'Sydney must drop Emerton, Fabio'

Tough times ... can Brett Emerton rediscover his best form? Source: Theron Kirkman / AAP

Frank Farina needs to drop Australian international Brett Emerton from Sydney FC's line-up as they make a last-ditch bid for the finals, Fox Sports football expert Mark Bosnich says.

Back-to-back away losses against Melbourne Heart and Perth Glory have seen the Sky Blues drop out of the top-six with three games to play.

The recent signature of Socceroos captain Lucas Neill and re-signing of Frank Farina and Alessandro Del Piero was supposed to be the tonic to help Sydney build momentum into a late finals charge. 

But despite featuring a star-studded line-up on paper, it’s not translating onto the pitch. 

And Bosnich has seen enough, adding that he feels for Alessandro Del Piero, whose world class heroics are being cancelled out by schoolyard mistakes. 

"Brett Emerton – and this hurts me to say this – he needs to be left out," the former Socceroos goalkeeper told Sunday Shootout. 

"It’s been coming for some time."

Emerton captained Australia as recently as the East Asian Cup qualifying tournament, but Bosnich concedes that reputation – and salary – should not buy him a spot in the side ahead some of the youngsters waiting in the wings. 

"It doesn’t matter about the money. He’ll earn it whether he’s playing or not," he said. 

"At the moment, he’s not doing it (on the pitch). He needs to be left out for a couple of weeks. 

"They need to find a winning formula and they need to find it quickly or they’ll miss out on the six."

While Sydney have struggled to dominate in midfield consistently this season, it’s at the back where it’s been most turbulent. 

Sydney FC have leaked 46 goals this term – more than any other team. 

"I thought Sydney played well in an attacking sense, but you just see (the) goals (they concede) – I felt so sorry for Del Piero. When you score goals like that (and see) ludicrous defending ... you turn around and see comical mistakes that they’re making at the back, and they’ve been making them all season. 

"It’s high time it stopped.

"In terms of the Fabio situation: leave him out.

"Sent off once again, he’s making too many mistakes in that position."

Sydney, Heart, Newcastle, Brisbane and perhaps Perth are the teams in the race for spots five and six on the table. 

Indeed, Sydney’s inability to capitalise on entering the six has seen another potential darkhorse creep into the final play-offs spot: two-time defending champion Brisbane. 

"I always got the feeling that if Brisbane pulled their finger out and made it into the six they’d be a team that everybody could fear because they’re experienced and because they’ve got quality players," Bosnich said. 

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