[FM14] Doing It Down Under! v2.0

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Australian Prime Minister and chairman of the Sydney Football Club Clive Palmer has today voiced his concerns with the form of his club under new manager Sean-Paul Lodovico. The club, currently sitting in a disappointing 9th, has been tested defensively and Palmer is not happy with the football on show.

It's all well and good he's trying something out tactically but I want results!

Lodovico has apologised for his tactical blunder and assures fans he is working on an alternative, but the heat is well on truly on the Polish-born naturalised Aussie and he will need to get his team to perform or face the sack once more.

Fat politician chairman blah blah blah

Nice update

Palmer has a point, but going to the press with it seems a bit underhand at this stage... I say give you more time to settle back into the southern hemisphere rhythm dammit!!

Ouch with that month of results could of hoped for better. Hopefully you will pull it round

Alex

Ziechael I shall prove him wrong!

Cappy13 Hopefully

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Although we didn't set the world alight, we weren't exactly a leaky faucet anymore defensive wise

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December was the month that I needed to ace to put us up the table, and although we didn't do perfectly we picked up a respectable 5 points from 4. I'm still on the edge but now we're in a good position to leap up the table.

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Brisbane Roar was the perfect opportunity to get 3 points on the board as they lay in 10th. The first half saw plenty of chances but we couldn't finish them. We were dominating the match until the 48th minute, when Terry Antonis got himself sent off and we were on the back foot. The match finished 0-0 as we defended resolutely with 10 men.

Next up was the Sydney Derby, up against the Western Sydney Wanderers. It took just 15 minutes for some ADP magic as our captain scored a beautiful free kick to put us 1-0 up. Our goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic was instrumental and kept us in the lead until the end, final score 1-0.

Then we travelled across the ditch to New Zealand to play the Wellington Phoenix. We were looking for a win to continue our streak but instead I watched in disgust as a long ball wasn't headed away by our defenders and Craig Henderson pounced. Jake Butler scored from a scrap of about 15 players in front of goals and the match ended in a 2-0 win for the Phoenix.

Melbourne Heart was to be our last match-up of the month and I was optimistic about our chances. Another weak side, just like us, and we got off to a spectacular start when Pedj Bojic drifted in from right wing back and hit an incredible shot from an angle. But then our incompetence at corners showed once more and Patrick Kisnorbo equalised for the Heart. The match ticked out ending 1-1 in a game that was a truly even contest.

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So after a reasonable month we're still in 9th, and the gulf between us and a finals berth is still quite large so we'll need improved performances here on in. Perhaps I can bring someone in over the summer transfer window (for you Europeans that's January and February for Aussies) but the wage budget is tight so I'll probably wait until the end of season. Here's to hoping the new year means a new Sydney FC!


Sebastian Ryall was a consistent performer in central defence, forming a vital defensive trio with Matthew Jurman and Sasa Ognenovski. Consistent scores of 6.8 or higher made him the best player of the month.

Ouch, not the best of starts in the league there, but I'm sure your form will get better, Sydney have a good team!

At least it's an improvement on the month before and it does look like the performances are picking up

Zed They did now they're a tad old but I should rebound

Cappy They are indeed

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Some positive results saw us rise to 7th, out of the final series on goal difference, but the major highlight was the fact I saved myself from the sack

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January was a New Year and we played remarkably well in patches. A capitulation and a defeat to an old foe marred the month but we picked up 9 points from 5 games in a great display of resilience. Here's a look at each match in depth.

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Our first game of the year was on the 2nd, up against finals aspirants Perth Glory. They were one of the overachieving teams in the A-League, but we were the underachievers and determined to prove the doubters wrong. Milos Dimitrejivic drifted into the box to chip the opener, but it was soon countered by Alex Brosque's strike for the Glory. Experience reared its head after HT when Del Piero snuck past the offside trap and slotted an easy chance. We went up 3-1 when his partner-in-crime Emile Heskey struck a narrow shot perfectly to seal the deal. Marin Kovacic got a consolation goal in the 92nd minute but the game ended 3-2 in our favour.

The next game would be our hardest, against the Newcastle Jets team which was possibly the league's best (I wonder who got them there?) My former team quickly showed it's ascendency with a Taggart goal in the 15th minute followed by a Craig Goodwin goal 43 minutes later, resulting in a 2-0 loss to the Jets.

The Central Coast Mariners had led the league for most of the seasno but recently their defence had capitulated. We took advantage of this with 4 goals in the first 50 minutes. Alessandro Del Piero got his brace within 23 minutes and Bojic and Dimitrejivic doubled the lead in the 5 minutes after half time. Eddy Bosnar got one back in the 57th minute, but the Mariners were rattled and we ran out 4-1 winners in front of our fans.

Adelaide United was another tough assignment but we quickly raced out to the lead courtesy of some Heskey magic. Da beast showed his talents once more when his 65th minute header gave us a 2-0 lead. But here was when the nightmare happened. Jacob Melling scored from the kick off and then Alessandro Romeo got the equaliser in the 78th minute. Seb Ryall inadvertantly put the ball into our own net and once Romeo had completed his brace in the 86th minute, we had lost 4-2 after a 2-0 lead with 25 minutes to go. Complete and utter disgrace.

The last game of the month, against Melbourne Victory, was a chance to redeem myself and although it took a while, our eventual winner came through the in-form Emile Heskey in the 77th minute. We held on to win 1-0 and finish the month positively.

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All of a sudden, we've managed to get up to 7th after a good month and now we're on track to break into that top 6. Another good month should see us get there.

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Emile Heskey, for the 3rd time, takes out the player of the month award after booting 4 goals in the 5 games and battling hard as usual. The 38 year old is simply instrumental to us and deserves this more than anyone else.

A couple of good months of results there mate, things are looking up and hopefully your stock with the board is rising as well oh, and GO HESKEY!!

Great to see Heskey still in goalscoring form...lol you lost to Newcastle Jets tho

Ziechael Unfortunately I'm still heavily under the pump

Neal It's because the Jets are a brilliant team, moulded by a certain some one....

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One of the legends of the game, Alessandro Del Piero, held a press conference at the Sydney Football Stadium to announce his retirement from professional football. The 41 year old has announced he will stand down as Sydney FC captain immediately but will remain a player for the club until the end of the season.

Del Piero, although having played 3 seasons as the marquee player and captain of A-League club Sydney FC, will always be remembered as a Juventus legend and an Italian national team stalwart. Born on the 9th of November 1974, he began his youth career aged 8 at San Vendemiao before moving to Padova aged 14, making his professional debut 3 years later. An era began in 1993 when he moved to Juventus, going on to play over 500 games for the Italian giants and captaining them for 11 seasons.

The ageing superstar left the club in 2012, and became the biggest signing in A-League history when Sydney FC landed him as their marquee. Over 4 seasons, the Italian striker has played 88 games and kicked 36 goals in the twilight of his career.

Over the course of his illustrious career, Del Piero has won a multitude of titles including 6 Serie A titles, a Champions League medal, a Hyundai A-League championship medal and his most prized possession, a World Cup winner's medal from 2006. On the individual front, he was runner up for the Ballon D'Or in 1995 and has a double of Champions League Golden Boot and Ball. Del Piero is truly one of the world's greatest footballers.

Upon his announcement, several famous football identities have congratulated the legend on his career. Juventus team mate Gianluigi Buffon was quick to commemorate his good friend's career, and he was quickly joined by such legends as Pele, Frank Beckenbauer and even FIFA president Sepp Blatter. His current manager, Sean-Paul Lodovico, says he will always remember working with Del Piero.

He is quite simply the greatest influence on football in the modern era. He's renowned world wide, one of the best leaders I've ever seen, a technical genius, and honestly one of the best blokes I've ever met. Alessandro, on behalf of Sydney FC, I would like to thank you for your service to our club and to the game of football.

The ever humble Del Piero has not announced any plans to continue his involvement in football for now, and instead will move back to Italy at the conclusion of the season. Meanwhile cult hero Emile Heskey will become captain of the Sky Blues and fans will be hoping that ADP and Heskey can combine to finish a legend's career accordingly- a second A-League title.

Great update, Feliks, looks like Ii have missed a lot!