There's an Australian bloke who goes around Cambodia defusing and removing landmines.

I'd guess those who know are fairly appreciative.

But fantastic stuff all the same from the Joeys.

Fuark's sake, went to have a shower after we went 3-1 down and missed the comeback! ](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

Well in boys - great effort. They can be rightly proud. Some encouraging signs in this group and they come home with the trophy to boot.

Love the Cambodian fans too, they were great in the semi as well.


Nah I agree, was just referring to when whoever's controlling the stream paused it and then had the sound of the stream echoing in the background for a sec. Overall it's been great, can't complain about a free, legitimate YT stream of an international tournament :d

Edited by Adelphite: 24/7/2016 12:12:15 AM

I fell asleep. ](*,)

Best we've done was a 3-2 loss to North Korea in the final of the 2010 AFC U19 Championship, I remember watching it on Fox Sports. From memory Birighitti made a bad error that led to their winning goal. :(

That squad was quite a talented one too, now I look at it... Oar, Leckie, Amini, Davidson, D. McGowan, Antonis, Petratos - some quality players.

https://www.facebook.com/SabayNewsSport/videos/1750565005261873/

Apparently the players are being swamped with fans lol they really loved the joeys

That's just adorable.

Vietnam rematch in September

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_AFC_U-16_Championship

Having watched the end of the game now, should also say well played to Vietnam. They played very well and fought hard, and they didn't time waste even when leading. A couple of their players even helped out one of our guys who was down with cramp near the end. Their counter-attacks were great, we could do with some players who can finish like their forwards.

That is super adorable, and what a great experience for the boys, that's something they won't forget.

Seriously encouraging display from John Roberts.

Only seen bits and pieces of this so far so haven't seen enough of Roberts, so not sure if he has that rare combination of 1 vs 1 ability and raw pace (which basically makes strikers that much lethal), but his finishing is very clinical.

Really hoping we're talking about a really complete attacking footballer because that's what's sorely needed.

Seriously there must be a way for the FFA technical people, with all their contacts, to get him to the Holy Trinity (at a side good for development) very fast. In terms of reaching the high levels of football, it seems to me that in the vast majority of cases where footballers get there, it's largely due to them playing at high enough levels at young enough ages. Those outstanding Belgian footballers tend to leave Belgium by the time they're in their late teens. So it's best if the likes of Roberts (and Arzani and Derrick) go there now, while they're not a long way behind the curve.

Far preferable to stagnating in the A-League for a few years and, effectively, reducing the ceiling of potential for reaching whatever level in their careers.

But then that wouldn't really suit our style. We're ultimately trying to develop a possession based team not a counter attacking one

So there's a real priority on good 1v1 skills good interplay etc. rather than just pace and physicality which will diminish with age

What? Why not both?

You can play a possession based game and when there's an opportunity to break quickly a counterattacking game.

But its also reality that certain players are better at 1v1 scenarios and others thrive on the counter

It doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't suit Australia' style.

Obviously pace doesn't diminish with age. I gather you mean the early bloomers are quicker early and the rest catch up. I'm not sure how true this is. Some kids turn out to be quicker later, true. But from my experience, a lot of quick kids start quick and stay quick.

1 vs 1 skills and good interplay aren't necessarily considered (or rendered) less important in counter-attacking football.

In some ways, you tend to find some sides which play that counter-attacking style whcih have some players who are better in 1 vs 1 situation (because the build-up requires a bit more individual stuff) than possession-based styles.

But you can play possession-based style and have a big focus on 1 vs 1 and, obviously, an even greater focus on interplay. The really terrific thing about having maybe two or three attacking players who have great 1 vs 1 skills and acceleration is that, assuming the opposition learn this, they often get afforded that extra bit of space. Obviously this helps out the entire team. This has to be what Aus aim for.

Yeah, the win tonight was good, but improvement is needed to get out of that group, which also has Japan where players are highly developed at that age in their high school system, not to mention mighty Kyrgyzstan.

2 things-

We can't expect every kid to go o/s. Perhaps some kids thrive because they have a support system (family) in familiar surroundings.

Secondly, how will Australia ever produce top players that gain your approval if w send all the best kids away?

[youtube]Gb7j2rkxwKE[/youtube]

how the crowd celebrates our win brings a tear to my eye

The reality is that most won't go (young). If the best go young, it then then at least they, the best, have a hope of becoming world class.

My view is that, even when we're talking about footballers as rare as world class footballers, almost the only way they can become world class is if they're competing against the best their age (and in general) from the youngest possible age.

Of the world class footballers there may be a minuscule proportion who can still become world class by way of developing in any league of any standard. This is seriously rare, though.

They need to be tested at as young an age as possible.

If you wanted to be a world class Test cricketer, would it be more advisable to play domestic cricket in Holland or in the Sheffield Shield or the County Championship? It's probably almost impossible that a world class cricketer could develop in the Netherlands.

Similarly, staying in the A-League too long simply stunts their development. They don't learn to refine skills which only playing/training at the highest level at a young age teach you.



Not my approval, but world class footballers. Australia will produce (or gain) world class footballers by the very best going to the right European clubs and then a few of those players turning out to be the goods.

Unless (or until) the A-League miraculously improves beyond comprehension, it's almost impossible world-class footballers will be produced in Australia alone. They need to be in Europe.

Since the A-League has been around, how many world-class talents have emerged from it? Since then, how many world-class talents have emerged from Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, even England?

Well you are different from me. I count the kids that are born 2005. So they are only 11 now...

Edited by scott21: 24/7/2016 02:30:33 AM

So you don't count the years from the A-League's inception to the point that that lot are old enough to be playing in the A-League?

Interesting way of doing things (albeit I agree that we should, hopefully, see improvement in the A-League by then).

Okay, then. That means that until the ones who are about 11 years old now are old enough to be in the A-League, the best should still go to the right European clubs at as young an age as possible.

Then after a few seasons, in which those kids, who weren't alive before the A-League was around, have playing professional football for a while, we can compare them to the rest of the world.

Until then, the best might as well go to the right parts of Europe.

As I say, the questions linger... Since the A-League has been around, how many world-class talents have emerged from it? Since then, how many world-class talents have emerged from Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, even England?

Edited by quickflick: 24/7/2016 02:40:41 AM

Academies have only just started being setup for most. Kids born 2005 and after should be judged.

Problem with your argument is, since the A-leagues inception Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, even England haven't produced any world class Australian players either.

It's more a set of questions than an argument. The answers to those questions make the rest fairly clear...

My dear friend, tell me, is there some sort of unique physiological or anatomical trait which makes Australians different to other members of the human race.

Have you got any clinical studies to suggest they're a different species?

There I was thinking we're just talking about a different passport cover.

Edited by quickflick: 24/7/2016 03:11:35 AM

First of all, you asked those questions to make a point and your answer didn't address my counter to that point. Second of all physiological or anatomical trait isn't the issue, culture and upbringing is. By the age most young Australian players are allowed to go overseas to play in reserve sides, the world class players you yearn for are already good enough to play in the first team for the senior side.

Excluding all footballers developed in the A-League who entered the world before 05 is a slightly questionable logic, imo.

I agree that those to whose development occurs entirely in the academies should be viewed through a different lens. However, that doesn't automatically exclude all those who are A-League products from before as worthy of comparison with the rest of the world.

Until we can establish that a decent number of proper Australian academy products have been at least as successful as European academy products, the best should still go to Europe as young as possible.

The reason for this is it has been empirically proved that world-class footballers are far more likely to develop in Europe than in Australia.

The burden of proof lies with the one making the claim.

As I say, the majority won't go to Europe young. When those who've been products of the academies have been around for a while, a comparison between them and footballers developed in Europe can be made.

I asked those questions because they are the most pertinent questions in all this. You're just peeved that, at the minute, there's no way you can actually get around those questions. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. I'd be thrilled if it were the case that a decent proportion of A-League products were world class footballers. But they're not. The vast majority of senior Australian footballers aren't nearly as good at the Golden Generation.

The fact of the matter is that no truly international top class talents have emerged from the A-League since its inception. Meanwhile, stacks of world class talents have emerged from those countries I mentioned before.

Try switching sports. Basketball. How many top class talents have emerged from Australia in recent years compared to the rest of the world? Quite a few. None are MVP level in the NBA, but there are at least those who are making contributions as good or better than our Golden Generation made in football. Apparently, Melbourne has produced more #1 NBA draft picks than any city in the US in recent times (not sure if they're counting Kyrie Irving as being from Melbourne, though :lol: ). That gives you an idea though.

When Australian footballers play at the World Cup, in the European Champion's League, in the Premier League, wherever, they play against footballers from other countries. They don't play against other Australian footballers.

So why do you consider footballers from other countries as being unworthy of comparison?

I did rebut your rebuttal, by the way. I pointed out that there's no physiological or anatomical difference between Australian and the rest of the human race. That's key to it, whether you agree or not. Those are the terms the rest of the world use. No reason Australia can't.

Timmy Cahill went to Europe young. He survived and he learnt to thrive. Harry Kewell went young. The Ikon went. Others have done, too. And that's just Australians. Let's look at footballers from other countries not playing in their country.

There are South American, African kids, etc. Lee Seung-woo, from Korea, is at Barcelona. Christian Pulisic, from the US, is at Borussia Dortmund.

And I don't buy into the idea that every Australian kid is incompatible with playing football in Europe. Not to make light of the sacrifices it involves (and obviously many won't go because they want to be near their family and/or the chance of succeeding in football is far smaller than the chance of succeeding in education, getting a good apprenticeship, etc.)

Can you prove cultural factors make it practically unfeasible for Australian footballers to go to Europe? Based on the fact that other nationalities do it just fine, there's no reason that Australian ones can't. Even if you can prove there is some cultural reason (which is almost implausible), the challenge then would be to deal with that and acclimatise rather than to write it off.



A fair few Aussies go at a young age. But this, I gather, is dependent on possessing an EU passport. In this respect, obviously, not all Aussies can be blamed for staying in Australia. Still it has been pointed out that there's rather a high proportion of Australians who play football at a high level in possession of an EU passport.

For many, many of the ones we're talking about, they still can move.

Totally agree with you that lots of them only get to Europe by the time the top class talents are already in the first team. For this reason, those Aussies who can go to Europe young must go as young as possible.

Or else they're too far behind the curve.

Edited by quickflick: 24/7/2016 03:56:31 AM

There are still players eg Covic and McKay that played in the NSL. A-League is still in its development stage. So you can't judge A-League players atm IMO.

If it went to your liking all are best players would go overseas. This means we lose all the best youth, which means these players arent involved in the league (lifting the standard). It also means it deprives the opportunity of the A-League producing world class talents.

Edited by scott21: 24/7/2016 04:25:25 AM

Very good post, mate.

Covic and McKay have been around for a while. But was the vast majority of the league playing professional football in the days of the NSL? I shouldn't think so.

This is somewhat nuanced.

The A-League is still in it's development stage. That's why I said that the footballers who are entirely products of the academies will need to be viewed at through a slightly different lens.

But the league has still be around for over a decade. At least until such a time that that lot have emerged, the only thing we can go by is comparing footballers developed in the A-League compared to the rest of the world.

Let's look at this in real terms. The likes of John Roberts and all these Joeys only have so many years to carve out a football career. Hopefully, it will get to the point that top-class talents are developed in the academies and in the A-League. But we're not there yet. The evidence, so far, is that the A-League has not succeeded in producing world-class talents.

Whereas, various European football clubs have produced such talents. Footballers don't have long careers. They need to leap at opportunities when they get the chance. And every minute of their development is key. Why do you think Christian Pulisic is at Borussia Dortmund rather than NY Red Bulls? Yes, the A-League may improve. But by the time that has happened, it may well be too late for these really decent talents like John Roberts to realise their potential.

Others say this far more eloquently than I've done.



Edited by quickflick: 24/7/2016 04:51:18 AM

^ I've been addressing your question directly since the beginning. I don't know the number of world class players those countries you've listed have produced. There's a lot but that number is irrelevant anyway because none of those players produced are Australian despite the number of Australia youth that have gone there.

I already explained overseas players and Australian players are different because of their culture and upbringing hence it's not an apt comparison. I never said this difference between them makes Australian player incompatible with overseas youth systems, I'm saying this difference is why Australia doesn't produce many world class players period no matter which pathway they take. Hence why both the A-league and overseas teams haven't produced any world class Australian players in the last decade or so.

I question whether going overseas as young as possible is the right answer because the record of overseas clubs developing Australian players is inferior to the record of the A-league. You keep fingering your arsehole feeling happy with yourself while making strawman arguments about physiological or anatomical differences, instead of giving me an answer on why overseas clubs haven't produced an Australian world class player or even a regular player in one of the top 4 leagues since the A-league inception if its so superior in terms of developing Australians. From my perspective despite the A-league's flaws at least it has managed to produce some players good enough to play in the big four leagues.

Edited by Higashi: 24/7/2016 05:02:03 AM