Paul Johnson
 
 
 
 

In the interest of full disclosure I like gritty, tough footballers, guys who play the game in a physical manner, so when it comes to Jacob Burns and his reputation as a niggler and a nuisance – and, as some of have commented in Mike Tuckerman’s column, a ‘dirty player’ - I have trouble siding with this argument.

Does he play the game hard? Absolutely. Does he push the boundaries of the rules? Without question. Does he receive a lot of yellow cards? Yes.

But to label a footballer dirty, suggests something spiteful or nasty, someone to be despised or who has a reputation for on-field acts of thuggery - think Kevin Muscat or Joey Barton.

Burns is many things but he’s not dirty and neither are the side he captains. Perth are tough, physical, can be considered uncompromising - but dirty? No chance in hell.

Admittedly, they do concede more cards and fouls than their A-League rivals, but that doesn’t mean the West’s best are a bunch of hackers and leg-biters. They’re hardly taking the league to dark places like Muscat’s challenge on Adrian Zahra, or where the infamous Wimbledon side took the English game in late ‘80s. Squirrel grip for your troubles, anyone?

Certainly Perth are frequently penalised for fouls. Last season the Glory had the worst disciplinary record in the competition with 63 points; in comparison the doomed Gold Coast United were the fairest side, collecting just 32 points.

Perth also led the league in fouls conceded with 437 and were second to Sydney FC (67) on yellow cards, with 65 over their 30-game season. Individually, they had a few players who truly exceeded the average when it came to fouls committed, and if you take out the now retired Tim Brown, Perth had three players in the top 10 of the fouls column.

Burns was no.1 with 85 fouls, while Liam Miller was equal ninth with 42 and Shane Smeltz had 41, though a number of those were offsides. In addition Dean Heffernan led the league with two red cards.

By recruiting Michael Thwaite, the Glory have not only bolstered their defence but also their reputation as stiff tacklers, because the former Gold Coast centreback was fifth in the league last season with 45 fouls committed, while also collecting seven yellow souvenirs, and has already shown his willingness to make a lunging challenge for the Glory when it is required.

There is no denying Glory are card-magnets but that doesn’t necessarily equate to dirtiness, particularly when their physical approach is a major contributor to their success.

If a team doesn’t let you score then you can’t beat them, and as much as the rise of Brisbane Roar has led to attacking, possession-based football becoming fashionable in the A-League, there is a reason why so many successful teams the world over, in all sports, are built on tight defences that refuse to mess around, which is exactly what the Glory do.

Winning is the aim of any football team and if they achieve that by playing so-called “ugly means” so be it. Fans may try to denigrate the Glory for being ‘dirty’, but simply put they are playing to win.

It’s a tight balance to get right, Ian Ferguson’s team and especially their captain will always have their detractors – but no one’s getting hurt or having to spend months in recovery like Zahra did thanks to that Muscat tackle because of them and they win football games.

Perth and their tough style are here to stay, embrace it and enjoy a different style of football, because they will be in the title race this season.

The views expressed in this article are purely those of the author and do not reflect those of FFA or the Hyundai A-League.

 
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and do not reflect those of Football Federation Australia.
Comments (25)
 
It all comes down to disiplin, Club, Coach, Captain & Players. "Credit to the Jets CEO" Burns has no disiplin and neither do Perth. If the Refs give a card, Fox Sports are all over it and they are taken to task. Have you listened to the Comentators latly they referee the game now and they are the only one's aloud to be right. If the Refs give harder penalties to stamp out problems within a game Fox crucify them as do the Coaches & then the players. What happened to Respect? We have all heard it from Burns before and unfortunatly its the same old record- poor little me! all we hear is whing, whing, whing. Get some disaplin! To the writter Paul Johnson would your kids to be like Burns????? Run through him! Elbow Him! Ankle tap him! Swear at him! Intimidate- Intimidate! What a fine example of a player we have Captaining an A-League side. Fair Play????
Paul.W  |  
13 Dec 2012 04:28 PM
 
 
@sarah - of course the comments are coming from the brisbane supporters and replies coming from the perth supporters. The article cam out just after brisbane played perth. As for Brisbane being cheats, you are pointing towards only one incident - the grand final penalty. And that has been proven over and over again to be the correct decision. brisbane didnt cheat - they won. By playing football. Of course people like you go by the theory if a team is better than yours they must be lucky or cheats. As for what they are calling their former coach? They didnt call him anything. Actually they didnt even refer to him excpet to say they hope to beat him. Broich praised the Brisbane Roar manager - as would any player from any team. Yes, the journalist took his comment out of context and Ange is having a big cry over it. Considering how Ange left the club - went to a fierce rival hours after promising the brisbane supporters they would make it 3 in a row - the brisbane supporters have been fairly kind to Ange. Anyway, hope this helps you get your facts straight. maybe you shoudl check them before posting again?
evertonroar  |  
21 Oct 2012 11:57 AM
 
 
If we are ever to encourage players in Australia to play with artistry, such as Leon Messie. Then referees must be harder on bullies , ( Burns Muscat) Those players could have been acclaimed for skill instead they took the easy way of playing unfairly.
ALAN  |  
19 Oct 2012 06:52 PM
 
 
i find it funny that most of the comments labelling burns a cheat and dirty player are from roar fans. when brisbane cheats are known to be the dirtiest and the biggest cheats. look at what you are calling your former coach? please!!!
sarah  |  
18 Oct 2012 02:15 PM
 
 
labelling Burns as dirty misses the point of his contribution to his team's success: he was the best player on the park in the semi against Mariners at Bluetongue and the Joe Marston medal winner in the Grand Final. You can't do much better than that. And I am not a Glory fan, I support the Mariners
Roy Law  |  
16 Oct 2012 09:47 PM
 
 
Anyone who has played the game can CLEARLY see that he is a very dirty player. You can gloss it over by calling him tough etc. but this is not the case. Personalities aside, the league needs to remove these thugs for the good of the game. These thugs hinder the development of young attack minded players, by intimidation. The sooner we lose the Perth Glorys of this world and replace them with the Brisbane types, then and only then, will we as a footballing nation develope.
Tony  |  
15 Oct 2012 10:24 AM
 
 
looking at these comments maybe i'm the weird one because jacob burns is my favorite player in the league, i agree with paul if hes not injuring anybody then whats the problem? perhaps its the other teams who need to toughen up
mikejones  |  
14 Oct 2012 12:29 PM
 
 
There's got to be a good villian in anything. Someone we love to hate. Makes it kind of interesting don't you think?
Leah  |  
12 Oct 2012 04:01 PM
 
 
Steven, we get the point of the article. We just don't agree with its conclusions (that he is not dirty).
evertonroar  |  
12 Oct 2012 11:31 AM
 
 
Youre all missing the point of the article, which is that Burns is a nuidsance and gets cards but that doesnt mean he is a dirty player, read it more closely.
Steven James  |  
12 Oct 2012 08:18 AM
 
 
What a totally bizarre article. It's goal is to defend Jacob Burns (and his team) but ends up doing theh complete with the help of some damning statistics! At least we now know the truth.
Philby65  |  
11 Oct 2012 08:20 PM
 
 
@paolo - elbows to the head? Knees into the back of player that has been bought down? Blatant acting to get people carded? True, they probably would be heros in AFL. Which is one of the reason I dont what AFL anymore. Hard, tough play is fine and good for the game. Blatant attempts to hurt players and acting to get them sent off? He is a cheat and a dirty plyer
evertonroar  |  
11 Oct 2012 04:42 PM
 
 
Get over yourselves. It's sport! It's not a non-contact jazz-funk dance routine. Burns is a physical player and there's nothing wrong with that. In any other Aussie code, he'd be hailed a hero. When did football get so soft?
Paolo  |  
11 Oct 2012 03:33 PM
 
 
The problem is how despite how they play, they are the first to call others dirty. Ever since the grand final we've heard how Perth call the Roar "dirty", "cheats". And on a decision which everybody who knows the rules and doesn't have a bias have said countless times that it was definitely a foul. Yes burns plays dirty, last match he gave one of our players an elbow to the face.
Chris  |  
11 Oct 2012 03:30 PM
 
 
Jacob Burns is durty player and Peth Glory is a durty team,they will be in the title race becuse referees are relactant to give second yellow cards because of the consequenses,if referees apply the rules in astrist manner,Perth Glory will not be in the title race," Fair Play" is the name of the game.
Peter  |  
11 Oct 2012 03:27 PM
 
 
You see this week, Burns admits he will kick any player who isn't Mile Sterjovski. And like any two-bit bully, he blames it all on his wife, who told him so. Mrs Burns must be the right Lady MacBeth.
Korual  |  
11 Oct 2012 03:17 PM
 
 
The perception that Perth Glory or its players are dirty is solely a reflection of the poor standard of officiating in the A-League. The old school NSL players are allowed more leeway than should be afforded. Persistent fouling is rarely booked creating this dirty player perception and in turn creates a stigma against players whom hit the deck as a result of being on the end of frequent fouls as divers or cheats. Officiate the game stricter and players will learn to stay on their feet or face the consequences.
BERTO  |  
11 Oct 2012 02:46 PM
 
 
Did you not see him attacking Brisbane players on the weekend?! he is a xxxxx and he should be driven from our game as quickly as possible.
Pat  |  
11 Oct 2012 01:17 PM
 
 
It's obvious that you two haven't read the full article then...
Ayden McCann  |  
11 Oct 2012 12:59 PM
 
 
So Burns taking out Berishas ankle then Miller dropping his knees into Berishas back wasn't dirty? How about Burns grabbing Nichols ear? Seriously, take off your purple tinited glasses!
Dave McD  |  
11 Oct 2012 12:36 PM
 
 
Burns and the Glory are first to fall over in a heap at the slightest physiciality that they can milk a card from (think Burns after Henriques slap barely touched him last year and the reaction of the glory player after Barishas slight touch last week). But when they do things like this (blatant elbow to the head of halloran on the weekend) they are just 'playing hard'. Every tackle has a hint of get the ball and give the player a knock. Its a real shame, becuase they are a good side that can play good football. However the typical perth mentaility (yes I live here) of we are always hard done by so we have to play tough will never allow them to reach their potential. Becuase of this, they will alwyas be a small club known more for there cards and complaining than their footballing exploits
evertonroar  |  
11 Oct 2012 12:34 PM
 
 
I'm sorry but are you a Glory fan? because I could not read this without shaking my head. It seems that you have forgotten the off the ball incidents that Burns has been involved in over the past years. On the weekend you most likely didn't see how burns grabbed mitch by the ear and almost ripped it off or the elbow to murdocca's face were burns looked at murdocca before he raised his elbow, its rubbish that you can call Jacob a "competitive" player, because he's not. He has no tackleing technique that gets the ball away cleanly and knowing him he most likely never wanted to learn such a thing. On the weekend I saw the way he threw himself into tackles that if a Brisbane player didn't get out of the way Burns would have been sent off. Before this game I had gained alot of respect for him because I had thought he had turned a coner and wasn't going to be the bully he was the last couple of years. But I was soon very dissapointed in the way he conducted himself in the first round.
Morgan  |  
11 Oct 2012 12:31 PM
 
 
Might be worth taking a closer look at the altercation between the Jets and Perth on the weekend. Keep a close eye on Burns' initial involvement... Looks to me like he's pulling the hair or ear of one of the Jets players which fits the "spiteful or nasty" criteria you've described...
Puskas  |  
11 Oct 2012 12:16 PM
 
 
burns is the dirtiest player in the league. All his tackles are dirty . Watch a game then mayb write the article
not a fan  |  
11 Oct 2012 11:48 AM
 
 
Sorry, what? Burns and Glory got the most yellow cards last season and they're not dirty?? You're kidding yourself? Watch any Glory game or look at the stats you've presented. They're a dirty team. Fact.
Dr Bongo  |  
11 Oct 2012 10:17 AM
 
Poll
Which opening round fixture are you most looking forward to?




Paul Johnson

Deputy editor of footballaustralia.com.au, Paul Johnson is an experienced sports journalist and not afraid to share his views on football's most controversial topics.