01 November 2020
Newcastle, Australia

We are under way again. We have cracked the seal on the new season full of promise. And what a crack! three wins and a draw see us on top of the pile. Early doors to be sure but top is still top.

As you will see in the post I have added a new graphic for my team selection. Please let me know what you think of it.

Injury Update

We slotted in an additional friendly to give some back-up players a run. Sadly that cost us “Nerd” for a month with a twisted ankle.

Club News

We have sold an additional 1000 season tickets. I hope that his increased popularity is reflected in the general attendance.

Hyundai A-League – Match 1/27

First game out and the odds are rather even. I like our chances as we have strengthened key areas of the team.

We start as we mean to go on, selecting what I consider to be our strongest line-up. New signing “Mr Li” makes his first start for the club, while “Gopher” is on the bench. “Trooper” Wells switches to the left flank while “Scruffy” Carli is on the bench.

It took us a while to break them down, but in the end the goals came. Walker committed two silly fouls within a minute for an early shower amd from the resulting free kick “Mr Li” scored his first goal for the club. “Family Mann” made the game safe with a nice goal, and we start with a good win.

“Family Man” Player of Match

“Family Man” put in a very solid shift at the back and also popping up to score the goal which made the game safe for us.

“Mr Li” Makes Debut

“Mr Li” was off the mark in convincing fashion and had a very solid debut.

Hyundai A-League – Match 2/27

Wanders put in a strong showing, making a strong run into the end of the season. They lost the opener to Melbourne Heart and have been turned around after only two days rest to face us.

We field an unchanged line-up for this game, and will seek to control the match from the start.

Not even I expected us to exert this much control. Three goals in each half, 65% possession, and 18 shots to 5 summed up the game.

First Class “Mr Li”

“Mr Li” is proving to be a top quality signing for us, and it really makes me wonder how Tiajin Teda could let him go on a free.

Trouble in Paradise

As predicted, “The Greek” is looking to get some starts for the club. I am going to try to juggle things to give him some chances.

Shock Result

This one was very unexpected. The Victory were very strong last season while the Phoenix were a mid-table sides so to see this margin of victory is astounding.

Hyundai A-League – Match 3/27

Sydney City are one of three teams who are yet to pick up a point. The others being the Wanderers and the Victory.

Two changes to the side with “The Greek” coming in for “The Major” and “The Axe” in rotating  “Boothie” Booth to the bench.

Two late goals by Sydney FC took a little of the lustre off what was otherwise a very good performance. We scored some magical goals and then once we got the fourth we went to sleep.

“Trickles” is Superb

“Trickle” Brook put in a fantastic game with a goal and an assist. He also completed 61 out of 70 passes, with three key passes.

Eighteen Games Unbeaten

I usually don’t pay that much attention to records like these. However if you rack up wins and draws, I find that you tend to live in the top half of the table.

Injury Update

Good old “Narcoleptic”! Renowned for his ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, he picked up a knock following a head-clash in training.

Hyundai A-League – Match 4/27

Last seasons A-League finalists have had a poor start to the season. After three games they find themselves bottom with three losses.

“Gopher” DeVere gets his first start in place of “Trooper” Wells who leaves the sixteen, to be replaced by “Dildo” Adilovic on the bench.

We made all the early running but couldn’t get shots on target. We went behind following our inability to deal with a free kick. “Dobbie pulled one back and it was all square at the half. “The Axe was not having a good game, and I decided to yank him at half time. We went ahead through a fine “Gopher” finish, only to surrender the late equalizer when we failed to shut down their midfield. A disappointing draw but it is still a point.

In The Media

Good to see some agreement with my assessment of the last game.

Team News

“Trickles” has been in fine form these first few matches, and thoroughly deserves the recognition.

Match Summary

Three wins and a draw represents a good return for the first month of the season.

League Tale

Top of the table after four games. A good start to the season.

Next Episode

It’s a new season, so last seasons standings don’t count for much. Next up we have games against the current top five teams. This will sort the pecking order out and by the end of the next month we should see who has their shite together this year.