Since when did the Pre-Season Cup matter? In Roll Of Honour terms, it ranks right up there with scratching your arse or having a slightly tepid pie. Yet the FFA, with all the wisdom of Qantas maintenance chiefs, succeeded in turning it into the footy version of a long haul flight from London to Melbourne.
One wrong move and a club can crash and burn in their first game of the season – which the FFA conveniently ensured was a blockbuster match. So round one’s Sydney v Melbourne will once again be as exciting as Brendan Nelson’s hair.
Meanwhile, the two teams that made it into the final will have their slate wiped clean. How does logic slip past the FFA so easily? Either all cards in all parts of the Pre-Season Cup carry over into the league, or none do. Preferably, just keep it none. Pre-season is exactly that - Not. The. Real. Season.
Let everyone start the new season with a clean slate and make sure the A-League can at least try to be a spectacle that can be enjoyed by fans (remember them, FFA? They’re the ones who pay to go to the games? Wear scarves, shout a lot, jump up and down a bit – you’ll recognise them when you see them).
Results should be decided on the pitch, not by officials in a boardroom before a ball has even been kicked. But hey, at least Sydney have a ready-made excuse if/when they lose again though, eh? Maybe the FFA do know what they’re doing after all...
++++
Deadlines suck. We Ubergruppenfuhrers of Stalag FourFourTwo had to name our final A-League positions for the magazine a couple of weeks ago...right before some of the key signings of the season. So disregard mine please (‘cos I know you’d be hanging on my every word, eh?)
Jets will do much better than I predicted if Zura isn’t Ali Dia in disguise. But Roar still have too much of an extreme in experience, even with Miller. There are too many youngsters, too many (very) old heads - and not enough in between.
Phoenix may not do as well if they lose Lochhead permanently no matter how good their midfield and attack is, and Sydney might as well have signed Amy Winehouse instead of John Aloisi for all the time he looks like he’s going to spend in physio rehab. A top four position could be too optimistic.
(Incidentally, my tip for the Sydney player of the season will be the one that got the least fanfare when he joined them. Providing he can stop picking up cards, this will be Mitchell Prentice’s season, not Bridge, not Musialik, maybe not Colosimo and definitely not Winealoisi.)
Impressive Adelaide still need some extra shooting stock if Ago is going to be made of glass again, Glory look like they will struggle once more despite Dave Mitchell’s ummm, interesting, signings, and Mariners could do better than I originally thought.
Looking at it on paper, the best squad seems to be Melbourne – but then they did last year too... and we all know how that finished for them. Second best for me now is Jets – and I had them deadset last a couple of weeks ago.
Phoenix, Sydney, Adelaide, and Mariners will be fighting it out for the last two (or three, depending on what Victory do with all that talent) finals spots while Roar and Glory will bring up the rear in that order.
But to be honest, it’s very close and the margins between the clubs are tighter than ever and in the end it’ll come down to the old clichés/weaknesses.
Sydney's less width than Miranda Kerr, Victory’s 8-1-1 tactics, Newcastle’s Jetstar-class budget, the Kiwis’ long-term lease on the wooden spoon, Glory’s nominal irony, the doughty but dour Mariners, Farina’s luck running out at inappropriate moments (*coughRBTcough*) and injury-ravaged Adelaide.
So basically, anyone can win it and all of them could lose. Check back next week for some more penetrating insight... In the meantime, here’s that Veronicas chick with her chebs out (NSFW, obviously).
++++
This should be Graham Arnold’s last few weeks in charge of a national team. We don’t mean Arnie any harm – he’s a good bloke, his heart’s in the right place and he should be kept around the national set-up as a former Socceroo with experience to share.
But in the name of God, never let him near a senior coach’s role ever again.
It’s not just his inability to pick a squad, a team, a formation or a tactic. It’s not just his inability to understand that the criticism levelled at him isn’t because he’s Australian and not Dutch. It’s not just his paper-thin skin that takes offence at, well, anything.
It’s that he’s crap. Criminally crap. At Olyroos training, in an 11 v 11 match a few weeks ago, Mark Milligan was playing it out of defence properly, passing to feet, moving the ball quickly out of danger but in control and retaining possession. It was textbook stuff. Unless you’re Arnie.
After Milligan had moved the ball forward safely, Arnie stopped play and called everyone back to where they were when Millsy started the move. And instead of playing it out, he told Millsy what he should have done was hoof it 50 yards across field up to the other wing, which he then demonstrated and restarted play thereafter. It would bring a tear to a glass eye etc etc.
A week or so later at North Sydney Oval he reserved his greatest praise for Jade North again launching the ball up to the other end of the field.
Arnie appears to have the fear of God in him that he will get sacked if he doesn’t get a medal at Beijing, and is resorting to the Sam Allardyce school of footy to try to get one.
He’s half right. He will get sacked.
In all honesty, we never truly had much chance of a medal at the Olympics. No fan I know actually thought we were contenders, and since Arnie’s selection was revealed, no-one at all even dreams of being medallists.
What we did want, though, was to see us put up a good show, field our best team, and generally take it to the Argies and co, playing good football while getting narrowly beaten. What we didn’t want was us to play naive longball footy while getting thrashed and embarrass the nation.
Not to mention the fact that we have enough problems getting our best players to turn out for Australia without destroying their Olympic dreams to embitter them against the national team.
The Olympic campaign is shaping up to be an even greater disaster than the Asian Cup. For once, Seven are actually doing us a favour by hiding it away in their schedules. Knowing them though, they'll probably wait until we're getting humped, then cut live to it. See You Next Thursday, Seven.
+++
Sydney asked us not to use any photographs of the Football Superstar winner who was training with the first team last week. They didn't want to give the game away for the Fox 8 show which has yet to reach its climax on TV, even although the result has been decided. We happily agreed.
But guess who didn’t comply? Fox Sports News – who used footage of their show’s winner training in the background of their piece on Kosmina – then put it online to boot, just in case anyone missed it. On ya, Fox!
One wrong move and a club can crash and burn in their first game of the season – which the FFA conveniently ensured was a blockbuster match. So round one’s Sydney v Melbourne will once again be as exciting as Brendan Nelson’s hair.
Meanwhile, the two teams that made it into the final will have their slate wiped clean. How does logic slip past the FFA so easily? Either all cards in all parts of the Pre-Season Cup carry over into the league, or none do. Preferably, just keep it none. Pre-season is exactly that - Not. The. Real. Season.
Let everyone start the new season with a clean slate and make sure the A-League can at least try to be a spectacle that can be enjoyed by fans (remember them, FFA? They’re the ones who pay to go to the games? Wear scarves, shout a lot, jump up and down a bit – you’ll recognise them when you see them).
Results should be decided on the pitch, not by officials in a boardroom before a ball has even been kicked. But hey, at least Sydney have a ready-made excuse if/when they lose again though, eh? Maybe the FFA do know what they’re doing after all...
++++
Deadlines suck. We Ubergruppenfuhrers of Stalag FourFourTwo had to name our final A-League positions for the magazine a couple of weeks ago...right before some of the key signings of the season. So disregard mine please (‘cos I know you’d be hanging on my every word, eh?)
Jets will do much better than I predicted if Zura isn’t Ali Dia in disguise. But Roar still have too much of an extreme in experience, even with Miller. There are too many youngsters, too many (very) old heads - and not enough in between.
Phoenix may not do as well if they lose Lochhead permanently no matter how good their midfield and attack is, and Sydney might as well have signed Amy Winehouse instead of John Aloisi for all the time he looks like he’s going to spend in physio rehab. A top four position could be too optimistic.
(Incidentally, my tip for the Sydney player of the season will be the one that got the least fanfare when he joined them. Providing he can stop picking up cards, this will be Mitchell Prentice’s season, not Bridge, not Musialik, maybe not Colosimo and definitely not Winealoisi.)
Impressive Adelaide still need some extra shooting stock if Ago is going to be made of glass again, Glory look like they will struggle once more despite Dave Mitchell’s ummm, interesting, signings, and Mariners could do better than I originally thought.
Looking at it on paper, the best squad seems to be Melbourne – but then they did last year too... and we all know how that finished for them. Second best for me now is Jets – and I had them deadset last a couple of weeks ago.
Phoenix, Sydney, Adelaide, and Mariners will be fighting it out for the last two (or three, depending on what Victory do with all that talent) finals spots while Roar and Glory will bring up the rear in that order.
But to be honest, it’s very close and the margins between the clubs are tighter than ever and in the end it’ll come down to the old clichés/weaknesses.
Sydney's less width than Miranda Kerr, Victory’s 8-1-1 tactics, Newcastle’s Jetstar-class budget, the Kiwis’ long-term lease on the wooden spoon, Glory’s nominal irony, the doughty but dour Mariners, Farina’s luck running out at inappropriate moments (*coughRBTcough*) and injury-ravaged Adelaide.
So basically, anyone can win it and all of them could lose. Check back next week for some more penetrating insight... In the meantime, here’s that Veronicas chick with her chebs out (NSFW, obviously).
++++
This should be Graham Arnold’s last few weeks in charge of a national team. We don’t mean Arnie any harm – he’s a good bloke, his heart’s in the right place and he should be kept around the national set-up as a former Socceroo with experience to share.
But in the name of God, never let him near a senior coach’s role ever again.
It’s not just his inability to pick a squad, a team, a formation or a tactic. It’s not just his inability to understand that the criticism levelled at him isn’t because he’s Australian and not Dutch. It’s not just his paper-thin skin that takes offence at, well, anything.
It’s that he’s crap. Criminally crap. At Olyroos training, in an 11 v 11 match a few weeks ago, Mark Milligan was playing it out of defence properly, passing to feet, moving the ball quickly out of danger but in control and retaining possession. It was textbook stuff. Unless you’re Arnie.
After Milligan had moved the ball forward safely, Arnie stopped play and called everyone back to where they were when Millsy started the move. And instead of playing it out, he told Millsy what he should have done was hoof it 50 yards across field up to the other wing, which he then demonstrated and restarted play thereafter. It would bring a tear to a glass eye etc etc.
A week or so later at North Sydney Oval he reserved his greatest praise for Jade North again launching the ball up to the other end of the field.
Arnie appears to have the fear of God in him that he will get sacked if he doesn’t get a medal at Beijing, and is resorting to the Sam Allardyce school of footy to try to get one.
He’s half right. He will get sacked.
In all honesty, we never truly had much chance of a medal at the Olympics. No fan I know actually thought we were contenders, and since Arnie’s selection was revealed, no-one at all even dreams of being medallists.
What we did want, though, was to see us put up a good show, field our best team, and generally take it to the Argies and co, playing good football while getting narrowly beaten. What we didn’t want was us to play naive longball footy while getting thrashed and embarrass the nation.
Not to mention the fact that we have enough problems getting our best players to turn out for Australia without destroying their Olympic dreams to embitter them against the national team.
The Olympic campaign is shaping up to be an even greater disaster than the Asian Cup. For once, Seven are actually doing us a favour by hiding it away in their schedules. Knowing them though, they'll probably wait until we're getting humped, then cut live to it. See You Next Thursday, Seven.
+++
Sydney asked us not to use any photographs of the Football Superstar winner who was training with the first team last week. They didn't want to give the game away for the Fox 8 show which has yet to reach its climax on TV, even although the result has been decided. We happily agreed.
But guess who didn’t comply? Fox Sports News – who used footage of their show’s winner training in the background of their piece on Kosmina – then put it online to boot, just in case anyone missed it. On ya, Fox!
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