By Jesse Fink
November 6th 2009 @ 4:10am
Related coverage
Verbeek was right to spike McDonald
Australia's Scott McDonald and Iraq's Haidar Hussain during the Australian Socceroos v Iraq World Cup qualifier. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
So Pim Verbeek has cut Scott McDonald adrift. Good. It was overdue. Which is not to say McDonald is not a quality player – judged on his profile and goals he’s still our best sharpshooter in Europe.
But overall, in his 15 international appearances to date, he’s not performed to the standard required of a national-team striker and never quite come across as a player who looks like he’s comfortable in the team.
Whether that is just confidence or how he’s been played in Verbeek’s system is inconsequential. McDonald needs to own up to the fact he simply hasn’t been good enough, despite plenty of chances to acclimatise and make the position his own.
The coach isn’t about to change his system to fit around the player. Verbeek’s going to South Africa 2010 doing it his way.
So how McDonald responds to the challenge of being left out is now up to him. His World Cup chances aren’t shot but they have definitely been dealt a blow no matter how much Verbeek tries to play it down as a result of having “plenty of options”.
In the meantime it’s time for other strikers to step up and put him out of the picture completely.
Many moons ago when he was still playing in the A-League I tipped Bruce Djite for big things but his adventure in Turkey has hardly set the world alight and this would explain why his opportunities with the Socceroos have been so limited.
Djite has a physical presence McDonald does not. McDonald is more of a Tim Cahill-like player, a rover who can sniff a goal amid chaos. A second-ball “cleaner”, if you will. Djite offers a bit more: tall, strong, able to hold the ball up and play others in, as we saw him do so frequently with Nathan Burns at Adelaide United.
A genuine target man, albeit one who, because of his youth and inexperience, still has a long way to go in being the finished product.
Verbeek’s mixed things up a bit by calling in Djite while ignoring Nikita Rukavytsya, even though Ruka’s arguably in better form, scoring in Cup games in Holland but not breaking into FC Twente’s first team. On the weekend Djite played his first SüperLig game for Genclerbirligi since August, coming on as a second-half sub.
In reality it’s going to come down to Djite vs Rukavytsya for a berth in South Africa so Verbeek is simply giving both players a decent platform to impress.
We’ll likely see Djite dropped for the next game in the New Year and Ruka called in.
(Sorry, parochialists: Archie Thompson, Mark Bridge and Alex Brosque have virtually zero chance of making the final 23-man squad for the World Cup, despite Verbeek’s mentioning of the trio in a press conference this week.)
So is Verbeek compromising our World Cup interests by taking such a gamble in dropping McDonald?
In my view, quite the opposite. In fact it’s one of the bravest things he’s done so far and bravery is not a word frequently used in connection to our national-team manager.
Though it’s late in the piece it’s better he start taking risks now than never. If he can take a few more we might just stand a chance come June.
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andrewMc said | November 6th 2009 @ 4:53am | Report comment
Going by your logic, if Mcdonald’s failure to perform at National level is reason for his dropping, surely it is time for Holman to also be dropped?
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 8:57am | Report comment
holman does the job verbeek asks of him mcdonald does not…
think beyond your own personal preferences…
i dont rate holman but thats not the point…
Johnny C said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:46am | Report comment
Didn’t realise Verbeek was asking Holman to display zero creativity, mistime passes, fluff good chances in front of goal and generally act like a school-boy on a first date anytime he gets on the ball.
Now I know he’s acting under instructions I’ll have to re-evaluate my opinion of him.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:36pm | Report comment
id suggest first reevaluate your ability to decipher the point someone is making when they write something rather than using the mere presence of similar content (holman) to blurt off about something otherwise entirely unrelated…
aman pillay said | November 6th 2009 @ 8:59am | Report comment
such a great call
cab711 said | November 6th 2009 @ 5:40am | Report comment
I dont understand the mentality of some of these youth players who leave early on the sniff of interest from foreign clubs only to be shut out of the 1st team side, become frustrated and miss out on crucial gametime in the beginning of their career. I think some of these players get an overinflated sense of there own worth and when they travel it is a depressing reality check. Surely Djite could have been doing better at Adelaide or entered into a contract with another HAL club, at least for one more season? Even some of the older boys like Carle and Carney. Fortunately Carney is seeing some game time but the same cant be said for other ex HAL players. I guess making big bucks at the expense of developing your football is the compromise.
Freud of Football said | November 6th 2009 @ 6:36am | Report comment
Look at the finest Australian players we now have. They all left the country early; Kewell (15), Viduka (20), Cahill (18) and furthered their footballing educations in Europe. Then look at Nicky Carle (minus his short stint in France) he left at 26 and while no-one doubts that he has bags of talent he was unable to develop it in Aus to the standard he could have overseas.
The problem with Djite is his nationality. Kewell and Cahill were able to go to England and Viduka to Croatia without a problem due to their heritage, Djite (who could claim Togolese, Ivorian, American or Australian citizenship) is stuck in the awkward position that he can’t go to England or Scotland and play in the lower leagues where he would at least speak the language, instead he had to go to one of the European nations with relatively lax visa laws to play.
These countries invariably speak a language that most Australians aren’t familiar and which are particularly difficult to learn not to mention the huge difference in culture and as such it is difficult to acclimatise to.
Then there is the issue that the standard and style of play are totally different to Australia. Australia is most like England in that it produces robust, physical players, Djite is a power player and is not suited to the Turkish league whereas Kewell with his finesse has been a revelation.
whiskeymac said | November 6th 2009 @ 8:44am | Report comment
am not sure but was croatia part of the EU when Dukes, Skoko etc went over? coz if not then am not sure it would have made any difference to their moves to the UK – the issue is nomally number of internationals played/ representation? bu certainly agree djite’s style wld seem suited to the robust UK and Northern Euro games. and the cultural change is minimised going there too. (altho i read the AFL Swan player from Eire had issues adapting to Oz and was insanely homesick, so it can also come down to the person’s individual ability as much as whether they serve mayo or red sauce with chips)
standard is certainly different (Schtip is the latest to compare HAL to 2nd Div holland) but style shld be adaptable? Many aussie players seem to do aswell in europe as in the UK. Cld be that Kewell, Viduka etc were just those rare generational anomolies that come along every now and then and therefore cld play at te highest level at 18 and 20, whereas the recent crop are good but not “that good”? maybe the standard of players across europe has increased as well, not least since Bosman etc players can play without much restraint (if european) and the scouting networks are so entrenched throughout the world – making competiiton that much harder for our boys to get in to a team/ squad or off the bench?
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 8:46am | Report comment
I don’t think it was – we’re talking mid 90s or so.
Freud of Football said | November 6th 2009 @ 5:39pm | Report comment
I don’t think it particularly matters if Croatia was a part of the EU. Viduka has croatian parents which makes things run a lot smoother.
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 5:48pm | Report comment
That’s true – and the same for others that went the same route.
andrewMc said | November 7th 2009 @ 3:39am | Report comment
Croatia still isn’t part of the EU
whiskeymac said | November 6th 2009 @ 8:32am | Report comment
interestingly burns recently stated in an article that appeared on TWG site that he wished he had left earlier than he did because he is learning so much and realises that his development was a long way behind his euro competitors for places at AEK (altho competing with rivaldo might be a bit tough for any newbie).
he is playing 2nd div greek footy at the moment on loan, so at least is getting game time and looking to get back to AEk’s squad.
but djite and the others dont seem to be getting any. and who’s happy when they arent getting any, certainly not people paid to score? (lame innuendos sadly intended)
danny said | November 6th 2009 @ 9:09am | Report comment
and sadly appreciated
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 8:58am | Report comment
carney came on as a a sub in the 85th minute on the weekend… thats the most time he’s got in the league since he arrived…
Robbos said | November 6th 2009 @ 7:37am | Report comment
Look at Jamie Mcmaster, James Wesolowski & James Troisi, all left Australia at a young age, by the same age Kewell & Viduka was already gracing the higher levels of Europe.
So lets not just say those left Australia early will succeed.
Brett Emerton & Scotty Chiperfield left it late & are 2 of Australia’s starting 11.
whiskeymac said | November 6th 2009 @ 8:34am | Report comment
good points. altho there arent many in the HAl who wld break into the socceroo’s 11 either – moore, culina and sterj have played extensively overseas so dont really count in that respect. Kisnorbo, Wesolowski and Troisi have more prospects than Colosimo, Musiliak or Minniecon at the moment, rightly or wrongly.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 9:03am | Report comment
chipperfield is a big worry for me… he routinely gets done by the opposing winger for pace… i would not take him to the world cup… certainly not as first choice…
dasilva said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:35am | Report comment
Quite frankly, Carney gets routinely done even more then Chipperfield and is routinely outmuscled by the opposition most matches he played.
Chipperfield is still our best starting option
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:39am | Report comment
if playing to win i would play carney (you overstate his deficiencies which leads me to believe you dont watch the games at all)…
if playing to draw i would use some other defender… perhaps switch emerton, leave wilkshire at rb and play bresc at rm…
chippers should be driving a bust in steeler territory…
FIsher Price said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:41am | Report comment
Pim Verbeek: play to win? hahahaha
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:46am | Report comment
Carney has obvious deficiencies as a full back.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
so? that has nothing to do with the point i was making…
make youre own comment rather than making irrelevant replies to mine…
dasilva said | November 6th 2009 @ 3:37pm | Report comment
Vladimir
I don’t know what your problem is.
People don’t agree with you and you start insulting people. Is it so impossible that people watch the same game and come out of different conclusion to you?
Carney has certainly improved his game over the last couple of games. However I still think Chipperfield is a more effective player for the Socceroos in both attack and defence.
Carney is a better dribbler and he certainly a better goal scorer but his passing and crossing is not very good. Chipperfield is far more likely to get an assist then Carney is.
Chipperfield may be a lot more slow due to aging but he has a greater physical presence than Carney and is far more capable of winning the contested possession (one on one duels) with the opposition.
FIsher Price said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Neither inspire confidence defensively.
Aljay said | November 6th 2009 @ 8:25am | Report comment
Pim’s choice all comes down to when you pick the players to fit the system and when you pick the system to fit the players. Given the only strikers this century we have had that can make a one striker system work proficiently are Viduka and to a lesser extent Kennedy (although I didnt see enough of agostino to judge), the latter might have been Pims better option.
aman pillay said | November 6th 2009 @ 9:02am | Report comment
Richardo Porta needs to be given a chance
AndyRoo said | November 6th 2009 @ 9:35am | Report comment
I thought some of the best football we have seen from the team has been when Macdonald is on the pitch instead of Kennedy.
I think players will have to wait longer to go because if you don’t have the right passport you are only going to be bought as 1 of the 3 or 4 non euro/national players that a club has. Those spots are much tougher to crack than a regular starting spot.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 9:41am | Report comment
dear sir,
i was wondering if you could specify when exactly this ‘best’ football was played with mcdonald on the pitch…
AndyRoo said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:20am | Report comment
The match agaisnt Ireland and second half vs Korea
Basically any game where kenedys head wasn’t plan A,B and C
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:25am | Report comment
the match against ireland was a friendly was it not… i can’t comment as i only saw the highlights… and the match against korea was also a friendly but even so you are kidding yourself… i saw this match and it was appalling all round… i thought the best they’ve played (in patches) was against uzbekistan, both matches but particularly in aust where bresciano played one of his better matches…
AndyRoo said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:35am | Report comment
That’s why I said “some”.
I know Kennedy is first choice but Macdonald seems rather flexible. I see Macdonald as more the back up for Cahill (who plays as a striker pretty much) rather than the back up for Kennedy.
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:41am | Report comment
It’s not over the top to suggest that Macdonald has figured in some of Australia’s better efforts over the last 18 months or so.
In one such game – and I can’t remember who it was against – he played as the CAM, and did all right (although clearly, it’s extremely unlikely we would see him in that role at the WC).
Still – I agree with the general thrust of Jesse’s views on this – no harm in giving others a run – although Pim did say recently that the time for experimentation is over.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:13pm | Report comment
its ridiculous to suggest mcdonald and cahill are in any sense interchangeable…
if you’ve watched all the games (excluding friendlies)… it is way over the top to suggest mcdonald has been involved in some of the better performances…
AndyRoo said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:20pm | Report comment
Sorry I haven’t noticed Timmy doing a lot of Midfield work. He bassically picks up the scraps of Kennedy….exactly what Macdonald would be doing.
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:21pm | Report comment
Absolutley no one is suggessting that they are interchangeable.
AndyRoo said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:24pm | Report comment
I said that Macdonald could be the back up for Cahill….although I prefer Kewell.
Their different positions but similar roles.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:28pm | Report comment
you’re obviously not a very astute observer of the game… cahill plays as a box-to-box midfielder… he can take one of the aerial threats in the defensive goal square out of the game… i don’t think i’ve ever seen mcdonald ever head the ball…
AndyRoo said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:33pm | Report comment
Cahill is a box to box midfielder?
I am of to the optometrist then
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:40pm | Report comment
glasses are no cure for carrying an extra chromosone…
eh said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
Vlad, why so teste?
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
apoligies… i withdraw…
FIsher Price said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:55pm | Report comment
Cahill is barely a midfielder. He may try to go box to box but he isn’t particularly good at it. He’s a forward of limited skill and vision but above-average energy level and durability.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 1:04pm | Report comment
exactly, energy and durability with an eye for goal… he’s a box to box midfielder einstein…
dasilva said | November 6th 2009 @ 2:34pm | Report comment
The reason why people don’t call Cahill a box to box because he barely gets involve in open play. He’s defensive pressuring for socceroos is non-existent.
Kewell, Bresciano, Holman, all do more work defensively then Cahill is. It’s strange, in the holland match, even the dutch superstars such as Sneijder were doing lot more work off the ball then cahill.
However Cahill has an eye for the goal and is supurb in the air so we can carry his deficiency in other areas in our team.
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 2:46pm | Report comment
Firstly – I find the expression “box to box” to be as unhelpful and cliched a term as “long ball”.
Secondly, we did once see Cahill come and do some defensive work inside our own box – and he nearly gave away a penalty barely 60 seconds after scoring Australia’s first ever WC goal!!
vladimir said | November 9th 2009 @ 12:07pm | Report comment
why is box to box unhelpful? its simply a term to describe a player who runs around a lot and gets involved in both the offensive and defensive sides of the game. as for ‘cliched’ this is football were talking about not poetry…
to write that cahill has only been in the defensive box once for australia exposes your parochialism…
i recall that foul and it should have been a penalty but do try and construct a coherent argument that sticks to the point…
Pippinu said | November 9th 2009 @ 12:12pm | Report comment
Yes – well – the point is that at least in international terms, I’m not sure that Timmy has shown the range of game to enable him to be viewed as a strong box-to-box mid.
In fact, if we want to get technical and pigeon hole him with a pithy description – I would chooose: trequartista.
FIsher Price said | November 6th 2009 @ 1:46pm | Report comment
Well if that’s the case he’s decidedly average at it.
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 9:52am | Report comment
Go young, go old – doesn’t matter – look at the names we are mentioning here:
Kewell, Dukes, Emo and Cahill.
Each actually followed a slightly different path to be quite successful players – but maybe the new breed aren’t as good?
Not only that – overseas spots are becoming more restricted in some countries, and there are far more players coming through from all over the World than ever before. Some countries were hardly exporting players 15 years ago: the US, Japan, Sth Korea, large parts of Africa, parts of Central America, there are now stacks of Mexicans overseas etc etc.
It’s a different world now.
sledgeross said | November 6th 2009 @ 9:56am | Report comment
Good point Robbos.
McMaster was a highly rated teen at Leeds who chiose to represent England at Youth level rather than AUstralia. He cant even make an A League squad now.
AndyRoo said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:01am | Report comment
Bradley Groves, Mark Byrnes and the kid from Wollongong (name long forgotten) all huge wraps ont hem when they went to Europe … all back in State league now.
Aljay said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:23am | Report comment
Dustin Wells?
AndyRoo said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:37am | Report comment
Found it – Jay Lucas
He played a few games for the Wolves then went to Southhampton and I think is now back in the NSW state league.
Willy said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:23am | Report comment
I Think, Verbeek has made a good decision!!. Why persist with a striker who has not scored even though he has had so many chances in the past?? Some players around the world like McDonald are good players only when they play for their clubs but when they represent their countries, they fail! It happens everywhere!! It is time to give other strikers a fair chance. After all, the national team is what really matters not McDonald or any other player.
whiskeymac said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:59am | Report comment
like dukes was? =)
AGO74 said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:25am | Report comment
Scotty Mac will go to Sth Africa as he is a different type of striker to Jesus. Pim is obviously playing only one striker and Josh Kennedy is the clear first choice but there will be an occasion at some point when we are behind and Pim will take of one of the two defensive midfielders or a defender off to put on a second striker. For this occasion Scotty Mac suits Jesus more than Djite or Ruka for a twin-striker approach. And this would be best for Scott McDonald as whilst I agree he has been largely disappointing for Australia, his best form is when playing in a twin-striker role with Kennedy. No surprise also that at club level he is not as prolific this season at Celtic as his big target partner of the last few year Jan Vennegor has moved on to pastures anew. I also think Pim Verbeek by dropping Scott McDonald is giving him a bit of a razz for his ’sicknote’ effort last month against Holland and Oman.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:30am | Report comment
for crying out loud : WE DONT PLAY TWO UP FRONT!!!… will you developmentally delayed organisms get that into your heads…
this is pure speculation but i imagine ruka would score just as many goals if not more in a league where there is only one serious opposition (rangers)… the rest of the teams are akin to div 3 in england…
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:38am | Report comment
Vladimir
Take it easy – AGO74 merely said that there might be times when we’re behind and Pim will put on a 2nd striker – which is true – nothing controversial about that at all.
AGO74 said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:54am | Report comment
Thanks for taking the time to read the whole of my comment on the two striker thing Pip!
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:19pm | Report comment
the facts are that even when two recognised strikers are on the field to grab a win at the death one will be playing wide as part of the midfield… in that sense pippinu it is over the top, regardless of the way punters continue to ramble about two strikers being played…
FIsher Price said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:44am | Report comment
We should though: Cahill and Kewell.
Ben of Phnom Penh said | November 6th 2009 @ 10:58am | Report comment
I am pleased for Bruce and still think he has a future. His injury coincided with a change in manager which is why he found himself on the outer. Prior to that he was regularly featuring in the first team line up and a had some goals under his belt. For my mind if we are going to rely upon our midfield to score many of goals then we are going to need Djite to be up there. He has a big chance to step up if he’s started and here’s to hoping that he does.
Pippinu said | November 6th 2009 @ 11:07am | Report comment
I would agree that out of all our hopefuls to be Mr Sole Striker, Djite has the most promise – but he may not be ready by 2010 unfortunately.
AGO74 said | November 6th 2009 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Agree that he’s one of our best for the future but I think Bruce is suffering from a bit of 2nd season syndrome in Europe. The best though is Dario Vidosic and on current form he is the next in line to take on Josh Kennedy’s role if he’s injured or falls out of favour somehow between now and Sth Africa.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:21pm | Report comment
vidosic is mot a lone strikers backdoor… when brought on he plays midfield…
Gibbo said | November 6th 2009 @ 11:25am | Report comment
alot of S-Mac’s link up play and front third passing in traffic has been good. In our system he lacks the big fellow striker to work off who would allow him to get in close to goal to poach a few gimmies. I think he’d play Cahills central forward role well and will probably go along to the WC as back up for that position and as the back up lone striker. dutch like it versatile.
Ben of Phnom Penh said | November 6th 2009 @ 11:32am | Report comment
The better question is do we start with Culina or Jedinak?
Gibbo said | November 6th 2009 @ 11:41am | Report comment
isnt breciano playing a deeper role for palermo? would open up the right wing for emmerton and right back for wilkshire…
Ben of Phnom Penh said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
I think Emerton and Wilkshire will be playing on the right regardless of Bresciano. I imagine he’ll start on the bench unless there are injuries I’m unaware of.
Gibbo said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:56pm | Report comment
agreed on emo and wilk, but still the idea of bresh displacing either culina or jedinak in central midfield is one that i reckon could have merit. add a bit more dynamism to the middle
Ben of Phnom Penh said | November 6th 2009 @ 1:57pm | Report comment
there is something to that and the thought had crossed my mind
Rob said | November 6th 2009 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
Djite is hopeless. full stop.
Despite the fact that everyone seems to want him to be a success, the fact is he has no ball control and no positional sense. He just wanders around the field like hes stoned, always one move behind the play…….Rukavytsya is fast and hopeless.
vladimir said | November 6th 2009 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
so who would you have in their stead rob?
Rob said | November 6th 2009 @ 4:16pm | Report comment
Id stick with Mcdonald myself. Jesus is a good player but just attracts too much route one thinking from the rest of the team
From what Ive seen I like the look of Vidosic…but I cant see any genuine striker being happy in Verbeeks system. If PV selected no strikers at all in a squad of 23…… that would be still more than he needs for his system
sledgeross said | November 6th 2009 @ 2:43pm | Report comment
Paul Agostino and David Zdrillic?
Gibbo said | November 6th 2009 @ 3:11pm | Report comment
clayton zane
Roger said | November 6th 2009 @ 3:07pm | Report comment
McDonald may not have scored (yet) for the Socceroos, but he is an excellent player up front.
Why he hasn’t scored seems to be one of the mysteries of life, but score he will. When he does, we can all move on, and enjoy the consistency of this talented player.
Pim would be mad not to take him to the World Cup next year.
dasilva said | November 6th 2009 @ 3:38pm | Report comment
i think this is just disciplinary reasons why Mcdonald has not been selected. Mcdonald will be in the WC squad as long as if he stop skipping matches for the socceroos.
ABCDEFG said | November 6th 2009 @ 7:33pm | Report comment
I think leaving him out only makes it worse for him. He has got to adapt to the system, to the players, to the play. Maybe he isn’t entirely comfortable, we know he has quality and I’m sure he will score goals, even for Celtic he doesn’t get to involved in distributing the ball left and right, when he’s there he’ll kick a goal, so far he hasn’t been but it will come.
fatboi said | November 8th 2009 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
I don’t think Pim was amused when Scott pulled out of the Oman game due to injury but played a full game on that weekend.
John said | November 9th 2009 @ 9:11pm | Report comment
Wow this report fails big time. Holman is absolute garbage the only one who should not be getting a call up is Brett Holman, absolute junk of a player.
yet Verbeek the Anti-football good refuses to play a formation or partership to shoot the 07/08 highs SPL scorer what a laugh. Verbeek and Holman need to leave the NT for GOOD.
John said | November 9th 2009 @ 9:13pm | Report comment
Also whoever think any A-league graduate player is justified to play at the highest level, clearly has zero football knowledge.
AndyRoo said | November 9th 2009 @ 9:25pm | Report comment
Not a Dario Vidisic fan i see
dan said | November 10th 2009 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
hey jesse,
how about brosquey getting the call up to the national squad hey!!!!!!
i say very well done to the lad and very well deserved…… may he put his best foot forward and i truely hope he can go on to now make the world cup squad.
so much for u saying in your blog there was no hope of him picking either thompson, bridge or brosque in relation to pim’s comments about some a-league forwards being really close to making the national team squad last week…..
i hope u can write a blog now admitting to your mistake my friend….. i hope your eating humble pie now mate!!!!!!