The Football Thread (2 Viewers)

[Riddles]

Your day must have sucked.

not really. i was a bit disappointed with the outcome, but i enjoyed the amount of fights the players had. how good was yorkes goal!? it was bloody awesome, but he should've scored another one.

 

[Riddles]

My internet isn't working properly... someone tell me the story behind the red cards at today's match!

Corica got a red for a blatant offense in making a dangerous tackle. he shoved the player and tripped him over, and the jets player got another yellow card for the resulting fight and thus received a red card.

 

[slip]

all three goals were great.

johnsons strike from 20 yards was sweet, and the lead up play was exceptional, carle pass was nice, and milicic's last ball was extremely well timed given he had to wait for the defence to fall further back and johnson to run in.

milicic finished his goal suberbly.

yorke was solid, but i dont rate it along with the other too. yeh sydney need to work on their finishing, they dominated large periods of the game with out scoring.

is it jsut me or does nicky carle need to learn to shoot, or at least back himself to shoot. he carves up running past players and get in good positions to have a crack from 25 yards but he lays it off instead... and the players he gives it to dont have the momentum to finish it from 25yards.

 

[Komit]

Nick Carle played well, but the overall quality of football was crap - particularly Sydney's. I'm yet to see Sydney produce a nice, flowing play. Newcastle played alright, but again, the quality along with the crowds are a bit disappointing. However, I guess this could change once all the other codes finish.

As for Steve Corica: WHAT A DICKHEAD! He didn't just shove and trip over a player, he went in studs up with the intention to hurt. Mateo Corbo was even stupider for running the length of the field to fight.

Top 3 Players of the Week:
1. Nick Carle
2. Bobby Despotovski
3. Angelo Costanzo

 

[slip]

i think you need to be more willing to wait for better results from the a-league.

it wasnt supposed to be a quick fix, the quality of the football will improve over the next few years, but for that to happen your support is needed?

can i ask where you live (ie sydney, central, newcaslte, wollongong or other) just how far you are from the closest a-league team and how many games you have gone too?

im guessing you have either been to every a-league game at your nearest home teams ground, or the nearest ground is far away.

but with out being offensive i think that people who dont get out to the a-league when they live close enough and they moan about soccer in this country really dont deserve tht right seeing as they arent doing the one thing the ffa needs the soccer public to do and turn up to games... i know this probably isnt you, but if the a-league fails then these type of people will be the reason.

i think you should try and be a little bit more positive about the state of the game in this country. yeah its not great, and im not asking you to lie about that, but you could be a bit more enthusiastic and say yeh, football is improving slowly, but its getting to where it needs to be.

 

[Komit]

I live in Sydney and I've been to every home game for Sydney FC - and I live quite far from Aussie Stadium. I actually live right up the road from their training grounds at Valentine Park and have gone to watch the boys train sometimes. I don't particularly support Sydney FC - I support football and want it to prosper within Australia - which is why I'm a little disappointed with the quality of football.

The quality is by far better than the NSL ever was - but the passion, the atmosphere just isn't there yet. Furthermore, I believe I have the right to criticise the faults and problems even though I know that it is only early days and that these things need time to develop. I am very positive about the state of the game, but things won't progress if people think if everything is fine and expect it to happen in the long run.

Why do I have the right to criticise? I (like many other average fans) have devoted money, time and a lot of patience to see the football in this country progress to an acceptable level and only through the proper realisation of these criticisms will the beautiful game progress. Therefore, as fans and the key vehicles of this "progression" we should have the right to make suggestions and point out faults, but slip, you're absolutely right in that we have to give this thing time before it is properly established and people actually form an affinity with the teams and the game.

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

I also live too far away to view any matches first hand, as I live six hours from the nearest club. Like the EPL, I have decided to support the league as opposed to just one club. However, I do not think the standard of football is as poor as made out. I could compare the football to like likes of the Belgian Jupiler, the Swiss, Norwegian and Swedish leagues, and had you told me that it would be this good at the start of the season, I would be pleased. While maybe it is still a little bit off this standard, in five years our clubs could be as good as Liege, Malmo, Zurich and Brondby (if not already).

I see where you are coming from with the passion of the fans. Passion from fans arrives over years, not the days these clubs have been been formed for. That we have so many hardcore fans already is surprising. Sydney FC fans are in good numbers, and I have heard talk much support for the club is coming from Japan! *(coz of littbarski, dwight, apparently a reporter from Japan is following the club around). If there is no passion for clubs in 20 years, id be worried, but there is no cause for alarm just yet. Even Manchester and Madrid had to start off without passionate supporters, but traditions are formed over years, and look at most Euro clubs now.

The new league is a huge step forward, but development infrastructure is severly in strife. We have a huge number of juniors playing our game, but other smaller junior sports produce more world class athletes. Another aim of Lowy and O'Neill should be to produce 8 Harry Kewells, each that can start their career in Australia and then make their way to Europe. Instead of seeing our juniors head straight to Europe, we should have the technical expertise for them to develop here.

Outside the league, major restructuring needs to take place.

 

[Jimmy_B]

I reckon the standard is about that of the english championship division. it's not as bad as we make it out to be, and having seen jupiler ligue and other minor euro league matches, we scrub up pretty well down here.

 

[LMF^^]

Doez the A-League only allow 4 subz on the bench in a match...?

 

[Komit]

I wouldn't be comparing the A-League to those leagues as yet - they are established and the quality is much, much better than the A-League. The A-League isn't even on terms with the Serbian league or the Croatian league - but it will get there with time.

 

[DRAGONZ]

The new league is a huge step forward, but development infrastructure is severly in strife. We have a huge number of juniors playing our game, but other smaller junior sports produce more world class athletes. Another aim of Lowy and O'Neill should be to produce 8 Harry Kewells, each that can start their career in Australia and then make their way to Europe. Instead of seeing our juniors head straight to Europe, we should have the technical expertise for them to develop here.

It's more than that. Young kids grow up thinking about how amazing it would be to play for Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Juventus. Not Northern Spirit, Marconi Stallions, now defunct, or today, Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and the like.

Ignoring that, though, the best kids in Australian soccer aren't stupid. They know where the money is if they are good enough, and it's certainly not Down Under.

Perhaps there ARE signs that it may be changing, though. My 16 year old brother is in the NSW U/16 team, and he told me that he is aiming to play for Sydney FC by the time he is about 18 or 19 (dunno if he will ... good luck to him), and THEN go overseas after a couple of years. This is the sort of mentality that you are talking about, and it is certainly encouraging.

I hope there is a future for soccer domestically ... one which does not involve staying up until 2am to watch the English Premier League "Match of the Week".

 

[Komit]

Marconi Stallions and Northern Spirit are not defunct. Marconi Stallions plays in the NSW Premier League (don't know about 2006 yet) and Northern Spirit is now called Gladesville Spirit.

 

[Jimmy_B]

Komit, you're such a negative nancy

lighten up mate, this is the best thing to happen to ozzie football. it isn't that great yet, but we're at a point where we can start and make the game great here.

 

[DRAGONZ]

Marconi Stallions and Northern Spirit are not defunct. Marconi Stallions plays in the NSW Premier League (don't know about 2006 yet) and Northern Spirit is now called Gladesville Spirit.

Hehe I knew this, buddy. But, and as I thought you would have known, I was referring to the ambitions of Aussie kids not to want to play in the "Australian National League" but rather overseas. And a few short years ago, it was Marconi and Northern Spirit who were part of that league.

Perhaps proper terminology would have been to say the now defunct NSL ...

Sorry for any misunderstanding.

 

[slip]

as paying fans we do have the right to criticises. but I would like to think that as a passionate soccre supporter, who influences whether other members of the community come to games we would all be a little up beat about it.

dont criticise ---> suggest where improvement should come from

ie if my coach said to me, 'your shit at shooting', i would tell him to get fucked, if he said, 'you could make some improvement to your shoot technique' i would be more likely to listen, and my team mates wouldnt be so concerned about my ability.

similar thing if you say 'the atmosphere is shit' you wont convince people to come to the a-league, if you say 'the atmosphere could improve but its only early days' people are more likely to give it a go.

all agree that the youth developement does need a total reworking, and I agree with the sbs commentators that we need to steer away from the english style of the game and use the resources from countries in europe and south america. However I also beleive we are now better placed then ever to acheive this with a totally independant group of people running the game, unlikely to be influenced by the politics of the game in the country.

If John O'Niell can start a new league, take Australia to Asia and help us get to the World Cup (which the bold appointment of Hiddink gives us every chance of achieving) in just under 2 years, imagine what he will have achieved in another 2. I think we will definately see improvements in the juior system, especially if the socceroos make the world cup.

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

It's more than that. Young kids grow up thinking about how amazing it would be to play for Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Juventus. Not Northern Spirit, Marconi Stallions, now defunct, or today, Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and the like.

Ignoring that, though, the best kids in Australian soccer aren't stupid. They know where the money is if they are good enough, and it's certainly not Down Under.

Perhaps there ARE signs that it may be changing, though. My 16 year old brother is in the NSW U/16 team, and he told me that he is aiming to play for Sydney FC by the time he is about 18 or 19 (dunno if he will ... good luck to him), and THEN go overseas after a couple of years. This is the sort of mentality that you are talking about, and it is certainly encouraging.

I hope there is a future for soccer domestically ... one which does not involve staying up until 2am to watch the English Premier League "Match of the Week".

Im not saying that our developing players shouldnt aspire to play in europe. In the last few years, none of the Australian youth squads have excited me into thinking that our national squad future looks bright. While this sounds a little pessimistic, turning talented players into worldclass players is the biggest challenge in Australian football.

And when we dicover these players, they should be able to start their careers in Australia, not needing to head overseas. Of course we wont be able to hold the likes of Bresciano, Kewell, Viduka, Cahill and co. in Australia, but players that are in Belgium, Switzerland and other smaller Euro leagues should be attracted back home.

I dont have a problem with our youth aspiring to be the best of Manchester, Chelsea, etc. They are the pinnacle of football. But lets make the a-league the stepping stone to these clubs, not a waste of time like the NSL was

 

[Komit]

Watch the U17 team on Saturday morning and you will see some quality. Two players in the squad are based in England - Rostyn Griffiths (Blackburn) and Scott Jamieson (Bolton) and they are top players. The potential in Australia is huge and I'd argue that Australia probably has some of the best youths in the world - the only think lacking is a proper youth development system and I totally agree that they should be able to start their careers of in Australia - which many would do rather than go straight to Europe. The NSW Premier League is becoming a good stepping stone for youths, but a Reserve Grade competition for the A-League clubs would be perfect as it would require the biggest clubs in the nation (and NZ) to develop a youth development system or academy allowing for the existing talent to gain experience before actually taking the huge risk by going to Europe.

 

[slip]

Not that many players from the 1997 under17s team that finished 2nd after a penalty shootout loss to brazil in the world cup have made it through yet. they shoul dbe peaking in the next 2-4 years... if that doesnt happen I have major concerns.

Since then australia hasnt done very well at youth world cups. And according to sbs the fifa reports on the performances of our national youth teams are fairly damning. I believe they go something along the lines of... given the physical nature of play in australia they are competitive in younger age groups, but as the players get older and more skilful players from other nations develope more strength the australians are left well behind.

 

[Komit]

Which is why a proper youth developmet system is needed.

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

Well well well.

So much for Sydney being invincible. Two losses in a row so early on is really tightening the league up.

Any1 that was at the match can you fill me in?