Happy New Year

New Year, new blog name and new address….new layout too (based on the Roar away Jersey) once I get over a few technical hick ups. I’m really confident this will be the final change.

Why the change?

I guess I just wanted a name that would stay relevant forever, that sounds overly ambitious but it’s more about laying the right foundations than plans for world domination. This is sort of the story of my life at the moment as moving countries has forced me to trim the fat from everything except my belly (for now). Cutting down on possessions, getting the paperwork in check, changing addresses and putting an end to contracts and services has put me in that frame of mind.

The name was made famous (to me at least) by my favorite football book of all time “The Away Game” by Mathew Hall. It’s the story of Aussie players and their journeys overseas to try and make it, an essential part of being a professional footballer from Australia at that time as we only had the semi pro NSL domestically. This was a top quality book that made me proud to be a member of the football community at a time when we weren’t kicking to many goals.

That book was about the players my blog is about being a fan. We have definitely seen a lot of books, blogs and all sorts about supporting the Socceroos (Tony Wilsons and Jesse finks are two I would recommend) my main focus will be on the Brisbane Roar and any other A league fans out there living away from OZ.

I don’t actually own a copy of Mathew Hall’s book anymore as I lent it out and never got it back, proof surely it’s a good book. I have long felt a weekly TV show based on his premise would be a winner. Interviews with Aussies overseas a weekly game from Europe that features an aussie interest like the recent Uchtret vs Liverpool game which featured 3 Australians by the end of the game …. I know it would be a minefield to manage legally getting the rights to those games but one can dream.

I did find this Utube page so as to not leave you completely empty handed