Pim, are your ‘Roos ready?
Roar Pro By The Bear, 1 Sep 2008 The Bear is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- David Carney, football, Mark Viduka, Matthew Spiranovic, Nick Carle, Pim Verbeek, Socceroos
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Before Pim Verbeek batons down the hatches, and really gets down to business for qualifying Australia for the World Cup in South Africa 2010, he needs to take stock. And stock is something of which he still has in abundance.
There are a multitude of questions that any prudent national coach should ask at this stage of a squad’s development. Especially only moments away from facing your own country’s national team, and having to live up to the inevitable Hiddink comparisons.
Whether or not Pim uses the upcoming Netherlands game for sorting out any positional queries, it is becoming very apparent that the squad is fleshing out.
But perhaps, with the inclusion of Shane Steffanuto (LB) and Jacob Burns (LM/Holding), Pim is proving to us all he really is still clutching at straws.
Especially when you consider there are no less than 4 goalies being summoned across the dikes of Holland. Perhaps the dikes have finally given way, and they could use the extra pairs of hands.
It may seem to these players, as with Nick Carle, that a squad is just a squad: a mock team for the first team to play and train against. No less, no more.
I wonder if the irony is not lost on the left footed Carle, whose latent ability to play more as a holding midfielder in the second tier English league is being stretched with good success. I am sure he wishes Jacob Burns all the success, and sympathy.
Which brings me to an oddity. Chris Coyne. Trialed over the last round of World Cup Qualifiers, when Michael Beauchamp couldn’t track a forward if his visa depended on it, Coyne’s “stop gap” inclusion seems to be a flowering success. Maybe even to reach a fuller bloom than of Jade North, for this Socceroo’s tilt for South Africa 2010.
Chris has been around the National set-up for years, and like Jacob Burns, missed the cut for the 2000 Olympics squad. Pim is either a visionary or a gambler.
It seems the preparation is cutting it fine, with the Uzbek’s just around the corner, the tinkering must all be but complete. The squad must have had the final inspection. The casualties, those that were deemed unfit for Pim’s plans would surely know where they stand by now.
And the Verbeek/Arnold success stories would be scripted right from the coal face that they have been digging around in since Verbeek’s, and his wing man, Duut’s, appointment last December by the FFA.
The persistence with David Carney, Brett Holman, Michael Beauchamp, Chris Coyne, Bruce Djite, Scott MacDonald, and more recently with Matthew Spiranovic, and Mark Milligan, have all reaped important intel for Pim and his team.
Some players, though, haven’t been so fortunate to have such focused attention. If Chris Coyne can be unearthed from Colchester, why hasn’t Serie A’s Richard Porta of A.C. Siena, or SPL stalwart, Kilmarnock’s Danny Invincible? Perhaps Garcia’s inclusion in this squad is an after thought, after his surprise equalising header with Hull last month.
Last I heard our Socceroos had just as much a scoring problem, as a defensive problem. But in the last 9 months, only Djite and Holman have been seriously trialled as a solution to this problem. It seems the management team have a preference to defend, not score.
So, are our ‘Roos ready? By this weekend, surely. Other than that, and banking on the return to form and fitness of Mark Viduka and Tim Cahill, it would be fairly rational to assume that the squad has been given it’s provisional rubber stamp for the upcoming road to South Africa’s hosting of the next World Cup.
Are we all happy with the process since Germany ’06? Are we happy with the trialling, the quality of the football and motivations behind this squad? I am far from convinced, but one would have to suggest a minor catastrophe, to cock it up from here.
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- David Carney, football, Mark Viduka, Matthew Spiranovic, Nick Carle, Pim Verbeek, Socceroos
September 2nd 2008 @ 7:25pm
Koala Bear said | September 2nd 2008 @ 7:25pm | Report comment
Bear,
You have to wonder about Scotti; as he is putting away a lot of goals for Celtic; but has yet to express himself for the Australian national football team.. I can’t understand it to tell you the truth.. But we continually are being deficient in striking area, where most of our goals come from the midfielders.. And under Pimbo, I can’t see any out and out striker getting to many goals.. This now seems to me a fairly big problem; for Scotti, how do we play such a very talented player under a Pimbo system .. He is too short to be a target man, not strong enough to hold the ball up like a Viduka, so as I see it we need to change the system to suit Scotti, and not try to change Scotti to suit the system .. At the moment he looks destined to be a player on the subs bench in a Pimbo’s squad..
~~~~~~~
KB
September 2nd 2008 @ 11:20pm
jimbo said | September 2nd 2008 @ 11:20pm | Report comment
KB,
agree that Scotti McRoo won’t be missed.
Pimbo is going to play Milligan at centre forward with Coyne supporting just behind.
September 3rd 2008 @ 12:09am
Midfielder said | September 3rd 2008 @ 12:09am | Report comment
Jimbo
Scot Mc is a good player, Celtic is not a poor side, he is also out of his club side for 4 weeks as well.
I remember people always on Kool’s back wont come back. Kool said look its to hard sometimes my body cannot take playing 50 to 60 games a year and flying back to play island team. Bag bag bag bag weak weakee bag bag. Now over the last 3 years or so his body just broke down IMO from over work and being flogged by O’Leary ………… Scot is hurt he plays a lot in a very physical league and in that league is a very marked player.
September 3rd 2008 @ 1:00am
jimbo said | September 3rd 2008 @ 1:00am | Report comment
Midfielder,
no doubting Scott’s ability for the Old Firm, but he’s just used as a front running hack by Pimbo and is unlikely to ever score for the Roos while he is the manager.
So if he is carrying a niggle, then best he doesn’t play and hope Milligan can find the back of the net playing up front . . .
September 3rd 2008 @ 1:12am
Midfielder said | September 3rd 2008 @ 1:12am | Report comment
Jimbo
I would give Mile STERJOVSKI a go up front………. he is tall / hard/ has a wicket first smack as for Mullo he would not be in my starting 11.
September 3rd 2008 @ 9:05am
Koala Bear said | September 3rd 2008 @ 9:05am | Report comment
Lads,
.. KEWELL … JESUS… STERJOVSKI …
I think the strike force picks itself; very easy .. due to injuries etc there’s not too much decision making for Pimbo here.. Luckily… or is there ? We may see Holman as our target man.. ?
~~~~~~~
KB
September 3rd 2008 @ 9:50am
jimbo said | September 3rd 2008 @ 9:50am | Report comment
KB,
Pimbo would play with 9 defenders and 2 goalkeepers if he could, so don’t count on 3 attacking players.
One might be the limit – probably Jesus with a second half substitution.
Kewell might play on the left and Holman or Valeri instead of Sterjo.
Getting one point is the objective and first half especially, it will be possession football and running with the clock.
I hope they’ve got female streakers in Tashkent or the Mexican wave might be the most exciting thing to look forward to in the first half.
Second half will be more open and a goal or two. Hope we can hold together and sneak the odd goal from a free kick or corner.
September 3rd 2008 @ 11:18am
Koala Bear said | September 3rd 2008 @ 11:18am | Report comment
Jimbo,
Of course you are right yet again. I was just wondering.. would the second goalkeeper be the team bus driver parking the bus in front of the goal mouth..?
I think perhaps, that would indicate the system he will employ for this first vital leg .. He may also go as far as stuffing the gaps between the bus and cross bar and the posts with the subs…
~~~~~~~
KB
September 3rd 2008 @ 7:51pm
The Bear said | September 3rd 2008 @ 7:51pm | Report comment
Cousin Koala,
It is an interesting point you made about Pim’s “strikers”. Perhaps Pim’s goal getters are meant to come from midfield, and the forward (lone striker) is just a foil for these 18 yard strikes. Of course, corners and set plays are the fave way to get goals from subscribers of “modern” football, to which i believe Pim is one.
And that being the case, you are correct in speculating that ANY striker will struggle in Pim’s headspace. Perhaps that is why he hasn’t rattled the cup, and enlisted Porta and/or Invincible.
He’s had his chances.
Graciously,
The Bear
September 4th 2008 @ 2:04pm
jimbo said | September 4th 2008 @ 2:04pm | Report comment
KB,
great idea about the team bus in the goalmouth. Won’t the Uzbeks be surprised!
I hope Norm parks it at the right end for each half.
We can get Doris and the cheergirls to stick their heads, arms and legs outside the bus windows to fill in the cracks . . .