The Good, the Bad and the Downright ugly!

By Paul Frederickson

The weekend has come and gone,and around the world close misses, brilliant goals, glorious chants, controversial moments would have echoed throughout football conversations. I hope your weekend was full of everything that football has to offer.

THE GOOD
Records are always a bi-product of success, and Australia's Brisbane Roar set an Australian sporting record over the weekend of 36 games unbeaten. Not only did they break the record, but they did so with the aplomb and style that the Brisbane sporting public has come to expect in the last two years. Perth Glory were the latest team to come up short against the reigning A-League Premiers and Champions.

THE BAD
My opinions on the refereeing standards in Australia have been discussed over the last few weeks so I will not dwell on how I continue to be disappointed with its adverse effect on many games. Instead this week's bad is the spate of injuries to key players over the last 12 months. Dario Vidosic is the latest young player to be struck down by a potential long term injury. We at Play the Advantage wish all injured players a swift and long term recovery.


THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
Depression is still not widely spoken about in men's circles. Whilst we can often talk about the pain that our team's cause us we often have trouble expressing how we feel or seeking help for what can be a chemical problem. The loss of Gary Speed over the weekend is so tragic. What a great loss to the football community but even more importantly to his family and friends. Play the Advantage send its condolences to his friends and family on behalf of the wider footballing and sporting community.

If you or your friends are experiencing depression there are avenues to help. In Australia one of the avenues is Beyond Blue:

http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx 1300 22 46 36



What do you think? What were your weekend's The Good, The Bad and the Downright Ugly?