Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Australia beat Oman 1-0


Australia beat Oman 1-0 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne this evening before a crowd of 20,500.

The win lifted bottom-placed Australia to the top of Group B in the Asian Championship competition, level on 4 points with Oman.

The home side started well enough, but Oman gradually got on top and missed two glorious scoring chances, including one in which Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer turned a shot against his near post.

Australia had the better of the second half, but it was not until the 74th minute that the goal came.

Lucas Neill played Scott Chipperfield down the left and his low cross into the box was completely missed by Josh Kennedy from only a metre out, but the ball carried to Tim Cahill beyond the far post and he shot back across goal and in off the far post.

It was a disappointing performance by the Socceroos and one can only wonder how they can be rated 14th in the world by FIFA and first in Asia.

Oman are rated 74th and for much of the match looked as good as, if not better, than Australia.

In truth, Australia are highly over-rated and find it very difficult to score.

It’s easy to see why they are regarded as arrogant in Asia.

The proliferation of white boots and bodies adorned with tattoos are the hallmarks of the nouveau riche in the world of football.

Substitute Dario Vidosic was wearing number 101 on his shirt. What is the game coming to?

In one incident in the second half, Brett Emerton felt he was fouled, fell over, and picked up the ball expecting to get a free-kick. A free-kick was given against him for handball.

This smacked of arrogance.

In terms of playing football, the Socceroos are ordinary, and they are frustrating to watch.

Some players are past their peak and we have no-one of quality to replace them.

Australia had 13 shots on goal, 5 of which were on target, whereas Oman had 10 shots on goal, 6 of which were on target.

Australia had 10 corners to Oman’s three.

At the end of the match, everyone was saying that the win was more important than the performance.

That may well be true, but at this rate, we’ll be home from next year’s World Cup after three games.


59 comments:

Anonymous said...

i was there, relatively good game. not enough versatility from the australians. not going to work in the world cup the way we're playing. kennedy is too one dimensional!

Unknown said...

I think the coach is a results man. His focus is to play negatively. This will hopefully get results against better teams at the world cup. Walter Smith at Rangers uses the same tactics when Rangers play in Europe.Rangers made the uefa cup final in 2008 only to be found seriously wanting against an excellent Arshavin led Zenit St Petersburg team I think Australia will go home early as well Kewell is past his best Holmann is a joke and would struggle to get a game for DOSA. The only class we have is Grella, cahill and Bresciano. And to anonymous I'm sorry for denigrating tassie soccer. I should not draw my conclusions and brief youtube viewing.

Unknown said...

Sorry, I should not draw my conclusions from hearsay and watching amateur videos on youtube
Maybe I'm just trying to spark a debate on what I suspect is a decline in standard of your game

Marty Nidorfer said...

Mcglone,
you have sparked me by your disassociation with tasmania. I read comments and your apparent association with the state, but the last few have alienated yourself from tasmania? Please explain.

Unknown said...

In short, Marty. I used to play in Tasmania from 88-95 intermittently. I played in the state league and first division. When I was 18-20 Late 70's early 80's I played for Rockdale and Sydney Croatia. Mainly reserves for the latter. My point is that when I played down there I felt the standard was very good. I think that there were players playing then who could easily play in NSW and vic State leagues. Maybe one or two like david stoddardt and sergio pace who could have played higher. I haven't watched a game down there since 1995 Though I have kept in touch from watching the Australian premier league show featuring Walter and guest. And recently I joined this blog. I have read comments on here about the decline of the game There has also been a lot of banter on the history of the game and the lack of overseas and even interstate guest games, generally the lack of impetus from past days to now . I may or may not be wrong about what I'm saying. Don't know Some feedback would be nice

Unknown said...

Apparently the omani coach has taken umbrage to a remark made to him by a member of the Aussie management team

Walter said...

madmcglone

Oman coach Le Roy was very upset indeed at the alleged remarks made to him at half-time by the Socceroos team manager. Is this another example of our arrogance?

Unknown said...

Well, I think the arrogance comes from overinflated wages I wouldn't say arrogance emanates from Cahill, who is easily our best player. But definately some of the others. The omani keeper was full of humility and a likeable guy on interview. Almost makes you want to see the team lose. I don't think guys like arok and eddie Thomson would have put up with petulant acts, such as Emerton's. Being humble as a sportsman is part of the package. Maradona exudes humility regardless of his past as does Pele, Bobby Charlton and all the greats

Richard Bladel said...

Hi Walter, I was at the game, down the home end, and we were very lucky in the second half to escape a dodgy tackle on the left from (I think Chippers) on an Oman player in the box that looked a dead set penalty. Even the one eyed 'Roos supporters round us all thought it was and roundly praised the Ref for being crap. I reckon for a big bloke Josh Kennedy pulls out of too many tackles and isn't anywhere near mobile or aggressive enough. We miss sharpness on the deck with him in there. There are very few constructive forward runs in the opponents half from attacking midfielders or strikers. Our only way forward is going wide then lumping it into the box for Jesus to pull off a miracle with his headband. We weren't that well organised in the first half, missing a lot of second ball from corners & attacking moves and being too flat in attack. McGlone's wrong about Harry but right about the coach. If we played beautiful football and lost every match he'd be gone by now. The arrogance thing's probably right, they expect to be given free kicks and stop & wave their arms about when they should be getting on with it. I worry about the next generation coming through, though Dario Vidosic was really lively.

Walter said...

Hi Richard

Thanks for your pertinent observations. There can be nothing as good as actually being at the game. Watching on TV is a poor second.

I'd be interested in your thoughts about the venue. It looked empty on TV, even though there were just over 20,000 there. That may have been because they moved some of the seating closer to the pitch.

This was one of the games I suggested FFT should approach FFA about with a view to getting it played in Tasmania. The other one is the one against Indonesia in March next year. In your opinion, would this match have filled Aurora Stadium or Bellerive? Would it have generated the sort of atmosphere that would have spurred on the Socceroos?

Marty Nidorfer said...

Cheers Mcglone. I played a bit when you were around.
Biggest difference now is more teams competing at the Premier League level.
I think in the early 90's only 5 Southern clubs competed in a then state league.
Standards personally have dropped because quality s dispersed too sparsely through too many teams.
I could imagine if there were only 5 top flight teams today, the standard would improve considerably.

Bruno said...

Not a fan of Kennedy he just doesn't offer enough for me to be playing 90mins, may be better used as a sub in South Africa.

Terrible 1st half last night so it was no suprise we played better in the 2nd because there was no other option but to.

Harry may be past his best but he was still our best player last night and Vidosic looked good again when he came on.

simo said...

Bresciano is probably the most overrated player in the world football

Brian Young said...

I agree with most of your comments Walter. The high FIFA ranking will be put to a very stern test in the World Cup. Australia often battle against spritely sides as opposed to the European slow motion sides that allow the defense to funnel back & protect Schwarzer.

Brian Young said...

Observation: Walter, was your report posted before the match ended? 8:22 pm Oct 14

Walter said...

Hi Brian

No, it wasn't. I had a half-time progress report and then edited it rather than deleted it when the match was over by replacing it with the report that is on there now. When one does that, the time of the original posting (that is, the half-time report) stays there. The way around that I guess is to 'delete' rather than 'edit'. People will be thinking I have a crystal ball to gaze into!

Richard Bladel said...

Hi Walter, yeah the stadium was half empty and it all felt a bit kinda disappointing - the bigger A League games get a similar crowd, don't they? I'm not sure why a lot stayed home - maybe the world cup is the big ticket item and we're already in it - and people aren't yet switched on to the asian cup in the same way? The atmosphere was a bit subdued too - I thought the Oman fans were the more noisy and spirited per capita, though there was a ozzie mob to our left that were having a go, as did we for all too short bursts when everybody would stop cheering suddenly and stare at you making you feel like a right pillock if you kept going. (Am I paranoid?) Would we get 20,000 at Aurora (the only half decent football ground in a marginal electorate)? Might be pushing it? Dunno. Maybe given the lukewarm reception at Etihad the Tassie fans'd give a very decent account of themselves in contrast. We don't have much of a track record at the big games though, do we? How many at Melbourne Victory & Adelaide? Are we bored with them? But this is bigger - might draw out a lot of folk who wouldn't usually bother? Love to see it happen, but do FFT have the vision or the will or the skill? If I were FFA, I'm afraid that's what I'd be seriously asking myself. But that's just my opinion.

Bruno said...

I read in an article that the cheapest ticket for adult was $45 at this game and this time last year against Bahrain at the same stadium 50k turned out and the ticket prices started at $25.

I wonder what FFA are trying to achieve by this?

Captain Australia said...

Comments regarding a game in Tas are worthy of Much debate.

I believe if Tas was to get just a fixture Vs someone like Indo, the public would overwhelming support this, esspecially if on a warm summer arvo in Launceston on a friday or saturday night, however, it would only ever be a mid week game Im thinking.

all the same, if you didnt get 15,000 plus I would be supprised.

Unknown said...

Richard, Kewell's game used to be built around his pace. Kewell has slowed dowb somewhat and hasn't adapted his game accordingly. Still a good player but not as good as he used to be.

Anonymous said...

Please leave the criticism of Socceroo players to those that know best.Harry Kewell has done more for the sport in this country and will still do for a bit longer yet,than many of us on this blog have ever done or hope to do.
It is obvious that his pace is slowly deserting him.Funny how this occurs as we get older !Who are we to comment that he has not adapted his play to deal with this ?
How may internationals have we played ? Come on lets wake up !!!!!!!
Stop being so negative .

Unknown said...

Anonymous,
The topic was how poor and arrogant the socceroos are I think I've watched enough games and played enough to give an opinion about a player. This isn't negative. I want Harry Kewell to do well. I shelled out 800 dollars in tickets for the uruguay game. I have a right as a paying fan. I also hold a coaching licence. I know Kewell is a worldwide name and I'll never coach anyone of his ilk but I and any other fan has a right to an opinion. That's what blogs are about. Walter commented on Australia's poor showing. I don't see you forwarding criticism here.Are you the same anonymous who started with critcism of Kennedy or is that another anonymous? Anon

Unknown said...

I can't see Australia ever being a flair team. therefore the focus of our game is brute strength and stifling skilled opposition Sth Korea made Australia look like monkeys chasing shadows with their speed of thought and better all round ability. It's the same old story, the bigger kids are picked for representative teams and the skillful are left behind . They become disillusioned and either give up or play amateur football or if they are lucky get some money for it. There is a need for foreign coaches to teach our coaches the way forward. It has happened in the epl and in other leagues around the world Maybe we should follow the german model as the 'winning mentality' of both nations are pretty similar. Don't know, as anonymous pointed out I'm no expert but I've observed football over here for 35 years and in that time i've seen improvement but not enough. The french have excellent football schools, as have the dutch. I know more and more dutch influence is happening on our shores, I personally don't think enough is being done

Unknown said...

Marty,
Tassie is the only state bereft os a state league competition. Of course the standard will drop if the leagues are split up into nth and sth. Clubs should be made to play in a state league. I think stopping clubs using ethnic names has broken the back of state league football. we are a multiculture, why are anglicized names more acceptable? I know it was a directive of the national body to stop clubs using ethnic names, but what has it achieved. All it has done is homogenize the game and take away healthy rivalry and colour

Richard Bladel said...

mcglone, I take your point about Harry & his pace, he's got a groin like a bag o' chips but he has some nice tricks & game sense & is valuable.

smithers ol man said...

I tend to agree with madmcglone on the ethnic issue even though the names were changed we still call croatia olmypia and others by there traditional names only change realy is the old loyal supporters who once filled the stands have gone and that has taken a lot of compassion and color from the game in Tasmania.
my first time at kgv ground saw the stands divided by the nationalities and a jovial if sometimes heated competion among them always added to the spectacle of the game.
Sadly the loss of their identity as there own team names has ment the loss of the major part of these loyal football supporters.
The aussie squad seems to be perpetually in a time warp of unconfidence in the awe of larger name squads and this proberly gives the arrogant attitude unjustly as i feel there attempting to make up for loss of history by assuming the hard man look and they need to stand up and say to themselves yes were here were good enough and just continue displaying the skills that have moved then up in the world rankings.
locally the youth coming through offers promise for tassie if allowed to develop personality flair and individuality rather than be stiffled by people prone on making the game a soft card happy affair

Who cares said...

madmcglone has a sad, distorted view of the sport - its never been in better shape in Australia and has potential to be the same in Tassie.

Agreed Harry Kewell is a petulant brat but so is Ronaldo.

Unknown said...

Well I may have a sad distorted view of the status quo of football here,but at least I have tried to supply ideas that could give someone or other some food for positive change. Thats how things get started, discussion. I'm old enough to remember seeing big crowds at state league games in Sydney. They were usually btw 2 ethnic teams I have personally played in front of good crowds with loud vocal support. Now the games are without atmosphere.The A league is a little different, but that's just one league. The various state leagues are miles away from the A league, both in crowd atmosphere and standard. This wasn't always the case. Teams like Yugal, Croatia, Melita and Avala played great 1 touch football and always attracted big crowds, because there was always rivalry and an edge. Communities would turn out in their droves. There was history, history is important. To dismiss the past disrespectfully by telling clubs to change their names to the zebras or the knights has caused more harm than good. Yeah the game at the top is in ok shape, but at grass roots you may as well go and watch Brown's cows in the paddock

Richard Bennett said...

macca
I've got to disagree about the ethnic name and club issue. I think those old ethnic clubs are proud of their history and so should they however if the game has to keep pace with the other football codes in australia they had to have the "lowey revolution" to move forward.

I am very happy with what we have now in the a-league and the local club names/identity rather than the old dying tired national league and it's corrupt mismanagement. those old fans are not filling the stands here either no matter what those looking through rose coloured glasses may say. sure there were crowds back in the 70's and 80's apparently but those same fans aren't still coming through the gates every week now.

I'm sure those who are still involved officially or as fans are few and far between. If there are some I'm sure they follow olympic with as much passion as olympia for example as they are the same club and identity. all clubs need new fans and expand their fan base to survive. I'm sure that the only problem we have at the moment is developing the same passion for the club and that takes time. we've shifted from an ethic identity to a regional identity.

I do agree about the issue of players as juniors having advantages because of physicality but not neccessarily skill. I think the game at all levels in australia because of our sporting culture encourages athleticism not ball skill and that is geting worse when you look at sports like the AFL when they recruit because the player can run is tall and tackles well but then try and refine their ball skills. Thats in a physical sport that does not embrace the individual flair some players possess and encourages the so called 1% enter.

We suffer from the game being percived by outsiders as soft because a defender is not allowed to bring opponents down and compete without the skill component in their game. we should not prescribe to that point of view and encourage the skillful player being indulged to play with flair. Referees should play their part in that by giving free kicks and cards to those who are clearly not playing football but footbrawl.

as far as the socceroos are concerned I think they are playing to their strengths as anyone does and the deficiencies are those of firstly personnel depth and secondly their background player development. players like Kewell are world class but he has lost pace and has not adapted. playing in a team that slows the game and plays in small areas is not part of the national teams skill set and thats not their fault it's their coaches. I can't be critical of the socceroos for not being Holland '74, Brazil cica 82', Denmark "86 all teams of brilliant flair technique and skill but not winners in the trophy sense. I think we are a national team in transition probably 4 or 5 players should be under more pressure from the next generation but hopefully that will come sooner rather than later.

talking to some mates in melbourne who are club players there and have victory membership they attend a-league and internationals but the attitude was one of not being starved of quality games and choosing which games to attend. some of then chose to see the friendly in sydney against the netherlands rather than the oman game. predictible I guess.

RANGERS PRESIDENT said...

mcglone made join state league, so no democracy in the football world then?

Unknown said...

Sounds like the clubs have dictated to the fft. The division of nth and sth is depriving the fans of watching the best standard possible and the kids of playing in the best standard possible. The rest of the planet seem to cope with having unformed leagues. Why not tassie? Are you 3rd world down there? Do you want to be a backwater? I think if you do, that choice should be taken away from you.

RANGERS PRESIDENT said...

I think what you dont know, realise as I ahve stated on here many many times, is that if we were to take the best 4 teams/clubs whoever, out of the NPL would deimate it for the remaining teams up here. We do not have the playing numbers nor the the back up leagues that our southern cousins have. That is why we in the North have pushed for a state final series etc.

And to repeat myself I in principle believe in a state league, however it needs to be fully investigated and be cost neutral to the clubs.

I deal with the realities of running a club, and there are many, many hurdles that need to be overcome, before we even consider heading back down that track!

Anyway a discussion, but to say that FFT can make the north enter any state league is comical, we do have a say, and have had it! No doubt it will come up again and we will discuss

Unknown said...

Rangers prez
It is your affair, and you can do as you like. But I think you will have lost credibility with the rest of the country. Who wants to come down and play against guys who play in a low standard? Who in their right mind would respect a state that is seemingly going backwards because the clubs are run by frightened dinosaurs averse to change. Bass strait doesn't give you the right to be a maverick soccer wasteland. why don't you forget buying strips for your players and get them to play with jeans on

jerrie kruijver said...

mad mcglone that is not entirey true what you say there.the strength of any sport is not its elite but the number of participants in that sport.tassie is indeed a bit unique.we are a small population spread over a large area.i can certainly understand the rangers presidents position that it would be a disaster for the sport up north at the present time to take their strongest and largest clubs away from their local leagues to form a stateleague.fft is certainly not helping matters by not taking enough games up there.for instance devonport was in two statecup finals 2 years ago and both were played in hobart instead of playing them on a home and away basis so the people up north could see them play.the clubscommitees themselves should be solely concentrating on making their clubs grow and leave the talentspotting and coaching to the coaches.the fact of the matter is that the more people you can attract to play the sport the more chance you have of finding some real talent.the sad fact is that the large majority of people playing any sport will only be average plodders who dont get any recognition for the fact that they play their hearts out every week for the simple reason they love the game.for example down south the large majority of people play in division 3 and 4.they probaply provide the largest part of the revenue fft works with,yet they never get mentioned or recieve any interest from us,let alone get any recognition for the fact that they are in fact the backbone of the sport.

observer said...

Jerrie ,what are you on ? The Div 3 and 4 the backbone of the sport ? In what way ? Many of the players in these divisions can no longer play in higher divisions, or cant play . That is why they are there.
Playing their hearts out ? Many would not know what that requires. That is why they are there.
I am not knocking these divisions or those playing in it ,but to suggest that they are the backbone .......?Wake up !!!

Richard Bennett said...

observer I think there is no doubt that the social league players subsidise the higher league teams when you look at subscriptions. usually paying similar or the same and social teams don't attract the same costs.....simple maths.

yet most social league players are usually more involved on committees, bring in sponsorship because of business connections and generate income for clubs through social activities.

the players although past their best are also usually club coaches and have played in some cases at a lot higher level than tasmanian state or premier league and know how to play.

I know from experience a club that has a strong social element generate funds and atmosphere where people become supporters not observers.

I can understand the point jerry is making.

jerrie kruijver said...

observer the streghth of the sport is not the elite but the hundreds of people playing every week.just because they are not worldbeaters and not very good they still turn out and play with enough passion to win.observer if your best teams can only attract a meager 150 spectators to best football played in the state,you can understand why the local press is not very interested and walter pulls his hair out.if club commitees solely concentrate on getting bodies of whatever ability on the park everyone of them will probaply bring 2 or 3 friends to watch himor her.the clubs themselves have got to put every effort in to grow,not just swap existing players but fresh blood,preferaby young but any age will do,everyone puts another 300 bucks in the kitty.when the clubs grow so will the community interest and so will spectator numbers,when we attract an average of 500 people the mercury will have to tAke notice and report more,the fate of the sport is in the hands of the clubs to go out and grow,players of today should ask their mates to come and play etc.the more people we get on the park to play the more real talent will be discovered.fft cant make the sport grow it is up to the people at grassroot level.

jerrie kruijver said...

another point observer,you state many people in the social leagues dont know how to play their hearts out,would they pay 300 bucks for the pleasure of not caring?

observer said...

Jerry you obviously have too much time on your hands. I stated that MANY would not know what playing their hearts out was .I did not say all.There are players ,no doubt , that have played at higher level and do apply themselves.Many , however,regardless of what you believe ,are there for the social aspect only.
The $300 is irrelevant.If someone is paying $300 to play Div 3 and 4 then they are getting ripped off in my opinion. Go to other clubs and pay around $200 , there are many out there that will only charge that amount. Also I did not say that our senior competition is the backbone either.The backbone is the juniors and their parents who fork out $$$$$ every year for their children to play .Take this away and everything above will collapse and disappear.
The sooner we begin developing our youngsters properly , not worrying about how much money we can make from their parents, the better the results will be.There are too many clicky little groups in the sport in Tasmania that not only prohibits improvement , but destructs some good that has been done previously.

jerrie kruijver said...

as you say observer,it all takes money and most of the money comes from registrationsees,hence we need as many people as we can get to register and pay those fees.also most of the younger players you want to develop stem from people like myself who have too much time on their hands,in 15 years time those kids you developed will make up thosesocial leagues.

Richard Bennett said...

observer
agee 100% in the last post. there seems to be a focus on generating dollars into the wrong coffers. overall value for money is simply not evident because a lot of the money is paying for non football costs.

jerrie kruijver said...

observer,every as pect is important.yes we do need to develop youth and provide pathways for them.it is omportant to plan for the future.it is equally important to cater for the needs of every player that is on the books today and also very important for the numbers of participants in the sport to grow.the bigger the sport becomes the more chance we have of obtaining gouvernment assistance etc and the more notice ffa will take of tassie.in the end you and i both want to see the sport prosper and the talent we have here reach its full potential

Unknown said...

Diminishing the standard in tasmania wilm contribute to lowering that standard around the country, if you think laterally and holistically. I know this sounds out there but if you think about it it makes sense. Jerry, I am not forgetting lower league players, that's where I am at now. But every state body should have a mission statement devoting themselves to excellence. This means a creation of an elite competition. I think the excuse that, the north will collapse without their top 4 teams is not good enough. surely this will take care of itself. 'you should even be thinking about a state league 2nd division this would probably comprise of 80% southern teams. The rest should be left to their own devices to get a league together Maybe switch to summer soccer again so you're not competing with that boofhead game that dominates the headlines in the mercury.. What I'm suggesting might sound radical, but I certainly think it's achievable

Unknown said...

I bet Walter is shaking his head at our comment, especially mine

observer said...

Jerry , do you honestly believe the sport will receive government assistance ? Why would you believe such a thing ? There are more people playing our sport now than ever before. This hasnt encouraged the government to assist the sport financially at all.I was involved in a junior rep team some time ago and wrote to the premier fo some financial assistance for the travelling team. We were offered $50. Not $50 each boy , but in total .Wow ,what a show of support for a team representing Tasmania , from our state government.Our sport will never receive any financial assistance unless there is something in it for the state and government.No-one is going to offer financial assistance without something in return.

Walter said...

Observer

The State government gave FFT $800,000 over four years about three years ago to be spent on junior development.

jerrie kruijver said...

observer,if there are more people playing then ever before where are they?
i see only 8 premier league teams,8 premier league reserve teams 7 div 1 teams and reserves and then about 8 i think div 2 sides and the number of social league sides seems about the same.do we even retain more then 30% of the primary schoolkids and see them go on to play seniors?
al ia m really saying for the sport to go ahead participation growth goes hand in hand with developement

observer said...

Walter I forgot about the $800000. You are correct.
Junior development does not appear to have improved to the tune of $800000.There has not been a state director for 18 months.It hasnt been used to pay wages for such a person. Maybe some of this allocated money should go towards the state sides to assist in sending teams interstate.This may then actually attract the best 16 bys rather than the best 16 who's parents can afford it.
Jerry ,there are more people playing generally. Not necessarily at senior level, but junior level.
There are definitely more teams at primary school level,particularly invovling girls.

jerrie kruijver said...

that is great observer,i really hope we can retain those kids and see them go on and not fall thru the cracks by the time they are halfway thru highschool.

jerrie kruijver said...

observer from my own expierience with primary school kids the following happened.out of the 20 under eight kids we had at brighton primary only 3 kids went on to play seniors.adam bates and bradley sheehan and my son sam.those 3 allwent to newtown eagles.bradley and adam have moved interstate and only sam is still playing.my oldest son david is the only one i think from his group that is still playing.ken barker coached also at brighton and he had some great kids too.some people at south might remember will russell a promising keeper who played seniors for them for a while but i believe he got injured and had to give it away.that is only 3 or 4 kids out of 35 kids that went on.is it any better now observer?

observer said...

Jerry , I dont know if it is any better now and to be honest , I doubt whether anyone knows.At the end of the day , whatever you say ,I say , or anyone else says on this site ,is not going to change anything.FFT staff are the ones paid to do the job. That includes running courses for coaches ,clinics for juniors etc.

Unknown said...

Fix the game at the top and the rest will follow suit. With a bit of elbow grease that is. Rangers prez, I appreciate that you probably work tirelessly for your club and the game. It must be frustrating to listen to opinions on what should happen, when you have a bird's eye view of what is really going on. I am on the outside looking in, so I don't know the personalities involved or even the names of some of the clubs. But I am in a position that allows me to talk about the state of the game in the past and compare it to the present state of the game. We should be concentrating on the here and now, to get a state comp happening so the juniors have at least that to strive for. Having played a couple of years in a state league looks a lot better on your cv than 2 yrs in the northern league. I sometimes think there is too much emphasis on junior football and not enough on senior football. There is too much looking ahead happening, meanwhile the contemporary participants in senior football are being deprived of the best competition possible Give the kids something to strive for. To play in a state league comp and maybe something better down the line.

Richard Bennett said...

jerry
I remember will russell well he was an immense talent could have been anything unfortunately gave the game away at about 19-20. if he continued playing I'm sure he would have been playing at a high level interstate.

madmcglone your right about the need for a state league which I don't think anybody would disagree with but the point being made by rangers pres is the practicality and consequences in the here and now.

keep asking the questions though it is good to hear from the outside looking in.

Captain said...

Did the $800K all go to FFT or also to pay for TIS men and women boys and girls) over a four year period?

Unknown said...

Probably paid for Kenny Morton's leopard skin Lounge

jerrie kruijver said...

observer,fft cannot get more people on the park only the clubs and their people at grassroot level will get more people by actually asking them to come and play and be part of the club.no amount of suits at the top will archieve that.all they can do put the rosters together

observer said...

Disagree Jerry.It is FFT 's job to promote the sport.It should be their sole aim ,with the support of the clubs. Their job is not just to put rosters together ,but it appears that is all they are capable of .Maybe we should have more suits at the top Jerry.Wining and dining the organisations in our community that could be possible financial sponsors of the sport. We need more profesionalism at the top.

jerrie kruijver said...

we come back to the crux of the matter observer,the suits can set up theclinics and the coaches and all kind of wonderfull programs,however it is still up to the clubs and their members to keep hold of all those kids and make them join their club and whats more make them feel they are wanted.for that you need vibrant clubs that want to grow and people that show a genuine desire to support their clubs.even most clubs are cursed by apathy and most of the work to actually keep the club alive is left to too few people.observer its no good having too many chiefs and no indians to actually do the recruiting and the supporting.clubs should be involved right from the first time kids get on the park to kick a ball.no good leaving to a parent who has no idea what he or she is doing.assist those parents and the parents become interested in the clubs and then their kids might join that club.

bathmate said...

Thank you for your nice posting.
it is really helpful to us.
such a nice topics.

Bathmate