On the Attack: Robbie Slater and Marco Monteverde examine the A-League’s big issues

A worrying trend emerged in the opening round of A-League fixtures that Socceroos great Robbie Slater and Marco Monteverde say can’t continue. Read their full analysis in this week’s On the Attack column.

Melbourne Victory players after their win over Sydney FC. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

In their On The Attack column, Socceroos great Robbie Slater and News Corp’s Marco Monteverde examine the A-League’s biggest talking points.

This week, they have worrying crowd numbers, a concerning start by Melbourne City and a goalkeeping howler in their sights.

Roaring return to Suncorp Stadium?

RS: Thank goodness Brisbane Roar are back at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night. It was a terrible decision by the club to play their home matches at Redcliffe

MM: For sure mate. Nobody wanted to go to Redcliffe to watch them play. The Roar are finally back at their spiritual home, and even better, they are celebrating the occasion with a game against Sydney FC. Because the Roar don’t have a derby, this is their biggest rivalry.

RS: No doubt about that. This is Brisbane’s big one, the “State of Origin” clash.

MM: Yeah, the Roar should have a maroon kit for this game. In fact, they should ditch orange and make maroon their permanent colours. If they’re smart, they’ll change to maroon before a second south-east Queensland team enters the A-League in a couple of years’ time because you can bet they’ll want maroon as their main colour.

Brisbane Roar are set to make a welcome return to Suncorp Stadium. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

RS: That’s a good idea, but in the meantime the Roar will have revenge on their mind after losing the Australia Cup final to Sydney FC a few weeks ago. The good thing for Brisbane is that they’ll have Thomas Waddingham back leading their attack. They missed in their draw with Macarthur last week,

MM: Without doubt mate. Their decision not to spend money on an experienced centre-forward to ease the pressure on young Waddingham is already hurting them. It’s hard not to feel sorry for coach Ross Aloisi, who has already exceeded expectations with a limited budget.

RS: It seems like it’s been that way forever in Brisbane. Long gone are the glory days¸ but hopefully there’s a good crowd at Suncorp Stadium on Friday. Ross and his team deserve it.

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Where are the fans?

MM: Crowds need to lift all around the competition this weekend after some disappointing round one attendances.

RS: Yeah, the crowds across the league were ordinary, and inflated. You can’t tell me there were 10,089 people at the game between Melbourne City and Western United at AAMI Park. They must have been counting legs. The aggregate attendance for the first round across the six games was 54,294, and that’s not good enough. Something’s wrong and the new A-League boss Nick Garcia needs to fix the problem.

A section of the crowd during Melbourne Victory’s round 1 match against Sydney FC. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

MM: Hopefully the Wanderers get more than the 10,468 they got at home last Sunday afternoon against the Phoenix when they host Western United on Saturday night.

RS: They should definitely get a bigger crowd than last week. That was a terribly hot day. This week their game is in a much better timeslot. The conditions should be perfect for football, and there’ll be two good sides going into battle

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United in success

MM: Yes, Western United were good in their 2-1 win over Melbourne City and will create problems for the Wanderers.

RS: United should be delighted with that win over City. It wasn’t as if they stole it and there are already signs they have learnt from the mistakes of their disappointing title defence last season.

Daniel Penha and Tomoki Imai enjoy Western United’s victory. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

MM: Definitely, and it looks like the signing of former Jets playmaker Daniel Penha could prove to be a masterstroke.

RS: Not too many teams are going to beat City at AAMI Park this season but United have already done it.

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Tough task for City

MM: What does that say about City? They did well to bounce back from the loss by winning their AFC Champions League match in Thailand on Wednesday night but now they face the tough task of beating Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium on Sunday.

RS: It’ll be anything but easy for City at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide’s fortress. Even without Craig Goodwin, the Reds showed against the Mariners, the reigning champions, last week that they can still be dangerous, particularly at home.

Melbourne City players watch on as Noah Botic is helped to his feet. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

MM: It’s a very good test for City on the back of a midweek trip to Asia. They won’t want to be drooping too many points early in the season.

RS: No, the season isn’t long enough for teams to fall off the pace early but I don’t think they would be too unhappy to leave Adelaide with a point.

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Ikon in search for form

MM: I reckon Newcastle might be similarly pleased if they can escape from AAMI Park with a draw against Melbourne Victory on Sunday. The Victory were quite impressive in beating Allianz Stadium last weekend.

RS: True, but the Victory also won their first game of the season, also against Sydney, before going on a downhill slide. It’s important that they forget about last week and focus on building hope for their fans by beating the Jets,

Chris Ikonomidis hasn’t has stagnated in recent years. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

MM: I know a lot has been said about Daniel Arzani needing to have a big season for the Victory but I think the same can be said about Chris Ikonomidis. He’s just stagnated for the past couple of seasons at the Victory, not justifying the big money he’s on.

RS: He hasn’t been the same player because of injuries, but I’m a big fan of his. When he’s in full flight, he’s a fantastic player.

MM: Same with Ben Folami. For the Victory to have Folami and Ikonomidis on the bench against Sydney it shows the attacking depth they have.

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Sloppy Sail

RS: The Phoenix showed little in attack against the Wanderers last weekend but I think it’ll be a different story when they host Perth in the ‘Distance Derby’ on Saturday.

MM: Yeah, I’m tipping Oskar Zawada to find the back of the net for the Phoenix at Sky Stadium, but in saying that, he’ll be coming up against former Wellington goalkeeper Oli Sail, who has a point to prove after he gifted the Jets a late equaliser in Perth last weekend.

RS: Yeah, it was a terrible mistake. He ‘ll want redemption on Saturday.