Anyway, a review of the last 12 months seems in order.

The Good:

Revenge(ish)

It was only a friendly so it doesn’t count. If you think this, you are German. What matters here is that we, Australia, triumphed over one of the current favourites for Euro 2012, in front of a home crowd, with their strongest line-up minus Neuer, Ozil and Mueller.  We went into the game with our strongest line-up minus Tim Cahill. Think about that for a second. Our most gifted player.  Was also not playing.

The point I’m making was that was a performance that reignited hope after the Asian Cup Final. The tag of “bottlers” hung uncomfortably around. To make matters worse people weren’t sure whether we would see the Pim Verbeek inspired Australia that took on Germany in Sarf Efrica 2010, or the one that has the heart, drive and physical being that has embodied our culture of sport for over 100 years. We started badly. We looked adrift, like a group of individuals. But we worked and worked. We got a break, lucky some would say, through Carney, and Kewell won a penalty shortly afterwards. It wasn’t the most stylish way to go ahead, but it was equally satisfying. The Socceroos still cannot fight these big European teams man for man, and we will lose to them in the majority of cases. But we can still stand up to them and stand up tall, just like we do to any Asian team.

Iraq:

Fix. Ref not up to it. Cheating Aussies. Bugger off.

I praised the ref in my liveblog at the time. I stand by it. Iraq showed up not to play football, but to whinge and dive and moan. The AFC turning their back on the referee was shambolic, (they banned him for the rest of the tournament for those who don’t remember) a mass media campaign over a single referee is not the way any country should deal with what was such a heart-breaking loss to them, nor should any governing body pay attention to it. The match was a confirmation of what the group stages taught us, we could keep games tighter and play the ball on the floor, but our ability to deliver under pressure was questionable. It was no classic, but it exemplified our maturation as a team, as a soccer culture as a whole

Uzbekistan:

(The lack of decent highlights annoys me too alright?)
It was good to watch. Kruse got his first goal. Uzbekistan dazzled and scored some brilliant goals in the tournament up to that point, but we made them look ordinary.

Mile Jedinak.

For me, this man solved the Carl Valeri debate. He emerged at the Asian Cup to offer us a more cultured, attacking minded defensive midfielder, like Carl Valeri can be when on form.

He’s not Andrea Pirlo. But he’s an indispensable squad player, still young, sand helping Crystal Palace to spectacular things in the English League Cup this year. He’s an unsung hero who gets his job done without fuss, like Valeri can be when on form. But 3 yard sideways passes do not win you a game, Jedinak’s better all-round game could well do, and fills a hole in our team evident since the decline of Grella and Kasey Wehrman.

Josh Kennedy

7 Socceroos goals. Loads.

Brett Emerton, Kewell, and the A-League in general.

While Central Coast Mariners are running away with it a little bit, I’ve enjoyed this year more than any other. The quality seems much higher, and it’s one of the most difficult Finals Series to call since the inception CCM look good now, but they do have that priceless ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. While Brett and Harry haven’t torn up the League, the “buzz” they’ve created really has been beneficial.

The Bad

World Cup Qualifiers so far.

Oman away especially. The Saudia Arabia game was good if not great, and the Socceroos dealt with Oman fairly comfortably at home, but not only have they failed to stamp the mark on a fairly easy group, we have been playing with the same squad that played in the Asian Cup, plus Josh Kennedy. There’s been a distinct lack of ambition to phase out some of the less able players, and besides Spiranovic, no-one has really been bedded in to start Soccer matches for Australia, even if players like Brosque and Kruse have been given opportunities off the bench.

The Olyroos, i.e. the group of players that we will look to in 2014.

FOUR out of 6 group games played, all 0-0, except for a 2-0 loss Football at its best. Worryingly they seemed tactically outmanoeuvred like 0-0 was their only option. I’ll save major criticism until the end of the campaign but we’ll see.

Japan

Why David Carney vacated Tadanari Lee at the back post to give the front post a hug I have no idea. How Kewell missed of four his chances to beat Kawashima is a mystery. Why Kawashima wasn’t sent off for timewasting I don’t know. What was clear though, was how much we could bleed collectively for the Socceroos. The loss hurt, but it is on these moments we will inspire ourselves for 2014 and 2015. It wasn’t Italy 2006 by a long shot, but it hurt.

The Utterly Depressing

Matt McKay

Pre-August, this man was top of the “good” list. A talented workhorse of what is at heart a brilliant orchestrator of a midfielder and a team for the Roar, a brilliant tactical option for the Socceroos, out wide or in the middle, with an eye for a pass as good as this Isle has seen in recent years. But:

3 appearances with 2/3 of the season done. He’s trying to say otherwise, but he made the wrong move. Whatever Rangers are doing I have no idea. He hasn’t had too many injury problems. He played himself into mainstream European attention a year ago, now he may have to play back home. It’s a shame and it might work out. But the truth is, a talented player is spending some of his best years at a club where he doesn’t get picked. I fear for his Socceroos place. McKay represents, sadly, a worrying trend for young Australians. Seeing them ship off to Europe and back again (like Dario Vidosic). Australians struggle in European leagues outside our select bunch of elite players ( Cahill, Kewell, Schwarzer Emerton.)  While it’s good to see Australia’s finest in the larger leagues to act as role models, but the truth remains that the average Australian professional footballer still lacks something that can make them big in Europe. It could be a problem of tactics and movement, stemming from a lack of influence from countries that are not England. (as Craig Foster will tell you all about.) Maybe they just still lack the technical ability to strike a football like European players. But until Australia can make its average player play in the bigger leagues, maybe not just in Europe but around the world, the Socceroos will never make the jump to world football elite. While McKay is not set in stone to be one of these players, he currently represents the growing trend for young players that leave the A-League

Tim  Cahill

( I wrote this before he scored against Blackburn  for the record)

His only goals this year.

I really don’t know. If you watch Tim, there’s nothing blatantly wrong. He doesn’t seem to give the impression of a lack of effort, but his mind seems of. Too many times he’s hesitated on a trademark late surge into the box, for too long he’s tried to do too much with his head rather than his feet. For Australia, he struggles to emphasise that he is the man. The one we look to. Too often he sits and plays the easy pass, or makes the wrong decision. Cahill isn’t in decline as a footballer; it’s clearly a mental problem. It could simply stem from a lack of confidence given he hasn’t scored a goal in so long, but more worryingly it could be a lack of faith in his own ability.

If I was to be really skeptical, I’d say the problem could well sit with his current situation. Talented though he still is, his last shot at glory with the Roos passed at the 2011 Asian Cup. His role in 2014 will be probably as an experienced head off the bench a la Cuauhtemoc Blanco for Mexico. with Everton furiously stagnating in the mid table region of the declining Premier League, i’d place a good bet that all Tim needs is a change of scenery. I mean no offence to Everton; they are a likeable club with decent history and an underrated fan base. But for a player entering his twilight years, failing to play in European competition is probably not where Cahill imagined himself 7 years ago when he joined Everton.

Far from it. Oman aren’t exactly Holland or Brazil, but they have a very capable manager in Paul Le Guen, who managed Lyon and PSG to 3 League titles and a French Cup respectively. He’s done something only a trio (him, Zaccheroni of Japan and Rijkaard of Saudi Arabia) of managers in Asia have done, and won trophies in Europe’s big leagues. Once they edged ahead, this really showed, they found ways to limit us and hit us on the break, with Mark bailing us out more than once.

Yet to be the best, we have to best the likes of Le Guen. Tactically astute he may be, but his squad lacks the talent of ours. Worrying me more is the ease in which he restricted us.

One of the great strengths of a 4-4-2 is also its flaw. A system where two midfielders sit, the full backs and wingers go on and one striker (Kewell) drops deeper to feed the other (Kennedy) is easy for the players to understand, and allows for attacking verve in the middle and out wide. However, on that token, it is easy to counter. Negate the wingers, and they are forced inside or very deep out of frustration, and everything is very central, which if you play with 3 or more Centre midfielders, is just what you want. We have two capable central midfielders in Jedinak and Valeri, who for me can contain all of the midfielders in Asian on a good day. What they can’t do very often, is make the difference in attack.

For that we relied on Kewell to pull the strings, spray the passes out and run at the defence. But his form has been nothing g special, he is old and he rarely plays with Kennedy up front. The cohesion was simply not there. It was little surprise when he was hooked, but what Osieck bafflingly did, was to put Kruse on.

I like Kruse. He’s quick and offers something different. But his urge is to be on the shoulder of the last defender, and use his pace to get behind them. What he is bad at, is the Harry Kewell playmaker role. He doesn’t have the creativity, and the way he plays for club and country isn’t going to develop it

For me, our problem was one of tactics. Now, we had Kennedy and Kruse far up the pitch with the wingers too deep or too far forward, and Jedinak and Valeri trying to play pinpoint passes, or striding the ball forward a la Xavi or Iniesta.

But they are not Xavi and Iniesta. Which is why it is so unfathomable to me, that we left Mitch Nichols on the bench. Why leave a play so capable of making excellently timed runs into the box, like against Adelaide for the Roar, someone capable of sending the centre midfielders running, to bring others into the game. Why leave a player who has been doing this all season, is fresh and ready from playing so few games, not only on the bench, but on the bench when we had a free substitute, left unused, as Holman toiled in vain to do anything useful, while Valeri was clearly ill-equipped in his defensive slowly slowly approach to break the Oman defence down is disconcerting. I called these games formal friendlies, for experimenting. Yet we had no experiment, just the same formation, with the same players (bar three I think), and no way of changing it. Verbeek changed his system too late. Let’s hope Osieck changes his soon, or at least gives us a plan B. Changing Kewell for Kruse is good at a glance, but Kruse is no playmaker, yet we had one on the bench.

Osieck is a great manager, underrated and didn’t deserve to be treated the way the Red Diamonds treated him 4 years ago. Had we won, I’d be lavishing praise on the 4-4-2. He stuck to his beliefs which is fine, but we need to find that back-up plan very soon. Whether it’s a 4-3-3- or a 4-2-3-1 or 1-1-8 I don’t care. But we must adapt in a situation like this. With us cruising through to the next round. The next round where we will not cruise at all if we have to face a South Korea or a Japan, such mistakes will be unacceptable. Should players be removed from the squad on this performance? No.. Should we stay calm and remember all the progress we’ve made so far, but build on it rather than copying it? Yet.

(Next game is Thailand, which pleasingly occurs while I’m not at home, so expect a alte round up as I find a way to watch the game.)

Goalkeepers
Mark Schwarzer (Fulham)
Adam Federici (Reading)
Nathan Coe (SonderjyskE)

Nothing wrong here, Federici needs game time, Coe needs to fetch the water bottles and bibs for the people good at football.

Defenders
Lucas Neill Al Jazira
Sasa Ognenovski Seongnam Ilhwa
Matt Spiranovic Urawa Red Diamonds
Luke Wilkshire Dinamo Moscow
Rhys Williams Middlesbrough
Michael Zullo FC Utrecht

I personally see these games as the ideal opportunity to get Spiranovic the game time he needs, as weel as experimenting with him and Ognenovski, as Osieck always plays Neill and one of the two, but because Neill isn’t in great form, or at a decent club for that matter, his days are numbered. Zullo seems to know something about Osieck’s past that Carney doesn’t, as will start at left. Wilkshire could be rested for my money.

Midfielders
Brett Emerton Sydney FC
Carl Valeri Sassuolo
Matt McKay Rangers

Mile Jedinak Crystal Palace
Neil Kilkenny Bristol City
Brett Holman AZ Alkmaar
Mitch Nichols Brisbane Roar
Adam Sarota FC Utrecht
Chris Herd Aston Villa
James Troisi Kayserispor

Mitch Nichols made me genuinely happy. He’s been excellent so far this season, especially in the recent 7-1. He’s a good player, who could be solution to the more attacking centre midfield option i keep harking on about. McKay seems set for the left of midfield, so that extra option is worth experimenting with. Holman’s forgotten he’s not actually very good at football and has been banging the goals in this season and could also play there. Choices choices.

Herd is an interesting one. He’s a good player. Is he also temperamental with discipline problems  looming large? Yes. He’s worth a try for these friendlies, but while he’s probably a better footballer that Jedinak or Valeri, their experience at this level should see them penned in for the more important games. Herd’s an option at right back too. Emerton hasn’t had a great start in the A-league despite what i said before the season started so i’d rather see someone else tried out there, maybe Wilskhire.

Strikers

Harry Kewell Melbourne Victory
Joshua Kennedy Nagoya Grampus
Robbie Kruse Fortuna Dusseldorf
Alex Brosque Shimizu S-Pulse

Kewell doesn’t warrant the call up but he’s Kewell, so he’ll probably play. Kennedy’s the J-League top scorer so is a must, Kruse is still being embedded (well it must be said) into the system, Brosque is (as Thailand will tell us), a useful option off the bench. No Cahill because he’s been really poor recently, and for the last year. Worrying signs.

Having said that about Kewell and Emerton, this is the one real chance we are going to get to judge their longevity. I want them both in the team because they are legends, but that’s the only real reason. I look at Wilkshire and think how ready he is for that right winger role, the same goes for Kruse up front. They are our golden generation, and the reason soccer even exists in this country today, but we must end their international careers at the right time. f they don’t make 2014, might as well be in the next 12 months. You cannot design a system, where you could replace the key players just 2 or less years before the World Cup, it has trouble written all over it.  I know Osieck understands this, and hopefully the players do too. We will soon see how long those players have left in them.

We actually have a replacement for Kewell lined up. his name’s Tommy Oar and  he’s got 3 assists and a goal in 9 games this year. He was also our only bright light at the U-20 World Cup. He’s also not in the squad. Neither is Rukavytsya. Neither is Vidosic. To be honest, our squad barely changes between each time, and these players always miss our, regardless of form. Our model is decent, but it’s not going to be great When 2014 rolls around. Verbeek taught us defensive football does us no good. bring in the young flair players and let’s make some damn progress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c9dZuU5bRs

There. “Canberra curse” broken, Kennedy got goals, players got a run out. I’m not fussed, neither is anyone else so we’ll leave it at that:

Oman:

Let’s not mix words here: we’ve pretty much made it through this round of play offs.

Not that it was unexpected. Nor will any fact make that opening statement look ridiculously arrogant. But, Osieck must now take a look at our fixtures, and ponder for what are they all really worth. Because really, they are simply just 3 friendlies. 3 friendlies, two of which in often uncomfortable conditions yes, but we have been playing in these conditions for about 5 years now. It’s awkward in Asia when you have a group of teams so obviously above most of the others, but we must take lessons from what we learn. This is what I learnt:

1: Rhys Williams has a hell of a cross on him (see 1^st vs Oman goal and the fourth against Malaysia). If Emerton doesn’t make 2014 (likely), then a right wing of Wilkshire and Williams has all the makings to replicated the Emerton – Wilkshire partnership; pragmatic and a liitle static, but reliable for defence and attack.

As for our left wing? This mother has scored some biblically good goals of late and MUST be tried out: Tommy Oar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfDp66rh7n8

Pace, dynamism and everything we lack. Now is the perfect time to bed him in.

2: Jedinak must start. That finish against Oman won’t get the credit it deserves. He’s like Valeri, but quicker and less valuble.

3: Equally, we need a creative midfielder alongside him. The whole two defensive midfield thing makes our play a little slow and predictable. I’ve called for Mckay, but he may not be the long term option. It’s good to have this more defensive tactic (works well against Germany as we’ve already seen), but it would be equally good to have a plan B in centre mid. Cahill shold be considered given my next point

4: Kennedy must start. His goal to games ratio for the Socceroos is better than one in every two games. He needs either a poacher like Brosque or a creative deep lying striker like Kewell to direct his flick ons to and to maximise his potential. When him and Cahill go up top, the two tend to make the same runs and go for the same high balls.

5: Arrange some high profile friendlies to balance out the recent Malaysia one. England would be amazing (if unlikely) but a South American team may get us used to the different style of play.

6: The Socceroos can operate just fine without their big name players, unlike certain other nations.

So we have a friendly against Malaysia on the 7^th of October. I didn’t know this until earlier today, so let me break down my reaction when I heard into two parts:

Oh a friendly. Malaysia aren’t very good, but it could be worth the attention.

Then:

Isn’t October the 7^th frighteningly close to the start of the new A-League season, a tv marketing fantasy, especially now the League is bursting at the seams with Socceroos, who fans will now flock to see? I hope all these Socceroos will play at the start of this important season for Soccer in Australia… oh.

Let me break this down.

Malaysia aren’t very good. Barely worth our time. However, do we owe the AFC some privilages, such as making a high profile (for them) friendly with a developing footballing nation, given they disregarded the whole principles of geography to get us into the AFC and improve as a footballing nation ourselves? Yes. Could the friendly have been schedules at any other time that is not the start of the A-league season given we have 0 other friendlies scheduled this year or next? Yes. Is this the most piss-poor piece of management we have ever seen from the FFA? Ye…well no in the grand scheme of things. Is it another unacceptable decision from a poorly managed governing body? Yes.

Has Osieck made himself my new favourite person in the world by firmly drawing a line under the situation and not calling any of them up? Yes.

Are we going to have to live this competent as the year goes on? Yes. It’s that time of year again:

A LEAGUE 2011/12

As the Socceroos blogger, I’m going to look at this from a green and gold viewpoint.

Matt Mckay has departed. And he’s gone to Scotland, which isn’t  a great league, but he should at least get a shot at the European competitions, even if it is just qualifiers. While I’m pleased he’s got a big move…he could of aimed a little bigger for me. He’s a cultured, continetial player, not a kick and run player that Scotland thrives off. But apparently it is his decision and not mine. The A-League and Brisbane Roar have lost a key member, who taught that A-league players could make a big impact for the Socceroos. He may even be responsible for that bloke at Melbourne Victory.

And he’s FFA player of the year. Well done him.

Harry Kewell:

4 pissing months this shit dragged on. The number of times it was on then off. It hasn’t made this moment any sweeter. He’s on a ridiculous wage paid by the FFA in part, and does not encourage clubs to be self-sufficient. He’s also injury prone and old, and he probably will fall out the any manager that comes on.

However, he is also a brilliant player, and scored THAT goal against Croatia. He’s played in the Champions League Final; he’s helped us to an Asian Cup final. He broke the mode of physical workhorses that Australian players were perceived as, and was divinely gifted at actually kicking a round football, the bit that makes the sport the most watched the world over. He represents a past Socceroos age, but also how the future must be for every youth institution in the country. And just for that, so long as he has in excess of one functioning limb, he deserves a place. He will not be the best player in the A-league for me, far from it, but he will reel in the fans, whether Victory are home or away. He’s made a right arse of himself, again, and he will have to redeem it, again.

Brett Emerton:

For me, hands down the most important signing for any league, anywhere. Even more than Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, more than Zlatan Ibrahimovic permanently to AC Milan. Brett isn’t as gifted as those two, nor is he still in his 20’s. What Brett Emerton is, is a player perfectly capable of playing at the top division in England for another 2 or 3 years, coming to play in the A-League. He can still outrun most players in the World over a 90 minute period, and he’s got a decent cross on him. Returning to his hometown club, a club DESPERATLEY in need of rejuvenation. It’s a bigger fantasy than Kewell to Victory, regardless of what the general population might think, and he sets the precedent for other to follow him. I bloody love the man (from a footballing perspective), as much as you can love a pragmatic right wingerback thing. He’s a gentleman, and he’s the one to watch. No Pressure.

Dario Vidosic:

Another person who returns after not being his best in a better league. Good addition and good for the average age statistics, but as I’ve said, not around for long. Brilliant signing for Adelaide all the same.

(Full round-up soon, plus an Oman preview)

(I didn’t realise this hadn’t gone up, and for that I apologize)

The result was good,  not great, and more importantly, the performance was good, not great, and so very very nearly appalling. The Thailand syndrome of questionable decisions and sudden mind lapses was very much evident again for the first 20 minutes. The passing was lax, the runs uncreative, and Kennedy was the main target from the long punt forward, yet again.

There was of course a step up after 2o minutes, but that was inevitable as we adjusted to the heat and the pitch and so on. But the team still lacked that instinct, that sudden run by someone to open up the passing options, the mark of a great team. Right now, I do not know if the problem is mental, or in the future. 4-4-2 is tried and tested, solid and accommodates our players with some success, But what it conclusively is not, is enough to bring us the future.

4-4-2 operates under predictable pretences. The norm is to have two strikers, with one tending to drop deep and drift out wide, with two wingers who press on, and in our case supported by the full backs, with our centre mids sitting deeper. It can create 2 on 1 situations as we see Emmo and Wilkshire do for the first goal, but it’s not perfect. If a team spreads itself correctly, they tend to leave enough players back to swamp the forwards centrally, and to block of the inside channels to the wingers, forcing crosses.

Now, crosses are perfectly valid ways of scoring goals, as we saw at 1-0, but the actual ratio of crosses that connect is a woeful statistic, I’d estimate 1 in 5 reach a player of the same team, and 1 in 10 reach the intended target. They can work, but they cannot be the only game plan. For the most part, SA and Thailand got this right, and we saw our options limited, hence the poor performances. There must be change, whether it’s Mckay playing in the centre and being given the playmaking responsibility like Culina was given and changing the focus of the passing or changing formation entirely. Osieck’s a good manager and must recognise this, and now is the time. I this group stage we have underperformed and won all our games. The next stage will not be so forgiving.

But I am grateful. Teams need shit to go against them to function. We had a very very good qualifying campaign, but come the World cup we looked too defensive. England had a very very good qualifying campaign, only losing once, but come the World Cup they were disjointed and tactically outmanoeuvred by the footballing powerhouses of Algeria. Spain suffered early in the actual tournament, and it focused the minds, the system was tweaked, and the rest is history. Teams need struggles to prepare for the big time, and we’ve been given the reality check we need. Australia did not learn in the 2010 qualifying that our squad was too old and a pale imitation of 2006, thus we learnt it at the wrong moment. I learn here the 4-4-2 that reached us an Asian Cup final must change. The footballing culture in this country must too.  The problem is not what most of our professional media think , I.e. “the players did not try hard enough you’d never see that in the AFL! Soccer is rubbish isn’t it?*”

*Reference to The Footy Show fully intentional.

** Also if you have all been assaulted by the spelling by the bots selling “soccer cleats” in the comments, the I do apologize, I’m working on it.

90+2′ Through ball to Cahill puts him one-on-one but he is incorrectly called offside.

89′  Kennedy off, Milligan on. The majority of the crowd are off too.

87′ Retaining possession, Kennedy comes deep to defend, loses it, but comes to nothing. Decent performance tonight, after 40 minutes anyway.

85′ Holman sacrificed for Cahill. Good effort from Brett an assist is not a bad evening’s work.

83′ Time ticking away. Ognenovski smoothly brings it out of defence.

82′ Holman gets stamped on, the offender gets a booking. Rightly so.

80′ OFF THE BAR, KSA freekick, headed quite brilliant;y onto the bar. Fine margins.

78′ Blood pressure = lowered. Kruse comes on now for Zullo.

76′ Corner put in, shirt pulling Penalty Socceroos. GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL Wilkshire. Right in the top corner, brilliant penalty.

Would of liked Kennedy to take it but never mind.

75′ The players are really tired. If only we had the oppurtunity to replace one of these tired players with a fitter one who has spent the time sitting down somewhere. Or maybe, if we are crazy, three players could come off and 3 could come on.

74′ Corner won. Chance for us to slow the tempo a little.

70′ Smooth ball through to Holman, who gets his feet tangled up and the chances passes. had he taken the right touch, that was a certain goal.

68′ Saudi Arabia have been fine so far and pretty sporting, but that was a desperate dive. KSA will be tainted by the Australian media like the Italians were, which would be a little unfair.

67′ Saudi Arabia stream forward and have shot that Ognenovski stands well up to. Claims it hit his arm, (it didn’t) but I don’t care if he caught the ball, Saudi Arabia have had their luck.

66′ Number 9 for SA can fuck right off. Shameful dive, Zullo was running behind him, barely touched him, but he hit the fucking floor. Pen is saved but rebound is put back in.

64′ game resumes. PENALTY TO SA!

63′ The most pathetic flare or smokey thing has been thrown on the pitch and we have a bit of a delay here.

60′ My attention wanders. Bed is looking quite tempting but i will set an example to the players and stay professional and see out the game until it is won.

57′ GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL Holman charges forward, after an awful kick from the keeper, hits a short reverse pass to Kennedy who bursts into the box and steers it home. Good combination from the two of them, 2-0. Suddenly, a very dull game looks like becoming a very professional performance from the ‘roos.

55′ That number 7 is a troublesome devil as he manages to win a SA corner. Eventually goes out for a goal kick.

54′ Cool as you like Zullo nicks the ball off the toe of number 7 and charges forwards. A decent break eventually sees SA regain possession again.

53′ More pressing, more poor passing, i’m more convinced the game is going to finish 1-0. which i’ll take as of now. SA head straight at Mark, who holds on.

49′ Things happen, none of them important. Snore.

46′ KICKOFF

That was dire, but we are ahead. The pressure is off now, lets see the real Socceroos.

45′ Emmo tracks back to dispossess a Saudi player on the edge of our area with a brilliant tackle.  HALF

42′ Wilkshire is released on the right again twice but one cross is well cleared and the other is just flat out rubbish.

39′ GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL KENNEDY!!!! Our first decent move in the match sees a brilliant Wilkshire cross meet Kennedy’s head, who’s about 16 yards out, but he thunders his header home, even if the SA keeper was suspect.

Wilkshire-Kennedy. Netherlands  2008. Memories.

35′ Holman breaks, cuts inside level with the penalty box and bends his shot very wide. We are stretching the SA defence, and that is good, even if everything else isn’t.

33′ Positive: Zullo has done a decent job so far, hasn’t been as woeful as everyone else. Then again, i’ve sucessfully completed more passes in the last 30 minutes than Neill

32′ Kennedy is hauled down and we win a freekick. Ther resulting move see’s a chipped ball float woefully to far and the SA keeper collects.

32′ SA Cross sails through our box again without any defender getting anywhere near it. We can’t keep taking these risks.

29′ Through ball to Kennedy looks promising, but it is a touch too hard for Kennedy.

27′ Drama as my stream that im watching the match on fails, then tragically starts again.

24′  Holman has 50 caps. Just take that in for a bit.

22′ I can’t even account for good Saudi Defending so far either, all they’ve done is put bodies behind the ball.

17′ Bad passing, bad defence, and most a lack of effort so far. One and a bit games into the Campaign and i’m already losing my optimism.

15′ Saudi Arabia number 7 fires a cross shot norrowly wide of his strike Partners foot and the post. Again Neill. If he wasn’t captain he’d be out.

Cahill, Mark, Og Kewell and Emmo have all been dropped recently, and Neill is worthy of some bench-time too. Neill does forget he has to try sometimes.

Point for that almost own-goal: Neill was no where to be found. I know he’s not been playing of late but he’s gotten so slow recently. If Ognenovski outlasts him i would not be surprised.

Og- Spira centre back in 2014 makes me feel quite awesome. Imagine the crosses we could clear with those two.

13′ Zullo and Mckay stand far too far off Saudi Arabias right winger, who has an age to get in a cross that fortunatley falls to no one.

9′ Christ alive, Saudi Arabia break, 2 on one 2 at the edge of the box, slipped in, Valeri marks the runner in who tumbles theatrically, and then slams the ball against Schwarzer. In short, Mark just made a brilliant save from Carl Valeri. Bodes well so far doesn’t it?

4 redux: Scrap that he won a croner. Wilkshire lifts it into the keepers arms with some precision.

4′ Decent pressing so far given the heat. Zullo has a little charge forward but it comes to nothing

2′ usual early game back-passing shenanigans.

0′ Kick off, Saudi Arabia keeper gets ball within moments.

-2: Mark

Wilkshire Neill Og  ZULLO

Emmo Valeri Jedinak Mckay

Kennedy Lolman

-7 : Here we go, no Cahill, as predicted by your truely, and as is Ognenovski, offering proof Osieck reads this blog

National anthems now.

Just broke my stream trying to turn the sound up listening to our national anthem. It may be a sign.

-20 Getting there now, team news should be imminent

Also, it’s evening in Saudi Arabia and floating around 30/110 Degrees. As countries go, we are fairly well prepared for this, but still.

-42 Morning all. Worrying sings from Osieck’s earlier press conference that he may name an UNCHANGED team. It must be a mind game of some description, but if it isn’t, i’m worried.

Saudi Arabia is at GMT +3, kicks off 8:30 local time, You do the maths, but biblically early basically.

The performance was inexcusable. It’s difficult to put my finger on the real problem. Mckay at left back is the glaring one, but that does not explain the baffling lack of tactical nous. Thailand’s keeper and centre backs all had outstanding games, but players playing well against us should really be taken as the norm.

It is very easy to dismiss the performance as ‘just football’. Just bad luck, a part of sport.

But what i cannot shift from the depths of my mind, is that the performance came from complacency. The dreaded C word. Printed multiple times in every source after the 2007 Asian Cup and for good reason. That tournament was dogged with the shifting of the Guus Hiddink reign of stability and class to a gamble with  Graham Arnold, who while a good player and fine coach, was easy to walk over in the biggest job of his career. There was a blatant air of the players walking over him, playing on their terms, not his. They had not the confidence to win the shootout against Japan, not even to put up a fight against Iraq. The situation was, in general, a bit of a mess.

And no matter what you make of the last game, it’s not quite at that level.

Calls for revolution, for Neill to be removed as captain, for Kennedy to be chucked out, for Cahill played forever , for anything are premature. We were complacent, we failed to grasp the game when we had the opportunity, but there is no need for panic. Thailand scored a very good goal from their only real chance, and they were never going to score again. our problem lay in the loss of composure and faith in Osieck’s tactics. Against New Zealand we used Kennedy in the right head-to-feet ratio, and it made the team work. I can’t imagine a man of such experience honestly said to Luke Wilkshire his brief is to punt the ball forward at every opportunity. It was a mental lapse from the players, but just a lapse. We did not snatch at chances, nor undertake my number one frustration of bombing long shot after long shot in the general direction of the goal. Eventually, our approach paid off and we got the win. The important thing is to remind ourselves of the game plan. Saudia Arabia have a good coach in Rijkaard who you can be sure will have his players adhering to his game plan. Osieck is so, so capable at this level, and if we find the approach that felled Germany and reached us the Asian Cup final, we should breeze past Saudi Arabia

Should.

Tactics:

Mckay, out wide, in the centre  or naught. Kilkenny is the prime candidate for removal, and so is Holman. He’s got attacking qualities, use them.

Probable formation:

Mark

Wilkshire Neill Ognenovski Zullo

Emerton Valeri Jedinak Mckay

Cahill/Kennedy, Brosque.

Brosque warrants the start, Osieck pulled Tim (for me with great wisdom) so he may not start again. But i can’t see  Kennedy and Cahill being paired again.  Spira may not be favoured in a very different environment and Holman is well overdue a short break on the bench.

(Kennedy 60, Brosque 87)

Not ideal indeed, the the three points is what matters. Enjoy your evenings.

Thailand bamboozle Neill ,corner given… ball in..cleared FULL TIME

92′ 30 seconds to go…

91 (+3) Troisi on for Holman.

90′ We attempt to hold on to a one goal lead against Thailand at home. not ideal but i’ll take it with both hands.

88′ Oh yeah, Brosque came on for Emerton. The goal came from a great Mckay cross as well. The ball hit Kennedy’s hand before Brosque scored, but it was by his side and we deserve the luck from the earlier Cahill decision.

87′ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Cross comes in, several clumsy attempts are made to bundle the ball into the goal, by kennedy but it eventually falls to BROSQUE who steers it home. Lifesaver

85′ Wilskhire freekick falls to Neill, but he heads at the keeper.

81′ They don’t, a series of non events sees us win a corner. Nothings comes of it.

78′ But then Thailand win a corner. If they score again I will burst.

77′ Thailand hit a cross-field ball too long and we win a throw.

75′ “someone” is Emerton by the way.

74′ Kruse, Kennedy and someone else all fluff a chance. Kennedy should shoot from the cross, someone should have got the follow up and Kruse should have shot better when the ball came to him.

72′ Corner amounts to nothing. Cahill off for Kruse

70′ Freekick won 20 yards out. WILKSHIRE shoots but parried over.

70′ Kruse is being readied. On 70 Minutes. Hopefully not too late.

68′ Cahill turns on the edge of the 18 yard box but his shot trickles into the keepers arms.

66′ Thai free kick now level with the 6 yard box wide left…cleared with ease, but not very well.

66′ Emerton Crosses, but Cahill’s header is brilliantly saved.

64′ INCREDIBLE! Cahill out jumps the keeper from the corner and bunles it ove rthe line, but farcically, the goal is ruled out! Cahill jumped fairly, and outjumped the keeper, who had his arms out, the ball wasn’t in two handss and Cahill scores. Just baffling refereeing.

Corner won

62′ The goal came after a good pass by Kilkenny. Well done, but i’m sure thats the first positive thing ive ever seen him do for us.

60′ GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL a slick move at last sees Kennedy tap in his tenth goal after the keeper parries a shot. Mckay made the move, by being in an attacking position. Hint Hint. slipped through to Mckay on the edge of the area, he breaks, shoots, keeper pushes it out.

57′ Mckay caught out of position and Spira has to run out of position to cover, leaving a a huge gap. Luckily, the Thai final ball is poor. Admit your mistake Holger and shift the team around, it’s almost 60 minutes.

55′ I will allow a cross to Kennedy if it’s good and closer that 30 yards to the goal. Which Emerton does, but Kennedy can’t get the power on the header. needs someone running beyond him, like Kruse

52′ We have not been awful, or lazy or complacent or whatever. we’ve just been unlucky at times. That’s football. But kicking the ball long to Kennedy again is moronic. Him and Cahill are decent with their feet, lets bloody use them. A low cross would not be amiss.

50′ Better Cross, keeper caught in no man’s land, Cahill heads it inexplicably wide. I’m worried. We may have the shock on the cards, the ball just will not go in.

48 We need a new focus up front. Whether it’s Kruse or a change of formation ,we need it.

46′ Chipped in to Kennedy, nothing happens. For. Fucks. Sake.

45′  KICKOFF

47′ Half Time. Boos ring around a little prematurely.

43′ Low ball to Kennedy is flicked with the big man’s feet and he sets uo Cahill, one on one. He should score but he is closed down and his shot bounces into the ground and into the keepers arms. Not good enough.

42 – Brett Holman cuts inside, beats a couple of defenders and fires over. That’s fine, it was a bit of variety and not a long ball to Kennedy.

40 – Given away on the edge of the Thai pen area, break sees Thailand acheive very little.

38′ 62% possession, freekick 35 yards out, chipped in. Goal Kick.

37′ Wilskhire, long ball, claimed by the GK

34′ Thailand have a player down and Australia seize the opportunity for a bit of team talk.

30′ Spiranovic charges forwards and chips the ball into the box, but Thailand clear. That was good attacking play from our centre back there.

28′ Ball pumped in mindlessly to Kennedy again. Not the style of football we are going for. For all my lavishing of  Wilkshire the other week, he’s the worst culprit.

24 – Moore makes the good point that Kilkenny’s passes are the ones being cut out the most. I’ve said it so many times. He’s not good at anything, passing, tackling, shooting, he’s just average in every department and runs around a lot.. Mckay is twice the passer Kilkenny is, and such jack of all trades are not good enough at international level. Even against Thailand.

22 – Wilkshire bombs one forward, Kennedy takes it down, but  he gets tackled by Number Four Tim Cahill and loses control, ball cleared to Lolman who fires at the keeper.

Yeah you read that right. Lack of communication or what. Craig Moore’s input on Al Jazeera – Osieck not pleased with the tempo.

20 – The full back beaten in order to allow the cross? Matt Mckay. He doesn’t belong there, this sort of thing is going to happen if we be so complacent. If he cant fit in the team, fuck the fact its his farewell. The team comes first.

19 – With that goal, we seem to have lost all composure and shape. We can’t panic, if we get back to our game plan we will get the opportunities.

18 – A bit of pressure results in a corner,but the goalkeeper claims.

13 – We were sloppy there, but that was a good cross and a good finish. Not a lot we could do.

12 – Um. Goal Thailand. Valeri gives it away in Midfeild, break down the Right, get beyond the last Australia defender, deep corss, Neill is too slow to cut the cross out and number 10 runs in at the back stick to steer it in.

10- Kennedy knocks it down to Cahill again, but his chest is wayward and he cvan only pass it back to Valeri about 25 eards out. Valeri shoots. Have a guess at the result.

9 – Kennedy knocks down a cross, Thailand defender mis kick it and ythe ball bobbles on the edge of the 6 yarder, but the goalkeeper makes a meal when cahill connects with him and the chance passes.

7- Cahill leaps like Cahill but ball is blocked on the line from a corner. Final ball so far has been excellent, Thais really on the back foot.

5 – Thailand finally get some possession but their striker gets his feet mixed up and we get possession again.

3- Good to see we are giving Mckay his Brisbane farewell by playing him in the wrong position.

1- Cross comes in on the edge of the six yard box but Kennedy can’t get a toe on it.

0 – KICK OFF

-1 We are 3 minutes late so my countdown is redundant really.

-1 Not singing our anthem should be a crime, players and fans alike.

-1 Thailand’s anthem is decent. Calling it.

-2 Kilkenny or Mckay at Left Back is interesting.

Attendance of 22,000. For a game against Thailand, that is pretty good.

-3 STREAM WORKS

Schwarzer,

Wilkshire Spira Neill Kilkenny?

Emerton Valeri Mckay Brett Lolman

Cahill Kennedy

-5 Streaming is very very difficult but ive got one provided Al-Jazeera stop showing peaceful pictures of boats in the ext few minutes. Those over 18 can get better streams over at bet 365 and Unisport.

Game starts at 8PM Brisbane time. (GMT+10)

Football is back. If you follow more than one league in your life then you’ve probably heard that a billion times as of late.

However, the Socceroos are back in competitive action and that is, i’m sure we can all agree, the pinnacle of sport.

OK i am being dramatic, but there are World Cup qualifiers coming up, against Thailand on the 2nd at 20:00 in Brisbane, then against Saudi Arabia on the 6th. At the moment we can safely say this is “only” Thailand and “only” Saudi Arabia, but we must make good progress, slip ups can be unforgivable. The aim is to finish top, which we should manage comfortablly. The true aim must be to get our squad sorted. These games are far from ,what many have dismissed them as, pointless. To ween out those becoming too old to play, those not good enough, and to look at those who are worth bedding in. Kewell, Neill, Ognenovski, Cahill, Emerton* will all have the spotlight on them. At some point they have made reference to wanting to play in the 2014 World Cup. Thailand and Saudi Arabia aren’t the quality we will face, but for those players over 32 i have listed, now is the time. If you do not have the hunger or the fitness to play in these games, then you are not good for any game. These games have significance, they will dictate who we will see in 2014.

As for the opposition, let me confess something: I don’t know. I can’t name you any Thai players, and i’m not going to go to Wikipedia and pretend i do, and that i do know.  I’ve seen Thailand play in a qualifying system of some kind, and what I do know is they have a decent turn of pace. From who i don’t know, or whether it is still there. But pace is what our aged defence most fears, and we need to construct our midfielders in a way to press and isolate them. They may be quick (maybe), but despite what Robbie Fowler says with his balls laying quite tightly in a vice, they lack technical ability. For those confused by what that means, basically, we can kick a ball more accurately than them. Strikers at this level are unlikely to create chances for themselves, but we must avoid falling asleep and gifting them chances. At this level it’s all in the head. Osieck seems to have got the team mentality spot on, and Verbeek did for the most part. If it carries on, we should be fine.

* Mark Schwarzer is not on this list because he will make it, 100%. Mark my Words.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer,  Adam Federici, Nathan Coe

Defenders:
Lucas Neill,  Mark Milligan,  Luke DeVere, Sasa Ognenovski, Matthew Spiranovic, Luke Wilkshire, Rhys Williams, Michael Zullo

Midfielders: Mile Jedinak, Neil Kilenny, Matt McKay, Adam Sarota, James Troisi, Carl Valeri, Brett Holman, Brett Emerton

Forwards: Timmy C, Jesus Kennedy, McDonald – injured replaced by Brosque, Robbie Kruse.

No surprises there, Kewell hasn’t had time to get fit yet. But he has worked his wrist out a lot signing autographs.**

** I know i know. I’ve missed out on some transfer business. I’m doing a round up at the end of the month, and it just got more exciting.