The dust has finally settled on Monday morning's horror show. The post-mortem has been completed and the results are conclusive. While the players must still accept some level of blame they were merely accomplices in an act of homicide. All signs point to the tactics as the chief instigator. Unless Pim Verbeek is a closet Germany fan, there doesn't seem to be a motive.
The questioning process is well and truly underway but it's unlikely that Mr Verbeek will be able to shed any light on the events.
The victims, we the fans, are starting to move on. At this stage, it seems only sensible to look forward and consider how this World Cup can be saved, beginning with the must-win match against Ghana. Tim Cahill is out and it's time for a new hero to emerge. Luckily, or perhaps disappointingly, we have a ready-made hero who has not yet seen a minute of action since beginning his South African adventure.
Surely Pim can't deprive of us Harry Kewell any longer?
Sixty-plus minutes of decent football from the Socceroos' most creative player is essential for victory. He must start the game and, in my opinion, be given a free role behind Josh Kennedy. If the plan is to once again play lofted, meaningless balls into a box crowded with defenders then surely Josh would be a better option than Richard Garcia. For all his effort and determination, Garcia was the wrong man for the job against Germany. It can only be assumed that Pim gave him the nod ahead of Kennedy for his capacity to pressure defenders, but all too often the ball was brought out of the German backline with ease.
Another man sure to get a run is Mark Bresciano. It's slightly more understandable that ‘Marco' didn't feature due to his poor pre-tournament form but his ability to get behind the defence cannot be overlooked. His good mate Vince Grella is injured for this game but it's just saved Pim from axing him.
Vince has been a terrific servant for the national team over a number of years but it's impossible to ignore his severe drop in form any longer, even for Pim.
His number one job as a defensive midfielder, in association with Carl Valeri, was to track the runs of Ozil, Khedira and Podolski but he couldn't handle their intelligent movements. Valeri fared little better. Jason Culina should be moved back into his preferred position so long as he is under instruction to get the ball moving forward at a quicker rate. Depending on training performances, either Valeri or Mile Jedinak will be paired with Culina in midfield.
Amazingly, the areas mentioned were not the most worrying. Lucas Neill and Craig Moore looked far from the experienced partnership that we were duped into believing they were and while much has been said about their obvious lack of pace, it was more than just that. Both were left begging, and sometimes abusing, the linesmen to raise his flag due to their own poor positioning. Coupled with a high defensive line, the case is beginning to look a little more like suicide. Whether Michael Beauchamp is the solution remains to be seen but either he or Mark Milligan would be fair options to replace Moore.
Whoever shoulders the responsibility, let's just hope that come Sunday morning we aren't all reaching for the red pen to amend our Southern Cross. Pim has two games left to prove that his reign as Australian coach has not been a failure.
Guus Hiddink managed it in one.
