Central Coast 0 v Steelers 0: Matts off

I am surprised at the press write-ups of this game. The score was right. The teams were level in quality. This says a lot about the quality of the A-League. Particularly as CCM came 4th this season and this was basically the same team (unlike Newcastle). I think CCM played better than did the newly formed Newcastle in their game the night before.

I am also surprised by Ray Gatt from The Australian's comment that the A-League's finest had failed in 3 games (Socceroos v Kuwait, and the 2 ACL games) to score against Asian teams and that this was some from of condemnation. Not sure whose side Gatt is on now. CCM and Newcastle for all of their performance are not the A-League's finest. And while the Socceroos included some of the finest, some of the finest are foreign players and others were not picked by Pim V.

I understand that Matt Simon has indicated he is off to Europe after the ACL. Funny how these things develop. First time I saw him play I thought he was a bit thuggish. Then the first half of this year he was brilliant. If he had kept going he would have been golden boot. Then he got injured. He came back, perhaps too early as CCM struggled without Jedinak, and again looked more thuggish than stylish. In his Socceroo performances, particularly the brief Indonesian episode, he was all arms. Yet clubs from Asian and Europe have heard of his earlier performances and he is away. Perhaps too early? He needed to calm down and impress. Last night he made opportunities for himself but couldn't finish. Ended up looking frustrated.