If only the A-league had finished after one game, then my pre-league hype would have been justified. Two beautiful assists to Manny Muscat and a fantastic debut header to one Louis Puskas Fenton, aka Louis of Tawa, as well as promising turns from our other attackers and a 2-0 win over Sydney F.C.
Much like Obama the audacity of hope gave way to the inevitability of mediocrity and the dance of despair and disillusionment, including the sacking of Ricki Herbert. We finished dead last.
Elsewhere Western Sydney showed why people are terrified of football crowds with the Red and Black Block showing their passion with flares and the club also provided some sublime entertainment from Shinji Ono and Youssouf Hersey. Julia Gillard, who wore the shirt on occasion, is going to have a lot more time to watch them this year.
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| The world's second best Shinji chases down ADP |
WSW, too, are the perfect example of how subsidies f- up a free trade system. In a salary-cap league they had more exemptions and exceptions to the rule than a Kiwi spy, and unsurprisingly in their debut season came top of the league.
They couldn’t have done it without former Crystal Palace defence coach Tony Popovic. His addition to the league brings the count of quality coaches to 3: Arnold, Postecoglou and Popovic. Apart from Yohei, New Zealand’s count of Italian or Greek blood is sadly low. Why-oh-why couldn’t NZ have had a sustained period of wog immigration too? (Kosta incidently is back at Melbourne Victory, reunited with Ange after his spell with Panathinaikos.)
This is the second season for a lot of things: Del Piero is back with his no-hoper mates from the other Sydney, it’s my second season as a Fantasy Football manager and it is the second year for the new ‘Nix management.
Gareth Morgan, aka Catman, demanded total football, chased the players around at training with a clipboard, and had an opinion on all things including the fans who apparently, mostly, don’t know anything about football.
You mightn’t realise that he was one owner out of nine and didn’t necessarily speak for the Welnix ownership group. While there have been fewer models, man-kinis, parties, Beckstravaganzas and fast Italian cars the economist-owned club remains solvent and a new TV deal for the league means that it is more than likely to remain that way.
As for the ‘Nix- there are two new Costa Ricans, one old Scot (coach, ex-Hong Kong and Melbourne Victory), one fewer Solomon Islander and a few new Kiwi and Aussie lads, including a Rufer.
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| The unveiling of Ernie Merrick |
New coach Ernie Merrick, in some ways, is a bit like an A-league Mourinho. He’s a rather familiar face with titles in the bag, but not a Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp excitement machine.
Merrick’s Nix will be playing a narrower style, keeping it on the deck a little more and repeating all the promises of last year.
With just over a month to the start of the season it is hard to get genuinely excited, but hopefully it will be a case of under-promising and over-delivering. The fans are cautious, but with the number of club memberships purchased continuing to tick on upward it shows that it is an optimistic caution.
