Dane's OPINION

Joeys vs Denmark - Group Match 3

2011-06-29T09:37:00.002+10:00

Certain people had taken a day off work to watch the original, called off final group match between Australia and Denmark and were unable to therefore back it up with an all nighter to watch the replay before work the next day.

So with no match report I thought I'd offer something a little different. Below is a selection of tweets which will try to sum up the performance. There really weren't many to choose from in the feed and it would seem that I wasn't the only one suffering from the work predicament.

KevinAirs442 Kevin Airs

Ugly performance by #joeys really, but ultimately sensible one - conserved energy well in heavy conditions after going down to 10 men early.

KevinAirs442 Kevin Airs

@MickLynch_Age Nature vs nurture? Environment did not suit pretty play, remains to be seen if Joeys have been nurtured to play better though

sebth Sebastian Hassett

Congratulations to the Joeys on making it through to the knockout stages. Keep going boys, the country is behind you.

DaviddeCorran Davidde Corran

Getting here was a bloody mission. I'm buggered and I didn't even play a game today! #Joeys yfrog.com/h0ca5pcuj

Australia now play Uzbekistan on Thursday, 5.45am AEST.

Joeys vs Brazil - Group Match 2

2011-06-24T10:31:00.005+10:00

Australia’s under 17 Joeys went down gallantly 1-0 to powerhouse Brazil in their second group match this morning with a sublime free kick from Adryan in the 76th minute the only difference between the two sides.

The boys lined up relatively settled for their second group match against Brazil with only the one change in right fullback Riley Woodcock coming in for Jake Monaco which was an early change for Jan Versleijen against Cote d’Ivoire anyway. They lined up in their familiar 4-3-3 as follows:

---------------------Izzo
Woodcock--Chapman--King--Brown
----Makarounas--Mellin--Perkatis
----Cooper--Tombidis--Espindola

Australia looked a different side from the get go in this match and were very impressive. It was refreshing to watch them take the game to the more technically superior Brazilians and in their yellow strip, you could have been forgiven for mixing the teams up. For the whole first half it was Brazil who were relying on their ability to counter attack and hitting aimless ‘wonderstrikes’ which saw Izzo not properly tested once. Australia on the other hand, although certainly no Barca, were keeping the ball and playing through midfield which the Brazilians obviously didn’t like.

To me, Australia’s standout players this match were the two wide attackers in Hernan Espindola and Mitch Cooper. Both were a constant headache to the Brazilian defense when they were on the ball, running at players and playing balls to feet. To go along with these two, you can’t look past a defense that forced the attacking might of Brazil to only long, low percentage shots while the team around them still plays football.

Tactically somewhat surprising, Australia’s fullbacks got forward, going past the teammate in front of them to create an overlap but not once were they used. Yes it opened up space for the player on the inside but each time that they cut in, they held the ball for too long and lost possession. Frustrating to say the least.

Another interesting point was how in the first group match against Cote d'Ivoire, I was critical of Jacob Mellin. This time out, he did have a better game and is a little terrier in midfield but still, like most of our midfield, gave the ball away thanks to simple errors far too often. Something that needs to be addressed before next match.

A few of the Brazilian lads were booked for diving or simply told to get up by the referee when appealing for fouls until finally in the 76th minute something went their way which saw them receive a free kick right on the edge of the area. Adryan stepped up confidently and slotted the ball over the wall and into the top right hand corner of the net. A shot that almost no keeper in world football would have gotten to. Harsh… but fair.

In conclusion, a far better effort from Australia but no points to show for it. There is now everything to play for in the final group match against Denmark who went down to Cote d'Ivoire in the other match today. Surely coming off a performance like this, Australia will be up for it. Can’t wait!

Match Details:

FIFA U-17 World Cup Mexico 2011 – Group F
Qantas Joeys 0
Brazil 1 (Adryan 76’)
Thursday 23 June 2011, Estadio Guadalajara
Referee: Stephan Studer (Switzerland)
Assistant Referee: Sandro Pozzi & Raffael Zeder (Switzerland)
Fourth Official: Diego Abal (Argentina)

Qantas Joeys starting-lineup: 1.Paul IZZO (gk), 3.Connor CHAPMAN (c), 4.Tom KING, 5.Corey BROWN, 6.Yianni PERKATIS (14.Milos DEGENEK 66’), 7.Hernan ESPINDOLA (19.Mitchell OXBORROW 66’), 8.Mitch COOPER, 9.Dylan TOMBIDES, 10.Jesse MAKAROUNAS (16.Stefan MAUK 83’), 17.Jacob MELLING, 21.Riley WOODCOCK

Substitutes not used: 2.Jake MONACO, 11.Luke REMINGTON, 12. Lachlan TIBBLES (gk), 13. Teeboy KAMARA, 15.Anthony PROIA, 18.Daniel SADAKA (gk), 20.Nicholas ANSELL

Yellow cards: Jacob MELLING 70’

Red cards: Nil

Brazil starting line-up: 1. Charles, 2. Wallace, 3. Marquinhos (c), 4. Matheus BARBOSA, 6. Emerson, 7. Guilherme (19. Nathan 60’), 8. Marlon BICA, 9. Ademilson (18. Wellington 89’), 10. Adryan, 11. Lucas PIAZON, 16. Hernani (5. Misael 60’)

Substitutes not used: 12. Uilson (gk), 13.Claudio WINCK, 14. Josue, 15. Jonathan, 17. Bruno SABIA, 20. Leo BONATINI, 21. Jacsson (gk)

Yellow cards: Lucas PIAZON 51’, Matheus BARBOSA 57’, Nathan 79’

Red cards: Nil

Australia next faces Denmark on 27 June AEST needing a result to see their safe passage through to the next phase of the tournam

Joeys vs Cote d'Ivoire - Group Match 1

2011-06-21T14:38:00.006+10:00

The Australian Under 17 national side, the Joeys got their World Cup campaign off to a flying start this morning thanks to Jesse Macarounas and Dylan Tombides strikes that gave Australia a 2-1 come from behind victory against Cote d’Ivoire.

The Joey’s lined up in the now ‘standard’, FFA mandated 4-3-3 system. This side was billed in the media beforehand by coach Jan Versleijen as the first age bracket to grow up with the system, rather than the older lads who have had to adapt half way through their time with the national setup so big things were obviously expected. They started as follows:

---------------------Izzo

Monaco--Chapman--King--Brown

---Cooper-----Mellin-----Perkatis

Espindola --Tombidis--Makarounas

For the first two minutes of the game Australia knocked the ball between each other around the back showing that they, like all football sides, can keep the ball when no pressure is applied. However, as soon as the Australian’s started to try and play through midfield and encountered some pressure, it immediately fell apart.

Cote d’Ivoire deserved their 1-0 lead which was gifted to them through a Tom King (on the books at Liverpool) error at the back when he tried to turn back in towards an attacker while trying to play out of the back rather than moving away. Possession was lost and after a few sharp passes, the goal was finished with a clinical strike past Izzo. Connor Chapman always looked good and confident stepping out of defence with the ball at his feet but overall distribution from the back into midfield was horrible. Not good to see when this is what the side’s strength and style is meant to be built from.

In midfield, retention of possession was again horrible. In particular Jacob Mellin made some poor decisions with the ball at his feet trying to play. I don’t like drilling players like him or King for making errors when trying to play football, especially at this age and to me the most disappointing element of the game was not the errors themselves, but the fact that Australia stopped trying to play and started kicking and hoping for the best. Was this a coached tactic by Versleijen? Why?!

From behind, Australia did show that they are still a capable side by going on to win the match 2-1 thanks to a pearler of a strike from Jesse Makarounas, hitting the ball on the volley from all of 20 yards which looped over the keeper to hit the back of the net. This was followed up by a Dylan Tombides special, instinctively beating the keeper at the near post after beating a defender in the box and forcing him to commit.

Izzo in goals helped the lads hold on, pulling out some cracking saves. Looks to be an excellent shot stopper but looked a little shaky at every corner, committing but never reaching the ball.

Australia ended the match looking like:

---------------------Izzo

Woodcock--Chapman--King--Brown

-----Cooper---Mellin---Degenek

Kamara- ---Tombidis----Makarounas

The Kamara change really brought life to the right side of our attack and to me, along with Tombides, really proved the stand out for Australia today.

So to wrap up, Australia did get the result but the game could ultimately be considered a failure in the way we played. Conceding 60/40% possession in a side that boasts playing through midfield as its primary tactic is just not good enough. I am very interested to see Versleijen’s reaction to this thinking when it ultimately gets put to him. Bring on Brazil!

Joeys line-up: 1. Paul IZZO, 2. Jake MONACO (21. Riley WOODCOCK 46'), 3. Connor CHAPMAN (C), 4. Tom KING, 5. Corey BROWN, 6. Yianni PERKATIS (14. Milos DEGENEK 67'), 7. Hernan ESPINDOLA (13.Teeboy KAMARA 65'), 8. Mitch COOPER, 9. Dylan TOMBIDES, 10. Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 17. Jacob MELLIN.

Australia next faces Brazil on 24 June AEST, with the South American giant top of the group after a 3-0 win over Denmark in its opener.

Socceroos Asian Cup Squad 2011

2011-01-05T21:29:00.003+11:00

Keepers

Mark Schwarzer

Brad Jones

Nathan Coe

Defenders

Lucas Neill

Sasa Ognenovski

Matthew Spiranovic

Jade North

Jon McKain

David Carney

Luke Wilkshire

Midfielders

Tim Cahill

Brett Holman

Jason Culina

Mile Jedinak

Carl Valeri

Neil Kilkenny

Matt McKay

Brett Emerton

Tommy Oar

Strikers

Harry Kewell

Scott McDonald

Nathan Burns

Robbie Kruse

Pretty happy with the squad picked really with the only noticeable omissions that I would have liked to have seen being Rukavytsya in place of Kruse up front and a younger, more promising DeVere in place of McKain at the back.

In reality, the previous 'golden generation' has well and truly passed us by and we don't have the same pool of quality players to pick from any more. The squad Holger Osieck has picked is as balanced as we could have hoped for and overall should do the job of pushing for the tournament victory.

As for formations, I have offered up two alternatives that I think we should look at playing:

First of all a very attacking 4-4-2 that I would love to see used against the weaker opponents throughout the group stage:

-------------------Schwarzer

Wilkshire--Ognenovski--Neil--Carney

--------------------Culina

Emerton----------------------------Oar

--------------------Cahill

-------------McDonald--Kewell

The most important aspect being giving McDonald a partner up front to try to get the best out of an obviously good player. I just feel that if he can get a goal then the floodgates will open. McDonald doesn't fit into the system when we play 1 up front. It's not rocket science.

Secondly, a more conservative but still quite attacking 4-2-3-1 that should get more of a look in come the end of the tournament:

-------------------Schwarzer

Wilkshire--Ognenovski--Neil--Carney

----------------Valeri--Culina

Emerton-----------Cahill-------Holman

---------------------Kewell

Just to finish up on, I am a big believer that we took the wrong attitude into the last tournament. The culture in Asia is something totally different to our own. It's all about being humble, respectful and getting on with YOUR business. I wonder if we will have learnt anything from the past?

Australia World Cup Squad 2010 Predictions

2010-05-08T21:44:00.012+10:00

With the announcement of Australia's 30 man preliminary World Cup squad on Tuesday, it has motivated me enough to drag out the blog again! Here's my thoughts for the 23 man final squad along with some 'noticeable misses' at the bottom.

Goalkeepers:
Schwarzer
Federici
Jones

Pim has basically said that Schwarz will be his number one while Reading's Federici will surely get the number two spot after not only his club form but excellent performances at the Olympic games for Australia.

With Pim no longer contracted to Australia after the tournament, I see him having no need to persevere with A-League players who he has publicly said that he does not rate and will surely go with Jones ahead of Galekovic.

This third spot that quite frankly will not come close to the field, should also go to youth, and that is something that both Covic and Petkovic lack.

Centre Backs:
Neill
Moore
Colosimo DM
Milligan DM

I think we will need to take four centre backs. Neil is obviously the first man on the list and assured of his spot. The rest is fairly open though and I see this as probably where we are weakest. Moore seems like he will walk into the starting side alongside Neil even though he has only been playing in Greece and now the Queensland State League (well training at least). Being older, it could go either way with the rest doing him wonders or lack of match fitness seeing him lose it. Only time will tell.

The other two spots have been thrown wide open with Kisnorbo's injury. Spiranovic was meant to be our savior at the back but not even playing at Uruwa has looked like ruining his chances and Pim's complete ignorance of the Ogmonster has shot Colosimo right into the frame. He was been by far the most consistant defender in the A-League last season and surely can do a job. The last spot I see coming down to either Milligan or North. I would personally go with Milligan because I think he is a much more complete player with a lot more potential than North ever had. Too bad he made some rediculous career choices huh...

Fullbacks:
Williams RB/LB
Chipperfield LB
Carney LB

Williams will surely be picked as he gives us flexability in being able to play on both the left or the right and I would surely start him at RB. Chipperfield is also in career best form at Basil and will walk into the side at LB.

The fullback cover is where we start to run thin. I see no other option but to pick Carney. Emerton and Wilkshire are in the side remember who can both slot in at RB if required but their names would surely be on the teamsheet in other positions first. We really are running thin in the fullback department. Where else do we go for a LB? Steffanuto has been injured for the entire A-League season. Heffernan, no thanks. Jamieson, no thanks. It is a little bit worrying but with some luck hopefully we can stay healthy and all will be good.

Defensive Mids:
Wilkshire RB AM
Grella
Culina
Valeri

A few years ago who would have thought that Luke Wilkshire would turn into probably the most important player in the Socceroos squad. His utility value is priceless but I think his strength lies in the middle of the park and would like to see him start beside Grella at DM who also if fit obviously walks into the side.

Culina and Valeri are worthy backups and I just see no space for Jedinak as I would much rather take a more attack minded squad player rather than an extra DM who will most probably not see game time all tournament.

Attacking Mids:
Cahill
Bresciano
Emerton RB
Holman
Kewell ST
Oar
Vidosic ST

Cahill, Bresciano, Emerton and Holman are all obvious picks and is realistically where most of our goals are going to come from.

Kewell will either play on the left of the attacking three or leading the line. That is up to Pim and I think he will be one of the most important players on the pitch wherever he plays. All this talk of injury is starting to make me worry!

The final two here in Oar and Vidosic were by far the hardest to pick. Vidosic has been playing very well in Germany of late and scoring goals. His versatility in being able to play up front will surely see him picked. Oar I'm throwing in there as a surprise. Surely if he is picked he will not get much, if any game time but the experience will do him wonders and he has shown he is a game changer. Take the risk!

Carle and Brosque to be unlucky to miss out. Brosque not playing after the A-League will hurt him. It seems as though he has chosen to spend time with his new born child and family rather than go overseas and chase a slim chance at being picked and good on him. He will surely feature in the reckoning for the next squad. Carle on the other hand is a game changer but I just can't find room for him in Pim's system. Very unlucky but I would rather take others.

Strikers:
Kennedy
Rukavytsya

Only playing the one up front, Kennedy has turned into our number one option up front and while he worked wonders against Asian opposition, I don't know if he will have the same effect against the physically bigger opponents in our group. This is the reason I can see Kewell starting up front ahead of him.

Our striking stocks are also quite thin and I see Ruka being picked ahead of McDonald who has never looked settled in the system. Ruka, while not setting the world alight playing in Holland, offers that something different for late in the game if we are desperate. He is lightening!

Formation:
-----------Schwartzer
Williams--Neil--Moore--Chippers
--------Wilkshire--Grella
----Emerton--Cahill--Kewell
------------Kennedy

The only swap I don't mind the sound of is Kennedy dropping to the bench, Kewell leading the line with Holman coming into the attacking trio behind.

Notable Misses:
Galekovich
Spiranovic
North
Steffanuto
Jedinak
Carle
Brosque
McDonald

Thoughts and comments below would be appreciated.

Young Socceroos vs Czech Republic - Group Match 1

2009-09-28T23:33:00.005+10:00

Well. What a dissapointment that game turned out to be. Unfortunatly, I really think that we needed at the very least a point from that game to have any chance to progress to the knockout stage and with this extremely flattering 2-1 loss can all but kiss goodbye that dream.

Australia lined up something resembling the following:

---------------Bouzanis

Mullen-McGowen-DeVere-Jurman

-----Kantarovski--Holland

Danning----Nichols----Oar

--------------Hoffman

Rooney > Hoffman

Herd > Nichols

Minniecon > Danning

Late red to McGowen

The game started a little cagey, especially in midfield but I suppose that was to be expected. Our defenders were actually the shining light for the game overall, managing to keep a straight, high line that consistantly caught out the very pacey Czech attackers who were playing a very direct style on the break only. McGowen and DeVere look very solid players in the middle along with Mullen outwide. It may be a preconstructed opinion I have from watching Jurman at Sydney in the middle of the park but he just didn't work out wide for me. He just seemed big, clumsy and slow and didn't have the physical attributes to play the fullback role. This for both players this was definitely noticed in attack, with wide support from these players being non existant.

The Czech's first goal from the corner could have been kept out if Australia has defenders on the posts. I thought this was basically an under sixes standard tactic. Frustrating!!

I thought Kantarovski did alright in the DM position but I was quite unimpressed with James Holland alongside him. Having seen him at Newcastle for his stint there and then moving onto AZ, I thought he would prove a lot more effective than he was. Lets just hope he was having an off night. Kanta was definitely playing the deeper of the two naturally being a defender and his touch was sublime at times. He did do the simple things well but really offered us nothing else.

The Czechs really were a class above us in the centre of the park. They were faster, had a better touch, more physical. You know you are going to have a struggle when a player as fast as Danning is outpaced down his wing time after time. I don't know if it was because he wasn't used to being beaten for pace or was told to hold it up but I thought he could have taken on his man a bit more than he did. So many times he seemed to just stop and play an easy ball back inside. Probably not what we were looking for when getting dominated in midfield. Oar on the other wing was similarly ineffective. Just neither had the time or touch to allow them to take on a defender so full credit goes to the Czechs.

Probably not the most popular comment but I'm not going to drill Mitch Nichols. Yes he has the most punchable face in world football and botched some simple chances that should have been goals but I look at it that he was the one getting himself into positions to allow him to botch them. He did add an element of unpredictability. A spark to our attack which Herd didn't offer when he came on, dissapointingly seeing us cruise to a loss without doing anything. I keep hearing all these good things about Aaron Mooy. Time for him next match? Maybe even Minniecon starting somewhere around here is the answer. I actually thought he looked more threatening than Danning and if he is fully fit has to be in the starting side.

Up front alone Hoffman was shit. Shit A-League player so no surprises here. Rooney should have started from the beginning but even when he came on saw practically none of the ball and looked just as poor.

So we have to go all out now. Maybe Kanta can drop back into centre back for the suspended McGowen and a more attack minded midfielder can come in. All I hope is that we actually have a go and not just cruise through in mediocrity like after going 1-0 down in this match. Bring on Wednesday.

Young Socceroos Squad for Egypt

2009-09-27T18:55:00.002+10:00

Qantas Young Socceroos Squad:
1. Andrew Redmayne (gk) (Central Coast Mariners)
2. Daniel Mullen (Adelaide United)
3. Luke DeVere (Brisbane Roar)
4. Ryan McGowan (Hearts FC, Scotland)
5. Matthew Jurman (Sydney FC)
6. James Holland (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands)
7. Tahj Minniecon (Gold Coast United)
8. Aaron Mooy (Bolton Wanderers, England)
9. Jason Hoffman (Newcastle Jets)
10. Mitch Nichols (Brisbane Roar)
11. Thomas Oar (Brisbane Roar)
12. Nathan Elasi (Melbourne Victory)
13. Chris Herd (Aston Villa, England)
14. Kofi Danning (Sydney FC)
15. Sam Munro (Sydney FC)
16. Ben Kantarovski (Newcastle Jets)
17. Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC)
18. Dean Bouzanis (gk) (Liverpool FC, England)
19. Sean Rooney (Newcastle Jets)
20. Sam Gallagher (Manly United)
21. Alex Cisak (gk) (Leicester City, England)

Qantas Young Socceroos Schedule:
27 September: Australia v Czech Republic
30 September: Australia v Costa Rica
3 October: Australia v Brazil

FIFA U-20 World Cup 2009 Groups:
Group A:
Egypt, Trinidad & Tobago, Paraguay, Italy

Group B:
Nigeria, Venezuela, Spain, Tahiti

Group C:
USA, Germany, Cameroon, Korea Republic

Group D:
Ghana, Uzbekistan, England, Uruguay

Group E:
Brazil, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Australia

Group F:
United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Honduras, Hungary

--------

I just lifted this straight from Tribal Football but the format shows what's going on for Australia in the tournament really well.

Australia has had a few lead up matches mostly sticking to the 4-2-3-1 or a slight variation that all our national sides play these days but the make up of the final first team is still not really clear. I'm not going to read into friendly results at all and really can't wait for the first game against the Czechs tonight.

I love these international youth tournaments. The unpredictability and just seeing the new, young talent coming through is great.

Keep your eye out for the post match analysis I will be doing.

Uzbekistan vs Australia - WCQ

2008-09-12T15:40:00.001+10:00

We know that Uzbekistan can play football from their Asian Cup campaign followed up with impressive results in the last round of World Cup Qualifiers. Add to that the 'unknown' nature of the country and what it would be like going there to play a qualifier and you can see it would be tough. We did however, come through with flying colours and more importantly, 3 points.

Australia started with their now usual away from home formation as follows:

--------------Schwartzer

Emerton--Coyne--Neil--Chipperfield

-------------Burns--Valeri

Wilkshire-----Holman-----Bresciano

-----------------Kewell

I think we can actually say that our backline is sorted! I was pleasantly surprised to see Chippers come back into the role that Carney has basically made his own over the last year and remind us all why he has been there for so long. on the other side of defense we had Emerton and Wilkshire basically interchanging. Both can do such a good job in both possession retention and offering something going forward. A year ago you wouldn't have heard me, or many people say that!

Centrally Neil is the stalwart of the team and showed just why tonight with an absolutely flawless performance. I would go close to giving him man of the match honors if he wasn't so cruel to animals! The way he positions himself and can read play is excellent. Coyne really surprised me tonight as well. I wasn't the biggest fan of giving a man in his late 20s playing League 1 in England a starting spot in our national side at this time but god he put in an equally as solid performance tonight and showed that he could easily be playing at a higher level. I still want to see Spiranovic in there but it is good to be spoilt for choice and Coyne has impressed me a lot more than spoilt brat North and good ol' Beauchamp.

Our defensive midfield lineup was basically makeshift with the usuals Grella and Culina unavailable. Someone told me that Burns was called into the squad on the day of the match so I am not going to worry about seeing too much of him. Valeri didn't have the best of games and I was a little concerned about his ability to keep possession, but as an understudy while Grella or Culina are on the pitch we know he is solid. Just an extra point about this position, while watching TWG on Sunday Craig Foster said something I thought was quite smart (for once). His point was about playing a more attacking type player alongside a ball winner to add more balance and give us that extra option going forward. Meaning Culina--Grella or Culina--Valeri rather than the two out and out defensive midfielders together. However, especially away from home I can't see Pim having the balls to do this.

Wilkshire was as immense in attack as he was in defense. He has come so far and once again it was his cross that led to Chippers goal. Holman was Holman. Gets into brilliant positions in attack but has the first touch of a rapist and a composure rating of minus ten. Can this be learnt/gained? I sure hope so. Bresciano was quiet again. Find some form son! Finally Kewell up front again was nothing special. Pim said before the match that he picked Kewell there ahead of Kennedy for tactical reasons since he believes he can hold the ball up better away from home. Kennedy may have actually been one of the sufferers of the stomach virus, I don't know but I would have loved to see him tonight with Kewell in place of Bresciano or Holman. I just feel he is so wasted when he is not running at players.

I love the system, I don't always love the players used in certain roles but we got the three points from a game that I definitely didn't bank on. What a start!

Olyroos vs Ivory Coast + Olympics Wrap Up

2008-08-18T17:52:00.001+10:00

Australia started with a lot more enterprise than previous games and this was by far our most entertaining to watch. We really looked to take it to the Ivory Coast but once again just didn't have that edge in the final third. The Rukavytsya risk didn't pay off. He is just way too inexperienced and raw.

Ivory Coast sat deep in defense probably giving us more respect than we deserved. A draw was good enough to see them go through so I suppose it may have been warranted to take less risks in committing players forward. This could however been our advantage if we had anyone that could take a chance.

Australia have had the same problem not only in this match but throughout the tournament and it just highlights the class difference in the players on show. That is our first touch. Every time the ball comes to us in even open space our players have heavy touches which puts them immediately under pressure. Argentina especially impressed me in tight, nonexistent spaces in and around the box they were still able to touch the ball with close control to exactly where they wanted it. Both our anticipation and actual technical ability to do this were very evidently lacking.

Good things to come out of the tournament were definitely Spiranovic, Carney and Federici. Honorable mentions have to also go to Musialik who I cannot wait to see pull on the sky blue shirt for Sydney and Celeski who was often our spark in attack. I feel for Milligan who playing in his less preferred midfield role was quite poor. This was meant to be where he was noticed and picked up by a big club.

Arnold wanted to be judged on results and the way the players he picked played. We can now say that the criticism of his squad selections and coaching ability were justified. Seeing Hyphen come on as a late substitute after we went 1-0 down was his final clutch for straws. They however slipped through his hands along with hopefully his time surrounding our national team.

But our players all handled the heat right?...

Olyroos vs Argentina - Group Match 2

2008-08-12T01:24:00.001+10:00

First up I want to congratulate the Aussies on how they played this match. In what most of us thought would be a 5-0 whitewash was limited to a very narrow loss but could have easily come away with a point or more if things had have fallen our way.

------------Federici

Zad--North--Spiranovic--Carney

--------Milligan--Musialik

---Celeski--Kilkenny--Troisi

------------Thompson

Australia went to the 4-2-3-1 formation we expected at the start of the tournament with obvious tactics of sitting deep and trying to play out fast from broken play and hit the Argies on the counter. Against this amazingly talented Argentina side we did the absolute best we could and really frustrated them all match, culminating in the Argentineans losing some of their composure and snapping at shots whenever they had the slightest chance.

Federici again was solid after a 'Paul Robinson special' at the start of the match. The shaky fullbacks from the last outing against Serbia were rightly sat out, causing both Zad and Carney to drop back into these wide defensive positions. Both had games that justified their selection with both along with the same centre half combination as previously, containing the fast and skilled Argentinean superstars. The difference in first touch and close control of the ball in tight spaces was very evident but to our credit, noone was jumping in and getting shown up.

In midfield, Milligan and Musialik again were both acting as screening midfielders but the difference this time was that they now had an attacking trio in front of them providing that all important link to our pacey striker in Thompson. We didn't get a lot of opportunities in attack but when we broke I thought we broke well and if our first touch was better then we could have easily nabbed a goal here and there. You could however argue that the players who's touch I am reffering to, Zadkovich and Rukavytsya, should never have been in the team in the first place partially for this reason.

When we were going forward in attack Celeski again gave us some flare and always wanted to take players on. I think he has been one that has justified his selection that I bagged when the squad was first announced. Kilkenny played as almost a support striker at some stages and as a player I haven't seen much of impressed me with his 'terrier' style, quick and always just seeming to pop up all over the pitch. Troisi wasn't as involved as the other two and after we went a goal down was rightfully taken off for McClenahan to allow Carney to push forward.

Thompson played the lone striker roll in this formation quite well and was always trailing away from his defenders into space that our midfielders were playing into. Again the different was that there was a link between the shielding midfielders and himself which allowed him to get involved in the game. I would have liked to see him stay on rather than a sub for Ruka. Just not a fan of the kid at all and I wonder how Thompson would have taken Rukas chances at the death.

------------Federici

Zad--North--Spiranovic--McClenahan

--------Milligan--Musialik

---Bridge--Kilkenny--Carney

--------------Ruka

When Argentina finally got their goal I loved the way that they just played keep ball, knocking it around. The commentator and crowd maybe didn't like it but I thought it was both smart, beautiful and just funny. I thought it was strange that we had no intention of changing our tactics of sitting deep and refusing to press even while this was going on. I thought that it could have actually played into our hands by Argentina being dispossessed and Australia gaining possession up field in broken play where we had looked our most dangerous.

So now we just need to beat the Ivory Coast to progress. The next match should be a good one to watch as we will have to come out playing football and look to take it to the Ivory Coast. COME ON AUSSIE!

Olyroos vs Serbia - Group Match 1

2008-08-10T19:50:00.001+10:00

-------------------Federici

McClenahan--North--Spiranovic--Hyphen

---------------Milligan--Musialik

Zadkovich-----------------------------Carney

----------Rukavytsya--Thompson

Started nothing like I expected. Even worse than expected actually. Talk about negative tactics and selections that were hard to watch.

Federici looked ten times the keeper Velaphi or Pasfield looked in the leadup matches and definitely justified his selection. His positioning was flawless Thursday night culminating in an excellent save from a free kick.

Spiranovic was definitely the other shining light to come out of the match, to me once again putting himself well ahead of North in the race to be included as the Socceroos central defensive partner to Neil.

Both fullbacks were constantly exposed by quicker Serbian wingers. Carney was however our only real attacking flare since Zadkovich is a poor excuse for a human let alone a footballer and our two strikers were totally isolated thanks to a lack of a midfield link due to Arnold's tactics and team selection. Since they didn't actually

-------------------Federici

McClenahan--North--Spiranovic--Hyphen

-------------------Musialik

Zadkovich-----------------------------Carney

-------------------Celeski

-----------Bridge

------------------Rukavytsya

Arnold changed up to this with Celeski and Bridge providing that missing creative link in midfield and hey presto we score and look a lot more threatening. This is the formation we used a lot more in our successful qualifiers but it still frustrates me that it is Celeski in that position and in my opinion not the much better Ward, Burns or Holland.

1-1 is an ok result in the scheme of things. Could have been worse, could have been better, depends how you want to look at it. The verdict is still out...

Olyroos vs Olywhites - July 12 - NSO

2008-07-13T19:55:00.001+10:00

Being an old Northern Spirit fan back in the NSL days, I always love going back to North Sydney Oval whenever I can. I just think it is such a picturesque ground and just holds some great memories for me.

I am disappointed that I didn't really enjoy the match. Australia didn't play too badly but I am just caught up in a 'what could have been' bubble. Over the years the Olyroos have been the only team that I haven't really bagged the shit out of on this blog. They were the shining light of our national teams. I loved watching and following them a lot more than the full Socceroos. But sadly that has changed with the team we now have and they are just another national team.

Well I was right that Arnold would look to play the almost standard Australian formation of 4-2-3-1 but again threw some curve balls again with his selections. We started like:

--------------------Velaphi

McClenahan--North--Spiranovic--Hyphen

---------------Milligan--Musialik

-----Zadkovich----Troisi----Sarkies

------------------Rukavytsya

Velaphi in goals did alright. Couldn't really do much about the goals. Just have a general 'meh' opinion of the bloke. Vukovic you are a retard! In front of him in a back four was the two central defenders of North and Spiranovic. Spiranovic at just 20 already looks a much classier defender than North however got caught out for New Zealand's second goal. I am just a little concerned that we have broken up the strongest part of our qualification team and gone with a completely new pair which sees Leijer move to the bench and Milligan push into midfield.

Milligan's move to midfield was a bit of a surprise as I didn't think the position really suited him at Sydney FC but alongside Musialik it seemed to work well. Milligan's passing range was excellent and Musialik as always provided the link to turn possession into attack when needed excellently. I can't wait to see this guy pull on a Sydney shirt for the start of the A-League. Classy player who will have a big future.

In attack our stable fullbacks worked well pushing forward as always, looking to overlap and get forward whenever they can. Hyphen is one of those players that just looks so classy in this team. I just hope he can eventually make the step up to the next level because so far I have never been impressed with him in a Socceroos shirt.

Sarkies is another player that just seems to thrive in an Olyroos shirt. Throughout qualifying and today again just looked so good pushing forward and always in the action. His set pieces are also a plus. During the A-League I think it can be said that his set pieces have often kept him in a team where his general play didn't warrant it but in this team he should be one of the first picked. Zadkovich on the other hand was again hot and cold. Did some great things early then seemed to get frustrated and go missing. Same old attitude problem. Troisi in the middle playing off Rukavytsya looked good as well. Throughout qualification he has often been used as a wide player but seemed to handle the role in the middle quite well and controlled the game well from there. Looked a class above out there to be honest.

The same old Perth Glory Rukavytsya was out there today as well. Can beat players and create opportunities but his finishing was poor. I just can't see how Djite could be left out, especially if this is the formation we are looking to play. Matt Simon came on late and looked enthusiastic and in form but didn't really have an opportunity to do much. Doesn't matter I suppose with him not even being in the squad and Archie basically assured a spot by his mate Arnold.

Bring on the tournament and put us or Arnold out of our misery. It is either going to be a total embarrassment for Australian football and Arnold will be sent packing for his woeful selection criteria and tactics or he will be able to give a big fat "fuck you, I told you so" to all us fans and critics.

Olyroos squad for Beijing

2008-07-04T16:00:00.001+10:00

Goalkeepers:
Federici
Velaphi

Central Defenders:
North
Milligan
Spiranovic
Leijer

Fullbacks:
Topor-Stanley
McClenahan

Central Midfielders:
Kilkenny
Celeski
Musialik
Sarkies

Wide Midfeilders:
Carney
Zadkovich????
Troisi

Strikers:
Thompson
Bridge
Rukavytsya

Well what a totally disappointing, uninspiring and unbalanced squad… I take it we will be playing what seems to be our standard national team formation of 4-2-3-1. The best I can come up with is:

------------------Federici

Mclenahan--Leijer--Milligan--Hyphen

------------Musialik--Kilkenny

-------Troisi-----Celeski-----Carney

-------------------Bridge

Bridge isn’t really a lone striker like Djite. I never thought of Rukavytsya or Thompson as that sort of player either so I am puzzled there. Maybe Sarkies for Celeski? Maybe Carney at fullback making way for Sarkies in midfield? Surely Arnold will also pick Zad somewhere… Just every combination I think of with this squad seems inferior to what we put out during the qualifiers.

The alternative that we played throughout our qualifiers was a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. I think this suits our selection of strikers more but leaves us more exposed in midfield.

I am just so disappointed not to see the names of Burns, Djite, Williams, Holland and Ward. These guys would have probably been the first five on my teamsheet! Arnold’s reasoning behind not picking these guys was that they are ‘too young’ or ‘don’t handle the heat’. Sighhhh… Djite would have solved the problem of having noone that can effectively play the lone striker role. I personally rate Burns as our most talented youngster and unless backstage club politics at AEK played a part I’m absolutely appalled at his omission. Ward was quite possibly our best player in qualifiers and would have rather seen him than Celeski in that central attacking midfield role. Also what was the point in playing Holland and Williams in the recent Socceroos games if they weren’t going to be taken to China?! I just scratch my head.

I also think Arnold has only got the selection of one of the three overage players, North, Thompson and Carney correct, that being the selection of Super Dave. I take it that he will be used as the attacking left sided player in midfield rather than at left fullback where I think we were weaker. In saying that, Carney’s attacking abilities will be a definite plus here.

Jade North is a huge shock to me. Our strongest component in qualifying was our central defence pairing of Leijer and Milligan. Spiranovic slotting in when able to play and doing just as well. Is North going to break this partnership? Well I wouldn’t say that he is a fullback and even then I thought that McClenahan was great in qualification. I always commended the fullbacks willingness to get forward and their crossing ability. I just don’t think the mediocre at best North was needed.

As for Archie Thompson all I can do is laugh. To pick him ahead of any of the younger guys in the starting side will be a joke. The excuse of ‘he fits into the system’ can’t even be used here. I have absolutely no idea.

Finally concerning our goalkeepers I am a little frustrated at the lack of interest shown in Bouzanis. I think Federici would always be number one but Bouzanis has to be lightyears ahead of Velaphi and the other name in front of him Pasfield (LOL!). I know he is a LOT younger than these guys but from what I have seen and heard of the kid he is world class. I am more worried by the fact that the Australians aren’t giving any indication that they want him. Greece are doing everything in their power to get this kid on their side and we aren’t giving any encouragement to want to give OUR player a run. However I am of the belief that the national jersey is about honor and pride and that if he wants to fuck off the Greece as a ‘career move’ then good riddance.

Throughout the qualifiers I could seriously see us challenging for a medal. With this squad I am now just hoping we aren’t embarrassed.

Iraq vs Australia - Post Match

2008-06-09T20:51:00.001+10:00

----------------Schwarzer

-----Beauchamp--Coyne--North

Emerton------------------------Carney

--------------Valeri--Grella

------Culina----------------Wilkshire

----------------Kewell

Iraq 1 (Emad 28)
Australia 0

My inner arrogance says that a 1-0 loss to a 'backwards' country like Iraq is a woeful result. When I slap myself and wake up to the fact the game was played in poor conditions, in the desert and against the current Asian Champions who had to win or be knocked out, I don't feel as bad. We just have to remember that we were playing against the Asian Champions, away from home, conceded an amazing/flukey goal which was created from nothing. We are also still on top of our group and now means that a win in our next match will see us through to the next round. We are doing ok!...

However, in my opinion the game could/should/would/might have been approached in a different way. I really don't think that we needed to play as negatively as we did. Last week in Brisbane against our only real weakness was at the back. We played a back four with two relatively young and inexperienced centre halves with two converted midfielders as fullbacks. The two in the middle got caught out a bit and Pim's explination was that the fullbacks pushed on too much (in a home qualifier...) and didn't provide enough cover. So to combat this perceived weakness Pim decided to change to a back 3 with wingbacks. Both Emerton and Carney's strengths are in their ability to go forward and beat their man. Against Iraq on Sunday they were obviously also told not to venture forward at all. In this system and for 2 obviously talented attacking players this was poor to see. Yes I like taking a cautious approach to away games but the question is just how cautious should we be?

My main gripe is with the change to a back three system with Coyne, a 29 year old playing in the 3rd tier of English football shoved into the middle with Pim's explanation "to add leadership". Just seems negative and unorganised to me. I would have much rather see faith be invested in North and Beauchamp.

Then in front of the defenders, which was effectively a five man backline with Carney and Emerton withdrawn, we play two defensive midfielders in Grella and Valeri. Was this really necessary? Moving further up the park we come to Culina and Wilkshire as our 'attackin outlets'. Both are solid players but I wouldn't exactly call either creative... We do however have all the creativity in the world on the Bench with Bresciano and Carle but fail to use them. Again cautious is ok but over the top?

Finally our one attacking outlet, the lone striker who had balls bombed up to him from both deep and wide positions was Harry Kewell, not really his best traditional position. I can't give Harry enough admiration lately and he made the best of circumstances that definitely weren't ideal to put in another fairly solid performance. I would however much rather see him facing goal playing just off Mcdonald or Kennedy. Pim however could not afford to play an injured Kennedy for 90 mins and McDonald is not entirely suited to a lone striking role either. Hard I know. He did however have youngster Djite on the bench who is looking more and more like a successor to Viduka (Big call I know...). His performance off the bench in Brisbane I thought could have easily earned him a start here. This could have allowed Kewell to drop back into the hole maybe for one of the screening midfielders.

Holman did enter this hole off the bench in the second half for Grella. I am not a fan of Holman at all and just can't see what our national managers continue to see in him. Having someone in this hole created chances that where duely wasted. Bresc or Carle would surely have been a better choice at this time. Maybe there is something we don't know about these two players. Injures, poor training performances, poor handling of the conditions who knows.

So all up after Holman filled the gap and eventually Kennedy coming on to fill Kewell's position we really started to create. I just think we should/could/might/didn't have played the same as in Brisbane with 4-4-2 and actually attacked. That's when we look good. sure play an extra DM, tell the fullbacks they cant push forward as much but what happened was just shit and we paid for it duely with a fluke goal from a misguided cross. Please Pim go back to the general tactics used in Brisbane for the Qatar game! Something like:

----------------Schwarzer

Emerton--Beauchamp--North--Carney

--------------Valeri--Grella

Bresciano------------------------Wilkshire

----------------Kewell

----------------------Kennedy

Maybe Wilkshire for Culina, that's Pim's job but please be a little less negative.

Next week’s matches will prove pivotal, with a win by either Australia or Qatar ensuring their qualification, while either Iraq or China will drop out of contention, when they meet in Tianjin. I'm worried...

Olyroos vs Iraq - Post Game

2007-11-18T00:53:00.000+11:00

With the 2-0 win tonight, we are well and truly on our way to Beijing! A packed Blue Tongue Stadium in Gosford witnessed a hugely entertaining match which showcased the skills of both sides. Australia started with a familiar 3-4-3 and immediately were on the front foot, needing a win whereas Iraq started with a very defensive formation, playing 1 up front and obviously letting Australia come to them and then trying to hit on the counter.

-----------Vukovic
McClenahan-Milligan-Leijer-Hyphen
----Zad-----Broxham-----Sarkies
----Vidosic----------------Troisi
---------------Bridge

Vukovic didn't have to make any rediculously difficult saves but was solid when he was called upon. You can't ask anymore from the lad and I can't wait to see him getting the nod ahead of Jones and Federici as the Socceroos number two.

The back four had a different look and feel to it than past matches with McClenahan moving back to the right and Leijer into the centre again. McClenahan had an immense match and was close to man of the match for me. The way he controlled switched passes from 20 metres + was as if he had velcro on his shoe. Was also on hand to make some key last ditch tackles. I must admit that before the Olyroos I hadn't heard much of this lad but he is definitely one to keep an eye on.

The same could be said for Topor-Stanley on the other side of defense. After Australia went 1-0 up and Iraq changed their tactics to play much higher up the park and look to take control of the midfield he was caught out by their pacey winger but his strength in the air and attacking ability makes up for his slight lack of pace.

Leijer and Milligan are stars. Nothing more to say about them. Milligan WILL captain Australia at a world cup, mark my words. And no I am not imitating Fozzie on this one, since I watched this kid in the youth team at Northern Spirit and then week in week out at Sydney FC he has always been one to watch and from what I see and hear a very capable leader. Leijer too was solid. You could see his lack of match practice but he soon settled down and his defensive positioning and some of his tackles made me again see why Fulham picked him up. It was definitely no coincidence that these two got the goals.

Moving onto the midfield, Broxham was solid playing a holding role. Its the position that I love the most and love to bag when players don't do well in it. I have nothing bad to say about Broxham who filled into the massive shoes left by the 'injured' Stuart Musialik. Sarkies and Zad played wider off him and all three controlled the midfield well in the first half but seemed to let it go after Iraq decided to play again. Especially in the last 20 mins of the first half they all have a lot of thanks to give to their defenders. Sarkies free kicks however were divine!

Up front Troisi was immense tearing down the left wing while Vidosic started a lot quieter. As the game went on their respective impacts reversed. Bridge, playing in the middle worked his arse off but became isolated after the goals came and we started to sit back more. Williams came on late for him which was a good move, his speed running at the tired Iraqi defense proved enough of a handful that they couldn't afford to push forward as much as they would have liked.

As for the other subs Ward and Downes didn't have too much of a chance coming on late. Not much to say but rate them on reputation and past performances.

So a point in Pyong Yang and we are there. From a footballing only viewpoint Australia should win this match comfortably but what distinguishes football from other sports is the outside factors that the international arena can throw up. We go from a barmy Saturday night in layed back Gosford to sub-zero temperatures and plastic grass in the capital of a communist state for a mid week tie. Love it!

DANE

Uni Exams :(

2007-11-06T00:07:00.000+11:00

I have exams at the moment so I have to sacrifice some writing time for study. If I get bored tomorrow then I might write a wrap up of the Newcastle trip.

Bridges for England!

DANE

Sydney vs Central Coast - Post Game

2007-10-30T14:52:00.000+11:00

Now I am against the sacking of Branko as I think the problems Sydney are experiencing were mostly out of his control, namely the unavailability of players and an extremely under strength and unbalanced squad of players to work with. However, what a difference a week makes! Was I watching the same team on Sunday that I have been watching all season? Well to be fair I actually wasn't, with 4 key personnel and positional changes from last week, the most notable being the signing of Michael Bridges.

Sydney lineup up as follows and to me is probably the strongest lineup and formation that we can possibly offer and it showed on the park.

------------Bolton
----Poppa--Milligan--Fyfe
Middleby---------------Zad
------------Talay
------Juninho--Corica
------Brosque--Bridges

Zad, Milligan, Corica and Bridges come in and the most note worthy omission being Rudan. Once again it has been proven that Sydney cannot play with a centre back pairing of Rudan and Poppa in any formation. They are just too similar in their physical attributes (The word "Plank" comes to mind...) and style of play. Without Rudan today thanks to a suspension, Poppa actually had quite a solid game and his throughball for Brosque's second was absolutely divine! I also want to give props to Fyfe who cops a lot of shit but really should be included in Sydney's first choice back three every week. His agility, although nothing special was evident tonight and we can thank the guy for keeping Aloisi off the score sheet.

The only issue that I had with Branko was that Sydney still hadn't settled on a formation. With our squad, the 3-5-2 wingback system is in my opinion the strongest that we can offer and I pray to god that Kossie sees this too. Middleby, Zad and "Nick the Greek" (Don't make me pronounce the kids last name please!) all played well and offer us something out wide. I just get the vibe that Zad doesn't like playing there and seems to get fed up with it in the middle of games, throwing his hands on his hips and playing below 100%. Its just his versitility that is keeping him in the starting lineup as he can play on both wings as well as the centre of the park. NtG also handled himself admirably up against the much more solid and experienced Gumprecht when he was given the chance and has to be putting pressure on his teammates for another start.

I am now coming around to the idea of Juninho and Corica working together in the same midfield. Both looked sharp on the ball, either running at defenders or with swift one twos providing a link between defense and attack. I always knew that the midfield was there for something and finally we played the type of football that is good to watch. I couldn't beleive it to be honest and was just in shock and almost in awe of how we were knocking the ball around and actually moving!

Brosque and Bridges can also take a lot of the credit for the 'sexy socca' on show. The way Bridges anticipated the ball and was moving non stop in behind the Mariners defense from the first whistle just reeked of class. I am so pleased with how this signing is turning out. Everyone wants to compare him to Aloisi so I suppose I will join the bandwagon... Bridges > Aloisi. I loved the Cove chanting "What a waste of money, what a waste of money" when Aloisi skewed another shot wide down the Cove end of the field. He heard it straight away and gave us a clap which I thought was good too.

I can't see Kossie making many changes for next week but I think he has to think about the holding midfield position and Talay vs McFlynn. I think its been shown that both at once are not needed in this system but personally I would go with McFlynn. Talay's passing range is better (although only marginally these days) but I think McFlynn is more competent in this area than many give him credit for and with Juninho and Corica around him could be excused if he was a little below par. It is his defensive work in breaking up play where his big plus is and it could be argued that he would have been on hand to shut down Hutchinson before he was allowed to shoot for his two absolutely sublime goals. Worth a thought?

All up, a hectically negative week has ended on a big positive and I am very content with where things are headed right now. Yes its only one game but the signs are there that we can go on with it throughout the rest of the season now. I'm also really excited for my first away trip of the season. I have a uni exam on Saturday morning in Wollongong and am pumped to head up to Newcastle straight after I am done. Wooooo!

DANE

Sydney vs Adelaide - Post Game

2007-10-21T23:08:00.000+10:00

Another home game and another missed opportunity. This time however there is noone to blame but ourselves.

With the unexpected late withdrawal of Milligan thanks to an injury and the ludicrous suspensions of Corica and Zadkovich, I think our already unbalanced squad just about bottomed out.

What frustrates me the most is that we are now 9 rounds in and we still have not settled on a system or style of play. 3-5-2 one week followed by 4-5-1, even a few 3-6-1s chucked in there for the sake of it. Tonight what Branko drew out of his hat was a 3-5-2:

------------Bolton
----Fyfe---Poppa---Rudan
Middleby---------------NtG
-------------Talay
-------Casey--Juninho
------Patrick—Brosque

Like I have been preaching all season, Poppa and Rudan together once again didn’t work. Nathan Burns made them look like the statues that they are and once again showed class well beyond his 19 years. 2010 he WILL be wearing the green and gold mark my words. This kid is so far above anyone in the league that its not funny. With Fyfe rounding out the back 3… No I’ll stop myself there.

Now I rate Robbie Middleby. He never stops trying and quite often changes games. Tonight he again, in a wingback role, looked one of our most dangerous outlets. You could see he was a little short on match fitness but now Zad is once again considered a centre mid, he surely is higher up the pecking order than Casey for this position. So Why didn't the players use the flanks more? Playing this system, our main attacking outlets should be the wings! I just get more and more disheartened every week watching this team that just cannot play football....

On the left flank, 17 year old Nick Tsattalios (Nick the Greek for us that are ‘lingually challenged’) was finally given his chance and I think took it with both hands. He was always going to be a little bit of a liability in defense but he offered a lot going forward, never afraid to take on his man and seemed to have a decent passing range, continuously looking for one twos. For me, this League is all about youth. They are the most exciting to watch and especially this season have proved to be the most talented on the pitch. I was stoked to see NtG but was disappointed that Biddle missed out.

Talay is not the player that he was when he first came back. His passing range doesn’t seem to exist anymore and he is definitely not capable of playing a lone holding midfield role even with a central back 3. Also, I would like to know Branko’s thinking behind bringing a 2^nd holding midfielder in McFlynn on for Casey while 1-0 down at home and already doing well in the possession stakes??!! Casey needed to be subbed but surely Zdrilic from the remaining subs was the only option? Does he now regret not putting Biddle on the bench as a replacement for NtG who he obviously had in his mind would be subbed early on?

Brosque, Patrick and Juninho all were quite good in attack. I love the way that Patrick will take players on and try things but sometimes I think he slows things down too much and unnecessarily. Same can be said for Brosque on some occasions however, unlike Patrick, he is at his best when running at players. Adelaide defended strong and were well organised. Yes Patrick hit the bar but to be honest, we never looked like scoring. I will also hold my judgment on Juninho off for another week as we all know he is playing well below fitness.

Looking to next week there are a few positives. Corica, Zad, Milligan and Bridges all to come in, and with Rudan suspended it forces the Poppa/Rudan statue partnership to be broken.

DANE

Sydney vs Melbourne - Post Game

2007-10-08T14:17:00.000+10:00

I love the culture of Australian football where we can all be mates before and after the match, sharing a beer and a friendly sing song in the same pub or on the street. We all happily do this with everyone... except with Melbourne. Its as though Melbourne's traveling fans think they are some sort football factory style 'hools' who have a respect level of zero for their fellow A-League fans or hosting cities. Seriously what is up? We have all worked so hard to drag our game from the gutter and you want to continue with this?

Sydney's fan mentality coming into this match was all about standing tall and not letting Melbourne walk over anyone and do as they please and we achieved that goal. There was no violent confrontations and the Melbourne fans moved on. From a Sydney point of view, belting the shit out of each other with scarves on our faces is not what football in Australia is about and I am proud of the way the situation was handled by all. However props to Melbourne for their numbers and support for their team.

Too bad the spectacle on the pitch wasn't as fun to watch and be a part of as the battle in the stands. I'm sick of continuously anti-Sydney, biased refereeing at home! I know week in week out it sounds like I am just a whining, biased fan but every week I leave the ground feeling hard done by. This weekend it wasn't just about the red card but a lot of little fouls and cards that were either given to Sydney or not given to Melbourne. Two examples that spring to mind is when Brosque had a foul called on him for backing into a Melbourne defender when he was clearly being pulled down or when Muscat was not booked for moving the ball on a free kick after Shields had talked to him and specifically told him to wait for the whistle until the wall and defense was set.

As for the Corica incident I suppose it could have gone either way... I am a certified referee and am a believer that especially that early in such an important and emotion filled game like this one that Shields should have given Corica a yellow then a stern talking to him and both captains, telling them that enough is enough and calm it down before just whipping out a straight red... Listening to Craig Foster on TWG yesterday (yes I know thats always a mistake) he was of the opinion that as a FIFA referee, Shields was marked on only body language and cards given. Not for how he used his charisma and talk to calm the game. Surely this should be the case in games where he is reffing non English speaking countries but in an Australian domestic club game surely common sense and a bit of a chat should be used.

As for the game, Branko changed a winning team obviously to accommodate Poppa which I don't really agree with but they actually played great football under the circumstances. Lets also just say that Melbourne are in no way the football team that they were last season and Sydney actually looked the much better side when allowed to play.

---------------------------------------------

-------------Bolton
----Rudan--Milligan--Poppa
Casey--------------------Fyfe
--------Zad--McFlynn
-------Corica--Juninho
----------Brosque

to

-------------Bolton
Rudan--Poppa--Milligan--Fyfe
--------Zad--McFlynn
---Casey----Juninho
---------Brosque

Meh....

It's not worth talking individually about a 10 man performance and I don't really feel excited enough about the game to do it but I will say that I definitely left the ground proud to be a Sydney fan. The lads fighting performance on the pitch as well as my fellow 'brothers' in the stands make it worthwhile showing up every week. Thats what football is all about to me! Can't wait to do it all again next week!

DANE

Sydney vs Newcastle - Post Game

2007-10-01T21:32:00.000+10:00

I couldn't watch all of last weeks game in Brisbane because I am 'Foxtel impaired' and couldn't get to the pub because of work so I thought there was no point in trying to write about it. The thing I want to say about that game is: PATRICK! Also an honorable mention to what sounded like an epic effort and return to form Bolton and Rudan.

Onto this weeks match... Its always good to win at home and failing to get the three points here during the first 5 weeks made it so much sweeter. Although I can't see Branko losing his job for anything this season, there were whispers about his decisions starting to creep forward and this game seemed like a must win. Both for the sake of his job as well as Sydney's season, both on and off the pitch.

Sydney started something resembling:

--------------Bolton
Casey--Milligan--Rudan--Fyfe
----------Zad--Mcflynn
--------Corica--Juninho
-----Santalab
-------------Brosque

I was happy that Branko didn't touch the backline combination that for once all season didn't look like crumbing everytime the opposition got the ball. With Popovic available for selection again, I really thought that Branko would be soft and either drop someone or rearrange the formation to include his 'mate'. Once again Milligan was solid in defense and Rudan did enough, in my opinion, to keep Poppa on the bench for another week. My only gripe with Milligan's game was some long balls the he just hit and hoped for the best on. Not your game mate, what are you doing?! Fyfe and Casey still aren't fullbacks but meh, neither made me cry this match.

It was also interesting to see Zad keep his spot in midfield, pushing Talay to the bench so as to make way for Juninho. I'm not Zad's biggest fan although I suppose it is good that he will always try something with the ball going forward and take shots, something noone in Sydney's side seems to ever do. Something different to Talay, and the breath of fresh air in midfield seemed to work with Sydney controlling possession and playing with confidence again. Though I do wonder how much of this you can put down to the presence of Juninho?

However, this is where I want to bring up the issue of refereeing again. Wouldn't it be smart to protect the 'marquee' and more skilled players on the ball from rash challenges and shoulders? Juninho has copped way too much of this throughout the season and surely enough is enough and the referees have to take some responsibility. This just increases our reputation of being 'overly physical' which I know isn't the right way of describing how we play the game. Juninhos little fist punch into the air when he finally got a foul given to him summed up how we all felt.

Corica again was quite average in a role where he wasn't the lone playmaker and forced to play wider. I have said previously that Patrick should play as the man up front and let Brosque run off him but the more I see of the guy, the more I see him coming back into midfield to collect the ball and start running at, and beating players. Could he maybe fill some of the attacking midfield void, tracking back if Corica was to spend some time on the bench and saved for later in the game? Patrick really deserves another chance to start. Yes he has only impressed off the bench but with more exposure to our style of play I think its time to try him again, either in place of Corica as said before which would require a little tweaking of the formation or in place of Santalab who although was impressive chasing everything and trying his guts out, I just don't think he is quite up to standard.

Brosque again showed why he has been the best player for Sydney this season, looking confident with the ball at his feet and running at defenses as well as getting into positions for Juninho and... Just Juninho to provide him with top class service. What a ball from the little master and what composure in front of goal from Brosque to cut back inside and slot the ball home in traffic. Two home games in a row and two composed finishes from Sydney. What is going on??!!

Oh and Newcastle don't forget that 'we have jobs and money' and you have a 'fat fucking has been'. ;) Jardel was an absolute joke. Thats the only way to describe his fitness and ability to run and shoot. I don't care if you embarrass yourself but please don't embarrass the league. I hope you know what you are doing up there with this clown...

DANE

Sydney vs Wellington - Post Game + Extras

2007-09-17T16:33:00.000+10:00

-------------Bolton
Zad---Rudan---Poppa---Fyfe
--------Talay--Milligan
----Casey--Corica---Brosque
-------------Patrick

Well, theres enough said right there to why things didn't work. For the last time, our squad was 'born' to play a back 3! Within that back 3 HAS to be Milligan. Rudan and Poppa are too slow and too shit! All season their distribution has been WOEFUL! Fyfe is not a right back... Zadkovich is not a left back... but hey lets not let little technicalities like that stop us from continueing with this system. For all of the praise I give Zad when he plays for the Olyroos, all I want to do is rip him when he plays for Sydney!

The passing from midfield was slow and 'built up' but didn't go anywhere. I usually love watching this sort of play but it was just lethargic and dare I say it, boring. Did we miss McFlynn? Probably not.... At least Casey was something different and scored Sydney's goal from a good piece of persistence in challenging for a bouncing ball, followed by a composed finish. Shocking wasn't it! Got nothing good to say about Corica or Brosque.... Patrick tried hard I suppose???

For all the negatives going on in Sydney, I am happy how far Wellington have come. I still don't agree with NZ being part of our competition and the crowd numbers wherever they travel across Australia show I am not alone but Ricky Herbert has done a top job in getting his team of 'so so' players and turning them into a competitive side. Also well done in finding Daniel and especially Felipe! Yes it was poor defending for his goal by both Milligan and then Poppa but god did he take his opportunity well!

Now for something that Hamish said to me after my last post:

There seems to be something deeply philosophical in Sydney's problems. In the bowels of Sydney FC's culture, planning and administration, the assumption that Sydney is somehow a key, flagship club that is naturally good, needs to be permanently dropped. I suspect Culina is there actually, and is desperately assessing his options of re-engineering the whole team. The rules of the league make this very difficult for a coach.

I whole heartedly agree with the sentiment that Sydney as a club believes that they are better than everyone else and can just show up and do well needs to be dropped and I think after a few more bad performances at least the players will start to realise this. Since before V1, the media has talked Sydney up and up and now just cutting them down lower and lower. They certainly are good at writing their own headlines....

As for Culina re-engineering the whole team, his hands are tied until the end of the season. Before the WCC Qualifiers in year 1, Sydney signed their 'big name' players to 3 year deals on WAY too much money for what they are worth just to get it done with the aim to play in that tournament. We are talking $300 000 + deals for the likes of Zdrilic and to a slightly lesser extent, Talay. I suppose they acheived their goal by qualifiying for that tournament and winning V1 but we (and a different boardroom) are paying for it bigtime now with old, lethargic and non performing players. Next season I expect a squad clearout and to just start from scratch. I just pray that Culina doesn't get the chop before then....

DANE

Sydney vs Wellington - Pre Game

2007-09-14T14:31:00.001+10:00

Expecting an absolutly WOEFUL crowd tonight. I will be happy if we get 10 000 to be honest.... Its raining, Its a Friday night, Its NZ...... Yes they are typical Sydney excuses I know. :(

As for on the pitch I am feeling much more positive. My optimistic tip is 4-0 Sydney but 2-0 is probably more realistic. We have plently of players coming back from injury and international duty and it's time to start our season properly. I expect 3-5-2 as follows:

-------------Bolton
-----Poppa-Milligan-Rudan
Zadkovic-----------------Fyfe
---------Talay-Mcflynn
------------Corica
--------Patrick-Brosque

This seems to be the formation that Branko is settling on and Juninho still being injured seemingly makes it easier to pick the midfield. I see no reason to rush him back into the starting lineup this early in the season against shit opposition. I personally think he OR Corica need to be played alone in that attacking midfield role anyway. It just makes the side so much more balanced but neither deserve to be benched. A happy selection headache to have anyway.

Fyfe, Middleby or Zadkovich will be fighting for the wingback slots. I would go with Zad and Fyfe but this reluctanty forces Middleby to the bench when he definitely doesn't deserve it. Poppa might start on the bench since he is still recovering from an injury which could see Fyfe go into the back 3 and leave room for Middleby to slot in at wingback but who knows.

Talay and Mcflynn pick themselves in midfield...

Patrick is obviously now at the top of the pecking order up front (which is a worrying thing in itself) but the big positive in his selection is how Brosque plays off him. He has been waisted for 2 seasons playing alone up front and playing off someone is where his best work is done, previewed by his performance against Adelaide in round 2. I expect big things from Brosque from now on.

Well I'm off to the game. COME ON SYDNEY!

DANE

Olyroos vs Lebanon / Socceroos vs Argentina

2007-09-12T23:48:00.000+10:00

Am I the only one that was much more interested in watching the Olyroos qualifier rather than a friendly? Sure it was Argentina but I feel a better connection with the group of A-League young guys that make up the core of the Olyroos than I do for the 'EPL superstars' and 'Arnie's mates' that played in the first team. Especially in a qualifier with a significant goal at the end being Beijing.

The games ended:
Olyroos 3 Lebanon 0
Socceroos 0 Argentina 1

Since there was such a gap in class between the two sides in the Olyroos game I don't have too much to say about the performance or the result but I'll give a quick overview. With Leijer's suspension, Arnold Opted for Mclenahan in defence while Djite came in for Williams in a tactical switch seeing us line up as follows:

-----------Vukovic
Zad-Milligan-Mclenahan-Hyphen
-----------Musialik
Celeski--------------Sarkies
-----------Ward
-------Djite----Bridge

I was happy to see a change in formation and although I don't buy into the rubbish that by having just one striker up front means you are not attacking but this formation saw a little less caution and we scored 3 goals from it. Sarkies, Celeski and Ward seemed to be all over the shop in midfield. Having Chinese commentary on a less than ideal quality stream didn't really provide me with a great source to go by but lets just say it looked something like that.

The first goal came from more excellent work from Topor-Stanley attacking down the flank and saw him provide a perfect cross for Ward to 'karate kick' home. It is really refreshing to see an Australian match with good quality crossing but this team certainly are getting it right with Hyphen and Sarkies the standouts in this department.

The second saw more good work from Hyphen, storming down the wing and then turned into a team goal with Sarkies, Djite and Bridge laying short passes for each other before Bridge finished nicely. Was great to watch and just showcased the type of football this team is trying to produce every match.

The second half saw the Olyroos not go for the killer blow which was definitely frustrating when we still have to get results in both Beirut and Pyongyang and goal difference becoming so important after Iraq's 5-0 shalacking away in Lebanon, but meh, I am satisfied with this result and the way we played. Lebanon tried hard but are clearly the weakest team in the group and our defenders had no trouble at all dealing with their attacks.

The main substitution worth mentioning was Williams for Djite. I have only seen Williams be deployed as a wide attacker either from midfield or out wide in a front 3 but tonight saw him play more central in a front 2. He passed with flying colors and capped his night off with a goal with a sharp finish, lunging in and taking the ball from a defender and then slamming it across the keeper low. The bemused look on the keepers face said it all. Great finish!

Not much else I want to say about this one so I suppose onto the Socceroos vs Argentina which I only really saw bits and pieces of so don't read too much into what I have to say.

The makeshift side means not much can be taken out of the game but a few things I noted from the pieces I saw were: Carney's vast improvement in his defensive duties at left wingback. I was a big sceptic about how he would handle this position but he is going from strength to strength. Had a great game on arguably the best player in the world in Lionel Messi.

The other positive was Archie Thompson. Whether playing in front of his adoring Melbourne fans lifted him or not he showed he wasn't out of his depth in international football when given a chance and was involved in a lot of short, quick, pass and move stuff which is a great sign for Australia. Watch out McDonald!

The football looked a lot better in the conditions of a cool Melbourne night rather than a hot and humid Bangkok afternoon with the players obviously a lot more comfortable.

One last note on players is what has happened to your distribution Lucas Neil? Long ball after long ball after long ball. But it's ok, Milligan will slot in soon ;)

DANE

Perth vs Sydney - Worst Round Ever?

2007-09-10T11:52:00.001+10:00

I got called into work late yesterday afternoon so unfortunately missed the game. I don't have FOX and the few saviors that usually cap the A-League for me on Aussie Torrents are caught up doing the Rah Rah World Cup. Match reports and fans opinions that I have since read seem to tell me that I saved 90 mins of my life by not watching it so I will change the direction of this post to pushing for breaks during international weekends.

442 seems to sum up the round pretty well with their headline "Worst A-League Week Ever?" Whole bulks of squads were made up of players that have hardly had a sniff at this level and even to the extent of using State League players straight up. I understand that the FFA has broadcast commitments as well as the problem of forcing an overlap into the seasons of other codes but surely this week has proved that some sort of a compromise has to be reached.

I love international football, whether that be the Socceroos or any of the various youth sides but the obviously bias "mainstream" media (Won't mention any names *NEWSCORP*) has jumped all over this and instead of talking up the internationals being played, we get headlines like one I read in the Sunday paper; "Z-League?" just bagging the competition!. This won't exactly help our competition's attendances will it...

Come on FFA, lets not go through this again.

DANE

Olyroos vs DPR Korea

2007-09-08T23:25:00.000+10:00

Throughout the A-League community I hear a lot of anti Olympics sentiment directed towards the Olyroos in regards to their clubs players being taken for so called 'meaningless' matches. I just can't believe this attitude and love having these matches whether it disadvantages my club or not. Even that is debateable. Watching the way that the Olyroos knock the ball around and are being taught to play under Baan (Now Arnold) is doing wonders for the players development. An example of two players I have really noticed develop since joining the Olyroos are Zadkovich and Topor-Stanley. Both have improved their composure on the ball and distribution out of sight over the last 12 months and the junior national teams they have been involved with should surely get some of the credit for this improvement.

Well, onto the match. "Other commitments" meant that I couldn't get to the match up in Newcastle so I watched at home on an internet stream again. Dodgy Futbol24 livescore website lied to me, saying that the game kicked off at 8pm when it was really starting at 7, so I missed the first half! I suppose I am the stupid one because in my last post regarding the Olyroos I even said the kick off time was 7 myself....

Lack of coverage from anywhere other than livescore websites really pisses me off. These matches are to get our young guys to the Olympics for gods sake. Surely with marketing taken in the right direction these games could be just as popular as the Socceroos matches? Tony at The Round Ball Analyst covered the match minute by minute and his updates, especially reading about the first half, are definitely appreciated.

From the second half it looked like we came out something resembling a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 as follows:

----------Vukovic
Zad-Milligan-Leijer-Hyphen
----------Musialik
-------Celeski-Ward
Williams-------------Sarkies
------------Bridge

A 4-5-1 formation at home against an obviously inferior opposition?.... "Hmm Arnold" is all I'm going to say about that one.

Australia came out after the break all guns blazing and the immediate pressure saw us go 1-0 up in the 50th minute through a Milligan header from an excellent corner to the far post from Sarkies. Milligan just steamed through unmarked out of nowhere and met the ball with a hard header.

Everytime I have watched them, I have been impressed with the way the Olyroos have the desire to keep the ball and play possession based football. Australia again showed their want to play this type of game and executed it quite well. North Korea were playing an obvious counter attack game, not really pressureing the ball, although as the game went on were forced to play a lot further up the pitch and started to take the game to the Aussies, coming as close as hitting the bar on one occasion.

Zadkovich was noticeable getting forward from the back but the pacey North Korean winger (who I naively have absolutely no idea of his name) definitely kept Hyphen a lot quieter than in previous Olyroos games that I have watched. Inside these two, Leijer was quite solid and organised as usual and Milligan showed his composure and distribution skills time and time again. This guy just has to be in the senior side more often!

I didn't think that the midfield was as dominant as it could have been and when Arnold starting making substitutions around the 70 minute mark everything seemed to chop and change and just seemed a lot more disorganised. It also dissapointingly saw us stick with a seemingly even more defensive 4-5-1 than before:

----------Vukovic
Zad-Milligan-Leijer-Hyphen
-----Musialik-Broxham
Micevski--Bridge--Sarkies
------------Djite

Bridge and then Djite when he came on were just playing to hold up the ball for the midfield. I didn't see a lot of Bridge's work due to missing the first half but I really rated Djite's cameo off the bench during the last 10 mins and thought he did well in the role obviously assigned to him. Can't see him being left on the bench next match to be honest.

Speaking of attack, I found Arnold's comments to the press after the game quite frustrating:

"That's why I got angry at the end because that could've been a one-all draw when we should've been much more clinical with our opportunities."

I just didn't think Arnold used the right tactics to be whinging about the 'finishing' and think that it is very harsh on the players. Why are these extremely promising kids being put through Arnold who has been shown to be rubbish time and time again with every single team that he gets his hands on?!

Although Milligan got the official man of the match for his goal, I didnt think there were any great stand outs or great dissapointments either. A good solid team performance was required and was delivered by the lads tonight. The importance of taking maximum points in these home games cannot be stressed enough. The prospect of travelling to Pyongyang in the final round needing to take points really scares me and tonights result goes a long way in pushing us towards qualification. Hooray!

DANE

Sydney vs Adelaide - Post Game

2007-09-03T16:17:00.001+10:00

Finally great weather, a positive outlook on both a result and how we intend to play the game but still the fickle Sydney public stay away. The crowd announced was 14 000 but it seemed similar to last week. The big plus however was the noise from the Cove. Was awesome to be a part of!

Branko obviously learnt from last weeks second half performance and duly started with a back 3, looking something like:

---------------Bolton
-------Rudan-Poppa-Fyfe
Zadkovich-Mcflynn-Talay-Middleby
------------Juninho
----------------------Corica
---------------Brosque

First goal of the match went to Burns and all I can do (in hindsight of course ;) ) is just stand and applaud. He makes McFlynn look stupid, Zadkovich then jumps in, he skips past Rudan who was trying to avoid giving away a penalty and squares it to the unmarked fullback coming through, Richie Alagich for a cool finish low past Boltons left leg while our defenders track other runners. Could be a limitation of a back 3 but also just sublime football from Burns drawing defender after defender. I really rate this kid.

A couple of minutes later Alagich turned from hero to zero, pulling down Middleby in the box and gifting Talay a penalty. I can’t remember a penalty where Talay hasn’t gone top right and I called it again. Bajic has obviously been watching too and picked the side, diving and saving the first attempt, only to knock it back into Talay’s path for a second bite at the cherry which he didn’t miss.

After the break Branko showed his tactical nouse in taking off the clearly out of his depth Popovic (A scary thought for the season although maybe he was carrying a knock to his back after a collision with Bolton earlier in the game) and bringing on the man of the moment, Patrick! We then saw saw Zadkovich shift into the centre of the back 3 and Middleby move out wide on the right. I didn’t understand it so much at the time but Branko’s justification was that with no defensive options on the bench, Zad was put in to try to bring some pace to the backline, letting him play as a sweeper. Fair enough I think.

Sydney once again took the lead thanks to a sublime run and pinpoint finish across Bajic but it was all thanks to Juninho. He sat on the ball, calmly sized up the moment and played the ball perfectly for Brosque to latch onto and finish extremely well. A beautiful goal to watch.

I was a big Patrick skeptic but I have to say even with his miss from 2 yards (Can you imagine what people would be saying if it was Zdrilic who missed this one?) he is a beauty to watch and I can’t wait to see him start next week. When he was warming up in front of The Cove and his name was being chanted he couldn’t understand what was being said and acted very shy and humble. When he came on the park he was a whole different player, brimming with confidence and skill on and off the ball, always looking to be involved. The crowd responded to this which I thought was a great sign. Keep your eye on the partnership this guy is going to form with Brosque. Having Patrick in the squad should allow Brosque to play his natural game and run at defenders, playing off the big man which I am very excited about.

But a draw was always on the cards with Sydney’s backline and a non confident Bolton failing to claim in his box after a defensive line failure to clear saw Djite push it across and let Burns tap in with his head for a deserved brace. Bolton mate, if it wasn’t time already for a sit on the bench then it definitely is now. How you got into the Socceroos squad on your current form I will never know! (Doubles as the customary dig at Arnold too)

From the individual brilliance of Burns, a beautifully played goal thanks to Juninho and Brosque, end to end attacking play and of course controversy thanks to Mark Shields failing to see Brosque get pulled down in the box right in front of him, this game had it all. Too bad the crowd on hand to watch was just over 14 000. Disappointing Sydney, disappointing…

I am relieved that our underdone side has managed to take a point from the (in my opinion) two strongest teams in the comp in their opening two matches and showed real promise for the rest of the season. The mountain of draws in the other matches also see Sydney not far from the 4 at all.

Looking ahead to next week the payers we may have out looks ridiculous to be honest. Milligan and Zadkovic on Olyroos duty, Brosque and Bolton on Socceroos duty, Popovic and Juninho in doubt along with Casey, Vidiac and Timpano on the long term list. That is arguably a starting line up right there… I have no idea what to expect.

DANE

Sydney vs Central Coast - Post Game

2007-08-27T15:06:00.000+10:00

The EPL starting a few weeks ago wet my appetite for football again but the A-League is what I have been waiting for. There is nothing like going to the ground and being a part of it all. I live for this and boy is it great to be back!

Sydney started with the back four that I was dreading. We somehow forgot to buy fullbacks and if we are to play a back 4 then we have to use a defensive midfielder at right fullback or an attacking midfielder or centre back at left fullback. Mcflynn is a ball winning extrordinaire but along with the general hack that is Ian Fyfe, was caught out time and time again. All up, the first half formation looked as follows with Biddle pushing further forward down the flank and Corica and Juninho both taking a much more central role in midfield:

------------Bolton
McFlynn--Rudan--Poppa--Fyfe
--------Talay--Milligan
----Corica--Juninho--Biddle
------------Brosque

New signing Biddle looked a little out of his depth. He showed there is a lot of potential there, especially on one occasion when he cut inside, making a fool of his defender and then putting a good cross in. Just at other times he failed to find feet with his passes and was dispossessed a few times. He just needs a little more time I think but the future looks bright for the kid.

Corica and Juninho showed that they can work in the middle of the park together, however at times in a messy midfield Juninho seemed to be pushed wide, with Corica filling his role. During the second half after a formation change which allowed them a lot more space let them both move and get on the ball a lot more centrally where they are naturally class.

Central Coast went 1-0 up early after Sydney tried to play it out of the back and lost possession in an unforgivable area. I don’t think the goal was down to the defensive formation but as I mentioned before, we were caught out on the flanks time and time again.

I was happy that Branko saw it was not working and changed things up at half time. There is nothing worse than a manager who refuses to tinker with anything. We went to a back 3 with wingbacks, taking off Biddle for Zadkovich and pushing Mcflynn up into midfield. It was something like as follows:

-----------Bolton
----Rudan-Milligan-Poppa
Zadkovich-Mcflynn-Talay-Fyfe
-------Corica---Juninho
-----------Brosque

The second half saw Sydney dominate for basically the whole 45 minutes but the same old same old was evident where we have no one to put the ball into the back of the net. Could Patrick, the unknown, mystery Brazilian be the answer to this problem? God I hope so…. Central Coast sat back and did the job asked of them in defense. Didn’t make for the prettiest game to watch but a strong tactical performance from the Coasties none the less. Well done to them.

DANE

Iraq vs Olyroos

2007-08-23T14:55:00.000+10:00

Australia were the better team and in the conditions last night a draw was definitely the result we were looking for. By all reports, it wasn't as hot as it could have been but the lads sure looked to handle the conditions a lot more professionally than the senior team did at the Asian Cup, worked their arses off in defense when they didn't have the ball and always tried to keep it when they did. Through the stream I was watching, you could hear Arnold screaming everytime we gained possession for us to "keep it, keep it!!" The team responded well and we played good possession football in a tough environment away from home.

We seemed to line up something like this:

-----------------Vukovic
McClenahan--Leijer--Spiranovic--Hyphen
-----------------Musialik
Williams--------------------Zadkovic
-----------------Ward
----------------------Burns
--------------Djite

Al Jazeera are reporting here that we played a 4-1-4-1 but I think Burns was playing a lot further forward than this suggests. Williams was also pushing right up down the wings but you could again hear Arnold telling him to work in defense and track back. For a kid thats playing in the icy conditions of Denmark, to play the full 90 mins in these conditions with the workload he carried I take my hat off to him. By the second half it was also very noticeable that Zadkovic was always drifting into the centre but this could also have been tactical as Arnold proceeded to sub Burns for a deeper playing Vidosic and Zadkovic for the central midfielder Kilkenny to fill up the midfield. Arnold told Kilkenny to 'take Zads position in left midfield' and 'to get on the ball a lot more.' He did well in the limited game time he had and I really want to see more of him. Looks like a top talent.

At the back, Leijer and Spiranovic looked good. I'm so happy that Spiranovic was picked for this. He is so composed on the ball and his distribution from the back is top notch. Just hope he doesn't go to West Ham for money *cough*.... Leijer didn't stand out but in defense I will take that as a good thing. A tidy performance except for a tackle he lunged into just outside the box right on half time and gave away a foul. Heart in mouth stuff there!

In Midfield Musialik and especially Ward used the ball well. God I hate seeing Ward's talent rotting in the reserves of QPR. He was close to man of the match in my opinion. Put in for the whole game and some of his throughballs and distribution was pure class. Looked good when he ran at defenders too which I was happy he would do, beating his man and then passing it off into the space he just created. Perfectly executed possession football by a skillful player. As I said before, Zadkovic was almost an extra centre mid as well, providing his usual quality attacking runs but also his stupid shots that have absolutely no hope of even getting close.

The Attackers of Burns, the target man Djite and the wide midfielder Williams looked the goods. As a Sydney fan in the A-League I am terrified of Burns and Djite playing week in week out at Adelaide but as an Australian I'm loving it! Burns is pure class, consitantly wanting to get the ball at his feet and beat his man. Crossing could have been better by all involved but when isn't that the case with Australian football? Same can be said for Dave Williams in attack, who again, as I said before worked his arse off tracking back too. Djite could have easily had a penalty midway through the 2nd half but the Chinese reff turned him down. It was the end of a beautiful attacking move where I think it was Ward who ran left to right across the box, dragging the defenders across while Djite timed his run from right to left, slicing through the defense to be one on one with the keeper. Djite went to go around the keeper and kind of let his legs hit the keeper who slid in. Djite did overdramatise it but lets just say we have all seen penalties given for softer things.

We need to get the job done at home so we can afford slip ups in the tough away ties. Our upcoming fixtures in Sydney time are as follows:

Saturday Sep 8, 7pm, Olyroos vs DPR Korea - Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle
Wednesday Sep 12, 7pm Olyroos vs Lebanon - Blue Tongue Stadium, Central Coast
Thursday Oct 18, 1am Lebanon vs Olyroos - Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut
Saturday Nov 17, 7pm Olyroos vs Iraq - Blue Tongue Stadium, Central Coast
Wednesday Nov 21, 5pm DPR Korea vs Olyroos - Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang

We definitely have the skill to do well and with Baan coming back to coach the side for the next few matches while Arnold handles the senior teams upcoming friendlies, things are looking good.

DANE

Group Stages Wrap

2007-07-18T15:34:00.000+10:00

Well from an Australian perspective, what a massive disappointment we have been so far. For some there was always that big doubt that we would underestimate this competition and boy oh boy were they on the mark!

The first two games against Oman and Iraq saw us unable to hold onto the ball. From back to front we looked unorganised and just plain lethargic. Yes blame the conditions like we have heard a thousand times from Arnold and everyone involved with the team but seriously is that really an excuse? Yes its hot and humid, I am not denying that but its just not right for excuses such as this to try to mask rubbish performances both on the park and on the touchline.

Squad selection and Arnolds ‘matesy” attitude on players picking and choosing warm up games seemed to hit us pretty hard. I can just picture Arnold in the dressing room giving his tactical instructions to the players: “Ummm Tim, you seem to score when we are behind. I think you should go on soon. Oh and I remember Guus used to put on lots of strikers. That means we will score! Yes god I am the man!” Taking off midfielders for strikers so early works great when we aren’t controlling the ball as is doesn’t it…. Both Oman and Iraq thoroughly deserved to take all 3 points from Australia and Thailand (although on a slightly lesser extent) certainly didn’t deserve to go down 4-0.

In the final group game Arnold was finally forced to make some wholesale changes, bringing in the A-League boys Carney and Milligan into our defense. Carney did a lot better than I thought he would in the position Arnold played him and although he really doesn't deserve to be left out, really someone does to accommodate for Neil and we will probably line up at the back like this against Japan:

----- Neil -- Milligan -- Beauchamp-----
Emerton ----------------------Wilkshire

For the quarter final at left wingback, I don't really mind who starts out of Carney and Wilkshire, both have their pros and cons but in Arnold's mind I think Wilkshire is leading the race. You like to bag his set pieces but realistically he is a LOT better than Bresc who I think deserves to be dropped anyway on his form from the Singapore friendly onwards. How Carle is behind in the pecking order to Holman I will never know!

Neil will come back into the team no matter what and hopefully he has received the slap in the face that he deserves and knuckles down and plays football again. Beauchamp and Milligan will not lose their place to Thwaite or Kisn00bo, I think that is set in stone for now at least.

Further up the park will Arnold stick with Aloisi alongside Viduka? I don’t think he was overly effective and wouldn’t be surprised if he played either an extra running midfielder in behind or maybe tried Archie.

The ‘big games’ have come a little earlier than expected thanks to our 2^nd place finish in the group and I certainly can’t wait. This tournament has been unreal to watch and I cannot say how pleased I am to be part of Asia!

DANE

Australian Asian Cup Squad

2007-06-08T12:19:00.000+10:00

Australian 23 man Asian Cup squad.

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer, Brad Jones, Michael Petkovic.

Defenders: Lucas Neill, Brett Emerton, Michael Beauchamp, Michael Thwaite, Mark Milligan, Patrick Kisnorbo.

Midfielders: Mark Bresciano, Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Vince Grella, Mile Sterjovski, Luke Wilkshire, Jason Culina, Carl Valeri, Nick Carle, David Carney.

Forwards: Mark Viduka, John Aloisi, Archie Thompson, Brett Holman.

-----------------------------------------------

All up it is a fairly strong looking side and the majority will form the 2010 World Cup team over the next few years.

First up, the goalkeepers. Schwartzer picks himself obviously but in the backups I have a few qualms. I have no problem with Jones being picked, "that mistake" against Uruguay is just something that happens and his form playing for Middlesbrough whenever he has gotten a chance has been great. I do however have a big problem with Michael Petkovic being picked. Seriously, Petkovic is not going to be there come World Cup time and I think the squad position (all the third goalkeeper really is) would have been much better utilised if it had have gone to young Danny Vukovic. He will be around in the years to come and he has real talent. I just think we are wasting our time dwelling on Petkovic.

So it looks like we will be playing a 5-4-1 with wingbacks from the squad that was picked. The 3 central defenders I would play being Neil who really Picks himself, Kisnorbo - Although shaky at times I think persisting with him will pay off and Beauchamp who I would pick every day of the week over Thwaite. However Thwaite looks to be our only left sided defender.... which will probably see him line up in a wingback role with Emerton on the right. The only other players I can think that could get a run over Thwaite would be Wilkshire. I have even read people talking about Carney playing in a wingback role!... But I think that is going WAY too far. Spiranovic wasn't picked not because he wasn’t good enough or considered but because Arnold and his coach at Nuremburg came to an agreement where it would be better for the kid to be involved in pre season training for his club rather than get a single cap and warm the bench for Australia. Make of it what you will.

The midfield is where our real strength lies. Kewell, Cahill, Bresciano, Grella, Culina, Sterjovski. We are spoilt for choice and any combination of these players would do us proud. I was surprised to see both Valeri and Milligan in the squad to be honest. I thought it could have been more balanced if we picked only one of the two and picked a specialist left back. Milligan is always being groomed as a defensive midfielder and picking him as a defender in this squad is just to get him in there. Carle and Carney are flying the A-League midfield flags. So much crap gets dished out to Carle but he is a creative spark that I want to see in the team. He will get game time and prove a few people wrong.

Up front we look like persisting with the lone striker and I think the squad was picked around this fact. Viduka was made for this role and will be our number one choice every time. Aloisi, although not as natural in this role can still do the job while Thompson and Holman offer something different if changes are forced to be made. McDonald missing out is a bit of a surprise but he is in a similar situation to Spiranovic, having to stay at his new club Celtic for pre season to try to cement himself in the team. He would not be a key figure for Australia and I think the right decision was made for both the future of the player and the national team. We may very well need him come 2010 and we don’t want a player that doesn’t get any game time for their club starting. Personally I wouldn’t have picked him in front of any of the other forwards in the squad anyway to be honest.

The other self omissions are Chipperfield ruling himself out so he can be with his pregnant wife who is due to give birth during the tournament is a fair call, however Skoko ruling himself out solely to 'concentrate on club football' as he so nicely put it should not be tolerated. I don't know if Arnie would have said to him "You won't be getting much game time son so don't bother" but it could have been handled better I think. This just leaves a sour a taste in my mouth, especially when he is picking his own match to have his "swansong" farewell. Give the spot to a young guy who is actually interested in the direction of the national team!

DANE

AFC Champions League Matchweek 2

2007-04-27T13:25:00.000+10:00

Urawa coming to town for the ACL group match was what I would rank as the biggest football match in any of Australia’s clubs history, both past and. Realistically I wasn’t expecting too much from the Urawa match. They traveled here with a big reputation and as I soon found out a huge support base. I had a bit of a laugh trying to trade a supporters scarf with some of their traveling supporters but somehow I don’t think they understood what I was trying to ask them. A point in Sydney would give us a massive boost in terms of progressing through to the knockout stages of the tournament but I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much.

The match rolled along and the battle in the stands was just as intense as the battle on the pitch. Uruwa brought what seemed like an army of fans. Their unison in hand motions and wall of noise that they sent across the stadium was at times amazing. It was great being apart of it and the Cove gave back as good as it took. I would say that we are a different type of supporter group, focusing more on having a good time and a variety of songs and chants to support the lads rather than a hardcore, almost ‘perfect’ group that they seemed to be. We will take elements of their support on board though and all up it was a great experience having them in Sydney.

The action on the pitch was just as crazy as the action in the stands. The Dave Carney of old was back and causing havoc when he ran at players. I know that the other A-League clubs have him sussed but Urawa obviously hadn’t done their homework on his “one footedness” and paid the price with him scoring a sublime goal from a pinpoint Milligan throughball (who said he was being wasted in midfield J) and then drawing a penalty to go up 2-0 early in the first half! It was stupid to think that the game was over but we couldn’t help see stars in our eyes and be already thinking about cruising into the knockout stage. Good things never last long when Sydney FC is concerned and this case was no different. Bolton made two uncharacteristic errors to see two goals go in and the game end a 2-2 draw. Poor positioning saw the ball beat him at the near post for the 1^st and a fumble 2 yards from the goal line gifted them the 2^nd. But that’s football….

Short and sweet. Hopefully I can keep better up to date in the future!

DANE

AFC Champions League Matchweek 1

2007-03-11T20:06:00.000+11:00

This week saw Australian football history made with Sydney FC and Adelaide United being the first Australian clubs to represent the country in Asia’s premier club competition.

Adelaide United, after all the turmoil of the sacking of Kosmina and the 6-0 loss in Melbourne in the A-League grand final, put up a good fight at home to Shandong Luneng but just couldn’t put one into the back of the oppositions net. Putting on in their own net however proved to be more their thing and they went down 1-0 courtesy of a Michael Valkanis own goal. By all means they were not embarrassed and could have easily snatched a winner towards the end. All looked good for Sydney in the following match!

Going into the match I would have been stoked with a draw. Traveling away from home to a tough place like China in the middle of winter is something completely new for domestic sides. Traveling across the country to Perth and playing in front of a hostile “Shed” doesn’t really live up to the intimidation factor of going to Shanghai and playing in front of the die hard “Blue Devils.”

Sydney were lucky in the fact that their opponents were the recent merger of two Shanghai clubs and team harmony was greatly lacking both on and off the pitch. The fans actually booed and hissed their own players if they came from the rival club within the merger. It was a good tactic by Culina to come out early and attack from the outset because if Shanghai had have gotten on a roll then the crowd would not have turned on them.

Sydney’s formation was almost the same as how they lined up under Butcher but the tactics and way they played was like watching a whole new team. Talay was used in a much more forward role, even drifting out wide and looking dangerous linking up with the attacking wide players of Brosque and Carney. Where both players looked disinterested and poor under Butcher they now looked revitalised and interested in playing football again. Even Zdrilic put the effort in and was always trying to get involved in the play.

The defense looked strong with Rudan and Fyfe playing centrally and Middleby and Hyphen as the wide defenders. Neither played a real wingback role which I was happy to see and the attacks all came through midfield and then the attacking wide players. Too many times last season I complained about the rubbish service that Ceccoli and Fyfe gave and I was stoked to see that tactic abandoned for now.

As for the goals all I can say is WOW. Great chip or Carney to Corica for a deft little lob over the keeper and a 25 yard screamer from Talay to top it off. Brosque should have made it 3-0 right on the stroke of half time but hit the post after being 1 on 1 with the keeper. Sydney conceded a late goal to make it 2-1 and thats how it finished. Excellent result all round and 3 points on the road!

I don’t want to rate the performance and coaching style of Culina too highly yet as the opposition are going through a crisis of their own but I am now VERY optimisitic for the future and can’t wait for Uruwa to come to Sydney. I just hope the Sydney public realise just how massive this game is and come out and support the lads.

DANE

Sydney FC vs Sutherland Sharks

2007-02-21T23:47:00.000+11:00

Let us never speak of the 2^nd year of the A-League EVER again!

Tonight Sydney played the Sutherland Sharks NSW Premier League side in a trial down at Seymour Shaw on their new plastic pitch. It wasn’t really what I expected it to be like, much thinner actually but the complexity was like grass and the game was just like it was on grass. The way of the future I say!

Oh yeah, the game…. Well it ended 1-1 with both goals coming in the 2^nd half. Sydney had a depleted lineup due to injury and U23’s international duty over in China and lined up in the first half like this:

----------------Pasfield----------------
----------------------------------------
Middleby---Rudan---Fyfe---Tsattalios
----------------------------------------
Corica----Talay----Spencer----Carney
----------------------------------------
-----------Zdrilic---Brosque-----------

Corica was ineffective out wide which we already knew from Littbarski and Butcher experiments but I suppose another year and another coach and the experimenting will begin again. Please can we keep this one! Corica is such an important player in the side and I really don’t want to see him wasted out wide when a donkey such as Spencer is playing in the middle. Maybe he could learn a thing or two about passing and vision from Talay who played as he always does in the middle.

Zdrilic was also his usual ‘donkeyesque’ self throughout the match, missing sitters, not getting into good positions to receive the ball. You know the usual stuff we all expect from him now. I talked the guy up before the match, saying that I can see Branko getting the best out of him and that he will have a big third season with the club. Don’t make me a liar David.

Tsattalios and Middleby playing the wingback roles that we played so poorly over the last two seasons looked an improvement. I would much rather see these two lineup together out wide than Ceccoli and Zadkovich.

The central defense pairing of Fyfe and Rudan was although not watertight still solid. We all know what we are getting with these two players and I don’t really have a problem with either. (Why couldn’t we have gotten Milicivic though L I mean what a signing for Melbourne!)

Second half saw a few changes and some real positives for me.

-----------------Bouzanis-----------------
-------------------------------------------
Middleby---Rudan---Fyfe---Tsattalios
-------------------------------------------
Casey----------Spencer----------Carney
-------------------------------------------
-----------------Brosque-----------------
-------------------------------------------
------------Zdrilic----Glavas------------

Brosque dropped back and got much more involved in the play. It seemed as though every positive move that Sydney was involved in had Brosque playing a part somehow. I have said time and time again that his best position is just behind the strikers and now we have some more players to play with I hope this is where he stays. Zdrilic and Glavas didn’t impress me but I am very willing to give them both more of a chance under Branko.

Adam Casey is the other player who I didn’t expect much from but impressed me tonight. Seemed to consistently beat his man down the wing and cut in well. He got lucky on a few where the ball seemed to just drop at his feet but he reminded me of a season 1 Carney. The real Carney (on the left however) was again a shadow of his former self and didn’t do much except get tackled and made a fool of. I laughed to myself that this little kid in front of me kept calling him Zadkovich and arguing with his friend that it wasn’t Carney. Was that because he expected Carney to be good? Oh innocent minds… He was eventually subbed for Brockie. Enough said.

Glavas has been described to me as a Brosque clone but I couldn’t really see the resemblance tonight at all. Poor first touch, jumping around aimlessly and just not really up to the standard expected. Sure they didn’t mean Zdrilic?

Bouzanis, the young keeper, looked like someone to keep your eye on. Made some awesome saves down low and the goal definitely wasn’t his fault. Although he wont get any game time, hopefully the experience of the Asian trip and working with Jim Fraser will be beneficial for his career. You can’t help but wonder whether the Liverpool academy wouldn’t be the best place for him to be right now though.

I’m not going to read too much into the result or the effort as it was a midweek trial against a State League side on a plastic pitch but for me there were enough positive signs that the future at least looks a little brighter. I know how many of the other trials I can make but we will see. God I can’t wait for the Champions League to start!

DANE

Midfield Victory!

2007-01-28T23:36:00.000+11:00

Having no Talay for the Newcastle match meant I was really worried about how we would stack up against the strong midfield of the Jets. McFlynn and Milligan were unreal in the first half! McFlynn had the wood all over Carle, allowing the 3 midfielders and Brosque in front of them to run riot in the attacking 3^rd. This pairing kind of reminded me of the one Butcher sent out across the Tasman in Round 5 but using them in the 4-2-3-1 with the attacking players in front of them really made the difference compared to the 4-4-2 used back then when McFlynn and Milligan lined up as the only ones in the centre of the park.

I want to apologise to Butcher for giving him hell just after half time for taking off my still man of the match, Terry McFlynn for at the time what I thought was no reason. You could see just how much the game changed under his absence and the one player less in the midfield for the introduction of Petrovski. Now I have not been a fan of the bloke since his outburst against Butcher and subsequent links to various other clubs and I can never tell if Petrovski is just out of form or if he is not giving his all for the club or manager that he really doesn’t want to be pulling on the shirt for. Sydney just weren’t the same in the 2^nd half and I hope that some of the bashers of the 4-2-3-1 formation can see that just by putting “another striker” up front it will not make us play more attacking or dominant!

The game is set up perfectly for the away leg. I’m pretty confident that we can score and at least nab a draw to go through. With Melbourne failing to score in Adelaide tonight in what would have to be one of the contenders for poorest game of football this league has seen, Adelaide are now favorites for the tie to me, with hopefully Sydney facing the loser. Although I would love to play Melbourne in the Grand Final down there, I really think Adelaide will now take the tie and we will be playing the tards next week. Either way I can’t wait until Newcastle away on Friday!

DANE

Penultimate Round

2007-01-15T16:23:00.000+11:00

Whenever we lose the bagging of the formation that Butcher plays begins. Now I have not been the biggest fan of Butcher over the year but the guy is growing on me and I definitely have no qualms with the formation he plays. The only thing throughout the season I have bitched about is the selection of who plays where in the formation.

4-2-3-1 is an attacking formation! Everyone has in there head this idea of “a lone striker” system that all the other players must be sitting back. There are three attacking midfielders sitting behind him, with the idea being that they run on and flood the defense with quick movement.

The formation is not the problem, it is who is where within the formation! We do not have one player on our books who is perfectly suited to the lone striker role. Petrovski is the best option in that he his built but can move well but I am worried about his commitment to the team and if his head will explode and he will just think “oh fuck it” with his supposed arguments with Butcher and imminent move to Japan.

In my opinion, Brosque needs to be one of the midfielders which only leaves Zdrillic remaining. It is a gamble to play him but I can’t see any other option available to us for the time being.

Carney needs to be given some time of the bench and come on as an impact player. He has come out with all guns blazing in the first half of the previous two matches and then goes missing in the 2^nd half only to be substituted by players with no impact value. Let Carney do his damage in the 2^nd half (And no I don’t mean stupid 85^th minute substitutions that we are all used to seeing now!) when he can run at tired defenders.

So after all this, the formation I want to see played next week is the 4-2-3-1 with:

-----------------Bolton-----------------
------------------------------------------
Hyphen----Fyfe----Rudan----Ceccoli
------------------------------------------
------------Talay----Corica------------
------------------------------------------
Middleby----Brosque----Zadkovich
------------------------------------------
-----------------Zdrillic-----------------

With Milligan and McFlynn both injured and with Sydney needing to win, I’d like to see Butcher take the game to Qld with Corica and Talay providing the passing and vision in midfield and Brosque pushing further forward in the 3 man attacking midfield to support Zdrillic a lot more than previous weeks. Cut the wingback shit that hasn’t worked all year and play an actual defender, in Topor-Stanley. There is no option for the other side of defense so Ceccoli retains his spot again…

We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting final round and Its only increasing the appeal of the league that so many teams are still vying for a spot in the playoffs. Bring it on I say!

DANE

Becks Transfer

2007-01-13T14:28:00.000+11:00

Well the David Beckham move to the MLS has finally happened! Beckham has agreed on a move to the Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the season. He is set to earn a record $320.4 million $AU from the deal which includes his salary and sponsorship deals.

Although this has nothing to do with Australian football on the surface, I think it does have some aspects that we should look to learn from. The MLS is similar to the A-League in that each team is restricted by a salary cap. The MLS has a limit of $2.4 million $AU for a 28 man squad where in Australia we have a $1.6 million cap for only a 20 man squad. Both competitions have adopted the same “marquee player” policy with one player on the squad allowed to be paid a salary outside the salary cap. Obviously the LA Galaxy believes that David Beckham’s marketability outweighs this salary but seriously, is that even possible?!

This amount of money being thrown around is not the best thing for the sport in general but it’s great for the game in the US. Beckham has stated that his reason for going to the US is because “everywhere else in the world soccer is big except for America and I want to change that.” I mean it couldn’t be for the money, Hollywood lifestyle and potential business opportunities once he is done with football could it? J You can decide if this is good for football or not....

DANE

Great Start....

2007-01-09T18:49:00.000+11:00

Now two weeks back from the A-League Christmas break and I’m sorry for the length between posts but I’m updating to the “New Blogger” and haven’t been arsed to work out how it works until now. I was going to do a bit of a double up post, combining what I thought would be a straightforward win over New Zealand after the excellent result away at Newcastle on New Years Day. How far off could I be?

Newcastle, the whole day was awesome. The crowd, the occasion and for me the result and way that we came out in the 2^nd half all guns blazing with purpose in the final 3^rd! New Zealand last night is the opposite. The club screwed thousands of fans by bringing the kick off time forward an hour. I went for a walk at half time then came back and was so shocked at the amount of people that weren’t there before! Dead set close to 5000+ of the 16 000 people I would say had come late. The only reason I knew of the change was because I read the fans forum. If I was a part timer and were screwed around like that then I sure wouldn’t be keen on coming back!

New Zealand nabbed an early goal off a set piece, with Bunce beating Bolton at the near post. They continued to push forward in the first half and played some alright football. I am interested to see where Marcina will go in the next few seasons. The second half was however a different story with the same old Kiwis coming back into the picture. Throw everyone behind the ball and hope for the best. Sydney dominated possession and yes had about double the shots of their opposition but severely lacked that killer edge and final ball. I have said for the last few weeks that Brosque is definitely not Sydney’s answer to the lone striker’s role in this system that Butcher will not budge from. He got lucky with two scrappy goals in his two previous games playing in this position which is not where his strengths lie. I just hope for Asia that the loss of Petrovski to Japan encourages us to sign a marquee striker! Again at the risk of sounding like a broken record, Butcher if you want to play attacking wingbacks then buy ones who can cross!!!!

The post game function was another eye opener. When accepting the man of the match award Bolton said: “It’s hard when only half of your team is giving it their all while the other half is taking it easy and bludging.” With the most dejected look on his face. He would not name names to the request of the crowd and I don’t want to speculate *Cough Zadkovich* but meh…. This isn’t just a negative comment because we lost but I genuinely believe the club has deep problems. Give the squad an overhaul and employ players that will suit the system you want to play!

Best part of the night in my opinion was having the Barmy Army there in support of “Whoever’s playing Australia.” Some good banter with the Cove and it was nice having away supporters singing back…. Even if they weren’t really fans J The award for best traveling support 2006/2007 goes to New Zealand Knights. Get that into ya’ Melbourne! It was good that the Kiwis went and clapped “their” fans after the win, as a thank you. Well, made me laugh anyway! J

DANE

Christmas Break

2006-12-26T16:46:00.000+11:00

Well it’s the Christmas break for Australian football and with the League winners confirmed as Melbourne with their 4-0 Victory (excuse the pun) over the playing-wise and financially dire New Zealand Knights, the attention now turns to the race for the remaining finals spots as well as the Asian frontier that Sydney and Adelaide are now preparing to enter.

Many ‘experts’ within the media are writing off both Perth and Queensland for a finals berth but the chance is still there for them all. Only 6 points separates 3^rd place from 7^th place which tells me that anyone in there is still in with a chance to make the finals and I am not prepared to stick my neck out yet and call who the top 4 will be.

The real interest for me over the last few weeks has been Asia. Both the Asian Cup and Asian Champions League draws were made last week with results that I think are both great for football and exciting. The Asian Cup sees the Socceroos drawn into Group A alongside co-host Thailand, Iraq and Oman. With who I believe to be our biggest threat within the tournament Japan being drawn into Group B, we need to win our group to try to avoid playing the Group B winners in the Quarter Finals.

I do however agree with Craig Foster in thinking that Graham Arnold should consider anything less than winning the tournament a failure. Don’t lower our expectations Arnie, if you don’t win the tournament, you most definitely will be replaced as coach…. You should be replaced even if we win…. But moving on…

As for the regions club tournament, the Asian Champions League, I think that the contrasting hard draws that Sydney and Adelaide have been handed will be a positive. I was worried that we would be seeing Sydney vs the Uzbekistani or some other obscure minnow facing at Aussie Stadium on a Wednesday night in front of a less than 9000 crowd with the majority of the city registering a care factor or zero! Sydney however drew a dream draw for me, being placed in Group E alongside Japanese champions and the biggest drawcard in the tournament, Uruwa Red Diamonds, Chinese runners up Shanghai Shenhua and the Indonesian champions Persik Kediri.

Adelaide were just as lucky… or unlucky depending on how you choose to look at it, in being placed in Group G with similarly tough opponents. They will face Korean Champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, Chinese league and cup champions Shandong Luneng and Vietnamese champions Dong Tam Long An. They should have similarly no problems in selling out Hindmarsh for their matches.

Football in this country just keeps getting better and better and this new Asian frontier is no exception. Bring it on!

DANE

Sydney vs Perth

2006-12-15T14:30:00.000+11:00

A Thursday night game against struggling Perth was never going to bring in the hoards but if I had have been offered the 11 000 crowd that was there, I would have jumped on it. (Sounds like my new hobby of bet trading but that’s another story…..) For the 11 000 that did bother to show up they sure saw some action and excitement which I have to say has been a regular fixture at Aussie Stadium over the last few weeks.

Of course I gave referee, Simon Przydacz an earful when he pulled the red card out of his pocket for Rudan’s tackle on Bertos but deep down I knew I had nothing to complain about. Obvious goal scoring opportunity, man heading towards goal with the ball, brought down from behind by the last defender. Take your pick at what you think he chose to write on the report he had to fill out saying what he was sent for.

From that moment it was looking bleak for Sydney and I was waiting for us to sit back and try to take a point. If Perth were to give themselves even the slightest chance of still making the finals they had to win and I thought they would go much more ‘all out’ for the win than what they did. I want to give credit to Bolton who made some amazing saves from breakaways but other than that Perth never kept possession and tried to stretch the 10 man Sydney.

Sydney on the other hand were able to keep attacking and I want to finally give Terry Butcher a pat on the back for his tactical set up both before and after the red card. Although he did not really have a defensive option on the bench, the substitution of Carney for Zadkovich was definitely not a defensive move. Carney was noticeably not on song, holding the ball when he should be laying it off to an overlapping player and passing when he should have been shooting on numerous occasions throughout the first half. Sydney kept their attacking wide play with Middleby and Zadkovich playing alongside the still very attackingly positioned Brosque.

Sydney started with Brosque as the lone striker, an experiment which we as fans have been crying out to be tested. Now yes Brosque was the goal scorer tonight but I wouldn’t go as far as saying that it quite worked. I think it is fairly accepted now that Bosque’s ideal position is sitting just behind the striker in the 4-2-3-1 that Butcher loves to play or playing just off the striker in the alternative 4-4-2.

There was always a perception that Brosque was fast. The man has a full box of tricks and even though he is low on confidence and out of form I still defiantly rate the bloke but in absolute no way is he fast. Being outpaced to the ball by David Tarka last night certainly proves this point. The whole game we were saying how Brosque needs the ball at his feet and he is not a scrapper for goals… Isn’t it ironic that he scored with a leaping header after a cross to the back post?

After the goal you could see that when Brosque got the ball at his feet he wanted it and wanted to take players on again. Hopefully the goal gives him some confidence and we FINALLY see Brosque’s real potential realised.

DANE

The Derby - 3rd Edition

2006-12-11T17:10:00.000+11:00

A 0-0 draw at a packed Telstra Dome was probably once again the expected result with Sydney having never won south of the border and Melbourne wanting to give their massive crowds something to cheer about. I don’t think that there was any doubt that Butcher sent his team in to play for the draw.

It could have backfired so easily though with Thompson having a few clear cut chances that any real Socceroo would have buried! (Like the little subtle dig at my southern rivals there ;) ). In the end the result was beneficial for both teams.

The only blight on the evening is the ‘alleged’ trouble in the crowd between a minority of Melbourne fans and The Cove. We know there is this ‘hate’ between the two teams and sets of fans but open your eyes and think what is best for the league and the image. The rivalry is a good thing, the idiocy of these ‘hardcores’ is just giving our games rivals more bait to take!

I loved hearing that last nights crowd at the Telstra Dome was the biggest at that ground since an AFL match back in 2004! That truly is an amazing acheivment in AFL mad Victoria. I’m going to be lazy and quote an article off the A-League website that certainly puts Friday nights match into the history books.

The attendance shattered the previous record for a domestic football match in Australia set at 43,292 at the NSL final in Perth in 2000. Rudan said the popularity of the Hyundai A-League is fitting reward for those fans who have waited a long time for Australian domestic football to capture the nation.

"Just before we walked out in the tunnel (referee) Mark Shield turned around and said, 'Mate, can you believe this?' From Sydney United to 50-55,000," he said. "Every time we had a goal kick I had to look around and just take it all in, it was something special tonight."

DANE

FC vs Mariners

2006-12-04T19:19:00.001+11:00

Being a Cove season ticket holder I am quite proud to say I have been to every home game this season. I am however not proud to admit that I have not yet experienced an away trip. With Gosford only being an extra hour or so north of Sydney it is very accessible but different work aspects have come together to conspire against me!

I have recently got a Christmas job during my uni end of session break doing nightfill at Toys R Us and this job has restricted my traveling on both Gosford away trips. The first one was I wasn’t getting enough shifts and had a grand total of $22 in my bank account. Now Christmas is fast approaching I have become a slave, working 5 nights a week doing 8 or 9 hour shifts sometimes to 4am! What makes it even better is thanks to good ol’ Johnny Howard, I get a flat $11.70 an hour with no penalty rates whatsoever! At least I had enough money to go to Gosford on Sunday but just no time thanks to an insane amount of shifts! I can’t win!

I did get to catch a replay today without knowing the result so it was close to watching it live… I thought that a 0-0 stalemate was pretty much the expected result. Although both teams had chances such as Corica’s open header and Mrdja’s thunderbolt of a free kick that cannoned into the post, both teams were very set and solid in defense. With both teams on winning streaks and with Adelaide losing to Melbourne, no team was going to move up or down the ladder with a win or a loss.

What I am more interested in talking about is the relationship and fun that the supporter groups of both teams, “The Marinators” and “The Cove” share when games are played. I was left just shaking my head once again at anti football journalism written in the Central Coast Express Advocate here. Come on… Riot Police… The “firm” in question, the Central Coast Stadium Elite, are a bunch of 15 year old keyboard warriors with a totally riot police worthy MySpace account and a forum name!

As a Rugby League fan from my childhood I was always afraid of “soccer hooligans”. I eventually ended up going to Northern Spirit matches and now onto Sydney FC where the crowd is fun and the total opposite to the stereotype that is out there about the kind of people that football fans are. When will these journalists such as Noone of the Advocate and Fitzy of the Herald attend a game and buck their stereotypes and crazy bias against football that we are all so sick of reading. The Football Tragic has some good pieces on this issue that I recommend you read here.

As expected there were no ‘riots’ or ‘firm battles’ between the so called fierce rival supporter groups, just fun banter and singing which is one of the main attributes that attracts me to football rather than another code.

DANE

ACL Aussies

2006-11-21T18:28:00.000+11:00

It was this week confirmed that the Minor Premiers and Grand Final Champions from LAST season will be Australia’s Asian Champions League representatives for NEXT YEARS competition. That’s right, the teams that qualify could finish dead last the next season and would still compete in the ironically named “Champions League.”

Now in Australia we are different to everywhere else in the fact that we play our season as a summer comp rather than a more traditional winter time slot. This means we end up out of whack with everywhere else, hence why the problem with who qualifies for the ACL arises only for us.

Surely the smart and rational thing to do would be to just simply have “Australian team A” and “Australian team B” for the draw with the teams to be advised once the season here has been finished. This is what the FFA has been pushing for but the AFC stood stubbornly firm and would not budge.

As a Sydney fan I am struggling to say this but in all seriousness, they don’t deserve to be there yet. If they go on to win the Grand Final again then the FFA and AFC should breathe a sigh of relief but the big loser in all of this will be Melbourne. They are runaway leader in this year’s regular season and the way they play reflects the table.

Sunday’s game between Sydney and Adelaide once again continued the trend of exciting and skillful encounters which shows both teams have not dropped off too much from last season. This will at least save the FFA from an embarrassing situation where one of Australia’s ACL representatives has lost half their team or are languishing at the bottom of the domestic table.

Both Sydney captain Mark Rudan and Adelaide coach John Kosmina have declared that early acceptance will make them lift rather than slacken off but even so, justice has far from been done with this situation.

DANE

Foster vs Postecoglou....

2006-11-13T13:43:00.000+11:00

Above is part of the interview between SBS football analyst Craig Foster and Australian national youth coach Ange Postecoglou which appeared on yesterdays The World Game program on SBS.

Now as I have said before, I think it is time for Australia to look to someone else to lead our youth teams forward and heck, I even agree with a lot of Fozzie’s rambles but I think he lost a lot of credibility with this so called “interview.”

He let his individual emotions take over and it turned into personal attacks. I actually thought that Postecoglou was winning the battle and I thought he held his head high in what was clearly a set up against him.

SBS and Foster himself have not done themselves any favors with this interview. It was an embarrassment and I can now see the FFA not allowing SBS to conduct interviews or do certain stories. For us with no Foxtel, this would just leaving us even more in the dark than we already are. Thanks Fozzie....

DANE

vs NZK

2006-11-10T11:50:00.000+11:00

Tonight the New Zealand Knights come to town to play Sydney and I like many others find myself thinking “why am I going to watch a rubbish team bring their rubbish football to town?”

The usual mate I go with has bailed on me (he kind of has a real excuse though J) so I have to find another friend to go with. With my season pass I got 2 free general admission tickets so I thought I could give those out and get a bit of a group going. Everyone I asked was up for comeing until they realised they were going to see New Zealand and that right there is seeing first hand why wherever New Zealand go to play the crowds are down.

The hapless team from across the Tasman, which is actually made up of 90% old poms or the reject Aussie players such as Jonti Richter, actually only have 3 Kiwis on their books to start with! For 2 seasons now these League 2 “superstar” poms have failed to not only win but play any sort of attractive football. Surely a younger team made up of Kiwi player picked up from both the New Zealand national league as well as a few signings of the various Kiwis scattered across the Aussie A-League teams would be 10 times more competitive and satisfying for a crowd to come and watch even if they are still losing!

I laughed to myself when I was watching the A-League highlights show the other night and they interviewed Paul Nevin after the win against Queensland. He said “We are an honest team, we know we can’t play the football that they can. I think it was about stifling them and making them play the long ball.” In other words, he is saying we are shit, our whole playing philosophy is to play shit football and then try to make the other team play even shitter than us. No wonder no one is interested in watching them play!

I just hope for the whole leagues sake that the FFA does something about the Knights. They have had 2 seasons to show that they are serious and that they want to get their act together but the lack of support from the New Zealand FA, the lack of Kiwis on the books and the care factor of zero shown from the New Zealand public will surely see the FFA say enough is enough and it cant come any sooner for me!

DANE

U20's Out!

2006-11-07T20:21:00.000+11:00

Flicking on SBS World Sport tonight I was devastated to see Australia bowing out of the U20 World Youth Championships qualification tournament. The world cup for the under 20’s has produced most of our senior national team stars and this crop of players has been described as the best group since.

Being Australian you’d think that I would be used to the heartbreak of being kicked out of tournaments before we have even begun but no, it still hurts just as much as the famous ones I have at least been alive for. Those being Iran 97 and Uruguay “Chapter 1” in 2001. This feeling however has never been felt at a youth level. With past youth teams gaining automatic qualification by breezing through the Oceanian confederation and always being at the youth world cups, I just assumed a move into Asia would be no different. We are a football powerhouse now right? Seriously the answer is we are nowhere near the level we need to be at to challenge the top nations at big tournaments.

Reports that Australia’s play has been far from impressive not only in this tournament but for years now will surely finally see the axe that has been hanging by a thread above coach Ange Postecoglou’s head finally fall. Could this be the age of a new direction and style for youth football in Australia? Could the youth team be finally developed into the same style that we want our senior national team to play in?

A football technical director should certainly be looked at being employed by the FFA right now to overhaul this whole situation with the coaching positions from under 17 all the way up to the senior side sure to be overhauled in the not too distant future.

Youth development and lower levels of the football hierarchy is the next pieces of the puzzle that needs to be addressed otherwise we run the risk of falling even further behind. It all starts with the youth and I strongly believe the system and directions are not in place to get the best out of the talent that is clearly there. Over to you FFA....

DANE

Butchered!

2006-10-30T12:21:00.000+11:00

As you may have worked out from some previous posts I am not Terry Butcher’s biggest admirer. I know he did well at Motherwell and he’s a “big English name” which is what all Aussie football fans like....*cough* but to be honest he hasn’t done a good job with both the style of football and results here in Sydney. HOWEVER I don’t think he deserves the sack…yet.

I know I always talk about how well we played in pre-season at Wollongong but I’m going to bring it up again. That was when he had our full squad at his disposal. From game 1 onwards he has had only the bare minimum to work with, including short term rubbish signings like Bingley! You know you are scraping the bottom of the barrel when your reserve goalkeeper in Pasfield has to be found an outfield uniform just in case the coach needs to make his full compliment of substitutions in a match!

Butcher has to be given until the end of the season to show develop and then do exactly what he wants with the team. Sacking a coach on 10 matches is crazy, especially considering we are still fourth on the ladder and still well on track for a finals berth. There is an argument that our reserves and squad members should all be up to first team standard but common sense says that of course they are not. I just want to see how we play with our full compliment of players before the board makes any rash decisions.

As a longtime fan on the Cronulla Sharks rugby league team (hangs head in shame J) I know about how hard chopping and changing the coaching staff can be on both on field performances as well as the final bank balance! They were still paying Chris Andersons contract while also paying Stuart Raper. They also had to pay a compensation fee to Anderson. Now Raper has also been given the sack they have to pay both Raper as well as new coach Ricky Stuart for next year. How confusing is that! It’s just ridiculous!

I am not a supporter of Butcher but I am defiantly not a hater. Give the bloke more time and a full compliment of players before making any stupid decisions and sacking him!

DANE

Being a "Supporter"

2006-10-26T10:39:00.000+10:00

Not even one person in my group of mates knows anything about, let alone follows the local Australian game. Some have shown a passing interest when I talk about it or they see me wearing a jersey but wouldn’t be able to tell me when or even where the games are played.

A lot of them would however class themselves as “football fans” over most other sports available to them. Being a football fan to them however is following one of the top 4 English Premier League sides because they were the team they first saw play on TV amongst a whole other group of similarly lame reasons. Does this make them a supporter of the team or just merely another bandwagoning glory hunter, trying to associate them self with success?

I really feel connected to Sydney FC because it is MY team, representing MY city and where I am from and live. I go and stand and sing for team rain, hail or shine. Through the tough times and the good times I feel connected to the club. There is just something about going and standing and singing for your team. Going to a football game is like no other sporting event and the FFA needs to market this. It just still isnt on 80% of peoples minds.

Now I have had my share of overseas teams. With the likes of Everton in the EPL, Barcelona in La Liga to my most recent bandwagon hop with current Serie A leaders, Palermo. I do however not consider myself a true supporter of any of these teams. Sure I’m happy to see them play but I don’t have any emotional connection with anything these clubs stand for.

I don’t quite know what I’m trying to say in writing this piece but I’ve shared my feelings on following the local game and your local team. I hope I can encourage the many European football bandwagoning “fans” to get behind something closer to home and maybe you will one day feel the same way.

DANE

The Derby

2006-10-23T14:08:00.000+10:00

I really don’t want to download the game and I don’t have Fox to watch any replays so I’m only going on my view from The Cove on Saturday night when I talk about the game.

What a shit night! That pretty much sums up the whole experience for reasons more than the crap dished up to us on the pitch. For anyone who cares, here is my story from the night.

It all started at the warm, beautiful TAB on the way to the ground. It’s our pre game ritual to have a punt on the races and I was picking a few winners. Nothing spectacular, but still winners all the same. It got to about 7pm and we thought we better get going to catch a bit of pre match banter at the game so I quickly put $10 down on Sydney to get the win. We got outside and found the streets to be cold, wet and more importantly, deserted… There wasn’t a person in sight so we were joking that we must have stuffed up the kick off time... That we did. It was a race to the ground to only reach the car park and hear the stadium roar. FUCK! We missed Sydney score at The Cove end in the biggest match of the season!

Finally we get into the stadium and kick out the bandwagoners that had inhabited our seats to hear all about Corica’s wonderful strike. Not only for his finish but beautiful lead up and passing play that led to the goal. Could today be the turning point for the Sydney season? The time we finally get to see Sydney play good football at home? Those thoughts all briefly ran through my head only to be dashed in the second half with the rubbish that I had the displeasure of viewing in the home matches up until now. I laughed when the people in the seats behind us told us to go away because we were playing good football before we came. Damn I wish I had have been 1 minute too late with my bet rather than 1 minute early. Just my luck!

I think Butcher got it right in finally starting Hyphen at centre back and finally giving Sasho another chance up front in place of the hapless ZZZZZdrillic. Hyphen didn’t have his best of games but in saying that neither did any of his defensive teammates. Craig Foster always gives me a laugh and watching TWG on Sunday didn’t disappoint. He showed a rather large clip of Sydney’s ball distribution out of defense where it was just hoof it up field or into the top tier of the grandstand. The way TWG attacked Butcher’s newspaper reply to Fosters open letter was a good laugh too. Butchers reputation with me, and I’m sure many other people, just keeps plunging.

Once Corica went off it seemed as if Talay was playing winger and Brockie in centre mid?? We just stopped playing football and Melbourne got on top and deserved to win. Then came the rain.... Now I’m sick of trying to remember and write.... Looks like the night didn’t live up to anywhere near the expectations of my previous blog post....

DANE

Sydney vs Melbourne

2006-10-19T14:13:00.000+10:00

Being brought up like a typical Sydney kid I have been influenced by Rugby League all my life. The typical big rivalry, more because of lack of alternatives than anything else, has always been NSW and Sydney vs Brisbane and Queensland. Now being converted to football I have found a new rival in Melbourne.

Maybe it is because NSW and Victoria have the two strongest and most popular state leagues in the country? Maybe it is because it is Sydney and Melbourne are the two cities that are always vying for the big events. Or maybe, just maybe it is just because Melbourne is shithole? J

The rivalry has been there ever since the start of the league and personally, I cant get enough of it! The build up to the games felt by everyone with an interest in sports is the best within the A-League and from my experiences with other domestic sports I’d have to say close to the best in the country! The 40 000 crowd at the Telstra Dome and expected 30 000 here in Sydney on Saturday night goes to show the interest and rivalry that these teams generate.

I would however like to see a lot more advertising and promotion of the games. That can be said for all A-League matches but there is nothing better to get people interested and hooked than a good rivalry such as the one that Sydney and Melbourne now have. The tiny ad down the bottom of the Saturday Herald is not enough!!

Every single Sydney vs Melbourne game played in either city so far over the past two years have produced goals, controversy and most importantly a good spectacle for the fans and I see nothing changing on Saturday night. The game has set up to be a blockbuster and I strongly advise everyone with the opportunity to get out to the SFS and become a part of it!

DANE

Australia vs Bahrain

2006-10-15T18:25:00.000+10:00

I can’t believe hearing people saying they won’t support or watch the national team because they are so called "boring". It’s as bad as some of the clowns that boo players that play for their rival clubs. Get over yourselves and support the game and your country. Whenever someone is wearing the shirt support them, don’t get on their back even more!

Well now that’s off my chest.... I went to the game, great to see that stadium full of gold again! As I mentioned in my previous post, I think its great that the crowd can respect their anthems and players in these sorts of games but when it comes to the big crunch qualifiers, I think we have to make the stadium much more intimidating towards the opponents just like against the WQC Uruguay last November.

As for the action on he pitch I have to say I was entertained by what was created in the first half, Bahrain threw everything behind the ball and relied on the counter which nearly worked, getting in behind our defenders which I have to say aren’t the fastest on the planet but hasn’t that been our problem since the Farina days? We were controlling possession and knocking it around well for the 1st half and as a result we knocked two into the back of the net with poor refereeing costing us a third. In the second half after Arnold made his changes the game seemed to die a bit but I wouldn’t say I was bored out of my brain like I hear many saying….

I still don’t believe Arnold is the right man for the coaching job and the way we played in the second half just backed up my point. We shouldn’t be cruising once we get ahead. We should be putting these teams away and proving that the players deserve their spot. Arnold saying “The players had one eye on their clubs”… What a ridiculous comment by the coach!

The real blight on the night was the way the Bahrainis stayed down and called for the bloody stretcher! So lame and it got the reception from the crowd and Australian players that it deserved. Pathetic!

DANE

Hostile Ties

2006-10-15T17:51:00.000+10:00

Although in a footballing and fairness sense, Australia’s move into the Asian Football Confederation and the World and Asian Cup qualification paths that come with it has been welcomed by many including myself, what is going to happen in terms of big match ties such as the Uruguay game in 2005?

The match played on that warm night in November will go down as the best sporting and football event I have been associated with in my short lifetime as a fan. It was not only a match, but rather a whole footballing experience. The hostility in the crowd on the night and even during the whole week leading up to it with the team in the hotel in Sydney and everything could be described as crazy.

Now with Australia's move into Asia and playing lots of smaller nations within groups, are we going to miss out on this experience that the old qualification route brought with it? The way the crowd booed the Uruguayan anthem and were all over the players backs whenever they were out and about was and is all part of a big home football tie and I really want to see this trend continue. In saying that, it does have to be done at the right time and towards the right teams. For example booing the Bahrainian anthem or showing intense crowd hostility in the recent game would not be appropriate as they are basically a footballing minnow and our qualification was secured.

If however we were paired with say an Iran or the Saudis and the match was a crunch match what is the crowd and media reaction going to be if the crowd shows hostility? Will it happen again and will it be an accepted practice? Australian culture, meet footballing culture! We should be turning our grounds into fortresses and make Australia an intimidating place for an away team to come to get points.

I really do believe that without the intense crowd intimidation that was present for the Uruguay match we probably would not have gotten as far as we did and just hope that it continues at the right time and place of course.

Crowd hostility in home and away ties is one of the great things in football and I just hope that our move to Asia enhances and not deducts from how we receive traveling nations.

DANE

Theodorakopoulos Gone!

2006-10-12T17:22:00.000+10:00

The Aussie coach with the longest surname in history has been officially sacked by the Newcastle United Jets, with Assistant Coach Gary Van Egmond appointed Caretaker Coach.

A lot of people I've talked to or listened to their opinion’s on the matter have agreed with the Newcastle board in showing "Theowatsit" the door but I have to disagree and say that they haven’t exactly done themselves any favors with this move.

They parted ways with Richard Money at the end of last season and didn’t like his style of football so in came Nick Theo to try to help bring out the attacking flair in their squad and try to play attractive and attacking football. Now they haven’t won one game during the whole first round of the A-League but I have enjoyed watching them when I have gotten the chance. They have been VERY unlucky not to win games and have been hit hard by suspensions and injuries. Is this the coach’s fault? I would say no. Not in this case anyway. What do they think bringing someone new in is going to do now?

Remo Nogerotto the corrupt bastard (you can’t kick the tag from his Northern Spirit days by just heading a bit further up the F3 mate!) should be taking some of the fall for the farcical situation where the club has a 19 year old kid as their starting keeper and NOONE on the bench! As for Okon being the marquee all I can do is laugh. Nick Theo has had a public falling out with his captain and Im sure if he had the chance to select more of his own players (such as another season, hint hint) then im sure the Jets would have been a much more formidable force.

They might get their first win of the season against New Zealand next week and this could put more crap onto Nick Theo but I’m sure that they would have done the job anyway. Their luck was bound to change and then the good football that they were playing under Theo would have got the results and praise that it deserved. Ill use Queensland and Miron Bleiburg last season as a prime example. Their football was sexy but they weren’t getting the results due to being horribly unlucky in front of goal. Look where they are now. Sitting pretty in 2^nd spot with the same manager.

I just think sacking the coach wasn’t the right answer in this case and I feel terrible for Nick Theo who I’m sure will bounce back in his next job. If things keep heading south Id look further up in the club than the manager for the source of their problems *cough*.

DANE

Getting Rediculous

2006-10-09T20:23:00.000+10:00

There I was, thinking that I’d be going to see two attacking teams go at it head to head. End to end of slick, passing football. I even decided to put a bet on Sydney at what I thought were generous odds of $1.85 after last week but again I was treated to another poor home performance.

The first half was shit, boring football but what could I expect from the baffling selections that Butcher once again made? Bingley starting in Central Defence AGAIN? Zdrillic still keeping Sasho on the bench? One of Australias most promising Central Defenders, Topor-Stanley playing as a winger? Should I keep going?!

Keep the only formation that we have looked good playing, 4-2-3-1 and just swap the forced Corica for Brosque and Talay for Milligan. I thought it would be common sense to drop Bingley for Topor-Stanley. What a joke that selection was. Hyphen looked like a tool out on the wing. I really felt for the guy. As for Zdrillic still winning a starting spot, I just don’t understand it. I have never seen him get the ball at his feet and run at a defender. Continual chest down or airswing headers, one after another. I just can’t understand Butchers selections and tactics. If someone out there does, please, please explain them to me!

Fyfe and Ceccoli, Sydney’s wide defenders always seem to be getting forward but with no urgency or skill. Time after time, especially Fyfe seemed to trot up the wing with the ball then either whip in an aimless cross or be quickly shut down and either lose possession or pass it backwards. If Butcher wants to play with these positions pushing forward, drill them or get players who are capable of fulfilling this role!

The midfield was still its uncreative, mysterious self. No shape, no direction. Actually there was a direction from McFlynn. Route 1, straight up the middle. I admire the bloke's heart and passion for the team and shirt but mate, its time for a spell on the bench. We need creativity in the midfield, not the rubbish that you dished up for us on Sunday!

It seemed like it took the half time break for Sydney to realise that it was windy and if you kick the ball in the air, it isn’t going to go where you intended. Hey, maybe Butcher made a “tactical change” in the break….. I did however, enjoy the second half. I don’t know whether it was the singing and jumping around getting more intense or the fact that when Talay came on you could see an obvious improvement in the fact that the ball was actually being moved around, finding player’s feet. Hmm isnt that the change that we have all been crying out for! Now Butcher, are you going to learn and start the bloke next week?

Queensland however, didn’t come to play football and just sat back, letting us do what we wanted at the end. In their eyes, they definately gained a point rather than losing two which is the way I see it for Sydney.

Ill end what seems like neverending criticism of my team with a big rap to Alvin Ceccoli. Wonder strike mate! I could watch that goal over and over again! Keep it up!

DANE

Dwight who? It's all about Beni!

2006-10-03T20:09:00.000+10:00

Who was that black guy we had as our marquee again?.... In all seriousness Dwight was excellent for the club and the whole league in general but from a playing perspective didn’t impress on the levels we maybe expected.

I was a massive doubter of Carbone and really questioned the club in bringing the guy down here for a guest stint with the possibility of signing him on for the rest of the season on a marquee contract. All I can say now is PLEASE, PLEASE SIGN THIS GUY FOR THE SEASON RIGHT NOW!!

Not only did he star yesterday against Adelaide, but the team starred! The long ball rubbish disappeared and we actually decided to use our wide players in Brosque and Zadkovich to play football. The attacking 4-2-3-1 formation, when played properly, much like yesterday in Adelaide is a treat to watch. Terry Butcher you can keep your job for another couple of weeks if this is how the team is going to be playing. I really did forget just how many players we had out and coming back to full fitness and yesterday’s game showed a glimpse of what the team really are capable of.

One thing that I would have maybe done differently is played Talay as one of the two defensive midfielders but I suppose it is academic now. With Milligan to be missing for next weeks match against Queensland we will surely see this change come into place. The only reason I can think of for why Butcher refuses to play Talay is that Carbone brings too much going forward to the midfield and he thinks that a defensive pairing behind him is needed to balance things out.

Another is the continual picking of Petrovski on the bench in favor of Zdrillic. I’m sure Sasho has learned his lesson for being lazy at the start of the season and it’s really time for him to come back into the starting side. Having a striker that actually runs off the magic that Carbone creates is what we need now rather than the “hold the ball up” rubbish that Zdrillic offers. Bring him on when the game is ours to slow it all down, not from the beginning when we need to score goals and entertain.

I’m glad the missing midfield from last week was finally found J

DANE

Looking Forward

2006-09-27T12:20:00.000+10:00

Now I have no problem with the squad being picked for a “farewell game” such as the one picked for the Paraguay friendly but after that where will the line be drawn when it comes to team selection.

With a segment of Australia’s “stars” from the Germany World Cup squad pushing into their 30’s including Viduka, Moore, and Schwartzer, having stated that they will keep playing until either the Asian Cup or next World cup when will someone stand up and say enough is enough.

Now the foundations have been laid we should be concentrating on developing a team that can take us through to South Africa 2010 and beyond. Is it wise to keep picking Mark Viduka for example, who will be pushing 35 come 2010. Should we not be developing the youth and giving them the chances that they not only deserve but NEED to become good enough players to play at the World Cup level.

Is Arnold the man for not only the job of dropping players, but is he tactically inept enough to lead us towards the Asian Cup and beyond. I shudder at the thought…. Someone, most notably the coach or management team that will be taking us to the next World Cup, should be making these decisions and putting their foot down.

Pat the lads on the back for what they did in Germany but also have the balls to say your time has passed. It is now time for the next generation!

DANE

Midfield Mystery

2006-09-23T12:40:00.000+10:00

Thursday night’s match across the Tasman against the Kiwis would have to go down as one of the most boring in the short history of the A-League. Whose fault was this? The players? The referee? The coach? For once I will not be bagging the refereeing standard in the match and was just left asking more and more questions of Terry Butcher.

Basically Sydney’s midfield was non existent. I can’t really recall very many times that the ball actually went from defender > midfielder > forward. I can however recall plenty of “hoof and hope” that we were all so scared Butcher would bring with him.

By picking a central midfield combination of Milligan and McFlynn Butcher hasn’t done himself any favors in kicking the stereotype. Neither of these players are a true playmaker and neither have the ability to distribute the ball around the park. We have seen Milligan pass it backwards time after time this season but have yet to see him make many, if any, decisive throughballs or exciting passes. Please move back to defense where I believe your talents could be better exploited for the good of the team. McFlynn, last season’s ball wining machine, just doesn’t fit this mould either.

Talay on the other hand showed some signs of brilliance in pre season and surely would have been the one to shoulder the responsibility of ball distribution through midfield, exactly what we lacked.

Butcher has explained the combination as the midfield “battering rams” and has justified picking them together because we need points and not sexy football. I don’t think picking Talay instead of one of these so called battering rams and actually playing the ball through midfield would have hampered our chance for points and in fact probably would have seen Sydney open them up even more.

I can only hope this combination and tactic isn’t his favored one and it doesn’t continue down the weeks. Sydney are back on the winners list for now so please Butcher, in the weeks to come, give us something to watch!

And can someone explain to me why Sydney needed to go on with that time wasting corner garbage for the last 5 minutes? Not only was it a shit spectacle, Sydney were opening them up like a can on sardines and with Petrovski wasted sitting on the bench, should have gone for a killer than persist with that rubbish!

DANE

Romario to Adeliade?

2006-09-21T17:05:00.000+10:00

Everyone is talking up the prospect of FORMER Brazilian international and FORMER superstar, Romario comeing to Adelaide United on a 4 match guest stint with the prospect of signing him for a full season as their marquee player but I have my doubts.

As the only one in my group of friends who gives a flying toss about Australian football, ever since the start of the new league I have had to listen to these "newbies" whinging how every player they target is old and past it. "Oh not another 30+ player" They go on about. How many other people out there have this same opinion? Arent these people meant to be the ones we are preaching the league to?

Bring on the younger generation of "unknowns." I love seeing the players such as Alessandro, Rodriguez, Zadkovic etc who have shown themselves to be real uncovered gems. Players comeing into or at their peak rather than "another old bloke."

I will however, save my total judgement on the whole Romario situation until I have seen the guy play. Maybe he will prove everyone wrong and show everyone how much he still has it and how good "experienced" players are for the league? But maybe not...

DANE

Sydney FC vs Newcastle

2006-09-19T19:57:00.000+10:00

I think ill start off with this match while it’s still fresh in my mind. I have a Cove season pass in Bay 26 so was at the game. I’v recently watched it at home for a better view and think I’v made up my mind on what I want to whinge… I mean discuss.

First up the formation that Butcher started with:

-----------------Bolton-----------------
----------------------------------------
Fyfe----Hyphen----Rudan----Ceccoli
----------------------------------------
----------------McFlynn---------------
Milligan-----------------------Brosque
-----------------Corica-----------------
----------------------------------------
---------Zdrillic----Petrovski---------

Zadkovich
Talay
Bingley
Pasfield

Although I don’t think this setup is ideal, it was more forced due to the injury list that the club is facing at the moment. I loved the system used in Wollongong during pre season and I’m sure Butcher will revert back to that 4-2-3-1 formation once we get a few more of our regulars back on deck.

First up id like to see Carbone in place of Corica whenever we can get him in there and PLEASE make it as soon as possible. Although Milligan is being groomed as the next Defensive Mid/Winger, I miss him in defense. I’v heard people say he will be “wasted” playing at right back which is a load of crap! The system that Butcher is trying to play with the attacking Wingbacks makes it one of the most important positions on the park. Screw Arnold if he wants him in midfield for the future of the Socceroos. He is a defender and will benefit the club the most, for now at least, playing at the back.

The 2^nd option I would like to see which was crying out to be used after Corica was sent on Sunday is a back 3 of Milligan, Hyphen and Rudan. “No width” you say…. Newcastle are still my tip to get the spoon this season and we have to be playing for more than a single point at HOME to teams like them! I would have liked to see a 3-4-2 after Coricas red with the back 3 mentioned above, Zadkid, McFlynn, Talay and Brockie who was stupidly left off the bench to make way for….Bingly in midfield and finally leaving Zdrillic up front with Brosque just behind in the front 2. I was really disappointed with Butchers negative attitude and slow reaction to the red card. Even in his half time interview for fox he said “all the players are fine.” Well Terry, they certainly didn’t look fine after the break. That’s now 2 weeks in a row where we have looked the goods in the 1^st half only to fall badly away in the 2^nd.

Zdrillic is normally a player that is bagged unceremoniously but I would like to congratulate him on one of his many good performances from the striker this season. He was the striker of the pair that was moving about and trying to get involved with the play, doing his job of holding up the ball. For the last few matches I have thought that Petrovski has been the poorer of the pair and doesn’t deserve his starting spot.

Their 2^nd goal came from another disciplinary slip. Rudan having a go at the reff AGAIN while Newcastle quickly took the free kick and slotted away a goal before he had shut his mouth. Then Corica the tool! Keep your fucking language and feelings to yourself! Of course Breeze was going to send him. You just don’t swear or accuse reffs of cheating let alone both in the same sentence!

Now although Corica is an old, lazy man who can barely last to half time, where was the discipline that the coach has the responsibility of instilling into the player/s? I can also remember Fyfe having a go at the linesman on more than one occasion.

While I’m on the issue of discipline, I have to have my dig at Ceccoli for his spray at Butcher. It was clear to see at the ground and I congratulate Butcher for immediately pulling him off and in the end I have read today that he will be fined by either the club internally or the matter will be taken up with the FFA. The only reason I have Ceccoli in any of my teams is due to a lack of alternatives. I cannot stand his general attitude let alone his crossing ability!

Feel free to comment and have a go at anything I have said. I want to hear others opinions on any of the matters above and more. I’m sure they will differ from myn!

DANE

Welcome!

2006-09-18T19:20:00.000+10:00

Hey all. You may recognise me and "Dane" from a few football forums around the net. Word on the street is that this blogging thing is the way to go so I thought id better jump on the bandwagon while it was still moving forward.

Im Dane, 18 year old Uni Bum from The Shire and proud of it. I grew up as a rugby league fan like most kids in my area but fell in love with football during the last few years of the NSL. Was a Northern Spirit fan and now have followed across to Sydney FC.

This blog will mostly be on Sydney FC and Aus football in general but I will try to do an overseas wrap every now and then on whatever catches my attention. You dont have to agree with what I write but try to justify your criticisms and views the same way I will try.

Have a good one!

DANE