The First Punch

The fixtures for the A-league 2010/2011 season were released this week, and clubs are busy making sense of the draw and how it affects them individually. But will the league's opening round of matches have the desired impact on the hearts and minds of the country's football fans?

The A-league begins on the 5th August, and first up is Melbourne Heart, kicking off version six with a home game against the unusual pick of Central Coast Mariners. This game will be the culmination of a year of marketing and community outreach by the Heart, who will be desperate for a win at their new home ground of AAMI park. Perhaps this is why the FFA have decided that the Mariners, who last season finished 8th, are a good choice, ensuring Heart have a good chance of securing a win. Central Coast will no doubt be aware of this vote of no-confidence, and will use it as fuel to fire a team that will go into the game as underdogs after Heart's impressive pre-season signing. If the Central Coast do indeed rain on Heart's parade it will be interesting to follow both teams fanbase, which', as has been seen, relies so heavily on winning.

Next up is Adelaide and Newcastle, at Hindmarsh Stadium. Adelaide will be well rested following a break after their long season and ACL campaign, and keen to impress upon the league that they are not a Wooden Spoon team, despite what it reads on last year's ladder. Newcastle have made it clear that they will not be signing a marquee, nor do they need one. They have, however, made a number of other signings, including veteran Kasey Wehrman, and New Zealand World Cup squad member Jeremy Brockie. The ACL saw Marcos Flores come to life, and teamed well with newly signed Sergio van Djik. This pairing, along with Travis Dodd, will be Adelaide's heart this coming season. Hindmarsh Stadium is one of the best maintained pitches in Australia, and a fantastic ground to watch football. This match provides both teams a good chance to start the competition with three points, but in the end may fail to inspire, with the teams' differing playing styles coming to loggerheads and thus proving unentertaining for the neutral observer.

Perth Glory see North Queensland Fury at Members Equity Stadium, a match well thought-out by the FFA, as it will see ex Fury duo Robbie Fowler and new assistant coach Ian Fergeson come up against their former club. Fury, who are currently a considerable distance from having their affairs in order, without a coach and with few decent players, will have to scramble in this match to save themselves from humiliation. For many there will be less expectation on the Fury to compete for top six. For the thousands of North Queenslanders who petitioned that the club be saved, and those small businesses and individuals that donated to the club, expectation will be a lot higher. Let's hope the FFA knows something we don't, and this game is not too much of a one-sided affair.

It is almost boring to talk about the rivalry between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, and this grand-final rematch will be the 5th game between the two this year. While it will still remain a blockbuster, perhaps the allure of this game will be dulled by the amount of times these teams have met. Instead it might have been more logical to put either team up against Wellinton Phoenix, who have a bye in the first week of games. This would have given the Wellington public the grand-final they were craving so desperately last season.

Finally, the blockbuster of the round must be the Brisbane Roar and Gold Coast United match-up. This continues a tradition that began last year of starting the league against each-other, and this year it is held at the Gold Coast's home. Brisbane will hopefully have a more cohesive team, and Ange Postecoglou will have no excuses, having had an off-season to sign his own players. Gold Coast definately have a point to prove, since the only silver they won last year was in the NYL. Perhaps this time they will save the talk of going through the season unbeaten for the dressing room.

All in all, as it has already been said in the media, there are positives and negatives with this draw. It can be seen by focsing on this opening round that the FFA have obviously had a tough job arranging this season's fixtures so as to entice. Hopefully this opening round will draw the attention back from the finals series' of rival codes, onto the ever-growing spectacle that is the Hyundai A-league.