Photos (Top to Bottom): Taroona goalkeeper thwarts a South Hobart attack; South's Shae Hickey chips the Taroona keeper, but it was off-side; South Hobart's David Abbott has his penalty saved; Ben Crosswell was a guest player for Taroona but he was heavily marked; Korean K-League player Yong Hee Kim on the ball; Ken Morton (third from left) with his new recruits (from left), Mizael Linhares Caires (Brazil), Jae Woong Lee (Korea), Hyo Suk Jin (Korean youth coach), Yong Hee Kim (Korea) and Wook Bum Heo (Korea)
South Hobart beat Taroona 5-0 in a pre-season friendly at Wellesley Park this afternoon.
South fielded a youth side in the first half and led 2-0 at the interval through goals by Seth Otte and Anthony Brennan.
The home side sent out a senior line-up for the second half and netted three more goals.
Andrew King, Jim Pennicott and Shae Hickey scored in the second half.
South’s David Abbott also had a penalty saved.
Taroona had Ben Crosswell as a guest player, but he was tightly marked throughout the match.
Taroona were not at full strength but they will be up against it in the Premier League this coming season based on today’s performance.
Kingborough Lions United are looking for a goalkeeper.
Jason Voss has joined Tilford Zebras, while the club’s under-19 keeper is unavailable this season.
Kingborough has David Leamey, of course, and he has been training well, but coach Geoff Freeman is keen to have back-up and to make his keepers fight for places in the seniors.
“It’s disappointing to lose some good young keepers from last season,” Freeman said.
“David Leamey has been training well, but it is important that we have someone to provide competition for the senior jersey.”
The Lions are into full pre-season training, with sessions at Calvin High School in Sophia Street on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6.30pm until 8pm, and on Sundays from 11am to 1pm.
All sessions finish with a 'cool-down' period at Kingston Beach.
“All sessions consist of fitness work devised by our strength and conditioning trainer, Marcello Marchioli, and ball work and small-sided games,” said Kingborough’s Warren Iles.
“Numbers have been good so far with at least 30 players at each session.
“If anyone is interested in trying out for a goalkeeping position, they should phone Geoff Freeman on 0428 295 426, or just roll up at one of the sessions.”
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South Hobart coach Ken Morton is also on the lookout for a keeper.
He has Sam Kruijver fit again after he missed much of last season with a shoulder injury, as well as Mark Moncur, but he wants cover for both of these experienced custodians.
South Hobart leave on Thursday for Melbourne and will play a South Melbourne Hellas youth side that evening.
They will meet the South Melbourne senior side at Bob Jane Stadium on Saturday and return home on Sunday.
South will send a youth side to Wollongong near the end of January, while David Smith may bring a Northern New South Wales youth side to Hobart in about the middle of January to play South Hobart’s youth side.
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If you’re looking for something inspirational to read while you’re waiting for the season to start, here are some suggestions.
“Inverting the Pyramid:A History of Football Tactics”, by Jonathon Wilson, is the story of the tactical development of the game and deals with the methods of some wonderful characters and coaches who have been hugely influential over the decades. AC Milan, under Arrigo Saachi, would always do a training routine where five defenders played against ten opponents and the ten could never ever manage to score.
“A Cultured Left Foot:The Eleven Elements of Footballing Greatness,” by Musa Okwonga, is a marvellous read and some of the anecdotes are just riveting, including one about Rivelino and Pele.
“Forza Italia:A journey in search of Italy and its football”, by Paddy Agnew, is a must for anyone interested in Italian football, culture and journalism. You'll never look at Serie A in the same way.
“The Lost Babes:Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich”, by Jeff Connor, may not make pleasant reading for present-day rabid Manchester United fans, but it puts things into perspective in terms of how some modern-day clubs might be regarded as just business corporations.
“Salaam Stanley Mathews”, by Subrata Dasgupta, is magnificent.It’s more than just about an Indian boy’s love of football and cricket.It’s also about the migrant experience in Britain and the cultural conflicts that afflict both Indians and Britons and how both groups can be discriminatory towards each other.
“El Diego”, By Diego Maradona, with Daniel Arcucci and Ernesto Cherquis Bialo and translated by Marcela Mora Y Araujo.What makes the man tick?Read this before the World Cup in South Africa starts.
“Brilliant Orange:The neurotic genius of Dutch football”, by David Winner.Ever wondered why the Dutch play such good football but rarely, if ever, win anything?Find out in this book.What are some of the greatest Dutch players doing now?One lives quietly in a village in Holland and spends his time fishing and thinking very little of football.He thinks a lot of pundits talk rubbish about the game. Another talks about his time at AC Milan and of how he and just one other defender could always combine to keep up to five opponents scoreless in a training routine.
“Left Foot Forward:A Year in the Life of a Journeyman Footballer”, by Garry Nelson.Ever dreamed of being a football star on the world stage?Well, this is a reality check and sums up how it is for most footballers who don’t make it to the very top.
“Best and Edwards:Football, Fame and Oblivion”, by Gordon Burn.A fascinating comparison between George Best and Duncan Edwards, the former who squandered his talents in many ways, and the latter, who died before he could show the world how great he really was.There is a small link with Tasmania here in that Best played here twice, while local Huon Valley resident Gordon Nutt, the former Arsenal player, played against Edwards in the last game the Busby Babes played in England before the Munich air crash.United beat Arsenal 5-4 that day at Highbury before 63,578 fans and Nutt made at least two of the Gunners’ goals.
“The Second Most Important Job in the Country”, by Niall Edworthy, is the story of England’s managers, from Sir Walter Winterbottom’s tenure from 1946 to 1962, through to Sir Alf Ramsey (1963-1973), Don Revie (1974-1977), Ron Greenwood (1977-1982), Sir Bobby Robson (1982-1990), Graham Taylor (1990-1993), Terry Venables (1994-1996) and Glenn Hoddle (1996-1999).Only the prime minister has a more important job in England.If only the same applied in Australia!
“Arsene Wenger:The Professor”, by Myles Palmer.Everyone knows who Arsene is, and what he has achieved, so this should appeal to more than just Gunners fans.Wenger actually coached Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan before becoming supremo at Highbury (and now the Emirates), so there is a tenuous link with Tasmania in that Nagoya Grampus Eight came to Hobart for a two-week pre-season training camp in 1993 (not while Wenger was in charge, though).
“Football Memories”, by Brian Glanville, the doyen of world football writers.This is Glanville’s reminiscences of 50 years of covering the world game.I always need my weekly fix of Glanville’s column in the on-line edition of “World Soccer”.Previously, I’d have to wait four weeks for his column in the monthly magazine, “World Soccer”.Brian first helped me to get published in “World Soccer” in London (and to get paid for it) with articles about Craig Johnston of Liverpool, Dominic Longo of Cercle Brugge, and Hans van Breukelen, the Dutch international goalkeeper of Nottingham Forest.We’ve kept in touch now and then since and the 'inside' stories he can tell are sensational.
“On the Corinthian Spirit:The Decline of Amateurism in Sport”, by D J Taylor.Describes the changing moral universe, with its implications for sport and everything else in the world.Thierry Henry should read this book.
“A Strange Kind of Glory:Sir Matt Busby and Manchester United”, by Eamon Dunphy.The status of the author alone should make this a ‘must-read’.
“Bob Paisley:Manager of the Millennium”, by John Keith.A painful experience for any Liverpool supporter because Rafa Benitez is now at the helm.The foreword is by Kenny Dalglish.
“The Real Arsenal:From Chapman to Wenger”, by Brian Glanville.An absolute necessity for all true Gunners fans, this is the unofficial story of Arsenal.Such books are always much more interesting, especially from a writer of Glanville's calibre, than are the sanitised official histories put out by clubs.
“For Club and Country:The Best of The Guardian Obituaries”, by Brian Glanville.A wonderful example of this specialised form of writing.Glanville writes footballers’ obituaries for The Guardian newspaper.
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In what may be an ill omen for the World Cup in South Africa, three Togo national team players have been injured in a machinegun attack on the team bus on the eve of the African Cup of Nations tournament, which kicks off in Angola tomorrow.
Several players were badly injured and the Togo team, understandably, now does not want to compete in the tournament.
Togo were due to open their campaign against Ghana (Australia’s opponents in the World Cup) on Monday.
The incident occurred as the bus carrying the team crossed from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Angola on Friday.
It is a miracle that no-one was killed in the attack.
South Hobart beat Beachside 2-1 in a pre-season friendly played at Wellesley Park this evening.
Brett Pullen made an appearance for Beachside.
Ben Crosswell gave Beachside the lead with a free-kick, but Kostas Kanakaris equalised when he turned on the edge of the box and beat Michael Soszynski with his shot.
The 31-year-old Korean defender who guested for South Hobart, Kim Jun Hee, hit the winner.
Kim had a brilliant match and is sure to attract attention interstate.
All three goals came in the final 15 minutes.
Kanakaris and Jonathon Lo also hit the woodwork for South Hobart.
South Hobart also fielded a 17-year-old Korean named Lee and he did well on his debut.
The club’s new Brazilian has arrived, but did not play.
South Hobart’s game against New Town Eagles scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled as Eagles cannot field a team.
South’s game against Taroona on Sunday at Wellesley Park will kick off at 2pm.
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As reported on this blog recently, Michael McIntyre will leave his position as CEO of Football Federation Tasmania at the end of the month.
McIntyre confirmed today that he will take up a position in the private sector.
He wanted to delay the announcement until he had personally informed everyone at FFT but he has been unable to contact two of the employees.
He said he would be more than willing to assist the organisation and his replacement after he departs as he will still be based in the State.
FFT is expected to issue a media release soon and it may take up to ten weeks to find a replacement.
Photo:Steve Darby (right), assistant coach of Thailand, with former Thai head coach, Peter Reid. Darby, a former Tasmanian director of coaching, would be an ideal choice as coach of a Tasmanian A-League team. Thailand play Jordan this week.
The Tasmania United Football Club Taskforce popped up its head today with a media release.
The release stated that, following the completion of last year’s feasibility study, assisted by State Government funding, a ‘full business study’ was also prepared.
It now seems that the business study has indicated a need for a ‘public sentiment survey’ to ascertain the support base for a Tasmanian-based A-League team.
The Taskforce will this month commission a ‘well-respected’ market research company to conduct this public sentiment survey.
