Marcuccitti Article

[mcjules]

WSW have shown that it is possible to be successful in Asia and at home in the HAL simultaneously. But it will take more capable players than AU currently have.

Popa became well known (praised even) for rotating the squad.

Exactly but he had far more depth to play with. He signed several players purely for the ACL. Golec and Mullen were two I think.

Yes that's true but I think we can build some depth with the guys we have. There's no one on our senior list that hasn't either had previous HAL or equivalent experience, or been a young player on our list for at least 2 years but not all of them are getting a go.

[Old Gregg]

A friend I spoke to at the game on friday is of the opinion that the ACL is just a distraction and until we've won the league that should be our main priority.



I really like seeing AUFC play different teams, sometikes I get sick of the same 9 opponents, great to see how we compare to other leagues in asia too.

Its a pretty ridiculous opinion to have. I understand wanting to win the league but even without ACL games its a very hard thing to do.
It reminds me of some people speaking about the "gay" vote. "Once we've got health, education and defence sorted, then lets take the time to look at gay rights."

It is NOT a ridiculous opinion.

The opinion itself is not ridiculous, but the claim that all Reds fans should think likewise is.

We all have different priorities, I want regular Asian football and sustained success (i.e. top 4 or thereabouts) in the A-League. A Premiership or Championship would be fantastic but I don't feel that silverware is the be-all and end-all of football.

[the 2nd james]

His reference for us losing $1m a season is 2 years old. Might have been the case prior but not anymore.

also the implication that 'cash' is the motivating factor. we'll always have less than the other teams, better development is the answer.

[the 2nd james]

A friend I spoke to at the game on friday is of the opinion that the ACL is just a distraction and until we've won the league that should be our main priority.



I really like seeing AUFC play different teams, sometikes I get sick of the same 9 opponents, great to see how we compare to other leagues in asia too.

Its a pretty ridiculous opinion to have. I understand wanting to win the league but even without ACL games its a very hard thing to do.
It reminds me of some people speaking about the "gay" vote. "Once we've got health, education and defence sorted, then lets take the time to look at gay rights."

It is NOT a ridiculous opinion.

The opinion itself is not ridiculous, but the claim that all Reds fans should think likewise is.

We all have different priorities, I want regular Asian football and sustained success (i.e. top 4 or thereabouts) in the A-League. A Premiership or Championship would be fantastic but I don't feel that silverware is the be-all and end-all of football.

well to be fair we've never won it so maybe if we win it you might feel differently

acl and fa cup barely rate a mention if we're honest and still feel completely contrived.

[Old Gregg]

I agree that the A-League is much much bigger than the FFA Cup, but I'm shattered that we got knocked out of the ACL.
Now we can throw everything we have at getting up to the top of the league come finals time though. Silver linings & all that.

[Jessesdad]

I agree. The game the other night was full of the type of tension and drama that only the ACL can bring. And of course the chance to see our lads match it with players who really are elite. It was gutting to lose when we had chances to win it but for me it was not devastating about 15 mins later. The quality of that first 45 mins shows what the ACL has become now that China is rolling out the dollars. Similarly the Middle-East continues to bankroll major players. With our lack of squad depth we would have had six great games but would have been very unlikely to progress.

I want to win the Toilet Seat. I think we have a very good chance this year if we continue to improve and cover the loss of players recently. And maybe if we sign another decent striker....but let's not get sidetracked!

Tuesday night showed us once again just how lucky we are to have such a talented, fit and competitive team. It also showed what we don't have.

Roll on the finals. This year we're really in with a chance.