A-League 2015/16 – Round 21 – Indefensible

WELLINGTON PHOENIX 2 MELBOURNE CITY 1

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS 2 PERTH GLORY 1

ADELAIDE UNITED 3 BRISBANE ROAR 0

MELBOURNE VICTORY 1 SYDNEY FC 1

CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 0 NEWCASTLE JETS 1

Brisbane’s Slump Continues

In the last five seasons, it has always amazed me how narrow the dial is for Brisbane Roar between champions of the competition and being one of the worst sides.  In five years the club has won three championships.  But they also went from being unbeaten in 36 games to losing 5 in a row.  They went from back-to-back champions to bottom of the ladder, condemning coach Rado Vidosic to a mere nine games in charge.  Mike Mulvey lead the team to a third championship but by Round 6 of the next season he was gone.

This season, we’ve got the best and the worst of the Roar in a single season.  The team has capitulated badly in their defeats this season losing 4-0, 4-1, 6-3 and now 3-0.  They are still a chance of winning the title but incredibly, their goal difference is barely above zero.

Adelaide made short work of the Roar on Saturday.  Brisbane looked all at sea whereas Adelaide had all the confidence and cohesion of a team that is unbeaten in a club record 13 matches.  The win catapults the Reds over the Roar which is incredible when you consider where the two teams were at Christmas.

Where to here for the Roar?  They’ve got three games at home in March and that starts with a game against the league leaders Western Sydney Wanderers.  The result will go a long way towards deciding the eventual winners of the Premiere’s Plate.

News and Notes

• The English Premiere League and the A-League seem to share something in common this season.  Neither competition seems to have a form team that is a clear favourite to win the title.  Leicester City finally stumbled this week with a draw against West Brom but then improbably, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City all lost their games, squandering a chance to catch the Foxes.
• Western Sydney Wanderers finally put a halt to Perth Glory’s winning streak.  Perth will still like their chances of a Top Six finish as both Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory will be battling exhausting after midweek Asian Champions League matches.
• Melbourne Victory’s draw with Sydney FC seems to all but confirm that the champions won’t defend their title and will finish in mid table mediocrity.
• Considering their $2.4 million salary cap, it continues to baffle me how well the Australian teams do in the Asian Champions League.  This week, Sydney FC, who have been mediocre all season long, defeated ACL champions Guangzhou Evergrande.  Evergrande’s squad includes $65 million striker Jackson Martinez who hasn’t scored a single goal and they are coached by World Cup winner Phil Scollari.  And yet somehow, the Sky Blues managed to upset the champions 2-1 with one of the most average and underperforming sides in the A-League worth just a fraction of the Asian giants.  Incredible.