As I sat at ANZ stadium a little disappointed with the team’s showing, I was more than a little dismayed to hear a significant chorus of boos ring out at the final whistle. Now, I understand the “I pay my money I can do what I want” argument and that’s fair enough but I wasn’t sure what people were booing for. Were they booing the fact we’d made the next stage with a game to spare, were they booing the fact that the coach had been able to release some of the big names back early to their holidays and pre-season training earning him the right to call some favours later in the next stage with ever reluctant European managers or were they booing the performance of the young players given a chance to play in front of 70,000 people.
As I saw it, it was a game played on a pudding of a pitch with nothing at stake bar reputation building and I saw some players take steps forward Spiranovic, Williams and some players take steps backward Zadkovich, Jedinak....all part of the learning process for the next stage of qualification.
I think some people need to remember the point of all this...and that is to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals as quickly and painlessly as possible...of course it’s nice to play well and entertain along the way and I believe the Socceroos have done that in about half the games – both games against Qatar and Iraq at home – those three wins and a draw in Kunming were enough to qualify with a game to spare....job done. The Iraqis for all their promise and threat are already out....their World Cup over two years before the finals.
With the draw on Friday likely to throw up a similarly tough assignment for the Socceroos in the next stage I’d happily take early qualification and another defeat for an experimental side in the dead rubber. The objective is not to qualify by the skin of our teeth on penalties in a play off...although I get the feeling that any less excitement than that just won’t be enough to satisfy some people.....are they going to boo if we secure qualification early and snatch their hope of a repeat of 16/11/05 away from them again for another 4 years?! That night should serve as a catalyst to the next chapter in Australian football.....a chapter where qualification through the AFC becomes a consistent event without the need for play offs and penalties.....if it happens that way then so be it but let’s not long for that any more. Instead let's strive for automatic qualification...preferably before the last game.
Ultimately football is about results. Let’s not forget Hiddink’s Russian team currently lighting up Euro 2008 would not have even been taking part had England managed a draw at home to Croatia. Let’s also not forget they got spanked in the opening game 4-1 by the Spain team they now face again in the semi finals. Football’s also about getting results at the right time....just as their opening day defeat will be forgotten should they (and I think they will) beat Spain to progress to the final...so will Sunday’s defeat to China be forgotten if the Socceroos qualify for the World Cup this time next year.
Before you can play well at a major tournament you first have to qualify for it...let’s not forget that.
As I saw it, it was a game played on a pudding of a pitch with nothing at stake bar reputation building and I saw some players take steps forward Spiranovic, Williams and some players take steps backward Zadkovich, Jedinak....all part of the learning process for the next stage of qualification.
I think some people need to remember the point of all this...and that is to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals as quickly and painlessly as possible...of course it’s nice to play well and entertain along the way and I believe the Socceroos have done that in about half the games – both games against Qatar and Iraq at home – those three wins and a draw in Kunming were enough to qualify with a game to spare....job done. The Iraqis for all their promise and threat are already out....their World Cup over two years before the finals.
With the draw on Friday likely to throw up a similarly tough assignment for the Socceroos in the next stage I’d happily take early qualification and another defeat for an experimental side in the dead rubber. The objective is not to qualify by the skin of our teeth on penalties in a play off...although I get the feeling that any less excitement than that just won’t be enough to satisfy some people.....are they going to boo if we secure qualification early and snatch their hope of a repeat of 16/11/05 away from them again for another 4 years?! That night should serve as a catalyst to the next chapter in Australian football.....a chapter where qualification through the AFC becomes a consistent event without the need for play offs and penalties.....if it happens that way then so be it but let’s not long for that any more. Instead let's strive for automatic qualification...preferably before the last game.
Ultimately football is about results. Let’s not forget Hiddink’s Russian team currently lighting up Euro 2008 would not have even been taking part had England managed a draw at home to Croatia. Let’s also not forget they got spanked in the opening game 4-1 by the Spain team they now face again in the semi finals. Football’s also about getting results at the right time....just as their opening day defeat will be forgotten should they (and I think they will) beat Spain to progress to the final...so will Sunday’s defeat to China be forgotten if the Socceroos qualify for the World Cup this time next year.
Before you can play well at a major tournament you first have to qualify for it...let’s not forget that.
