Game 19 - Sydney FC 0 vs Queensland Roar 1 - 12/12/10

"It could have been worse."

That is the frightening defeatism that has infected Sydney FC. This season has seen a champion squad plunge into despair and disrepair, with nary a captain or coach able to bail the water out of a sinking ship.

To say that Sydney FC won the second half flatters the hosts mightily. Brisbane rarely got out of second gear. Imagine what they could accomplish with a top class striker. The Roar worked their way down field methodically and brazenly, while Sydney struggled to play out of their own half.

All the old bad signs were there. Stephan Keller thumping the ball long and wide. Static fullbacks hugging the touch line. Players pointing at positions where they expected each other to be, five seconds after the ball had gone. Sydney's playmaker, either Mark Bridge or Terry Antonis, settling for occupying a defender instead of running them ragged.

Viteslav Lavicka should guide the club to the Asian Champions League but Sydney FC should not be offering him an Alan Pardew-esque five and a half year deal. Lavicka clearly arrived with Plan A - the same 4-4-2 diamond that Sydney have played for a year and a half - and no Plan B, despite Brisbane playing the same way they have all season.

Lavicka identified that Gan and Antonis were struggling but changed personnel without attacking the cause of the problem. Few managers have disrupted Brisbane this season but the diamond left Antonis and Bridge completely impotent - exhausted by defence and desperately out of position in transition attack. Brisbane apparently enjoyed 68 percent of possession in the first half. I'm surprised it wasn't more.

To go man for man, as Sydney were unable to do:

Ivan Necevski should have done better to block Kosta Barbarouses's cool finish but made some smart saves in either half. A good back up option for sure, but it seems Crazy Ivan has found his level.

Shannon Cole was easily Sydney's most impressive player over the 90 minutes. He supplied Sydney's only moment of skill with a cool backheel in the second half, put in a few threatening runs and kept Thomas Broich reasonably quiet. Cole backed himself in the tackle and on the ball, which was something few other Sydney players seemed willing to do. His combination with Dimitri Petratos was encouraging and should be nurtured.

Sung-Hwan Byun put in possibly his worst shift in a Sky Blue shirt. Apart from supplying atrocious delivery from wide areas throughout the match, Byun was one of many Sydney players who seemed more intent on ordering his teammates around than getting in a helpful position himself. Byun's mind seems off the job and Scott Jamieson cannot return soon enough.

Hayden Foxe and Stephan Keller may have been a great central combination five years ago. But Foxe's distribution has degraded over the past month and Keller's has probably been atrocious his entire career. That Brisbane did not win by more is evidence of their honest hard work but they were often caught too far apart, too far from their Solorzano, too deep (to cover their lack of pace) and too scared of the ball. It is time for Lavicka to recruit some replacements.

Sydney's under fire manager was forced to substitute Brendan Gan and Terry Antonis at halftime and both youngsters deserved the hook. Hopefully Antonis will not stay benched for long. The lad has undoubted ability but today's match was too cruel a test so early. His confidence must now be sand-bagged, not sabotaged. Sydney's first responsibility was too relieve defensive pressure and neither Gan nor Antonis contributed, while Terry McFlynn's performance was similarly lacking.

Terry McFlynn may be a Foundation Player but he needs to be a proper captain. It has been too long since McFlynn, or any Sydney player, took a match by the scruff of the neck. It is McFlynn's duty to lead by example, but doing a job is no longer enough in a Sydney side of much lower quality than last year's edition.

Hiro Moriyasu also put in a fairly abject performance. He was played in what is allegedly his preferred position at the base of Sydney's midfield, but lost possession time and again, took too long to select an option, was weak in the tackle and failed to interact properly with his defence. Hiro is best employed as a box to box harasser and lacks the composure to play as the screening anchor. An in-form Stuart Musialik is a better option, but Sydney have precious few players in form at the moment.

Big bad Bruno Cazarine was obviously not fully fit and played for free kicks before halftime. Alex Brosque was dynamic, inspirational and alone.

Mark Bridge was absolutely anonymous. Again. His new contract should be read to him like the Riot Act. Hopefully a rocket up the backside can push him past the barrier of his natural abilities. Bridge is an enigma without the ability to justify his inconsistency. Nicky Carle, it has been said too often, cannot return soon enough.

A champion side should not regress so poorly. A great manager should not allow them to. Great managers adapt. Great players overcome adversity. Sydney FC simply flounder while their crowds dwindle and The Cove grows quieter. Sydney's names were not cheered and the side was barely applauded onto the park.

Something is out of kilter and it is not just Nicky Carle's back.