The World Game with Stefan MaukThe World Game with Stefan Mauk - 22 August 2024
From the A-Leagues to the EPL, Adelaide United star Stefan Mauk brings you the latest results, news and analysis from the World Game.
On Adelaide's five double A. This is the World Game with Stefan Moore. Yes, welcome in. It's twenty seven minutes to seven.
Great to have you tonight as we talk all things world football. World Game with the great man Stephanmore from Adelaide United. He joins us each and every Thursday night from six thirty to talk about football and you can join us eight double two to three double O double low.
Stephan, welcome to you.
Thanks for having me again.
Great to have you back.
Mate.
You've been invited back for a second week, which means you must have done something right last week.
Exactly right.
I was worried on my drive home last week was it my first and last? But I'm back back for a second one. So it's positive science. Excellent stuff mate. Well, we've got so much to talk about tonight. Of course, first week of Premier League football is in the books. We'll get through a little bit of that later on. MPL finals began last weekend, so a little bit to get touch on there as well. And your Adelaide United deep in pre season now in Australia Cup is happening as well. Yeah, plenty plenty to talk about in football I guess that's why it is the world game. Doesn't matter what part of the world you're in, there's always something to talk about.
Yeah.
Back here in Adelaide where we're training away, we're training hard, not too many days off, which is which has been I guess good in a way because we're working on our fitness. We've got this Australia Cup game coming up, which is massive. To keep progressing into that competition is really setting you up for the season ahead.
So you knocked off Blacktown City a couple of weeks back. This coming tuesday, Olympic Kingsway. So who are they. They're wa W eighteen. Yeah, so they're Yeah.
Not too much is known about them, I guess from anyone down here in Adelaide. I think they've got a few x A League players. But we played Blacktown in the last last round and you'd expect New South Wales to be stronger in the competition. But you know, you go into these games and we were quite comfortable in the first half against Blacktown. They came out in the second half firing, the crowd got into it, they got their equalizer and they could have almost scored a winner right towards the end, so we went to extra time in that game. Probably you know, we weren't fit enough to do that, but we managed to get through the game, which was good and we should be fitter for this next game, stronger for it and coming up against them. You know, like I said earlier, we want to keep progressing because that gives us a chance to get competitive matches before the A League begins.
How I actually enjoyed the Australia Cup.
It's such a unique format that only soccer in Australia is able to really do.
Yeah, I think it's something that really like. It connects every single pyramid. So you know, you start in the Each state federation has their own cup competition to get into the Australia Cup. So you've got teams from amateur level all the way up to the NPL, you know here in South Australia, so everybody's got a chance in making it. And you've actually got a game Melbourne Serbia from the third division in Victoria. They beat mod Bride Jets, which was quite disappointing for the NPL South Australian team, but it shows the depth, it shows that the passion and now set up on that side of the drawer is really exciting because you've got a lot of Melbourne based teams, so they'll be raring to go to hopefully one of them make a final.
Absolutely, So no other South Australian sides are you left in the in the no.
Disappointingly, I was hoping that they were going to Modbury and Campbelltown. We're going to get through or we could get one of those in the next round, but unfortunately they.
Both got knocked out. We've got the Jets v.
The Bulls and this is I guess the first time they've actually done this where they've done the draw, so from the round of thirty two, they did the draw for the round of sixteen, but they've actually done it separate side. So you've got your round of sixteen, your quarter final, your semi finals, so you know your whole pathway through. So on the left hand side of the draw we've got Jets v the Bulls, Oakley Cannons against Heidelberg, Hume against Melbourne Serbia. Which I said is that the NPL three team or the state league team and then South Melbourne v Olympic from Brisbane. So you've actually got two a league teams only. The other six on that side are all NPL teams, so you would expect a potential big powerhouse, maybe a South Melbourne from back in the NFL days to push for a final spot. And then on the other side we have New South Wales Spirit against Victory more than Sydney, Excelsia against Perth Glory Oakley Kingswey against US Adelaide United and then the Lions against Western Sydney, So that.
Side of the draw is a little bit difficult.
If we do win against Olympic we will play Lions or Western Sydney Wonderers. So it's yeah, it's going to be an exciting round. It kicks off this Sunday. There's a couple of games, so tune in on It's on Channel ten and Paramount I believe. So yeah, exciting games for us and great to connect. As you said, the whole pyramid.
It is an outstanding concept, so certainly get behind it. Watch on Adelaide and Nighted. We play eight pm on Tuesday next week and a lot to play out still with a round sixteen, it's a it's a great competition. Indeed, we love your calls in the show eight double two to three double o double low. We've got a call from John at Portagusta.
How are you, Johnny.
I like tugging Stefan Theres. I started Tool of the World, gud about the Leicester City won the title two the sixteen. It's a great game. I love it and I've watched your Fox Sports our pants basis I struggled with. I can sort the each going a little bit on my phone. I'm struggling to do it. Technology are well and bikes on the world. I was just worrying you see a lever come back on Fox Sports, because that's what because you can get at the one bikes, then all the European leagues, the A leagues, all the rest of it. Because he is a great game is a bad testing guy. I'll grow up life on the wind and pret the summer and that was made. But I love football, World Guy slash soccer. And if you if you've got Fox Sports, that do I have the only parts You've already watched World Football and that's all you've got. You have not got the Internet. The only parts you watch. The old guy is a little bit old. The I League, which is great, don't get me wrong. I enjoy watching that, but that's where the only kicks I can get and Stepan can help me out with the Premier League card players. I made it. I made.
I reckon. You can see in a in a very red direction.
It's you know what, you're not wrong obviously with what's happened a few years back, and it was. It's probably one of the reasons why potentially the A League ratings have gone down is because when you had everything on that one platform, you had your A League games into your EPL games, and I think it's just the way that sport's gone now. There's so many different streaming platforms, which is which is good in one way, but also it becomes difficult because you've got to have Paramount, you've got to have Ko Foxtel, you've got to have Opt the Sport. Then you've got to have be in sports stand sports. I've got too many subscriptions. I think I don't even know half my log in details, to be honest, so it's disappointing. But you know, you have to sign up for the Paramount. I think that's the number one and then Op the Sport. Don't worry about Fox Sports anymore. The footy seasons coming to an end soon, and I think you need to be a Gunners a Gunners fan now Arsenal if you want to, if you want to jump on a team that's going to win it this year. There they're the ones that you should be putting your money on.
Well, they've already got to win the first week, so we'll get to that shortly as well. But thank you for your call. John.
You can share in your thoughts and if you have any questions eight double two to three double O double O's the number you can call in on now. Interestingly, before we get to the break, Steff And there's been a chat for probably about twelve months now around national second tier competition. Football Australia put it up. They had eight foundation clubs they sort of set up a long while back and the idea was twenty twenty five we'd see a new national second tier competition. Well, where is that at because they've had meetings this week.
Yeah, there's been probably in the last two or three weeks. It's been a little bit of a little bit of talk on social media about what's going on, and some of those foundation clubs have kind of put out statements, specifically South Melbourne. I wouldn't call it a threat, but I think they're angry and they want to be a part of a competition. They want to grow and they feel like they're probably not heard. And I'm one that's a big believer of the Second Division. I think it needs to get going. The FA have floated a Champions League model where the clubs have completely I guess said no to that and they want to play home and away. They want to add a couple more teams in, which is what the FA was meant to be doing based on I guess their media release a few months back. Anyway, I don't know if they've found a couple more teams that they think are financially viable to compete.
I know it comes down to dollars and cents.
I think it would be a great thing to get that in and that's something once we do come back from the break we can talk a little bit more about. But if you're interested in this, it would be great to hear from you guys. I think Metro Stars were one of the teams in South Australia that kind of put their hand up and didn't make it, so it'd be great to hear from anyone.
But I think we need to go to a break now, don't we.
Yeah no, But we can take your calls next eight double two to three double O double Oh. That's the number of the lines are open for you if you want to chat about this situation. Because Jesus been bubbling for some time. There's no South Australian teams that have been picked in this national second tier competition at the minute.
That is yet to be again.
But there's so much, so many questions surrounding at the moment. So have you say, eight double two to three double O double O. What's best to do with it? It's Stephen Mark's World Games Sports show here on five double A.
The World Game with Stephan Mark on five double A.
Welcome back at fifteen minutes to seven. Lee Forests will come and join you on five double after seven o'clock. But right now, love your calls and texts on all things in the World Game at the minute. We've already got Max chiming in saying we'll find out about the Gunners this weekend when they play my team aston Villa at Villa Park. He's been following them since the eighties. Great to have that Johnny asked earlier, who should I follow? You never walk alone, Johnny says, Craig PA and Liverpool perfect fit.
Well, I like that. That's a bit of fun.
Eight double two to three double oh double the number again if you want to get involved. We just went to the break talking about the National second Tier competition which was floated about twelve months ago now wasn't by Football Australia. Eight teams were set as the foundation teams for it, but yet nothing's really come about and clubs are getting fre frustrated. Steffan, you sort of spoke about it before, but as we mentioned during the break, no South Australian teams were named. Could you tell us why and do you think there were teams here? You mentioned Metro Stars would have loved to have been a part of it.
Yeah, I think there was a significant financial deposit that the clubs did need to make. I'm not sure if that was the reason for Metro Stars not getting picked. I know Adelaide City kind of put their hand up a little bit as well, so you know, they're a historic club from the NFL and you would have thought at least one club from South Australia would have come through with it. But you know, these clubs, I think they're angry because they did have to put up a lot of money. They went through a big process to I guess kind of you know, put their hand up for this, and now they wanted action to be taken. And the eight teams five from New South Wales, three from Victoria, and you don't want it to just be in New South Wales Victoria competition. You do want to have other clubs involved, whether it's from South Australia, Queensland, WA. Maybe is too far. I understand that because it does come down to how much things are going to with the travel. It's massive in this country compared to other countries. But you know, it's disappointing because you've got you know, the teams are ipl like our Avondale, Marconi, Preston, South Melbourne, Sydney Olympics, Sydney United, Woollongong Wolves, a lot of those teams from the NFL. They're proud, proud clubs and they want to get back on the national stage. And I think, you know, looking at it from a player's perspective, there's plenty of players at that NPO level that are probably good enough to make that next step up.
Maybe not quite the A League, but that's something in.
Between, and it's perfect to create, I guess, more talk shows about football. You've got more players that are employed, you've got more coaches that are employed, more commentators.
It's better for the game.
Of course it needs to be viable, but I think, you know, we need to get moving on this because it was touted that it was coming in next year and you know where we're getting close to twenty twenty.
Five or just on the first point, I'm staggered that you can call it a national second tier and not be any more than Victoria and New South Wales at the minute. That's staggering in itself. But as you say, twenty twenty five, that is so close, and yet it feels like we're so far away from any sort of real organization around what this competition could look like. Do you think this timeframe is going to push out?
I think the potentially if it's not sordid, because you've also got to think about these clubs are playing in, whether it's the New South Wales Premier League or the Victorian and PLS, so you know, it completely stuffs up their competitions. Because if they're going to be in the second division, they don't play in the local league, so that means they need other teams that maybe got relegated or promoted. It changes the amount of teams that are playing in their first divisions there. So I think there needs to be clarity and it needs to be very very soon, otherwise you're going to have to push it out and that then, I guess makes those clubs a little bit anxious about whether this is going to happen, and they've been very very I guess stripped on saying we don't want that Champions League format the group stage. We want to play home and away. That's what they want. I think, to be honest, that is the best way to go about it. Adding two more teams potentially you get to ten. If you can get twelve, I know there was a Tasmanian team that looking to come in as well, which would be amazing. Obviously, they've got the AFL team that's coming in. You've got the jack Jumpers that have been a big success there, so I think you've got enough people that love football. You've just got to give them the platform and then hopefully one day it does connect with the A League.
Absolutely well, So you just quickly because we do have to move on. How many teams would you like it to get to and the format of it. Do you think it could become something which is a relegation and promotion with the A League.
I think so.
I think, you know, ideally you get your second division up to sixteen teams and then potentially somewhere along the lines, if they're doing well enough, they're successful enough, maybe you start doing promotion directly to the A League in credible and then eventually you have promotion relegation sixteen and the A League sixteen in the second division. For me, that's ideal. You know, that's maybe fairytale stuff at the moment.
That's what you've got dream for, though.
If you want something to be really successful and healthy sport wise in the country, that's the sort of stuff you need aspire to.
No, you're not wrong, and I think you've got to have the plan you've got to then execute on the planet. And you've seen around the world, you know, I was just recently in Japan. They had one hundred year plan and they're just over thirty years into it and they've got you know, fifty sixty odd professional teams. I started with six or eight as well, so it can be done. You've just got to you've got to follow through.
Yeah, absolutely right. We'll pick that up another time when there's more developments. But in interesting conversation. Nonetheless, the NPL finals we're into. The semi finals is Saturday. There are two legs to be played across two weekends, so we'll be able to break these down halfway through the series. But we have four teams remaining and they're all in the top four.
Yes, it's disappointing for Adelaide United youth team. We went down an extra time to mod Bridgets. A few controversial calls apparently for the penalties. That's coming from the young boys themselves, so I'm not sure. I'm not sure how much you can believe them, but yeah, it was disappointing. They apparently defended really well Mod Bridgets and they were around the top two the whole season. They just dropped out of that. So it's going to be interesting Modbrey against Campbelltown. I think Campbelltown will get through. It's a double legged game obviously, so you know, you don't want to probably go out too much in the first leg and lose by two or three because it does make it difficult in the second game, Adelaide cityv Metro Metro Stars. You'd probably say they're the favorites for this one. But Adelaide's City they started the season really poorly, but they've really been coming home strong and Pezos has got them playing some really good football and yeah exciting. If you're not doing anything this weekend, get down to your local league games and watch the you know, probably the next stars coming through that are hopefully one day in the second division or in the A League.
Absolutely right. So Adelaide City Park and Modbury the venues again for this one. Saturday three o'clock and Saturday five o'clock the two games, so make sure you're at your club for those ones.
At eight minutes to seven, it's time to talk some Premier League.
Premier League updates, all right?
One week in the books out of thirty three.
Yep, plenty, plenty to go. I was very happy he would have been my boys got up Arsenal. I stayed up late for that one. I watched watch Liverpool Whipswich first, which was amazing to see mas Longo The Australian he played sixty to seventy minutes first half. They they were fighting for everything. I was scrapping for everything. Liverpool kind of looked shell shocked, to be honest. They couldn't get into the rhythm of the game Loongo. As I said, you know, it's his debut in the Premier League, but he didn't look out of place there.
And it's an amazing story. He was back at Tottenham.
I think it was probably over ten years ago on the bench, didn't come on and now ten years later, here you are making your debut and cam Burgess was sitting on the bench with this one. But I'm sure he will get minutes. So it was an exciting first game week. There probably wasn't too many surprises. All the big teams won. The only one you know that disappointed was ang at Spurs.
They drew away.
But you've got Jamie Vardy who has come off pretty much no preseason thirty. I think he's thirty six thirty seven years old. I could be wrong with that, but he's old. He's very old. He's walking out at halftime with a red ball in one hand. Apparently he's done no preseason because he's been injured and he scores an unbelievable equalize. He could have actually got a second. So it's it's someone that steps up for those big moments. And then he was getting subbed off and he was he was telling the Tottenham fans and he's got one Premier League and they've got absolutely none. So it was it was good to see and excited to see, you know, the second second game week.
Yeah.
Absolutely, So there's some big games coming up this weekend. I don't know if you want to preview any of them, but it does start on Saturday and your Arsenal take on Aston Villa on Sunday two am.
Yeah, it was Max. It was Max that was saying that that Villa are going to be up there. Obviously, he's saying we're going to find out this weekend. I think this will actually be a massive game. It was last year we lost a Villa and that actually cost us.
The Premier League.
So I'm sure Ted is going to be putting that up on the whiteboard before the game, saying these are the guys that ruined ruined our title chances. So early in the season, players are still probably not match fit, but you definitely want to you want to perform well against the big teams and not drop points, so it's exciting, i'd probably say. Besides that, United v Brighton is probably the other really big game. Brighton have actually got a new manager, so that the German from Saint Paulie.
He's come in.
He's the youngest manager ever in the Premier League and he got off to a flyer beating Everton three nil, so interesting to see how he goes now against Man United, who they did win.
I don't think it was convincing.
I don't think they'll be up there this year after seeing that performance, but they did win, so they can build on that.
Yeah.
No other real blockbusters though.
In this second week we've got City versus Hipswitch, Tottenham will take on Eviden. In fact, that'll be a good game, I'm sure, Chelsea and Wolves, Liverpool Brentford, so plenty to look forward to across the Saturday and Sunday mornings as you get up nice and early. But as we like to do, we like to end the show with something a little bit of fun. It's Stephan's Moment of the week, Stephens Moments of the Week, so we always like to go through what things you've seen in the world of soccer, and oh my goodness, there is that much to troll for on socials, or there's something that's caught.
Your eye this week.
Yes, I'm looking for something special, whether it's an own goal, an unbelievable goal, a bit of skill. This may be the first and only time this happens, but it's actually come from after the game in the post match presser.
I guess you could say you've got a young key.
We Matt Garbett who's scored his first first goal of the season.
Max Ballad who's an Australian.
He's playing for Knuck Brader as well, so he's he's won of the ball in his defensive area, played a great, great pass up the field and they've scored and they've beaten Aayak, so everybody's high on emotions. The Dutch reporter is speaking to Matt and at the end of the interview he says something that is actually quite strange.
I think, you know, performances come down to the environment and we've got a good culture hair building that knock and I'm hoping that we.
Can continue here. So thanks a lot, and you speak English chess, appreciate it.
You congratulated English.
Is he's in New Zealand.
I know New Zealand is a small country. They weren't like hearing that, but they're not listening into this show anyway. But to not know that they speak English, come seriously, But it's I wonder if he was too shy. He's a young boy. He was probably too shy to see something back to him. But I'm sure the reporter would have went home afterwards and probably seen I've made a meal of that one.
Yeah, that's probably one to take back.
If you've got a moment of the week you'd like to send on the stuff and your socials are open, you can send them through.
We'd love to hear them.
And of course next Thursday night we're back from six point thirty, so you can of course interact with us then and we'll love to get your thoughts on the air. Well on Steff, another great show.
Two in the book. I'm sure you come back next week like you did this week. Well done to you. We'll be back again next Thursday night.
