Farina caught drink-driving

This is possibly the strangest and most unlikely piece of news that I will have to report this season (unless the Roar sign Diego Maradona) but here goes: Roar manager Frank Farina has lost his drivers’ licence for six months after being caught drink-driving. It’s hard to put a positive spin on this any which way you look at it.

Our manager will now be unable to get to trainings, meetings or anything like that without relying on someone else to drive him there. At least this means if you see Farina on a bus, train or CityCat arguing with ticket collectors you will now know why. However, I wouldn’t recommend asking him for his autograph. Interestingly, Farina was found with a blood-alcohol content of 0.105 – more than twice the legal limit – after only having a light beer and three glasses of white wine.

If this was the case then one thing is for certain; I wouldn’t bet on him in a drinking competition if my life depended on it.

Failure to sign Aloisi sparks need for ‘Plan B’

The Queensland Roar has failed in their bid to lure Australian internation striker John Aloisi to the club. Aloisi’s agent reported that he “genuinely considered” the offer but turned it down because of the disparity between what he would have earned with the Roar – believed to be around $300,000 a year – and what he could earn in either Europe or the United States. The following comments from the Queensland Roar’s chief executive Lawrence Oudendyk agreed with these sentiments.

“We were genuine with our interest in bringing John Aloisi to Queensland and our offer reflected that. [Aloisi] took the offer very seriously but in the end there is some distance between what he can command as a European player and what we are able to offer as an Australian club. Naturally we are disappointed but we will move on and our search for the right player will continue.”

This result is a huge disappointment for both the club and its supporters – signing Aloisi would have brought huge media interest as well as a large influx of fans wanting to see the big striker play at Suncorp Stadium. Whilst Oudendyk’s comments about continuing the “search for the right player” suggest that Roar were well-prepared – perhaps even expectant – for Aloisi’s knock-back, the result leaves the club with much to do to find just who the right player is.

I mentioned previously that I thought the signing of Aloisi would be “good business” for the Roar and I still stand by these comments. Aloisi has been one of the most recognisable faces in Australian sport since he scored the penalty to seal the country’s World Cup qualification, but his signature would’ve been more about promoting the image of the club as opposed to improving their results. Whilst Aloisi is no doubt a superb player, there are others out there who are better.

The Roar should now be looking to sign a less recognisable face with far superior footballing skills. Melbourne did it last year with their Brazilian playmaker Fred, and the results for the Victory were phenomenal – not only did they win the A-League Premiership and Grand Final at a canter, they did so in front of the biggest crowds in the league. Queensland Roar could do well to mirror their approach.

I am obviously disappointed that the club has missed out on Aloisi and I would have preferred his services over any other potential marquee player within the Roar’s reach. But Plan A has failed and the club must now move on to Plan B; signing a player with the ability to win enough points for the Roar to qualify for the finals.

Only this will prevent the club’s supporters from looking back at the end of the season with disappointment and wondering what things would’ve been like if the Roar had signed John Aloisi.

Roar highlights video and not much else…

Not much has been going on with the Queensland Roar in the past couple of days so there’s really not much to talk about. A bit like Arsenal in the English Premier League really. I was hoping to give a report on the performance of the Roar’s new Gold Coast signing Mitch Nichols but found out he was suspended from Palm Beach’s Premier League victory over Souths. Oh well, at least his team won. He will definitely be back for next weekend’s match so I’ll post my thoughts on his performance in a week’s time. Just to keep things from getting too boring I’ve put in a video of some of the better moments of last season for the Roar. Hopefully tomorrow’s post will be a little bit more interesting as I try and feed off whatever news scraps I can get my hands on. Anyway, enjoy!

Farina send out good message with Roar’s Nicols signing

As a result of his impressive start to the Brisbane Premier League season with the Palm Beach Sharks 18-year-old Mitch Nichols has signed a two-year deal with the Queensland Roar. Nichols has been in blistering form for his club this season, netting nine goals in the first eight games of the Premier League season. Astonishingly, these goals have come from his favoured position of attacking midfield. For those familiar with the local Brisbane football scene, Nichols signing will not be seen as a surprise as he has been by far the best player in the Premier League this season.

It is assumed that Roar manager Frank Farina has signed the teenager as a player for the future, but Nichols has shown he may have the impact to make it into the starting team in his first season. Much will depend on whether the Roar sign Brazilian playmaker Marcinho or Socceroos superstar John Aloisi. Regardless of the outcome of the Roar’s other potential signings it is clear that Farina sees great potential in the Gold Coast player and believes he can make the step-up to the A-League.

“His goal tally from midfield is impressive and although he hasn’t played at this level yet, to get goals you still have to put yourself in good positions and finish off the chances when they come along. He has to apply himself now and adjust to life as professional player, but he has enough raw talent to make an impression.”

I personally think that it is great that Farina is prepared to invest in local talent as I believe that combining the big-name players with a strong contingent of Brisbane- and Queensland-based youngsters will improve the performances on the field and the interest and support off the field. I had often criticised Frank Farina for his inability to manage the Australian national team but it is quite clear that he has found his niche back home in Brisbane and is going about his task of forming a team with the quality to finish in the top four with great aplomb.

“Mitch has played for Palm Beach all his life and they should be proud that they have produced a player of his quality. He hasn’t come through the ‘system’ as such and that sends a message to all young players that you can still make it even if you haven’t played at the institutes.”

Farina’s words are exactly right. Congratulations to Nichols on being rewarded for his efforts and let this be a message to the young footballers out there that the A-League really can provide you with a future in football if you are prepared to work hard enough for it.

Marcinho impresses Farina in Roar friendly

Queensland Roar put out a trialists XI on Wednesday night and took on current Brisbane Premier League leaders Palm Beach in a friendly at Luxury Stadium. Whilst the Roar XI may have lost the game 2-1, it seems they have uncovered a potential gem in ex-Sao Paolo playmaker Marcinho.

Whilst I did not personally attend the game, reports from both the Queensland Roar Official Site and Taringa Rovers Forum suggest that Marcinho was the stand-out player in the friendly match, displaying all the typically Brazilian traits – sharp touches, fast feet and quickness of thought.

The Roar’s manager Frank Farina, who was watching the match at Richlands, was inevitably impressed by his performance as well.

“There’s no doubt that [Marcinho] can play. It’s difficult when you’ve only been off the plane for a few days, but you can see that he’s played at a high level. He’s quick, two-footed and take people on and he’ll only get better the longer he’s here.”

Sounds to me like the only thing standing between the Roar and signing Marcinho is getting the negotiations right. I spoke earlier about the strong possibility of John Aloisi joining the club and if Farina can nab both of these two players then the Roar’s forward line – which came under a lot of criticism last season – will be something to behold.

Roar fans should get on the Sydney bandwagon

Sydney FC’s 0-0 draw with China’s Shanghai Shenhua at Aussie Stadium overnight has left the club with a massive must-win showdown against the Urawa Reds in Japan in a fortnight’s time. What an occasion that game will be for not only Sydney but Australia as a whole. It will be the first really big international club match for any club in Australia. Urawa are currently rated as the best side in Asia and Sydney will go over to Japan knowing that they will need a win in front of a 60,000 strong crowd that will be passionately cheering against them. I, as someone who usually loves to hate Sydney FC, would encourage Queensland Roar fans to be cheering for them.

The Asian Champions League is the pinnacle of club football on offer for the football clubs in Australia and every single A-League side – most of all the Queensland Roar – should be striving to qualify for the competition. Winning the A-League would undoubtedly be brilliant but I believe it would be the thrill of supporting the Roar in a big Champions League game of that would get any player or supporter at the club excited.

If Sydney manage to get past Urawa then bigger will ensue the further they progress. The better that Australia’s clubs perform in Asian Champions League the more credibility we will gain in the eyes of the other Asian nations. Australian supporters of A-League clubs must realise that these nations are our major competitors now – at every level of the game – and any success against them will strike a psychological blow for all Australian clubs as well as the national team. This could be vital with the Asian Cup just two months away.

So good luck to Sydney in Asia. But let me make it quite clear in saying that my support for the club will disintegrate the moment they are knocked out of the Champions League.

Aloisi would be good business for Roar

Everybody is probably already aware of it, but for those who don’t know, Frank Farina is looking to sign up everybody’s favourite penalty-taking hero John Aloisi with the Queensland Roar. Aloisi’s contract with Spanish club Alaves expires at the end of the season so there is every chance of Farina pulling off what would be – by far – the biggest transfer in the club’s short history.

The acquisition of Aloisi would go a long way to solving the Roar’s infamous reputation of being poor finishers. He is a proven goalscorer at international level, and I would expect a player of this quality would be worth at least 10 points over the course of the season. In other words, if we can get him, I’d say we’re almost a certainty to make the top four for the first time.

As for the impact this could have on the club as franchise – you only have to look at the effect of Melbourne Victory’s big signings from last season to understand that this would be a wise investment by the Queensland Roar. Aloisi is seen as one of Australia’s real heroes, kids and adults alike will want to see the man who secured Australian football history in the flesh. And if he happens to bag a few goals, as would obviously be expected, the crowds at Suncorp could really soar this season.

Fingers crossed that Farina and the board can pull this one off because it really would be an exciting start to the season.

Welcome to Roar Blog!

Well, it’s finally here. Roar Blog‘s (not so) grand opening! I had been playing with the idea of starting up a blog about the Queensland Roar for some time now, but most of my energy of late has gone into my other blog; Arsenal FC Blog. You’ll notice it’s a little bit more professional looking than this one is at this point in time, and for this reason I did think about delaying the opening of this blog until it was polished up to a similar level.

But then I thought, stuff that, that is not what Roar Blog is about. The point of this site is to give the Australian (and International – if they really feel like it) community the chance to say what they want about the Queensland Roar, when they want. There are literally thousands of blogs about football clubs overseas, as an Arsenal fan and fellow blogger I am a subscriber to at least four just about Arsenal! Yet there are virtually none about local football. You have to wonder why – Australians love sport, and there are enough people in this country with enough knowledge about their football to make a blog like this work.

My point is simple – enjoy Roar Blog. It’s for you guys, the fans of Queensland’s football team, to discuss whatever it is you want to discuss. It’s also for me, using what football intelligence I have, to let you know about the latest goings on at the club and let you know what I think of Farina’s latest transfer target (Aloisi anyone?) or his latest tactical bungle.

I make just one promise to you, the loyal reader: check back here every day and you will see something new. I ask for one thing in return: your participation. Get in there, say what you want, and help make football in Australia and Queensland a success. The other codes say we lack tradition, strong club spirit and loyal fans – so let’s prove them wrong.