I've watched the second half, it felt de Ja Vous when the Socceroos played Thailand last year, first half hour controlled should have scored 3 or 4 goals but once they equalised they lost the momentum especially with the subs and throw in the fatigue in those conditions they dropped off big time in the second half.

At least it assured me that these kids can play, the goal they scored was very good but the once they conceded with a basic error which got punished, the second half goal came from the poor positioning from the replacement left back, they didn't create that much to scare us but its a disappointing result. 

The common theme our youth teams have been experiencing has been in defensive transitioning and even basic defending although this game they were quite competent in that department the team organisation when they lost it at times they had 2 or 3 at the back, we were left too open.
Is it me is the current playing system is giving us too many problems, playing with one holding player with both full backs bombing up to high puts a lot of pressure on the 6 and the 3, 4 with their passing selection and weight of passes and to that all game is a hard ask which goes back to the approach and the system of play. 
I think this team like the others should play 4-2-3-1 instead as a first option and then 4-3-3 depending on the game.

The question is does the NC encourage system flexibility during games? E.g Can a team change from 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 or back 3 depending on the game situation? i honestly don't think a) the coach or b) could change or adjust to doing so....good teams can do this depending and solve football problems especially tactical 

It would help us a lot if we could do this going forward for all teams.

I listed the positives throughout the game but the negatives at the end

the finishing is a real problem. The last two technical directors have said they are focusing on individual skill which means worse results at junior level but better at senior level. It looks like we have gone past the worst part of our development (the missing generation) and do seem to gradually be producing better players. You could argue how much we would have improved anyway (maybe the missing generation were just exceptional?) but there are some runs on the board for implementing this philosophy of focusing on technical development in the later years of youth development. Thats pretty promising. I thought of that group of people now aged 19-25 the most striking case was brandon borello who looked absolutely hopeless at youth level but looked competent at senior level the opposite case of our youth that made the world cup final - they looked like world beaters at youth level but were for the most part absolutely hopeless at senior level and comprised our missing generation. Borello may never be a world beater but it was a striking case of the philosophy of not worrying how a player is physically when they are young because it only takes 6 months to pack on the muscle. I remember him for roar in his first season and that is exactly what happened

Now the last two AFF tournaments have seen for the first time people who have experienced the philosophy during the golden age of technical development. A few of those kids are breaking through at senior level - mcgree, caletti, armenekas, arzani etc. In a couple of seasons it will be interesting to see how good this group of players are when they pack on the muscle.

But the finishing troubles me because it is weak at every level from senior to junior and shows no signs of improving. This is an individual skill, arguably the most important aspect of technique, and part of the performance that we should be judging while ignoring the results at youth level.

By the time these youth grow into socceroos we could well have a similar team we have now, creating more chances than now and having more possession than now but converting just as few a chances

As for positives:
1. The power was better than the last few generations. Our passes were harder hit, there were some nice switches and lofted through balls. These were generally well weighted and accurate
2. Most of our take ons were succesful
3. More impressive: A lot of players could beat players when receiving the ball in an unfavourable position including with their backs facing the opposite goal
4. The defensive structure was as usual all over the place (this is true at senior a league level and socceroos level too so I worry whether learning this can be delayed to senior level) but 1v1 defensively we were the best I can remember over the last 10 years
5. In build up our first touch was mostly good and we could pass the ball with both sides of both feet

you know I remember something Han Berger said a while ago

he said if you only play for 6 months a year its even more important to focus on technical development in this six months

You could put this another way: if you only play for six months you have to let some of your game suffer so he argued to not let it be technical development. But then its not surprising that finishing and defensive structure suffer. Also you will be mistake prone. If we played for 9 months we could have a chance to learn everything our european counterparts learn

question is how many of our youth play 9 months a year and how do we make more of them do that

Yes.

And meanwhile many skeptics out there are coming out saying we have thrown away our strengths when we trying to retify our major weaknesses which has been technique and game sense.
People dont look deeper enough, its simple we must away from 6 months to year round football

Well said.

In the elite programmes they were playing for about 40 weeks per year, but not having weekly games.

One of the other posters whose son plays for City Youth said  they play around 40 games per year, which is quite good.

that is good news
how long has that been happening

I've only seen some of the game, but if these were true it is disappointing we lost.

I saw a lot of the early Aussie misses. Some of them were so bad, if  one tried to miss from that close to goal  in training ground exercises, it would be quite difficult to achieve!

One of our guys looked years younger than the age group. I've taught a lot of 12 year olds much bigger than him. Don't  forget the issue of overage cheating being rampant too.

Defensive team structure can be improved as adult footballers. The 1v1 ability of our defenders still needs to improve a lot on what it is ATM.

SAP when it was an elite program, had about 40 weeks sessions of twice weekly training per year, but with few games.

JDB03 knows the break up of City games.

why is finishing such an abomination in australia

if you listed ranked countries by finishing ability we would be lucky to be in the top 200....

I think the issue of (x amount of games) starts at the younger ages in HAL academies well at MC/MV anyway. The boys involved at U20/senior youth ages 16-20 they are training and playing almost all year round. Its an issues with the younger boys when not playing in the NPL set ups. The U18's development squad will train for most of the year and if lucky will play 20-25 practice matches. This is were I think next year MC and MV will be allowed to play in the NPL. Not sure about the other HAL clubs?
As for the game last night it was clear that these boys haven't played a lot of football together. I think we might find our performances get better as the tournament goes on and Vidmar works out the best player combo. This was the case in the first game with the last group in Cambodia 2015.

yeah I was mostly looking at the individual skills

still worried about the finishing. Unless they were super nervous you would expect that to not improve as much

They would be very nervous. Also not to make excuses but the travel and the heat plays a big part. I would love to see our boys play here against these nations and see how they go.

they definitely faded at the back end of each half which is probably the heat
the poor finishing though was in the first 30 mins of each half when we had chances so lets hope nerves are the problem

Agree on the finishing and in all the years of watching junior football there are not to many kids that come to mind that are clinical finishers.

Is anything being done to correct this?

If our finishing was decent it would make a phenomenal difference!

Im sure that its worked on by most coaches but one would think that its then up to the individual to work on some more.

Psychology plays a big part. Most people picture the Keeper rather than the goal when looking to shoot. They then either shoot far too wide and miss or straight at the Keeper. I always saw the goal and consequently put most shots where the Keeper wasn't. One bloke I had a season with lined up the post, and quite often hit them! Twice in one game, would you believe!!!!!!!

Who was the player that scored for us in the first half? I only saw bits and pieces of the game but that kid impressed me the most when I was watching. At one point he made an excellent weighted pass in a counter-attack that was the same quality that Mooy was doing in his final season in the A-League. It was very reminiscent of that Mooy pass to Fornaroli that we all went crazy over at the time and constantly gets posted in his highlight reels.

As for the loss, we'll wait and see how we go in the rest of the tournament. Thailand is a massive bogey team for us at nearly every level apparently, so let's not beat ourselves up reading too much into it.

One thing above all that is definitely clear is how much we need a second division/more professional clubs, because nearly all the kids from the past two or three U15 age groups have shown they have individual quality and should be playing regularly in a more professional environment alongside senior players.

I read something about these new FFA High Performance schools being implemented similar to what happens in Belgium which focuses on individual player development, do these things actually help? 

It's a mental thing more than anything, both defenders and strikers need a certain mentality. Defenders need to be smart and enjoy stopping the scorers, it's a thinking man's position. A striker needs a bit of arrogance and a fuck off attitude, or a determined one.
The No9 had technical skills, he seemed a bit like a young Juric to me which is fine. I can't remember which coach said it, but he said he would prefer a striker get into bad positions, or make poor runs, but would score if he got the chance. He said positioning and movement is much easier to teach, than actual finishing as it's more instinctual or a mentality thing.
Certain players need to be identified by personality, more than skillset, I don't think this is happening, or in my opinion that is what looks to be occurring.

pretty good variety of goals here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrlnIlX_QLY

After watching the whole game, there was more to like.

I think Australia looked the better side. Thailand were lucky to win.

Defensively, there was often an Oz second defender to support the first. Often attacks were broken up by the sage positioning of the second defender in relation to the first.

There was some more aggressive tackling from Australian CBs, the number 6 midfielder who came on and the RB. At the same time the full backs were rounded too often, with Thai wingers getting in behind too frequently .

Both goals conceded were due to Aussie mistakes. The Oz goal scored was a proactive one, from effective Australian attacking interplay.

The heat is widely discussed in Australia. Most people reading this live in Sydney, Melb or cooler areas in Oz.

To go from winter in these locations, or Canberra, to play football in midday heat in Thailand is so energy sapping. If one lives in FNQ, NT or Brisbane, the heat differential  won't seem so significant.

 As Grazor says, the 1v1 attacking abilities in take ons, from good first touches or runs at defenders, was quite impressive. The fact Thailand played a full press, made it easier to  build up through the midfield.

The speed of Oz ball movement in the attacking third, was quite impressive. The finishing was abominable.

Aerially in defensive set pieces Australia needs to improve a lot.

After tonight I'm away for 9 days. So I'll be looking at this thread to keep me abreast of events in the next few games as I'm unsure of internet access or speed.

Keep the posts coming!

History has shown it is  the only way to achieve sustained success through evidence based research.

There are no short cuts.

Good summary of the game, we will try and keep you posted with the rest of the tournament. If any streams pop up just check this thread.

Have a good break! 

I have heard before that south american countries really focus on finishing in youth training....I imagine it is something that can be developed much better than we do now

Players need a lot of extra work than normal training, or/and specialist training within general team sessions. 

I heard  Andy Harper say this occurred when he observed Brazilian teams training, but that is all I've heard.