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A-League 2013-14 is here and nairy three weeks away. This is your official thread for that guy who posts when the games are on in the US. Teams  Adelaide United Rivals: Melbourne, Sydney Coach: Josep 'Pep' Gombau Fans: LordPants One of the original 'gang of seven' for years under coach Viddy Adelaide united played the best football coupled with the best young prospects Australia produced. Then they sold them all enroute to a runner up in the ACL. After Viddy called Adelaide a 'pissant town' he left, and Adelaide haven't settled on a longer term manager since, even going back like a spurned lover to that smug poo poo John Kosmina. Now they have Ex-Barcelona Youth Coach Josep Gombau and maybe they'll play some attractive footy again. Their main rivals are Melbourne Victory, stemming from the fact they were the best two clubs in Australia for a while and had some amazing showdowns including the famous grand-final where Victory pummeled them into the ground and Kosmina tried to strangle Kevin Muscat.  Rivals: Central Coast Mariners Coach: Mike Mulvey Another of the Gang of Seven and orignally known as "Queensland Roar" but when the FFA rapidly overextended into Queensland the Roar changed their name from "Queensland" to "Brisbane". Needless to say, the other QLD folded because they were poo poo and there weren't enough fans for three teams in the deep north. For ages they labored in mid table anonymity only being known for hiring that Fat scottish player who actually wasn't that bad who quit along with Craig Moore when they fired Frank "Frank" Farina and replaced him with an SBS anaylsist. They also had Danny Tiatto who punched a man and that was kind funny. He was a fuckhead. Anyway, that SBS Analyst turned Roar into "Roarcelona" and they dominated the league for an eternity. Eventually He left to go to Melbourne and was replaced by ex Brisbane Lions (no not those Lions) coach Mike Mulvey. Their main rivals are Central Coast after the two were the best two teams in the league for a while and had some amazing finals showdowns. Also their park is probably one of the best in the league.  Central Coast Mariners Rivals: Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC, Newcastle Jets Coach: Graham "Arnie" Arnold Central Coast were a team of firsts. They were the first to exploit the injury replacement rule and sign John Aloisi, and the first to hire Graham Arnold after he flopped as National Coach and the first to sign Mark Bosnich after he stopped doing drugs but was still fat. Needless to say, Arnold turned out to be okay and led CCM to an unprecedented purple patch, culminating in choking like dogs a bunch of times in the finals before beating the Wanderers last year. Their main rivals are Brisbane, after the close competitive rivalry the two have had, and Sydney FC. The Sydney/CCM rivalry has had a bunch of great games including one where their keeper got sent off for handling the ball out of the area and Sydney came from behind and it was pretty awesome.  Playing before a typically packed house. Melbourne Heart Rivals: Melbourne Victory Coach: John "ALOIIIIIIIIISIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII" Aloisi So, the league had one unqualified sucess story: Melbourne Victory. They had a huge and rabbid fanbase and they won games. So the FFA decided to create another team because derbies thats why. Anyway it was stupid. So because of that we have the Heart. They haven't finished higher than sixth. It's pretty pathetic. They also have Harry Kewell I guess? They're rivals with Victory but could I give a poo poo? No I could not.  Melbourne Victory Rivals: Sydney FC, Adelaide United,  Rival : Melbourne HeartCoach: Ange Postecoglou Another of the Gang of Seven. They were for a while the unprecedented success story. Their strategy was not to waste their time with overpriced foreigners but to spend their money on foreign Australian talent. And in the end it eventually paid dividends with them becoming two time champions and would have been three time if Karma hadn't bitten Kevin Muscat in the kiester.  Now they are managed by Ange Postecoglou and presumably can only improve on last year's 3rd place position. Their main rivals are Adelaide whom they share a great and storied competitive rivalry, and Sydney FC who they hate. Affectionately known as 'the tards'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGWIMr0c1Mc Newcastle Jets Rivals: Sydney FC, Central Coast Coach: Gary "Why do I still have job" van Egmond Newcastle have a history of signing assholes. Like Ruben Zadkovich. And Joel Griffith who punched a linesman in the balls and got away with it. Anyway, they have sucked for an eternity and have Emile Heskey who embarrassingly is actually playing really well.  They also signed Branco Cullina as coach (why? WHY?!?) who signed his crippled son saying literally "lol his fine what you on about y u mad?" and they're also owned by noted "not quite as rich as he was a while ago" person Nathan TinklerRivals: I mean, I guess Sydney but yet again I struggle to give a poo poo about anything to do with Newcastle Jets. They're affectionately known as the "Jest." Gang of Seven Memeber.  Perth Glory Rivals: Wellington Phoenix Coach: Alistair Edwards Gang of Seven Memeber and the only bonefide NSL team in the A-League. Long and storied history. Coached by Ex-Millwall player Alistair Edwards. Done diddly squat except for a year where they had something like 3 ex-International keepers in their squad, and a player who got busted for doping for using hair replacement therapy. Finished runner up one year also. They are rivals with Phoenix because nobody else loves them and you have to fly for like 10 hours between games.  Sydney FC Rivals: Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners Coach: Frank "point oh five's the limit" Farina Sydney FC are a strange team. They're in a city with a huge football heritage. But their stadium is a piece of poo poo to get to, and as such they don't attract many fans. They also only ever had a niche following compared to what they should. They also have a habit of signing old over the hill players well past their peak who are STILL the best players in the league (when they are not injured) like Juninho (who was so good he made Alex Brosque seem world class) and Alessandro Del Pierro. They also signed two of the worst players in A-League history: David Zdrillic (missed an open goal once) and Brendan "Renaudinho" Renaud. Also paid for Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Famer Michael Enfield's knees to be replaced twice without him playing more than 90 minutes in two years. Their main rivals are Melbourne and Central Coast. They have been contenders give or take for most of their life.  Wellington Phoenix Rivals: Perth Glory Coach: Does it matter. Wellington have team. It's pretty  . They have fans who get naked in the last minutes of their games. That's pretty . They also cause problems with our elegibility in the Asian Champions League. But we'll burn those bridges when we get there. Western Sydney Wanderers Rivals: Centeral Coast, Sydney FC. Coach: Tony "Poppa" Popovic First things first, google "Tony Popovic Own Goal", trust me. So because Sydney FC's stadium is a piece of poo poo to get to, FFA decided to create a SECOND Sydney team so all the people in the West wouldn't have to travel so far. And then they hired Ex-Sydney assistant Manager and player Tony Popovic to play. And then he had about 5 minutes to get a squad together. Yeah, I bet you can guess how this one ends: Just like Gold Coast and North Queensland and Melbourne Heart and The Football Kingzs the Wanders tanked, blew steaming hot chunks and were cellar dwellers for the entire season. Wait... what? They only lost how many games? PREMIERS? LOST THE GRAND FINAL? WHAT?!?!? But that's not all, not only did they do all that, but they pierced the Asian veil and actually signed one of the HUNDREDS of obscenely talented Asian players as their marquee star. Why don't you do that, rest of league you rascist assholes? Western Sydney are the real 'feel good' team of the league. Well coached, good recruitement, the ease in which they blew through the league last year gives us hope that football in this country will develop beyond it's "huh, what are you talking about we know football" and actually focus on fundamentals like technique, passing and off the ball movement (which is so loving shoddy in this league) and hopefully increase the standard of Australian football. Broadcast When the A-League was started, the Socceroos coached by Guus "Guuuuuuuuuuuus" Hiddink had actually qualified for the World Cup, and local pay tv channel Foxtel was looking to get in on that action. So FFA packaged the Socceroos matches and the A-League together. And thats how it was until this year where SBS will be showing a friday night game live. How awesome is that? Will it be the turning point for the A-League? Well, I mean maybe, but probably not. Either way it's exciting.  NEVER FORGET Gold Coast United Clive Palmer wanted a team but didn't want to pay the price for fans to get to his stadium for free so he tarped most of the stadium off. It was an embarrassment. But now he's elected to parliament probably so I can't say bad things about him or ASIO will come get me. If they don't rig the election that is. North Queensland Fury They had a player who's name was "U FUK". They were never were any good. Why did you put a team up there FFA?  FOOTBALL KINGZ They won six games in two years. Fair thee well FOOTBALL KINGZ edit: Feel free to post your allegiance in the thread and it'll get op'd. We'll be like AUSPOL but with less death threats. algebra testes fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Sep 23, 2013 |
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Sep 23, 2013 05:04
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| # ? May 6, 2024 11:42 |
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Things you forgot to mention about the Wanderers and their feelgood story was having a higher salary cap and more foreign players than anyone else in the league because gently caress the rules we need a story. Anyway, Roar are the best team gently caress everything south of the tweed.
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Sep 23, 2013 05:15
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Put me down as a fan of Sydney as I haven't switched loyalty to the Wanderers because even though I live ten minutes walking distance from Parramatta Stadium and I like the Wanderers for a lot of reasons (colours, playing style, not being cunts) I'm sure there's some reason I don't switch. Hmm...
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Sep 23, 2013 05:30
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I will go to the one A-League game this year that will be played in Australasia's best city: Auckland. Other than that I will likely ignore the A-League because I don't have Sky and there is gently caress all else media coverage here.
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Sep 23, 2013 09:18
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You can put me down as a Victory supporter. Adrian Leijer is going to cripple someone this season and not get sent off for it.
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Sep 23, 2013 09:38
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I'm supporting the JEST this season.
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Sep 23, 2013 12:51
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Put me down as an enthusiastic 'Tard follower. At least until the new premier league gets launched and I go to every Geelong game ever. 
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Sep 23, 2013 23:35
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iajanus posted:Put me down as a fan of Sydney as I haven't switched loyalty to the Wanderers because even though I live ten minutes walking distance from Parramatta Stadium and I like the Wanderers for a lot of reasons (colours, playing style, not being cunts) I'm sure there's some reason I don't switch. Hmm... It has to do with residual hatred of either Peter Sterling or Brett Kenny, doesn't it?
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Sep 24, 2013 01:22
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This is the Wellington Phoenix's year.
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Sep 24, 2013 01:37
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Ratios and Tendency posted:This is the Wellington Phoenix's year. I would be very happy with minor premier nix purely because FIFA and the AFC would loose their poor little minds.
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Sep 24, 2013 01:41
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Ratios and Tendency posted:This is the Wellington Phoenix's year. I want Fat Carlos to do super well, but not against the Victory.
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Sep 24, 2013 06:04
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The AFC is pretty mental in regards to league no? Like they view the FFA running the A-league as a bad thing, no promotion and relegation as a bad thing and a whole multitude of other things right? I seriously don't get how the AFC can arbitrarily decide that every league needs to conform to the european norm.
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Sep 24, 2013 07:11
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I think the main things the AFC doesn't like about the A league are a Oceania federation team in a league with spots for the AFC champions league, a match review board like we have in rugby and a post season playoffs to determine the winner.
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Sep 24, 2013 09:31
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And running in summer. And the number of clubs. It's a weird thing. They don't want say 4 teams from the A-League qualifying out of 10, but at the same time if we increase the number of teams it'll result in a heap of Furys and Gold Coasts again. So  Australia should just focus on developing the league and adding teams when it is needed. We're not winning the ACL anyway so increasing the league to increase the teams isn't going to achieve anything.
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Sep 24, 2013 09:58
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We (Wellington Phoenix) need to sign some more players imo
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Sep 24, 2013 10:09
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Ewar Woowar posted:We (Wellington Phoenix) need to sign some more players imo Fat Carlos is a team unto himself. He's gonna win the league for you.
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Sep 26, 2013 09:46
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hey it's me I'm the Melbourne Heart's fan. You should all support Heart because it's as close as you'll ever get to feeling like you own your own team who you pay to play proper football clubs for your personal enjoyment. Only Clive Palmer has so far had this wonderful opportunity. I don't like us signing Harry Kewell because my favourite thing was making fun of Victory for signing him because he's old and now he's even older. dshban fucked around with this message at 11:22 on Sep 26, 2013 |
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Sep 26, 2013 11:19
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I pledge my allegiance to Sydney FC and #pashingisnotacrime
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Sep 27, 2013 01:26
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Pashing some things are a crime.
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Sep 27, 2013 01:28
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bowmore posted:Pashing some things are a crime. Pashing a victory supporter should be a crime.
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Sep 27, 2013 04:18
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Byolante posted:Pashing a victory supporter should be a crime. Come at me bro. Tongue first.
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Sep 27, 2013 04:45
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Less than one page and we're already getting weird. Well played, A-League. 
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Sep 27, 2013 05:30
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Is Harry Kewell the Braith Anasta of football?
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Sep 27, 2013 05:55
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iajanus posted:Less than one page and we're already getting weird. Wait till the season starts. It's going to be full of flares, beers and riot police.
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Sep 27, 2013 07:42
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I've got a Brisbane Roar shirt somewhere after my travels down under, so they're my team. Are they any good nowadays? I miss Chad Gibson though.
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Sep 27, 2013 08:44
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I sing for Central Coast, and we were Our biggest rivals are the Jest, who we view as our poorer, more inbred rivals up the F3 who now have won less than us. We laugh at both Sydney sides, as they laugh as us, however we know eventually they're going to have to retire up here and they'll have to pay a poo poo tin more cash than we did for a place. We also do not like Brisbane, especially Berisha who we hate on almost Liam Reddy levels. Hopefully this is not a portent of things to come.
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Sep 27, 2013 09:00
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MiniSune posted:I sing for Central Coast, and we were Have fun with drunky. I can't wait till I have beers for Reddy.
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Sep 29, 2013 02:47
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Yay I was mention in the OP, anyway with the demise of Fox Soccer Channel (now the third FX channel "FXX" ) there is some worry I won't be able to watch any game now outside of a stream but the new Fox Sports 2 channel been airing Aussie Rules Football and the National Rugby League am guessing I should still get my A-League fix hopefully. Anyway let me introduce myself, am Giovanni Sinclair and am the thread resident American A-League supporter. I live in Chicago which is roughly in the eastern middle part of the US and games normally airs around 1amish during daylight saving time (time of the year where we lose a hour of sleep so that farmers could get an extra hour of daylight during our summer) and 12amish outside of daylight saving time which begins in the first week of Nov this year. I don't really have a favorite team since I only really get one game a week with a random teams each week but I enjoy watching since I tend to go to sleep late on the weekend and I feel a sense of kinship beween the A-League and my own country MLS since we are both young leagues that has teams in two countries and our countries have there own code of Football. Anyway hope this season is a good one. Giovanni_Sinclair fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Sep 29, 2013 |
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Sep 29, 2013 04:03
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Adelaide United togeeeeether! Adelaide united foooreeeeever! (I wish they still sung that lovely song at the start of all our matches.) Anyway, here's hoping we're not poo poo this year.
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Sep 29, 2013 09:20
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Mariners lose Menpora cup final, but sadly football lost as well. Crowd rioting, Heinous officiating and a lack of even basic timekeeping that even the NRL could laugh at. All it was missing was a bit of "Poll Magic" and it would have had everything. Wouldn't surprise me if match turns up in an investigation down the track. I've just seen it and I still cannot believe it. Still, boys have had a decent pre-season, but I don't know if Flores is the saviour king at Number 10 as while he's done some good stuff, he's looked a little befuddled at times. But then again these matches haven't been in the best of conditions with the most stable line-up with subs galore and then the split team at the end. Edit: Seems the boys boycotted the ceremony. I suspect we won't be back. MiniSune fucked around with this message at 14:21 on Sep 29, 2013 |
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Sep 29, 2013 14:08
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MiniSune posted:I don't know if Flores is the saviour king at Number 10 as while he's done some good stuff, he's looked a little befuddled at times. Speaking of Flores  (After he got let go by MV) In other news, Sydney FC got belted 3-0 against Perth Glory. It's going to be a hard year again 
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Sep 30, 2013 00:52
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Giovanni_Sinclair posted:Yay I was mention in the OP, anyway with the demise of Fox Soccer Channel (now the third FX channel "FXX" ) there is some worry I won't be able to watch any game now outside of a stream but the new Fox Sports 2 channel been airing Aussie Rules Football and the National Rugby League am guessing I should still get my A-League fix hopefully. I think you should definitely come on board as a Victory supporter, then you will know the joy of being a part of the Evil Empire™!  Pretty much everyone hates us -with good reason, we have had proud history of hiring motherfuckers to play/coach *coughmuscatcough* generally making us the Collingwood of the A League but with less teeth. We play on top of a carpark next to a train station and skillfully appropriated Scotland the Brave whilst removing references to prancing warhorses and such nonsense. Our home/away/whothefuckknows kit is an atrocious flouro yellow that makes us look like a council road crew. The A League wikipedia lists a bunch of rivalries between the various clubs, some fairly contrived but some fairly exciting and organic - pretty much every second one is Melbourne Victory vs someone or other, and the vast majority boil down to "blah blah traditional city rivalry, Melbourne are cunts/have the worst stadium pies" All that said, it feels exciting to be part of something as big and powerful as a good Victory crowd. The next best thing would probably be being part of an opposing club, coming into Melbourne and feeling like the lone rebel going up against the death star  MiniSune posted:Mariners lose Menpora cup final, but sadly football lost as well. I was reading about this in the Age, apparently it was so bent that some of the players from Arema FC came and apologized to some of the Mariners players after the match. Pretty lovely if true
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Sep 30, 2013 13:50
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All Victorians are cunts and Wanderers can do one also. That's all.
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Sep 30, 2013 14:09
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Adnar posted:All Victorians are cunts and Wanderers can do one also. These are facts.
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Sep 30, 2013 14:25
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Adnar posted:All Victorians are cunts and Wanderers can do one also. I like the Wanderers, they're probably my 2nd favourite team, so does that make me a double oval office? I also think Kevin Muscat was a good player.
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Sep 30, 2013 16:44
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Being one of the 12 Gold Coast fans in the away section for a Victory match was a magical experience. On the way back to my hotel after the game a extremely drunk victory fan told me it didn't really matter that we had lost and I should be happy I got to see the best team in Australia play great football. Then he gave me a beer.So in short, Victory are less cunty than the
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Sep 30, 2013 17:07
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Adnar posted:All Victorians are cunts and Wanderers can do one also. I agree, Plus I still have your scarf.
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Oct 1, 2013 03:43
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Are there still any half-decent players in Wellington or did they all leave?
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Oct 1, 2013 05:04
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flyingkiwi posted:Are there still any half-decent players in Wellington or did they all leave? Hernandez has come in which is the type of player we've been crying out for ages. We still have Durante, Muscat, Brockie and Ifill. I've always felt we needed better fullbacks (Muscat is infinitely better utilised in the midfield) but I'm not sure if that's really been addressed yet.
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Oct 1, 2013 06:33
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 This handsome devil, Matt Spiranovic, just signed for the Wanderers. He's a local to me, and used to play for a local powerhouse side. I love hearing about the people coming up through the local leagues and I hope he does well
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Oct 2, 2013 13:37
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