You're right - down the pub, a few beers and some pool and I couldn't care less about captain sad!

I bow to you're analyses RedEyeRob. Mark really is too young for me to place that performance pressure on his young shoulders, and besides I doubt that Hugene will go anywhere.

Edited by redcup: 30/12/2009 11:31:54 PM

lol cheers..

Regarding Eugene, if i heard correctly on the radio today, Adelaide United stated that they have not officially been approached by Portsmouth. I'm a very mild Chelsea supporter...i feel like a band wagoner given their success and "Big 4" status... I got into them in the late 90's when the greats Vialli and Zola joined them. If Eugene does go, Portsmouth will be my new favourite EPL team!
:d

[size=9]Could The Ogre have the wood on Moore?[/size]

[size=4]By Half Time Orange - Jesse Fink | 1 January 2010[/size]

The thing with boys’ clubs, in government, business or sport, is that any weak link can bring the whole lot crashing down.

And that is precisely what has happened at Brisbane Roar in the past month with the departure of Sunshine Boys Frank Farina, Charlie Miller and now Craig Moore, as well as relatively young goalkeeper Liam Reddy, from the struggling Queensland A-League outfit.

The moment Farina, the group’s most powerful figure, was let go it was simply a matter of time before Moore, his old mate and club captain, found an excuse (or excuses) to leave too, and they were laid up on a plate with Miller’s acrimonious departure to Gold Coast United and Moore’s own plans to get fit in Scotland before the World Cup.

Farina, Moore and Miller liked a bit of “fun”, according to Miller, and that ceased the moment Ange Postecoglou was announced as Farina’s replacement.

Now I’m no fan of Postecoglou, as I’ve made clear in my column for SBS Sport and still cringe at his truculent performance years ago with SBS chief football analyst Craig Foster. However, he is attempting to turn over a new leaf in his career, came back to be interviewed by SBS recently (which would have taken a fair bit of courage) and has shown a bit of steel in dealing with the sniping of Moore and Miller.

The club was right to back him and not the players. Moore might be a World Cup player, a veritable legend of the Socceroos, but the buck stops with the coach.

Moore, too, was always going to be in an untenable position in his game of brinkmanship with the Roar board, especially after that horrible back pass against the Mariners a couple of weeks ago and a string of unconvincing performances where he has been shown up for being not the player he used to be.

Pim Verbeek might be a fan of the bloke but he’s going to be taking a big gamble pairing Moore with Lucas Neill at the World Cup.

In my opinion, he could be a liability and I can’t see a short stint at mid-table St Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League making him much better.

I wrote about Sasa Ognenovski a year ago almost to the day when he was omitted for the Socceroos squad for the Asian Cup qualifier against Indonesia in Jakarta and expressed mystification why he was being snubbed by Verbeek.

That was even before he’d played a game for his new Korean club, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. A year on, “The Ogre” has emerged as a colossus for Shin Tae-yong’s K-League side in a league that places a high premium on fitness, as Verbeek, a former coach of Korea Republic, well knows.

Ognenovski’s played over 40 matches and helped Seongnam qualify for the Asian Champions League.

Importantly, he’s also still eligible for the Socceroos despite having flirted with Republic of Macedonia.

He said recently all he “ever wanted was a chance”, so why isn’t Verbeek giving him one?

Other bloggers have taken up the cause for Ognenovski of late, one making the salient point that though he is “an unfashionable player” who “suffers from not being brought through Australian national youth teams and from playing predominantly in the NSL and state league football until going to the [then] Queensland Roar in 2006... putting aside all that, Sasa has been an intimidating presence at each of his past three clubs and brought them success.

“The Socceroos face a physical battle unsuited to a player such as Simon Colosimo. Whereas Sasa, standing at six foot five inches, and never taking a backward step, could be in his element, particularly up against the Serbian striker Nikola Zigic, who stands at a towering six foot eight inches.”

All perceptive observations but I would also add that Ognenovski would add a formidable advantage to Australia at corners, which we so often rely on for scoring, not just by virtue of his frame and height but by his ability to draw defenders to him.

Another big man in the penalty box alongside Josh Kennedy would be a terrifying prospect for our opposition at the World Cup, with the ever-present Tim Cahill pouncing on second balls.

But, like Ljubo Milicevic before him, The Ogre has had personality differences with the national-team coach, who gave the rather odd reason of Ognenovski being “not that young anymore” for his omission for the Indonesia match in January last year.

Odd because Ognenovski is younger than Moore, Lucas Neill and Scott Chipperfield. He’s also the same age as Simon Colosimo, who has been recalled to the Socceroos squad and plays in a far inferior league. Ognenovski didn’t take too kindly to Verbeek’s reasoning.

Stubborn pride, however, shouldn’t be an obstacle in working towards a rapprochement. From either side.

This is a World Cup we’re talking about. Not just any bunch of games.

It would be a travesty if we go to South Africa 2010 without assembling our best possible side because two men can’t communicate.

And Verbeek can’t really say he’s not picking Ognenovski because he batted his eyelids at another country: Shane Lowry and Rhys Williams have actually played under-21 football for Republic of Ireland and Wales respectively.

Ognenovski has not played a single match – junior, senior or otherwise – for Macedonia.

Nor can he point out the K-League is in recess. Why, then, pick Dynamo Moscow’s Luke Wilkshire? The Russian Premier League starts again in March.

Yes, Ognenovski made an error telling Verbeek his rationale for overlooking him was “too harsh” and “insulting”, but it’s in the past. We’re a year on. The man is a better player for his K-League experience. He’s learned from his mistakes.

Verbeek needs central defenders who are in form and playing first-team top-flight football. As it stands, his options in that position are dangerously limited. It’s incumbent we have more before June 2010 rolls around.

Moore was a great player and leader but his best days are behind him. He’s slow, frequently caught out of position and, at 34, susceptible to injury.

Which is not to say he shouldn’t go to the World Cup as a squad member if he can maintain his fitness and play some decent regular football between now and May.

But in my opinion Ognenovski, four years younger, in the best form of his life for one of the biggest clubs in Asia, which played Juventus and Sevilla at the Peace Cup, and has just finished runner-up to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the K-League grand final, could have the wood on him in all sorts of ways.

Convincing Verbeek, however, will be his sternest test yet.

[size=9]Verbeek needs to send SOS to Sasa[/size]

[size=4]StrikerX - The Roar | December 28th, 2009[/size]

Alarm bells are now ringing about Craig Moore’s form leading into the World Cup. His performances for Brisbane Roar in the past few weeks must have shaken even his most ardent supporter in Socceroos’ coach Pim Verbeek.

Against Central Coast, his miss-hit back-pass gifted the Mariners a goal and spoke of heavy legs and a player struggling to cope with the rigors of three games in seven days. But it hasn’t just been this one mistake that has Socceroos fans more than worried.

Moore has, on occasion, been found out by his lack of pace. Then in Brisbane’s second half capitulation against Gold Coast United, Moore and his teammates were exposed time and time again – getting dragged out of position, ball watching and, unforgivably, failing to track the league’s most lethal striker, Shane Smeltz, in Brisbane’s own penalty area.

Ever since the 2006 World Cup, the Socceroos have searched for the answer to who will partner Lucas Neill in the middle of defence. Michael Beauchamp, Jade North, Roddy Vargas, Robert Cornthwaite, Adrian Madaschi have all been brought into training camps and enjoyed a measure of game time, but for good reasons aren’t in Verbeek’s thoughts of late.

Chris Coyne, who admirably filled the breach during the Socceroos’ World Cup qualification campaign, will do well to remain in contention if he can overcome recent injury problems as well as negotiate a club move in the January transfer window.

While Simon Colosimo has now been given a chance to “show himself” (as Pim would say), Patrick Kisnorbo, Mark Milligan and Matthew Spiranovic are perhaps front-runners for a World Cup defensive berth along with Moore.

But rewind to the start of 2009, and I have to ask – was a realistic solution to the Socceroos defensive conundrum in Sasa Ognenovski prematurely discarded by Pim? Looking at the list of candidates that have been unable to establish themselves, and the events that have transpired since, I would have to say that Pim was too hasty in writing off Sasa as a Socceroos prospect.

Fairly or unfairly, Sasa is an unfashionable player. He suffers from not being brought through Australian national youth teams and from playing predominantly in the NSL and state league football until going to the Queensland Roar in 2006.

His aggression, and sometimes volatility, on and off the field is also perceived as a liability by some. His public spat with Pim earlier this year after repeatedly being overlooked for Socceroos squads was ill-considered, and may have burnt his bridges. Pim commented at the time that Sasa was “too old” (Sasa is 30), clearing the way for Sasa to pursue an international career with the country of his heritage, Macedonia.

Putting aside all that, Sasa has been an intimidating presence at each of his past three clubs and brought them success. He can take much of the credit for Adelaide United’s remarkable run to the Asian Champions League final in 2008. Aurelio Vidmar’s counter-attacking strategy, to a large extent, relied on Sasa’s resolve at the back.

Adelaide hasn’t been half the side since Sasa’s departure this year to K-League club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, where he is managed by former Queensland Roar assistant coach Shin Tae-Yong, who clearly recognised the value Sasa could bring to his team, which progressed to the K-League final this year with Sasa making 40 appearances in the league and cup competitions.

Have the stars now aligned for Sasa to make a late run for the Socceroos’ World Cup squad? Sasa remains uncapped by Macedonia (despite being named runner-up Macedonian player of the year in 2008). He has remained injury-free and will be playing regular high level football in the K-League in 2010.

The World Cup may have come 12 months too late for Moore. And most importantly, the Socceroos’ World Cup group could be tailor made for Sasa. Let’s not kid ourselves, Germany, Ghana and Serbia are physical and powerful teams.

In many respects, the Socceroos face a physical battle unsuited to a player such as Simon Colosimo. Whereas Sasa, standing at six foot five inches, and never taking a backward step, could be in his element, particularly up against the Serbian striker Nikola Zigic, who stands at a towering six foot eight inches.

I've been distracted by a sad git calling himself Mr. Football. I've been trying to work out his real hidden agenda, and I think I've almost cracked it.

Its Pippinu redcup, I thought everyone knew that? If you need to know his agenda head over to the Roar and read his work.

I have been away for the holidays, but back now! You will see more and more of me as I get back into the swing of work ;)

Thanks redcup! I hope you had a great one as well, especially with the ocean down the road ;)

Not surprised he is denying being Pips, but it must be him - he has the same writing style and way with words that Pip does, he also is using all of Pips arguments. Plus Mr Football was a bit of a hint ;)

Owusu might be back in action this week here comes

the owusu invasion cant wait he looked alot fitter when i seen the news last night

Hope your right, but would be very surprised [-o<

I hope im right got alot of comfidence in him as long as he keeps his head up. but with reid back the distribution to him will be a whole lot better.

Hang time to score a double

I've got this uneasy feeling that Lloyd will score a hat-trick then use that to secure a $big$ deal in China!

Owusu might be back in action this week here comes

the owusu invasion cant wait he looked alot fitter when i seen 9the word is Saw) the news last night

Are you guys going to be able to beat the gold coast this weekend???? we could really use the favour

is there any word on any potential players comming in or players leaving adelaide in the january window

But back onto our current squad, I would have thought that Shin would be starting games by now. Going by the logic that Shin (3+1) and Flores (latest signing) will be the guaranteed visa-players for the ACL, you'd expect Viddie to be blooding Shin into the starting lineup around about now.

[size=9]Back into the fray[/size]

[size=4]VAL MIGLIACCIO
January 08, 2010 12:00am[/size]

ADELAIDE United officials are today breathing easier with Socceroos defender Scott Jamieson no longer trialling in Europe and now available to face Gold Coast United in a must-win clash at Skilled Stadium tomorrow night.

Despite being out of favour after Reds coach Aurelio Vidmar dropped the promising defender in November and dragged him at half-time in United's 1-0 away loss to Sydney FC after Christmas, Jamieson's absence would have been a major blow to Adelaide's chances of climbing off the A-League floor.

Jamieson was scheduled to head to Belgium's Cercle Brugge, departing from Kuwait City after the Socceroos 2-2 draw against Kuwait in the 2011 Asian Cup qualifying match yesterday.

Jamieson watched the encounter from the sidelines after coach Pim Verbeek did not list the defender in his 18-man squad.

But a last-minute change of plans ensured Jamieson - off contract at the end of the season - was expected to land in Sydney this morning with the A-League-based Socceroos before leaving for Coolangatta.

Socceroos keeper Eugene Galekovic was expected to be on the same flight to Queensland before joining their Reds teammates in Surfers Paradise this afternoon.

Jamieson's FIFA agent Nikola Mandic confirmed the A-League's reigning under-20 Player of the Year was out of contract in June but said he was now focusing on United's A-League and upcoming Asian Champions League campaign.

"Nothing has happened with Scott in Europe," Mandic said.

"Scott still has plenty of football to play with Adelaide United.

"There's seven rounds remaining and the group stages on the Asian Champions League.

"He's now sharper and refreshed after spending time with the Socceroos and he's getting ready for club duties."

Jamieson last April said he had spent time with Netherlands club Groningen purely for experience before returning to pre-season training.

But the Lucas Pantelis saga continued yesterday after United football director Michael Petrillo declared "we have received no offers" for the club's vice-captain.

However, Adelaide's hands will be tied if any club wishes to lure Pantelis away from his home state given his current contract status.

Pantelis is currently able to sign for a pre-contract for a new club before ending his Reds term in June.

Pantelis's FIFA agent Lou Sticca said Pantelis was a free player.

"He's out of contract," Sticca said.

"And he'll walk out of the club as a free player.

"There are plenty of offers on the table for Lucas from other clubs."

Pantelis was initially offered a new Reds deal in October but negotiations have since stalled for the clever southpaw.

Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou was reportedly keen to snare the attacking midfielder for next season

Can anyone update me on Marco Flores?