Around the Bloc: Recent Episodes
Around the Bloc
The Supporter’s Podcast of the Western Sydney Wanderers. On your podcast feed and Spotify. https://linktr.ee/AroundTheBloc
Jaush got to talk to the new Wanderers CEO Scott Hudson.
The new role, signing players, the clubs position and much more.
Nick and Steve let it all rip in this post-mortem/eulogy of what was the Wanderer's worst season (arguably). Video here - Wanderers 21/22 Review
And wasn't there ever. 3:2 defeat to Sydney FC, a 1:1 draw with Margush channeling is Vedran and then this against the Mariners where Nick and Steve were live watching the match.
Language warning
A smash-n-grab away at Adelaide 2-1 and a 0-0 draw at Parramatta see us take 4 points from 6 with top six in reach but no margin for error.
A derby win one week and a local rivalry loss the next. Just another week for the Wanderers.
JT is on the way out (rejoice or be saddened). What could we change that will help avoid the issues of the past?
We go for the trifecta of Victorian teams against Melbourne Victory. However, poor plays, poor finishing and a sense of "where am I?" on the pitch has led Nick and Stephen to question yet again "what are we doing?"
As we only pod when we're winning, we bring to you Jaush and a player interview: Jack Rodwell.
Robbo out has come to fruition, but Mark Rudan comes in with his USB and burner accounts from Twitter. We discuss.
Video: https://youtu.be/qBkZrDrtrfQ
Nick and Steve discuss the 3-all draw against City.
Williams out - Troisi and Rodwell scoring - defence still a shambles.
Video: https://youtu.be/i1odbvR17Uw
A defeat against the Mariners has started a domino effect of former players and staff going all out against the club and its management.
Video: https://youtu.be/g9g4CETkee8
Nick and Stephen went live on YouTube to discuss the 2-0 away win (magically) against the Nix and then shredded the squad over the last few matches as well as Robinson.
Video stream here: https://youtu.be/cpfLhwNeh68
Well that was a poor performance at home second week in a row where we were lucky to draw. Surgical dissection like analysis from our trio of Nick, Steve and Jaush on what worked (lol), what didn't work (a lot) and what we can do to get some W's on the board (not much).
First round derbies can end in tears or despair, this one ended our misery of 90 mins. But it was great to be back home at ComBank Stadium (money talks) to see our red and black in action.
Season X of WSW and ATB brings us together again via technology as we look towards another opening round Sydney Derby and look through our squad and what we hope to expect.
The team discusses the players and coach as we look back at another disappointing season. Who do we want to keep and who should we let ride off into the sunset? And are we Robbo In or Robbo Out?
All this and more on this week's Around the Bloc.
Thank you for listening this season, see you soon for our 10th year.
Undefeated derby streak is over, effectively out of the top 6 and living on a prayer, we host the Phoenix from Wellington who actually travelled to and from NZ for the first time in over a year.
Two great results and then this monstrosity against Perth Glory. Great way to get into the mood for the final Sydney derby this Sunday.
Look at this! A 5:0 win for the Wanderers against Western United means we keep our top six chances alive despite Nick claiming the season was over only a couple of weeks ago...
Undefeated since December 2018 in the Sydney derby! Big performance from the team means we still have a chance at making the six - but we have really no room for errors.
Riot squad returns, Bobo impersonates Baggio and Shaun Evans needs to know what the "no" hands mean.
Continuing the trend of neither winning nor losing matches, we had two stalemates against Brisbane and the Central Coast where our play wasn't the best but one player came in to almost save the days. We've got the most goalkeeper saves and defender clearances in the league and we still have no idea what our midfield is doing (P.S. Don't sell Tass).
That was hard to take. A 4:1 loss to a clearly better team when we thought we would have at least put up a fight, but we were in a shell the whole 90 minutes. Brisbane awaits then the old enemy the Mariners a few days later: proper 6-pointer weekend.
A win sure feels good, especially when you've backed up from a win only a few days before that. Many were weary of seeing whether this team could go again and they went there alright - a dominant 3:0 win against Perth Glory. Offsides didn't hinder us as we scored three legal goals and could have been more, but we didn't concede and now we go to Melbourne with confidence.
Holy s*** - we're still discussing how that game unfolded and how it ended up the way it did. Tats, Stephen and Nick go through that epic match along with all the drama and banging goals that were or weren't seen. Some say VAR needs to stay, some say go, all we know is that it the right VARking call was made.
ATBit live reactions WSWvWEL
Amazing what some tough love can get you. A win away from home, a clean sheet and some confidence boosting performances from some of our slacking players.
Two back to back loses spells warning signs for the Wanderers with the other teams playing catch-up and climbing the ladder. An away trip to Western United this Sunday is crucial for us to stay within the top 6 and regain our confidence.
A slow first half but much better second half only has us come away with a draw after a frantic 2:2 result. Set-piece marking, midfield depth and confidence players all come up in this full team ATB.
6 games undefeated, third in the league and looking good in the second half, we look back at the two games against Macarthur and the Victory.
The team are divided at the return of Mitch Duke. Also discussed is the draw against Newcastle, our luck or knack of conceding penalties and look ahead to the local paddock derby against Macarthur.
An okay showing in the Sydney derby and a win against a rough Mariners means we have 4 points from 6 in our last two matches. Are we seeing a pattern from our lads and is there more to our games so early in the season?
Grit and determination got us three-points away to Newcastle (so did two goals to be fair). Undefeated in our last four matches against Sydney FC, we have a chance to make that five this weekend.
Discussing our not so bad performance against the new Macarthur Bulls where we fought until the end - no bull.
Just like CJ in GTA: San Andreas says; "ah s***, here we go again". A new season, new manager, new players but same attitudes. What do we make of this team and does it have enough to mount a salad platter or toilet seat challenge?
Michael and Nick were joined by Vitali Trubila (defender for FK Slutsk in the Belarusian football league) as they discussed the worldwide spotlight, new fans and support, his footballing career and much more.
Thanks to Aleague Memes for organising the interview.
*in Sydney derbies this season
What a way to postpone the league with a 1:1 draw in an empty Bankwest Stadium against your bitter rivals broadcast to the world - thrilling!
Apart from that, Turner, Josh and Nick are once again using the technology that's been around for over a decade to bring this ATB from our remote locations.
This is around the undefeated in Sydney derbies bloc.
Interstate travel - hand sanitiser - Empty stadiums.
A-League for how we currently know it is up in the air (unlike Turner's hands') but the show must go on as do the matches behind closed doors.
Doing things differently for this one are Nick and Josh discussing the madness and mayhem of City vs WSW and other current topics at hand.
This is around the self-isolating bloc.
Must like the team, some ATB members were missing in action, but we still managed to finish the show with a win.
A poor performance against Brisbane Roar last Friday brought us all back down to earth from the derby high the week before, albeit some will argue we did it to ourselves.
Turner, Tats, Nick and Mina discuss the good with WSW, the bad with the A-League match and look to the next rounds.
Two from two! Derby delight for the second time this season: same score line, same scorer, different location. The Duke of Western Sydney scored the lone goal as we gave Sydney FC their second loss this season.
We go through the match, the W-League making the finals play-off for the first time plus some general WSW and A-League news.
This is the derby Baumjohann hasn't won a game in yet.
This is around the bloc.
Whilst there should have been only scenes of celebrations in the Sydney derby in Kogarah this past Friday as the Wanderers won their first away derby since the 2013-14 season, there were scenes that should not be seen not just in the A-League, but in sports in general and towards the fans none the less.
In this special ATB, Tats and Jaush discuss the situation that unfolded between the travelling away fans (notable in the RBB) and the police geared up in riot squad uniform.
After the bore draw against the Jets the previous week understandably spirits may have been down, but Captain Duke and the lads put up a fight to take it to dark horses Adelaide United where we WON 5 goals to 2 in Wanderland. Das amazing'!
Turner, Tats and Mina are making sure the show goes on (Turner especially) as they go through the win vs Adelaide, the W-League team and the upcoming reschedule Sydney derby.
This is around the bloc...I hope.
As the title states; rise and repeat. A strong start and flailing finish, a popular birthday boy and a big clash for the W-League team.
This is around the bloc.
JP took charge of his first match as head coach for a very long time and it proved to be a success with the Wanderers winning 3:1 away to the Central Coast Mariners with new signing Simon Richard Cox scoring on debut.
Turner and Nick took the drive up and saw the boys take the points while Josh and Tats looked on via the TV but all gave their input into what they liked, didn't like and what they expect coming up in the Sydney derby.
This is around the Cox bloc.
Chris Phillips -chief sports reporter for the Southend Echo and 'I've Got Blues For You' podcast - joins Turner and Nick in a chat about Simon Cox, the situation that led him to Western Sydney, what Simon offers with his football, what he will bring to the pitch and gives us an insight into the lower leagues of English football.
Follow Chris on Twitter
The inevitable came through on Monday morning after a frustrating and performance void of any spark or optimism.
Markus Babbel's run as Wanderers manager is over after a near year and a half and it hasn't been the best. Turner, Josh and Nick are joined by the man-in-demand Stephen to discuss Babbel's dismissal, what went wrong, look at the squads performance and what is needed to lift this club back to the top.
We've taken into account the time the VAR calls have needed and included that total, so this episode is an extra thirty minutes for your listening pleasure.
This is a Babbel-less (and Tatiyana-less) around the bloc.
Nick is here with a solo pod giving you the rundown of what has happened in the last 24 hours (not even) in the world of Wanderers.
Alex Meier seems to be gone and Simon Cox seems to be due in from Swindon Town as we look to make a move on in the league to hit that top 6 or top 4 position.
Babbel is still under pressure so who knows if Cox's inclusion will help him or not but the squad is looking healthier so we may see some familiar faces against Perth this weekend.
For those that have been with us all season know that we've been critical of players and manager at times but this one seems to be the real go to for that conversation.
A recap of the W-League loss, the Y-League win, the loss in windy Wellington and of course the Babbel in or Babbel out debate.
This is around the bloc.
Happy new year to everyone (except Robbie Fowler, so says Michael Turner). We have two men's matches to cover plus the Wanderwomen kicking a** in the W-League with another win.
More controversy - more segways - more of us.
This is around the bloc 2020.
No, we're not going to rag on Markus, quite the contrary. However some in the football world in the A-League have been bashing him figuratively over the last few weeks.
The Wanderwomen thrash Sydney FC by five (Sydney is red and black after all thus far), and sit close on the ladder to leaders City and quick rising star Mina joins us again for a look at the W-League.
The rest of the crew are back for our airing of grievances and discuss some talking points.
This is a merry around the bloc.
Nothing to talk about this week except for the youth, W-League and the greatest A-League flops of the decade.
This is around the flop...bloc.