league teams from Uzbekistan and Iran with home and away games to take place on 8 and 22 October.

If Adelaide win the semi-final over the two matches, they will play another home-and-away series on 5 and 12 November to decide the Asian Champions for 2008 and stand to share in prizemoney of US$1.0 million.

Happy Days!

Match Report

We have an old, has-been defender who gets carded more frequently than any other A-League player, who lost out in preference to Titus Bramble in a race for new contracts at Newcastle United, and so on (we all know where this is going)… coming out of retirement in an attempt to take a national team spot off the next generation of defender when we all know that Craig Moore will be of no use at all to the national team by the time the World Cup rolls around in 2010. We should be building towards the WC and developing the team we intend to take, not bringing back an old team that will be of little use. Why dont’ we try and coax Alex Tobin and Tony Vidmar out of retirement while we’re at it?? Hell, lets go the whole 9 yards and get Jonny Warren to play too.

Then there’s John Aloisi, which is almost as bad. I hesitate to suggest that Brett Holman would be of more use up front, but you catch my drift. There are many players more deserving of a Socceroos spot on current form. ex A-Leaguers Bruce Djite and Nathan Burns surely should be getting a look in before Aloisi, so should Macca, even an injured Joshua Kennedy would be of more use. And then there’s the next generation of players in the likes of Zullo, Kruse, Rukavytsya and company all very capable players who will be looking to show what they can do and win a spot for the next world cup and we want to rob them of a spot for these has-beens?

I hear what you’re saying “But without Aloisi taking that penalty we might not have made the world cup!” but that was in the past, and we can’t continue to select him on the basis of something he did in excess of two years ago. All sloppy sentiment in football gets you is a reputation for being vulnerable to sentiment.

I’ve found a couple of hours this weekend since I’m not working to write a bit of an article but I’ll keep it brief so here we go…

This weekend sees a bit of a lull in the procedings after the transfer window came to an end, Melbourne Victory favourite Michael Theoklitos’ reported transfer to everton failed to eventuate and FFA has decided to implement international breaks in the league fixtures after a disasterous clash in fixtures and players being called up for national team duty last season saw just a handfull of goals scored in what was branded as the “worst week of the A-League in its brief history” by many pundits.

The panic raised that the sport would be seen as boring has seen a new plan introduced and international breaks observed by the A-League as it attempts to fall further into line with the bigger European leagues.

The international break also gives the league a chance to regroup after particularly average crowds have seen some of the more twitchy football fans wonder if the league has grown too rapidly or that the league is nolonger the ‘flavour of the month’ in the domestic sport scene in Australia.

In reality, the AFL and NRL competitions are reaching their climax and attracting away many of the neutral fans who attend A-League games over the Australian summer when there is no other competative ‘football’ of any kind for fans to get behind and salivate over the prospects of. Once the NRL and AFL seasons pack up for the summer crowds should return to the levels fans are familiar with from earlier in the year.

In other news The Socceroos face a setback for their international clashes with The Netherlands and Uzbekistan this week with Vince Grella upholding the fine tradition of English Premier League players to pull out right before important Socceroo clashes with an injury of some description. While the injury is not terribly serious it should be servere enough to stop Grella from participating in both international matches this week. Ironically, Harry Kewell is currently fully fit and expected to start against the Dutch.

Anyway, that’s about all from me for now. I hope I’ve contributed atleast something interesting in my first article after the build-up I was given.

Basically i thought it was about time to pester the boys at the Offside about open up the A-League page. And what better time than this tedious FIFA international break??

First up is the team blogs. To start off with we have 3 team blogs. Liam will command the Sydney FC blog, Jake will have the reins for the Melbourne Victory blog and Ahmed will be in control of the Queensland Roar blog.

All three of the boys are enthusiastic writers who will allow the Offside to present club specific opinions about the goings on in the A-League. Obviously theres another 5 spots to take up (and another 2 if your interested in one of the expansion teams) for all those who feel dismayed that their team isnt represented on the offside.

Secondly i’d like to announce that i have appointed a co-blogger for the A-League Offside. As you other bloggers out there may know, it is difficult to constantly post about the shenanagens that go on in a league, especially the ever expanding landscape that is football in Australia. Josh comes in with a massive pedegrie having established himself on other Australian football websites and we’re lucky to have him.

Well thats about all at the moment, as you can see The A-league Offside is here to stay and we’re commited to providing you with knowledgeable opinions and info about this exciting league. There will be a few teething problems to start with but they’ll be ironed out as the days progress.

So bring your friends, comment and if your game enough jump on as a team blogger.

Cummon Aussie!!!

But these wernt tight games, like a 4-3 or a 3-2, these were absolute annihilation’s due mainly to defensive displays that make ever lover of the game shudder. But what was good was that there was goals and not fluffed chances, this will only get more and more fringe supporters interested in our great league.

Melbourne Victory 5 v 0 Newcastle Jets
I was at this game and what a game to see. Melbourne were fantastic to watch, The interplay between Hernandez, Lopez, Fabiano, Allsopp and Thompson was something to behold and will scare the living shit out of defenders all season! The Jets were just simply outclassed from start to finish as they were left one too many times in no mans land. Archie Thompson was man of the match here as (first game coming back from injury) he showed that his Olympic woes were behind him by setting up 3 goals and scoring one himself. The Victory Marquee was unselfish first the first time in a long time.

On the other hand the Jets were absolutely woeful. Jade North needs to forget about going overseas once-and-for-all because he got ripped to pieces by the Victory strikers! Zura was nowhere and Covic looked very very unsettled. Song was impressive but besides him they were just pathetic and showed that they are not the same team that one the toilet bowl last season.

Match report
MELBOURNE VICTORY 5 (Carlos Hernandez 40m, Archie Thompson 45+2m, Danny Allsopp 61m, 64m, Grant Brebner 90+2m) NEWCASTLE JETS 0. Crowd: 22,589

Adelaide United 3 v 0 Wellington Phoenix
Adelaide were able to keep up with Melbourne by seeing off Wellington at Hindmarsh Stadium. Brazilian striker Cristiano was the star of the show here as he put away two shots from inside the box. The former Dutch first division player showed class pouncing on ever ball that came his way. United played fantastic overall with Salley improving with every match, Pantelis slotting calmly from the edge of the 16 yard box and Trav Dodd at his usual best. Makes for a fantastic game v Melbourne in 2 weeks.

Wellington on the other hand were poor to say the very least. They seemed to really struggle without the presence of Shane Smeltz and find themselves bottom of the ladder. This team has problems all over the park with their defense conceding eight goals in their first three matches. Ricki Herbet will need to make some drastic changes to get anywhere close to the top 4 this season.

Match Report
ADELAIDE UNITED 3 (Lucas Pantelis 15m, Cristiano 48m, 60m) WELLINGTON PHOENIX 0. Crowd: 7,832.

Sydney FC 5 v 2 Perth Glory
Glory received a nice belting here copping 5 goals. Alex Brosque, Cole and Steve Corica were the performers for Syd. They were a constant threat for the Glory defense all game. Brosque seems like he’s a bit more settled now with Kosmina as coach and the Sydney style of play.Both teams got deserved penalties against them and were fairly even through the first with Amaral and Eugene Dadi the threats coming from Perth. Dadi once again showed his class from headers and looks to be a major coup for the A-League.

So it was all heading towards being a fantastic match… then the controversy happened. Dino Djulbic had a bit of a mind burst and not only caused a penalty but SPAT IN THE DIRECTION OF THE REF! I dont know if he did it on purpose or not but if he did, he should be delt with! HARD! we dont need that crap in the A-League.

And it was downhill for the Glory from there. Defense allowed the Sydney strikers too much space and they were ripped apart accordingly.

Match Report
SYDNEY FC 5 (Alex Brosque 3m, Steve Corica 22m pen, Mark Bridge 39m, Shannon Cole 43m, Nikolai Topor-Stanley 89m og) PERTH GLORY 2 (Eugene Dadi 12m, 67m pen). Crowd: 11,734.

Central Coast Mariners v Queensland Roar 4-2
Another goal feast was found in the last game of the round. that rhymes wtf! anyway, didn’t get a chance to see too much of this game so ill leave it up to the match report to give you guys a bit of an idea about what hapened in this match. But what id like to point out are 4 things.

1. Mile Jedinak’s firebolt of a goal! pwoaahhhhh we need a bit more of that in the A-League.
2. Mark Bosnich made his first official return to football in this clash (a little beefy it must be said) but his passion he has for the game is out there for the world to see. He truely wears his heart to see and its a breath of fresh air in this league. He will hopefully be a great success.
3. Mark should’ve been sent off for taking a players legs out like that… you just dont do it! grr
4. WTF was with Liam Reddy!, hes a fantastic goalkeeper but got it all wrong in that game.

Match Report
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 4 (Matt Simon 31m, Mile Jedinak 48m, Dylan Macallister 64m, 71m) QUEENSLAND ROAR 2 (Charlie Miller 69m, Serginho van Dijk 73m pen). Crowd: 12,185.

Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets
Friday 29 August 29, Kick-Off 8pm AEST
Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Referee. Mark Shield

The Match of the Round is tonights clash at the (hopefully packed out) Telstra Dome between Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets. After killing off Wellington 4-2, the Victory will be confident with their current strike-force and will be additionally confidant after the return from injury of Archie Thompson. The lethal partnership between Danny Allsopp and Brazilian strike partner Ney Fabiano came together perfectly in that game and will be looking to build on that relationship in front of their home crowd with Archie most likely coming off the bench as he works on his fitness issues. Michael Theoklitos also returns in this game from injury and brings with him added assurance at the back.

With two draws in two matches, Newcastle hasn’t had quite the start of the Victory but that doesn’t mean they have been playing badly.. they’ve actually played very well but have had to steal two draws in the final minutes. Extra attacking firepower is needed and Danish midfielder Jesper Hakansson is back from injury to hopefully supply just that. What is interesting is the fact that former Victory youngster Kaz Patafta has been omitted from this tie. Would’ve loved to have seen how he would have faired against his old club since he wasn’t given much of a chance by Earnie Merrick, but it could be much of the same at the Jets… could be be slightly overrated?

Melbourne needs to push all the way with its strike force to make sure they can get a healthy lead against the never say die Jets. Lopez and Hernandez are forming a brilliant Costa-Rican partnership in the midfield which will help feed the strikers and compose the team when need be. The Jets will welcome the inclusions of Jesper and Hoffman back into the squad to add what they have been lacking.

Prediction: Melbourne look like they are on a high and with plenty of quality to take off the bench, i think they will be too strong a relatively new Jets squad who are yet to find their feet.

Melbourne Victory Squad: 1. Michael Theoklitos (gk), 2. Kevin Muscat (Captain), 3. Michael Thwaite, 4. Steven Pace, 7. Matthew Kemp, 8. Grant Brebner, 9. Danny Allsopp, 10. Archie Thompson, 11. Ney Fabiano, 12. Rodrigo Vargas, 14. Billy Celeski, 15. Tom Pondeljak, 16. Carlos Hernandez, 17. Jose Luis Lopez, 18. Leigh Broxham, 19. Evan Berger, 20. Mitchell Langerak (gk).
*Two to be omitted.

In. Michael Theoklitos, Archie Thompson.
Out. Tommi Tomich (omitted).
Unavailable. Daniel Vasilevski (hip – 1 week), Nick Ward (calf – 1 week), Nathan Elasi (National U/20 duties), Sebastian Ryall (National U/20 duties).

Newcastle Jets Squad: 1. Ante Covic, 2. Adam Griffiths, 3. Jade North, 5. James Holland, 6. Jesper Hakansson, 8. Matt Thompson, 9. Joel Griffiths, 10. Jin-Hyung Song, 11. Tarek Elrich, 12. Jobe Wheelhouse, 13. Adam Dapuzzo, 15. Jason Hoffman, 16. Ben Kantarovski, 18. Noel Spencer, 20. Ben Kennedy, 23. Edmundo Zura.
*one to be omitted.

In. 15 Jason Hoffman (returns from Qantas Young Socceroos duties), 6. Jesper Hakansson (returns from injury).
Out. 7. Kaz Patafta (not selected).
Unavailable. 14 Shaun Ontong (ankle – indefinite).

Its Official! We will see teams from Gold Coast and Townsville in the Hyundai A-League for the 09/10 season!

Head of the FFA, Ben Buckley said “Expansion of the Hyundai A-League is a critical issue to the continuing evolution and growth of football and this is a very exciting day for FFA, everyone involved in the Hyundai A-League, Gold Coast United and North Queensland,”

This is fantastic news for the A-League, bringing the number of teams up to 10. The Gold Coast is a growing area will heaps of sports lovers who will hopefully embrace these new clubs. Its really good to see the A-League expanding every day and this is yet another display of that. fantastic news. The Gold Coast and Townsville teams will hopefully be a fantastic success, hopefully drawing massive crowds and $$$$ investors.

When news comes out about the details of these teams ill post em on there. What are your views of the A-League further expanding our great competition?

On the other hand Sterjovski and Kennedy goals were brilliant. love Miles cheeky voley over the keeper. You need both precision and timing for that and Sterji came up with the goods.

Seems to have a decent run out but there was a lot to think about as drawing with South Africa souldnt be acceptable, friendly or not.

Not in the mind of SA coach Joel Santana however. He came up with this beauty:

“South Africa are similar to Brazil in the way they play – my players treat the ball with love and care”

“That’s why we play football. I would never want to play the way Australia play – my players don’t have those characteristics.”

alright mate, you draw with Aus and you compare yourself with Brazil… cant think of you guys doing anything in your history.

For an all out report of the proceeding check out the Aussie World Cup Blog

Even then a few players have been left out of the squad. Verbeek has decided not to call on Michael Beauchamp, Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell. Harry’s getting settled into his new club so i can understand why he was allowed to have a rest.

Not too worried about Beachy not coming down, but wouldve liked to have seen Harry and Emo torture the SA wingers. If you guys didnt catch it, Harry headed home a brilliant cross on his debut for Galatasaray. heres a link to the vid, this guys going to light up that league (barring any major injuries).

Players Brought in
David Carney, Bruce Djite, Richard Garcia, Mark Milligan, Nicky Carle and Matthew Spiranovic are the non regulars that have been brought into to the squad by Pim Verbeek.

I’ll start by getting something off my chest…. ahem…. WHY the hell does Mark Milligan get called up to this team? The guy is clubless for god sake! I would choose frigin Mclenahan before i choose this guy… at least he plays, allbeit in English league 5 or whatever. I cant for the life of me understand this love affair with this guy whos main goal in a game is to hoof it out of defense and up-field!

And Holman… How many mistakes does that guy have to make before he is excluded from this squad for God sake!

Anyway with 2 negatives come 4 positives. Love the fact that Nicky Carle, Matty Spiranovic, Bruce Djite and Richard Garcia have been brought into this team. Each and every one of them thoroughly deserve to be there. Nicky’s skills cannot be questioned. If Pim lets him, he will run the attacking midfield possie for us. Spira showed us at the Olympics that he is a confident, solid defender who is not affected by the pressure. Richard Garcia has topped off a week to remember as his Hull side won their first game in the prem.

And Djite… You frigin legend! is in the squad! This guy was left out of the Olympics by the doosh Graham Arnold and didn’t let it affect him. Hes put his head down and got to work at his new club in Turkey and has been ripping it apart there ever since! He recently score the winning goal to give gencler….(whatever the name is) the pre-season cup. A future superstar of the Socceroos and would love to see him get a run.

The others are pritty much regulars. This seems like its a pritty strong squad, most likely because its played in London so it will be a good gauge on where we are at leading into the World Cup Qualifiers.

Prediction
I predict that the game finishes 2-0 to the Socceroos. The players Pim has brought sort of leans towards the roos playing some good football, especially with the names Bresciano, Carle, Grella and Cullina running the show in the mid. Hoping that Scotty McDonald can show all of Aus what he is capable of and bag a goal for us, he needs to put one away in a game like this to get the Aussie media off his back. Hope to G.O.D that Pim puts him and Djite up front! that would be a troublesome forward line but i think that Holman will get a run which will spoil my wish.

Should be a great game though. I think that South Africa will be the ‘decent’ opposition that the Aussies need to come up against before the qualis.

SOCCEROO SQUAD
Mark Bresciano, US Citta di Palermo, Italy
Nick Carle, Crystal Palace FC, England
David Carney, Sheffield United FC, England
Scott Chipperfield, FC Basel, Switzerland
Chris Coyne, Colchester United FC, England
Jason Culina, PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands
Bruce Djite, Genclerbirligi, Turkey
Richard Garcia, Hull City, England
Vincenzo Grella, Torino FC Spa, Italy
Brett Holman, AZ Alkaamar, Netherlands
Josh Kennedy, Karlsruhe SC, Germany
Scott McDonald, Celtic FC, Scotland
Mark Milligan, uncontracted
Lucas Neill, West Ham United FC, England
Michael Petkovic, Sivasspor, Turkey
Mark Schwarzer, Fulham FC, England
Matthew Spiranovic, FC Nurnberg, Germany
Mile Sterjovski, Derby County FC, England
Carl Valeri, U.S. Grosseto FC, Italy
Luke Wilkshire, FC Twente, Holland

Cummon Aussie!!!

Congratulations are due for Adelaide skipper Travid Dodd for tearing the back of the net apart on his 100th game for the reds!

In other news, the squad for the Socceroos clash with South Africa has been anounced here… no major suprises just the fact that Djite is int he team… bahh arnold!

Here are the highlights and the reports for matchday 1.

Newcastle Jets 1 vs 1 Central Coast Mariners Match Report

Sydney FC 0 vs 0 Melbourne Victory Match Report

Wellington Phoenix 1 vs 1 Queensland Roar Match Report

Adelaide United 1 vs 0 Perth Glory Match Report