Swine flu keeps Minniecon grounded – for now

Roar Pro

By Jesse Fink, 17 Jul 2009 Jesse Fink is a Roar Pro

Tagged:: A-League, football

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Queensland Roar's Tahj Minniecon (second from left) fights for a ball against Central Coast Mariners during their A-League match in Gosford, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009. Queensland Roar won 4-3. AAP Image/Aman Sharma

Now far be it for me to go around make wild allegations and expounding conspiracy theories, but don’t you think it’s a remarkable coincidence that Tahj Minniecon has come down with swine flu just when the player is involved in a bitter club–vs-country battle for his services?

It’s like the bad old Leeds United days of Harry Kewell and his litany of “nagging injuries”.

Not suggesting anything untoward, of course, but you would hope that Football Federation Australia is dispatching its own doctor to inspect Minniecon and come up with an independent assessment.
Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg, it should be pointed out, is under no obligation to release Minniecon for the Young Socceroos’ training camp/mini-tournament in Argentina ahead of the World Youth Cup in Egypt, not falling on FIFA-designated international dates, but it is undeniably in his club’s interests not to rock too many boats at the FFA.

The two camps have had a frosty relationship so far – especially over fixture scheduling – and the Minniecon impasse is a problem neither wants while also not being prepared to give an inch either way.

Now swine flu has come to the rescue, simultaneously releasing the pressure for action on both sides. It’s so fantastic a scriptwriter couldn’t have made it up.

But even if he does have H1N1 virus, should Minniecon be compelled to travel to South America? In my view he should.

I’m thinking back to the case of Karmichael Hunt, the Brisbane Broncos and Queensland rugby league star who contracted swine flu in early June and after the obligatory period of quarantine and requisite doses of Tamiflu took the field against the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium days later.

The Young Socceroos’ tournament starts on July 22, six days away at time of writing, so in essence plenty of time for young Minniecon to serve the 72-hour quarantine, take his Tamiflu and get on the plane to Buenos Aires.

Bleiberg might be correct in asserting he does not have to release Minniecon but morally he should relent. To a man and woman Australian football fans condemned Leeds and other English clubs for not releasing our stars for national duty, and the same should apply to Gold Coast and any other Australian club that tries the same trick.

Every member of the Australian “football family” contributes financially, by way of straight tax, match revenue or registered player levies, to the upkeep and ongoing wellbeing of our national teams.

So we should rightly expect that when a player is called up that he (or she) is not prevented from representing the nation, especially by an Australian coach employed by an Australian club playing in an Australian league.

To stop that player would be, dare I say it, un-Australian.

Now Bleiberg might sound a bit exotic with that thick Israeli accent, and dress like Hannibal Lecter on holiday in Rome, but he’s been resident here for more than two decades.

He owes all of us a whole lot more than he is giving.

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The Crowd Says (19) | Page 1 of Comments

whiskeymac said | July 17th 2009 @ 9:27am | Report comment

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/tahjs-callup-now-in-doctors-hands/2009/07/16/1247337216924.html

“Whether he is named in the Young Socceroos squad due to be announced today will depend on a ruling by FFA’s medical boss Dr Jeff Steinweg, who will seek to clarify Minniecon’s condition.”
The article gave the impression that Blieberg had backed down.
I also note in the article that Owusu (Adelaide) will be out for a few weeks from swine flu, a big difference to the league player who was playing a few days later. seems that some people recover differently from the flu than others?

but specifics aside the bigger picture, namely club v country involving HAL clubs, needs resolving. leeds and everton and to a lesser extent re:carney at shfd united have all been lambasted in the past over this issue. and now GCU and Adelaide United (over mullen i think recently?) are dragging their feet over releasing players. So where’s the balance between NT development and HAL development to be found? both are integral to the game here.

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Finno said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:05am | Report comment

Football in Australia need to be very careful with this. Socceroos / young Socceroo success directly impacts on the success of the A- League in crowd numbers, media coverage and overall development.

But on the other hand Taj playing for the young Socceroos may actually help his game.

I understand GCU spend $$ on Taj and want the best out of him, so the tight rope of country v club has to be walked.

If you let the club beat the drum to the Socceroos the only way is down for the Socceroos and flow on effect is down for the A- League

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Jesse Fink said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:11am | Report comment

Yeah, I saw that report after my blog was filed yesterday, Whiskeymac. Seems like a good outcome. You’re right – even with Minniecon on a plane to Argentina, the big issue is what takes precedence, club or country, and in my view it is always country. I thought Bleiberg’s quote in the SMH report was infuriating. “We knew from day one we would have to honour Tahj’s call-up.” Bollocks, Miron. Clearly his and Clive Palmer’s nuts were squeezed a little harder and so they gave up Tahj.

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whiskeymac said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:25am | Report comment

Like you Jesse i think NT must take precedence. It’s where the game gets its $ from in Oz, and where most people are most passionate. even for Tahj you’d think its better for his future/ exposure to be playing well in Buenos Aries than playing one or two GCU games.

G14 and euroclubs get away with it (to the detriment of the game) but I think the HAL clubs will, at least in the next decade or so, be so reliant on the FFA that they will have to tow the NT line. They don’t have the resources or stability or clout to force down the FFA (and rightly so) over such an issue and the only outcome they will get is what Miron has got, some media noise for the benefit of shareholders and possible excuses for their team’s performance.

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burgerman said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:27am | Report comment

I read yesterday that Ben Buckley had stated that it is in the licensing agreement that each team signs that players must be released for national duty.

see here:http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/coast-ffa-on-collision-course-over-tahj/2009/07/15/1247337169351.html

so there is really no option for clubs, which is the way it should be. Blieberg just seems to like to make a fuss about things. Like the riders in the tour de france making a fuss about their radios when they know that they can’t affect teh outcome

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jimbo said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:34am | Report comment

whiskeymac,
Owusu has complications – he has pneumonia from playing on while he had swine flu instead of resting – so he will take a lot longer to recover.

I remember the Leeds days when Harry always seemed to be injured when he got a call up for the Socceroos and made a remarkable recovery to play for Leeds a few days later. How times have changed and how some football credibility and a WC goal at the end of it all changes the situation for some people.

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Rob said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:37am | Report comment

Hey Jesse,
Heh! When I read that Minneicon had swine flu I started to laugh. I figured it was just a bit of Bleiberg BS to stall the FFA. He’s a loose canon, is our Miron, always has been. He spouted so much rubbish when he was coach of the Roar, and now he’s got an Iron Ore Magnate in his corner he’s coming out with more and more of it. This bollocks is just the latest in a long line of crap that has dribbled out his mouth since taking over down on the “glitter strip”. I bet Taj has a case of the sniffles rather than the flu that makes you go “Oink”.
The whinge about fixtures was absurd too but what would you expect from Miron? And the hubris about their victory against Fulham’s reserves in the second half? (this mainly from the fans, I hasten to add) Goodness gracious. You would have thought they had won the Club World Cup or something!
Gold Coast United has indeed succeeded in getting under my skin, if that was their intention. I am looking forward to August 8 when I and the rest of the Roar fans can laugh at them as they get spanked by our boys!

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whiskeymac said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:58am | Report comment

jimbo – cheers. that wasnt reported in the same SMH article and certainly sheds light on why he will be off for so long compared to others. A bit stupid to be playing so soon after getting influenza IMO( i honestly cant see how its good for anyone to be playing within 2 weeks of catching influenza as you need the rest and proverbial chicken soup to recover properly). Am still hoping Owusu will provide some goals for the pissants though.

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Pippinu said | July 17th 2009 @ 11:09am | Report comment

Now that we have the luxury of our first ever billionaire owned club (who appears to know bugger all about football) – expect this issue to hot up even more in the future.

In all human endeavour, from all around the world, the rich and powerful always manage to get themselves excused from such unpleasant details as rules and regulations.

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Kazama said | July 17th 2009 @ 11:14am | Report comment

Agree with the article Jesse – surely the national team, regardless of age group, must come before everything else. Not the first time though an A-League coach has tried to put their own interests above that of the nation’s: http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/92681,okon-lashes-kossie-over-kofi.aspx

whiskeymac – Hopefully Owusu will get on the park sooner rather than later as we haven’t had much luck with strikers – e.g. Qu and Aggo both stuggling to be fit during their spells here. However I am happy that his absence will allow young Francesco Monterosso to get an opportuniy to show what he can do on a bigger stage after winning the NYL’s golden boot last season.

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