Japan tonight. Everything on the line. Can't afford a loss.

We are currently the best ranked second place team on goal difference. The top five best ranked second placed teams will go through to the next round.

Given all of the first ranked teams play the second ranked teams in the last match of this round, and every third place team has at least one loss already, there will be five teams with one loss moving to the next round.

I don't want us to lose, but I reckon a loss of up to 4 goals will probably see us through.

Jimenez was injured for the past 8 months or so, knee injury i believe. Only came back to training with Villareal in the last week or so...

Thanks Chicko , I was trying to figure it out but my brain shut down :)
Hard to line up the groups with 5 teams ? But I'll take your word :)
Also maybe live stream via Japan ? Anyone know ?

I think I got it wrong though.

Its complicated but I don't want to lose.

If we lose, we have to hope that at least five of the other second placed teams lose too (which is realistic, but you wouldn't want to count on it). Also, if you are the third placed team in a five team group, you cannot place higher than second in our group.

Penalty shot out to determine group winner in the event of a draw at full time :(

1/0 Japan up.

Make that 2/0

We can get back.

once again thanks okon

Same old story all the time with our youth teams, why bother showing any interest....:roll:

We aren't good enough and we will never improve until the FFA show some initiative and try to make big changes at youth development and with our youth teams.

At the moment it's safe to say nothing is going to happen in fact we are probably going backwards.

Edited by Barca4life: 6/10/2015 09:50:54 PM

3-0 loss.... just what the goal difference didn't need to try and qualify as a runner-up.

what changes would you make
admittedly im an okon skeptic so that would be one change. Take him out of the picture and there appears to be gradual improvement

But how are we improving though? Don't forget the rest of the world is trying to improve as well.

If not the changes we have made is not near enough to make some inroads regards to closing with the rest of the world.

The Joeys recently lost to France 6-0 and just yesterday lost to Sydney FC youth team 2-1 whom haven't played with each other for months.

I know results should not be the final outcome but it's a not a good look and i wonder what the FFA are going to do about this.

I hate to use excuses but the results show we aren't good as what people think?

Agree we need much better coaches in charge of our youth teams in order to get better results, we haven't had one since Scheinflug in the 90s.

Edited by Barca4life: 6/10/2015 10:16:28 PM

3-0 not unexpected unfortunately. Wonder if ffa will post about this result

Two Penalties awarded first 45+2 then at 71st minute ?

Did Mells play?

Also, is Okon REALLY that bad or do people just overreact?

I think they will still go through , but not really in a good way .
Don't forget though that this Jap team has been together for past 8 weeks , living , training and playing together , also sent 4 scouts plus photographer to all Aus warm up games .
Boy Scouts , anyone !??

What's our excuse ? do we think were too good ?

No , I don't think we are too good , it's just that it costs a small fortune to prepare for these tournaments , bringing players together all costs money , the japs , well all their players are local and have much longer preperation , just played a tournament against China and Croaica where they got beat by both !
Go figure .

Shows the FFA dont really care about our youth teams, why is they only show the results of us winning?

I think they will show this result , ffs , I mean we were beaten by Japan not some third world country , yes it was 3-0 but two spot kicks makes it hard tbh.
Regroup , if we qualify as one of best second teams maybe we can get more of overseas lads released for at leased 6-8 weeks prior to tournament , which is October 2016.

3 fucking nil. Are you fucking kidding me.

Mate that's the biggest issue we wouldn't know which overseas lads to call up because we don't monitor them regularly. Since Craig Moore left nobody contacts these lads overseas. Look at the makeup of all our youth squads it's always only 2-3 players playing overseas.

" evolution is when we learn from our mistake- oz football doesn't "

I will bet a million dollars that Okon did not do a proper full rotation. Any coach in any sport could have done a better job than Okon.
The sad part is he will keep the job after they qualify in second.

Robbo , not sure of this but have heard DDS was asked but club declined also Tanner at Blackburn ?
In regards to rotation apparently 4/5 players did not get any gametime and others played 3 straight , cant confirm though.

Getting excited by results against Laos,Guam,Philippines and the like is meaningless.These a re all 100 plus ranked teams.The results against the likes of Thailand amd Vietnam show we still have a long way to go.
3-0 against Japan follows a familiar pattern where our teams finish these tournaments with poor losses.
Who knows if it's the conditions or superior opposition.
If it is the conditions,then we haven't prepared well enough,because all teams face the same issues.

FTR Concur about Okon - his job and the position of Young Socceroos coach generally, needs more discerning scrutiny, performance review. It's an important position in the development of potential next gen Olyroos and Socceroos and I think the set-up is due more serious and worthy focus and consideration. The trend of the selection process and level of the last few appointees, including overseas expert, Versleijen, just smacked of the cheaper or 'after-thought' kind of job, where I think far greater expertise and experience could be required for such a position, rather than gifting the position as some kind of 'coach developmental' role, as we've tended to see?

Peter De Roo is there, so perhaps he's the one to oversee and monitor these things and report to FFA TD Eric Abrams too, such details of how the team and staff are measuring up, to their expected performance levels. Here's hoping, anyway.



I think we get a bit over-excited the other way guys - I mean, looking at the devil in detail in the match itself - two of the goals were conceded in First-Half stoppage time?! That's reflective of a common tendency of youth teams, that they concede or let their guard down in moments during a game - fuller, sustained concentration, focus and discipline, application, only tends to come with more substantive senior football experience, along with adulthood in itself - that additional development and settling, post-teen years.

It sounds all the more worse that they conceded in such a time, but in another way, it's a relief? :-k They must've done alright for the first 44 minutes or so, it was 0-0 and just a couple more minutes that way and it's 0-0 into h/t. A different game? The pre-game needs, results-wise, would always factor in and skew the approach (Even though our teams always try to 'play' no matter what context) - alot different than if we had played Japan as the first or second fixture of this group I guess. In some ways though, facing Japan now is no different than any other time, but having those two Goal Difference results in the bag would've naturally relieved some pressure from the team and staff and seen an adjustment in approach (Less urgency, more conservatism). Second-half, Japan have the 2-0 and scored again in the 70-odd minutes, surely as a counter as our team sought (or continued) a slightly more proactive approach? I didn't see the game, but context is everything.

It could've been soo much different had it remained 0-0 at h/t, our young side ever more confident and more pressure on the Japanese players. Anyway, hopefully you guys are right - I think depending on GD, we can still slip through as one the better placed 'Second placed' teams - but indeed, it's not a good thing if some under-performing elements may be glossed over in the process. So again, I hope the De Roo and co from the Technical department have independent monitoring processes to really measure up and assess all elements and if they're to our Technically aspirational standards.

Edited by GloryPerth: 7/10/2015 03:13:39 AM

This is the thing and we hope this is being properly assessed through channels above Okon - FFA CoE TD, Peter De Roo is over there with the group this tournament and I'm not sure if FFA TD, Eric Abrams is aswell - though the former could easily report to the latter, any details. Abrams in his position, would/should be the one to oversee the youth NTs and how they are performing and how the NT staff are performing to their own expected performance criteria and standards set by the FFA through the TD. A coach in that position, for the length of time Okon's been in it (Since 2012) - there must be some level of measurable improvement in his teams' performances over the two or three Young Socceroos generations he's overseen. IF they're improving in performance under Okon's guidance, then that should naturally be seeing some gradually improving results in the overall picture.

No matter who's in the job, these roles should see a performance review after every generational cycle! Okon has see through atleast one cycle (2013), to mixed success, so, in-theory, this should be his last chance to impress really. Especially as he was appointed by, or entered into the job during the reign of the previous TD, Han Berger - Eric Abrams is in the role now and may bring fresh eyes and have new ideas and/or greater remit from the FFA, to enact change, a change in direction, when opportunity arises.

Edited by GloryPerth: 7/10/2015 03:25:22 AM

Anyone heard anything about any tv coverage for the Olyroos two matches against South Korea being played this week?