Mariners pile on the rough stuff

I won't mince words, they are the roughest team in the A-League and not the sort of team you feel like playing against.

Every time you get the ball against them, expect to be hacked. That's what happened to us on Friday night.

It is hard just to play normal football against them. Our style pf play doesn't suit that, and added to which, the pitch was in horrible condition.

We've now played them three times and each match turned in to a physical altercation. I watched them last week against Adelaide United and it was very similar.

They're not playing their best football so they're going out and roughing up everyone else. I think on Friday night they showed why they are considered the roughest team in the comp.

The hardest thing about a match like that is that you can't lash out because the referee is just waiting to penalise you.

There were a few times when I thought the ref could have done more to keep them in check but he let them get away with it and they took advantage of that.

There were a few moments when we reacted angrily because you don't like to see your team-mates get hurt and a couple of those tackles were designed to hurt.

Africans the way to go

I am surprised A-League clubs haven't been looking to Africa more for recruitment.

Just look at Adama Traore, who has been brilliant for Gold Coast. We picked him up for next to nothing and although he has been injured recently, when he has played he has done a great job.

You can get African guys for next to nothing and more often than not they prove to be good players.

The A-League should start tapping in to what is an abundant market.

When I moved to Europe, my first club Ajax believed heavily in African players and there were a lot of them at the club.

They're are prepared to come for cut price deals and all they want to do is play football and prove how good they are.

After our good experience with Traore, hopefully we'll pick up one or two more next season.

The lifestyle we can offer is a big plus too.

Henry verdict could set dangerous precedent

As I watched Les and Fozz discuss FIFA's decision not to punish Thierry Henry for the hand ball that cost Republic of Ireland a chance at qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, I scratched my head in disbelief.

Why can a player be retrospectively sanctioned for preventing a goal with his hand, but not scoring one?

Don't the two forms of the same cheating go hand in hand? The letter of the law should apply to both scenarios.

You can get booked at the time, but in that case, nothing can be done after the match.

In Henry's case nothing happened and some action should have been taken.

This will set a precedent and I have no doubt players will be aware that if they can get away with it on the field, they won't be punished.

Yet if it starts to become more obvious referees will notice it more too.

The ramifications are serious but I think players will still try it.