Perth Glory lose in epic match against Sky Blues

On one hand you have to be impressed with Perth Glory's effort in a topsy-turvy 3-2 loss to Sydney FC yesterday. 

Without a few key players, who would definitely be in the first team, the boys in purple put in a tough day in the office, something which all Glory fans should be proud of.

On the other hand, it was the same old story - turnovers in the middle of the park and silly errors cost Perth a vital point, though in fairness the Sky Blues deserved the victory.

There was something slightly naive from Todd Howarth's effort which resulted in the first goal. Howarth, who has been remarkable solid on the wing this season, went in for a tackle in the box - even if Shannon Cole went down easier than Fabio Grosso, it was a
decision which resulted in a penalty.

It seemed like Sydney had control of the first period, until Wayne Shroj equalised with a blazing shot which snuck in past Clint Bolton.

Then minutes after the break, came an amazing situation when a failed-clearance off the line from stand-in captain Chris Coyne went through a hole in the net. Bizarre.

Then just as it looked Sydney would coast to an easy win, that man Daniel McBreen scored, again, to bring the score to 2-2. McBreen, who has signed a short-term deal with Glory, has now scored five goals in four games.

However, in the 86th minute a rear misjudgment from Andy Todd allowed an easy header for John Alosi and that was the end of that - final score 3-2.

Howarth was the only casualty for Perth, as he was substituted in the first-half reportedly suffering from double vision from a concussion. No word on how serious that is though.

Meanwhile, youngster Tommy Amphlett made an impressive cameo late in the second-half, at one point he managed to nutmeg Simon Colosimo and put in a dangerous cross into the box.

Post match coach Dave Mitchell hailed his team. This is what he had to say:

It shows we now have a bit of depth at the club and it's a credit to them. They gave everything in the second half and I think we deserved something out of the game but it wasn't to be.

Perhaps, but to be honest if you play Russian roulette in your defensive third, then expect to be punished. Certainly the last two Sydney goals were the result of some lax defending.

However, the result is pleasing considering the side out there.

Also DM had this to say on 'Net-gate'

It's disappointing because he changed his mind and I didn't think he was allowed to do that.

Well, no one really knows what happened out there, but in the end the right call was made, so there can really be no point to get ansty about it, is there?

Righto, so what the other results from the weekend, including a 1-0 defeat of Gold Coast United (watch coach Miron Blieberg and his "Wild West" analogy, it's funny and it's probably the reason why he's the most entertaining coach in the A-League), it now places Glory in fifth position on ladder.

Which means Perth have to beat Brisbane next Saturday (right Steffan?) and hope Wellington drop points at the Cake Tin (no idea why it's called that) against Central Coast on Friday night for the Glory to get a home final.

With the way the Mariners have been playing lately that's about as likely as Arsenal spending money on a new player (by the way FP is terribly vexed by the Gunners and their 2-0 loss to Chelsea this morning).

But FP will leave the crystal ball gazing for another day.

Ciao for now.

Read more...

Perth Glory vs Sydney FC preview

Morning all and welcome to the blog.

The first thing we should say about today's game is that there is a distinct possibility it could be called off due to torrential rain in NSW.

As was the case with the Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets match, we could be looking at a postponed game, probably played on Tuesday or Wednesday.

However, lets assume the game will take place and go from there - shall we?

Today's game is dead important for both teams. If the Glory win they place one arm on a home final. If Sydney win then they are still in with a shout at the minor (or perhaps major) premiership.

What won't help Glory is the absence of FIVE first team players (Mile Sterjovski, Jacob Burns, Victor Sikora, Adriano Pellegrino and Tando Velaphi), basically testing the depth of the club once again.

This is what coach Dave Mitchell had to say about this opponents:

Going into the game the boys hold no fears.

[Sydney have] got one of the best defences in the league and it's not by coincidence they are close to the top of the league, so it will be a difficult task for us, but one we are going into with confidence.

And why wouldn't confidence be high? Glory have won three consecutive matches (which surely has be a record?), though two of those were in Perth.

Whether the team, who are reportedly struggling after a tough run of games, is capable to beat Sydney is another matter.

The game, if it goes ahead, will be played at Parramatta Stadium and there's one Sydney player who is looking forward to game - Alex Brosque.

This is what he had to say:

We play our best football when grounds are wet and the ball moves quickly.

That's why we water the pitch before every home game. We're big on passing and moving the ball quickly, so the rain would be perfect for us.

Brosque who was an outside chance of getting into the Socceroos squad, will be the player to watch from Sydney. His pace will certainly something which the Glory will have to be wary of.

In terms of a lineup - knowing DM, he won't be too keen to change a winning side, so unless there's a late injury, you could almost bet your house on the nearly the same lineup from last week strutting onto the pitch in Parramatta.

However, with Pellegrino injured for this game expect something like this:

VRTESKI --- J COYNE --- TODD --- C COYNE --- SEKULOVSKI --- HOWARTH --- MCGARRY --- JUKIC --- BULLOCH --- NEVILLE --- MCBREEN

And lastly there's the prediction on the game:

Sydney FC 2 - Perth Glory 0

The heart says the Glory will pull of an amazing away win, however, the mind says that the Glory will struggle after a pretty testing fixture list. Here's hoping FP is wrong.

And that's about all for today. Good luck to the Glory, with the fallout of the match to come tomorrow in the blog.

But until then.

Read more...

FP is back again, Mitchell hits out at uninformed fans

Welcome to a much delayed blog. Hopefully your Friday night was a cracker and you're ready for a big weekend.

Just a couple of housekeeping points to go through before we talk Glory. First and most importantly, thank you for your continued support while FP has been gallivanting around the place.

The second break, as a few people know, was because FP's brother, who is sometimes referred to as the Legal Beagle, had minor, minor, minor surgery.

While he's fine now, it had this bloggist a bit worried. So, as a lot of you would appreciate, family comes first.

Secondly, you may have noticed that Football Perth has a new banner, thanks to the great work of Rama Dolman (who is also a Arsenal fan).

As a few people pointed out, former Glory striker Eugene Dadi was heavily featured in the last banner (made by Michael Rodrigues), but since he's gone, Rama decided it needed an update.

Thank you for that Rama.

Lastly, this blog is going to continue to evolve as it has done since it was first started on Anzac Day last year.

Since the Glory are guaranteed a spot in the A-League finals (more on that later), this blog will start to briefly look at our competition. Also FP will be adding a bit of Premier League musings here and there (when Arsenal actually win a game).

So thank you to everyone, and hopefully you continue to tune in and put FP straight on the constant deliberate errors. If you haven't already, please subscribe to FP's Facebook and Twitter page, which can be seen in the right-hand sidebar.

---

Righto since FP has been away, Glory have secured a spot in the A-League finals for the first time.

Congratulations.

Now the key is to make their way as high as possible up the ladder with fourth spot, and a home final, the goal.

While the Glory are without five of their key players for the game against Sydney on Sunday (thanks Steffan), coach Dave Mitchell decided to hit out at his critics.

DM said:

You get a couple of bad results and everyone's after your blood. You get a couple of wins and you're all friends again.

A lot of people come up and criticise and say 'why don't you do this and why don't you do that' and you turn around and say 'we can't because of this.' (And they say) 'ah, I never knew that. (I say) well shut up then. Make it your business to know. If you want to support the club, find out the detail.

What the?

In Mitchell's defence, he has copped it from the fans this season (he even gets booed at Glory home games) mostly because of a perceived lack of tactical awareness, and a general frustration that the team isn't carving up the A-League with three Socceroos, two former internationals and a partridge in the pear tree.

He was the one who brought in the three Socceroos, the two former internationals and probably the partidge in the pear tree.

But who's fault is it if the fans aren't equipped with all the details?

FP thinks it goes both ways. Fans should get out and find out the information, it's easy enough to find, but perhaps DM should proactively get out there and put his side of the story out. Perhaps a weekly column on the Glory website or in the West Australian?

DM could then directly voice his opinions, not having it funnelled through journalists, to the fans. He may even help to build the profile of the club.

Hell FP is putting his hand up to put, unedited, anything DM wants to say on the blog. Get your people to talk to my people.

In the same interview with the West Australian DM said:

One or two bad refereeing decisions can change your whole season,. A couple of bad injuries and you really suffer. Luckily enough, we got a bit of depth when we needed it otherwise we'd be suffering now.

Sometimes the results on the weekend don't justify the work that's gone on behind the scenes. That's not just me. It's the coaching staff, other people at the club, the administration, everyone involved with the club.

Professional Football has always been a result-orientated beast. You can do hours and hours of work and then one referee's decision can cost you a game. However, FP has not met a fan who actually cares about excuses.

It's sad but that's reality (as FP's blogging counterpart Dave Meacock called "the land away from the internet").

Fans pay memberships and buy tickets so that their team will win or at the very least put up a good fight.

Blaming them for getting arched up over a few losses, especially considering the Glory haven't performed well in the first four seasons of the A-League, is a bit of a strecth.

What do you think?

---

Meanwhile, FP will leave specific comments on the Sydney match itself until tomorrow's blog. So until then take care and enjoy your Saturday.

Read more...

Glory draw, Coyne off to China, Dadi speaks to FP and youthies draw

Morning everyone, welcome to the blog.

Apologies for not posting for a few days, but FP has been in a state of mourning over that cricket performance by a team which comes from the subcontinent and starts with the letter "P". (It does not stand for Panic-stan)

Meanwhile Perth Glory drew with Sydney FC yesterday in a game where the home side had about a billion chances.

More accurately the figure probably didn't reach double figures, but the point is Glory needed to take their chances, especially in a season where the difference between fourth, fifth, sixth and the rest is tighter than (insert your favourite cliche here).

Mile Sterjovski came close, hitting the post in the first half, while Jamie Coyne had numerous chances throughout the game, all of which he couldn't convert.

Sydney came close to stealing the game, though keeper Tando Velaphi, fresh from spending time with the Socceroos in the Middle East, made a couple of fantastic saves to deny Steve Corica and youngster Chris Payne.

Post game, coach Dave Mitchell said:

We dominated a lot of the game, created some chances and just couldn't put them away.

Goals change games and in the first five minutes we've hit the post and a couple of corners have come in and we just couldn't put them away.

The result puts Perth in 6th position, two points behind Wellington, but with a game in hand.

Meanwhile, there's talk from Fairfax's Mike Cockerill about Sydney defender Steffan Keller being cited for an "air swing" on Jamie Harnwell. Seems a bit much, though, even the attempted act could find Mr Keller in hot water.


---> ACCORDING to the bastion of Perth Glory news, Jonathan Cook, Chris Coyne has already left for Chinese club Shandong Luneng but should be back later this week.

Apparently he's leaving for a short training camp and a medical for a short-term loan deal which will surely bolster his chances of going to the World Cup.

Mile Sterjovski and Jacob Burns still haven't officially had a offer from a club, but Perth will not let the three leave before January 31 anyway.


---> NOW FP hears that Wellington are close to handing Eugene Dadi the key to the city.

But seriously, two goals on debut, one a magnificent bicycle kick, and the New Zealand press have already fallen over themselves to write Hemingway-like prose.

When Dadi left Perth, FP did what any half-brained journalist would do - try to get an interview with him.

It seemed a long shot (perhaps something like the Pakistan cricket team winning a test match in Australia) but this enterprising bloggist tried to used the power of Facebook.

And it worked - kinda.

Dadi did indeed respond to the email and this is what he had to say (unedited):

It was and its a shock for me to HAVE to leave Glory in these conditions but unfortunately its a part of the game.

About your request for the interview, I will have to decline it for now as Im sure the Glory fans have they idea about all the "E.Dadi situation"

The "E.Dadi situation" has probably happened a million times in the history of football (Manger signs player. Manager changes opinion on player. Player leaves club. Player scores at new club).

But for some reason, this bloggist can't help but think it was the wrong move. But alas, such is life.

By the way, Eugene Dadi said he liked this blog - go figure.


---> THE Perth Glory youthies were minutes away from claiming an eight successive win, but they were thwarted by the Sydney FC youth team.

Despite being down to 10 men, Perth were leading 3-2, however, a late goal in the 85th from Iain Ramsey secured a draw.

Howard Fondyke, Adam Taggart and Glen Trifiro scored the goals for the Glory.

Perth are now second on the Youth League ladder, one point behind Central Coast Mariners.

-----

And that's all for today. The Glory are having a recovery session at a Perth beach today, so there should be some decent press from that. More on that later on the blog.

Ciao.

Read more...

Gloryroos in the Asian Cup and Dadi speaks on move

Morning all, welcome to the blog.

FP can't really concentrate when his brethren are in Sydney trying very hard to lose a game of cricket. It's enough to send a person to the place with the padded walls and nifty white jackets.

Meanwhile, there isn't much going on in the land of the purple, with the Socceroos match against Kuwait tonight.

Three Glory players, Mile Sterjovski, Jacob Burns and Tando Velaphi, are with the squad, though realistically only the first two would have a shot of making an appearance in the game.

Marquee man Sterjovski has had a pretty reasonable return this season with five goals and six assists, though there always seems to be something lacking, as if he's cruising in fourth gear. But considering his experience with the national team and the relatively inexperience of the squad, you'd have to say that he should start the game.

Glory captain Burns has had a pretty solid season, though at one stage he was leading the tackle count while being one of the first to be suspended for receiving five yellow cards. Again in this case experience should be an advantage for Burns.

Then we have Velaphi. What can we say about his season? What isn't there to say. He certainly has talent. That was shown in the Melbourne and Adelaide home games earlier in the season, when he looked nearly unbeatable.

Then there have been times when he's made complete howlers (Central Coast and North Queensland are two that come quickly to mind).

Glory coach Dave Mitchell said this about Velaphi:

He's been our number one 'keeper and doing well and this is a great confidence boost for him to be involved in the Socceroos and to just cement his status as a very good, promising young goalkeeper that can reach the heights.

But for tonight's game there really isn't much hope he's impressed Pim Verbeek so much that the will jump in front of Eugene Galekovic, but you can never say never, can we?

Meanwhile in other Glory-related news, former Glory striker (we can call him that now) Eugene Dadi has spoken for the first time since he left the club.

He didn't really say much to be honest, much of it was what a newly-signed played would be expected to say.

But here it is anyway:

We've got a good group of players here, all motivated to achieve our goals and hopefully I can help.
We've got our goals for the moment and I'm going to try my best. It'd be nice to achieve something we haven't done before and get into the play-offs.

Although, maybe FP's eyes are deceiving him but this quote, on it's own, seems quite suss:

The boys (Perth Glory) came here earlier in the year, I didn't play, but I travelled over here and I was approached after the game.

It's funny because after the game we got together and they just asked me to come. It was interesting because it was a pleasure to hear that from them.

Of course the context of the question is missing, but doesn't that sound like tapping-up?

But apart from trying to start conspiracy theories, that's all from FP today. Asian Cup game starts from 10pm tonight for WA residents, so if that's your thing make sure you get somewhere to watch the game.

More to come on the blog tomorrow.

Ciao.

Read more...

The end of Dadi and the start of McGarry

Morning all, short blog today as FP prepares to renew his war against the over-50s badminton club (it's a losing battle).

Meanwhile, it's official, Eugene Dadi has left Perth Glory and will play for Wellington Phoenix for the rest of the A-League season.

All this officialness (if that's a word) came yesterday when both Perth and Wellington confirmed the deal.

As FP said yesterday, this should not come as a huge surprise (FP has been reliably informed that our friends at Let's Talk Football broke the news weeks ago, while this bloggist was being a 'regular journalist').

This is what coach Dave Mitchell had to say on the news:

Obviously Eugene was frustrated and he wanted to have another contract for another year and from our point of view we didn't think he'd played enough games.

If he wanted to do that its best he pursues it somewhere else and there were two other clubs interested so they've come in and we decided to let him go for his future career.

There was no animosity there at all … but he wants another year's contract so for him to further his career he's got to do that otherwise this year will just peter out and he probably wouldn't play many games and his career would be finished.

And in the spirit of 'ones man's trash is another man's treasure', Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata said:

Eugene’s a vastly talented and experienced striker who will offer Ricki (Herbert) something different up front.

He’s a big, strong and cunning striker and as a club we feel he’ll be valuable for us in the closing stages of the season as we seek to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Eugene still has a fierce desire to achieve at the highest level and he’s shown commitment and value to his previous clubs.

We’re certain that’s exactly what he’ll bring to the Phoenix.

It's a pretty shrewd move by Wellington, and if Dadi can get service from Paul Ifill, Chris Greenacre and co, then he could find some goals.

This also means that January 23 will be one to mark on your calendars, when Wellington travel to Perth. Could Dadi come back to haunt DM?

Whatever the case is, FP wishes Eugene the best of the best of the best of luck on his playing days with the Phoenix.

Meanwhile as Eugene Dadi was training in Wellington, DM was talking about another player - former Motherwell FC (Scottish Premier League) midfielder Steven McGarry.

According to one of the workhorses of Perth sports media, Paul Barbieri, the Scot should arrive in Perth this evening and train with the club on Thursday.

DM had this to say on the McGarry:

He wants to come and have a look at this place and we want to have a look at him.

It's sort of a trial to start with and if he turns out to be good then we could mutually agree quickly now that there's a position open.

Steven McGarry was going to come regardless of Eugene moving on or not, because we're hopefully looking at him for maybe later on ... with one of the Socceroos going, to fulfil that role.

But just the way that Eugene happened there might be a spot opening up earlier for him.

Hrmmm, is that kinda like finding a two-dollar coin, while doing the cleaning under the sofa?

Anyway, there's really not much on Master McGarry (the alliteration has a bit of ring to it), except for the opinion on the fan forums, some of which has been positive and some has been pretty negative.

Though we can't really take much from that - it's very much like what was said about Andy Todd before he arrived this season, and he's basically a shoe-in for the Most Glorious Player (if he doesn't win, FP will eat his hat - one that has spent six weeks marinating in curry sauce).

And on this quiet day, that's all.

The Socceroos' Asian Cup game is on tomorrow, with a couple of Glory players hoping to make an appearance.

So there will be a little preview of their fortunes and a little bit more.

But until then - ciao.

Read more...

Dadi out, Tando's Socceroo hopes, Mile looking for loan, and youthies win

So here we go again - back to good old fashioned blogging. It's certainly a different pace from regular country journalism, though FP has missed it.

Now where were we? Oh yes that's right - Perth Glory.

Ever since FP left for his south-bound junket, the Glory seem to have slipped off the pace.

While he was away, FP had the chance to watch a number of games none were more depressing than the two back-to-back losses to North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United.

Although, the 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle on Boxing Day was thoroughly enjoying, especially watching the two goals from inspired Glory stalwart Jamie Harnwell.

So where does that leave Perth?

Well, with seven games to come, they are sitting smack bang in the middle of the table and they don't have a finals spot sealed up yet - far from it.

Having four home games is an advantage, and a few good results from there should have a finals spot in the bag, though as this season has already shown, expecting the expected is fraught with danger.

Now even with a number of Perth players over in Dubai for the Asian Cup game against Kuwait, there still a bit of Glory news about:


---> EUGENE DADI has seemingly left Perth Glory, according to his short and cryptic message on his Facebook page.

"Is off 2moro..." was posted on his FB page on Sunday, and while there has been no official word from the Glory, it would seem his time is up.

There's also no word on where he's heading, though there's plenty of speculation he'll be playing in the A-League with Wellington.

The news shouldn't come as a big surprise. It's was on the cards as early as round two, when he was dropped for his performance in Adelaide (which was no worse than any other player out there that day).

Dadi has been a bit player this campaign, despite being the top scorer for Perth last season. He's also scored five goals in the youth league games he's been forced to play.

As FP said to someone at the Newcastle game, when you're the fifth choice striker (behind the youngster Andrija Jukic), you know things suck.

Personally, FP reckons it's a sad day for the club - as Dadi was a big player, always committed, fan favourite for the club.



---> GLORY goalkeeper Tando Velaphi, who is training with the Socceroos in Dubai, has declared he wants to be part of the 2014 World Cup Squad.

It's a pretty lofty ambitious statement from the 22-year-old 'keeper, though he told the Sunday Times that he wants to move to Europe to make it happen.

I'm obviously still pretty young and development-wise I've still got a lot to go, so I'm not really looking at this World Cup but hopefully down the track.

There are a lot of young goalkeepers coming through. There's heaps of young guys doing well and playing in European leagues and I've got to try and step up to their level and, you never know, in the future anything can happen.

At the moment I think I'm best served in the A-League playing week in, week out.

I've got another year left on my contract, so at the moment I'm happy to fulfil that contract and I'm really happy at the club, so I've got no reason to be looking elsewhere.'

Whether he can make that happen, is another issue, but good luck to the lad.


---> MILE Sterjovski, striving to capture a ticket to next year's World Cup, still hasn't got a club to take him on loan.

While this season's leading goalscorer for Glory is training for Wednesday's Asian Cup game, he told Michael Lynch from the SMH:

Nothing has been sorted yet. I am working hard with the agent to try and find a solution but it's not as easy as I thought it was going to be

I am not looking for a permanent move. I am happy to be back in Australia. Its only a short-term move, so that's why clubs are a little reluctant to sign me.

I have no preference for Europe or Asia … I wouldn't mind [joining a team in a relegation scrap] … It doesn't bother me as long as I can help the club involved and vice versa get as fit as possible and get ready for the World Cup.

Sterjovski had planned to leave sometime in January, but unless some deals are made quickly, that is starting to look unlikely.


---> THE Perth Glory youth team has leaped to top spot in the NYL Ladder, with a 1-0 victory over Central Coast yesterday.

Glory fringe player Jukic scored the "opportunist" goal in the first-half, which continues a remarkable winning streak of seven games.

FP had a chance to watch the youthies in their 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle on Boxing Day, and was thoroughly impressed with youngsters Ludovic Boi and Glen Trifiro.

Their next game is against Sydney FC on Saturday at Dorrien Gardens.

---

And that's all from here, check out the blog tomorrow for, hopefully, more Perth Glory news.

Ciao.

Read more...