Someone has got to be there. Now having 10 teams, soon to be 11 (and more games in the season to suck in) – the bottom of the table is just gonna become a worse and worse place to be …
Currently in last place (despite winning this weekend), Adelaide is pulling a Newcastle like form reversal … ACL finalists, CWC entrants and A-league GFinalists, they are now stuck to the bottom of the table.
North Queensland is just behind them, but are probably quite positive about life. Everyone expected them to be bottom of the table. So even at second last, they are exceeding expectations.
Lets have a look back at earlier seasons last and second last placings …
2008/09 season – Perth Glory and Newcastle
2007/08 – Perth Glory and Wellington
2006/07 – Perth Glory and the NZ Knights
2005/06 – Melbourne Victory and NZ Knights
I am not sure who had the toughest time …
Perth for consistent failure.
Newcastle for seeing the lows follow the highs so quickly.
Auckland fans for seeing their team die (It doesn`t help the small group of NZ Knights fans that much that there is a new team down/up in Wellington).
A mate was at Suncorp for the loss to AU yesterday, and his facebook page painted a not very pretty picture. I can just imagine him and the rest of the crowd slowly growing more frustrated as chance after chance was missed, pass after pass misplayed … and that final, inevitable moment when AU got their goal.
I can also imagine the smile on AU fans faces as they realised they had picked up 3 points. And that smile disappearing as they realised they were still bottom of the table.
Amazingly – despite their horror season, fans are still going through the turnstiles at Hindmarsh. Another horror season could put paid to that, but that is pretty impressive support imho.
PS. Course, the table never tells the whole story … how did you get there? A lack of talent? An injury crisis? An inadequate coach who is unable to get the most out of the team? A collective failure by a playing group who underachieve (despite their coach being adequate)? An inability to keep the talent you had last year?
PSS. Yes, the gloom at Suncorp is about more than results. Its about more than high expectations. A board that doesn`t understand supporter relations or pricing. Club in-fighting. An under pressure coach who drank drive ON HIS WAY to training. Lots of reasons to be happy up there in Brisbane this year.
Notyalcsdrawkcab's Weblog 
Having Gold Coast – coached by a man whose sole mission is to give it to the Roar…
But mainly not letting capitalism flow — when you’ve lost millions and millions – and never won anything – it is time to let someone else try ownership and directorship.
But most of all, Roar fans have seen it all before. – the Adelaide take was ‘mark up, press, then hit on the counter.’
Funny though, this seems to happen everywhere Ange coaches. Hmmm. Pattern?
Comment by john — December 14, 2009 @ 11:30 am
does it feel character building? i have heard this kind of season is character building … never quite believed it myself though tbh.
i am very disconnected from brisbane now. the city itself and the club
will return to oz next year, but will go wherever my best job opportunity comes up. i have done a lot of public service work in oz. could be brisbane, but melbourne adelaide perth canberra are also potentials …
Comment by notyalcsdrawkcab — December 14, 2009 @ 11:28 pm
No it is driving the fans away. Not building any character.
Good luck with the job hunt.
Comment by john — December 15, 2009 @ 10:25 am
Actually, much as I hate to see us at the bottom of the ladder, this kind of thing makes the good times so much sweeter. Like when QLd finally won their first sheffield shield. Players and coaches earn the good times through hard work, fans earn the good times through surviving the rough times and keeping the faith. Just imagine if Real MAdrid supporters quit everytime a perfectly good coach was sacked and replaced with an underwhelming one… there would be no one left. I think we will be seeing the good times soon. (but not too soon – from a newly removed expat to an experienced one, I would be mildly annoyed if I sat in the stands for five years of misery only for them to win in the first year I was out of the country!
Comment by Ed — December 21, 2009 @ 3:43 pm
latest news is that Palmer may want out of GCU.
Comment by john — December 22, 2009 @ 8:10 am
Not being clubs over in kiwiland, I don`t think the FFA will be letting either Brisbane or GCU fold anytime soon … not when they just got their hands on new TV money and with a WC campaign coming up.
I have kind of gotten a soft spot for GCU now. They gave the other clubs a target to try to knock over. And a nice giggle – undefeated season.
Comment by notyalcsdrawkcab — December 22, 2009 @ 9:54 am
The talk is Gold Coast already have 2 alternative buyers – so what are the Roar up to? Surely a better prospect?
CCM has had go-adead for a $40m investment in training facilities and club. This is the club John O’Neil thought was too small to make it.
Comment by john — December 22, 2009 @ 11:52 am