But but but surely, if Nicky Carle were on the pitch, the Germans would have just stood back and marvelled at his technical skills??? :lol:

As for the Golden Generation, two more games (unless we improve a LOT) and then we begin the transition to THE TOMMY OAR ERA! WICKED! Plus there are heaps of Aussie kids who are playing FIFA10 really, really well.

She'll be right, mate. No worries.




What do you think about the FourFourTwo blog A Stein-ful of Reality?
First of all, let me tip my cap in the direction of Kevin Airs, who put together this wonderful review of the Germany-Australia game which sums up my position on the game just about perfectly. I think...

Have your say.

Interesting sentence - bolded word in particular.

I don't think any realistic football fan is trying to say that we were better than Germany, or somehow deserved a result. The real heartbreaker is the attitude and the tactics... we might have been second best against Brazil in 2006, but you wouldn't have known it by the way the boys approached the match. We could easily have snatched a draw in the end, and that was all down to attitude and having no fear.

It was clear to everyone that we were afraid of getting buttfucked by the Germans (a valid fear, when it comes to Germans)) and that fear is what ended up being the most damaging thing.

I want the Socceroos to win the World Cup 2010. I want the Socceroos to just get out of the Group Stage and if they don't I will still be a proud Socceroo supporter but between now and the 2014 World Cup the powers that be have to get out there and find a new Harry Kewell or a new Tim Cahill and I believe they are out there. We can't just sit back and have the attitude that our Golden Era is over, let's start a new one. Loyalty is great but a change is needed and needed quick. Some experience, more youth, better tactics and a great Aussie attitude - might work.

Excellent Blog David,

While suffering through the embarrassment of the game I really did marvel at the Germans and wanted to know how we can get our game from here to there.

Clearly the A-League is the key. You look at most of the World Cup teams and all but a few have a core of their players playing in their domestic leagues. But it is going to take a decade to really improve the League unless the FFA fast-tracks things by mandating professionalism in football operations and giving concessions to those teams willing to bring in highly credentialled coaches to teach their apprentices while encouraging some of our promising elite coaches to head overseas for experience.

An FFA cup is essential to getting the whole football family playing together and giving something inspiring for the administrators of State League Clubs to aim for.

The main changes have to occur in junior football. I'm no expert in that department and I think the Football Development plan including SSG's are a great idea. The only thing that worries me is how short the season is. Kids need to be playing the game all year round in formal and informal environments.

The other thought that really hit me was the strength of the AFL. Most AFL players are of a physique that would be ideal for football. Somehow we need to stop the AFL from dominating Australia and taking all these perfect athletes away from football. Again, this has to start in the junior ranks but also the FFA has to look at what motivates a 15-16 year old into professionalism and give them what will keep them attracted to our game, whether it is prestige or a higher base salary.

Exactly. The NT will only ever be as good as the players coming up through the A-league, and the A-league will only ever be as good as the kids coming up from the Juniors.

FFA needs to look at quality of junior coaches, what's happening with so-called "Rep" sides, disorganisation at club and local official level, etc etc.

Till this happens a $6 million NT coach is never going to get us far.

Edited by GazGoldCoast: 16/6/2010 11:37:01 AM

I think its all Graham Arnolds fault. The are too many similarities between Pims tactical decisions and the kind of confused weirdness we have seen Arnold try and impose on his players. Add to that the rumors of infighting and player frustration and its the Asian cup all over again.

Yep, I say blame Arnold. It's just a really satisfying thing to do.

The future isn't all gloom and doom either. 4 years is a long time and there are probably young players out there who are poised to burst onto the scene. Todays 17 year old raw talent could be a 21 year old livewire by the time the next world cup comes around. The next coach we appoint is all important.

What crap, anyone with a brain could see this coming. The team made it to the world cup despite Verbeek not because of him. Blinkered fools need to stop pointing to a dire parade of 0-0 draws and lucky one goal wins as some kind of vindication of Verbeek. He's arrogant, inflexible, cowardly and lacks any strategic vision.

He had plenty of opportunity to try out different formations before Germany, but he played the same old 4-2-3-1 again and again regardless of the opposition, after the spanking by the US he realised that the Germans would maul his team as it was so he panicked and buggered around with the only system he's ever taught his team. The outcome was as obvious as Craig Fosters bias.

How will Australia score goals against Ghana? Osmosis? A crocked Kewell and a Kennedy that's no longer up against wee Japanese guys he can boss, not to mention the enforced absence of Tim Cahill and his amazing lucky strikes say that the Socceroos couldn't score in a brothel 0-0 is the very best to be hoped for, and if you think that Germany will hump either Ghana or Serbia by 4 you're kidding yourself, they have coaches who've paid the dollar and bought a clue.

So the results we've had against teams like Holland are just luck, then?

Jubal1, I think Pim panicked too. But where was the brains trust to steady him? Oh that's right, it was Graham Arnold.

I can't understand why Arnold was given one of the greatest honors in football, to be on the coaching staff at a World Cup. To me, that is an opporunity wasted. It should have been given to a guy who had the potential to be a future Australian coach.

Lots of lessons to learn from this campaign. Lets hope mistakes aren't repeated because there is little room for errors in a once every four year competition. We have to take every possible opportunity to both perform at our best in this World Cup and set ourselves up for World Cups to come.

Maybe, after the Asian Cup, future Australian friendlies will be about blooding young Socceroos and not solely about raising revenue in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Give some Socceroo friendlies to Newcastle and we'll do our best to pack out the stadium, even if the team isn't full of the old stars.

Edited by Ecce: 16/6/2010 03:56:23 PM

Typically Gaz, you've got it all wrong.

You see, Galekovic will thump the ball long and it'll get stuck in Topor-Stanley's 'fro. He'll then run the length of the pitch, into the box, and shake his hair to make the ball bounce to the ground. McDonald will take a wild swing from two feet out, smash it into the post, and the ball will then rebound into Carle's face and cross the line.

It's the tactical revolution of the future!!!

:lol:

lol...got a love topor stanleys fro..its hectic..looks like a massive birds nest..!! he just needs one of those hats Sam was wearing on Cup Fever last night.lol

Germany are capable of thumping most teams 4-0. What hurts is that we've had to watch Pim's dull conservative negative rubbish for the past couple of years, scraping by teams such as Indonesia & China. How are we then supposed to apply the same strategy against a superior team & come out on top??? All Whites are a perfect example. They may be a far lesser team on paper to Slovakia, but they came out & had a go, said Fuck you, I'm not lying down for anyone & defied the odds. I don't mind losing 4-0, but I hate watching rubbish, which I've endured for long enough. Good riddance to your style of football Pim!

Did anyone watch Chile play?

It was like watching a whole team of Nicky Carles.

great article, glad that someone else can put this loss in perspective. People act like we didn't lose in 2006, we did, we only won one game and went through on goal difference. The only thing is that this time we lost the first game, but that is the luck of the draw, getting the top team first. we still have time to win one more, and especially to win two to realistically try to get out of the group.

^^^
Good point... we have in fact only ever won one game at a World Cup.

That puts us on the same level as, uh... Slovenia?

I don't really understand how any fans or commentators or can resorted to we were destined to lost because they are better. If that's the case, lets pick our bags and watch Spain and Brazil fight it out, why have a world cup? The beauty about football or any sport is when you step across the white lines, it's anyone game. It's down to belief and conviction, sadly Pim had none from the get-go.

^^^
I'm not saying we should have packed our bags at all.


There's a clear line between:
a) the unrivalled optimism of a football supporter, the passion and bravado that comes along with that, not to mention a coach's pep talk to his players. You should, on some level, ALWAYS go into a game thinking you can get a result- anything can happen!
b) Objective thinking, analysis, and realistic expectations.

As I said, I went into the game hoping we could get a result - but I knew there was a 99% chance of a German victory, and a solid one at that.

It's the lack of those realistic expectations that I'm bemoaning in this blog - not the fact that people think we could pull off an upset.