Five Things – Round 12

5 Things We Learned In The A-League This Weekend

Western Sydney may be looking for a new coach soon, while Sydney might be releasing their’s. Victory and Perth’s class keeping them at the top of the table, while the Mariners lack of it is leaving them stuck at the bottom – this is 5 things we learned from Round 11

Time May Be Right For Popovic

Ever since the fulltime whistle blew at Ryhad, with the Wanderers creating history to become the first Australian team to win the ACL, the writing has been on the wall that Tony Popovic will leave for a bigger challenge. With news breaking this week that Crystal Palace have parted company with Neil Warnock, coming just prior to another defeat in the league to Wellington Phoenix, maybe the stars are aligned for Popovic to make history again. Losing to the Nix is far from a disastrous result, but it cements the Wanderers well outside finals contention. Their direct and defensive style of play means the team can’t shoot their way up the ladder with goals; it’s against their DNA. If Tony was ever going to manage in the EPL, now might be the time.

Arnold Under the Pump

For the first time under Arnold’s reign serious questions must be asked about Sydney FC.Despite extenuating circumstances and serious injuries as well as difficult fixtures, excuses can’t be made for the extent of the poor form with the strength of the first eleven at his disposal.

Against Adelaide, they clearly lost the midfield battle and Janko looked like a passenger, which may be due to the big Austrian carrying an injury. No names have been made public for January transfers, but reinforcements are certainly, needed not only for quantity, but quality, and enough rumours have gone around about ‘Arnie’s’ plan to do some serious summer shopping.

Mariners Remain a United Front

Game of the round this week was undoubtably the enthralling 3-3 between Central Coast and Brisbane. Over 10,000 people (well above the average) turned out to support the fledgling team, a healthy rise in recent attendances thanks to a great campaign called ‘#standupforthemariners’. From crawling their way back in the contest, to somehow getting the lead, you would think that surely this was going to be their first win since round 1. This is a team who are still fighting for their coach, but there simply isn’t enough quality to win many football games, or close out a lead at the moment, as shown by giving up the 1 goal lead on Saturday.

Victory’s Game-Breakers Outlast the Most Resilient of Defences

Gui Finkler stepped up when the occasion called for it, and certainly not for this first time. The Brazilian certainly saved Victory’s bacon on the night, who were struggling to break down a stubborn Jets defence. Stubbins’ 5-3-2 formation frustrated Melbourne, and despite critics berating the negative tactics, it almost came off. The strategy was clear; hold tight defensively for the first 70 minutes, then go for a late winner when talisman David Carney came on.Just when results were going against Muscat, it would have been easy for the Victory to drop their bundle. Finkler’s perfectly executed lethal strike was as much a statement of intent as it was worthy of a winner.

Vukovic the Unsung Hero out West

Even the best football teams need a world class last line of defence – just ask Bayern Munich and Manchester United. A strong and established custodian makes the entire team feel more confident in defence and allows players to worry about their own tasks on the field.

Danny Vukovic put in another fantastic performance, culminating in a brilliant double save at AAMI Park to save the Glory from their first defeat in the league since a trip to Adelaide in October. Perth’s back three, including Danny, THwaite and Djulbic, have played every league minute so far this season, showing the positive results solidarity at the back can have.

Should ‘Popa’ move on from the Wanderers? Is Graeme Arnold under real pressure? Is Gui Finkler the best non- marquee player on a dead ball that we have ever seen in the A-League? Let us know in the comments below!

Written by Blake Hampton and Luke Hall – Twitter : @blake_1986 + @hally_101

Image : mirror.co.uk

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