Fan Focus: WE ARE BRISBANE, HEAR US ROAR.

Continuing on with Part 3 of our "Die hard fans of the A-League" series, this week's series features Veteran Brisbane Roar fan Ben Clark. We sat down with Ben this week to discuss all things Brisbane Roar, from the early days of the club, to his thoughts on where the club will be in the future.

1. It's been almost 2 seasons since the highly successful Ange Postecoglu era ended, have u been satisfied with how the club have replaced him ?.

Initially, I was happy to see Rado replace Ange, as I believe promoting from within promotes stability and continuity, and obviously after back to back titles those were important attributes to have. However, when it became apparent Rado was struggling with the stress of the top job - and it was taking a toll on his health - there should have been a more thorough process to replace him. I think the Mulvey appointment was rushed, and convenient, more than the best outcome for the club, although I do believe he should be given this preseason and the first half of the season to prove he can do the job. I don't believe that he is a coach that can compete tactically with coaches like Arnold and Postecoglou, although it could definitely be worse (cough GVE cough) - I don't have confidence in us winning trophies under his guidance. I'm happy to be proven wrong, though!

2. Rado Vidosic was famously labelled the brains by some of the players do you agree with that and what was your opinion of that whole saga?.

Rado was and is a brilliant coach, tactician and strategist. He worked perfectly with Ange - Rado was a brilliant micro-manager, Ange was fantastic at implementing the overarching formation and strategy. I think the different aspects of the top job weren't suited to him, particularly amongst players he was already comfortable with - motivation and man management obviously suffered. I think if he were to have taken the top job at another club he may have found more success, but I would have liked to see him retained in his old job, because he is certainly the best assistant in the league.

3. He lasted only a couple of months in the hotseat and replaced by Mulvey - what are your thoughts on Mulvey so far ?.

 I was not impressed with his initial period in charge - there was seemingly little to no change in performance from Rados time in charge, so there was frustration as to why the move had been made. As the season progressed, it is obvious he was able to better shape the team into his image, remove dressing room problems like Paartalu, and remove the complacency we saw in the first half of the season. In the preseason so far, we have played with an impressive structure, and some of his recruitment decisions seem likely to prove shrewd, so hopefully we continue building momentum for the season ahead.

4. As fellow Roar supporters we are unsatisfied with this seasons recruitment drive (excluding Liam miller) so do you feel the same?.

Liam Miller is an excellent signing and precisely the player we need - and the type of player very hard to come by domestically. We've been able to get him on reasonable money, too. Diogo Ferreira is a quality squad player on a small wage, and very flexible - a handy player to have on the bench to cover positions. We have gotten rid of Dong, Henrique will become naturalised in August, so we have at least one foreign spot - two pending paperwork - to add another midfielder or attacker, as that's where I feel we are light on numbers. The return of Matt McKay seems likely at this stage, and would be a real boost to midfield - and crowd numbers - especially with Lambadaridis' unfortunate injury.

 5. We would also like to see a big name marquee signing do u share our view ?.

I don't care too much about a big name marquee. I would love to see McKay back, obviously - as he is a proper marquee signing in Brisbane, being a local and a club legend, and a starting XI Socceroo likely to be starting every game in Brazil. If we could get an ADP-quality marquee, it would be stupid not to, but we should not be bringing in second-tier guys as marquees just for the fuck of it. They have to have a profile that transcends codes like ADP for it to be worth it.

6. If so who would you like to see in the orange jersey as a marquee ?.

If we could get someone like Francesco Totti, that would be the ideal profile of a player I think it's worth blowing marquee money on. I'm not sure a player that was never at a major tournament and has no name recognition with the non-footballing public is worth it.

7. The Bakrie group has been In charge for a couple of years now r u satisfied with their ownership ?.

I think the Bakries have provided stability in an area we have previously had none, and given us links to Europe and Asia which are unique in the A-League. The off-field improvements have been notable - particularly in media, marketing, etc - and there are plans afoot for a training ground of our own so we don't have to groundshare with the Reds - who obviously have their pick of training times and access to facilities at present, being the primary tenants of Ballymore. This will be great when it happens.

8. What or where could they improve ?.

Their strategic direction is excellent and the Roar brand is growing in the Brisbane and Queensland sporting consciousness. I would always like to see this growth happen faster. I also like that they have largely kept to the background, since I am unsure how comfortable a lot of people would be with their dealings in Indonesia. I would obviously feel more comfortable if they had nothing to hide... And I would like to see them be ambitious when targeting marquees and coaches in future, and get the very best people for the jobs available.

9. After achieving back to back championship titles the Roar's fan base didn't really grow is brisbane a football town ?.

Absolutely - as much as you can be in Australia. I think the Roar have a huge fan base which is growing fast, but the problem with Brisbane crowds isn't football specific - it's the fact that we are a city who doesn't go out if its overcast, or raining, if its too hot, etc. We have seen similar effects on Broncos or Lions games in bad conditions, but the Roar playing in the stormy summer exacerbates this effect on our crowd averages. Regardless, there are lots more people watching at pubs and at home and staying engaged with the team, whether they go to games or not - the challenge in Brisbane is always translating that into bums on seats.

10. We think Suncorp is too big for the roar would you like to see a purpose built football stadium in Brisbane ?.

I think Suncorp is the best football stadium in the country, and we need to be playing there as the stature of the league grows. We should be aiming to fill it for big games, and average 20k+ overall - and as you and I know, 20k in Suncorp doesn't look terrible, and sounds about ten times as good as an NRL crowd twice the size. Unless the Bakries were to build a boutique stadium - which I'm not sure they can do, without it being under the jurisdiction of Stadiums Queensland - there is not an existing site which is remotely suitable. Ballymore has no transport and no modern amenities, ANZ is horrific and in the middle of nowhere, and all other sites would cost too much to upgrade. We're stuck at Suncorp, we need to make the best of it.

11. Roar fans often get some stick for the lack of atmosphere at games do you think the size of Suncorp has something to do with that ?.

I think theres a few factors which contribute, but an average 15000 strong crowd in a 52000 seat stadium creates great atmosphere at times - I think the fact that the Den are the only group consistently making noise certainly makes the rest of the stadium seem a bit quiet. I'd like to see the Den try some things to engage with the prawn sandwich eaters, a la the RBB.

12. A few beers in Caxton st then walking to the stadium is just magical what can the roar do to attract more members ?.

I think using the atmosphere as an attraction is a strategy we could use. There's very little crowd noise at Broncos or Lions games, and the match day atmosphere suffers as a result. Using this point of difference would be a smart move. However, I think what they are already doing - engaging with local clubs through the One Goal program, engaging with the community at large with their new disability football program, and doing lots of promo work in various forms is paying dividends and will continue to do so. The amount of kids wearing Roar gear out and about in the school holidays - in the middle of the other codes season - shows just how far the Roar have grown over the last few years, and the preseason attendances so far show a real hunger to see the team.

13. In the 8 years of Roar who has been our best player ?.

The best player over that time has to be Matt McKay. Worked hard from day one, and developed his game as the league grew over many seasons to win a move overseas. A local lad and a legend of this football club. The most talented has to be Thomas Broich, and we may yet see him overtake Matt in the public consciousness as he spends more time here. He could have chosen anywhere, but he chose Brisbane, and the Roar, and he loves this place and us as much as we love him. I think they are the two undisputed legends of this club for different reasons.

14. And the worst ?.

Has to be Bob Malcolm. There's been quite a few candidates over the years, but they were playing in a worse standard of league, and didn't seem quite so out of their depth. Bob was hopelessly, utterly out of his depth in every minute he spent in orange... Perhaps he should have laid off the sauce.

15. You are a big figure in the #holgerout campaign on twitter - now that we've secured World Cup Qualification do u still want him out ?


Absolutely. Brazil will be utterly humiliating for the Socceroos with Holger in charge. There is no plan, no formation, no mentality, no tactical structure, no awareness, no knowledge - the man is a charlatan and a snake oil salesman who has stumbled into qualification. By comparison, against the best sides in the world, this embarrassing qualification campaign will look like a proud, spirited performance. Can you imagine us playing like we did against Oman at home against Spain, or Germany? The creaking collection of veterans we will roll out will go down in World Cup history - with the Zairean team of 1974, or the Saudi team of recent times, as the most hopelessly inept team we have ever fielded. We need rejuvenation, and it is obvious that Holger won't provide it - if we are going to be competitive in Brazil, here in 2015, and in 2018, we need to be starting a younger side, largely based around the youngsters in Europe or on their way there.


16. Finally in 10 years the Brisbane Roar will be .....?

Averaging 25k and basking in the glow of their fifth title.