wow...grella's was hard! legbreaker that one. timmy's was more in self defence - or rather instinct - but you cant raise your foot in the modern game :( bertos must have been in some pain...probably still is.


What do you think about the FourFourTwo article Pim Slams Star Duo?
SOCCEROOS boss Pim Verbeek has slammed the 'unprofessional' tackles of Vince Grella and Tim Cahill during Monday night's friendly against New Zealand which have left one of the All Whites' best players in danger of missing the World Cup.

Have your say.

grella's tackle was disgraceful. glad to see Pim give him the hard word and draw the line. we don't want that shit in SA.

this aint acceptable in friendlies full stop!!!!

PIM drop Vinnie now!!!

agreed pim.....if you dont stand for something...you stand for nothing....well done pimster

well done to pim for coming out and condemning the boys actions, most managers would simply say "i didnt see the incident properly to make a comment".

Given Grella's lack of play in the last 12 months due to injury and likely yellow card accumulation at the WC. I would suggest Valeri is now a better option in the starting 11.

Vinnie's been a great servant, but I fear he'll be a liability in SA.

This thing about Grella is troubling. Remember in the knock-out phase in the last Asian Cup, Australia vs Japan - it was Grella's silly mistake that got him sent off with a red card, and we were down to 10 men. Imagine if Grella lacks that self-control in the World Cup.

Bravo, I was ashamed to be in Australia kit when watching the game after those two tackles, good on ya Pim, Grella, Cahill, you are a disgrace

2 red cards against Germany won't help.

What did Bertos say to them - he must be some kind of sledger!

Will Pim have the balls to drop them for a game to show he means business? I doubt it.

Opinions on Pim may be divided but I think everyone can appreciate that he says it like it is. I can't remember another manager saying his own players were unprofessional in challenges.

Cahill's was bad and should have been a red card but compared to Grella's Cahill's was small fry. That tackle (if you can call it that) was fucking disgusting and any aussie fan should be ashamed of it.

He should not be anywhere near the starting XI. He us the definition of past it and imho is lucky to make the 23. Jedinak or Valeri would be better there(my Sydney United bias says Jedinak;) ) but either would do the job better than Grella.

This really isn't the point.

He may tell it like it is but his actions have not and will not continue to reflect what he says. It won't happen again? Really? You think Pim has that much control over either of those players?

Cahill's tackle maybe you can put it down to a rush of blood to the head. It's not a great tackle and he does lift his leg, but I think it did look worse than it really was.

But Grella has gotten especially vicious since the last World Cup and Pim has been unable to curb this kind of play. Either Pim drops him to teach him a lesson (a lesson that may not even get through to him) or he realises that Vince can no longer do the job for him. That would Pim laying down the law to his players and really telling it like it is.

Bottom line though. Pim has his favourites and is prepared to let them get away with murder.

He was pretty lucky to stay on the pitch against Brazil at the last WC as well.

Grella's tackle was disgraceful, but the elbow against japan was a soft send off. Happens every game.

He's built his career on being a 'hard' player. sometimes that goes over the top but we need an enforcer type in the lineup. He's also had no match practice so maybe just very poor judgement.

I agree it can't happen again though. Fine line between enforcer and thug. He has to stay on the right side of it. Calling for him to be dropped is a little premature though.

Valeri added much more to the team last night then ive seen Vinnie do in ages. Perhaps not unrealistic to think Valeri has a chance to pinch Vinnie's spot..

All you guys condoning Pims actions are bloody morons. If he's not going to stand by his players in the lead-up to the World Cup what the hell is he doing then?

Condemning players is for behind closed doors. Alienating the players in the media on the eve of the world cup is just bloody stupid.

Yes, Grella's tackle was stupid, he already knows that - he doesn't need his coach telling him where to go and putting him on the outer with himself, the media, the fans and his teammates and disrupting squad harmony.

Pim, you're an absolute fucking moron.

Pim can say what he wants and to whom if he sees fit. He won't alienate the players. He is not a dimwit although I don't agree with his selections or tactics.
Both Grella AND Cahill's tackles were disgraceful in any game but especially since it was a friendly. In the World Cup it would nearly guarantee us a loss.
Those 2 guys would know that what they did was wrong and hopefully they will learn even if they are panned by the media and their coach.
They both deserve to be in the first 11.
The way we played last night it won't matter who's in the squad - we're not gonna get thru the grou playing that rubbish.

Grella out of the starting 11? Grella out of the 23 man squad? #-o
What are you thinking?

It could also be argued that Grella's tackle was a rush of blood, who knows what his intentions were.

I'm also inclined to argue that the challenges we saw in the early phase of last night's game were a result of the pre-game talk. I assume the boys were told to go out and physically dominate the kiwis, the tackles from Cahill and Grella were just a reflection of the importance that was placed on this fact.

I still believe both challenges were quite ordinary.

That's just the way Grella plays, his goes in hard. It's a good and bad thing for us.

Its puts fear into your opponents, but you can get sent off.

as for Timmy's tackle, he was going for the ball, missed timed it and got Bertos, don't think he was going for him.

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Pim's tactics do that to me as well Football Man