RECENTLY Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced a reshuffle of his cabinet ministers in a bid to refresh his government’s image in the eyes of the Australian public.

The biggest casualty was former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, whose resignation from his post last week triggered the entire mess in the first place. Replacing him to head up defence will be John Faulkner, a man whose spectacles must surely be an archaeological treasure; a forgotten relic of a bygone era somehow preserved in the new millennium.

In amongst all this shuffling, I couldn't help but notice that one Hon Simon Crean MP, Minister for Trade, had kept his portfolio. Now Mr Crean has done some impressive things lately; he's held "urgent talks with EU on Beef Access", given an interview with ABC Radio National's Fran Kelly, and has ensured "growing links with Columbia".

These are all achievements to be admired, and he deserves to be richly congratulated for them. However, in the spirit of the latest Rudd Reshuffle, isn't it time we introduced some new blood? We saw what happened to the Australian cricket team when Gilchrist, McGrath, Langer, Warne, and co. left, and even the Socceroos are going to look a bit grey in a couple of years. Luckily, I have just the candidate. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to your future Minister for Trade; the Hon David Mitchell.

A member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, "Mitch" was a striker whose 20-odd years on the pitch saw him play for clubs like Rangers, Chelsea, Feyenoord, and Eintracht Frankfurt. In addition, he experienced football in lesser-known leagues such as Turkey and Malaysia, and appeared 44 times for the Socceroos with a return of 13 goals.

He ended his playing career in Australia as player-coach for both Sydney Olympic and Sydney Croatia, before becoming Parramatta Power's inaugural manager; coaching players such as Jacob Burns, Mile Sterjovski, and Joel Griffiths. After taking over as caretaker coach of Perth Glory in November of 2007, Mitchell inherited a squad put together by recently sacked manager Ron Smith. Thus it was only when the 2008/2009 season began that he began to put his stamp on the team lineup.

 

Making the Big Calls

Before 2008-2009 began, the homesick Leo Bertos was released to return to New Zeleand, fan favourite Simon Colosimo and local fast-food brawler Mitchell Prentice went to Sydney, the somewhat-immature Billy Celeski was allowed to go to Melbourne, and the horrendous Simpson brothers were relieved of their A-League contracts. But it was Mitchell's treatment of former Socceroo winger Stan Lazaridis which was to define his somewhat-ruthless approach.

A highly respected figure in the West Australian game, Lazaridis had returned to Australia a potential hero for the Glory faithful at a time when the club was near collapse. After more than 250 games in England's top divisions with West Ham United and Birmingham City, "Laza" was expected to become the lynchpin of Glory's rise back to the top. Unfortunately, Lazaridis became a symbol of a club in turmoil; making only 11 appearances in his first season and returning a positive drug test (for hair loss medication) in January 2007.

After serving a 12-month ban, Lazaridis declared his intent to prove any doubters wrong, but could only manage a further two A-League appearances before the end of the 2007-2008 season. After Stan used his Sunday Times column to declare his intent was to play on with the Glory (as long as he didn't have to make long road trips, or feel sore, or play...)

Mitchell made the decision to not re-sign the ex-Socceroo. Any backlash- if it existed- was silenced by the celebrations of Glory supporters who had watched their club fork out money over two years for a marquee who simply gave them nothing in return. Legend or not, Lazaridis was a curse for the Glory and David Mitchell made the right call in not re-signing him.

Initial Success

But dumping Lazaridis wasn't the only good call that Mitchell made last season. Previously, he had tried to sign French striker Eugene Dadi after taking over from Ron Smith, but had been unable to secure his release from his Israeli club. With the 2008-2009 season approaching, Mitchell was able to finally sign the Ivory Coast-born attacker- and what a difference he made.

Aside from his ten goals, which made him the club's equal highest goal-scorer and an A-League Golden Boot contender, he was a massive hit with the local fans, becoming a cult hero alongside the likes of legendary Glory player Jamie Harnwell.

The sight of Dadi jumping into the crowd after a goal with fences collapsing as fans mobbed him was one that amused even the most conservative of Perth fans, even if the stadium's security guards were none too pleased. Mitchell further added to his squad when he signed Dutch winger Victor Sikora and former NSL-winning midfielder Wayne Srhoj; both would have a positive impact on the latter half of the Glory's season.

But perhaps Mitchell's greatest achievement of 2008 was the signing of little-known Australian midfielder Adriano Pellegrino from South Australian state league side North Eastern MetroStars. Signed out of complete obscurity, Pellegrino proceeded to work tirelessly through the Glory midfield, initially in the middle and then out on the right wing. "Pele", as he is affectionately known to the Perth faithful, ran like the Energizer bunny all season and never stopped trying.

His technical skill may not match that of some of the A-League's best, but his heart and passion for the game are second to none. After a quiet start, he gradually won over the Perth fanbase and burst to national attention with that goal against Melbourne Victory in Perth's 3-1 win against the eventual champions. It was only just that Pellegrino won the club's top award at the end of the year. To David Mitchell, this would have been the ultimate acknowledgement that he had secured the bargain signing of the season.

 

Setbacks

It hasn't all gone Mitchell's way during his stay at Glory though. Two of last year's signings, Amaral and Josip Magdic, suffered significant injuries which saw them miss the majority of the season (in Magdic's case, all of it). While the coach can't really be blamed for that, some would question the wisdom of recruiting a player of Amaral's age in the first place.

To Amaral's credit, he was sublime when fit- but keeping fit as you grow older becomes more difficult, and a leg injury eventually forced him out for the remainder of the season. Other signings such as Mark Lee, Hayden Doyle, Scott Bulloch and Adrian Trinidad failed to make a significant impact in the first team, although you might question if Trinidad was handed a good enough chance to prove himself.

Then there were the questionable contract extensions given to the injury-prone David Tarka, goalkeeper Jason Petkovic, and so-called striker James Robinson. And what was with the short-term signings of Mark Anthony and Jeff Bright? Surely there had to be other options?

But by far the biggest mistake of Mitchell's Glory tenure came when he signed goalkeeper Frank Juric from German club Hannover 96. One of the club's biggest signings of the year turned out to be big only in terms of girth, and the season ended with "Frank the Tank" sitting on the pine watching young gun Tando Velaphi out between the sticks. Even worse, Juric was signed on a two-year deal; although that's since been negated with the big keeper retiring to work as a goalie coach at the club.

 

Recovery

Thankfully for Glory fans though, Mitchell has learned from his mistakes and is again impressing on the recruiting front. A final clear-out of the dead wood of the Smith era has occurred, and the club is at last without the likes of Hayden Foxe, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, and Nick Rizzo. Injury-prone players are firmly off Mitchell's radar too, with Josip Magdic, Amaral, and David Tarka all leaving the club.

Whilst I'm sure someone like Hayden Foxe is a decent enough guy - he enjoys a kebab, a pint, and urinating on West Ham bars as much as the rest of us- his legs collapsed faster than a sub-prime mortgage. Simply put, this just isn't how you'd like one of your most expensive players to be spending the season.

Gone too are the interesting hairstyles of Adrian Trinidad and James Robinson; players who simply didn't make the grade on the park. Mark Lee has retired to continue his excellent role with youth players in the WA game, and Dino Djulbic has moved to Germany - even though some fans wanted him to stay, he simply wasn't part of Mitchell's plans.

Those plans evidently include current Socceroo Jacob Burns, former Derby County defender Andy Todd, and Serbian striker Branko Jelic. These three form a very solid spine in Glory's first team, and now that Socceroos winger Mile Sterjovski will be joining them, there's a threatening look about Perth's attack. Fully backed by club CEO Tony Sage, Mitchell is making all the right moves in terms of player transfers. Most fans would acknowledge that for all the dead wood leaving the club, there is only quality being imported- and that includes the young men promoted from the club's youth team.

But perhaps the most remarkable thing about Mitchell's transfer operations has been the background against which they have been performed. Whereas clubs like Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and even Central Coast have stability and money to draw upon, Mitchell has been operating in an environment which for years has been racked with instability and fan discontent.

Money hasn't always been forthcoming, the facilities have been questionable, and the staffing not always ideal. It's easy to attract players when you're a successful club; it's much harder to do it when you're near the bottom of the pile and geographically isolated. Mitchell has managed to do that though, and his keen eye for talent shows why he was once employed as a scout for the Dutch Eredivisie. With all this in mind, why wouldn't you want him trading on behalf of Australia in these tough economic times?

We're All Going To Jo'burg...

Finally, a word of congratulations to Pim Verbeek for getting Australia to the World Cup - and the way in which he's got us there. As of the Bahrain game, Australia hasn't conceded a single goal in the final phase of qualifying. That's a huge stat; I really don't think some people understand its significance.

It's a sign of a team comfortable in defence, and one that is rightly high on confidence. People may bitch and moan about the lack of a 4-4-2 formation, or the absence of some of their favourite players, but Pim has picked the team and the formation to get the job done on every occasion.

Now all that's left is to face Japan at home for the right to finish at the top of the group; something that will happen as long as the Socceroos don't lose. Verbeek's done everything that's been asked of him, and then some - yet he still comes under attack from those who know nothing and those who should know better.

Well, this is one blogger who refuses to condemn our single-striker formation and lack of 5-0 drubbings. Well done boys, and well done Pim Verbeek.