Leaderboard

Who could have seen that coming though? Everybody. Everybody saw that coming.

"Fans wanted more pre-game entertainment, more in-game entertainment and more at half-time." The in-game entertainment is called "football"! Unbelievable!

I think we’re only one really good central midfielder away from being really competitive this year. Vedran is more than good enough for the A League in goals. Risdon / Llorente as fullbacks with Tarek acting as cover is fine. Hamill / Aussie Pat / Tongyik as central defenders will be fine. I’ve been a fan of Hamill since day one, and being shuffled around the backline as the utility we haven’t seen the best of him. Hamill will step up and have a breakout season this year. Just watch. Riera and Baumjohan as #9 and #10 are better than fine. And a combination of Roly / Kamau / Fitzgerald / Bridge as wingers will score enough goals between to compliment the two attackers. But Baccus / Baccus / Tokich in the middle of the park will get steamrolled in the big games. I like the look of Tokich and next to a ball winning midfielder who knows how to protect his back 4, he’ll do fine. Just need Aussie Pat to get his citizenship so we can get an overseas DM. Bring on the new season.

They want to control the fun. Keep it neat and tidy, wholesome, family orientated. No swearing, not unauthorised out of seat cheering or chanting. But most of all they want to make money from you without giving a shite about true fan engagement, or truly growing the game and competition in this country. I hate these clowns. Seriously, they are a frickkin skid mark on the game in this country. No one wants the stuff mentioned in that article implemented. No one. I really hope it doesnt happen.

Australya. What a ******* embarrassment that article is. They killed off active support, and now they want it back again because, guess what?...…..Wow (who would have thought?), active support was one major element that differentiated our sport from the clap clap clap pathetic cheer squads of other sports. And it is now that they realise this??? This just proves that forever and a day we have had the wrong people in charge of football. The whole lot of them should **** off now.

They should build a bridge where you have to go miles out of your way to cross it, they seem to work well.

Probably won't matter. Very few will be able to find Penrith let alone cope with the travel.

The FFA are converting our game to get non-football people to like it rather than converting non-football people to like our game. They’re forever seeking approval from people who couldn’t give two shits by selling their soul and/or shitting all over it’s own people and fans. That’s the problem and the even sadder thing about it is that all it does is give these non-football people more ammo to take the piss out of the A-League. What is the thought process behind the FFA being so obsessed with capturing non footballing fans when a) they can’t even get the hundreds of thousand of football fans all into the A-League and b) they are struggling to hold onto the existing A-League following football fans?... Copying the big bash is futile because it is just one of three versions of cricket that people consume en mass. They can make it gimmicky because that’s what T20 is, leaving test cricket to be the traditional game it is without cheapening it. The other thing is that it’s a tournament running for 6 weeks, predominantly over the school/Christmas holiday period. It’s simple supply vs demand. This is what the FFA and some other codes don’t seem to understand or accept. If the FFA want to adopt a strategy from any code it should be the AFL. Just look at the way they operate... They are the most arrogant, egotistical, self assured sporting organisation in the country and no surprises; also the biggest by an absolute mile. We all sit here and whinge about how much money they receive from the government and how much coverage they receive but the only reason why they do is because that’s what they believe they deserve and they go out and get it... Every single person involved with that game honestly believes that they are the best sport in the world and that’s reflected in how they operate. They don’t care what non-AFL types think or whether they don’t like the game, in their view, those people are missing out on a treat. Meanwhile the FFA, who run the actual worlds greatest and biggest sport, do so as if they don’t have a shred of confidence, self esteem or belief.

Seb Hassett actually making sense on this 'BBL' issue https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/the-only-noise-football-needs-comes-from-supporters-not-speakers 'The only noise football needs comes from supporters, not speakers'

Based on the picture I think both eels fans could just cross at the light.

I dunno, there are a lot of enterprising people in western Sydney who are self employed in the "pharmaceutical" industry.

What the FFA is basically saying is the main attraction....ie....football....is not good enough so we have to invent or try other ways to get people in. Better to focus on why the main attraction is failing to draw in fans than try gimmics. It's a game of football....not a music festival or a circus.

I'd prefer if they stoppec playing any music at matches. More music is more likely to drive me away from attending.

Once again this proves the FFA has no idea what it’s doing. Who did they survey about this? Fans who already at the games? And what were the questions - “do you want more half time entertainment?” “Well they ticked yes”. These clowns continually try to win over the Big Bash crowd instead of accepting football should be a community sport rather than an entertainment product. Small, intimate grounds with good atmosphere, encourage local kids to come through community engagement and cheap tickets, celebrate the multiculturalism instead of hiding it, encourage active support, and market the success stories that have gone on to bigger things overseas (the HUGE advantage over AFL and NRL). NOT pom poms and music and Star Wars. IT’S NOT ******* ROCKET SCIENCE YOU ****S

And 4,000 of them were seagulls.

Encouraging performance...considering we were away from home against one of the most dangerous attacks in the league, I thought we did pretty well. The main difference from last year was we played smart football, by and large. Given our relative lack of creative attacking options, I'll be more than happy if we base our game around getting balls in the air to Riera, especially through set pieces. The improvement in set pieces alone could be a major factor, especially in a league like this and with a weapon like Riera. It was good to see Nizic have a calm performance in case we need him during the season. Ziegler has already made such a huge difference, massive for the whole team to have such a strong central defender. Baccus can **** off...you only put up with his regular petulance if he was an outstanding player. He's not. Tokich looked better when he came on. Given that there are still some parts of the squad that need improving, this could be a good opportunity to free up a squad space.

Call off the search....the real wanderers have been found again in Melbourne after going awol for over a year.... Not pretty in parts but hard fought which is all i wanted.

I know you're being sarcastic. I actually look sensational with my cap on, but I'm not sure it's got anything to do with the cap. On a side note, both myself and Wanderboy jnr had our caps on when Wandergirl younger sister (who isn't a member) came home from school today. She ignored us till we made a comment, to which she replied...... "Yes, I can see your caps!!!!." She wasn't in a good mood. Lol. Wanderboy and I both had a good chuckle. Hehehehehe. Now, I have hours of making up to her. God forbid, the sucking up I need to do. Lol.

You just know he's scoring the winner in the next derby don't you

Rather than make football gimmicky to emulate the BBL they could have a short version of the game that can be the T20 equivalent for football. In fact it already exists in futsal. They could have an off-season national futsal competition with the existing A-League clubs (maybe even some NPL clubs if we're being optimistic) that can be all about music and flashing lights and guest stints with aging superstars. That way you aren't devaluing the core game if you try these new things, in the same way test cricket would never allow music between deliveries, DJ platforms, smoke machines, etc. The NBL currently plays during the A-League season so their venues would be available during our off-season, and they have a team in pretty much every city the A-League does so venues should be easy to organise. Plus futsal is a legitimate sport with a huge overseas following, it's taken seriously by FIFA with both club and national team competitions and would provide another pathway for juniors into the sport. It'd also be a potential new revenue stream for the clubs if they sell memberships, merch and get a TV rights deal for the "Hollywood" version of the game like the BBL. Of course the FFA are completely oblivious to this opportunity, as demonstrated by the fact they pulled funding from the Futsalroos.

Was in a for a quick fire visit to Parramatta last Saturday (15th) and took these pics. Some may be similar to Meurants Lane's post above! Actually the first pic (furthest away) is from my brothers balcony from his unit Cnr Church and Harold Street. Enjoy! Now back on the Coast https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_Harold_Street_01.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_north_end_from_Leagues_Club_Carpark.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_north_end_from_Leagues_Club_Carpark_02.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_OConnell_Street_East_stand_looking_SW.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_OConnell_Street_South_East_cnr_Exit_steps.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_OConnell_Street_South_East_cnr_Exit_steps_closeup.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_South-West_corner_Upper_tier_construction.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_South-West_corner_Upper_tier_construction_02.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_OConnell_St_School_side_SE_corner.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_OConnell_St_School_side_East_stand_looking_north.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_OConnell_St_School_side_East_stand_looking_south.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_OConnell_St_School_side_NE_Entrance_construction.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_OConnell_St_School_side_NE_Entrance_construction_closeup.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_to_stadium_from_Victoria_Rd_School_NE_corner.jpg It's looking awesome ! I need to share this story in case someone else cops it like I did. I didn't realise that the South/West corner construction entrance had moved closer to the road. So I'd entered and was taking pics of the SW corner (last tiers to be constructed) when I turned and saw this Construction Security guy (who by the way on the whole have been great with me) who yelled at me to get out. I apologised saying I didn't realise the construction entrance had moved and that I was just getting a few more pics. He was a right wanker (I was not in the way of any vehicle or workers) and again yelled 'get out now' as I was telling him to calm down (and that I'd traveled a long way to get these pics). I gave it back saying I'd leave when I'm ready !! which I did eventually !! The guy was on a power trip - so beware if you're down the south end taking pics

Congrats BJ. BJ might not be every one's ideal CB but he is a true Wanderer, has a big heart, has never given less than his 100%. Other than Santa, BJ is a true Red & Black, no one can doubt his love for our team and the fans. Has his issues, positioning, skill level but give me BJ any day, he leaves everything on the pitch, more than I can say about some players in last season's and this season's squad, no heart and not giving us, the burned on Wanderers, what we ask, their 100%.

He also references that in the 70s MLS also tread this route and failed, and remodeled themselves in the past 5 years. I don't understand this need from the higher ups to BIG-BASH football, if anything over the past what 13 years whenever they have tried something like this its has always been received negatively and borderline cringy.

Just read all this crap, WTF FFA? Please tell me i was in a coma,just woke up and its April 1st . Music , themes ,halftime entertainment ??? Thx for pissing me off first thing Monday morning FFA.