One look at the ladder triggers the thought of a bit of disbelief.
Brisbane and the Wanderers, six months ago engaged in a Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium, stuck down at the bottom of the pile.
Brisbane, their issues run deep.
All eras come to an end, and while it is too early to suggest they can’t give themselves a chance of defending their Championship by making the finals, many things need to rectify themselves before Brisbane can be a chance.
The Wanderers, their issues are totally different.
Tony Popovic sounded very positive after the loss in Wellington, the club’s third straight to start the season.
Of course, thanks to what happened in Saudi Arabia, it’s the greatest slow start to a season since the Missing Link Rhinos went winless at the start of the first ever Neanderthal Premier league in 500,000 BC.
The Wanderers will come good. But when?
A trip to Perth is never easy, though with the added bonus of just football to concentrate on – unlike post Champions League victory – preparations will be better than the Wellington game.
True judgement will come after that. Four home games in a row in 14 days. Central Coast, Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane.
They have to get going then, because if not, the distractions start again, albeit a good one first with the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco.
Once that is done, it’s back for a few games in the A-League before the Asian Cup brings the competition to a halt for a few weeks in January.
Then a few more A-League games before the Asian Champions League resumes at the end of February.
So there’s only pockets of time where full focus is on the A-League, though in truth, it just gives the ‘Popovic Planning’ template another chance to shine.
Regardless, they have to get moving soon, and the impending home games, the four in 14 days, loom as crucial elements if success is to be attained again.
It has been a tough start for the Wanderers on the road and with all of the other distractions around them, but this club has always managed to pull off the impossible. Maybe they’ll do it again.
