Socceroos v Samurai Blue

[blahblah]

I've had my head down in work in Manila and only just realised this fixture is around the corner.

The questions for me will be:
(i) Has Rogic done enough at Celtic to gain a starting spot in place of Bresciano or Jedinak?
(ii) Will Holland become a regular starter in the DM role?
(iii) What the hell is the CB pairing going to look like?

[EdDog]

Pretty sure Holland will be lucky to be on the bench after Holger had a crack at blooding "youth" in our last game and Holland was pretty much the only one you could consider "youth" as he hasn't started much before. Unfair IMO but going by Holger, I think that will be the case.

As for Rogic, he's getting sweet FA game time at Celtic so shouldn't start - maybe he is worthy of a spot on the bench. For me it's proving to be a terrible move for him. Akin to Matt McKay. Should have stayed in the A-League longer. Then again, Holger is big on playing players who haven't kicked a ball in months so he could start.

As for the CB. Your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully it's someone who's played a bit recently. Try Sainsbury back there perhaps. Least he's still in training thanks to the ACL.

[Stuckey]

Pretty sure Holland will be lucky to be on the bench after Holger had a crack at blooding "youth" in our last game and Holland was pretty much the only one you could consider "youth" as he hasn't started much before. Unfair IMO but going by Holger, I think that will be the case.

As for Rogic, he's getting sweet FA game time at Celtic so shouldn't start - maybe he is worthy of a spot on the bench. For me it's proving to be a terrible move for him. Akin to Matt McKay. Should have stayed in the A-League longer. Then again, Holger is big on playing players who haven't kicked a ball in months so he could start.As for the CB. Your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully it's someone who's played a bit recently. Try Sainsbury back there perhaps. Least he's still in training thanks to the ACL.

Absolutely. I would have much rathered see HAL clubs/FFA spend money on keeping talented youth in the HAL longer then spend on old foreign stars.

[EdDog]

Good to see Vido and Gecko in there. Lol at Neill though - "uncontracted". Says it all really.

Qantas Socceroos Squad – 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers – June 2013

NAME CLUB A-International Caps (goals)

Mark BRESCIANO, Al Gharafa, QATAR - 66 (12)
Alex BROSQUE, Al-Ain Club, UAE - 21 (5)
Tim CAHILL, New York Red Bulls, USA - 61 (27)
Robert CORNTHWAITE, Chunnam Dragons, KOREA REPUBLIC - 7 (3)
Ivan FRANJIC, Brisbane Roar FC, AUSTRALIA - 3 (0)
Eugene GALEKOVIC, Adelaide United FC, AUSTRALIA - 6 (0)
James HOLLAND, FK Austria Vienna, AUSTRIA - 10 (0)
Brett HOLMAN, Aston Villa FC, ENGLAND - 59 (9)
Mile JEDINAK, Crystal Palace FC, ENGLAND - 38 (3)
Josh KENNEDY, Nagoya Grampus, JAPAN - 30 (15)
Robbie KRUSE, Fortuna Dusseldorf, GERMANY - 23 (2)
Mitchell LANGERAK (gk), B.V. Borussia 09 Dortmund, GERMANY
Ryan McGOWAN, Shandong Luneng Taishan FC, CHINA PR - 3 (0)
Matthew McKAY, Changchun Yatai FC, CHINA PR - 35 (1)
Mark MILLIGAN, Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA - 19 (2)
Lucas NEILL, uncontracted - 89 (0)
Jade NORTH, Brisbane Roar FC, AUSTRALIA - 39 (0)
Tommy OAR, FC Utrecht, NETHERLANDS - 7 (0)
Sasa OGNENOVSKI, Umm Salal SC, QATAR - 18 (1)
Tom ROGIC, Celtic FC, SCOTLAND - 4 (0)
Mark SCHWARZER (gk), Fulham FC, ENGLAND - 105 (0)
Archie THOMPSON, Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA - 47 (28)
Michael THWAITE, Perth Glory FC, AUSTRALIA - 11 (0)
Dario VIDOSIC, Adelaide United FC, AUSTRALIA - 14 (1)
Luke WILKSHIRE, FK Dinamo Moscow, RUSSIA - 75 (8)
Michael ZULLO, FC Utrecht, NETHERLANDS - 10 (0)

[EdDog]

Also for those interested - all matches will be broadcast LIVE on SBS!

Fantastic!!

[bpowell454]

Also for those interested - all matches will be broadcast LIVE on SBS!

Fantastic!!

Woohoo!

[Interloper]

About time Josh Kennedy came back from the wilderness.

[sevengoals]

Good to see Dario get a call up and of course the great Eugene Galekovic is back in the squad.(He is hands down better than than Federici)

By the way James Holland picked up a Champions medal with FK Austria Wien last night and he and the club have a chance for the double when FK Austria Wien play Josko Ried next week in the Cup final.

The final is on the 30th of May and the game against Japan is on the 4th of June.
Tight, very tight.

[blahblah]

Tight, very tight.

Possibly too tight. Much will depend on the shape he is in at training however it will be bit of an ask.

Hopefully Dario gets a look in.

[sevengoals]

Wow, two articles on Australian football on the Guardian website in one day.

Here is the first.

"Did you see the interview with Jürgen Klopp when he said that Shinji Kagawa is one of the best players in the world?" asks Sydney-born defender Eddy Bosnar. "For a coach like Klopp to say that, it shows how good Japan are. Nobody is saying that kind of thing about Australian players these days."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog ... lifer-2014

[Interloper]

"I don't think West Asia is a good idea," said Bosnar. "But I'd be a hypocrite if I said I wouldn't go where the money was. But to say 'I am going to play in Qatar as there are less games so I can be fresh for the national team' is bollocks. You are going there to make more money. But if selectors choose players from west Asia to play for the national team then they must be good enough."

hear hear

[EdDog]

So true. We have gone downhill since '06 whereas Japan have gotten much better.

[shinAUFC]

We were always going to have a downturn after 06 plus the game back home was still in turmoil so it was not as if we could focus on youth in the A-league.

Blind freddy could see we needed to rebuild after 06 and stop clinging to what has been.

In 06, we played like australians, went out to win no matter who we played. Scoring was always the main focus. Since then it seems we are scared of everyone we play and pray we have get a dodgy goal in the first half and then cling to the lead for the rest of the match. PATHETIC

After Hiddink there should have been a long term plan to rebuild the socceroos.

Seriously when is the last time you have seen a socceroo back himself and take on a defender without fear of losing the ball? Or a goal that come as a result of 15 precise passes? We have those players that can do this but sadly we only select players from the petro leagues.

I honestly think the top A-league sides would bury the socceroos into the ground

[EdDog]

Interesting you say that a HAL side would bury the Socceroos - I completely agree with you.

I remember a couple weeks back, Arnie was pushing to have a friendly against the Socceroos to keep CCM fit for their ACL round of 16. The Socceroos were conveniently training on the Central Coast but played against some youth or junior team instead.

Wouldn't be surprised if Holger chose not to play CCM for the very reason you mentioned above Shin

[shinAUFC]

yeah i just cannot see the socceroos breaking down a defence like WSW.
Nor could i imagine them being able to defend a counter from defence from MV.
Nor would i expect to see schwartzer pull off an unexpected world class save like Ryan or Eugene do on a weekly basis.

Its rather ironic that AUFC and CCM have both recently gone deep into ACL. Most asian leagues tend to keep their best players yet our best in AUS go overseas, so its fair to say our local clubs have faced some international quality during these matches and often come out on top.

Which completely staggers me why more A-league players are not getting match time over players sitting on the bench in the middle each.

I guess this is why Holger and co get paid the big bucks because they clearly know something that we don't!