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grazorblade
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+x+x+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sain seeing the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. Gersbach won more tackles in the first 5 mins then Brad Smith did all game against Japan... Alex's ability to recover and win the ball back, or make simple pass or clearing.. just looks a more complete player than brad smith.. We really need Gersbach ATM. Hopefully, we have found a stand out for the LB position for some time. i thought behich was excellent in confeds. such a step up from smith. very composed on the ball and sturdy in defence. I agree, its amazing what playing week in week out does, smith just seems to run aimlessly, he's a bit like Mitch Austin in that regard. reminds me of leckie at the same age to be fair. He could definitely make it I personally prefer gersbach though. I think he will be as good as rogic His defence is decent for his age. He gets about 3 and a half turnovers per game and his positioning is sound. He makes mistakes but thats normal for his age
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Barca4Life
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+xA further reason we are treading water is FFA. * They have not appointed a TD to replace Han Berger. Abrams has no jurisdiction over player solder than 16. Luk eCasserley is some sort of high performance analyst, but there is no TD to speak publicly on issues. There is no TD constantly revamping and refining the curriculum. Not having a TD is folly. Ange's personal influence has effected the NC. It shouldn't. He has no long standing coach education role. His opinions are not based on empirical, evidence based research. * Whilst expansion of the HAL, the closing of the national COE has occurred, and HAL clubs and NPL clubs don't have well run academies in place, our competitors have improved their performances from what we've observed in this WCQ campaign. Our game is stagnating and being mismanaged by Lowy and Gallop. Whatever they are doing, the Asian teams have closed any gap that may have been present. It does not matter that some of our players play in big leagues in Europe. Some of our opponents have players at least as good or better, playing in domestic Asian leagues, like the number 10 for Thailand, or the UAE's Abdul Rahman. Technically, we have no players as good or as special. Too much truth Decentric! It's official the FFA have ignored or even can argue haven't put enough focus in the engine room (youth development) and now we are paying the price for it. By the way, we hardly heard from the Belgian TD, he hasn't done anything to improve the pathways to even improving the national curriculum. The likes of Tony Vidmar and Craig Foster who are in the 'system' are calling for evolving of the NC, and the likes of Abrams and Casserly have been standing still. Also, they haven't been in the media discussing the issues with our development system, Han Berger was always in the media I wonder this hasn't happened? To me, he sounds like a yes man with little to no in making the necessary changes. The FFA has also made a mistake in giving Ange the autonomy with the youth teams, and their recent results have shown that too.
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Decentric
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+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sains was the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. "Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards". probably because the thais are closer to the level he plays at club. he is in a superior team playing against weak opposition. he doesnt have to improve and push himself to look good. Imo, much of Rogic's form is dependent on the form of his teammates. It's got little or nothing to do with the quality of his opponent. Rogic had nothing to work with against Japan. It made for painful viewing. He'd get the ball, he'd be double-marked and there would be nobody for him to utilise. That's not his fault. The thing is at Celtic he has worked with competent attacking footballers who make good runs, are clinical finishers and great athletes. There's basically nobody in the NT who has all those traits. You're far too harsh a judge of the Socceroos and Asian football in general and too generous to Celtic. I'm not one of those who rates players solely on which league they play club football in, but Mooy, Ryan and Leckie play in higher quality leagues than Rogic's Celtic. Plus Juric, Gersbach, Degenek and Goodwin, probably play in leagues superior in quality too.
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Decentric
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Group: Awaiting Activation
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+x+xA further reason we are treading water is FFA. * They have not appointed a TD to replace Han Berger. Abrams has no jurisdiction over player solder than 16. Luk eCasserley is some sort of high performance analyst, but there is no TD to speak publicly on issues. There is no TD constantly revamping and refining the curriculum. Not having a TD is folly. Ange's personal influence has effected the NC. It shouldn't. He has no long standing coach education role. His opinions are not based on empirical, evidence based research. * Whilst expansion of the HAL, the closing of the national COE has occurred, and HAL clubs and NPL clubs don't have well run academies in place, our competitors have improved their performances from what we've observed in this WCQ campaign. Our game is stagnating and being mismanaged by Lowy and Gallop. Whatever they are doing, the Asian teams have closed any gap that may have been present. It does not matter that some of our players play in big leagues in Europe. Some of our opponents have players at least as good or better, playing in domestic Asian leagues, like the number 10 for Thailand, or the UAE's Abdul Rahman. Technically, we have no players as good or as special. Too much truth Decentric! It's official the FFA have ignored or even can argue haven't put enough focus in the engine room (youth development) and now we are paying the price for it. By the way, we hardly heard from the Belgian TD, he hasn't done anything to improve the pathways to even improving the national curriculum. The likes of Tony Vidmar and Craig Foster who are in the 'system' are calling for evolving of the NC, and the likes of Abrams and Casserly have been standing still. Also, they haven't been in the media discussing the issues with our development system, Han Berger was always in the media I wonder this hasn't happened? To me, he sounds like a yes man with little to no in making the necessary changes. The FFA has also made a mistake in giving Ange the autonomy with the youth teams, and their recent results have shown that too. Casserley and Abrams are rarely interviewed. Conversely, Berger was a public face. Every coach in the FFA system perceived him as the boss - and they were sycophantic towards him.
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Decentric
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Group: Awaiting Activation
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+x+x+x+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sain seeing the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. Gersbach won more tackles in the first 5 mins then Brad Smith did all game against Japan... Alex's ability to recover and win the ball back, or make simple pass or clearing.. just looks a more complete player than brad smith.. We really need Gersbach ATM. Hopefully, we have found a stand out for the LB position for some time. i thought behich was excellent in confeds. such a step up from smith. very composed on the ball and sturdy in defence. I agree, its amazing what playing week in week out does, smith just seems to run aimlessly, he's a bit like Mitch Austin in that regard. reminds me of leckie at the same age to be fair. He could definitely make it I personally prefer gersbach though. I think he will be as good as rogic His defence is decent for his age. He gets about 3 and a half turnovers per game and his positioning is sound. He makes mistakes but thats normal for his age Unfortunately we have few players as good as Gersbach at the same age.
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quickflick
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I may or may not be too harsh on Socceroos based on which league they play in. But that's irrelevant as the post to which you were responding was not in that vein. For what it's worth, I don't think the Scottish Premier League is of the highest quality. Yet I think that Tom Rogic is one of Australia's two most gifted and technically strong footballers at senior level. Make of that what you will. If anything I believe it's the development system that makes a big impact (that can be the team within a league).
Anyway, back to my point... Tom Rogic does not have the quality of attacking footballers to work with at the NT that he has (or has had) at Celtic. Decentric, please tell me which Socceroos right now are as as good attacking footballers as Moussa Dembélé and Patrick Roberts (the latter now back at Man City, admittedly)?
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Gruen
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Roberts got re-loaned to Celtic.
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The Fans
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+xI may or may not be too harsh on Socceroos based on which league they play in. But that's irrelevant as the post to which you were responding was not in that vein. For what it's worth, I don't think the Scottish Premier League is of the highest quality. Yet I think that Tom Rogic is one of Australia's two most gifted and technically strong footballers at senior level. Make of that what you will. If anything I believe it's the development system that makes a big impact (that can be the team within a league).Anyway, back to my point... Tom Rogic does not have the quality of attacking footballers to work with at the NT that he has (or has had) at Celtic. Decentric, please tell me which Socceroos right now are as as good attacking footballers as Moussa Dembélé and Patrick Roberts (the latter now back at Man City, admittedly)? rogic isn't bad. i would definately have him in the squad, but he's incredibly overated by australian football people. you talk about technical ability but he's technically so limited and the only areas he really shines in is close ball control and to a lesser extent dribbling (but even then he loses his balance too much). his first touch is below average, he's shooting is average, his passing is average. he has the huge areas of technique he needs to work on. you would be 100% correct that for the NT he doesn't have anyone even close to being as good as celtics attacking players. more than anything what we just don't have is quality in the attacking third.
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The Fans
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+x+x+x+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sain seeing the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. Gersbach won more tackles in the first 5 mins then Brad Smith did all game against Japan... Alex's ability to recover and win the ball back, or make simple pass or clearing.. just looks a more complete player than brad smith.. We really need Gersbach ATM. Hopefully, we have found a stand out for the LB position for some time. i thought behich was excellent in confeds. such a step up from smith. very composed on the ball and sturdy in defence. I agree, its amazing what playing week in week out does, smith just seems to run aimlessly, he's a bit like Mitch Austin in that regard. reminds me of leckie at the same age to be fair. He could definitely make it I personally prefer gersbach though. I think he will be as good as rogic His defence is decent for his age. He gets about 3 and a half turnovers per game and his positioning is sound. He makes mistakes but thats normal for his age "he could make it" he will make it. it's not a question of luck or anything he's just a quality player. He's good enough to play in any league in the league based on what I've seen. If he keeps his head on straight (possibly a big question) he should just be our left back. why on earth would you mess around with a hack like smith when you've got gersbach I don't understand.
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jas88
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+xI may or may not be too harsh on Socceroos based on which league they play in. But that's irrelevant as the post to which you were responding was not in that vein. For what it's worth, I don't think the Scottish Premier League is of the highest quality. Yet I think that Tom Rogic is one of Australia's two most gifted and technically strong footballers at senior level. Make of that what you will. If anything I believe it's the development system that makes a big impact (that can be the team within a league).Anyway, back to my point... Tom Rogic does not have the quality of attacking footballers to work with at the NT that he has (or has had) at Celtic. Decentric, please tell me which Socceroos right now are as as good attacking footballers as Moussa Dembélé and Patrick Roberts (the latter now back at Man City, admittedly)? Awer Mabil, but we don't use pacey wingers who can score, we like ones that work hard in defense and miss the goal every time.
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maxxie
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sain seeing the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. Gersbach won more tackles in the first 5 mins then Brad Smith did all game against Japan... Alex's ability to recover and win the ball back, or make simple pass or clearing.. just looks a more complete player than brad smith.. We really need Gersbach ATM. Hopefully, we have found a stand out for the LB position for some time. i thought behich was excellent in confeds. such a step up from smith. very composed on the ball and sturdy in defence. I agree, its amazing what playing week in week out does, smith just seems to run aimlessly, he's a bit like Mitch Austin in that regard. reminds me of leckie at the same age to be fair. He could definitely make it I personally prefer gersbach though. I think he will be as good as rogic His defence is decent for his age. He gets about 3 and a half turnovers per game and his positioning is sound. He makes mistakes but thats normal for his age "he could make it" he will make it. it's not a question of luck or anything he's just a quality player. He's good enough to play in any league in the league based on what I've seen. If he keeps his head on straight (possibly a big question) he should just be our left back. why on earth would you mess around with a hack like smith when you've got gersbach I don't understand. Agree with this. It's baffling to me that anyone can watch 5 minutes of Smith and 5 minutes of Gersbach and not see that Gersbach is a clearly superior player. You can make arguments in other positions for the NT that one player's style might be better than another's, but in the case of Smith/Gersbach, one is just clearly better. I think it's an encouraging sign that a player who was wholey developed in Aus (youth development at least) is technically and tactically superior to someone developed at Liverpool despite being 3 years younger. You mentioned he'll make it if he keeps his head on straight, and the only reason I can think that Ange would consistently overlook Gersbach is if he thinks Alex doesn't yet have the maturity to be a starter for the national team, but that would be a very harsh assumption to make since I've seen literally no direct evidence of that.
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LFC.
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+x+xI may or may not be too harsh on Socceroos based on which league they play in. But that's irrelevant as the post to which you were responding was not in that vein. For what it's worth, I don't think the Scottish Premier League is of the highest quality. Yet I think that Tom Rogic is one of Australia's two most gifted and technically strong footballers at senior level. Make of that what you will. If anything I believe it's the development system that makes a big impact (that can be the team within a league).Anyway, back to my point... Tom Rogic does not have the quality of attacking footballers to work with at the NT that he has (or has had) at Celtic. Decentric, please tell me which Socceroos right now are as as good attacking footballers as Moussa Dembélé and Patrick Roberts (the latter now back at Man City, admittedly)? rogic isn't bad. i would definately have him in the squad, but he's incredibly overated by australian football people. you talk about technical ability but he's technically so limited and the only areas he really shines in is close ball control and to a lesser extent dribbling (but even then he loses his balance too much). his first touch is below average, he's shooting is average, his passing is average. he has the huge areas of technique he needs to work on. you would be 100% correct that for the NT he doesn't have anyone even close to being as good as celtics attacking players. more than anything what we just don't have is quality in the attacking third. Spot on in bold. People are behind him, me incl because he's one of the best we've got as an AM, but as you say above its all to see when he's in our NT. The recent Thai game was one of his most involved of late and as expected due to his height/weight difference but he missed the mark. After Mooy Gersbach is our most outstanding future talent. Smith unfortunately has lost the momentum he had by his late stage at Pool. Something has gone pear shaped at Bournemouth being a bench sitter and lack of game time has really effected him mentally it seems. Its a shame for he did show promise at LB once upon a time - I hope in the future he overcomes and improves his form at his young age. Still time.
Love Football
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Decentric
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+xAnyway, back to my point... Tom Rogic does not have the quality of attacking footballers to work with at the NT that he has (or has had) at Celtic. Decentric, please tell me which Socceroos right now are as as good attacking footballers as Moussa Dembélé and Patrick Roberts (the latter now back at Man City, admittedly)? I'm not familiar with them at this point in time. I've watched Celtic for short periods of time as they'v been playing Scottish opposition. I only take an interest when they play European opposition. On a regular basis though, Australia plays much harder Asian opposition than Celtic faces in the SPFL. Anyway, fair question, QF, but I can't answer it at this point in time.
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Decentric
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sain seeing the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. Gersbach won more tackles in the first 5 mins then Brad Smith did all game against Japan... Alex's ability to recover and win the ball back, or make simple pass or clearing.. just looks a more complete player than brad smith.. We really need Gersbach ATM. Hopefully, we have found a stand out for the LB position for some time. i thought behich was excellent in confeds. such a step up from smith. very composed on the ball and sturdy in defence. I agree, its amazing what playing week in week out does, smith just seems to run aimlessly, he's a bit like Mitch Austin in that regard. reminds me of leckie at the same age to be fair. He could definitely make it I personally prefer gersbach though. I think he will be as good as rogic His defence is decent for his age. He gets about 3 and a half turnovers per game and his positioning is sound. He makes mistakes but thats normal for his age "he could make it" he will make it. it's not a question of luck or anything he's just a quality player. He's good enough to play in any league in the league based on what I've seen. If he keeps his head on straight (possibly a big question) he should just be our left back. why on earth would you mess around with a hack like smith when you've got gersbach I don't understand. Many players inexplicably fade out at young ages. Or they peak early and don't progress. Kaz Patafta, Kristian Sarkies, Stu Musialik and Ben Kantorovski come to mind.
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The Fans
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sain seeing the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. Gersbach won more tackles in the first 5 mins then Brad Smith did all game against Japan... Alex's ability to recover and win the ball back, or make simple pass or clearing.. just looks a more complete player than brad smith.. We really need Gersbach ATM. Hopefully, we have found a stand out for the LB position for some time. i thought behich was excellent in confeds. such a step up from smith. very composed on the ball and sturdy in defence. I agree, its amazing what playing week in week out does, smith just seems to run aimlessly, he's a bit like Mitch Austin in that regard. reminds me of leckie at the same age to be fair. He could definitely make it I personally prefer gersbach though. I think he will be as good as rogic His defence is decent for his age. He gets about 3 and a half turnovers per game and his positioning is sound. He makes mistakes but thats normal for his age "he could make it" he will make it. it's not a question of luck or anything he's just a quality player. He's good enough to play in any league in the league based on what I've seen. If he keeps his head on straight (possibly a big question) he should just be our left back. why on earth would you mess around with a hack like smith when you've got gersbach I don't understand. Many players inexplicably fade out at young ages. Or they peak early and don't progress. Kaz Patafta, Kristian Sarkies, Stu Musialik and Ben Kantorovski come to mind. Not really. Players are a collection of attributes.A collection of strengths and weaknesses. Patafta failed because he was weak and easily put off the ball, and had minimal impact on games in terms of assists and goals. If you're a 10 without goal scorer or final passes you won't last long. Sarkies was a good passer, seemed like a reasonable defender etc but again didn't have enough goals or ability with the final pass to be a consistent starting player as attacking mid for a professional team. Musialik was 100% good enough in terms of attributes for a dmc, exceptional passing range, very good touch and very good close control and reasonable defensively and would have thrived but apparently he got into drugs and stopped caring. Kantarovski is a pretty good defender, limited in terms of playmaking, limited in terms of passing. If you're a dm you'll never amount to much without very good passing range. It all seems pretty obviously why they "failed". It's not that they fizzled out or anything its that they had these big holes in their game (exempt musialik).and where never able to fix and overcome them. Theres not a single thing that gersbach needs that he doesn't have to be a left back. He's a good crosser, a good passer, has a decent first touch is really good in close areas and is pretty good defensively. He can obviously improve on all of these but they are already at a good enough level. There is no way that he could "fizzle out", that doesn't even make sense. Although anyone could make idiotic career decisions like nathan burns.
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quickflick
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sain seeing the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. Gersbach won more tackles in the first 5 mins then Brad Smith did all game against Japan... Alex's ability to recover and win the ball back, or make simple pass or clearing.. just looks a more complete player than brad smith.. We really need Gersbach ATM. Hopefully, we have found a stand out for the LB position for some time. i thought behich was excellent in confeds. such a step up from smith. very composed on the ball and sturdy in defence. I agree, its amazing what playing week in week out does, smith just seems to run aimlessly, he's a bit like Mitch Austin in that regard. reminds me of leckie at the same age to be fair. He could definitely make it I personally prefer gersbach though. I think he will be as good as rogic His defence is decent for his age. He gets about 3 and a half turnovers per game and his positioning is sound. He makes mistakes but thats normal for his age "he could make it" he will make it. it's not a question of luck or anything he's just a quality player. He's good enough to play in any league in the league based on what I've seen. If he keeps his head on straight (possibly a big question) he should just be our left back. why on earth would you mess around with a hack like smith when you've got gersbach I don't understand. Many players inexplicably fade out at young ages. Or they peak early and don't progress. Kaz Patafta, Kristian Sarkies, Stu Musialik and Ben Kantorovski come to mind. Not really. Players are a collection of attributes.A collection of strengths and weaknesses. Patafta failed because he was weak and easily put off the ball, and had minimal impact on games in terms of assists and goals. If you're a 10 without goal scorer or final passes you won't last long. Sarkies was a good passer, seemed like a reasonable defender etc but again didn't have enough goals or ability with the final pass to be a consistent starting player as attacking mid for a professional team. Musialik was 100% good enough in terms of attributes for a dmc, exceptional passing range, very good touch and very good close control and reasonable defensively and would have thrived but apparently he got into drugs and stopped caring. Kantarovski is a pretty good defender, limited in terms of playmaking, limited in terms of passing. If you're a dm you'll never amount to much without very good passing range. It all seems pretty obviously why they "failed". It's not that they fizzled out or anything its that they had these big holes in their game (exempt musialik).and where never able to fix and overcome them. Theres not a single thing that gersbach needs that he doesn't have to be a left back. He's a good crosser, a good passer, has a decent first touch is really good in close areas and is pretty good defensively. He can obviously improve on all of these but they are already at a good enough level. There is no way that he could "fizzle out", that doesn't even make sense. Although anyone could make idiotic career decisions like nathan burns. That's all broadly true, imo. But I reckon that the mental side of things is immense and is, partly, why plenty of footballers don't reach the levels they should. There are undoubtedly plenty who have the technical ability and the football IQ to do brilliantly at the highest level. But they just don't end up having the mental toughness or the ambition (at least while they're playing) It's all in your mind (or a heck of a lot of it anyway). The flipside of it is that a footballer like Timmy Cahill, who is technically a bit limited (although in terms of his aerial ability and finishing, he's technically world class) has done substantially better for the NT than basically anybody else (including many others who are/were considered technically far better footballers). How come? Before of the intensity of his self-belief, his commitment to his manager, his teammates and his country and his work ethic.
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jas88
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if Barca can get tactically dominated with 3 at the back we have no right to be playing this formation, is to easy for teams to setup to play against it.
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quickflick
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+xif Barca can get tactically dominated with 3 at the back we have no right to be playing this formation, is to easy for teams to setup to play against it. Sorry but that's too simplistic, imo. It's not a matter of saying- one of the best sides in the world got outplayed with this number defenders, therefore it just doesn't work. There's way more to it than that. There are other dynamics which need to be taken into account to arrive at considered opinion. You might as well say- Barcelona got outplayed with 11 on the field, therefore we don't have much hope with just 11 on the field. What it comes down to is this. Ange wants to have aggressive fullbacks/wingbacks. Now, if we're defensively weakened with three central defenders, do you realistically think things will be defensively stronger with two central defenders and aggressive fullbacks? Of course they won't. We'll be even more in trouble. Things were not all rosy in the garden playing 433 with aggressive wingbacks. When we played that way against crappy Asian sides, we struggled to break them down in much the way we do now. They just sat back, absorbed as much pressure as they could, and watched our midfielders do lots of sideways passing. We had no way of getting through. They'd wait until we made a mistake and attacked on the counter. That was against crappy Asian sides. Against world-class sides, we've never conceded fewer than two goals (usually three). Our fullbacks are not defensively good enough for that role. And our central defenders are not mobile enough to close down. And, if it's Jedinak in front of the defence, he can't really fit into the v-shape that well because he gets drawn into tussles in the hole in defensive midfield (that's where he did his best work at Crystal Palace, screening the defence). Against a world-class opponent, if we have our right back and/or left back out of position, and just Jedinak ahead of the defence, a world-class can tear us apart. Trent Sainsbury and Matt Spiranovic are not mobile enough to defend the width of the pitch. And they're our best central defenders. The others certainly aren't. If we want to go with 4-3-3, there's an easy blue print to beat us.
From 2:11 ish in the second video. The question is not, do we go with three at the back? If Ange wants to continue with his philosophy of attacking fullbacks/wingbacks, it's a given that we need three central defenders to cover (unless he can find drastically better personnel). The question is, does he want to continue with attacking fullbacks/wingbacks? Because if not, then it's a flat back four that is needed.
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The Fans
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"Things were not all rosy in the garden playing 433 with aggressive wingbacks. When we played that way against crappy Asian sides, we struggled to break them down in much the way we do now. They just sat back, absorbed as much pressure as they could, and watched our midfielders do lots of sideways passing. We had no way of getting through. They'd wait until we made a mistake and attacked on the counter. That was against crappy Asian sides."
I can tell you this issue has nothing to do with a back 2 or 3. It is because of 2 things:
1. Slow build up. We never attack quickly. Ever. I don't know why. But we don't
2. No strikers. We don't have the luxury of having one quality striker (even probably cahill). So we need 2. 2 strikers = more goals. It also probably leads to quicker attacks and just puts players in better starting positions when you lack that one striker.
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The Fans
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Also talking about changing back to 4 at the back is every bit as annoying as when flicky was moaning on about 3 at the back. You can play the game with either, both are great. Its not fair to compare teams of zizou and valverde.
We've got 3 now, theres no need to change back just a need to do it properly.
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maxxie
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+x"Things were not all rosy in the garden playing 433 with aggressive wingbacks. When we played that way against crappy Asian sides, we struggled to break them down in much the way we do now. They just sat back, absorbed as much pressure as they could, and watched our midfielders do lots of sideways passing. We had no way of getting through. They'd wait until we made a mistake and attacked on the counter. That was against crappy Asian sides." I can tell you this issue has nothing to do with a back 2 or 3. It is because of 2 things: 1. Slow build up. We never attack quickly. Ever. I don't know why. But we don't2. No strikers. We don't have the luxury of having one quality striker (even probably cahill). So we need 2. 2 strikers = more goals. It also probably leads to quicker attacks and just puts players in better starting positions when you lack that one striker. This is our main problem. I think it's partially the system and partially the skill level of our players. If you look at who we pass to, if an opponent is within 6-7 metres of our player, we don't pass him the ball, because we don't have faith he can keep it, whereas better teams than us will pass the ball. That isn't helped by the fact that oftentimes, our players actually can't keep the ball. We just need to learn to pass the ball anyway. If we lose it while in the attacking third, so be it. It will work some of the time and create better attacking opportunities than we are now. Ange bangs on about wanting to develop the kind of style that the bigger teams play with but this is a basic fundamental of playing that way and we refuse to do it. Not to mention that playing so cautiously with the ball is actually a liability.
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The Fans
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+x[quote]If you look at who we pass to, if an opponent is within 6-7 metres of our player, we don't pass him the ball, because we don't have faith he can keep it, whereas better teams than us will pass the ball.
Mate you've just hit on my most hated thing. Watching, but especially as a player. often having a player closer is actually easier!
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quickflick
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+x"Things were not all rosy in the garden playing 433 with aggressive wingbacks. When we played that way against crappy Asian sides, we struggled to break them down in much the way we do now. They just sat back, absorbed as much pressure as they could, and watched our midfielders do lots of sideways passing. We had no way of getting through. They'd wait until we made a mistake and attacked on the counter. That was against crappy Asian sides." I can tell you this issue has nothing to do with a back 2 or 3. It is because of 2 things: 1. Slow build up. We never attack quickly. Ever. I don't know why. But we don't 2. No strikers. We don't have the luxury of having one quality striker (even probably cahill). So we need 2. 2 strikers = more goals. It also probably leads to quicker attacks and just puts players in better starting positions when you lack that one striker. Bang on. The point is that two central defenders and aggressive wingbacks makes us more of a liability yet. It creates more overloading (at snail's pace) higher up the park and with defensive fragility. Not such a problem if you have a good striker, as your post suggests, but without it, then putting most of your eggs in the proactive basket means you're batting on a very sticky wicket. I agree with everything you say. I don't dispute it. I simply say that it's further exacerbated by having two central defenders and aggressive fullbacks.
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Decentric
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xSince the game thread v Thailand has disappeared, this might be the most appropriate thread to post the following info. I've had a look at the replay of the Thailand game, up to the 50 minute mark. It was a cracking game! We've had so many chances, particularly with Cahill and Mooy both hitting the post early. One huge improvement has been Gersbach on as left wing back. Unfortunately, I have seen him do little defending yet, which was his weakness when he played for SFC. Going forwards though, he has vastly superior technique on the ball to Smith. His first touch, running with the ball, passing and moving within tight spaces are at a completely different level to Smith. He has provided considerable attacking impetus on the left flank. At this state though I've see little of his jockeying, showing, delaying, tackling, etc, as Australia has had so much ball and possession. He looks pretty athletic too. Gersbach has improved considerably in a short period of time. Another point made by others, is that Australia should've conceded at least one penalty. Sain seeing the culprit. Even though Australia should've scored umpteen goals at this stage of the game, so they should've conceded a penalty and possably two other free kicks on the edge of the box. I'm not sure why Ange didn't play Spira? By his own standards, Milligan has had a worse game than usual at this stage of the game. He probably isn't match fit. Rogic has been better in the Thai game than against Japan, with some scintillating skill, but he has often been forced to receive facing towards his own goal and not facing forwards. Mooy has payed very well to date, constantly passing accurately and switching balls to players in better positions. Degenek, Sains and Wright have conceded some awful fouls, and should've had more awarded against them. I'm surprised Thailand haven't accrued more points in this group. They've played some decent football when in possession of the ball. If we don't qualify for Russia it could well be some time before we qualify for any WC again. I think our opponents have improved immeasurably, particularly tactically and physically, to augment their technical qualities. We've also played England (saw 30 min of the second half), Greece (missed both of games) and, Germany, Chile and Cameroon at the Confed Cup. I thin the Asian opposition has decidedly closed the gap. Gersbach won more tackles in the first 5 mins then Brad Smith did all game against Japan... Alex's ability to recover and win the ball back, or make simple pass or clearing.. just looks a more complete player than brad smith.. We really need Gersbach ATM. Hopefully, we have found a stand out for the LB position for some time. i thought behich was excellent in confeds. such a step up from smith. very composed on the ball and sturdy in defence. I agree, its amazing what playing week in week out does, smith just seems to run aimlessly, he's a bit like Mitch Austin in that regard. reminds me of leckie at the same age to be fair. He could definitely make it I personally prefer gersbach though. I think he will be as good as rogic His defence is decent for his age. He gets about 3 and a half turnovers per game and his positioning is sound. He makes mistakes but thats normal for his age "he could make it" he will make it. it's not a question of luck or anything he's just a quality player. He's good enough to play in any league in the league based on what I've seen. If he keeps his head on straight (possibly a big question) he should just be our left back. why on earth would you mess around with a hack like smith when you've got gersbach I don't understand. Many players inexplicably fade out at young ages. Or they peak early and don't progress. Kaz Patafta, Kristian Sarkies, Stu Musialik and Ben Kantorovski come to mind. Not really. Players are a collection of attributes.A collection of strengths and weaknesses. Patafta failed because he was weak and easily put off the ball, and had minimal impact on games in terms of assists and goals. If you're a 10 without goal scorer or final passes you won't last long. Sarkies was a good passer, seemed like a reasonable defender etc but again didn't have enough goals or ability with the final pass to be a consistent starting player as attacking mid for a professional team. Musialik was 100% good enough in terms of attributes for a dmc, exceptional passing range, very good touch and very good close control and reasonable defensively and would have thrived but apparently he got into drugs and stopped caring. Kantarovski is a pretty good defender, limited in terms of playmaking, limited in terms of passing. If you're a dm you'll never amount to much without very good passing range. It all seems pretty obviously why they "failed". It's not that they fizzled out or anything its that they had these big holes in their game (exempt musialik).and where never able to fix and overcome them. Theres not a single thing that gersbach needs that he doesn't have to be a left back. He's a good crosser, a good passer, has a decent first touch is really good in close areas and is pretty good defensively. He can obviously improve on all of these but they are already at a good enough level. There is no way that he could "fizzle out", that doesn't even make sense. Although anyone could make idiotic career decisions like nathan burns. Mostly agree with your assessment of these players, The Fans. However, my original point about how players inexplicably peak and plateau at various stages of their career, I raised in a clinic with the Victory staff. I put it to Kevin Muscat, why players like Leigh Broxham, seem to have precociously developed well by the age of 17, yet relatively speaking, plateau a few years later. On the other hand a player like Mark Milligan seemed to progress quite a lot in his mid twenties. Muscat immediately joked that Milligan's progress was due to his coaching, but seriously responded that the peaks and troughs and inconsistent development of players is a fascinating issue that baffles him. Even now, there will be players who we think are making really good progress, who will inevitably fade out in a few years. Sometimes if one looks at the better Victorian and NSW NPL teams one will be surprised to find a few HAL regulars from a few seasons ago playing football at this level and at the same time look like they've regressed when they should've progressed. There are plenty of others who have made peculiar career choices, not just Nathan Burns.
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Decentric
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If we don't qualify for Russia there are a few discussion points.
Grazor and someone else stated that 19 points return is usually enough to qualify for a WCQ campaign. It might be a good point? I haven't researched it. We could be unlucky as Grazor suggests the Middle - eastern teams usually take points off each other in any other WCQ campaign. Saudi won more games than usual in the ME.
Ange's intransigence in tactics cost us dearly when away in games against Saudi Arabia, Iran and probably against Japan.
He rarely used a combination of formations within the one game.
Ange got the tactics right against Thailand in that home game, but the attacking cattle could not score from plenty of chances - 45. The players failed in that game.
Even if we make Russia, we would have to improve immeasurably from where we are now to win a single game. Ange is a better tournament coach and the players usually respond well to his camps.
I don't think we deserve to be there and Ange is mostly to blame. His qualifying tactics are perplexing.
At the same time, we will be playing Asian Cup qualifiers soon. When we went to Germany, we had already played an Asian Cup qualifier in March against Bahrain before the World Cup started. On that note we could be playing an Asian Cup qualifier early next year.
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Decentric
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+x
I can tell you this issue has nothing to do with a back 2 or 3. It is because of 2 things:
1. Slow build up. We never attack quickly. Ever. I don't know why. But we don't
Usually to do with the fact than most Asian teams play a deep defensive line or partial press against us when they don't have the ball. Teams like Germany and Chile play higher defensive lines and have a go us. This often leads to space being opened in midfield for us in our Attacking Transitions. In those games Australia launched more accelerated attacks, because there were often less players and more space created further away from goal when Germany or Chile lost possession of the ball (their Defensive Transitions).
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dr. bellows
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World Cup playoff: Rhys Williams would add composure, quality to panicky Socceroos if back for SyriaANGE Postecoglou cannot make many left-field selections for the Socceroos’ two-legged World Cup playoff next month. There is, however, one ‘risk’ worth taking.
David Davutovic
ANGE Postecoglou cannot make many left-field selections for the Socceroos’ date with World Cup destiny next month.There is one ‘risk’ worth taking for the two-legged playoffs against Syria however, new Melbourne Victory signing Rhys Williams.Far from a token selection, Williams appears ready to slot into the first XI and the highly-debated back three.
Having seen Williams train and play, his fitness levels are at their highest since late 2013 when he started in Postecoglou’s first game in charge. Williams produced an assured display in the November 2013 win over Costa Rica, the last of his 14 Socceroos caps before two torn Achilles’ ruled him out of Brazil 2014 and the 2015 Asian Cup. With Williams, the big question was not quality but his physical state and he was underdone when recalled by the Socceroos last March, in the midst of a standoff with Perth Glory. He’s lost four to five kilograms since, looks sharper and has not missed a beat in a two-month pre-season, playing every game. Williams’ qualities are vast, one isn’t handed the captain’s armband for nothing at a strong club like Middlesbrough, where he played 141 games in nine years amid a tug of war between Wales and Australia.
Composed and deceptively quick, Williams is armed with a punchy, penetrating pass capable of breaking the lines. This is vital because Australia’s ball movement too often lacks speed, so by the time it reaches Tom Rogic and his fellow ‘number eight’, the defence has had time to retreat and outnumber Socceroos attackers. Williams is capable of pinpointing Rogic and eliminating three to four opposition players in the process, enabling the star to turn and run at the defence in space. And if the opposition applies a high press, Williams is assured, even capable of beating a player and carrying it into midfield. His poise would add a vital ingredient to a Socceroos side that can appear panicked and struggles to maintain control while enforcing its possession-based game.
Williams has played in a back three at Boro, on the left, and he usually plays as a left-sided stopper. Victory’s first-rate coaching staff has again done the national team a favour, with Williams’ renewed fitness levels coupled with a crash course in playing a Socceroos-esque press and high line, which he has adapted to. Leadership and physicality are lacking for the Socceroos especially in an intense first leg against a hungry Syria. Williams, 29, offers that in spades, as Victory coach Kevin Muscat would attest. Ditto captain Mile Jedinak who is likely to return after making his first start since June for Aston Villa on Wednesday morning (EST).
http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/world-cup-playoff-rhys-williams-would-add-composure-quality-to-panicky-socceroos-if-back-for-syria/news-story/569810e51c56f42773ee77e339e8a6ae
Forgot about him, tbh. He does seem to have the attributes to cope well in a back 3. Provided they are fit and playing regularly in a decent league, a back 3 of Williams, Spiranovic and Sainsbury looks quality.
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JoyfulPenguin
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+xWorld Cup playoff: Rhys Williams would add composure, quality to panicky Socceroos if back for SyriaANGE Postecoglou cannot make many left-field selections for the Socceroos’ two-legged World Cup playoff next month. There is, however, one ‘risk’ worth taking.
David Davutovic
ANGE Postecoglou cannot make many left-field selections for the Socceroos’ date with World Cup destiny next month.There is one ‘risk’ worth taking for the two-legged playoffs against Syria however, new Melbourne Victory signing Rhys Williams.Far from a token selection, Williams appears ready to slot into the first XI and the highly-debated back three.
Having seen Williams train and play, his fitness levels are at their highest since late 2013 when he started in Postecoglou’s first game in charge. Williams produced an assured display in the November 2013 win over Costa Rica, the last of his 14 Socceroos caps before two torn Achilles’ ruled him out of Brazil 2014 and the 2015 Asian Cup. With Williams, the big question was not quality but his physical state and he was underdone when recalled by the Socceroos last March, in the midst of a standoff with Perth Glory. He’s lost four to five kilograms since, looks sharper and has not missed a beat in a two-month pre-season, playing every game. Williams’ qualities are vast, one isn’t handed the captain’s armband for nothing at a strong club like Middlesbrough, where he played 141 games in nine years amid a tug of war between Wales and Australia.
Composed and deceptively quick, Williams is armed with a punchy, penetrating pass capable of breaking the lines. This is vital because Australia’s ball movement too often lacks speed, so by the time it reaches Tom Rogic and his fellow ‘number eight’, the defence has had time to retreat and outnumber Socceroos attackers. Williams is capable of pinpointing Rogic and eliminating three to four opposition players in the process, enabling the star to turn and run at the defence in space. And if the opposition applies a high press, Williams is assured, even capable of beating a player and carrying it into midfield. His poise would add a vital ingredient to a Socceroos side that can appear panicked and struggles to maintain control while enforcing its possession-based game.
Williams has played in a back three at Boro, on the left, and he usually plays as a left-sided stopper. Victory’s first-rate coaching staff has again done the national team a favour, with Williams’ renewed fitness levels coupled with a crash course in playing a Socceroos-esque press and high line, which he has adapted to. Leadership and physicality are lacking for the Socceroos especially in an intense first leg against a hungry Syria. Williams, 29, offers that in spades, as Victory coach Kevin Muscat would attest. Ditto captain Mile Jedinak who is likely to return after making his first start since June for Aston Villa on Wednesday morning (EST).
http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/world-cup-playoff-rhys-williams-would-add-composure-quality-to-panicky-socceroos-if-back-for-syria/news-story/569810e51c56f42773ee77e339e8a6ae
Forgot about him, tbh. He does seem to have the attributes to cope well in a back 3. Provided they are fit and playing regularly in a decent league, a back 3 of Williams, Spiranovic and Sainsbury looks quality.
While I never watched him during his time in England, in his time back in Australia he hasn't shown any semblance of that ability. Needs to earn his place in the Socceroos with a good season in the A-League. Wilkinson/DeVere/McGowan are much more deserving of a place.
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grazorblade
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if he is good enough it would certainly be nice to put milligan back in the midfield
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paladisious
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+xWorld Cup playoff: Rhys Williams would add composure, quality to panicky Socceroos if back for Syria With Milligan, Troisi, Kosta, Ingham and possibly Berisha gone for the Sydney match and the Derby (which are the first two games in the A-League's big debut on Ten) may as well take Rhys too.
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