Is the league over?

[southern]

After 20 games A.City won the Premier League (deservedly)
They have clearly been the best team so far, with an impressive goal difference.

Well done to Olympic for being the third force of the league, only behind 2 very good teams and before other big clubs. Olympic was definitely one of the best teams this season IMO.

Not sure what happened to Metro towards the end. On paper they were the best team IMO but once again in the league they didn't deliver.

Same with Sturt, they go from winning in 2008 to being totally anonymous in 2009...

Fulham and Cumberland...? Fulham at least has improved a lot in the last part and will be going for the league again next year. Cumby instead are a bit disappointing IMO. They have a good team but a part from winning one game vs City they didn't really do much at all. Too young maybe? Wrong attitude? Who knows.

With one team being relegated, that's all we are now playing for.
Winning yesterday gives Para Hills a last chance to snatch a second-last position that until yesterday seemed impossible. Well done for still trying PH! C'town remain favorites tho, with 2 more points and a game in hand. Either way, both teams showed improvements, it's sad to see one going down.

Next week games will decide relegation too, Fulham hosting PH and Olympic hosting C'town. You never really know!

Here's the ladder:

Club Name - PREMIER P W D L GF GA GD Points
Adelaide City 20 17 2 1 71 10 61 53
MUWFC Magic 20 14 2 4 56 17 39 44
Adelaide Olympic 20 12 3 5 42 22 20 39
Fulham United 20 7 6 7 37 30 7 27
Cumberland United 20 7 4 9 40 39 1 25
Sturt Marion 19 8 0 11 40 51 -11 24
Campbelltown City 19 3 0 16 24 80 -56 9
Para Hills 20 2 1 17 9 70 -61 7

[ball_girl]

Cumberland indeed had a very young team this year, but to say it was a disappointing season for them is a bit harsh. With players ranging from 14/15 thru to 21 i think they've got a bright future ahead of them. Many of their youngsters are constantly improving, and if anything, beating city shouldnt been seen as their only accomplishment this season, perhaps a warning of things to come.
just a thought.

[an_OK_lumberjack]

disappointing

[beaches]

Yes well on paper Metro have done it again. But they are in the Cup Final.

Adelaide City by far the best all season.
Olympic big improvers under Dave Leson. Will continue to improve next year.
Fulham had to meld, with many new/young players and only lost one league game in the last ten, with a number of draws. Horror start with injuries, but other girls have made the most of opportunities presented.
Cumberland somewhat of an enigma. In consistent . Although seem to produce against Fulham. lol.
Sturt Marion rely on to few players.
Para Hills and Campbelltown should be required to avoid relegation by playing the top 2 in Div 1, for their own peace of mind and the competition in general, to ensure that those coming from DIV 1 are not going to struggle also. PH and C have shown an improvement overall, so do they get relegated and we wait 2 or 3 years for any promoted team to show the same improvement or more.

[ecky_8]

haha it's okay
cumby are just waiting for their star midfielder to come back
clearly they are shocking without her

hahahaha, joking.


but i agree with changeling on that, not actually having seen them play this year, but knowing the players in their squad i'd say they just have a bit of growing up to do. which i'm sure will happen over the next few years, providing we don't lose too many of our older, of even younger players, and maybe acquire some new ones.

sturt's season confused me a lot too, obviously not having been able to see them play, i would have guessed they lost a lot of players, but they didn't really did they? so who knows what went on there.

sadly i don't think relegation is going to help our league in teh slightest. and unfortunately if para hillls do go down i will be very sorry to see them do so, they have possibly the best attitude in the whole league, and over the last few years have really really improved.
not that i'm saying i'd rather campbelltown to go down though, no offence to anyone.

city definatly seemed to deserve their title. and i'm not surprised to see them win either, even with metros 'best team on paper' thing that we have discussed all season on this forum.

congrats to olypmpic who seemed to have a nice solid season. and of course to city for winning the league.

[ecky_8]

disappointing

who you?
well, we all knew that. no need to tell us

[ball_girl]

disappointing

i believe frustrating would be a better term.
but hey, i guess it comes down to the individual players attitudes.
of course its going to be disappointing if you go out to every game expecting to win. and yes, expecting to win & wanting to win are 2 very different terms.

Cumberland have played some very good games this year, and shown that they can be a competetive team. With a new coach to bring them together, and many of the players not having played together before this year, i'd say we just have to give them a season or two to find their feet. If they can hold onto the players, and build together as a team, they've got a very good chance in the next few seasons.

[Easy Tiger]

I agree that PH and C'town should play the top 2 in Div 1 instead of having direct relegation/promotion. If the Div 1 teams are strong enough they'll win anyway, but if not it's actually bad for the league having lesser teams in it. PH and C'town have improved heaps this year and last year and now they can be in the Prems being at least competitive. I mean, they had some decent result this time, not 15 nil and the likes...

Who knows if next year then the newly promoted teams will be totally weak or not? Best to play eachother now!

[bennylava]

sturt, through injuries, international duty and people leaving, at any given time went without around half of their total (prems/div2) squad. and they lost their coach.

a very young squad (only three over-20 players) whos promise was shown in their actual performances, and they might still finish 4th.

[Nafai]

disappointing

who you?
well, we all knew that. no need to tell us

[bennylava]

7th prems vs 2nd div2
8th prems vs 1st div2

first football. then swimsuit round. then each team nominates a player to tackle the eliminator.

only then will we see whos truely fit for the premier division.

[ecky_8]

7th prems vs 2nd div2
8th prems vs 1st div2

first football. then swimsuit round. then each team nominates a player to tackle the eliminator.

only then will we see whos truely fit for the premier division.

haha, interesting idea, i'm not sure too many would go for it though

[Easy Tiger]

Yeah, especially the swimsuit round

But seriously, it would be sooo much better if first and second in D1 play last and second last in prems. It also adds something to the league and gives those bottom teams something to look forward to. And if they go down, well there's nothing to say after that.

No offence intended for D1 teams, they won and deserve something, just not sure if they can compare to, say, Para Hills...and if they can't, then they shouldn't replace them maybe?