2014 Asian Champions League

[Stuckey]

The thing is with wsw they have signed players just for the acl campaign so I don't think they will quite suffer the squad overload that others have., kinda annoying FFA buys them a marquee and extra players meanwhile in previous campaigns we cannot even keep our prize money.

Plus they are happy to sit back and play on the counter so I think they probably the most likely to get results.

That's true. When you put it that way it shows that WSW are taking it seriously. As are CCM I feel. Not sure about MV though. Muscat was IMO always naïve towards the ACL and feel he will be again.

[Agostinho]

I hope they all fail miserably. We're Australia's representative in Asia.

[Stuckey]

Melbourne Victory has been handed a boost ahead of its Asian Champions League qualifier with Muang Thong United with the Thai side’s coach, Scott Cooper, handing in his resignation and one of the club’s star players being refused a visa to travel to Australia.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/118 ... tory-clash

Wow not a great start for the Thai club!

[EdDog]

MV currently down 1-0 at HT.

Lol.

[EdDog]

Ended MV 2-1.

[blahblah]

Watched the game and Victory deserved to win it. But how narrow was that pitch? There was no space at all and it must have been the absolute minimum regulation size.

[Stuckey]

So we have all the qualifiers now set for the group stage.

Group A
Iran Esteghlal
Qatar Al-Rayyan
United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira
Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab

Group B
Saudi Arabia Al-Fateh
Iran Foolad
Uzbekistan Bunyodkor
Qatar El Jaish

Group C
United Arab Emirates Al-Ain
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
Iran Tractor Sazi
Qatar Lekhwiya

Group D
Qatar Al-Sadd
United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Iran Sepahan

Group E
South Korea Pohang Steelers
Thailand Buriram United
China Shandong Luneng Taishan
Japan Cerezo Osaka

Group F
Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Australia Central Coast Mariners
South Korea FC Seoul
China Beijing Guoan

Group G
China Guangzhou Evergrande
Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Australia Melbourne Victory

Group H
Australia Western Sydney Wanderers
China Guizhou Renhe
Japan Kawasaki Frontale
South Korea Ulsan Hyundai

All tough groups for the HAL sides but I feel I will be disappointed if none make it out of the group stage. I think WSW are probably best geared to do so, signing extra players just for the ACL was a smart move.
But I think if CCM can get 6 games out of Kim and Bosnar they should be pushing for a place also.
IMO gaining a smash and grab win away is key to progression.

[Stuckey]

I wonder if the three HAL clubs can get 4 wins together to beat AU's ACL win record?

Adelaide 35 17-8-10
Others 64 13-21-30

[EdDog]

Calling CCM and MV no chance to make it out of the group. Some quality teams.

WSW have the easiest group of the three but first time in Asia is always a struggle for HAL clubs.

Will be interesting to see how WSW's hack-strat is tolerated by the ACL refs.

[Stuckey]

Another ACL, another BS article harping on about how much travel our HAL clubs have to do. What have we been doing this for? 8 - 9 years?

[shinAUFC]

Another ACL, another BS article harping on about how much travel our HAL clubs have to do. What have we been doing this for? 8 - 9 years?

They were happy to claim the prem and championship off us when we went on our acl cwc run ........fark em

[Stuckey]

WSW have announced their ACL squad. Pretty good on paper IMO. They have made some smart additions that bring them nicely into next HAL season. I feel they have been really smart in the use of the overlap of leagues and the extended ACL squad allowance.

Full Squad

1: Ante Covic
2: Shannon Cole
3: Adam D’Apuzzo
4: Nikolai Topor-Stanley
5: Michael Beauchamp
6: Jerome Polenz
7: Labinot Haliti
9: Tomi Juric
10: Aaron Mooy
11: Brendon Santalab
12: Tahj Minniecon
13: Matthew Spiranovic
14: Kwabena Appiah
15: Yianni Perkatis
17: Youssouf Hersi
18: Iacopo La Rocca
19: Mark Bridge
20: Jerrad Tyson
21: Shinji Ono
22: Dean Heffernan
23: Jason Trifiro
24: Nicholas Olsen
26: Jaushua Sotirio
30: Thomas Manos
31: Alusine Fofanah
32: Daniel Alessi
33: Daniel Mullen
34: Golgol Mebrahtu
35: Antony Golec

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/wsw ... nced/86493

But this does raise a point. Is the salary cap still in force for the HAL clubs in the ACL?

Surely they would exceed it with what they have?

[blahblah]

Another ACL, another BS article harping on about how much travel our HAL clubs have to do. What have we been doing this for? 8 - 9 years?

True, and there is no Tashkent in that lot!

Besides it's all rubbish. The average Perth away trip is something like a 7,000km round trip.

[Stuckey]

Another ACL, another BS article harping on about how much travel our HAL clubs have to do. What have we been doing this for? 8 - 9 years?

True, and there is no Tashkent in that lot!

Besides it's all rubbish. The average Perth away trip is something like a 7,000km round trip.

Haha yeah got to Tashkent then see how you lot feel! Oh wait you wouldn't know you lot haven't made to knock out stage before!

[Interloper]

WSW have announced their ACL squad. Pretty good on paper IMO. They have made some smart additions that bring them nicely into next HAL season. I feel they have been really smart in the use of the overlap of leagues and the extended ACL squad allowance.

Full Squad

1: Ante Covic
2: Shannon Cole
3: Adam D’Apuzzo
4: Nikolai Topor-Stanley
5: Michael Beauchamp
6: Jerome Polenz
7: Labinot Haliti
9: Tomi Juric
10: Aaron Mooy
11: Brendon Santalab
12: Tahj Minniecon
13: Matthew Spiranovic
14: Kwabena Appiah
15: Yianni Perkatis
17: Youssouf Hersi
18: Iacopo La Rocca
19: Mark Bridge
20: Jerrad Tyson
21: Shinji Ono
22: Dean Heffernan
23: Jason Trifiro
24: Nicholas Olsen
26: Jaushua Sotirio
30: Thomas Manos
31: Alusine Fofanah
32: Daniel Alessi
33: Daniel Mullen
34: Golgol Mebrahtu
35: Antony Golec

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/wsw ... nced/86493

But this does raise a point. Is the salary cap still in force for the HAL clubs in the ACL?

Surely they would exceed it with what they have?

None of the A-league salary/squad rules apply in the ACL, only the ACL specific ones. It's the same as English teams in the UEFA CL vs the limited number of registered players for the domestic league if Football Manager games have taught me anything.