On The Attack with Robbie Slater and Marco Monteverde

WHAT A FARCE

RS: Can things become any more farcical in the A-League? This rule where the amount of wins is used as the preferred way to rank teams who are on the same points, rather than goal difference – which is used almost everywhere else in the world – is an absolute joke. Whoever made this decision obviously has no clue about football.

MM: I couldn’t agree with you more. It makes the A-League a laughing stock.

RS: The APL’s statement in response to the rightful uproar was ridiculous. For them to say the “criteria” encourages “more attacking football” and increases the “number of matches that matter” during the season is embarrassing. Why should teams be penalised for drawing matches if they have the same points as another but a superior goal difference?

MM: Imagine if this season’s A-League premiership, which brings with it a place in the AFC Champions League, is decided on this rule. I don’t know why the APL does this to themselves. Fix the stuff that needs fixing. Don’t tamper with the fabric of football.

RS: When Arsenal’s “Invincibles” went undefeated in the 2003-24 Premier League season, their record included 12 draws, and they’ll be remembered as one of football’s greatest ever teams. What’s wrong with a draw? I cannot believe this has happened, and I also find it hard to believe that the clubs knew about this. If the APL just quietly slipped it into the A-League regulations before the start of the season, that isn’t good enough.

ROAR RABBLE

MM: A lot of the decisions made by the A-League and its clubs never cease to leave me gobsmacked. There was another doozy this week when Brisbane Roar announced they had appointed Ben Cahn as their coach. Having appointed Luc Trani on an interim basis until the end of the season after Ross Aloisi left, the club was supposed to conduct a thorough search and undertake a “proper process” in appointing Aloisi’s permanent replacement. However, showing they are still very much a reactionary club, the Roar rush Cahn – who has never coached at A-League level – in after Trani’s first game in charge ended in an 8-1 loss. Yes, it was a heavy defeat, but why rush into such an important decision?

RS: This decision is further proof of the Roar’s disastrous fall from grace. Once the A-League’s finest club, the Roar are now a mess because of far too many terrible decisions that have been made since the departure of Ange Postecoglou 12 years ago. Nothing is likely to change unless the owners get the hint and sell the club. In saying that, I was encouraged by the Roar’s start to the season under Aloisi, but now it’s the same old story.

MM: Yeah, it was a shame Aloisi left, but he felt he never had the full support of the club’s chief operations officer and head of recruitment Zac Anderson. Anderson’s decision to bring Cahn to the club in a “youth technical director” role didn’t help his relationship with Aloisi. There is a perception that Anderson got what he wanted all along with Cahn’s appointment this week as coach, although the club’s chief executive officer and chairman Kaz Patafta denies that.

RS: Cahn’s got a tough start with Sydney FC taking on the Roar on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium, but surely, regardless of who the coach is, Brisbane must respond in a positive way after losing 8-1 in their last game.

MM: You would think there would have to be some type of improvement from such a horrible performance. We’ll see how Cahn goes, but at least the Roar didn’t make the mistake of offering an unproven coach the job beyond this season, despite the club’s initial statement on their website which said Cahn had a contract until the end of the next season. I have been told that was wrong and that his head coaching deal expires at the end of this season. It’s up to Cahn now to get the players – who loved what Aloisi had brought to the club – to want to play for him.

TULIO KEEN TO FINISH ON HIGH

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RS: The Roar-Sydney match is in this weekend’s prime time spot, but I’m really looking forward to Saturday’s earlier game between the Wanderers and the Mariners. The Wanderers could easily be at the top of the table with the way they’ve been playing this season, and the Mariners have made a great recovery after starting their title defence with four successive losses.

MM: The Mariners have shown that if you get on an unbeaten run, you can zoom up the A-League ladder quickly. They will also be desperate to ensure that Marco Tulio’s final game for the club before he leaves for Japan doesn’t end in defeat.

RS: He’s going to be a big loss for the Mariners, particularly considering the number of key players that left the club in the off-season. However, they have previously shown they can recover from player departures, and it would be silly to write them off.