Well, the season has started tonight. Half time at Etihad Stadium and the defending champions are 2-0 down. I hope the Victory turn it around as I have tipped them by 2 goals.
This season is shaping up to be the best yet. 2 new teams and a host of current Socceroos coming back to Australia and play in the A-League.
Melbourne will be strong again this year (although the first half tonight does not indicate that) as they always are. Sydney have been very quite in their build up with their new coach and I expect them to be very strong. CCM and the Jets will be a challenge for all and sundry but totally unpredictable in my books. Adelaide and Brisbane will more than likely press for the championship but come up short as always.
Perth Glory have had a good off season and seem to have bought very well. They were very exciting at the end of last season and I am thinking they will be the dark horse of the comp. The Phoenix don’t seem to have done much in the off season and will continue to struggle especially since their star striker is now with the NEW Gold Coast United. The Fur have some good players on paper, especially Robbie Fowler. But their preseason has been very ordinary and Fowler has spent most of his time on the sidelines injured. If their paper team can fire, expect some good results.
That leaves us with Gold Coast United, my team. We have a fantastic squad led by current Socceroo, Jason Culina. Watching him in preseason has been a pleasure. He is hardly ever dispossessed, and never gave a stray pass. We have a real strength through the centre of the park with Bas Van Der Brink, Thwaite and Griffiths behind Jason and then Smeltz and Porter up front. Our Brazillians look fantastic on the ball and Adama trarore will be a crowd favorite with his blistering runs down the left flank. Throw Taj Minnecon into teh mix and we have a well balanced side that will not be embarrassed.
I know Clive reckons we are going to go through undefeated but there are 27 matches this season and I am not going to make such a prediction. I will however predict that GCU will be in the finals come February.
I am pumped for this season like I was for season 1, except I have a local team to support this time. We have formed our Supporters Club, and we are busing it to Brisbane on Saturday for our first ever league match.
Don’t you just LOVE Football Season
Tezza
August 06 2009 | A-League | No Comments »
Game was not the best performance by either team, IMO. GCU had a good first half with about 4 or 5 chances and CCM about 3 chances. 0-0 at half time. CCM came out all guns blazing in the second half. Scored from a set piece and then from open play, poor defense from GCU. 2-0 CCM.
A ridiculous red card for Thwaite early in the second half saw GCU down to 10 men in the 48th minute. Finally GCU had a result from all their forays forward and Adama Trarore slotted one past Vukovic in the 80th minute. Then in the 91st minute, Smeltz popped up at a cross and headed one home for a 2-2 result.
I think all the calls to Vukovic about Beijing got to him as he was really frustrated by the end of the match and even pushed one of his own players. “Did you go to Beijing, Nooo, Nooo” Great stuff by the 12 GCU Home bay supporters who bothered to turn up.
With 7 players unable to be selected I think that GCU showed good character to come back from 2-0 down to a consistent performer from the A-League. One thing is for sure, we will not be embarrassed this coming season.
One final trial game against the Glory next Saturday then we wait until August 8th for our first ever match in the A-League against the team who will be our biggest rivals, Brisbane Roar. Suncorp here we come.
Our supporters club is gaining momentum despite last nights poor effort. We are having a meeting to vote in an executive on Monday August 3rd, Dog and Parrot, Robina, 7pm.
Cheers
Tezza
July 19 2009 | A-League and Gold Coast United | 1 Comment »
A mate of mine, and owner of www.Kickoff.com.au, Scott Weigand, has written an article on why we should get the World Cup here in Australia. I have reproduced it here as I think it is a great article and sums up pretty well why Australia should get it.
The World Down Under
The rumours are done and dusted – Australia is officially bidding for either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Australia via the FFA and the Australian Federal Government have officially stated their intention to host what would be Asian confederations second ever world cup tournament following on from the 2002 tournament held by joint hosts Japan and South Korea.
It would also represent the only realistic opportunity for the world to knock on Oceania’s doorstep with New Zealand just a short distance away.
However, that’s the easy part. Now the war for the hearts and minds of FIFA’s 24 man executive committee takes place amongst such global heavyweights as England, Russia and the United States, not to mention the likes of Japan, Indonesia and Spain/Portugal’s joint bid.
So does Australia have a realistic chance? You bet!
True, in perhaps typical fashion we will be the underdogs but there are 10 main reasons why the world cup should be brought to our shores:
1: Australia has a proven track record in hosting major international events:
The Sydney 2000 Olympic games are still arguably the best to date, the 2003 Rugby World Cup and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games to name a few.
2: Australia is a safe and desirable destination:
Australia represents one of the safest and most desirable destinations for international travellers and the World Cup would bring record numbers of international guests particularly from locations such as England and Japan.
3: Australia’s relative wealth:
Between the Federal and state Governments and business enterprise there is no doubt of Australia’s ability to upgrade existing stadiums and develop new stadiums as well as surrounding infrastructure requirements including transport and accommodation.
4: An emerging footballing superpower:
True football is not the major sport in Australia and it is in the unique position of having to compete with 3 other football codes, however, football is seeing record numbers of growth both in a grass roots level and interest level including corporate sponsorship. The Socceroos are now a top 20 ranked country and the introduction of the A-League, National Youth League and developmental programs for players and coaches means that the next generation of Australian players have a better chance of gracing the worlds top leagues and clubs.
5: Legacy for Australian football:
The current trends of growth of football in Australia will be exponentially greater given the legacy hosting a world cup would provide for Australia. To this day, many Australian’s do not realise the sheer size and gravity of the world cup and having a world cup in Australia would capture the imagination of the youth who hopefully turn to football as a sport of choice.
6: Sporting Culture
Australia truly is one of the worlds great melting pot of sports, in the Olympics we punch well above our weight in terms of population base and are always strong in the traditional sports of rugby, cricket and netball.
7: TV exposure:
Asia, by far the worlds biggest population base and the worlds fastest growing football continent sits within a comfortable time zone for Asian TV audiences with important markets such as China and Japan able to watch games at decent timeslots.
8: Volunteer spirit:
The Sydney 2000 Olympic games clearly demonstrated that locals are only to happy to lend their valuable time and energy to assisting making major events a success both from a logistical point of view and assisting international and interstate guests.
9: Multicultural Australia:
More so that most places on earth, Australia truly is a melting pot of global cultures living in harmony regardless of race or religion. A FIFA World Cup would bring much colour and excitement to local communities who would not only support Australia but have a soft spot for their homelands.
10: A New Frontier:
Unlike several other bidding nations Australia represents a new frontier for football. Australia has never hosted the FIFA World Cup before, and Asia only once. A local world cup would grow the game not only in Australia but throughout Asia and would arguably provide a bigger impact than mature markets such as Europe. Australia is also the only continent to never have hosted a world cup finals.
Naturally, each and every bidder will push their case for why they are more deserving of hosting a world cup than Australia, but these are compelling arguments. Thankfully we have a wily, persuasive and powerful man at the wheel in Frank Lowy, a man who has built an empire from scratch and in many ways is trying to do the same for football which just a few short years ago was more or less in ruins.
Recently Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd visited FIFA President Sepp Blatter at FIFA headquaters in Zurich to push Australia’s case for hosting the world cup. Whilst this is many ways is little more than a token gesture is does demonstrate to the powers that be that Australian’s are backing the FFA’s bid right to the top.
So that leads me to my final point…
What can we do, the football punter to help maintain the interest and demonstrate we are deserving. Firstly, I would strongly encourage everyone to sign up to the Official Bidding website at: AUSTRALIA 2018-2022
Tell everyone to sign up, even “non-football” people, because a world cup would ultimately benefit all Australian’s not just through sport but it would provide a major boost to the Australian economy and improve infrastructure.
Also, get behind football wherever possible. Attend as many A-League and Socceroos matches as possible and encourage people to go. Ultimately, the more interest we maintain in the sport the better our chance to win.
By Scott Weigand
July 12 2009 | Socceroos and World Cup | No Comments »
The match against Fulham on Wednesday night was a great first hit out for the team and supporters at a fully open stadium.
From a supporters point of view the home end was disjointed with pockets of people all over the place. Trying different chants and getting an atmosphere was difficult. But hey, it was our first go.
What we need are a core group of die hard supporters who want to STAND UNITED in the home bay week in week out creating that atmosphere. As Australians this is not a natural thing to do, as we have been conditioned to think that it is only overseas Football nations who can show massive support.
The introduction of the A-League as NEW Football in this country has squashed that idea. All the A-League clubs have very active supporter groups who to varying degrees STAND and sing in the Northern Home ends at their respective grounds. There is plenty of banter between rival supporter groups both at the grounds, in the pubs and on various forums and social media networks.
Now it our turn here on the Gold Coast to introduce a HOME END to the wider Gold Coast community and GCU FC and give them a supporter group they can be proud of.
We have started to get together as a group to form a committee but we need members. As a start go to our entry page and register your details as a Supporter. This is free.
NEXT
Become a member of our forum
Join Our Facebook Group.
And if you Tweet, go to our Twitter Page
Tell your friends and family
LETS STAND UNITED
Cheers
Tezza
July 11 2009 | Gold Coast United | No Comments »
What a great night. A 2 – 1 victory over Fulham FC from the English Premier League. Granted it is their first match since last season, but GCU dominated the play for the majority of the match. I would love to see the stats.
After a great start we gave away a free kick about 25m out and Danny Murphy hit a well placed shot over the Van Stratten to go 1-0 up.
Later in the half we were robbed of a blatant penalty when a defender hand balled what was a definite goal and neither the ref or assistant saw anything. Then Porter missed a 1 on 1 chance with Schwartzer who saved it.
Some changes at half time saw Taj Minnecon come on and the tempo if the game changed for the better. We were more attacking. Finally the goal came from Taj in about the 79th minute.
Then Golden Boot himself, Shane Smeltz, slotted one home.
There were some hard hits and a few Yellow cards given to Fulham and I think only 1 to GCU.
We now play some local club tea,s on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday before heading back to Skilled Park on Sat 18th to face CCM. That will be a real test against a proven A-League team.
If you are on the Gold Coast, come along and join in a very exciting time. Join the forum and Supporters Club and Stand United.
Cheers
Tezza
July 08 2009 | Gold Coast United | No Comments »
A mate of mine who is a self confessed “Ego Maniac Jerk”, has inspired me. I need to generate publicity for the Supporters Club meeting next Monday night so we can at least get a few people along and discuss what we are going to do.
So I have sent a press release to all the media outlets on the Gold Coast. It appears that the ABC have taken me up and will interview me tomorrow Morning (Friday July 3rd).
Tune in to ABC Gold Coast 91.7 FM between 6:30 and 8am to the Peter Scott Breakfast Show.
Cheers
Tezza
July 02 2009 | Gold Coast United | No Comments »
Gold Coast United Supporters Club
It’s Time.
It is now 5 weeks until the start of the season. Gold Coast United needs a “United” supporters group to support them from the “Home End”.
Come along to the Dog and Parrot on Monday night July 6th at 7pm and be part of history. 2 nights later we take on Fulham FC at Skilled Park for our 2nd home game ever.
We need to get the “Home End” standing and singing as one voice. Football Supporters are unique in this type of support for the home team. The more people we get and the more noise we make the better the experience will be for the entire stadium.
So come along and make your voice heard.
Let’s Stand United
Join the forum and have your say on all things GCU.
Join the Facebook Group and have the latest GCU news streamed straight to your Facebook
Cheers
Tezza
July 02 2009 | Gold Coast United | No Comments »
The first game against A League opposition was played on Tuesday night against fellow newbies, North Queensland Fury. GCU won the match 2-0.
It was not a very convincing start but I thought there were many positives to take away.
Our Central defenders , Bas Van der Brink and Michael Thwaite were very solid. I think Bas will be a bit of a cult figure among the GCU fans as the season progresses.
We played against New Caledonia in Noumea last night and came away with a 5-0 win. It was only 1-0 at half time and apparently could have been 1-1 if not for Jess van Stratten who had his first hit out for GCU.
We are off to Hong Kong and Singapore this week before returning to the Coast for a friendly against EPL side Fulham FC. This will pit Jason Culina against his Socceroo team mate, Mark Schwarzer. It should be a cracker of a night.
I am excited about an EPL side just playing here on the coast. It will also be the first hitout for the GCU Home End.
There has been little in the way of organising any Supporters group with the exception of Clive Pickering who tried in vein earlier in the year to get the ball rolling.
We now have an opportunity to kickstart the process. My next post will be about the Supporters Club/Group.
Cheers
Tezza
June 28 2009 | Gold Coast United | No Comments »
Wednesday June 17, 2009, MCG
With qualification in the bag we were down to our last group game for the qualification process. And it was against perhaps our biggest rival in Asia, Japan. The Blue Samurai had also qualified and some pundits were wondering whether there was anything in the match
PRIDE
I would say that the pride of both nations was on the line, for the players as well as the fans. Both managers had hard decisions to make regarding the make up of the starting teams. In the end Australia still sent out a very strong side along with some new blood and the re-emergence of Nicky Carle to the starting line up, which pleased many. Whilst Nicky had a solid game and did not do anything wrong, he also fell short of some of the hype generated by some journalists.
After going down a goal prior to half time, it took K-Town hero, “Super Tim” to level the slate and then WIN the game. I think the Blue Samurai nightmares came flooding back at this point.
FOR THE FANS
I was in the crowd on Wednesday night and had a fantastic time. Mid winter, freezing cold, mid week and a dead rubber, but the fans turned out and just shy of 70,000 people enjoyed a great night in Melbourne. The GGA organised a meet up at The Corner Hotel in Richmond and we all had a great time catching up.
Muz, a Newcastle boy and GGA Nutter came up with a great banner that was displayed at the end of the match along the fence. Says it all really.
CHANTS
Some of the chants were great. “You only sing when you’re whaling”, “10 Kamikaze’s in the air”. It is a great atmosphere in the home end at Aussie matches these days, despite the efforts of some twats to stir up interstate rivalries (perhaps the topic of another post).
For me it was just great catching up with a group of people I met in Germany and have kept in contact with ever since. For me, that is the real benefit of following the Socceroos.
Thanks guys and gals.
Cheers
Tezza
June 21 2009 | Socceroos and World Cup | 2 Comments »
This is the catch phrase of our bid to host either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup. It is an interactive Web Site built along the lines of Social Networking sites to get as many Aussies and our supporters signed up and supporting the Bid Process.
COME PLAY
Australia will be a fantastic venue for the FIFA World Cup, whether that be in 2018 or 2022. I personally think that England’s will get 2018, but we are in a great position to get 2022.
What is not to like about Australia? We have some of the best tourist destinations in the World. We have proved without a doubt that we can host the biggest events the world has to offer. And we are one of the safest destinations on the planet.
JOIN UP
So come on people, get behind our bid, join up and show your support.
Cheers
Tezza
June 21 2009 | General and World Cup | No Comments »
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