Berisha Handed One Match Ban

I'm not entirely sure why...I think it's because of his celebration after scoring against Sydney...Anyway, Besart Berisha - the A-League's top goalscorer so far this season - has been handed a one match ban, and a one match suspended ban (that will be activated if he does anything else wrong this season). The codes of conduct he supposedly breached were:
• Clause 2.2(c): ”offensive behavior, including offensive, obscene, provocative or insulting gestures, language or chanting;”
• Clause 2.2(d): ”provocation or incitement of hatred or violence;”
• Clause 6.1(a), “… a Professional Player must … at all times behave in a manner that promotes and upholds the highest standards of integrity, dignity and professionalism.”

Let's see if I can find a video of it...
YOUTUBE!


Sorry guys, I can only find a shorter video of the one I showed you last time, but yeah. Brisbane have a week to appeal against the ban...WAIT! I just saw it, Berisha kind of...does a weird kick towards...Brisbane fans? No, I guess they must be Sydney fans. Anyway, yeah, that's why. Seems a bit silly though. Premier League stars *COUGH*ADEBAYOR*COUGH* have gotten away with more. I hope it gets overturned, it would be a shame to see him suspended.

Bundesliga Week 19 Preview

After being off since the 18th of December, the Bundesliga will kick back to action beginning on Friday as Borussia Mönchengladbach (4) Vs. Bayern Munich (1) on a match that could be really helpful for the home team as they try to move up the table. On Saturday Mid Table teams will play the majority of games, an interesting match between two relegation zone teams SC Freiburg (18) Vs. FC Augsburg (17) as they try to fight out of these dreadful positions. Borussia Dortmund (2) and Schalke 04 (3) are hoping for a Munich loss so they could tie in points to the leader, they will both be facing Mid Table teams who really didn’t look great last match day. But well it’s a New Year and we will see how these teams look after their long break.
(#)- table position

(Posted for Manny)

Ligue 1 - 18th January 2012

Wahey! The French started playing football again! Funny how they took a break. Very funny. For all the reasons I mentioned in my last post. Hah.

So, let's kick things off (PUN) with another week of this terrible atrocity going by the name of le foot. That's French for football.

So, Marseille vs Lille. What an interesting and fun match this was. Probably. Well, it was 0-0 at half time, and so the Marseille manager was all like 0.0 and told his players to act dirty. Three bookings later, two goals were scored. Wheeyyy!!! This left the Marseille-Lille game at 2-0. Good job. Oh my god, I've so just realised that both goals were scored by Remy. You know what I'm about to say. Yeah, the name of the viral sensation that scores lots of goals in weird ways. Rémy Gaillard. Coincidence, or act of god? Coincidence. Definitely coincidence.

Shitting hell, the AC Ajaccio vs Auxerre game was exciting. Well, at least the first half was. Three goals were scored, 2 by AC Ajaccio and 1 by Auxerre. This is also when all of the bookings (total of three) and the red cards (also a total of three) happened. So that means that you were provided with a full 45 minutes of footballing excitement. And then a further 45 minutes of potentially homosexual men (not that that's a bad thing) kicking a sack of leather around a field (that's the bad bit).

Almost exactly the same thing happened in the Bordeaux vs Valenciennes game. 2-1 at full time. Only this time, in the first ten minutes of the second half, Kadir scored a goal for Valenciennes as they were trying to claw their way back. You can tell this because this is when they had all of their bookings. They were trying to play dirty, and ultimately failed.

Get me and my ability to be able to determine how exciting matches are by how brutal the players are being.

*Snigger* The Nice-Brest *snigger* game wasn't all that exciting. *Snigger* Brest scored *snigger* in the sixth minute. Wait, what's dirty about the number 6? I'm disappointed now. Anyway, despite Nice trying to play dirty with *snigger* Brest and getting two bookings, they failed. Final score, 1-0 to *snigger* Brest.

Oh yeah! Rennes beat Caen 2-0! Oh yeah! I don't care about this game because the names of the ... wait a minute. The names of the goal scorers. Ekoko and Montano. Cool. But yeah, no bookings, which means the match was shit.

Boom!

Ah no! Dijon beat Evian Thonon Gaillar, the best team name of all time, 3-1! How embarrassing for the team that I shouldn't root for, and yet for some reason I do! I think Evian Thonon Gaillar are the shit team that I'm accidentally supported. Kind of like Wigan of the Premier League (please tell me Wigan are still in the Premier League). But yeah, pretty exciting game, lots of bookings. Tie Bi even got sent off. Tie Bi is such an awesome name. He plays for Evian Thonon Gaillar, so that's a given. Kind of like Cedric Barbosa of the same team. It's just like Evian Thonon Gaillar want me to support them to the bitter end. Anyway, yeah, I kind of gave up on the match report a while ago, so let's move on.

In fact, if you like football, you must really hate me. My match reports must be like interrogating a dog to find out who's been a good boy. No information.

Even so, Montpellier beat Lyon 1-0, in an interesting game that involved a couple of bookings. Good.

They're just getting worse, aren't they? I reckon I can do even worse than that.

Nancy 2-2 Lyon. It was exciting. Lots of bookings.

Now how's that for a match report?

Right, Paris SG has a new manager, who used to be Chelsea's manager, so everyone was hoping he'd bring some light to the otherwise poor performances of Paris SG in the past. (Oh my god, this is shaping up to be the best match report I've ever done). With this in hand, it was no surprise that despite Toulouse having an awesome player name Braaten scoring in the last few minutes to try and claw something back for them against the new dominatrix of French football (Paris SG), they couldn't out-manoeuvre the likes of Nene and Pastore of Paris SG, between them scoring three goals, leaving the final score at 3-1.

Oh yeah! Match report! *Loud grunt*!

And so, I leave you with one more "report". St Etienne beat Sochaux 1-0. Good job.

Hang on... My last report was on the 18th of December right? Yeah, and then it was the winter break... so why the hell are there three days worth of football...? NO! How could Dukey miss that? Blame Dukey. He didn't tell me that the French played up until the winter break. What a dick! These look like the most interesting games of the season so far! There were scores like 4-2 and 4-4 and 1-3. How could I have missed that?

Oh well.

Pete out.

Update #1

So we just got a youtube account which you can find here! Hopefully we'll be filling it with all kinds of cool stuff, and maybe even some of our own video-reports rather than having to do it typed out. Kinda hoping it'll make it more fun and make it so that SOME PEOPLE will be more inclined to actually post. :)

Also, we have a twitter, so check that out @Firstflightfoot.

But yeah, hopefully Hutchy, Manny and Joe will post reports soon enough, once the seasons in Europe get back into full swing. Just so we're clear, we still need writers for:
- Serie A
- Premier League
- La Liga
So if you have the passion to write about football, please email me: firstflightfooty@live.co.uk

A-League Review: 15th January 2012

I have to do the premier league one aswell today. Be nice to me.

Dukey's One 2 Watch: Melbourne Victory 1-1 Adelaide United


Well I thought this game would be a cracker. Both teams on the rise after promising sparkles of form recently. Yes Melbourne lost 2-1 last week, but they have been playing well of late, and when Archie Thompson slotted in after 5 minutes, Magilton's boys looked set to secure a win after a classy first half in which they for the most part dominated. However that man Sergio Van Dijk scored shortly after the interval - his fourth in three games - and the rest of the nail-biting encounter was a tense affair until the final whistle.

I think Harry Kewell is finally finding his feet back in Australia. The amount of crosses he managed to sweep in and his dribbling skills that constantly took him through defenders were a sign of a player gaining confidence after every match, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him start scoring again soon. But it's Sergio Van Dijk who is in form right now. In two weeks, he has scored 3 goals at the same stadium, having bagged a brace against Heart in the other match. Both teams though will hope they can build on this match and go into their next few fixtures strongly.

For Adelaide, this is imperative as they face off against league leaders Central Coast. However, they can at least take solace from the fact that while they were bottom only a couple of weeks ago, they are now in 8th place, level on points with Victory in 6th, and within touching distance of 5th placed Perth. Victory face said Glory side in a match which could propel either side into the battle for second.

Central Coast Mariners 1-1 Newcastle Jets


Newcastle played well in the F3 derby in front of an impressive 10,000 fans at the Bluetongue stadium. As is their tendency, they had a dominant first period, in which Haliti put them away with a fine finish in the 16th minute. They continued to press for a second but, as is their tendency, they petered out (I love it, I never get a chance to use that phrase) in the second half, and Zwaanswijk fully deserved the goal that put Central Coast back in the game.

This result means Mariners have made a club record 13 games without loss and I'll be interested to see if they'll become the new Brisbane. They're only a small community team, so it'll be an immense achievement and a credit to what they've built up there. Newcastle were very good aswell, but as I have said many times before, they need to work on their stamina, as they lost their touch in the second half and appeared dreary.

Next week, Newcastle face Wellington and Central Coast will host Adelaide. While Newcastle are 9th, they are within touching distance of the post-season, and playing mid-table teams like Wellington and beating them is paramount to them making the final 6. For Central Coast, an opportunity beckons to stay ahead in the race to the title.

Brisbane Roar 2-1 Sydney FC


Brisbane pulled off the luckiest of escapes to get two goals in one minute. In fact, watch this video first.



Wow. Sydney led after Bridge gave them a lead in the 38th minute, and for all their trying, they just couldn't hold on, as in the dying minutes, Brisbane launched attack after attack. A free kick conceded let Mohamed Adnan score with a pretty decent effort. From the restart, they attacked immediately and after a rather clumsy cross and a slight deflection, Besart Berisha was in the right place at the right time to divert a header and spark scenes of ecstasy amongst Roar fans in a packed Suncorp stadium.

This was a hell of a game to watch, filled with lots of cheering, ball kicking and commentators sounding like their balls were being squeezed extra tight. I did feel bad for Sydney - some might have said they didnt deserve to have drawn, let alone lost. But it just shws that Brisbane are making their comeback, and I couldn't be happier. It's nice to see that the dark days are over and that we could have a title challenge after all.

Speaking of title challenge, Roar face Melbourne Heart in a match which is sure to generate a lot of goals (he says hopefully). In fact, that's gonna be my One 2 Watch. Sydney face Perth midweek, and will be hoping to break their run of form. Speaking of which...

Melbourne Heart 1-2 Perth Glory


It seems like every team has had a reversal of fortunes after the New Year, and this has all the hall marks of a shocker. Perth, who until recently had been banished to the basement of the A-League somehow managed to outplay a Heart side who, until recently, were mounting their own title challenge though that now appears to be on hold. Shane Smeltz, coming back from injury, scored after 15 minutes and Glory dominated the rest of the half. In the second, Sarkies of Melbourne Heart snatched an equaliser before McGarry sealed the 3 points for Glory who hadn't won back to back away matches since September 2009. Pretty impressive, no?

This was a fairly entertaining game, very open and both sides had plenty of attacks and neither side seemed to be able to gain an advantage. Each goal came as a surprise, although Smeltz really should have scored more, but will no doubt be happy with his 6th goal of the season. Heart really need to try and get out of this rut if they want to continue to push against Brisbane, who they face next week and who won this weekend aswell.

As I said, Melbourne face Brisbane, and Perth will be looking forward to their tie against Sydney midweek and will hope to capitalize on their resurgence.

Gold Coast United 0-1 Wellington Phoenix
I'll add these images in later...blogger is being weird.

Anyway, it was business as usual today as Gold Coast rolled over and showed their bellies to the Phoenix, who gladly stole 3 points from right under their noses. Tim Brown scoring the only goal in a match where, despite what I said a second ago, Gold Coast really did dominate. They did so against Heart last time out, and for some reason they can't seem to turn their dominance into goals. Methinks a new striker is needed. There isn't really that match to say about this game to be fair...Gold Coast had lots of shots and couldn't get any of them in, and Brown managed to get on the end of a free kick to hit home and give Phoenix their 7th win of the campaign and keep them in 4th, still in the race. Gold Coast, however, returned to the bottom of the table and now have a 4 point gap to overcome between them and Newcastle, who...

...play Wellington next week, while Gold Coast will face a tough test against Sydney.

A-League Review: 12th January 2012

Sorry this is a bit late - but better late than never.

One 2 Watch: Wellington Phoenix 0-1 Perth Glory


I have some words of advice for you. Don't put money down on a match that you're going to be writing a match for. This was the most tense match I've ever watched, and I was praying for a draw. I put down the money at half time - the pitch was waterlogged, and it was tipping it down, there was a gale - i couldn't see anyway that anyone would score. What do you know, as soon as i put the money down, the ball hit the crossbar twice.

It was the most tense 0-0 matches I've ever seen until the 93rd minute - Josh Mitchell managed to slot home from like 10 yards. I was heartbroken. But enough about me. This result means Perth pick up their first win in Wellington, and pulls them up to 7th, 4 points from bottom and in touching distance of the finals whereas for Wellington, their push for the top 2 continues, 4 poitns behind Brisbane.


Adelaide United 1-1 Brisbane Roar


The atmosphere for this game was electric, with a tropical storm whipping round the stadium, players falling flat on their faces, and the ball skidding across a greasy surface. Nakajima-Farran netted in the 60th minute to jeers from the crowd - due to the foul he commited earlier that sparked a brawl amongst the players. However, talismanic Sergio Van Dijk (with the least Indonesian-sounding name I've ever heard) put one past Theoklitos from the spot after a foul from Smith. The Adelaide fans will undoubtedly be the happiest in the return fixture from a 7-1 thrashing in October.

Brisbane are still losing pace on Central Coast but are at least in the major final position, albeit level on points with Melbourne Heart who have a game in hand. For a revived Adelaide, they are now 8th place, but 1 point away from 5th, so there is plenty of reason for hope.

Melbourne Victory 2-1 Newcastle Jets


Victory showed their true colours and how good they can really play in this match. The Jets spent 40 minutes of the game without Elrich who was sent off for blocking a goalscoring opportunity, and by then, Harry Kewell had already assisted Daniel Allsop. And when Sung-Hwan Byun slid home an own goal to make it 2-0, the game seemed all but over. Ryan Griffiths handed Jets a lifeline late on, but it was too late, and Victory held on to record their 4th victory of the season.

The victory *snigger* lifts them up into the finals positions - 6th - and will inspire hope next week against a stubborn Adelaide side. However, for the Jets, it is a stark reminder of their defensive failings, and against Central Coast next week...I can't see them reversing their poor form of late.

Sydney FC 0-1 Central Coast Mariners


This was another one I had money on. However this time it turned out a lot better - Central Coast to win the first half was my bet, and 20 seconds after I placed the bet, they scored. Happy face. Seeing Bozanic slot home in the 8th minute was the perfect start of the match for me and Central Coast fans. Mariners pressure continued to build for the remainder of the first half. However the second was a completely different story. Sydney were pushing so hard for an equaliser, they were pretty much camped in the other half. But alas, there was no reply. It seems what they need is a tall target man in the middle. So many crosses from Cole (who had an excellent game), but nobody was there to bury them. Carle seems to be coming back to fitness aswell, which is one of the few positives.

Central Coast are just dominating the league now. They are 8 points ahead of Brisbane and Heart, with a game in hand over Roar. If they can hold on and beat off the last few contenders as we move closer to the last round-robin of matches, I can definitely see them winning this title by a fair way, possibly with a record number of points. As for Sydney, they continue their slump, but are still sitting pretty in fifth position in the table, though this is not where they want to be. Matches against Newcastle Jets and Brisbane await Central Coast and Sydney respectively.

Gold Coast United 1-1 Melbourne Heart


Gold Coast have starting picking up points now,against some top teams. I can really see them climbing off the bottom and maybe getting something from this season now. Sarkies didn't give them the best start though, as he scored for Melbourne 7 minutes into the match. However, Rigters - an ex-Blackburn player - skilfully guided the ball into the bottom of the net with a clever little flick that gave the home side a reward for their dominance in the second half.

Melbourne are 3rd and Gold Coast are 10th. No change there. However, Melbourne have lost ground on Central Coast, and will definitely see this as two points dropped. Heart play an in-form Perth side, while Gold Coast take on the losers from the other clash, Wellington Phoenix.

Warnock sacked by QPR

I'll be doing an A-League match report soon, but until we find someone else to write for the English Premier League, I'm doing that too. Fun. :)

So yeah, Warnock has been sacked - hands up who saw this one coming? *hands up*. After 8 premier league games without a win, and with Rangers only snatching a draw at the death with MK Dons in the FA Cup, owner Tony Fernandes has apparently decided he's had enough.

QPR currently find themselves 17th in the Premier League, 1 point from 18th placed Bolton and only 3 points from basement club Blackburn. Their recent run of poor form has seen them lose twice to Norwich, draw with West Brom and has also contained losses to Arsenal, Sunderland, Man Utd and Liverpool.

You see, normally this wouldnt be so bad, but with the amount of money that has been poured into the club since Malaysian businessman Fernandes took over in August, with such signings as Gabbidon, Traore, Wright-Phillips and self-proclaimed Messiah and Ruler of Men, Joey Barton.

It's a shame to see him go, he picked up QPR when they were 20th in the Championship and within 14 months he steered them back to the Premier League for the first time in 15 years. If he had another transfer window, I think he could have brought in the talent that would have easily kept Rangers up.

Looking forward though, Mark Hughes has apparently said he'd like the job, and he would seem like a good choice - I personally hope he does get it, and I can't really think of anyone else who would make a better fit. Presumably the new coach will be announced before their next match against Newcastle on sunday.