Australian football needs to address its youth development policy if it is to compete with international rivals, says former Socceroos great Alex Tobin.

While the three seasons of the A-League has produced its sprinkle of young stars, Tobin laments the lack of structured coaching at the grassroots level, and fears for the sport’s future.

Tobin, currently the head of Central Coast Mariners’ youth development, says: “Your average parent for the under sixes doesn’t come from a soccer background, but one of them will be the coach. Since they themselves don’t have too much knowledge on the game, the early coaching that the kids receive will not be good. In Europe, the dads would have all played football themselves so they will pass on some basic techniques. We have a lot of kids coming through the system who aren’t being coached particularly well.”

Tobin stresses that instead of looking for individual wonderkids, emphasis should be placed on improving the talent pool as a whole.

“There’s a lot made of the nine year old superstar who can do everything, and in my experience that almost never happens. They say Maradona can juggle a ball when he was eight years old, well I can show you 150 kids who can juggle the ball the way he did, but that’s not to say that they’re all going to be Maradona’s.”

“I want everyone to have good coaching, but I’m more interested in making the bottom of the pyramid much bigger and having everybody coached well rather than just find the few (young superstars) and concentrate on them.

While the famed Clairfontaine Academy of Paris is the ultimate model for youth development, Tobin believes that we need not look too far from home for advice. “I went to Japan a week ago and it’s scary how much they emphasis they put on coach education. Even the youngest coaches are qualified and know what they’re doing, it’s scary.”

However, Tobin is inspired by the new youth league which the A-League has implemented prior to the start of this season, and the opportunity it would give Australian youngsters.

“The coaches were all screaming for it. We’re going to have another eighty or so players having a chance to step up to the A-League.”

Tobin argues that the most important part of a player’s life was the period where they must seriously consider turning professional, and this new youth team policy will be of great assistance.

“It’s a long path, but now that there’s a youth league, I think that it’s more likelihood that youth players, around the tender 17-19 year old stage, will at least be able to go through the A-League youth system.”

“Historically, young players try to go overseas (for trials with foreign clubs) as early as possible, but the reality of it is that 99 percent of the time they come back unsuccessful. Hopefully this system will get them to stay here and play here instead of being one of those Australians who are scratching a living playing fourth division football in England.”

While the squad is looking very exciting, the most intriguing signing must be that of Culina, as it represents something much more than just a marquee player. His homecoming is a big step towards building a better league. The fact that a current Socceroo first team member chose to pass up on the overseas paycheque for the A-League is a significant coup, not only by Gold Coast but by the league in general.

His return becomes a symbol for other Socceroos and high profile players that the A-League is growing. One of the main concerns for Aussies abroad is the perceived weakness in our league and how this places their Socceroo status in jeopardy if they chose to come home. However, Pim Verbeek lent his support behind the move, publically stating that Culina’s spot in the national side is safe. If anything, Culina’s status now as the biggest name in the A-League will enhance his position within the green and gold.

To build a better league, we naturally need more quality players, and the likes of Culina, Craig Moore, and to a lesser extent John Aloisi (back off, his return was initially met with great enthusiasm!) choosing to play at home is an encouraging sign. It shows the public that we’re not just a breeding ground for foreign clubs to poach our players from, that it’s not necessarily a one way street for quality players. Importantly, it also shows youngsters that the A-League is worth playing in, and that you don’t need to go abroad to get a career in football.

Traditionally, former greats will come home at the end of their careers and slug it out for a season or two living off their reputation, but the fact that 28 year old Culina chose to come home in the prime of his career is a step in the right direction for football in Australia.

What do you think? Was it a smart move for Culina? Did he just commit career suicide by signing with Gold Coast? Who are the other Socceroos you see coming home in the near future?

Before I criticise the dark side of the Grand final, I would like to congratulate the Newcastle Jets on a deserved victory. It was a pleasure to watch their unique stylish football, the only one of its kind in the league. The Australian public was amazing as well, especially all the fans who came down the F3 to watch the game, not to mention the atmosphere in the stadium. It seems football in our country is going from strength to strength, however, as we will see, it has its downside as well.

Unfortunately the Grand Final will be remembered for its controversies and not the brilliant strike by Mark Bridge. From the moment the first ball was kicked (almost literally) to that dramatic final whistle, there were shirts being pulled, there were death stares everywhere, pushing, pulling, and, as we all know, the referee wasn’t spared either. This is the A-League, not Rugby League. Actually, that wasn’t a fair comment, because even in the roughest of rugby games, there would only be one or two fights. In the A-League final there were at least three rough incidents between the players themselves and the referees. I have to say, Danny Vukovic deserved his 9 month ban for striking the referee.

This thuggish culture within Australian football just has to stop. Now that we are in the Asian Confederation, many already perceive us as a rough, physical nation and the referees are being influenced to hand out more fouls against us, and more yellow cards. If the biggest football game in Australia is so spiteful, what does that do to our reputation?

What about this ‘ganging up’ on referees? Sure, there was a clear hand ball in the box, and it was a penalty, but this is unacceptable, and this sort of behaviour is a dark cloud on the game. My question is this. How you EVER in the history of football seen a decision reversed? I mean why can’t the players ever get this into their head, the decision hasn’t, never has, and never will be reversed. So why all the commotion?

Referees make mistakes, but that’s just part of the game. Many (including the commentators) watching the Grand Final did not see that hand ball until they saw replays. We must accept these decisions and hope that next time the decisions go our way. There is no need to create a scene.

I remember on that fateful day when we were wrongfully knocked out of the World Cup by Italy, our boys were devastated. They did a lap of honour, didn’t talk to the referee again, and took the defeat graciously. Looking back at that now, I am so proud of them. This wasn’t a meaningless friendly, it was the biggest game ever in the history of Australian football, and they hardly complained, even though they were robbed. I hope that one day, every football team reacts in the same manner, for the good of the game.

Branko Culina said something similar when he said something along the lines of “we WILL be in the Grand Final this season”. At least “Kossie” has proven himself. I just hope he can fulfil his goals, and we Sydney fans expect nothing less! If losing is not an option, I look forward to us winning on Friday and winning the Championship on Sunday February 24. Watch out in the Asian Champions League in 2009!

The Sydney FC fans have made the hilarious claim that Pim Verbeek looks like “Goldmember” from the 2002 Austin Powers movie! You be the judge, but personally I think there is a resemblance and that it is a hilarious observation!

So Goldmember doesn’t like the A-League. Well he later clarified himself to say that he didn’t mean to offend anyone, only that it was the “reality” that the A-League was poor. When questioned about our Bundesliga boys, namely Kennedy and Beauchamp, he said that players training for Bundesliga clubs are better prepared than those who actually play in matches in the A-League. Kewell has agreed with Goldmember’s claim.

Initially I also was insulted by this claim, until I went to the semi final on Friday night. It was the most random football I’d ever seen. No plan. No strategy. No skill. No quality whatsoever. The only time anything of substance happened is when Juninho had the ball, but what was the point? He’d make a good pass but the strikers couldn’t even finish off the easiest of chances. Maybe my standards were too high, seeing as I watch Premier League every week, but I thought I could expect a little bit from the A-League. I should have stayed at home and gone on Youtube and watched a Bundesliga training session. I would have saved $25 as well.

In other somewhat related news, The LA Galaxy lost their coach yesterday effective immediately, so I’m not entirely sure who is going to Oz & NZ with the boys now. I sincerely hope General Manager Alexi Lalas doesn’t suddenly fancy himself an interum coach for the tour.

So did Baan announce the roster yet? I’m searching the internets but cannot find a press release or an article. Stay tuned…

In other news, do you think there are any permanent repercussions from the Thompson/Milicevic incident from a few weeks ago? I ask this because Archie’s name was tossed out by a fan as a possible signing for the 2008 San Jose MLS team. Could either one of them jump ship at Melbourne and take a possible offer from the US (as Fred did for DC United) at the end of the season?

Sydney FC the glamour club of the A-League. They won the inaugural A-League with the much publicised Dwight Yorke as their marquee man. With Frank Lowy at the helm, the club is supposed to be prosperous, instead, it seems, Sydney FC are becoming the Chelsea of the A-League. Their billionaire owner has decided to harshly dismiss the coach, the crowds aren’t great, the football played isn’t attractive, and there is instability on all levels at the club.

Branko Culina and Jose Mourinho should get together and have a drink. After all, each knows how the other feels. Both were harshly dismissed, suddenly, during the middle of the campaign. Chelsea is now playing catch up in their league, with many players unhappy, most notably Didier Drogba. I daresay Sydney will follow this trend and miss out on the finals in the A-League. I’m not here to hail Branko Culina’s coaching, or to say that he was a legend or anything, but he was one thing, a top bloke who gave it his all. Football is football and the coach is always the first victim in a crisis situation. That’s the reality, but even then, there are some limits, and clearly Culina wasn’t given a fair go. Only nine games in charge this season, and not a single week, did he have a full quota of players to choose from. At the end of the day, Culina probably has to take some of the blame, but my main point is, to judge a man for just nine games, is a tad harsh, don’t you think? Look at Ernie Merrick south of the border. He had a very poor first season, but came back and annihilated the opposition in Version 2. Melbourne have a stable club, a great team, and most importantly consistent crowds of over 20,000 each week.

I don’t see how Culina’s sacking can help the club at all. The instability is sure to bring more poor results. This will also lead to lower crowds. The players will surely be affected, and unless Culina’s replacement is someone along the lines of Arsene Wenger, the attractiveness of the football isn’t going to change either. The A-League is a small league. You only need to make the top half to make the finals, unlike other world leagues. Why then, was this bombshell dropped in the middle of the season? After all, Sydney are only two wins away from second spot, such is the compactness of the league. These are only the problems on the field, off the field, there is continual instability on the board of directors as well.

‘The Cove’ will continue to sing “Sydney til I die”, at the Sydney Football Stadium, and so will I, despite recent events. I will also be sitting there however, wondering whether there is a possibility that Sydney FC will die before me.

Ok, I’m focusing on MLS for a minute but *I swear* what I’m writing about is related to this blog’s subject matter. Anyhooo… with my Baby Chivas entering the postseason on top of the western table, The Los Angeles Galaxy say goodbye to 2007 today as Chicago knocked them out of that last coveted playoff spot. Oh, and on a personal note, this MLS season is shaping up to be more dramatic than the average telenovela, so I really don’t know how the powers that be are going to top it in 2008. But the point I’m getting at here is this: its not 2008 yet and now that the Gals suddenly have a lot of time on their hands, they will hopefully spend much of it getting ready for their exciting, action-packed, and thrilling friendlies coming up against Sydney and Wellington at the end of November. Well, ok, first things first. Yes, Mr. Beckham should be all better by then and despite his concerns in his official blog that “it’ll be a challenge to get back into the starting eleven,” I feel pretty confident that he’ll rise to the occasion to once again be the numero uno hombre for the Gals’ central midfield even if his time there was pretty short to begin with. Now I don’t really know what kind of promotional stuff Australia and/or New Zealand have planned around the games, but if its talk show spots, I’m throwing my two cents in for Joe Cannon and Ante Jazic on Rove or perhaps US soccer legend Cobi Jones talking about his experiences returning home to play in the inagural MLS season with socceroo John Aloisi (oooh, if either of these happen, someone please post youtube clips). Or, if Cobi decides retirement is more important than a free trip to Oz, Landon Donovan will also be available to discuss his experiences returning to MLS from the Bundesliga (but be prepared for most of the chat to focus on how much he missed In N Out burger). On another personal note, I’m actually a little bummed former Galaxy member Michael Enfield is out for the season at Sydney since I always enjoy matches a little bit more when I think players have personal vendettas. Also, I think that maybey possibly, coach Yallop might take these friendlies as an opportunity to re-acclimate star defender Chris Albright who’s been out for most of the season with a pretty bad injury. I think most everyone in the world will just recognize Albright as that guy who was sitting in the luxury box next to Beckham during the MLS season. Well, even if these games are just friendlies, I do think they’ll be thrilling, but please don’t think the results justify any arguments for or against The A-League being superior to MLS. Just as Sydney and Wellington sit now, the Gals spent much of the season perched in the middle to the bottom of the table standings. But unlike Sydney and Wellington, the Gals season is over and the suits upstairs may be a little too focused on figuring out which players get officially canned and which players get left unprotected during the looming San Jose Earthquakes expansion draft. But if there’s one thing I’ve got to say about the 2007 Los Angeles Galaxy, they certainly gave it their all on the pitch so expect to see two passionate games.