WHAT a prospect. A column to write, no Jets game to review, no election to lampoon, so I get to spend my birthday scratching my head for inspiration.
"Poor Lowey" I can hear you chorus, "what a trooper," and I appreciate your sympathy. Perhaps it's a good time to pause and evaluate, and also look through the crystal ball at what lies ahead.
Before I start all that, I have a bouquet to deliver to the hierarchy of Sydney FC and the Newcastle Jets. The powers that be in Sydney took it upon themselves to offer all former Socceroos in NSW a complimentary double membership to all of Sydney's home games this season as a gesture of thanks and goodwill for their contribution to the game.
Jets CEO John Tsatsimas heard of this plan through his dealings with Ray Baartz over the coming Socceroo cap presentation day, and immediately implemented the idea in our region. So I sit here today with the opportunity to attend all of Sydney's home games and all of the Jets' home games, in premium seats by the way, and appreciating the recognition both clubs have bestowed upon former players and coaches.
Well done to both management teams, it's an initiative that's very much appreciated by all of us who belong to "the older I am, the better I was" club.
On that theme, the older I get, the harder I find it to work out just how we assemble the fixture lists for the A-League.
I understand that fixture scheduling is very complex due to ground-sharing, pitch relaying, the necessity of the bye and so on, but the Jets, for example, will have played Adelaide twice in the first six rounds, will have had two byes by week nine and don't meet Sydney until round 13.
Mind you, spare a thought for the Gold Coast franchise who will have had two home games, an away trip to Wellington, and two byes in a fortnight, all within a five-week period.
When analysing the prospects of finals football throughout the year for various teams, allowances and careful consideration of the fixture list need to be made.
Perth, for example, will have played nine games at NIB Stadium by round 14. In the remaining 13 rounds, the Glory will be at home just four times.
Now as much as their away form seems to have improved, if you are a Glory fan, you would surely be hoping that they are near or at the top of the league come the completion of round 14.
The Jets sit in ninth position today, but for two controversial penalties in the Sydney v Mariners and Melbourne Heart v Perth games, they would be propping up the table. But in reality, their start hasn't been too bad.
They have four difficult games before their next bye and would like to move into a more comfortable league position by the time that free weekend rolls around.
The high-flying, mobile young Brisbane side will be at EAS on Sunday afternoon, and that match is followed by a second away trip to Adelaide in five weeks, and home clashes against an in-form Perth Glory and perennial contenders Melbourne Victory a week later.
I'd imagine coach Branko Culina would be targeting a minimum of seven points from those four matches to ensure the Jets aren't playing catch-up after just one-third of the season.
I guess my point is that the vagaries of the draw can make evaluating form and predicting play-off contenders difficult, but having noted that point, I'm going to wade in and have a crack anyway.
The home ground records of Perth and Wellington make it hard to leave them out of any top-six calculations, so they are in.
Melbourne Victory have so many options in midfield and the return of Archie Thompson to look forward to, that despite a somewhat shaky start, they are also included.
I've been spruiking Adelaide since the start of the season. I like their options and balance, so I have to include them.
That leaves two spots and no mention yet of defending champions Sydney.
It also leaves Gold Coast out of calculations at this stage. With no Shane Smeltz, I have serious doubts that Jason Culina can shoulder on his own the huge burden of carrying them into the finals.
The expected signing of Bruce Djite will provide pace and power, whether it will provide 15 or 16 goals is another matter.
Brisbane look the form team of the competition, but 27 games is a long season for young players. If they can find someone to score 12 goals, they will be in the finals, but that is a big if.
The Mariners have displayed the discipline and organisation your columnist envisaged, and Argentine Patricio Perez showed enough in half an hour against Sydney on the weekend to suggest he will be a real handful for opponents. It will be interesting to see the welcome he is afforded by Kevin Muscat and co if he makes his starting debut against the Victory this Friday night at Bluetongue Stadium.
Sydney showed signs of turning the corner against the Mariners on Saturday night, and in Alex Brosque, Mark Bridge and Nick Carle they have the best front three in the competition when fit.
But championships are built on a foundation of strong defence, and Sydney are very vulnerable in that area right now. For me, the jury is out on the defending champions.
The Jets have looked pretty strong in the defensive department, and their general football has been impressive. The question mark was, and still is, where will a consistent stream of goals come from?
For the record, I'm going to tip the Mariners and the Jets to make the six, which means that Sydney for all their individual quality will just miss the finals.
So now that I've convinced you I'm crazy, and my tipping record of six from 20 confirms it, I'm going to tell you that Melbourne Victory will play Adelaide in the grand final, Rini Coolen will be coach of the year, Paul Ifill the Golden Boot, and Jason Culina the MVP.
I can also tell you that we won't see many better goals than the one Marcos Flores scored for Adelaide on Saturday night. What a peach, and better than Dimitar Berbatov's tap-in for Manchester United that evening.
Liam Reddy was the unluckiest player on the weekend, sent off in controversial circumstances, and even if he did make contact with Perez, surely he didn't have time to premeditate committing a foul to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity?
Somewhere along the way, that interpretation has been lost in translation. Not every foul committed in the penalty area deserves a red card, see exhibit A - the difference between Harry Kewell's handball and that of Luis Suarez from Uruguay at the World Cup - for evidence, and see the distinction we should draw.
This weekend's draw in the A-League provides some intriguing match-ups. The Mariners-Victory clash should be very entertaining, an ailing Sydney host high-flying Adelaide, and the battle of the two possession teams, Newcastle and Brisbane, on Sunday should be very revealing.
Who will control the tempo and dictate terms? Will Brisbane's mobility and pressure upset the Jets' rhythm? Will Newcastle dominate possession to the extent that Brisbane's defence will face consistent pressure for almost the first time this season?
And most importantly, will my 37th birthday next year be more relaxing? Would you believe 38? I didn't think so. See you next week.
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