It's common knowledge that Frank Farina hates his compulsory media dealings with the kind of passion normally reserved for the taxman. But the former Australia boss would have despised picking over the bones of Queensland's contentious preliminary final loss even more than usual.
A controversial penalty, his captain's dismissal for a dubious elbow to the face of Jets striker Mark Bridge and barrage of missed opportunities all combined to send Newcastle into this weekend's showpiece final and Farina's mood plummeting.
In fairness, the Roar were gifted as much - if not more - by under-fire referee Peter Green in an error-ridden 3-2 defeat with Farina's side the fortunate recipients of two of the three penalties Green spotted, even if nobody else did.
The first - dispatched by Brazilian Reinaldo - zipped past Newcastle's Socceroos goalkeeper Ante Covic deep into stoppage time after Queensland had looked dead and buried. The second, also from the lanky South American striker, gave them a sniff of an unlikely comeback at 3-1.
But the fact Green squared the ledger by awarding the Jets a soft spot-kick in the first-half of extra time plus Tarek Elrich's blockbuster meant the dream season finale for FFA suits became a reality.
The A-League grand final had already, again controversially, been scheduled for Sydney so the progression of NSW neighbours Newcastle and the Central Coast - despite lower average home gates than Queensland - would have delighted the money men.
And Farina's take on the showpiece decider? "I don't really give a shit to be honest," he said, sidestepping protocol. It's a sentiment Farina has employed more than once in his first full season in charge at the Roar.
All week he'd been asked whether his side could contain their nerves on the biggest day in the club's history. The question had its roots in Queensland's defeat to Adelaide a few weeks previous when former Socceroos hardman Danny Tiatto was sent off for aiming a swing at an opponent. He typically went out all guns blazing in a sideline melee and was banned for two matches.
The league-leading Roar lost the match 2-0 and ended up finishing fourth.
But in fairness it was Green, usually one of the league's more consistent enforcers, who succumbed to the tension of the grand occasion with a nerve-riddled performance which might see him lose pace on the country's leading officials.
He handed out a blizzard of cards including both a yellow then a straight red for Moore, the former Australia captain after Bridge toppled to the turf.
Queensland's Sasa Ognenovski, another who doesn't hide his disgust for the media and a player who's fallen out with even the most affable of his team-mates this season, received his second caution of the finals series and would have been suspended from the grand final had the Roar progressed.
Ognenovski was off the field getting treatment for a head wound when Matt Thompson opened the scoring for Newcastle with Green again coming under some fire for delaying the skyscraping central defender's return.
It was all enough to have Farina privately seething for weeks, but he wasn't going to let on to the gathered hacks.
Earlier this season, the Queenslander was slugged by the governing body for suggesting one referee reacquaint himself with the laws of the game and he was careful with his complaints this time.
"The police watch everything I say, so I can't really comment any more," he said. Asked what he could say about Green's display without falling foul of FFA guidelines on publicly criticising officials, Farina tellingly replied: "Nothing."
Next season is the last under his current deal with the club. After bringing in Moore and Tiatto last year, more big name signings are expected. Farina's contacts from his six years in the national set-up are extensive and the league's reputation continues to grow.
However, the competition may well need to find 46 more top class players next year with fellow Queensland sides Gold Coast Galaxy and Northern Thunder heavily tipped to become the first expansion clubs.
A decision on that will be announced in a week's time following this Thursday's FFA board meeting.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Showing posts with label A-League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A-League. Show all posts
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
New era for Australia, shame about the jetlag
So it begins. Australia, the 46th member of the Asian Football Confederation, tonight (AEST) commences its maiden World Cup qualifying campaign in the AFC with a match against Qatar in Melbourne.
It is important to point out that this is by no means the first match Australia has played in Asia to get to a World Cup. The first couple of those games came way back in 1965, when Tiko Jelisavcic, a Yugoslav journeyman coach from a Sydney Jewish community club called Hakoah Eastern Suburbs, took a ragbag group of Aussies to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a two-leg tie against North Korea.
Then, as now, Australia’s knowledge of our Asian opponents was limited.
A quote I used in my book, 15 Days in June: How Australia Became a Football Nation, summed up what passed for footballing due-diligence 40 years ago.
Australian Associated Press stringer Jim Shrimpton, one of the only journalists in Cambodia for the match, wrote of Jelisavcic and his “co-manager” Jim Bayutti, who was head of the-then Australian Soccer Federation, going to the Stade Olympique to check out the North Koreans training.
"[They] went to the stadium to mingle with crowds watching the North Koreans practise. But Cambodian officials guided them to special chairs in the main grandstand, ten yards from the North Korean officials. After the two groups had exchanged side glances for 20 minutes, the Australians introduced themselves. Jelisavcic, after watching the Koreans, said: ‘We shall beat them.’"
Well, not quite.
As history records, the Australians instead got thumped 6-1 in the first game and 3-1 in the second and returned home in some ignominy.
The North Koreans would of course go on to defeat Italy 1-0 in the 1966 World Cup and almost pull off the upset of the century in beating Eusebio’s Portugal.
Then there was the spate of matches played by Australia first under “Uncle” Joe Vlasits in 1969, the charismatic Rale Rasic in 1973, the now-forgotten Jimmy Shoulder in 1977, Les Scheinflug in 1981 and Frank Arok in 1985. Australia also faced Asian WCQ opposition again in 1997 for the infamous meltdown at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but from then until now Australia has been slogging it out with Oceania and South American teams to make it to the biggest sporting event on earth.
So it is a historic occasion for Australia to now be competing as a fully fledged member of the AFC on the Grand Trunk Road of Asian qualifying. These are not just a handful of matches. If Australia can survive beyond its initial foes of Qatar, China and Iraq, the Socceroos’ campaign could take in as much as 18 matches lasting up to November 2009.
It will augur a whole new view of Asia among Australians and hopefully facilitate the movement of some Asian players to the Australian A-League, where, as it stands, less than half a dozen Asian players earn their keep.
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek was still playing his cards close to his chest even hours before the kickoff to the Qatar match, naming a provisional 21-man squad that then had to be culled to 18 hours later. Sensationally, Harry Kewell and Nicky Carle weren’t recalled from Europe for the game.
The likely starting lineup is not difficult to glean, with only two players who weren’t at Germany 2006 dead certs for Verbeek’s first XI: Celtic’s in-form Scott McDonald will lead the forward line in the absence of Mark Viduka while David Carney, playing some excellent football for Sheffield United, will slot in as a left wingback. (Soccerphile.com’s predicted XI: Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton, David Carney, Jason Culina, Luke Wilkshire, Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Scott McDonald, Joshua Kennedy.)
The only drawback to this team, however, is Verbeek is putting all his stock in a bunch of blokes (save Craig Moore) who have barely had time to wipe their eyes after getting off the plane (albeit in first class) from Europe.
For all of the Dutchman’s efforts to get up to speed with the Australian game in the two months he’s been in the country, and his commensurate efforts to get Australian football thinking in tune with European, it is jetlag, not Jorge Fossati’s scheming, that could well kybosh his plans for a winning start to Australia’s AFC World Cup qualifying campaign. Schwarzer only arrived in Australia Tuesday morning from London and went straight to training. The Qataris, meanwhile, have been in Melbourne for over a week.
Talk about irony.
As The Age’s sport columnist Richard Hinds wrote on Tuesday, this is one game where “home advantage” doesn't seem to apply.
Copyright © Jesse Fink & Soccerphile.com
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It is important to point out that this is by no means the first match Australia has played in Asia to get to a World Cup. The first couple of those games came way back in 1965, when Tiko Jelisavcic, a Yugoslav journeyman coach from a Sydney Jewish community club called Hakoah Eastern Suburbs, took a ragbag group of Aussies to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a two-leg tie against North Korea.
Then, as now, Australia’s knowledge of our Asian opponents was limited.
A quote I used in my book, 15 Days in June: How Australia Became a Football Nation, summed up what passed for footballing due-diligence 40 years ago.
Australian Associated Press stringer Jim Shrimpton, one of the only journalists in Cambodia for the match, wrote of Jelisavcic and his “co-manager” Jim Bayutti, who was head of the-then Australian Soccer Federation, going to the Stade Olympique to check out the North Koreans training.
"[They] went to the stadium to mingle with crowds watching the North Koreans practise. But Cambodian officials guided them to special chairs in the main grandstand, ten yards from the North Korean officials. After the two groups had exchanged side glances for 20 minutes, the Australians introduced themselves. Jelisavcic, after watching the Koreans, said: ‘We shall beat them.’"
Well, not quite.
As history records, the Australians instead got thumped 6-1 in the first game and 3-1 in the second and returned home in some ignominy.
The North Koreans would of course go on to defeat Italy 1-0 in the 1966 World Cup and almost pull off the upset of the century in beating Eusebio’s Portugal.
Then there was the spate of matches played by Australia first under “Uncle” Joe Vlasits in 1969, the charismatic Rale Rasic in 1973, the now-forgotten Jimmy Shoulder in 1977, Les Scheinflug in 1981 and Frank Arok in 1985. Australia also faced Asian WCQ opposition again in 1997 for the infamous meltdown at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but from then until now Australia has been slogging it out with Oceania and South American teams to make it to the biggest sporting event on earth.
So it is a historic occasion for Australia to now be competing as a fully fledged member of the AFC on the Grand Trunk Road of Asian qualifying. These are not just a handful of matches. If Australia can survive beyond its initial foes of Qatar, China and Iraq, the Socceroos’ campaign could take in as much as 18 matches lasting up to November 2009.
It will augur a whole new view of Asia among Australians and hopefully facilitate the movement of some Asian players to the Australian A-League, where, as it stands, less than half a dozen Asian players earn their keep.
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek was still playing his cards close to his chest even hours before the kickoff to the Qatar match, naming a provisional 21-man squad that then had to be culled to 18 hours later. Sensationally, Harry Kewell and Nicky Carle weren’t recalled from Europe for the game.
The likely starting lineup is not difficult to glean, with only two players who weren’t at Germany 2006 dead certs for Verbeek’s first XI: Celtic’s in-form Scott McDonald will lead the forward line in the absence of Mark Viduka while David Carney, playing some excellent football for Sheffield United, will slot in as a left wingback. (Soccerphile.com’s predicted XI: Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton, David Carney, Jason Culina, Luke Wilkshire, Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Scott McDonald, Joshua Kennedy.)
The only drawback to this team, however, is Verbeek is putting all his stock in a bunch of blokes (save Craig Moore) who have barely had time to wipe their eyes after getting off the plane (albeit in first class) from Europe.
For all of the Dutchman’s efforts to get up to speed with the Australian game in the two months he’s been in the country, and his commensurate efforts to get Australian football thinking in tune with European, it is jetlag, not Jorge Fossati’s scheming, that could well kybosh his plans for a winning start to Australia’s AFC World Cup qualifying campaign. Schwarzer only arrived in Australia Tuesday morning from London and went straight to training. The Qataris, meanwhile, have been in Melbourne for over a week.
Talk about irony.
As The Age’s sport columnist Richard Hinds wrote on Tuesday, this is one game where “home advantage” doesn't seem to apply.
Copyright © Jesse Fink & Soccerphile.com
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008
A-League parties hard during festive break
Christmas, traditionally a time to both rejoice and overindulge, succeeded on both counts over the A-League festive season.
The growing Australian support base rejoiced with confirmation the aggregate crowd figure for the league's third season passed one million over the holiday weekend, a fortnight earlier than the previous season.
Individual crowd records were also smashed by Adelaide United and the table topping Central Coast Mariners.
Adelaide's gate of 25,039 at the one-off venue of the Adelaide Oval - usual home of Test cricket at this time of year and a not uncontroversial choice by the Reds - not only surpassed the club's previous highest crowd but was also a record attendance for a football match in South Australia, domestic or international.
The Mariners, meanwhile, set successive home crowd records over the Christmas and New Year's weekends with the 18,686 turnout for the New Year's Eve clash against Melbourne outstripping the 17,514 fans which watched the club host Sydney FC.
That the Central Coast leaked a generous 10 goals in those games and fell off their perch at the top of the A-League ladder only marginally soured the entertainment for many attendees.
The Mariners' defensive frailties played their part in a level of overindulgence not seen before in A-League history. All sides gorged themselves on the way to a record-breaking average of 5.25 goals per game but it was the hosts who were left to do the dishes as every away team won for just the second time in history.
That included new league leaders Queensland Roar who triumphed in steamy Western Australia. Bottom-placed Perth Glory returned to training on Boxing Day with the temperature nudging 40 degrees and ran out of steam a few days later as the Roar cleaned up 4-1.
Combined with the Mariners leaking five in a boilover against Melbourne, Queensland - under the tutelage of former Socceroos coach Frank Farina - are gracing the summit for the first occasion.
The resurgence of Sydney under John Kosmina means a three-horse title race with three rounds of the home-and-away season remaining before the finals series starts later this month.
Kosmina's former employers Adelaide's run to the finals has faltered under the weight of a bizarre collection of ailments and complaints.
This week, youngsters Kristian Sarkies and Dez Giraldi were added to the club's seemingly endless injury list with Sarkies expected to be out of action for up to three months after Adelaide medical staff diagnosed a blood clot in his left arm during the loss to Sydney.
"We had a drinks break 20 minutes into the game, that's when I told the doc that my arm was about to explode. I felt it about a week-and-a-half ago when I slept with my arm above my head and woke up with a sore neck and sore shoulder," the 21-year-old somewhat curiously explained.
Giraldi was also admitted to hospital after complaining of heart palpitations. “What they’re leaning towards is an anxiety attack. I feel OK now but the last few days I was feeling terrible,” he said.
A-League titbits
· Defending player-of-the-year Nick Carle, a Socceroos call-up for the Asian Cup in July, is on the move after failing to settle in his second overseas spell, this time at struggling Turkish outfit Genclerbirligi. Carle, a talented playmaker who can play right across the midfield, is tipped to join high-flying Championship side Bristol City.
· New national team coach Pim Verbeek has been an industrious note-taker at almost every A-League match since his announcement as Socceroos coach last month. On Tuesday, Verbeek named his first local training squad ahead of Australia's World Cup qualifying opener versus Qatar next month. Of those selected, uncapped trio Andrew Durante, Ufuk Talay and Jamie Coyne caught the eye, as did the omission of former captain Craig Moore.
Happy New Year!
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Monday, December 10, 2007
A question of profile
After a whirlwind start to summer down under, nobody has been left in any doubt the capacity for football, the world game, to make Australians scratch their heads in befuddlement.
From the celebrity to the downright unknown, from David Beckham to new Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek say, it's been a confusing time for many.
Some of the reactions to Beckham's outings in a pair of exhibition games against local sides can only be likened to the way an old timer might view the uprising of the internet.
Over 80,000 people turned out in Sydney to watch Beckham's LA Galaxy side lose 5-3 to Sydney FC in what proved to be a perfect snapshot of the former England captain's career.
A curling free-kick into the top corner, a second-half booking, some old-fashioned finger wagging and a final shirt-swap with Brazilian World Cup winner Juninho made the crowd's day, their smiles second only to those on the faces of FFA bigwigs.
But there were countless others who wore a permanent look of perplexity at all the fuss over a 'soccer' player.
For the three or four days Beckham stayed in the harbour city he dominated front and back pages. What he ate, where he went, who he spoke to, how he spoke and, finally, how he played was all that Sydneysiders read about.
Since then a french fry he reportedly dropped whilst dining one evening has been auctioned online. Another wag reportedly attempted flog a photocopy of his autograph.
Now consider this admission from Australia's West Ham defender Lucas Neill about Dutchman Verbeek, who ended 18 months of internal dismay by agreeing to coach the Socceroos through to the 2010 World Cup finals.
"I only know him from googling," Neill staggeringly made public after hearing the news of the former South Korea coach's appointment.
Those of you who have followed Soccerphile's coverage of Australian football over recent years will remember that this is not the first time Neill has put his foot firmly in his own mouth.
And while the likes of Tim Cahill and Craig Moore have since come out in full support of Verbeek, you can only wonder at the raised eyebrows at FFA headquarters.
"Football fans can rest assured that the FFA has worked diligently to secure a coach with the qualities and enthusiasm that will give the Socceroos every chance of success," crowed chairman Frank Lowy.
“Pim Verbeek has a vast range of experience gained over 25 years in coaching, including several stints in Asia, and we believe he is the right man for the job of leading the Socceroos to the 2010 FIFA World Cup."
Just in case anyone remained in any doubt, one helpful Brisbane-based journalist likened Verbeek, who beat off competition from Philippe (Omar) Troussier, to Hollywood's Jeff Bridges.
One certainty is that the 51-year-old is sure to become a familiar face to football fans after agreeing to one of the governing body's key requirements, that is, immediate and permanent relocation to Australia.
Although just five rounds of the A-League season remain before the top four contest the finals series, Verbeek is committed to a Sven-Goran Eriksson-esque touring schedule to run the rule over potential national team players.
He has just eight weeks before Australia kicks off their Group of Death qualifying campaign for the World Cup against Qatar in February.
Supporting Verbeek will be compatriot Henk Duut. The role of the former assistant to Ruud Gullit at Feyenoord has been described as the European 'eyes and ears' of the head coach.
"Some of Duut's main tasks will be to scout future opponents and also to play a significant role in monitoring the progress of our many European-based players," confirmed CEO Ben Buckley.
That, I suppose, includes Neill. I'm betting that Duut will know a lot more about the Socceroos captain-in-waiting than the other way around.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Australian Soccer News
From the celebrity to the downright unknown, from David Beckham to new Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek say, it's been a confusing time for many.
Some of the reactions to Beckham's outings in a pair of exhibition games against local sides can only be likened to the way an old timer might view the uprising of the internet.
Over 80,000 people turned out in Sydney to watch Beckham's LA Galaxy side lose 5-3 to Sydney FC in what proved to be a perfect snapshot of the former England captain's career.
A curling free-kick into the top corner, a second-half booking, some old-fashioned finger wagging and a final shirt-swap with Brazilian World Cup winner Juninho made the crowd's day, their smiles second only to those on the faces of FFA bigwigs.
But there were countless others who wore a permanent look of perplexity at all the fuss over a 'soccer' player.
For the three or four days Beckham stayed in the harbour city he dominated front and back pages. What he ate, where he went, who he spoke to, how he spoke and, finally, how he played was all that Sydneysiders read about.
Since then a french fry he reportedly dropped whilst dining one evening has been auctioned online. Another wag reportedly attempted flog a photocopy of his autograph.
Now consider this admission from Australia's West Ham defender Lucas Neill about Dutchman Verbeek, who ended 18 months of internal dismay by agreeing to coach the Socceroos through to the 2010 World Cup finals.
"I only know him from googling," Neill staggeringly made public after hearing the news of the former South Korea coach's appointment.
Those of you who have followed Soccerphile's coverage of Australian football over recent years will remember that this is not the first time Neill has put his foot firmly in his own mouth.
And while the likes of Tim Cahill and Craig Moore have since come out in full support of Verbeek, you can only wonder at the raised eyebrows at FFA headquarters.
"Football fans can rest assured that the FFA has worked diligently to secure a coach with the qualities and enthusiasm that will give the Socceroos every chance of success," crowed chairman Frank Lowy.
“Pim Verbeek has a vast range of experience gained over 25 years in coaching, including several stints in Asia, and we believe he is the right man for the job of leading the Socceroos to the 2010 FIFA World Cup."
Just in case anyone remained in any doubt, one helpful Brisbane-based journalist likened Verbeek, who beat off competition from Philippe (Omar) Troussier, to Hollywood's Jeff Bridges.
One certainty is that the 51-year-old is sure to become a familiar face to football fans after agreeing to one of the governing body's key requirements, that is, immediate and permanent relocation to Australia.
Although just five rounds of the A-League season remain before the top four contest the finals series, Verbeek is committed to a Sven-Goran Eriksson-esque touring schedule to run the rule over potential national team players.
He has just eight weeks before Australia kicks off their Group of Death qualifying campaign for the World Cup against Qatar in February.
Supporting Verbeek will be compatriot Henk Duut. The role of the former assistant to Ruud Gullit at Feyenoord has been described as the European 'eyes and ears' of the head coach.
"Some of Duut's main tasks will be to scout future opponents and also to play a significant role in monitoring the progress of our many European-based players," confirmed CEO Ben Buckley.
That, I suppose, includes Neill. I'm betting that Duut will know a lot more about the Socceroos captain-in-waiting than the other way around.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Australian Soccer News
Thursday, November 22, 2007
When winning isn't enough …
The past week has bought victories for Australia's senior side as well as its under-23s who booked a berth at next year's Beijing Olympics on Wednesday with a hard-fought 1-1 draw in North Korea. The Young Socceroos, the country's under-20s team, also won three out of four AFC qualifying matches to guarantee a spot in the 2008 Asian Youth Championships earlier this month.
But the heavy shadow darkening Australia's dreams of reaching the 2010 World Cup refuses to lift.
Australia's search for Guus Hiddink's long-term replacement has been rather like watching an English League One relegation scrap. Lots of running through mud chasing endless lost causes only for your star striker to miss a stoppage time penalty with seconds remaining.
This week, after a year-and-a-half's worth of wild goose chases around the major European cities, Dick Advocaat reneged on his agreement to coach the Socceroos.
Depending on who you believe, a written contract to take charge of Australia from February's World Cup qualifiers onwards either was or wasn't broken by Advocaat's decision to agree a yearlong extension with Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg. Tellingly, though, the Russians are expecting a financial backlash.
"Yes, he will remain here in St Petersburg," Zenit director Konstantin Sarsania told the Reuters news agency. "The only matter left to resolve is the compensation package to the Australians but we have our lawyers on the case."
The verbal backlash has already started. More than once since deceitful Dick's dastardly U-turn, Football Federation Australia has been likened to a jilted lover in the nation's media.
Under the headline 'Advocaat turns the stomach', Sydney-based football writer Tom Smithies went further in penning this diatribe: "In Holland they drink the liqueur advocaat as a digestif, which is highly ironic because the contempt that a coach of the same name has shown for Australia has turned the stomachs of even those inured to the opportunism of top-level football".
Strangely, the Advocaat affair might actually be one of the few football stories which unites the rival codes in Australia's oft-disputed sporting battlefield. There are just as many loathers as lovers of the beautiful game here, but no Australian of any persuasion could fathom anyone turning down a chance to be involved with the lucky country. Especially to stay in Russia.
Bankrolled by the personal fortune of FFA chairman Frank Lowy, Australia's second-richest man, the scouring of the global coaching landscape has been as pointless as it has relentless.
Whatever the angle taken by a frustrated and disappointed media, money is rarely the prime motivator for the game's elite. Yes, Advocaat will be earning bigger bucks at Zenit, the biggest spenders in Russian football. But he will also remain to lead the club into the Champions League for the first time.
Perspective can be lost when personal interest is high.
Is the job of coaching Australia, ranked 52nd in the world, two places below Canada, really bigger than coaching a team in the Champions League? Is it more challenging than managing in the Premiership, or in the English Championship for that matter?
The fact that Graham Arnold's audition for the top job failed miserably in Australia's Asian Cup quarter-finals exit appears to have kyboshed his credentials and by default any of his fellow countrymen.
So a foreign coach it is. But why are the names of Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klinsmann, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard being bandied around. Logically, what are the odds of a top class manager leaving Europe to spend eight months a year in Australia?
Asian Cup-winning Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira and former South Korea coach Pim Verbeek are lesser profile figureheads but without question more attuned to the Socceroos' needs.
They understand the quirks of qualifying through the AFC in a way Mourinho et al do not. They also know that over the course of World Cup qualifying, the A-League will provide a greater proportion of players.
Australia needs a well-credentialed coach willing to spend the majority of his time in Australia scouting local Australia players and passing on knowledge to the local coaching fraternity.
With that in mind the hunt restarts in earnest.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Australian Soccer News
But the heavy shadow darkening Australia's dreams of reaching the 2010 World Cup refuses to lift.
Australia's search for Guus Hiddink's long-term replacement has been rather like watching an English League One relegation scrap. Lots of running through mud chasing endless lost causes only for your star striker to miss a stoppage time penalty with seconds remaining.
This week, after a year-and-a-half's worth of wild goose chases around the major European cities, Dick Advocaat reneged on his agreement to coach the Socceroos.
Depending on who you believe, a written contract to take charge of Australia from February's World Cup qualifiers onwards either was or wasn't broken by Advocaat's decision to agree a yearlong extension with Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg. Tellingly, though, the Russians are expecting a financial backlash.
"Yes, he will remain here in St Petersburg," Zenit director Konstantin Sarsania told the Reuters news agency. "The only matter left to resolve is the compensation package to the Australians but we have our lawyers on the case."
The verbal backlash has already started. More than once since deceitful Dick's dastardly U-turn, Football Federation Australia has been likened to a jilted lover in the nation's media.
Under the headline 'Advocaat turns the stomach', Sydney-based football writer Tom Smithies went further in penning this diatribe: "In Holland they drink the liqueur advocaat as a digestif, which is highly ironic because the contempt that a coach of the same name has shown for Australia has turned the stomachs of even those inured to the opportunism of top-level football".
Strangely, the Advocaat affair might actually be one of the few football stories which unites the rival codes in Australia's oft-disputed sporting battlefield. There are just as many loathers as lovers of the beautiful game here, but no Australian of any persuasion could fathom anyone turning down a chance to be involved with the lucky country. Especially to stay in Russia.
Bankrolled by the personal fortune of FFA chairman Frank Lowy, Australia's second-richest man, the scouring of the global coaching landscape has been as pointless as it has relentless.
Whatever the angle taken by a frustrated and disappointed media, money is rarely the prime motivator for the game's elite. Yes, Advocaat will be earning bigger bucks at Zenit, the biggest spenders in Russian football. But he will also remain to lead the club into the Champions League for the first time.
Perspective can be lost when personal interest is high.
Is the job of coaching Australia, ranked 52nd in the world, two places below Canada, really bigger than coaching a team in the Champions League? Is it more challenging than managing in the Premiership, or in the English Championship for that matter?
The fact that Graham Arnold's audition for the top job failed miserably in Australia's Asian Cup quarter-finals exit appears to have kyboshed his credentials and by default any of his fellow countrymen.
So a foreign coach it is. But why are the names of Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klinsmann, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard being bandied around. Logically, what are the odds of a top class manager leaving Europe to spend eight months a year in Australia?
Asian Cup-winning Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira and former South Korea coach Pim Verbeek are lesser profile figureheads but without question more attuned to the Socceroos' needs.
They understand the quirks of qualifying through the AFC in a way Mourinho et al do not. They also know that over the course of World Cup qualifying, the A-League will provide a greater proportion of players.
Australia needs a well-credentialed coach willing to spend the majority of his time in Australia scouting local Australia players and passing on knowledge to the local coaching fraternity.
With that in mind the hunt restarts in earnest.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Australian Soccer News
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Kosmina elected unopposed in Sydney
It's federal election time in Australia, and while the rhetoric and shameless baby-kissing might not be to every taste there is one aspect which promotes a mildly inquisitive response: the live TV debate.
Prime Minister John Howard and PM-hopeful Kevin Rudd went at it earlier this month in the battle to be the next Aussie leader, Rudd conclusively coming out on top according to most.
With three weeks of the election campaign still to endure, time will tell whether the nation's esteemed political commentators or indeed Channel Nine's unofficial approval 'worm' were more accurate in their forecasts.
But one thing remains certain: Howard and Rudd could not have been given a more democratic platform on which to state their respective cases.
Which brings me to the latest goings on at former glamour club Sydney FC.
Head coach Branko Culina was extended no such niceties before last week's axing less than a quarter of the way through the two-year contract he earned after a successful probationary period guiding Sydney in the AFC Champions League.
No time to turns things around, no opportunity to explain, no second chance.
The season was nine weeks old, Sydney had lost four times at home and Culina was history.
It seems that Culina, although a technically capable coach, had lost the dressing room through his mishandling of the side's more sizable egos and with crowds and the embattled club's ladder position simultaneously dwindling, Sydney's board acted swiftly and brutally.
Before you could say grand final mauling, John Kosmina had been anointed at the 2005/06 champions.
Kosmina, Sydney's fourth coach in just over two seasons, polarises football opinion more than any political leader.
If there's one thing true of the incorrigible Kossie it's that you'll never reach a consensus.
Accused by his detractors of being old school, his supporters respond by saying that's exactly the type of leader Sydney need.
Suggest he's a hothead and get rebuked for wanting to see the passion disappear from the game.
Applaud his coaching nous in guiding Adelaide United to the inaugural premiership and last season's grand final and critics point to his contribution as assistant coach in Australia's failed Asian Cup campaign.
Kosmina hadn't even been formally named as Culina's successor before Sydney's Daily Telegraph helpfully published the coach's recent 'rap sheet'.
It included such gems as him threatening to punch ex-Queensland coach Miron Bleiberg for insulting his players and grabbing Melbourne captain Kevin Muscat around the throat when the pair clashed in the technical area during one heated game.
That incident earned Kosmina a four-match touchline ban (plus counselling) which the former Socceroos striker swiftly trumped when he received a five-match ban for calling referee Matthew Breeze a cheat moments after last season's preliminary final victory.
Kosmina was still in the midst of serving out that suspension when he guided Sydney to an emphatic 3-2 victory over the league leading Central Coast Mariners over the weekend.
He had just three training sessions after taking the job last Wednesday yet produced a side brimming with a confidence unseen so far this season
"Are you the new messiah, Kossie?" one reporter asked him afterwards during the media conference.
"Nah, not at all mate," he smiled back, pointing towards the performances of Socceroos striker Alex Brosque and debutant Michael Bridges.
Brosque scored twice to take him to the head of the goalscoring charts while Bridges, in his first game since signing on loan from Hull City in England, caused the Mariners' backline no end of havoc.
"Kossie and I have come in and we've beaten the Mariners and there's no better way to bounce back than to beat the league leaders," Bridges gloated.
"His attitude has been phenomenal, the boys have been brilliant at training and he's got everybody up - and you could tell."
The pair are back on the campaign trail this week before Saturday's meeting with NSW rivals Newcastle.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Prime Minister John Howard and PM-hopeful Kevin Rudd went at it earlier this month in the battle to be the next Aussie leader, Rudd conclusively coming out on top according to most.
With three weeks of the election campaign still to endure, time will tell whether the nation's esteemed political commentators or indeed Channel Nine's unofficial approval 'worm' were more accurate in their forecasts.
But one thing remains certain: Howard and Rudd could not have been given a more democratic platform on which to state their respective cases.
Which brings me to the latest goings on at former glamour club Sydney FC.
Head coach Branko Culina was extended no such niceties before last week's axing less than a quarter of the way through the two-year contract he earned after a successful probationary period guiding Sydney in the AFC Champions League.
No time to turns things around, no opportunity to explain, no second chance.
The season was nine weeks old, Sydney had lost four times at home and Culina was history.
It seems that Culina, although a technically capable coach, had lost the dressing room through his mishandling of the side's more sizable egos and with crowds and the embattled club's ladder position simultaneously dwindling, Sydney's board acted swiftly and brutally.
Before you could say grand final mauling, John Kosmina had been anointed at the 2005/06 champions.
Kosmina, Sydney's fourth coach in just over two seasons, polarises football opinion more than any political leader.
If there's one thing true of the incorrigible Kossie it's that you'll never reach a consensus.
Accused by his detractors of being old school, his supporters respond by saying that's exactly the type of leader Sydney need.
Suggest he's a hothead and get rebuked for wanting to see the passion disappear from the game.
Applaud his coaching nous in guiding Adelaide United to the inaugural premiership and last season's grand final and critics point to his contribution as assistant coach in Australia's failed Asian Cup campaign.
Kosmina hadn't even been formally named as Culina's successor before Sydney's Daily Telegraph helpfully published the coach's recent 'rap sheet'.
It included such gems as him threatening to punch ex-Queensland coach Miron Bleiberg for insulting his players and grabbing Melbourne captain Kevin Muscat around the throat when the pair clashed in the technical area during one heated game.
That incident earned Kosmina a four-match touchline ban (plus counselling) which the former Socceroos striker swiftly trumped when he received a five-match ban for calling referee Matthew Breeze a cheat moments after last season's preliminary final victory.
Kosmina was still in the midst of serving out that suspension when he guided Sydney to an emphatic 3-2 victory over the league leading Central Coast Mariners over the weekend.
He had just three training sessions after taking the job last Wednesday yet produced a side brimming with a confidence unseen so far this season
"Are you the new messiah, Kossie?" one reporter asked him afterwards during the media conference.
"Nah, not at all mate," he smiled back, pointing towards the performances of Socceroos striker Alex Brosque and debutant Michael Bridges.
Brosque scored twice to take him to the head of the goalscoring charts while Bridges, in his first game since signing on loan from Hull City in England, caused the Mariners' backline no end of havoc.
"Kossie and I have come in and we've beaten the Mariners and there's no better way to bounce back than to beat the league leaders," Bridges gloated.
"His attitude has been phenomenal, the boys have been brilliant at training and he's got everybody up - and you could tell."
The pair are back on the campaign trail this week before Saturday's meeting with NSW rivals Newcastle.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Sunday, October 21, 2007
Aloisi and Elrich join the party, but Milicevic causes a scene
It's perhaps a compliment to the A-League that when, over the past couple of weeks, news of the imminent arrivals of Socceroos big guns John Aloisi and Ahmad Elrich filtered through, there was some noticeable shrugging of the shoulders.
It wasn't of the 'who cares?' variety because plenty of people do, especially at Aloisi's new home on the Central Coast of New South Wales where the current league-leading Mariners can't seem to put a foot wrong despite numerous obstacles.
And it certainly wasn't in any way a reaction to the pair's perceived impact on a competition just two-and-a-bit years old after their respective times in European domestic football.
After all Elrich scored a wonderful long range strike on his full debut for Wellington Phoenix against the Mariners over the weekend.
The unenthusiastic responses are more likely attributable to Australia's recent desensitising to these latest Socceroos upping sticks and relocating back to the lucky country.
Coming on the back of the pre-season signings of former captain Craig Moore, Tony Popovic, Danny Tiatto, Paul Agostino, Hayden Foxe and Ljubo Milicevic, Aloisi and Elrich are in many ways just another two names.
Big names, certainly - especially that of Aloisi whose good fortune in scoring the penalty which sent the Socceroos into the 2006 World Cup at Uruguay's expense has burned his moniker into the memories of every Australian sports nut.
But just further vindication of the direction of Australian football under the auspices of the FFA and the A-League.
It can be debated whether any underlying complacency about the immediate future of the game should be allowed to creep back into the country's psyche.
In the current spirit of its recent strides, the facts can be easy to forget but should quickly be qualified.
Elrich was the ninth and Aloisi the 10th member of Australia's 2005 Confederations Cup squad to strike terms with an A-League club with former national team coach Frank Farina also finding a home at Queensland Roar.
When the Aussie league kicked off later that same year, not one of the country's band of downtrodden fans, journalists or football enthusiasts would have predicted that within a couple of seasons close to half the nation's first choice squad would be, if you like, working from home.
Elrich, although just 26, cut short his three-year contract in England with Fulham to pen a year-long marquee deal with Wellington after falling down the pecking order at Craven Cottage.
While for the 31-year-old Aloisi, the only Australian in history to have competed in the English Premier League, the Serie A in Italy and Spain’s La Liga, his repatriation also represents a permanent move.
"I have made my intentions clear that I have wanted to return to Australia and contribute to the A-League and I am delighted to be able to be a part of the league and look forward to getting on the pitch," he said on his arrival.
"Since the A-League began it’s been an attractive option to play in and I felt now was the right time to return as I am still intending to play for a number of years."
Unfortunately those sentiments don't appear to be shared by Melbourne's Milicevic with his chances of staying at his hometown club decreasing by the day.
A week ago, he and Archie Thompson were suspended indefinitely for missing a team breakfast but while Thompson was given an opportunity to front for the club's leadership group and apologise, Milicevic was not.
The imposing 26-year-old central defender was axed from the Victory squad to meet Perth Glory over the weekend with all indications he will be farmed back out to a European club in the New Year.
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It wasn't of the 'who cares?' variety because plenty of people do, especially at Aloisi's new home on the Central Coast of New South Wales where the current league-leading Mariners can't seem to put a foot wrong despite numerous obstacles.
And it certainly wasn't in any way a reaction to the pair's perceived impact on a competition just two-and-a-bit years old after their respective times in European domestic football.
After all Elrich scored a wonderful long range strike on his full debut for Wellington Phoenix against the Mariners over the weekend.
The unenthusiastic responses are more likely attributable to Australia's recent desensitising to these latest Socceroos upping sticks and relocating back to the lucky country.
Coming on the back of the pre-season signings of former captain Craig Moore, Tony Popovic, Danny Tiatto, Paul Agostino, Hayden Foxe and Ljubo Milicevic, Aloisi and Elrich are in many ways just another two names.
Big names, certainly - especially that of Aloisi whose good fortune in scoring the penalty which sent the Socceroos into the 2006 World Cup at Uruguay's expense has burned his moniker into the memories of every Australian sports nut.
But just further vindication of the direction of Australian football under the auspices of the FFA and the A-League.
It can be debated whether any underlying complacency about the immediate future of the game should be allowed to creep back into the country's psyche.
In the current spirit of its recent strides, the facts can be easy to forget but should quickly be qualified.
Elrich was the ninth and Aloisi the 10th member of Australia's 2005 Confederations Cup squad to strike terms with an A-League club with former national team coach Frank Farina also finding a home at Queensland Roar.
When the Aussie league kicked off later that same year, not one of the country's band of downtrodden fans, journalists or football enthusiasts would have predicted that within a couple of seasons close to half the nation's first choice squad would be, if you like, working from home.
Elrich, although just 26, cut short his three-year contract in England with Fulham to pen a year-long marquee deal with Wellington after falling down the pecking order at Craven Cottage.
While for the 31-year-old Aloisi, the only Australian in history to have competed in the English Premier League, the Serie A in Italy and Spain’s La Liga, his repatriation also represents a permanent move.
"I have made my intentions clear that I have wanted to return to Australia and contribute to the A-League and I am delighted to be able to be a part of the league and look forward to getting on the pitch," he said on his arrival.
"Since the A-League began it’s been an attractive option to play in and I felt now was the right time to return as I am still intending to play for a number of years."
Unfortunately those sentiments don't appear to be shared by Melbourne's Milicevic with his chances of staying at his hometown club decreasing by the day.
A week ago, he and Archie Thompson were suspended indefinitely for missing a team breakfast but while Thompson was given an opportunity to front for the club's leadership group and apologise, Milicevic was not.
The imposing 26-year-old central defender was axed from the Victory squad to meet Perth Glory over the weekend with all indications he will be farmed back out to a European club in the New Year.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Pressure tells as favourites flounder
It's not exactly been the start Juninho-led Sydney FC had anticipated with under-fire coach Branko Culina wasting little opportunity to continue his war of words with the Sydney media after the 2005/06 champions finally recorded their first win under his charge.
It took a classic backs to the wall away effort, a goal from Brazilian substitute Patrick with his first touch and an outstanding display in central defence from Socceroos defender Mark Milligan to snatch a 1-0 victory in Brisbane over the unfortunate Queensland Roar.
Before the round had begun, Sydney were propping up the eight-team table following two draws and two losses and mischievous hacks had started to circle the embattled club like vultures around road kill.
The depressing scenario was a million miles from Culina's first game in charge when in March he guided his new side to a shock 2-1 win over Shanghai Shenhua in the opening round of the AFC Champions League.
Barely six months later, Culina has this season been forced to defend himself like a boxer caught on the ropes - and over the weekend he wasn't about to spurn an opportunity for some counterpunching.
The primary accusation thrown in the Sydney coach's direction has been one of arrogance as rivals have gleefully turned on the team which proclaimed itself the 'glamour club' of the league two short years ago.
With 'all night' Dwight Yorke and, briefly, Kazu among their ranks, Sydney certainly did dominate column inches, generated the largest crowds and at times played some delightful football under German Pierre Littbarski.
But that was then.
Littbarski is now a distant memory, crowds in the harbour city are down and represent only half what reigning champions Melbourne Victory regularly draw since their move to the Telstra Dome and the omnipotent front and back page presence of Yorke is long gone.
Away from football, Sydneysiders are often on the receiving end of claims of arrogance so perhaps there's nothing new in Culina's confident swagger.
But snipers, chiefly comprising the Melbourne football fraternity, have happily leapt on his comparisons between Sydney and Manchester United with boardroom unrest, a shoulder injury to Juninho and an under-funded pre-season recruitment drive also under the microscope.
Sydney were lucky to beat Queensland over the weekend, the visitors pouncing on home hesitancy in defence to somehow scrape a victory after a lacklustre first-half.
What then, one Brisbane-based reporter from tabloid The Courier Mail quizzed, was the content of Culina's half-time rally cry.
"I said let's be arrogant," the FC coach mocked theatrically. "Isn't that what you guys wanted to hear?
"After all didn't I do a half-an-hour interview with you yesterday and all you wanted to write was about how arrogant we were," he continued. "There's a bit of a difference between being confident and arrogant."
A fired up Culina maintained he could handle the heat of coaching under the spotlight but cunningly distanced himself from references to the English champions, saying they were only made to underline the constant media interest in the club based in Australia's most populous city.
"It's being sarcastic or arrogant when we say it is important that Sydney does well - or at least it is for us - because of what it represents in population," he backtracked.
"I didn't say we were Manchester United or all of that, I simply said the pressure is on Sydney. I mean which other state would have been writing about getting rid of a coach other than Sydney."
It doesn’t much help that New South Wales rivals the Central Coast Mariners lead the league by four points.
By contrast former coach-of-the-year Lawrie McKinna rarely comes a cropper in the tabloids and the club are engaged with the local community in a way no other franchise has yet managed.
The Mariners boardroom is united, corporate funding is flooding in and the side boast a strike force to rival Melbourne's after former Sydney attacker Sasho Petrovski swapped the frenetic atmosphere of the NSW capital for a laidback lifestyle on the Coast.
In truth, Petrovski has not been the only person turning his back on Sydney of late.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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It took a classic backs to the wall away effort, a goal from Brazilian substitute Patrick with his first touch and an outstanding display in central defence from Socceroos defender Mark Milligan to snatch a 1-0 victory in Brisbane over the unfortunate Queensland Roar.
Before the round had begun, Sydney were propping up the eight-team table following two draws and two losses and mischievous hacks had started to circle the embattled club like vultures around road kill.
The depressing scenario was a million miles from Culina's first game in charge when in March he guided his new side to a shock 2-1 win over Shanghai Shenhua in the opening round of the AFC Champions League.
Barely six months later, Culina has this season been forced to defend himself like a boxer caught on the ropes - and over the weekend he wasn't about to spurn an opportunity for some counterpunching.
The primary accusation thrown in the Sydney coach's direction has been one of arrogance as rivals have gleefully turned on the team which proclaimed itself the 'glamour club' of the league two short years ago.
With 'all night' Dwight Yorke and, briefly, Kazu among their ranks, Sydney certainly did dominate column inches, generated the largest crowds and at times played some delightful football under German Pierre Littbarski.
But that was then.
Littbarski is now a distant memory, crowds in the harbour city are down and represent only half what reigning champions Melbourne Victory regularly draw since their move to the Telstra Dome and the omnipotent front and back page presence of Yorke is long gone.
Away from football, Sydneysiders are often on the receiving end of claims of arrogance so perhaps there's nothing new in Culina's confident swagger.
But snipers, chiefly comprising the Melbourne football fraternity, have happily leapt on his comparisons between Sydney and Manchester United with boardroom unrest, a shoulder injury to Juninho and an under-funded pre-season recruitment drive also under the microscope.
Sydney were lucky to beat Queensland over the weekend, the visitors pouncing on home hesitancy in defence to somehow scrape a victory after a lacklustre first-half.
What then, one Brisbane-based reporter from tabloid The Courier Mail quizzed, was the content of Culina's half-time rally cry.
"I said let's be arrogant," the FC coach mocked theatrically. "Isn't that what you guys wanted to hear?
"After all didn't I do a half-an-hour interview with you yesterday and all you wanted to write was about how arrogant we were," he continued. "There's a bit of a difference between being confident and arrogant."
A fired up Culina maintained he could handle the heat of coaching under the spotlight but cunningly distanced himself from references to the English champions, saying they were only made to underline the constant media interest in the club based in Australia's most populous city.
"It's being sarcastic or arrogant when we say it is important that Sydney does well - or at least it is for us - because of what it represents in population," he backtracked.
"I didn't say we were Manchester United or all of that, I simply said the pressure is on Sydney. I mean which other state would have been writing about getting rid of a coach other than Sydney."
It doesn’t much help that New South Wales rivals the Central Coast Mariners lead the league by four points.
By contrast former coach-of-the-year Lawrie McKinna rarely comes a cropper in the tabloids and the club are engaged with the local community in a way no other franchise has yet managed.
The Mariners boardroom is united, corporate funding is flooding in and the side boast a strike force to rival Melbourne's after former Sydney attacker Sasho Petrovski swapped the frenetic atmosphere of the NSW capital for a laidback lifestyle on the Coast.
In truth, Petrovski has not been the only person turning his back on Sydney of late.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Appreciate my legacy, Arnie pleads
With Dutchman Dick Advocaat seemingly rubberstamped as the next boss of the Australian national team, caretaker coach Graham Arnold has departed by biting back at critics who accuse him of steering the Socceroos ship off course since the highs of last year's World Cup.
It's been a tumultuous journey for Arnold, Guus Hiddink's former assistant, since accepting the national team senior position when Hiddink elected not to renew his short-term contract 15 months ago.
It doesn't take much reading between the lines to recognise Arnold feels somewhat unappreciated in his efforts in transitioning an aging Socceroos line-up into one which can consistently compete with the rigours of Asian tournament football.
The amiable former Socceroos striker and long-term assistant didn't used to back his own cause quite so much, but under intense speculation about his position and following barbs about his handling of Australia's disastrous Asian Cup showing, he has been forced on the offensive of late.
The timing of the departure of the man most will remember for guiding the team to defeat against Iraq and a draw with Oman in the Asian Cup at least allowed a final wry smile after Arnold watched his patched-up Australian side compete manfully against Argentina in front of a 70,000-strong MCG crowd this week.
Humbled in Asia after blinkered arrogance made Australia underestimate the full-scale challenge of playing in the AFC, at least Arnold could leave Melbourne with his head held high after another reinvented Socceroos side at times troubled the Argentines.
After the match, Arnold revelled in the display and the result - a slim one-goal loss which came about as much from poor defending from a set piece as Argentina's individual brilliance.
But it quickly became apparent that the departing coach, who will likely continue as Advocaat's assistant and continues to lead the Australian under-23s towards the Beijing Olympics next year, was also happy with his legacy of blooding new talent.
"I'm very proud of the fact that in handing my side over that Nik Mrdja was my 53rd player in 13 months which is unbelievable," he said.
"I've had a lot of difficulties in my time as coach with unavailabilities and older players retiring. I'm very proud of the fact that I've introduced young blood in to the team."
"I've introduced A-League players into the team because the emphasis on the A-League is going to be big going forward. I can proudly say I can now hand over 30 names to the new manager who I know can play at this level."
Thirty seems a stretch, but in fairness over half the squad picked to face Argentina weren't in Hiddink's 23-man group for Germany just over a year ago regardless of the unavailability of perennial absentees Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell as well as Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton this week.
Arnold can certainly lay claim to handing former A-League stars David Carney and Nick Carle a decent chance while tenacious midfielder Carl Valeri looks to be another with a bright international future.
He has also crucially blooded fresh goalkeeping backups to Mark Schwarzer in Middlesbrough club-mate Brad Jones and Reading's Adam Federici.
But perhaps Arnold's greatest achievement is developing an exciting pool of under-23 players, many of whom will play important roles in the lead-up to the South African World Cup in three years time.
Indeed that group of up-and-comers - with the outstanding Nathan Burns leading a pack which also includes Brondby striker David Williams, Fulham defender Adrian Leijer and FC Nuremberg pair Matt Spiranovic and Dario Vidosic - might well enthuse Advocaat more than the current senior squad with doubts still hovering over the long-term commitment of Viduka and Kewell.
"Tactically, what we set out to do worked perfectly. The boys carried the game plan out very well," Arnold concluded of the loss to the world's number two ranked nation.
"It was such an honour to see the boys compete against such a world class side like that and push them the whole way and have the possibility to have occasions to score."
"By no means were we outplayed."
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It's been a tumultuous journey for Arnold, Guus Hiddink's former assistant, since accepting the national team senior position when Hiddink elected not to renew his short-term contract 15 months ago.
It doesn't take much reading between the lines to recognise Arnold feels somewhat unappreciated in his efforts in transitioning an aging Socceroos line-up into one which can consistently compete with the rigours of Asian tournament football.
The amiable former Socceroos striker and long-term assistant didn't used to back his own cause quite so much, but under intense speculation about his position and following barbs about his handling of Australia's disastrous Asian Cup showing, he has been forced on the offensive of late.
The timing of the departure of the man most will remember for guiding the team to defeat against Iraq and a draw with Oman in the Asian Cup at least allowed a final wry smile after Arnold watched his patched-up Australian side compete manfully against Argentina in front of a 70,000-strong MCG crowd this week.
Humbled in Asia after blinkered arrogance made Australia underestimate the full-scale challenge of playing in the AFC, at least Arnold could leave Melbourne with his head held high after another reinvented Socceroos side at times troubled the Argentines.
After the match, Arnold revelled in the display and the result - a slim one-goal loss which came about as much from poor defending from a set piece as Argentina's individual brilliance.
But it quickly became apparent that the departing coach, who will likely continue as Advocaat's assistant and continues to lead the Australian under-23s towards the Beijing Olympics next year, was also happy with his legacy of blooding new talent.
"I'm very proud of the fact that in handing my side over that Nik Mrdja was my 53rd player in 13 months which is unbelievable," he said.
"I've had a lot of difficulties in my time as coach with unavailabilities and older players retiring. I'm very proud of the fact that I've introduced young blood in to the team."
"I've introduced A-League players into the team because the emphasis on the A-League is going to be big going forward. I can proudly say I can now hand over 30 names to the new manager who I know can play at this level."
Thirty seems a stretch, but in fairness over half the squad picked to face Argentina weren't in Hiddink's 23-man group for Germany just over a year ago regardless of the unavailability of perennial absentees Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell as well as Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton this week.
Arnold can certainly lay claim to handing former A-League stars David Carney and Nick Carle a decent chance while tenacious midfielder Carl Valeri looks to be another with a bright international future.
He has also crucially blooded fresh goalkeeping backups to Mark Schwarzer in Middlesbrough club-mate Brad Jones and Reading's Adam Federici.
But perhaps Arnold's greatest achievement is developing an exciting pool of under-23 players, many of whom will play important roles in the lead-up to the South African World Cup in three years time.
Indeed that group of up-and-comers - with the outstanding Nathan Burns leading a pack which also includes Brondby striker David Williams, Fulham defender Adrian Leijer and FC Nuremberg pair Matt Spiranovic and Dario Vidosic - might well enthuse Advocaat more than the current senior squad with doubts still hovering over the long-term commitment of Viduka and Kewell.
"Tactically, what we set out to do worked perfectly. The boys carried the game plan out very well," Arnold concluded of the loss to the world's number two ranked nation.
"It was such an honour to see the boys compete against such a world class side like that and push them the whole way and have the possibility to have occasions to score."
"By no means were we outplayed."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The A-League in numbers
13: Number of Brazilians signed by the eight clubs this season
Around three times the number of Brazilians in the league last season, every club bar the Central Coast Mariners and Perth Glory have signed at least one Samba superstar. History suggests somewhere around 50 per cent will be duds meaning up to half a dozen of football's entertainers might make the grade.
Sydney FC marquee man and former World Cup winner Juninho looks a certainty to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Meanwhile, first impressions indicate that Adelaide's Cassio, a left-back in the mould of Roberto Carlos, has what it takes to succeed while Queensland has high hopes of playmaker Marcinho and Daniel's going down a storm over at Wellington Phoenix.
2: Number of Englishmen signed by the eight clubs this season
They used to be the prevailing import but English recruits are diminishing to such an extent they could be extinct within the next 12 months. Britain's brand of blood-and-guts football has taken a hammering in Australia over recent years. The country that gave the game Charlton, Gascoigne and Rooney hasn't exactly helped itself by sending Deane, Gemmill and Devine over to the A-League.
This season former Chelsea midfielder Joseph Keenan has turned up at the champions and will most likely play as a left wing-back while Perth Glory have agreed terms with former Victory striker James Robinson (who was already playing semi-pro football in Australia anyway). But that's your lot.
12: Size of Melbourne Victory's lead at the top of the table last season
Melbourne were only not leading the A-League table for two rounds right at the beginning of the season and showed their complete and utter dominance by trouncing Adelaide United in the grand final.
This year, though, all indicators point to a tighter affair, especially with the Victory losing Fred to the Major League and classy defender Adrian Leijer to the Premiership. Sydney and Adelaide have recruited well while Queensland have former Socceroos head coach Frank Farina steering the ship from the outset.
Even the league's token New Zealanders - Wellington Phoenix - might not finish bottom.
6: Amount of Socceroos to have jacked in the high life in Europe for a chance to 'give something back' to the local game
It's an impressive rollcall when you consider Queensland marquee signing Craig Moore was captaining the Socceroos this time last year and Melbourne's Ljubo Milicevic remains right in the frame for a national team recall.
Tony Popovic, Paul Agostino, Danny Tiatto and Hayden Foxe all count themselves in the former Socceroos bracket nowadays but that doesn’t mean supporters of Sydney, Adelaide, Queensland and Perth respectively aren't lipping their lips ahead of the upcoming campaign. Football Federation Australia are pretty chuffed too.
3: Number of mandatory players aged 20 or under in every squad
The game's governing body - under constant haranguing for not having already implemented some type of reserve or junior league - have at least increased the compulsory quota of under-20 players per club from two to three.
Of the teenage tyros, Melbourne again seem to have come up trumps with the loan signing of Kaz Patafta. Now it might just be because of his instantly recognisable name but Patafta is one of those players that tends to dominate conversations of this kind.
He joined Portuguese giants Benfica 18 months ago and even played in their first team last season before being loaned back to the A-League for the next nine months. A silky playmaker, Patafta could have Victory fans questioning Fred who? by the end of the year.
1,000,000: Reported yearly salary in Australian dollars of Sydney marquee Juninho
Worth every cent.
20,000: Melbourne Victory membership target for 2007/08
Let's put this in context. It's not just Melbourne's rapid growth in membership - they've mushroomed from 5000 members in 2005 to targeting four times that this season - but their capacity to make a loud statement in this Australian Rules Football-crazed city.
The champions are hot on the heels of the AFL's North Melbourne Kangaroos who have 22,000 members according to latest club reports, but have been in existence since 1869.
Furthermore, the Victory last season smashed Australian football's all-time attendance record when 55,436 fans watched them demolish Adelaide United 6-0 in the A-League grand final.
Soccerphile predictions (despite everything said above)
Champions: Sydney FC
Runners-up: Melbourne Victory
Wooden Spoon: Newcastle Jets
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Around three times the number of Brazilians in the league last season, every club bar the Central Coast Mariners and Perth Glory have signed at least one Samba superstar. History suggests somewhere around 50 per cent will be duds meaning up to half a dozen of football's entertainers might make the grade.
Sydney FC marquee man and former World Cup winner Juninho looks a certainty to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Meanwhile, first impressions indicate that Adelaide's Cassio, a left-back in the mould of Roberto Carlos, has what it takes to succeed while Queensland has high hopes of playmaker Marcinho and Daniel's going down a storm over at Wellington Phoenix.
2: Number of Englishmen signed by the eight clubs this season
They used to be the prevailing import but English recruits are diminishing to such an extent they could be extinct within the next 12 months. Britain's brand of blood-and-guts football has taken a hammering in Australia over recent years. The country that gave the game Charlton, Gascoigne and Rooney hasn't exactly helped itself by sending Deane, Gemmill and Devine over to the A-League.
This season former Chelsea midfielder Joseph Keenan has turned up at the champions and will most likely play as a left wing-back while Perth Glory have agreed terms with former Victory striker James Robinson (who was already playing semi-pro football in Australia anyway). But that's your lot.
12: Size of Melbourne Victory's lead at the top of the table last season
Melbourne were only not leading the A-League table for two rounds right at the beginning of the season and showed their complete and utter dominance by trouncing Adelaide United in the grand final.
This year, though, all indicators point to a tighter affair, especially with the Victory losing Fred to the Major League and classy defender Adrian Leijer to the Premiership. Sydney and Adelaide have recruited well while Queensland have former Socceroos head coach Frank Farina steering the ship from the outset.
Even the league's token New Zealanders - Wellington Phoenix - might not finish bottom.
6: Amount of Socceroos to have jacked in the high life in Europe for a chance to 'give something back' to the local game
It's an impressive rollcall when you consider Queensland marquee signing Craig Moore was captaining the Socceroos this time last year and Melbourne's Ljubo Milicevic remains right in the frame for a national team recall.
Tony Popovic, Paul Agostino, Danny Tiatto and Hayden Foxe all count themselves in the former Socceroos bracket nowadays but that doesn’t mean supporters of Sydney, Adelaide, Queensland and Perth respectively aren't lipping their lips ahead of the upcoming campaign. Football Federation Australia are pretty chuffed too.
3: Number of mandatory players aged 20 or under in every squad
The game's governing body - under constant haranguing for not having already implemented some type of reserve or junior league - have at least increased the compulsory quota of under-20 players per club from two to three.
Of the teenage tyros, Melbourne again seem to have come up trumps with the loan signing of Kaz Patafta. Now it might just be because of his instantly recognisable name but Patafta is one of those players that tends to dominate conversations of this kind.
He joined Portuguese giants Benfica 18 months ago and even played in their first team last season before being loaned back to the A-League for the next nine months. A silky playmaker, Patafta could have Victory fans questioning Fred who? by the end of the year.
1,000,000: Reported yearly salary in Australian dollars of Sydney marquee Juninho
Worth every cent.
20,000: Melbourne Victory membership target for 2007/08
Let's put this in context. It's not just Melbourne's rapid growth in membership - they've mushroomed from 5000 members in 2005 to targeting four times that this season - but their capacity to make a loud statement in this Australian Rules Football-crazed city.
The champions are hot on the heels of the AFL's North Melbourne Kangaroos who have 22,000 members according to latest club reports, but have been in existence since 1869.
Furthermore, the Victory last season smashed Australian football's all-time attendance record when 55,436 fans watched them demolish Adelaide United 6-0 in the A-League grand final.
Soccerphile predictions (despite everything said above)
Champions: Sydney FC
Runners-up: Melbourne Victory
Wooden Spoon: Newcastle Jets
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Samba madness down under
They are inimitable nicknamers, are loved the world over for their seemingly peerless brand of individual brilliance and have, finally, arrived en masse down under.
It's taken two seasons for the fledgling league to finally wake up to the unique combination of attributes Brazilian footballers of almost any standard can deliver to a new competition.
Like any nationality, Brazilians vary enormously in playing power - but they almost never fail in generating an unrivalled marketing hype and booming interest from the footballing fraternity.
With the A-League's kick-off less than a fortnight away, season three will be the judge of just how good the dozen or so new South American arrivals are, particularly as the bulk have been awarded just single-year contracts despite champions Melbourne Victory falling foul of such a decision during the close season.
Melbourne's Fred - full name Helbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva - was undeniably the player-of-the-year last season, only missing out on the league's official award by virtue of the competition small print which disallows players who've served a suspension from being nominated.
But he subsequently switched to the Major League at the end of last season - after snubbing a three-year contract with the Victory - thanks to the bulging wallets of DC United where he reportedly became the club's third-highest earner.
The disappointment surrounding the departure of Fred, a cult hero with the Melbourne faithful, was tempered considering his countrymen who arrived in Victoria at the same time - defender Alessandro and striker Claudinho - failed to reach the same playing standard.
But many believe that even if only one-in-three of the new Brazilian recruits make a similarly meteoric impact as Fred this coming season, the league will have taken a definite step forward on all measures.
Particularly, of course, given the marvellous pick-up by Sydney FC of 2002 World Cup winner Juninho, the little magician who originally burst into consciousness during his first Premiership spell with Middlesbrough.
Little needs to be added of Juninho that hasn't already been said about a career which has taken him from Sao Paulo to Palmeiras via Boro, Athletico Madrid and Celtic and bought 50 national team caps including a winner's medal in the Far East five years ago.
Sydney have tempted the 34-year-old to the Harbour City with a marquee deal reportedly worth in the region of a million Australian dollars for his one-year stint.
On the other hand, his compatriots couldn't have arrived in a more contrasting manner.
If pre-season form acts as an accurate barometer of what is to come, Adelaide's free-kick taking left full-back Cassio, or Jose de Abreu Oliveira if you will, is making Australian football fans take notice with goals in each of his past three games.
The 27-year-old defender, who has also enjoyed brief spells in the Mexican and Paraguayan domestic league, is understood to have been recommended to Adelaide by former Brazilian national team coach Marcos Paqueta.
Queensland Roar playmaker Marcinho is also being touted as pivotal to the club's ambitions of breaking into the top four for the first time.
Partnered by countryman Reinaldo in Queensland's frontline, the 26-year-old former Sao Paulo junior has bragged to local reporters that his best mate is Real Madrid's Robinho and that he wants to claim Fred's mantel as the league's premier overseas recruit.
Another classically-skilled Brazilian No.10, Daniel Lins Cortes, is a veteran of the Campeonato but has also played in Europe and, briefly, the national team with a friendly appearance off the bench against Saudi Arabia during the 2002-03 season.
Daniel is one of a quartet of Brazilians signed by canny coach Ricki Herbert for newcomers Wellington Phoenix with perhaps Cleberson, a central defender who's represented PSV Eindhoven, the other likely first team candidate.
But the signing which has polarised local opinion is that of striker Mario Jardel who has turned up at the Newcastle Jets on a one-year deal.
Everyone knows the quality of Jardel's scoring record (he has twice been the recipient of the European Golden Boot award but then again so has Kevin Phillips) but it is his continued off-field troubles which marks his acquisition as a huge gamble.
The 33-year-old has not played a full season since the disappointment of missing out on a place in Brazil's squad for the 2002 World Cup and has a notorious tale of poor fitness and suspect self-discipline.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
It's taken two seasons for the fledgling league to finally wake up to the unique combination of attributes Brazilian footballers of almost any standard can deliver to a new competition.
Like any nationality, Brazilians vary enormously in playing power - but they almost never fail in generating an unrivalled marketing hype and booming interest from the footballing fraternity.
With the A-League's kick-off less than a fortnight away, season three will be the judge of just how good the dozen or so new South American arrivals are, particularly as the bulk have been awarded just single-year contracts despite champions Melbourne Victory falling foul of such a decision during the close season.
Melbourne's Fred - full name Helbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva - was undeniably the player-of-the-year last season, only missing out on the league's official award by virtue of the competition small print which disallows players who've served a suspension from being nominated.
But he subsequently switched to the Major League at the end of last season - after snubbing a three-year contract with the Victory - thanks to the bulging wallets of DC United where he reportedly became the club's third-highest earner.
The disappointment surrounding the departure of Fred, a cult hero with the Melbourne faithful, was tempered considering his countrymen who arrived in Victoria at the same time - defender Alessandro and striker Claudinho - failed to reach the same playing standard.
But many believe that even if only one-in-three of the new Brazilian recruits make a similarly meteoric impact as Fred this coming season, the league will have taken a definite step forward on all measures.
Particularly, of course, given the marvellous pick-up by Sydney FC of 2002 World Cup winner Juninho, the little magician who originally burst into consciousness during his first Premiership spell with Middlesbrough.
Little needs to be added of Juninho that hasn't already been said about a career which has taken him from Sao Paulo to Palmeiras via Boro, Athletico Madrid and Celtic and bought 50 national team caps including a winner's medal in the Far East five years ago.
Sydney have tempted the 34-year-old to the Harbour City with a marquee deal reportedly worth in the region of a million Australian dollars for his one-year stint.
On the other hand, his compatriots couldn't have arrived in a more contrasting manner.
If pre-season form acts as an accurate barometer of what is to come, Adelaide's free-kick taking left full-back Cassio, or Jose de Abreu Oliveira if you will, is making Australian football fans take notice with goals in each of his past three games.
The 27-year-old defender, who has also enjoyed brief spells in the Mexican and Paraguayan domestic league, is understood to have been recommended to Adelaide by former Brazilian national team coach Marcos Paqueta.
Queensland Roar playmaker Marcinho is also being touted as pivotal to the club's ambitions of breaking into the top four for the first time.
Partnered by countryman Reinaldo in Queensland's frontline, the 26-year-old former Sao Paulo junior has bragged to local reporters that his best mate is Real Madrid's Robinho and that he wants to claim Fred's mantel as the league's premier overseas recruit.
Another classically-skilled Brazilian No.10, Daniel Lins Cortes, is a veteran of the Campeonato but has also played in Europe and, briefly, the national team with a friendly appearance off the bench against Saudi Arabia during the 2002-03 season.
Daniel is one of a quartet of Brazilians signed by canny coach Ricki Herbert for newcomers Wellington Phoenix with perhaps Cleberson, a central defender who's represented PSV Eindhoven, the other likely first team candidate.
But the signing which has polarised local opinion is that of striker Mario Jardel who has turned up at the Newcastle Jets on a one-year deal.
Everyone knows the quality of Jardel's scoring record (he has twice been the recipient of the European Golden Boot award but then again so has Kevin Phillips) but it is his continued off-field troubles which marks his acquisition as a huge gamble.
The 33-year-old has not played a full season since the disappointment of missing out on a place in Brazil's squad for the 2002 World Cup and has a notorious tale of poor fitness and suspect self-discipline.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Future hangs in the balance
Future hangs in the balance
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has a problem and, like so much in life, it boils down to a question of balance.
Not long ago, he was merely interim Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, the man tasked with plugging the unenviable gap created by Guus Hiddink's departure after the World Cup.
Now the interim tag has been binned, and the former international striker has his heart set on the long-term post of coaching Australia to the 2010 World Cup.
How does he snare the nation's top footballing job for the immediate future?
Well holding aloft July's Asian Cup would of course be excellent interview material for the man who hasn’t yet won all over his critics despite his approachable demeanour and a string of OK results.
But therein lies the heart of the problem. Despite a dose of swagger from Australia's leading lights, taking out the premier regional crown at the first attempt won't quite be the jaunt some are expecting.
Naturally, the region's current ranked No.2 nation has high expectations, but competing with the AFC's aristocrats, particularly in the sweltering conditions at their Bangkok base, is going to need an Australian squad close to its strongest - just as Hiddink enjoyed 12 months ago.
However, the dilemma is that if Arnold continues naming his strongest side, how are his peripheral squad members and local A-League players ever going to gain enough international experience to seriously compete for a place in South Africa in three years time.
Choices, choices.
"With the World Cup qualifying program coming up there's going to be a huge emphasis on A-League players," Arnold confirmed to reporters after announcing his 23-man squad for the June friendly against nemesis Uruguay.
"The short-term picture is obviously the Asian Cup but I'd rather look at the big picture as well.
"This is a good chance to look at A-League players to see who can step up to the mark because if I don't learn about them in (friendly) games when will we learn about them?"
Arnold's biggest concern is that up to 10 of the stars which shone for Hiddink in Germany won't make the trip to Southeast Asia.
Confirmed absentees include then-captain Craig Moore and German-based striker Josh Kennedy through injury while Zeljko Kalac, Stan Lazaridis and Tony Popovic have retired.
Arnold has this week also placed huge question marks over the availability of left-sided defender Scott Chipperfield and striker John Aloisi through personal reasons and injury respectively while goalkeeper Ante Covic has slipped from favour and Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill are returning from long-term layoffs.
That already leaves the Socceroos desperately lacking in depth without considering the possible international retirements of Aloisi, Josip Skoko and even talismanic striker Mark Viduka after the finals.
"I believe I'm a long way down the track of convincing him not to retire after the Asian Cup but if a player decides that there's nothing you can do to change his mind," Arnold said of the off-contract Viduka, who finished the English Premiership season in a hurry with 16 goals in 22 games.
"I definitely think he's got another World Cup in him. The way he's played this year convinces me that as long as Mark's happy off the field he takes that onto the field."
Pointedly, Arnold's squad to face Uruguay next weekend features just three of the heroes who defeated the South Americans on penalties in that famous World Cup playoff in November 2005.
But then this, Arnold admits, is a transitional era for Australia, although he also, somewhat hopefully, describes the squad picked to face their old enemy as 'the future of Australian football'.
"If I look at a backline, for example, of (Brett) Emerton, (Lucas) Neill, (Patrick) Kisnorbo and (Michael) Thwaite, that could be the backline for the 2010 World Cup," he added.
The problem, critics of the national team's development argue, is that those names are hardly likely send a shiver down the spines of prospective qualifying opponents.
At least, Arnold can rely on the likes of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, Vinnie Grella, Mark Bresciano and Jason Culina as well as Cahill and Kewell for the charge to South Africa.
The speed at which he introduces the remaining starters is one he will doubtless spend many a sleepless night worrying about.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has a problem and, like so much in life, it boils down to a question of balance.
Not long ago, he was merely interim Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, the man tasked with plugging the unenviable gap created by Guus Hiddink's departure after the World Cup.
Now the interim tag has been binned, and the former international striker has his heart set on the long-term post of coaching Australia to the 2010 World Cup.
How does he snare the nation's top footballing job for the immediate future?
Well holding aloft July's Asian Cup would of course be excellent interview material for the man who hasn’t yet won all over his critics despite his approachable demeanour and a string of OK results.
But therein lies the heart of the problem. Despite a dose of swagger from Australia's leading lights, taking out the premier regional crown at the first attempt won't quite be the jaunt some are expecting.
Naturally, the region's current ranked No.2 nation has high expectations, but competing with the AFC's aristocrats, particularly in the sweltering conditions at their Bangkok base, is going to need an Australian squad close to its strongest - just as Hiddink enjoyed 12 months ago.
However, the dilemma is that if Arnold continues naming his strongest side, how are his peripheral squad members and local A-League players ever going to gain enough international experience to seriously compete for a place in South Africa in three years time.
Choices, choices.
"With the World Cup qualifying program coming up there's going to be a huge emphasis on A-League players," Arnold confirmed to reporters after announcing his 23-man squad for the June friendly against nemesis Uruguay.
"The short-term picture is obviously the Asian Cup but I'd rather look at the big picture as well.
"This is a good chance to look at A-League players to see who can step up to the mark because if I don't learn about them in (friendly) games when will we learn about them?"
Arnold's biggest concern is that up to 10 of the stars which shone for Hiddink in Germany won't make the trip to Southeast Asia.
Confirmed absentees include then-captain Craig Moore and German-based striker Josh Kennedy through injury while Zeljko Kalac, Stan Lazaridis and Tony Popovic have retired.
Arnold has this week also placed huge question marks over the availability of left-sided defender Scott Chipperfield and striker John Aloisi through personal reasons and injury respectively while goalkeeper Ante Covic has slipped from favour and Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill are returning from long-term layoffs.
That already leaves the Socceroos desperately lacking in depth without considering the possible international retirements of Aloisi, Josip Skoko and even talismanic striker Mark Viduka after the finals.
"I believe I'm a long way down the track of convincing him not to retire after the Asian Cup but if a player decides that there's nothing you can do to change his mind," Arnold said of the off-contract Viduka, who finished the English Premiership season in a hurry with 16 goals in 22 games.
"I definitely think he's got another World Cup in him. The way he's played this year convinces me that as long as Mark's happy off the field he takes that onto the field."
Pointedly, Arnold's squad to face Uruguay next weekend features just three of the heroes who defeated the South Americans on penalties in that famous World Cup playoff in November 2005.
But then this, Arnold admits, is a transitional era for Australia, although he also, somewhat hopefully, describes the squad picked to face their old enemy as 'the future of Australian football'.
"If I look at a backline, for example, of (Brett) Emerton, (Lucas) Neill, (Patrick) Kisnorbo and (Michael) Thwaite, that could be the backline for the 2010 World Cup," he added.
The problem, critics of the national team's development argue, is that those names are hardly likely send a shiver down the spines of prospective qualifying opponents.
At least, Arnold can rely on the likes of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, Vinnie Grella, Mark Bresciano and Jason Culina as well as Cahill and Kewell for the charge to South Africa.
The speed at which he introduces the remaining starters is one he will doubtless spend many a sleepless night worrying about.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
V. good but will Dukes stick around?
Celtic, Leeds United and Middlesbrough supporters don’t exactly need me to tell them Mark Viduka can be the match of anyone when he's on his day. The problem, however, for Australian coach Graham Arnold and the Socceroos fans is the striker nicknamed the V-Bomber is going to have to be at flying at full throttle the whole of July's Asian Cup for the AFC No.1-ranked side to stand a decent chance of going all the way.
Viduka was in imperious mood against China over the weekend in what was his first Socceroos appearance since the World Cup exit to Italy nine months ago. Indeed he's been in irresistible form in England since the turn of the year and seamlessly translated his domestic displays for Middlesbrough into one of those majestic individual performances the football fraternity knows lies within him, but tends all too rarely to see.
You could sense Dukes was in the mood for landing some punches on the sleepy Chinese defence from the get-go. Goalkeeper Li Leilei was just awake enough to parry the Australian captain's double efforts in the opening stages but the signs were apparent following a well-heeled drag-back in the build-up to one of the Shandong Luneng 'keeper's stops.
Viduka didn't ultimately find the net in his 76 minutes on the pitch - one of the problems is he does so infrequently (six times in 38 internationals). But his presence at the pinnacle of an attack which sees him surrounded by younger, more mobile supplementary strikers in Arnold's preferred system was immense. It might be bold to suggest that Australia would not have won without him, but when you consider the alternatives in that lone frontman role, the coach is not the only one praying Viduka shelves any plans of an Asian Cup swansong.
"What more is there to say about Dukes?" Arnold rhetorically asked national broadsheet The Australian afterwards. "He showed why we need him to stay on. We can't afford to lose him just yet.
"Mark is a vital ingredient for the national team so we need to find ways of making the Socceroos option even more attractive for him. He is only 31 and will be 34 by the time the next World Cup comes around. Mark needs to know that we are not going to impose heavy demands on him.
"Call it mollycoddling if you like but we can look after him with a well thought-out schedule in which he won't have to play in too many meaningless games and where we can cut down his travelling."
Arnold was clearly panicked by Viduka's heavy hint-dropping in the lead-up to the China clash. The burly striker's name is forever mentioned when the topic of international retirement rears its ugly head but this time he appeared to be truly flagging a desire to call it a day with the national team. There is one overriding reason: wife Ivana gave birth to son No.2 Lucas six months ago. But he has also been one a handful of senior Socceroos critical of how Asian Cup warm-up matches have been scheduled this June, giving the fatigued EPL stars just a couple of weeks break.
Viduka might only be in his early thirties, but the retirement age for Australians isn't always much higher given the weight of travelling required for most international fixtures. His trademark laid-back approach means his legs should have little trouble dragging him kicking and screaming all the way to the 2010 World Cup. But, with Arnold conceding a minimum of four more Socceroos will hang up their boots after the summer's events, some wonder why Viduka's name wouldn’t be among them?
The major concern for Arnold - and ultimately who will succeed him as national team coach for the World Cup qualifiers - is the paucity of striking reserves. John Aloisi, now plying his trade in the Spanish second division with Alaves, is the same age as Viduka. German-based Josh Kennedy was the pair's primary back-up under Guus Hiddink at the World Cup but he's not played since rupturing his right Achilles tendon last July.
The answer could lie with 23-year-old Scott McDonald, a player always mentioned as a Socceroos prospect having represented Australia at under-17, under-20 and under-23 levels. Club-side Motherwell turned down a million-dollar January transfer window bid from Rangers for the in-demand striker who's scored 12 times this season. But McDonald is now reportedly on his way to Old Firm rival Celtic after a bid of AUD$1.8 million was lodged by manager Gordon Strachan. Don't rule out McDonald for a surprise call-up when the serious business gets underway in little more than three month's time.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Viduka was in imperious mood against China over the weekend in what was his first Socceroos appearance since the World Cup exit to Italy nine months ago. Indeed he's been in irresistible form in England since the turn of the year and seamlessly translated his domestic displays for Middlesbrough into one of those majestic individual performances the football fraternity knows lies within him, but tends all too rarely to see.
You could sense Dukes was in the mood for landing some punches on the sleepy Chinese defence from the get-go. Goalkeeper Li Leilei was just awake enough to parry the Australian captain's double efforts in the opening stages but the signs were apparent following a well-heeled drag-back in the build-up to one of the Shandong Luneng 'keeper's stops.
Viduka didn't ultimately find the net in his 76 minutes on the pitch - one of the problems is he does so infrequently (six times in 38 internationals). But his presence at the pinnacle of an attack which sees him surrounded by younger, more mobile supplementary strikers in Arnold's preferred system was immense. It might be bold to suggest that Australia would not have won without him, but when you consider the alternatives in that lone frontman role, the coach is not the only one praying Viduka shelves any plans of an Asian Cup swansong.
"What more is there to say about Dukes?" Arnold rhetorically asked national broadsheet The Australian afterwards. "He showed why we need him to stay on. We can't afford to lose him just yet.
"Mark is a vital ingredient for the national team so we need to find ways of making the Socceroos option even more attractive for him. He is only 31 and will be 34 by the time the next World Cup comes around. Mark needs to know that we are not going to impose heavy demands on him.
"Call it mollycoddling if you like but we can look after him with a well thought-out schedule in which he won't have to play in too many meaningless games and where we can cut down his travelling."
Arnold was clearly panicked by Viduka's heavy hint-dropping in the lead-up to the China clash. The burly striker's name is forever mentioned when the topic of international retirement rears its ugly head but this time he appeared to be truly flagging a desire to call it a day with the national team. There is one overriding reason: wife Ivana gave birth to son No.2 Lucas six months ago. But he has also been one a handful of senior Socceroos critical of how Asian Cup warm-up matches have been scheduled this June, giving the fatigued EPL stars just a couple of weeks break.
Viduka might only be in his early thirties, but the retirement age for Australians isn't always much higher given the weight of travelling required for most international fixtures. His trademark laid-back approach means his legs should have little trouble dragging him kicking and screaming all the way to the 2010 World Cup. But, with Arnold conceding a minimum of four more Socceroos will hang up their boots after the summer's events, some wonder why Viduka's name wouldn’t be among them?
The major concern for Arnold - and ultimately who will succeed him as national team coach for the World Cup qualifiers - is the paucity of striking reserves. John Aloisi, now plying his trade in the Spanish second division with Alaves, is the same age as Viduka. German-based Josh Kennedy was the pair's primary back-up under Guus Hiddink at the World Cup but he's not played since rupturing his right Achilles tendon last July.
The answer could lie with 23-year-old Scott McDonald, a player always mentioned as a Socceroos prospect having represented Australia at under-17, under-20 and under-23 levels. Club-side Motherwell turned down a million-dollar January transfer window bid from Rangers for the in-demand striker who's scored 12 times this season. But McDonald is now reportedly on his way to Old Firm rival Celtic after a bid of AUD$1.8 million was lodged by manager Gordon Strachan. Don't rule out McDonald for a surprise call-up when the serious business gets underway in little more than three month's time.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Friday, March 23, 2007
Culina's Sydney: bold and brave
Whether Sydney FC have the stamina to outlast their Group E colleagues remains a question for debate after their pulsating 2-2 draw with J-League champions Urawa Reds. But the inaugural A-League champions have already banished the memory of an uninspiring domestic campaign under sacked coach Terry Butcher and made a real statement of intent for this year's Asian Champions League.
"Pleased and disappointed," was interim coach Branko Culina's balanced reaction after only his second match in charge of the club. "Pleased that we played well in the first half and pleased with the result.
"But disappointed that we let slip a two-goal lead."
Sydney's studious manager must feel like Arsene Wenger to Butcher's Sir Alex Ferguson. The technical director of Soccer New South Wales and a regular TV pundit, Culina is a man well versed in doing his pre-match homework. As perhaps Sydney's display in Shanghai a fortnight ago demonstrated, Culina is also patently not fazed by restarting his top-flight management career in the heat of the ACL.
"Tsuboi, Tanaka, Nene, Suzuki, Ono, Abe, Ponte, Washington, Nagai ... do you want me to keep going?" he coolly responded to questions about Sydney's opponents the day before the game.
That's Culina. He exudes a quiet calm in front of the cameras while preaching a classic pass-and-movement philosophy the Sydney squad have taken to like ducks to water. And although he's been spending plenty of his evenings running the rule of his group rivals, he's also been quick to overhaul the club's stagnant style under Butcher and impart an altogether more entertaining system.
"Our game plan worked to perfection in the first 20 minutes," Culina continued confidently after the match. "Our plan was to attack them down the right-hand side in the first 20 minutes where Nene didn't have the pace or the defensive requirements to put up with Brosque.
"We changed Carney and Brosque around for that reason as well - we wanted to confuse them a little bit. But in the end we weren't quite good enough."
Culina, the father of Socceroo midfielder Jason, is certainly tactically astute but he has also inherited the bulk of the 2006 championship-winning squad. There have been a couple of further outgoings following Dwight Yorke's early season move back to the UK, but in essence Sydney's roster - albeit a little thin - has been together for more or less two years.
Of the club's three up-and-comers who will have the caught the eye of neutrals, Culina picked out supplementary striking duo Alex Brosque and David Carney for special mention. The third member of a triumvirate on the fringes of regular Socceroos recognition is midfielder Mark Milligan. National team coach Graham Arnold admitted this week he was planning to look at all three before Australia's scheduled match against Saudi Arabia next Wednesday was scrapped.
Milligan is no stranger to the senior Socceroos after receiving a last-gasp phone call from Guus Hiddink on the eve of last year's World Cup. Having now dropped back to captain the under-23s on their qualifying path to Beijing 2008, the unflappable 21-year-old showed in the opening minutes against Urawa he's more than just a midfield enforcer. It was his slide rule through ball which found Carney who finished with aplomb within 60 seconds of kick-off. Milligan too highlighted his versatility by playing at right-back after half-time
Sydney's second goal was concocted by Carney's individual brilliance with a helping hand from Brosque in the build-up. In between time Brosque, who gave Nene the run around before the Brazilian defender was replaced by Japanese international Makato Hasebe just before the interval, might have had one of his own after shooting wide with the hosts well in the ascendancy.
The Sydneysiders tired after the break and despite gifting the Reds an equaliser ended up holding on for a draw. Still, unbeaten and joint-top of arguably the toughest of this year's seven ACL groups, is a fine achievement. As Culina said, "When you consider it is someone who spends $65million on players against someone who spends $6.5million, the result is not too bad."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
"Pleased and disappointed," was interim coach Branko Culina's balanced reaction after only his second match in charge of the club. "Pleased that we played well in the first half and pleased with the result.
"But disappointed that we let slip a two-goal lead."
Sydney's studious manager must feel like Arsene Wenger to Butcher's Sir Alex Ferguson. The technical director of Soccer New South Wales and a regular TV pundit, Culina is a man well versed in doing his pre-match homework. As perhaps Sydney's display in Shanghai a fortnight ago demonstrated, Culina is also patently not fazed by restarting his top-flight management career in the heat of the ACL.
"Tsuboi, Tanaka, Nene, Suzuki, Ono, Abe, Ponte, Washington, Nagai ... do you want me to keep going?" he coolly responded to questions about Sydney's opponents the day before the game.
That's Culina. He exudes a quiet calm in front of the cameras while preaching a classic pass-and-movement philosophy the Sydney squad have taken to like ducks to water. And although he's been spending plenty of his evenings running the rule of his group rivals, he's also been quick to overhaul the club's stagnant style under Butcher and impart an altogether more entertaining system.
"Our game plan worked to perfection in the first 20 minutes," Culina continued confidently after the match. "Our plan was to attack them down the right-hand side in the first 20 minutes where Nene didn't have the pace or the defensive requirements to put up with Brosque.
"We changed Carney and Brosque around for that reason as well - we wanted to confuse them a little bit. But in the end we weren't quite good enough."
Culina, the father of Socceroo midfielder Jason, is certainly tactically astute but he has also inherited the bulk of the 2006 championship-winning squad. There have been a couple of further outgoings following Dwight Yorke's early season move back to the UK, but in essence Sydney's roster - albeit a little thin - has been together for more or less two years.
Of the club's three up-and-comers who will have the caught the eye of neutrals, Culina picked out supplementary striking duo Alex Brosque and David Carney for special mention. The third member of a triumvirate on the fringes of regular Socceroos recognition is midfielder Mark Milligan. National team coach Graham Arnold admitted this week he was planning to look at all three before Australia's scheduled match against Saudi Arabia next Wednesday was scrapped.
Milligan is no stranger to the senior Socceroos after receiving a last-gasp phone call from Guus Hiddink on the eve of last year's World Cup. Having now dropped back to captain the under-23s on their qualifying path to Beijing 2008, the unflappable 21-year-old showed in the opening minutes against Urawa he's more than just a midfield enforcer. It was his slide rule through ball which found Carney who finished with aplomb within 60 seconds of kick-off. Milligan too highlighted his versatility by playing at right-back after half-time
Sydney's second goal was concocted by Carney's individual brilliance with a helping hand from Brosque in the build-up. In between time Brosque, who gave Nene the run around before the Brazilian defender was replaced by Japanese international Makato Hasebe just before the interval, might have had one of his own after shooting wide with the hosts well in the ascendancy.
The Sydneysiders tired after the break and despite gifting the Reds an equaliser ended up holding on for a draw. Still, unbeaten and joint-top of arguably the toughest of this year's seven ACL groups, is a fine achievement. As Culina said, "When you consider it is someone who spends $65million on players against someone who spends $6.5million, the result is not too bad."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Butcher learns to relax
Terry Butcher was no wallflower during his 28-year playing, managing and punditry career in Britain but he's quickly accepted needing to tone down his incendiary temper at Sydney FC.
It's true, the legendary laid-back Aussie way of life is even getting to the former England captain, a man best remembered by finishing a 1989 World Cup qualifier swathed in bloodied bandages and putting his foot through a variety of dressing room doors the length and breadth of the country.
Butcher, it seems, has mellowed. The veteran of three World Cup campaigns and 77 national team appearances as well as one of the country's greatest football leaders of the past 20 years has been forced to, he says, after quickly discovering the Sir Alex Ferguson hairdryer school of management just didn’t wash with your modern Australian footballer.
He tried to make his pampered bunch at Sydney come around to the British mentality, naturally. But the methods he used to captain Rangers to three Scottish league titles and to a lesser degree help Motherwell's revival simply failed to have the desired effect, particularly after Butcher replaced soft-talking German perfectionist Pierre Littbarski at the start of the season.
The metamorphosis came about slowly, mind. Earlier this season, for instance, Sydney's usually affable left-back Alvin Ceccoli was suspended for swearing at Butcher after the coach had allegedly provoked him with a four-letter tirade of his own from the sidelines.
The former Ipswich centre-half, a self-acclaimed Norwich hater, also reportedly clashed with ex-Canaries midfielder turned Sydney assistant Ian Crook. The result was Crook was banished from the training ground before accepting a deal to join Littbarski at J-League second-division side Avispa Fukuoka.
But Butcher, who nowadays walks more gingerly than the commanding defender many might remember him, has admitted he's bowed to change and adapted to the Aussie way. "I have mellowed. You have to mellow out here," he told British football journalist Danny Kelly on the Times Online podcast last month. "It's a different culture.
"If you rant and rave and do that sort of thing, it doesn’t wash. Your man management skills have got to be a lot better. You've got to be closer to the players. You can't do those things.
"I tried early on, it didn’t work and I had to change. But you don’t drop your standards, your standards are still the same. But you get your message over in a different, more placid way because it is very laid back out here."
Butcher's adaptability has paid dividends too. From mid-season Sydney embarked on a 12-match sequence where they lost just twice and captured the fourth and final playoff position after earning a 1-1 draw in Brisbane. That came in spite of Butcher's anger at being docked three points by the governing body for financial irregularities relating to player payments last season - before he'd even arrived at the club.
Making matters worse, the press got whiff of Butcher's predicament when it was revealed the second year of his two-season deal was dependant on Sydney making the finals. Without the docked points, the reigning champions would have made them comfortably argued Butcher who reportedly starting seeking legal advice over his position.
But regardless it left Sydney travelling to fellow playoff hopefuls Queensland needing a draw to secure both a berth and Butcher's job despite the coach's protestations otherwise. "It was never about that. It was about getting to the finals," he snapped afterwards. "It was about getting second place. We should already be in second place because of the points taken off us but we're not.
"But I think we're there on merit considering the fact that we have accumulated enough points to be there already. 32 points after 21 games is not fantastic but it might have been enough to get second place but for the FFA.
"Despite all the hiccups and hurdles and everything else this season we're in the finals. Now we're there we aim to make an impact. Nobody wants to play Sydney home or away. They know what we can do."
Butcher's side now play state rivals the Newcastle Jets over two-legs to decide who will reach in the preliminary final and meet the loser of the other semi-final between Melbourne and Adelaide. With table-toppers Melbourne heading into the finals series in arguably the worst form of the lot, the experience of Butcher might well prove the difference.
"It's very similar to my experiences in World Cups and playing in big tournaments where you have a certain date when you can get knocked out," he said. "We reached that today but the departure date for us being knocked out has changed.
"You move forward to the next departure date. The last one is when we get to the grand final and hopefully win it."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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It's true, the legendary laid-back Aussie way of life is even getting to the former England captain, a man best remembered by finishing a 1989 World Cup qualifier swathed in bloodied bandages and putting his foot through a variety of dressing room doors the length and breadth of the country.
Butcher, it seems, has mellowed. The veteran of three World Cup campaigns and 77 national team appearances as well as one of the country's greatest football leaders of the past 20 years has been forced to, he says, after quickly discovering the Sir Alex Ferguson hairdryer school of management just didn’t wash with your modern Australian footballer.
He tried to make his pampered bunch at Sydney come around to the British mentality, naturally. But the methods he used to captain Rangers to three Scottish league titles and to a lesser degree help Motherwell's revival simply failed to have the desired effect, particularly after Butcher replaced soft-talking German perfectionist Pierre Littbarski at the start of the season.
The metamorphosis came about slowly, mind. Earlier this season, for instance, Sydney's usually affable left-back Alvin Ceccoli was suspended for swearing at Butcher after the coach had allegedly provoked him with a four-letter tirade of his own from the sidelines.
The former Ipswich centre-half, a self-acclaimed Norwich hater, also reportedly clashed with ex-Canaries midfielder turned Sydney assistant Ian Crook. The result was Crook was banished from the training ground before accepting a deal to join Littbarski at J-League second-division side Avispa Fukuoka.
But Butcher, who nowadays walks more gingerly than the commanding defender many might remember him, has admitted he's bowed to change and adapted to the Aussie way. "I have mellowed. You have to mellow out here," he told British football journalist Danny Kelly on the Times Online podcast last month. "It's a different culture.
"If you rant and rave and do that sort of thing, it doesn’t wash. Your man management skills have got to be a lot better. You've got to be closer to the players. You can't do those things.
"I tried early on, it didn’t work and I had to change. But you don’t drop your standards, your standards are still the same. But you get your message over in a different, more placid way because it is very laid back out here."
Butcher's adaptability has paid dividends too. From mid-season Sydney embarked on a 12-match sequence where they lost just twice and captured the fourth and final playoff position after earning a 1-1 draw in Brisbane. That came in spite of Butcher's anger at being docked three points by the governing body for financial irregularities relating to player payments last season - before he'd even arrived at the club.
Making matters worse, the press got whiff of Butcher's predicament when it was revealed the second year of his two-season deal was dependant on Sydney making the finals. Without the docked points, the reigning champions would have made them comfortably argued Butcher who reportedly starting seeking legal advice over his position.
But regardless it left Sydney travelling to fellow playoff hopefuls Queensland needing a draw to secure both a berth and Butcher's job despite the coach's protestations otherwise. "It was never about that. It was about getting to the finals," he snapped afterwards. "It was about getting second place. We should already be in second place because of the points taken off us but we're not.
"But I think we're there on merit considering the fact that we have accumulated enough points to be there already. 32 points after 21 games is not fantastic but it might have been enough to get second place but for the FFA.
"Despite all the hiccups and hurdles and everything else this season we're in the finals. Now we're there we aim to make an impact. Nobody wants to play Sydney home or away. They know what we can do."
Butcher's side now play state rivals the Newcastle Jets over two-legs to decide who will reach in the preliminary final and meet the loser of the other semi-final between Melbourne and Adelaide. With table-toppers Melbourne heading into the finals series in arguably the worst form of the lot, the experience of Butcher might well prove the difference.
"It's very similar to my experiences in World Cups and playing in big tournaments where you have a certain date when you can get knocked out," he said. "We reached that today but the departure date for us being knocked out has changed.
"You move forward to the next departure date. The last one is when we get to the grand final and hopefully win it."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Wednesday, December 20, 2006
A-League Christmas Wrap
As the players take a deserved Christmas break, Soccerphile unpicks the happenings in Australia's A-League with four rounds of the regular season remaining.
The new premiers
All the Christmas cheer should be heaped on Ernie Merrick's Melbourne Victory who clinched their inaugural premiership just before the eight A-League clubs headed into the mid-season break. Melbourne's charge towards banishing the memory of last season's seventh-placed has been relentless. They have continued to top the charts in, well, every measure, even breaking Adelaide's season-old record of winning the title in just 17 rounds. Merrick's only dilemma ahead of the finals series is whether to rest a squad who started pre-season back in April ahead February's grand final.
The second-place aspirants
Sydney FC's Terry Butcher has his critics in Australia (with one vehement detractor former Socceroo Craig Foster's dislike of the Englishman's coaching philosophy bordering on the obsessive) but of late he's been getting the desired effects. An eight-match unbeaten run has seen the reigning champions leapfrog Adelaide and Queensland into second with a crucial victory with 10-men over Perth retaining a two-point gap to Adelaide in third. There's little doubt Sydney are less pleasing on eye than under German Pierre Littbarski last season. But Butcher is steadily doing the job he was brought from Scottish football to do and with all his players now available should be able to match the might of the league leaders.
If Adelaide United end up with little reward from their season's endeavours, it will be a harsh outcome. Through November and December they were caught between a rock and a hard place like so many newcomers in top-flight surrounds. Do you build or consolidate? Is off-field success a necessary evil and how much can commercial projects jeopardise results on the pitch? All debate was to do with signing Brazilian legend Romario who had agreed to guest in the A-League as he chases down 1000 career goals. As it turned out, the former premiers won just once during Romario's four appearances as Mr 986 became Mr 987 and Adelaide slipped from second to third. The former World Cup winner's team-mates never quite looked on the same wavelength as the little maestro and some of coach John Kosmina's team selections were clearly compromised as result of simply needing to field him. Some are saying Adelaide are more dangerous bizarrely now one of the game's greatest-ever goalscorers has left.
The playoffs chasers
The league's key battle until the end of the season is likely to be between the Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle Jets and Queensland Roar. New South Wales neighbours the Mariners and the Jets meet in two weeks time but that aside the three pursue entirely different run-ins. They are all evenly-matched with Newcastle recently winning 3-0 in Queensland but the Roar hitting back with a 3-2 win on the Central Coast.
In terms of the season, Queensland and Newcastle are heading in different directions. With one-third of the campaign completed, the Roar were second and the Jets bottom but just one point separates the pair now with both having changed coaches this year. Gary van Egmond has inspired the Jets by instilling a rigid structure and letting maverick playmaker Nick Carle - a player constantly overlooked by the national team - roam free. Meanwhile, former Socceroos boss Frank Farina has enjoyed less initial success back in his home state after over a year out of the game. The calculating Farina, though, was an excellent choice and is already starting to apply his stamp on the side.
The dearly departed
The only consolation for Perth Glory coach Ron Smith is that the New Zealand Knights were even more ordinary this year. Smith's side approached the season as badly prepared as the English cricketers heading into the Ashes, not helped by Smith's appointment on the even of the competition's start. Both sides have suffered injuries to key players with former Socceroos flyer Stan Lazaridis virtually disappearing from view after a series of ineffective displays sandwiched between stints on the sidelines. Stan, though, will be so much better with a full pre-season under his belt.
New Zealand's very existence, as has been reported on Soccerphile over the past week, is under threat. Like Perth, they too are now under FFA control, one of the worrying traits of a league so often viewed with optimism. Terrible crowd figures, uninspiring football and a generally argumentative attitude towards recruitment have seen them fall foul of the game's governing body.
Three wins in 38 games over 18 months hasn’t helped but, needing to prove Australian doubters that a Kiwi team can survive with their neighbours, their approach has won few friends on either side of the Tasman Sea. Those in charge of the game truly want to find the Knights a generous investor and rebuild. But the club need to recognise the way to flourish is by tapping into the very fact that alienates them from the rest of the league. They could do a lot worse than becoming the All Whites reserve side.
Soccerphile predictions
So, here goes …
Champions: Adelaide United
Runners-up: Melbourne Victory
Semi-finalists: Newcastle Jets, Sydney FC
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The new premiers
All the Christmas cheer should be heaped on Ernie Merrick's Melbourne Victory who clinched their inaugural premiership just before the eight A-League clubs headed into the mid-season break. Melbourne's charge towards banishing the memory of last season's seventh-placed has been relentless. They have continued to top the charts in, well, every measure, even breaking Adelaide's season-old record of winning the title in just 17 rounds. Merrick's only dilemma ahead of the finals series is whether to rest a squad who started pre-season back in April ahead February's grand final.
The second-place aspirants
Sydney FC's Terry Butcher has his critics in Australia (with one vehement detractor former Socceroo Craig Foster's dislike of the Englishman's coaching philosophy bordering on the obsessive) but of late he's been getting the desired effects. An eight-match unbeaten run has seen the reigning champions leapfrog Adelaide and Queensland into second with a crucial victory with 10-men over Perth retaining a two-point gap to Adelaide in third. There's little doubt Sydney are less pleasing on eye than under German Pierre Littbarski last season. But Butcher is steadily doing the job he was brought from Scottish football to do and with all his players now available should be able to match the might of the league leaders.
If Adelaide United end up with little reward from their season's endeavours, it will be a harsh outcome. Through November and December they were caught between a rock and a hard place like so many newcomers in top-flight surrounds. Do you build or consolidate? Is off-field success a necessary evil and how much can commercial projects jeopardise results on the pitch? All debate was to do with signing Brazilian legend Romario who had agreed to guest in the A-League as he chases down 1000 career goals. As it turned out, the former premiers won just once during Romario's four appearances as Mr 986 became Mr 987 and Adelaide slipped from second to third. The former World Cup winner's team-mates never quite looked on the same wavelength as the little maestro and some of coach John Kosmina's team selections were clearly compromised as result of simply needing to field him. Some are saying Adelaide are more dangerous bizarrely now one of the game's greatest-ever goalscorers has left.
The playoffs chasers
The league's key battle until the end of the season is likely to be between the Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle Jets and Queensland Roar. New South Wales neighbours the Mariners and the Jets meet in two weeks time but that aside the three pursue entirely different run-ins. They are all evenly-matched with Newcastle recently winning 3-0 in Queensland but the Roar hitting back with a 3-2 win on the Central Coast.
In terms of the season, Queensland and Newcastle are heading in different directions. With one-third of the campaign completed, the Roar were second and the Jets bottom but just one point separates the pair now with both having changed coaches this year. Gary van Egmond has inspired the Jets by instilling a rigid structure and letting maverick playmaker Nick Carle - a player constantly overlooked by the national team - roam free. Meanwhile, former Socceroos boss Frank Farina has enjoyed less initial success back in his home state after over a year out of the game. The calculating Farina, though, was an excellent choice and is already starting to apply his stamp on the side.
The dearly departed
The only consolation for Perth Glory coach Ron Smith is that the New Zealand Knights were even more ordinary this year. Smith's side approached the season as badly prepared as the English cricketers heading into the Ashes, not helped by Smith's appointment on the even of the competition's start. Both sides have suffered injuries to key players with former Socceroos flyer Stan Lazaridis virtually disappearing from view after a series of ineffective displays sandwiched between stints on the sidelines. Stan, though, will be so much better with a full pre-season under his belt.
New Zealand's very existence, as has been reported on Soccerphile over the past week, is under threat. Like Perth, they too are now under FFA control, one of the worrying traits of a league so often viewed with optimism. Terrible crowd figures, uninspiring football and a generally argumentative attitude towards recruitment have seen them fall foul of the game's governing body.
Three wins in 38 games over 18 months hasn’t helped but, needing to prove Australian doubters that a Kiwi team can survive with their neighbours, their approach has won few friends on either side of the Tasman Sea. Those in charge of the game truly want to find the Knights a generous investor and rebuild. But the club need to recognise the way to flourish is by tapping into the very fact that alienates them from the rest of the league. They could do a lot worse than becoming the All Whites reserve side.
Soccerphile predictions
So, here goes …
Champions: Adelaide United
Runners-up: Melbourne Victory
Semi-finalists: Newcastle Jets, Sydney FC
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Friday, December 15, 2006
Time up for beleaguered Knights
The game's governing body has called time on the A-League's sole non-Australian representatives after 18 miserable months fighting for their lives at the bottom of every measure.
For many, especially those pundits favouring an all-Australian competition, it has not come a moment too soon. The New Zealand Knights have been running a constant and distant last since the club's inception from the ashes of their much-maligned predecessors the Auckland Kingz and offered few examples of turning their fortunes around.
The Kingz were treated with contempt during the final throws of the former national league due to their poor crowds and generally humdrum football. The Knights, a rebranded Kiwi alternative granted entrance to the new regime because of its supposed ability to carry the same financial clout, has also fallen some way short of the standards set by the rest.
Last season, the New Zealanders finished an abysmal 20 points behind seventh-placed Melbourne following just one win and a staggering 17 losses. They were accused of fielding too few locally-developed players and instead relying on English journeyman and unknown foreigners. Their crowds plummeted as the defeats stacked up and knew they risked the wrath of the FFA if corrective actions were not put in place.
When previous coach John Adshead - the former All Whites manager who led New Zealand to the 1982 World Cup finals - was inevitably axed, the Knights' head honchos ignored the federation's strict directives and employed another Englishman as coach. Paul Nevin was young, intelligent, highly qualified and started brightly. But he wasn't a New Zealander, and he again made blood boil at FFA headquarters by recruiting just four Kiwis in a 20-player squad.
Results dipped after some promising signs, not helped, it has to be said, by a lengthy injury list and he was axed. His interim replacement? Recently recruited director of football, Englishman Barry Simmonds. The writing was surely on the wall.
On Monday, after Simmonds made it clear he did not want the role full-time, the Knights advertised for their fourth head coach in less than two seasons against a backdrop of them languishing eight points adrift at the foot of the table.
Relations with New Zealand Soccer, the administrators of the national game, were at an all-time low, club management appeared nervy. 2039 spectators turned up to see their side grind out a 1-1 draw with Newcastle. With a $1.5 million annual salary cap to fund, the sums were quite clearly not adding up.
Under mounting speculation their licence would be withdrawn and an Australian team installed in their place next season, the Knights came out fighting. They, however, chose to bite the hand that feeds them.
"Currently, the NZ Knights are awaiting funds from the Football Federation Australia in relation to the Fox Sports broadcasting partnership with the Hyundai A-League," a club statement read. "These considerable funds (in quarterly payments) were promised to the Knights by the FFA but as of this moment are yet to be received.
"Upon receipt of those funds the NZ Knights will be in a position to continue in the Hyundai A-League. Without the promised payment the Knights participation in the Hyundai A-League is jeopardised."
If they were trying to provoke a reaction it worked. The FFA's response was swift and the blow fatal. They responded by stating insolvency issues within the beleaguered club had 'breached their Club Participation Agreement for the Hyundai A-League'. As a result, the FFA said, the Knights have had their licence revoked and returned to the governing body. An agreement, they added, had also been reached with the Knights' chief rivals New Zealand Soccer to manage the football team's operations for the remainder of the 2006-07 season.
"The action that we had to take today is disappointing as the FFA has gone to great lengths since the commencement of the league to support Octagon Sports Limited (owners of the Knights) who currently owe the FFA in excess of $800,000," said FFA head of operations Matt Carroll.
"In this context, it is disappointing that Octagon Sports Limited should suggest today that their viability is dependant on a relatively small scheduled grant being withheld by the FFA as a result of Octagon Sports Limited's long-term, multiple, serious Participation Agreement breaches."
"The action that the FFA has taken is in the best interests of the Hyundai A-League, the team, the players and football in New Zealand."
What next for the supporters and players in the land of the Long White Cloud is anybody's guess.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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For many, especially those pundits favouring an all-Australian competition, it has not come a moment too soon. The New Zealand Knights have been running a constant and distant last since the club's inception from the ashes of their much-maligned predecessors the Auckland Kingz and offered few examples of turning their fortunes around.
The Kingz were treated with contempt during the final throws of the former national league due to their poor crowds and generally humdrum football. The Knights, a rebranded Kiwi alternative granted entrance to the new regime because of its supposed ability to carry the same financial clout, has also fallen some way short of the standards set by the rest.
Last season, the New Zealanders finished an abysmal 20 points behind seventh-placed Melbourne following just one win and a staggering 17 losses. They were accused of fielding too few locally-developed players and instead relying on English journeyman and unknown foreigners. Their crowds plummeted as the defeats stacked up and knew they risked the wrath of the FFA if corrective actions were not put in place.
When previous coach John Adshead - the former All Whites manager who led New Zealand to the 1982 World Cup finals - was inevitably axed, the Knights' head honchos ignored the federation's strict directives and employed another Englishman as coach. Paul Nevin was young, intelligent, highly qualified and started brightly. But he wasn't a New Zealander, and he again made blood boil at FFA headquarters by recruiting just four Kiwis in a 20-player squad.
Results dipped after some promising signs, not helped, it has to be said, by a lengthy injury list and he was axed. His interim replacement? Recently recruited director of football, Englishman Barry Simmonds. The writing was surely on the wall.
On Monday, after Simmonds made it clear he did not want the role full-time, the Knights advertised for their fourth head coach in less than two seasons against a backdrop of them languishing eight points adrift at the foot of the table.
Relations with New Zealand Soccer, the administrators of the national game, were at an all-time low, club management appeared nervy. 2039 spectators turned up to see their side grind out a 1-1 draw with Newcastle. With a $1.5 million annual salary cap to fund, the sums were quite clearly not adding up.
Under mounting speculation their licence would be withdrawn and an Australian team installed in their place next season, the Knights came out fighting. They, however, chose to bite the hand that feeds them.
"Currently, the NZ Knights are awaiting funds from the Football Federation Australia in relation to the Fox Sports broadcasting partnership with the Hyundai A-League," a club statement read. "These considerable funds (in quarterly payments) were promised to the Knights by the FFA but as of this moment are yet to be received.
"Upon receipt of those funds the NZ Knights will be in a position to continue in the Hyundai A-League. Without the promised payment the Knights participation in the Hyundai A-League is jeopardised."
If they were trying to provoke a reaction it worked. The FFA's response was swift and the blow fatal. They responded by stating insolvency issues within the beleaguered club had 'breached their Club Participation Agreement for the Hyundai A-League'. As a result, the FFA said, the Knights have had their licence revoked and returned to the governing body. An agreement, they added, had also been reached with the Knights' chief rivals New Zealand Soccer to manage the football team's operations for the remainder of the 2006-07 season.
"The action that we had to take today is disappointing as the FFA has gone to great lengths since the commencement of the league to support Octagon Sports Limited (owners of the Knights) who currently owe the FFA in excess of $800,000," said FFA head of operations Matt Carroll.
"In this context, it is disappointing that Octagon Sports Limited should suggest today that their viability is dependant on a relatively small scheduled grant being withheld by the FFA as a result of Octagon Sports Limited's long-term, multiple, serious Participation Agreement breaches."
"The action that the FFA has taken is in the best interests of the Hyundai A-League, the team, the players and football in New Zealand."
What next for the supporters and players in the land of the Long White Cloud is anybody's guess.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Marc Fox talks exclusively to Scot Gemmill for Soccerphile
Former Nottingham Forest and Everton schemer Scot Gemmill is the latest former Premier League player to succumb to the growing temptation of prolonging his career with a stint down under. For Gemmill, the location is Auckland on New Zealand's north island, home of the Knights, last season's wooden-spooners.
But whereas in times past, playing 'soccer' in an Australian league would have signalled your intentions to wind down in the sunshine, the newly refreshed Hyundai A-League is prompting quite the opposite.
Gemmill's move to New Zealand on a one-year-deal was based on pure footballing reasons and ended up being a straight swap between that and life in England, or Scotland's lower leagues.
Following over 250 Premier League appearances with Forest and Everton, the 35-year-old's most recent employers were Oxford United in League Two where he had been enticed by the opportunity of working under managerial legend Jim Smith in a player-coach capacity.
But within a fortnight of arriving at the relegation-threatened club, he soon realised that, by his own admission, his heart wasn't in it. By then discussions with Knights boss Paul Nevin, who was well aware of Gemmill after eight years in the employment of Fulham including reserve team coach, were already underway.
"I just wanted to come down here and experience living abroad but still doing what I love to do," explains Gemmill. "To come to the other side of the world and live a different life but at the same time play football, I really couldn't have asked for more.
"There are thousands of footballers that would love to come and play in the A-League but they don't all get the opportunity. I keep saying it but I do realise how lucky I am, I really do.
Dwight Yorke was the first well-known player to take a risk by accepting terms with eventual champions Sydney FC last year. Yorke eventually fought his way back into first-team reckoning with Trinidad and Tobago, captained his country at the World Cup and last month was offered the chance of another two year's in England at Roy Keane's Sunderland.
But he is not the only one. Before the second season started at the end of August, current Socceroos Stan Lazaridis, Tony Vidmar and Joel Griffiths all returned home while former Australian national team captain Paul Okon also made the switch. Dutch winger Bobby Petta has linked up with the premiers Adelaide United, former China international striker Yuning Zhang with Queensland and Grant Brebner joined Melbourne.
In the latest Socceroos squad, eight of the 26 players selected by interim coach Graham Arnold call the A-League home.
"Without doubt there are some great players," Gemmill responds without hesitation to the question of the league's standing. "There are some standout individuals in each team and the level is high. That's something people around the world don't realise yet. But they will do when the league gets the chance to grow."
The Scotsman has just landed in Brisbane ahead of New Zealand's round four clash with the Roar at Suncorp Stadium when we chat. He admits he's still coming to terms with the players being greeted by stony silences when they disembark and retells a story of how one man, noticing the tracksuited players leaving the arrivals lounge, innocently asking what the A-League to prove his point.
"It's weird when somebody doesn't know what the A-League is," he says. "If I'm being honest, nobody knows me really and I'm fine with that. I mean in England I lived the normal life. I'm not a recognised famous face - I don't pretend to be.
"I'm very grateful to be given a chance to part of it. I could easily be at home unemployed right now if I'm honest. I'm at that age where I'm just grateful to be still playing and I intend to repay the manger's faith by playing my part in the team. He's given me a chance to come down and play and I don't want to let him down.
"I haven’t got any pressure on me from supporters to do well. But I feel I put myself under pressure. I've had a good career, I'm extremely proud of what I've achieved and I don't want to spoil it now. I'm not under any financial pressures. If I really thought I couldn't play my part in the team, I wouldn't be here."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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But whereas in times past, playing 'soccer' in an Australian league would have signalled your intentions to wind down in the sunshine, the newly refreshed Hyundai A-League is prompting quite the opposite.
Gemmill's move to New Zealand on a one-year-deal was based on pure footballing reasons and ended up being a straight swap between that and life in England, or Scotland's lower leagues.
Following over 250 Premier League appearances with Forest and Everton, the 35-year-old's most recent employers were Oxford United in League Two where he had been enticed by the opportunity of working under managerial legend Jim Smith in a player-coach capacity.
But within a fortnight of arriving at the relegation-threatened club, he soon realised that, by his own admission, his heart wasn't in it. By then discussions with Knights boss Paul Nevin, who was well aware of Gemmill after eight years in the employment of Fulham including reserve team coach, were already underway.
"I just wanted to come down here and experience living abroad but still doing what I love to do," explains Gemmill. "To come to the other side of the world and live a different life but at the same time play football, I really couldn't have asked for more.
"There are thousands of footballers that would love to come and play in the A-League but they don't all get the opportunity. I keep saying it but I do realise how lucky I am, I really do.
Dwight Yorke was the first well-known player to take a risk by accepting terms with eventual champions Sydney FC last year. Yorke eventually fought his way back into first-team reckoning with Trinidad and Tobago, captained his country at the World Cup and last month was offered the chance of another two year's in England at Roy Keane's Sunderland.
But he is not the only one. Before the second season started at the end of August, current Socceroos Stan Lazaridis, Tony Vidmar and Joel Griffiths all returned home while former Australian national team captain Paul Okon also made the switch. Dutch winger Bobby Petta has linked up with the premiers Adelaide United, former China international striker Yuning Zhang with Queensland and Grant Brebner joined Melbourne.
In the latest Socceroos squad, eight of the 26 players selected by interim coach Graham Arnold call the A-League home.
"Without doubt there are some great players," Gemmill responds without hesitation to the question of the league's standing. "There are some standout individuals in each team and the level is high. That's something people around the world don't realise yet. But they will do when the league gets the chance to grow."
The Scotsman has just landed in Brisbane ahead of New Zealand's round four clash with the Roar at Suncorp Stadium when we chat. He admits he's still coming to terms with the players being greeted by stony silences when they disembark and retells a story of how one man, noticing the tracksuited players leaving the arrivals lounge, innocently asking what the A-League to prove his point.
"It's weird when somebody doesn't know what the A-League is," he says. "If I'm being honest, nobody knows me really and I'm fine with that. I mean in England I lived the normal life. I'm not a recognised famous face - I don't pretend to be.
"I'm very grateful to be given a chance to part of it. I could easily be at home unemployed right now if I'm honest. I'm at that age where I'm just grateful to be still playing and I intend to repay the manger's faith by playing my part in the team. He's given me a chance to come down and play and I don't want to let him down.
"I haven’t got any pressure on me from supporters to do well. But I feel I put myself under pressure. I've had a good career, I'm extremely proud of what I've achieved and I don't want to spoil it now. I'm not under any financial pressures. If I really thought I couldn't play my part in the team, I wouldn't be here."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Friday, August 11, 2006
A-League 2006-07 Season Preview Part 1
Can the bottom four from season one make the required leap into the playoff series this season? Marc Fox reports.
New Zealand Knights
After a whirlwind close season, just six players from John Adshead's first-year recruitment drive remain at the side which finished a hefty 20 points adrift at the foot of the table. And rightly so. New coach Paul Nevin - Adshead's former assistant after arriving fresh from coaching Fulham's reserves in England - has blown the cobwebs from an underachieving group with a whopping 14 new signings.
Nevin has endured the wrath of Football Federation Australia and Knights supporters alike for his insistence on improving the calibre of squad with or without New Zealand players. Only three of his acquisitions are Kiwis and he's even spoiled that piece of public relations by releasing three other New Zealanders - including player of the year 18-year-old Jeremy Brockie - from the season one squad.
But there's little doubt the club is in better shape because of it. The traditional pre-season tournament has seen the Knights string together their longest unbeaten run since the team's inception. And by common consensus they won't be the easy beats of last year. Nevin has bought in players with real character and a sense of team ownership - both elements sadly lacking in the inaugural season.
He has also immediately instilled a rigid playing system with an impressive central pairing of former internationals Richard Johnson and Scottish playmaker Scot Gemmill.
Last season: 8th
Major arrivals: Matt Carbon (Barnsley, England), Scot Gemmill (Oxford United, England), Richard Johnson (Newcastle Jets), Dani Rodrigues (Yeovil Town, England)
Major departures: Jeremy Brockie (Sydney FC), Jeremy Christie (Perth Glory)
Key man: Dani Rodrigues
One to watch: Malik Buari
Coach: Paul Nevin (first season)
Melbourne Victory
From top of the A-League in October to second bottom come round 21, Melbourne's debut season left supporters shaking their heads in disappointment. The Victory finished meekly after promising so much earlier in the campaign - the 5-0 rout of eventual champions Sydney FC when World Cup striker Archie Thompson scored twice - a classic example.
During crunch time, the depth of coach Ernie Merrick's squad was sorely tested. Thompson departed for a six-month loan spell at PSV and talismanic captain Kevin Muscat - recently recalled to the Socceroo setup - missed three crucial matches through suspension. Their replacements just never quite cut it.
But the upcoming campaign promises much more. The returning Thompson, the rejuvenated Danny Allsopp and respected Scottish midfielder Grant Brebner should provide a step up in class. An uncertain element has also been added to the Melbourne mix through Merrick's recruitment of three Brazilians: forwards Fred and Claudinho and left-sided Roberto Carlos-esque Alessandro, perhaps the pick of the bunch.
Merrick has also learnt from previous mistakes. His was the first fully-assembled squad this time after struggling through undermanned last term. Moreover, pre-season training started in earnest back in April with former Olympic sprinter Adam Basil - now turned Melbourne's strength and conditioning coach - putting the players through their paces. This in turn has delivered a fully fit and raring Muscat, something the combative defender himself admitted fans never witnessed last season.
Last season: 7th
Major arrivals: Fred, Claudinho & Alessandro (all Brazil), Grant Brebner (Dundee United, Scotland), Adrian Caceres (Perth Glory)
Major departures: Richard Kitzbichler (Salzburg, Austria)
Key man: Kevin Muscat
One to watch: Alessandro
Coach: Ernie Merrick (second season)
Queensland Roar
Even though Queensland rhetoric tells you the club were just a solitary victory from making the playoffs, the Roar's failure to win around Christmas cost them a chance of breaking into the top four. They languished outside the top half for two-thirds of the season and it was only three late season wins which propped up their points tally towards the end.
In summary, last year Queensland were defensively sound but profligate in front of goal. No surprises then that three of the team's major arrivals are international calibre strikers, and that of season one's quintet of forwards, none remain (although Socceroo Alex Brosque was nabbed by hometown club Sydney FC in acrimonious circumstances).
Coach Miron Bleiberg should have a lot of fun trying to prise ex-China striker Yuning Zhang, Scotland under-21 representative Simon Lynch and local hotshot Ante Milicic into his side despite his penchant for playing three up front. The Roar's supply line to the strikers has also been bolstered with Germany's Marcus Wedau arriving from VfL Osnabruck, a direct replacement for Korean Shin Tae-Yong who was forced into early retirement last term.
Bleiberg has wheeled and dealed his way to a vastly superior playing staff on paper but concerns still linger as to the coach's tactical proficiency and the side's ability to gel in readiness for the new season.
Last season: 6th
Major arrivals: Yuning Zhang (Shanghai Shenhau, China), Simon Lynch (Dundee, Scotland), Marcus Wedau (VfL Osnabruck, Germany), Ante Milicic (Newcastle Jets)
Major departures: Alex Brosque (Sydney FC), Jonti Richter (New Zealand Knights), Scott Higgins (Falkirk, Scotland), David Williams (Brondby, Denmark)
Key man: Hyuk-Su Seo
One to watch: Spase Dilevski
Coach: Miron Bleiberg (second season)
Perth Glory
Ownerless Perth have endured a torrid pre-season. With the FFA taking over the reigns from previous chairman Nick Tana, who relinquished the licence on April 1, progress over the club's new head coach ground to a halt. Then earlier this month, Ron Smith, the former technical director of Australia's national teams, accepted the position with ex-Socceroo David Mitchell his assistant.
Smith has very quickly added the remaining pieces to the Glory jigsaw although followers are concerned by the lack of star names. A haphazard recruitment process, reminiscent of Steve McMahon's ultimately fruitless drive a year ago, has seen really only the arrival of Stan Lazaridis wet supporters' whistles. Lazaridis, an unused squad member at the World Cup, picked Perth over premiers Adelaide - basically choosing his hometown over his wife's.
Considering Perth's suspect forward line, which truly only boasted veteran pair Bobby Despotovski and Stuart Young before Smith's arrival as coach, critics have seized on the decision to strengthen the striking department with two untested youngsters, Luka Glavas and Mimi Saric. Neither player has spent much time in the top-flight.
Lazaridis adds excellent balance to the midfield where he's certain to be deployed on the left flank after spending much of his latter Premiership career at full-back. New Zealander Jeremy Christie is also an exciting prospect while Simon Colosimo has plenty still to prove after returning from Europe.
Last season: 5th
Major arrivals: Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham City, England), Leo Bertos (Worksop Town, England), Jeremy Christie (New Zealand Knights)
Major departures: Nick Ward (QPR, England), Damian Mori (Released)
Key man: Stan Lazaridis
One to watch: Jeremy Christie
Coach: Ron Smith (first season)
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New Zealand Knights
After a whirlwind close season, just six players from John Adshead's first-year recruitment drive remain at the side which finished a hefty 20 points adrift at the foot of the table. And rightly so. New coach Paul Nevin - Adshead's former assistant after arriving fresh from coaching Fulham's reserves in England - has blown the cobwebs from an underachieving group with a whopping 14 new signings.
Nevin has endured the wrath of Football Federation Australia and Knights supporters alike for his insistence on improving the calibre of squad with or without New Zealand players. Only three of his acquisitions are Kiwis and he's even spoiled that piece of public relations by releasing three other New Zealanders - including player of the year 18-year-old Jeremy Brockie - from the season one squad.
But there's little doubt the club is in better shape because of it. The traditional pre-season tournament has seen the Knights string together their longest unbeaten run since the team's inception. And by common consensus they won't be the easy beats of last year. Nevin has bought in players with real character and a sense of team ownership - both elements sadly lacking in the inaugural season.
He has also immediately instilled a rigid playing system with an impressive central pairing of former internationals Richard Johnson and Scottish playmaker Scot Gemmill.
Last season: 8th
Major arrivals: Matt Carbon (Barnsley, England), Scot Gemmill (Oxford United, England), Richard Johnson (Newcastle Jets), Dani Rodrigues (Yeovil Town, England)
Major departures: Jeremy Brockie (Sydney FC), Jeremy Christie (Perth Glory)
Key man: Dani Rodrigues
One to watch: Malik Buari
Coach: Paul Nevin (first season)
Melbourne Victory
From top of the A-League in October to second bottom come round 21, Melbourne's debut season left supporters shaking their heads in disappointment. The Victory finished meekly after promising so much earlier in the campaign - the 5-0 rout of eventual champions Sydney FC when World Cup striker Archie Thompson scored twice - a classic example.
During crunch time, the depth of coach Ernie Merrick's squad was sorely tested. Thompson departed for a six-month loan spell at PSV and talismanic captain Kevin Muscat - recently recalled to the Socceroo setup - missed three crucial matches through suspension. Their replacements just never quite cut it.
But the upcoming campaign promises much more. The returning Thompson, the rejuvenated Danny Allsopp and respected Scottish midfielder Grant Brebner should provide a step up in class. An uncertain element has also been added to the Melbourne mix through Merrick's recruitment of three Brazilians: forwards Fred and Claudinho and left-sided Roberto Carlos-esque Alessandro, perhaps the pick of the bunch.
Merrick has also learnt from previous mistakes. His was the first fully-assembled squad this time after struggling through undermanned last term. Moreover, pre-season training started in earnest back in April with former Olympic sprinter Adam Basil - now turned Melbourne's strength and conditioning coach - putting the players through their paces. This in turn has delivered a fully fit and raring Muscat, something the combative defender himself admitted fans never witnessed last season.
Last season: 7th
Major arrivals: Fred, Claudinho & Alessandro (all Brazil), Grant Brebner (Dundee United, Scotland), Adrian Caceres (Perth Glory)
Major departures: Richard Kitzbichler (Salzburg, Austria)
Key man: Kevin Muscat
One to watch: Alessandro
Coach: Ernie Merrick (second season)
Queensland Roar
Even though Queensland rhetoric tells you the club were just a solitary victory from making the playoffs, the Roar's failure to win around Christmas cost them a chance of breaking into the top four. They languished outside the top half for two-thirds of the season and it was only three late season wins which propped up their points tally towards the end.
In summary, last year Queensland were defensively sound but profligate in front of goal. No surprises then that three of the team's major arrivals are international calibre strikers, and that of season one's quintet of forwards, none remain (although Socceroo Alex Brosque was nabbed by hometown club Sydney FC in acrimonious circumstances).
Coach Miron Bleiberg should have a lot of fun trying to prise ex-China striker Yuning Zhang, Scotland under-21 representative Simon Lynch and local hotshot Ante Milicic into his side despite his penchant for playing three up front. The Roar's supply line to the strikers has also been bolstered with Germany's Marcus Wedau arriving from VfL Osnabruck, a direct replacement for Korean Shin Tae-Yong who was forced into early retirement last term.
Bleiberg has wheeled and dealed his way to a vastly superior playing staff on paper but concerns still linger as to the coach's tactical proficiency and the side's ability to gel in readiness for the new season.
Last season: 6th
Major arrivals: Yuning Zhang (Shanghai Shenhau, China), Simon Lynch (Dundee, Scotland), Marcus Wedau (VfL Osnabruck, Germany), Ante Milicic (Newcastle Jets)
Major departures: Alex Brosque (Sydney FC), Jonti Richter (New Zealand Knights), Scott Higgins (Falkirk, Scotland), David Williams (Brondby, Denmark)
Key man: Hyuk-Su Seo
One to watch: Spase Dilevski
Coach: Miron Bleiberg (second season)
Perth Glory
Ownerless Perth have endured a torrid pre-season. With the FFA taking over the reigns from previous chairman Nick Tana, who relinquished the licence on April 1, progress over the club's new head coach ground to a halt. Then earlier this month, Ron Smith, the former technical director of Australia's national teams, accepted the position with ex-Socceroo David Mitchell his assistant.
Smith has very quickly added the remaining pieces to the Glory jigsaw although followers are concerned by the lack of star names. A haphazard recruitment process, reminiscent of Steve McMahon's ultimately fruitless drive a year ago, has seen really only the arrival of Stan Lazaridis wet supporters' whistles. Lazaridis, an unused squad member at the World Cup, picked Perth over premiers Adelaide - basically choosing his hometown over his wife's.
Considering Perth's suspect forward line, which truly only boasted veteran pair Bobby Despotovski and Stuart Young before Smith's arrival as coach, critics have seized on the decision to strengthen the striking department with two untested youngsters, Luka Glavas and Mimi Saric. Neither player has spent much time in the top-flight.
Lazaridis adds excellent balance to the midfield where he's certain to be deployed on the left flank after spending much of his latter Premiership career at full-back. New Zealander Jeremy Christie is also an exciting prospect while Simon Colosimo has plenty still to prove after returning from Europe.
Last season: 5th
Major arrivals: Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham City, England), Leo Bertos (Worksop Town, England), Jeremy Christie (New Zealand Knights)
Major departures: Nick Ward (QPR, England), Damian Mori (Released)
Key man: Stan Lazaridis
One to watch: Jeremy Christie
Coach: Ron Smith (first season)
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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