By Eamonn Flanagan
January 21st 2010 @ 2:26am
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Aussie young guns on the rise in A-League
Each year, the A-League supplies an increasing number of young Australians who start to shine. And this season is no different. In fact, I’d say we have more quality young guns coming through than ever.
In the old NSL, Mark Viduka (Croatia Zagreb), Brett Emerton (Feyenoord) and Ned Zelic (Hamburg) shone. They were so good, they went straight to big clubs in Europe.
So who are the newbies and how far can they go?
Of course, each young gun will need injury free periods, luck and a good transfer. But mostly they need to play well, very well, in the A-League, and as often as they can.
Here’s my list of those who may go on to bigger and better things based on the glimpses we’ve had of the mainly new entrants in Season 5.
Definite future Socceroos:
Matthew Leckie (Adelaide United striker)
Mitch Langerak (Melbourne Victory Keeper)
Kofi Danning (Sydney FC winger)
Ben Kantarovski (Jets defender)
Stars of the A-League who may well go further. Much further:
Tommy Oar (winger, Brisbane Roar)
Michael Marrone (Midfield, although age is against him at 22)
Todd Howarth (Perth Glory, left-sided attacker)
Anthony Juric (Perth Glory midfielder)
Adam Sarota (Midfielder Brisbane Roar)
Sean Rooney (Newcastle Jets, striker)
Other stars who’ve made an impression this year:
Mate Dugandzic (Melbourne Victory winger)
Chris Payne (Sydney FC)
Tando Velaphi (Perth Glory)
Jury still out:
Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC)
Anthony Golec (Sydney FC)
Scott Neville (Perth Glory)
Feel free to add or change the above.
I haven’t included any overseas young guns. But the great thing is that there’ll be another list as long as this next season. And the one after that.
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andrewMc said | January 21st 2010 @ 3:13am | Report comment
The big issue though is their next transfer. If they have a bad transfer, they can stuggle for first team action, distrupt their development and eventually end up coming back to the A-league at the age of 28 and having never represented the socceroos.
I am sick of seeing prominsing young footballers drfit into oblivion. I hope these young lads have a good head on their shoulders, observe and learn from others who have made bad decisions, and eventually reach their full potential.
Good article Eamonn!
Al said | January 21st 2010 @ 9:22am | Report comment
David Williams is one that springs to mind. Was touted as a potential superstar, went to Denmark and is now back in the A-League and not looking as great as first thought. He still is relatively young however.
AndyRoo said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:13am | Report comment
Dave Williams is a good example on the difference between potential and reality.
I think he had like one A league goal under his belt and left because…. he had potential.
Dukes won 2 golden boots before he left….that’s reality
cab711 said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:27am | Report comment
Im hoping one day our local league will be as competitive and financially well off as overseas clubs which will be the most ideal outcome. Its nice to atleast know we have some talented aussie kids out there.
george said | January 21st 2010 @ 4:36am | Report comment
Young Mustafa Amini who has joined the mariners from the AIS is one to watch in the future , watch him play for blacktown city as a youngster ( which he still is at 16 ) a great talent with great ball control and an eye for goal .
Punter said | January 21st 2010 @ 6:42am | Report comment
Eammon, I think you have covered most of the top young guns who have made it to the A-League in the last 18 months. Most of these players have ability & hopefully will be our stars of tomorrow. However, we still lack that playmaker, or cultured player, the closest we have in our youtrh today is a Mitch Nichols, though he is still lacking. I will be happy when we start producing young Febregas, maybe not of the same quality, but players of his irk.
One player you did miss was Luke Devere, Brisbane has a whole host of good young players
Punter said | January 21st 2010 @ 6:46am | Report comment
Eammon, I think you have covered most of the top young guns who have made it to the A-League in the last 18 months. Most of these players have ability & hopefully will be our stars of tomorrow. However, we still lack that playmaker, or cultured player, the closest we have in our youtrh today is a Mitch Nichols, though he is still lacking. I will be happy when we start producing young Febregas, maybe not of the same quality, but players of his irk.
One player you did miss was Luke Devere, Brisbane has a whole host of good young players
Punter said | January 21st 2010 @ 6:53am | Report comment
Sorry for the double post.
Al said | January 21st 2010 @ 7:57am | Report comment
Rhyan Grant is an excellent prospect who has extreme potential. He will be capped in the future.
TheMagnificent11 said | January 21st 2010 @ 8:54am | Report comment
Kofi Danning and Tommy Oar should swap places on this list. Danning has great speed and acceleration but his first touch isn’t the best. Oar is much better on the ball and is probably the best crosser in the whole league. Let’s not forget, Oar is only 18 and has performed well in an under-performing Roar team.
Realfootball said | January 21st 2010 @ 9:47am | Report comment
Oar lacks pace, and this weakness undid him in the U20 WC completely, and undid him against Hearfield recently, when he wasn’t sighted all game. If he is to progress to the highest level, he needs to become more of a midfielder and less of a winger. It takes a lot more than the ability to cross a ball to make a top winger. Compare Oar to Kewell at this age. Oar simply isn’t in the race, literally.
For the pace reason alone, Danning has the potential to go further than Oar. I feel for Tommy Oar – all manner of unrealistic expectations are being lumped onto his shoulders – the deadly “Next Kewell” effect, as it is known to science.
andrewMc said | January 21st 2010 @ 9:55am | Report comment
Ah yes! The “Next Kewell” label. I think commentators should be banned from using it. It is the kiss of death
TheMagnificent11 said | January 21st 2010 @ 9:55am | Report comment
Oar’s pace isn’t lacking; he’s pretty quick (but not as quick as Danning). And, he isn’t just a good crosser, he is an excellent dribbler. Okay, he isn’t as good as Kewell was, but my point is that he’s a far better prospect than Danning. His main issue at the moment is consistency, but that should improve as he gains more experience. However, your point on his needing to be more than a winger is spot on, but again I think he should be able to develop this with time (he could make a decent striker when there are two up-front).
Realfootball said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:04am | Report comment
“Pretty quick” isn’t quick enough for a winger. Oar simply isn’t quick enough to play this role at a top level, and I think that is clear now that other teams see him as a known quantity. Agree he is great on the ball, shoots well and has excellent crossing ability. To me he looks like a superb left side midfield prospect. It is interesting how much quicker Zullo is than Oar when they play together – the difference is very marked.
whiskeymac said | January 21st 2010 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
the next peter beardsey then. i’d be happy with that for the roos.
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:04am | Report comment
I wouldnt say he lacks pace ,what he lacks is close control at speed. Something Stanley Matthews espoused as the key to his success. Also his decision making is immature at times. This could of course be rectified by time,but whether his technique can be improved so he can imitate Stanleys “Skill at Speed” mantra is another issue.
Zullo looked the same initially. Unless the balls on a string when running at speed, its easy after a few matches for a defender to predict his(Oars) moves.
Frankly despite the Roar being a producer of youth players,none really indicate to me that they have what it takes to ever make it in the top European leagues, or even the J-League
Realfootball said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:11am | Report comment
Oary failed to make an impact in the U20 WC, because he was unable to outpace his fullbacks. Hearfield was markedly quicker when the Roar were in Wellington, and I watched Pantaledis outsprint Oar at Skilled Park. Oar looks fantastic against slowish defenders, but up against real speed he simply disappears from the game. He is very easily negated by opposing teams at the moment. The curse of the “Next Kewell” strikes again.
Partly I think the whole Oar phenomenon indicates the desperation with which our game is looking for the kind of charismatic, game breaking ability Kewell once had. He was a once in a generation player and we may be waiting a long time to find a player of similar talent.
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:34am | Report comment
Agree the ” Next Kewell” tag is a bit of a curse for our young players. Particularly as he was an idol to many. In fact I beleve Oar has stated so himself.
Definitely a once in a generation player. But there will be other Kewells in the future ,of that I have no doubt.
Saji said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:53am | Report comment
Vidosic was a Roar player and he’s doing reasonably well in Europe. However, he’s more a product of the Qld Lions who used to own 30% of the Roar. The Roar’s NYL team has struggled this year and I think the lack of connection the to Qld Lions is part of the reason. Lions’ wealth and quality of coaching meant most of Brisbane’s best U15/16 players went there. I think their fallout with the Roar has lead to them playing hard ball with the Roar (that’s just my theory).
Greg said | January 21st 2010 @ 3:49pm | Report comment
I hope Oar isnt a one trick wonder, he got out played by Newcastle who didnt give him much room, I noticed that they shut him down quite well. Another issue with the young players is thier lack of strength on the ball. Oar isnt the biggest lad can get knocked off quite easily.
The thing is once a player knows he is being targeted he has to use his sklill and football brain to rise up to the challenge and to over come the problem. One thing that can hurt a player is the statements like the next Harry Kewell some times the football talent is often only match by thier ego.
jimbo said | January 21st 2010 @ 4:06pm | Report comment
Oar doesn’t lack pace, he still hasn’t developed the skill and confidence to dribble at speed – there is a difference.
In a flat foot race Oar and Zullo would leave most of the A-League defenders behind them.
They need the skill to control the ball in front of you and dribble at pace, while conscious of where the defenders are – it takes time and practice.
AndyRoo said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:05am | Report comment
I also think Oar seems more likely, he has already been called up and unfortunately danning started to struggle a bit and now has to get over a serious knee injury.
SFC have a host of prospects that haven’t really exploded but their are sure to be one or two that really kick on after another year under their belt. A few others from SFC will end up at other clubs I suspect and end up having good a league careers.
Davstar said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:14am | Report comment
I think Danning done much better then Ora at the U/20 world cup however Ora probably ruined his Career this TR window he could went to a big club in Germany im hits are Wolfburge or Byren Munich but he decide to stay in the A-league. Poor decisions destroy our youth not going to europe if fine if you dont want to go to Romania or Belgium weak leagues but if Germany, England, Italy, Spain or France come knocking you go right away players need to “know not when to go to europe but where t go in europe.” If your good enough for the Everton reserves you go play for everton however if they want you to play in league 2 england then you stay in the A-league.
Fisher Price said | January 21st 2010 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Ned Zelic – Hamburg?
markwakefield said | January 21st 2010 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
surely eamon meant dortmund…
fancy a beer?
jimbo said | January 21st 2010 @ 9:26pm | Report comment
Ned played for 3 German clubs but Hamburg wasn’t one of them.
He went to Borussia Dortmund as a 20 year old after an excellent FIFA U20 World Cup. He won a Bundesliga title and UEFA Cup runners up medal with Dortmund.
Then Eintract Frankfurt a few years later and TSV 1860 Munich.
In my opinion one of the best players to wear the green and gold and captained every national team he played in.
Such a great shame he had a problem with the Socceroos management team and didn’t play for the Socceroos – one of the reasons why it took 32 years to qualify for another WC Finals without him.
dannyshepherd said | January 22nd 2010 @ 5:22pm | Report comment
hogwash jimbo,
he fluked a cross into the net in the qualifier against holland and had a good stint in dortmund but apart from that he’s done what?
nothing
jimbo said | January 25th 2010 @ 10:12pm | Report comment
I’m not surprised people have a difference of opinion but to say Ned Zelic did nothing in his football career is a shock. Hogwash indeed.
How could Ned Zelic’s slide rule finish against The Netherlands in 1992 an exceptional effort talked about of one of Australia’s best ever goals, be “a fluke”
I’m starting to wonder if you are talking about the same Ned Zelic I remember.
Zelic started his career in the old Australian National Soccer League, at 17 years of age, where he played with clubs Sydney Croatia and Sydney Olympic.
Zelic spent most of the 1990s playing in Europe, most notably for Borussia Dortmund, where he reached the UEFA Cup Final in his first season with the club, losing to Juventus Turin of Italy. In Dortmund,Zelic was coached by Ottmar Hitzfeld and in 1995 won the German Bundesliga title. He had a small stint in the English Premier League for QPR, moving for £1.3 million, which was beset by injury and discontent.
Zelic went on to play for Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany and AJ Auxerre in France, where he replaced Laurent Blanc, who moved to FC Barcelona.With AJ Auxerre,he participated in the UEFA Champions League.
In July 1996 Ned Zelic was selected to play for a World All Star team vs. Brazil at Giants Stadium New York. The All Star team was coached by Euro 92 winner with Denmark Richard Moller Nielsen and consisted of such players as Juergen Klinsmann, George Weah, Marcel Desailly, Lothar Matthaus, David Ginola, Fernando Redondo.
In 1998,Zelic decided to move back to Germany and went on to make 102 appearances for 1860 Munich in the Bundesliga.
In 2002,Zelic moved to Japan to play in the J-League,where he stayed for 2 years. In Japan he played under Dutch coaches Hans Ooft and Wim Jansen and won the Japanese Cup, with his club Urawa Red Diamonds.
Zelic signed for FC Wacker Tirol of Austria in July 2004 and stayed there for one season.
In 2005, Ned Zelic agreed terms to a two year deal to captain the Newcastle Jets in the Hyundai A-League where he played out the whole season from central defence. The Jets finished fourth on the league table and lost to the Central Coast Mariners 2-1 on aggregate over two legs in the Minor Semi-Final.
After being granted a work permit, he signed a one-year deal with Dutch side Helmond Sport in August 2006. In Helmond he worked again with his former 1860 Munich team mate Gerald Vanenburg, who was trainer there. He left Helmond however after only 2 months, due to knee problems and was considering retirement.
In January 2007, Zelic joined Georgian club FC Dinamo Tbilisi on a free transfer,where he played under former Czech National Team coach Dusan Uhrin. He announced his retirement from football in May 2008,after winning the Georgian Championship with Dinamo Tbilisi.
He has played for the Australian Youth,Olympic and Senior teams but made himself unavailable in 1999 in controversial circumstances, after disagreements with coach Frank Farina.
Upon announcing his retirement, Zelic was quoted as saying “I love Australia and love playing for the Socceroos but I refuse to play for Frank Farina”. Zelic was captain of the Australian team.
Zelic has won numerous awards around the world and was selected in Four Four Two Magazine’s Top 25 Australian Footballers of All-Time.
But apart from all that, what has Ned Zelic ever done for the Romans?
Nothing!
markwakefield said | January 27th 2010 @ 10:46am | Report comment
“In my opinion one of the best players to wear the green and gold and captained every national team he played in.”
i ackknowledged his fluke of a goal against holland… slide rule indeed… and the spell at dortmund
the nothing is relative to your claim above that is not evident from the history you copied out…
Australian Football said | January 21st 2010 @ 9:52am | Report comment
Nice article Eamonn; I was really hoping that SFC’s Kofi Danning after a wonderful first season last year, he was going to step up for this year—has not happened and apart from his injuries he started to look a bit confused from some of the games I saw him play in for the u20’s wc… I think he has been confused with different manager styles that of Lavika and the under 20’s Dutch manager how to play his wide position… I think he would shine under say a Brazilian mentor then a Dutchman or Cech..
~~~~~~~
AF
Realfootball said | January 21st 2010 @ 9:53am | Report comment
A year ago I would have had Tahj Minniecon at the top of this list. One of the disappointments in a fascinating A League season has been Minniecon’s dramatic loss of form at GCU. I watched him from the sidelines against Newcastle and he barely ran when he came on. ON the breaks, while Culina and Smeltz were tearing upfield, I watched Minniecon literally jog along the right touchline, making no attempt to join the break, as any flanker – particularly with his pace – should have done. He looked lazy and uninterested. Sydney FC – make the boy and offer, fast.
Australian Football said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Yes I have wondered why Tahj Minniecon changed from being a player once full of zest to a lazy looking player as well… Miller coming to the squad seems to have changed him… Maybe some friction at the club he is not happy about..
Davstar said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:08am | Report comment
I’ve said this from the very start of the A-league we will never have to money to buy superstar players or be able to buy decent players of a mature age. The A-league needs to focus on youth players, what’s the point of playing 36 year old guys that can’t make it in Europe anymore? I think every team in the A-league should aim for the Average age of their squads to be 23 or younger.
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Whilst I agree in principle with promoting youth,unfortunately most of the current crop have not benefited from the new coaching regime which has just been put in place. I still see young players at the Roar lose possession ,purely because of poor ball control or wayward passing in tight spaces.
I believe the Australia youth player in 10 years time will be far more exciting & competent. However in the meantime ,most quite simply dont have the X factor to woo the crowds.
No need in the meantime to buy 36 year olds.,Theres plenty of Hernandez type players in countries like Costa Rica. Just needs smarter recruiting on the part of A-League clubs.
Davstar said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:36am | Report comment
But look at our youth players who have lit up the A-league: Ruka, Dijt, Jedi, Vidosic, Burns all of those players impressed a lot before they went overseas.
Right now Ora, Jamison and Langerak have really shown what our youngsters can do.
I don’t agree with you our young players aren’t good enough because the past has shown the are more than capable.
but in the situation i mentioned i was referring to giving out young guns more of chance over some of the older players. Pondeljak is an example hes 36 and has very little left to give both club and country why not play Dugandzic who has shown massive potential and his faster and could offer the club and country something in the years to come?
The best players to grace the A-league have mainly been youth players people forget that most of them just g overseas to become better but they are the ones who will light up our league.
I agree we need the Hernandez’s. Didi’s and Fowlers but the general aim of the A-league should be youthful teams who in the long term can help club, country and the league itself
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:55am | Report comment
Still not producing players though that can pull in crowds on their own merit.
Sure the players mentioned contributed to the A-League,but none were a young Mark Viduka.
Good enough to me is producing young players of this calibre. The fact that all the young players mentioned are struggling overseas, indicates they are adequate not outstanding. Good enough to play in the A-League ,but not set it alight & pull in the fans.
My view is that if Tommy Pondeljak is better than Dugandzic, Then Tommy plays & vice versa.
You dont play youth over an older player because you believe in the football philosophy that youth must be given a chance regardless.
Fans want to see the best team on the park. As a Roar fan a paying punter ,I dont care what age the player is as long as he delivers. .The problem at the moment is that we are not producing the type of player who a coach can put on the field & instantly make Tommy Pondeljak obsolete.
Art Sapphire said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:00am | Report comment
Davstar – Clubs are also in the business to win matches and trophies not just developing footballers. Its a fine balance. No one is going to turn up to watch a losing team full of young players. Merrick puts out on the pitch the team that he believes will get a result based on a number of factors. Melbourne Victory for example have released Elasi and Theodore based on the fact that they could not crack it into the first team and as youngsters they need to find clubs where they can keep developing. They might even turn into terrific footballers.
Al said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:04am | Report comment
“Clubs are also in the business to win matches and trophies not just developing footballers.” West Ham seemingly being the exception.
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:11am | Report comment
I’ll take that one further than West Ham we(Owls) dont even develop footballers.
Win matches,trophies, humbug.
Art Sapphire said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:14am | Report comment
Thats a pretty simplistic view of things Al.
Unlike the A-League which is the the current subject of this discussion, clubs in England are also in the busines to avoid relegation. As you know relegations can be quite costly.
West Ham has a proud history of developing young players but it can’t stop these players from going to bigger clubs once their talent has been discovered.
Al said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:21am | Report comment
I was being somewhat facetious. I respect West Ham as a club, they have consistently produced some quality footballers and have always endeavoured to play good football. Remember, it was West Ham that won the 1966 World Cup
Art Sapphire said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:33am | Report comment
That’s not too bad Al – 3 FA Cups, 1 UEFA Cup Winners Cup and 1 World Cup
We did come 3rd once in first division back in 1986
Lazza said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:51am | Report comment
Well we are turning up each week to watch Adelaide lose? We are having a diabolical season, currently sit at the foot of the table, have only one young player to get excited about but somehow we’ve managed to buck the trend of falling attendances this season.
Seems a bit odd but there about 10k hard core fans who will show up every home game. At little, rectangular Hindmarsh that’s a pretty good atmosphere as well. A new owner is coming on board with big plans so the future looks promising at least.
Art Sapphire said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:56am | Report comment
At least you can’t go down Lazza – so there is no stress involved in losing games like the one on Tuesday. At least you got your money’s worth on Tuesday. Pity Owusu has turned out to be such a dud. Leckie would look even better if he had decent striker in the team.
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 12:21pm | Report comment
Lazza
Whos the new owner?
Has he/she got any mates who can take over the Roar?
Davstar said | January 21st 2010 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
Listen u know why crowds drop bcuz most of the players we buy can’t make it in their own countries and simply aren’t very good.
Take this example: If your brother played for Victory then you n all ur family and all his mates would go to watch him play right? let’s say he plays for 2 yrs at victory then moves to the EPL. But by now your hard core Victory supports bcuz of what they done for ur bro’s career right and you have been going to most if not all the home games to see you brother play right?
Now Victory goes and gets ur m8 to play so his family become victory supporters and so on and so forth.
Look you can have a few good players people will come watch them play once they are gone the crowds will disappear.
To build a football culture you need to engage the communities by having their involvement see what I’m saying?
Why is AUFC so successful as an A-league Club even though there last on the ladder? Because they have had a large number of local guys come through there football academy.
That is how you build a culture I’m not talking about winning a few games what’s the point? Look at gold coast United they are probably the best team in the HAL considering its their 1st season and they are doing so well but they won’t survive if their crowds don’t improve. To really engage in the community you need kids to want to play for your club I don’t think many people understand that. I mean if people want to see the best footballers just get fox sports and watch the EPL I don’t think a lot of Australians understand that’s how you build a club.
Lazza said | January 21st 2010 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
The new owner is some local businessman named Alan Young (I think). He’s got a consortium together and has a nice vision for the club including playing some blockbuster games at the new re-developed Adelaide Oval.
The goal is to become the 2nd biggest sporting club in the state after the Adelaide Crows AFL team. Port Power are having a few problems so we could overtake them in a few years. A new coach and a decent marquee player allied to all the promising youngsters that we develop in the state league and all could be well again.
The fans are patient because we’ve been consistent and had moderate success up till now. Don’t know if our patience will last another season of this though.
Australian Football said | January 21st 2010 @ 2:11pm | Report comment
Towser,
I read somewhere from a Brisbane Roar poster that the Brisbane Roar had new Greek owners would that be the “Coffee Shop” ? (logo)
~~~~~~~
AF
jimbo said | January 21st 2010 @ 4:55pm | Report comment
I read a blog rumour it was a consortium headed by Coopers Brewery and the Makris Group, but negotiations are going very slowly haggling about the price.
dannyshepherd said | January 27th 2010 @ 6:25pm | Report comment
thanks scoop
MV Dave said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:14am | Report comment
Leckie to be the star of the not too distant future. Jason Davidson, son of Socceroo legend Alan, just came off the bench (90th min) for his Portugese team vs Porto on the weekend and will be another to do well…also watch out for young MVDave who is coming along nicely
Punter said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:26am | Report comment
Good luck with young MVDave, I wish him well, ahh to be a young footballer with potential now, so much more opportunites.
MV Dave said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:34am | Report comment
Thanks, hopefully the next 12 months will tell the story. You’re right about the opportunities now for the young players with 2 new teams coming on board plus NYL and HAL times are very exciting.
Australian Football said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:33am | Report comment
Oooh young MVDave—best he stay clear from Senor MVDave and the Scottish One— if he is to become a Sydneee or GCU starlet the two best HAL teams in the nation—destine for world acclaim … and FIFA WCC glory…
Davstar said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:43am | Report comment
I read that thing about Davidson if he keeps getting time we will prob see him in the socceroos camp post WC
Australian Football said | January 21st 2010 @ 1:21pm | Report comment
Yeah he may then be just good enough to play either for SFC or GCU
MV Dave said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:35am | Report comment
AF You know it can only be MV or MU
BTW SAF hasnt rung yet 
Australian Football said | January 21st 2010 @ 1:06pm | Report comment
The Glassier Bros and SAF have been by the phone waiting on a call from our owner Professor Clive Palmer GCU FC… He (Clive) is looking to add Man U as our feeder club in our quest to win the FIFA WCC tournament and is willing to pay $10, 000 take it or leave it first and only proposal… Now that all Man U are up for sale to unload some of the Glassier Bros staggering debt… (Every bit helps) to keep themselves afloat; and in the meanwhile Chelseski are debt free and heading for their historic treble…
~~~~~~~
AF
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 4:11pm | Report comment
Australian Football
Couldnt see a reply thingy on the question about Roar owners. so I’ll reply here. Yes its the Coffee club owners,plus I believe the Luxury paints owners also have a share.
Art Sapphire said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:27am | Report comment
Out of you list Eamonn I can only see Leckie and Kantarovski making the leap to top flight European football.
Leckie has pace, power and football smarts – the prerequisites for a top flight international career.
To get ahead in the international game players of small stature must have great ball control, balance and strength.
The jury is still out on Danning – I don’t think he has the ball control to make to the top flight and Oar needs to develop pace and power.
I think we will have to wait until the next batch of youngster that are coming through who will be much more comfortable on the ball than the current crop.
Hopefully, talented AIS youth players Mustafa Amini who is going to CCM and Kamal Ibrahim who is going to Melbourne Heart will generate more excitement for A-League next season.
This is a video of Kamal which I also posted yesterday in the Heart article. If he keeps developing he will become one of the biggest stars in Australian football.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=690l5MY1JgU
Punter said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:45am | Report comment
Art,
I watched your video yesterday & was very impressed with theis Kamal Ibrahim & also heard good things about Mustafa Amini. I do hope the next batch of players being of higher technical skill.
As I mentioned earlier hopefully, we can create high class creative midfield players.
Have a look at our socceroos side, Neill, Cullina, & Emerton all were looking to develop as attacking midfielders, all found their niche at the top flight but not as attacking midfielders. So when looking at these players are we expecting Kewell like players or Cullinas.
Art Sapphire said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:52am | Report comment
Punter – in regards to Kamal – I can only see him ever playing as an atacking wide midfielder. He is right footed but is mainly deployed on the left so he can cut in and use shooting skills. I can’t see Kamal ever being deployed in more withdrawn position like Culina or Emerton. I have not seen Amini play but if he can turn into a liltte Aussie Iniesta or Fabregas that would be great result for Australian football.
Davstar said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:41am | Report comment
I think considering the NYL is only 2 year old and it’s producing players at a fantastic rate shows that sooner or later we will see an Aussie playing for Barca, Liverpool, Man U, Inter etc its been a while since we had a true superstar player in a super club.
i see bright things for our long term future, however in the short term we need some young guns to come through because our squad is ageing
Mister Football said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:26am | Report comment
Very optimistic.
If a player is to make that sort of mark, he should be playing seniors by the time he is 18, otherwise he can forget about it.
Anyone plodding along in our Youth League at age 18 is clearly never going ot play for the likes of the clubs you mention.
Davstar said | January 21st 2010 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
Jedi come to CCM at 22 and then played a season and a half then moved to the TSL.
Brett Emerton came home at the age of 21 played in the NSL for a few years and now his playing for blackburn.
Some playrs done peak to a little later. Once the A-league is at 12 team i expect we wil se 1-3 players move to europe every TR window. The benefit of he salary cap is it makes our players cheaper then any other. So if we have a player thats at the same level as a player in japan they will buy the Australian.
Im positive about our long term future its just out short term future thats the problem
jimbo said | January 21st 2010 @ 4:10pm | Report comment
Selling young players you have developed yourself overseas, is a good source of income for the A-League and opens the door for other young players here.
The Youth League is up and running and will take a few years for the full benefits to flow through but some of these young guys are exciting to watch even now.
Rohan said | January 21st 2010 @ 12:12pm | Report comment
Daniel Mullen is another one. Just starting to find the form again that earned him a Socceroos cap at the start of last year.
Ben of Phnom Penh said | January 22nd 2010 @ 11:45am | Report comment
I was also thinking of Mullen
Josh said | January 21st 2010 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
Mitch Langerak is a great goalkeeper and future Socceroo
rojack said | January 21st 2010 @ 1:04pm | Report comment
Leckie looks the most promising and potential but he has to start scoring goals. Hopefully next season we will see his full potential. He has to score 10 or more next season to prove he has the goods.
Dogz R Barkn said | January 21st 2010 @ 1:34pm | Report comment
A stack of youngsters have looked good the last few years – but just as many have dropped off in their 2nd or 3rd seasons.
rojack said | January 21st 2010 @ 1:57pm | Report comment
Thats right. Which is why I said he has to back it up by scoring more goals next season. His pace and strike reminds me of Ruka. Ruka went from 0 to 6 to 10 (in one of the worst teams in A-League) before he went overseas. But I think he has better ball control than Ruka and stronger as well.
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 2:46pm | Report comment
Bit about Leckie on 442
http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/120910,leckie-the-world-cup-bolter.aspx
This is the sort of talk up we dont need. Then these young blokes trot off overseas & realise that their competing in a jungle.
Particularly in Europe. Wonder if first of all the current technically better Asian leagues like the J-League are a better option?
Spiranovic has opted for Urawa Reds & Milligan is punting on the Japanese second division to better his chance of a WC spot. Dario Vidosic has dropped to the German 2nd division.
We can talk of better coaching etc,but if you cant get in the first team whats the point?
My own thoughts are that as we are part of the Asian region,the European mindset needs to change for Australian players.
If you want to step up to a better club try Asia first. The belief by young Australians that by just going to Europe they will be recognised by ManU is a myth. How many of the hundreds who have ventured overseas in the last 20 years have climbed the ladder from a lower league European club to a top European Club? By top I mean the top four or so in the English ,German ,Spanish & Italian leagues. One hand will do.
Personally I dont accept that the coaching in Australia has to be inferior to European leagues. Our only drawback is money for better facilities. Knowledge can be obtained. The Japanese have done it over the last 20 years,so can we.
David said | January 21st 2010 @ 11:20pm | Report comment
I dont agree wit any of this asia talk name world class national team in asia? or one world class player playing in an asian league?
there isnt any the only asian players worth mentioning are in europe thats were we need to be they know that asia isnt as good so do we.
TheMagnificent11 said | January 22nd 2010 @ 9:18am | Report comment
David, I think you’re being a bit short-sighted. You may not consider Korea or Japan world class, but they can match it and beat most “world class” teams. In my opinion they’re just as good as the Socceroos, if not better. Asia has improved a lot and will continue to improve. I think what Towser is trying to say is that only our best players should play in Europe e.g. Socceroo standard players. The rest should look to Asia as a first point of call. I differ slightly on this opinion. I don’t think there is any harm in a player who has had a few consistent seasons in the A-League trying their hand in Europe if it is the top flight or second tier league in England, Spain, Italy or Germany or the top league in Holland, Portugal, Russia, Turkey or Greece i.e. a league with international recognition. If they go there and find themselves on the outer, they should do what Josh Kennedy did, try Asia. There’s nothing wrong with ambition but don’t get stuck in limbo. I think players will realise they now have a second option to earn the big bucks and you will see less Aussies playing in the lower leagues of Europe. The 3+1 rule in Asia has made the best A-League players a very desired commodity. And, I think in the long term having our second tier players playing in Japan or Korea will benefit our national teams (I think China should only be used by players in their 30s looking for one last big pay cheque and the middle east is too much of a cultural difference for most Aussies). The J and K Leagues are of a higher technical standard to the A-League, so developing Aussie players can benefit from a few years in these leagues.
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 3:53pm | Report comment
Always find it fascinating looking through the Ozfootball Aussies overseas list. Remarkable where they end up. As I havent heard of half of the 140 on the list,I dont know whether their good,potentially good or otherwise. Ie could some play in the A-League?
I do know Spase Dilevski & Michael Baird from the Roar. Playing in Romania. Why I ask. Both were never more than A-League players at the Roar. Money must be good there.
Zadkovich also. Never more than an A-League player,plus any of those playing in the lower English leagues(of which I have more knowledge than other leagues)
IN fact it gives me a headache wondering why some players put up with the bad weather in front of crowds that make GCU look like ManU.
Take Bailey Wright . Anybody know him?
Anyway he plays for Joe Marstons old club Preston, a powerhouse many years ago, today like Wednesday living on former glories. Playing for the youth team. Why is he there?
How did he escape the A-League youth system. 10 youth players overseas in total. One playing for Wednesday’s youth. Should have come to me first for the tip off.
Could spend all day asking questions about this list.
Robbie Gasper playing in the Indonesian first division for Persema Malang.-started scored on the 8/11/09 on this November list.
Could go on all night. FFA needs to sit down with this list with football experts in Australia & analyse it to see WTF is going on.
http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Abroad/2009-11.html
Lazza said | January 21st 2010 @ 4:35pm | Report comment
I loved John O’Neil’s description of these players. They are like “Hollywood waitresses waiting for their big break”.
Most of course won’t make it and probably should have stayed here. That’s what I think will happen in the future when the HAL becomes a bit more developed and a more lucrative league. Only the very best will go overseas and they’ll make the move later and come home earlier to see out their careers here.
Midfielder said | January 21st 2010 @ 5:17pm | Report comment
Big rumour on our site Heff is off to a German team and this weekend is his last game…
gazz said | January 21st 2010 @ 6:38pm | Report comment
Isnt Howarth like 27 or somethiing?
george said | January 21st 2010 @ 7:08pm | Report comment
towser
why is it bad that they travel overseas to learn their trade ? Scott Jamerson left australia at 16 spent 2 years at Bolton academy , was released , came back joined AUFC and was voted young player of the year in the Aleague . I think it did him the world of good .
At this point of time the australian system does not offer enough elite places for the amount of youth players coming through the ranks . Are they supposed to give their dream away and go back to local club football and be taught by their mates dad .
For your interest Bailey Wright was a former Joey who was released by the AIS and joined Preston north end in july . He is a strong centre half and a big reason they knocked sunderland out of the Fa youth cup last night at the stadium of light .
Its true that alot of the kids that venture overseas will be back with there tails between there legs , but the experience they gain can only return with them . And there will also be a few that make the nexy step up ,
Would be interesting to see your reaction if your son was offered a spot at a youth academy at 16 in a european club , would you say no , he will stay in aleague academy ( youth teams ) . I think not .
Towser said | January 21st 2010 @ 10:56pm | Report comment
George In relation to your hypothetical. Depends how good I thought my son was.(in reality more likely to be grandson).
10 years ago, regardless & given the chance he would be off. Quite simply because there was little future in football here.
With the advent of the A-League & the youth league, I have more confidence. Their is oppurtunity now in Australia. Unless he was a budding Viduka or Kewell, my advice would be to stay here,learn his trade in & prove himself in the A-League.
If he couldnt do that, then he isnt going to make it overseas.
Classic case is Tommy Oar at my club the Roar. To send him overseas now is doing his career a diservice. Hes not ready. Do we want him to be another to return with his tail between his legs?
What sort of experience is it knowing that your not capable of living up to your dream. Scott Jamieson could have stayed here proved himself like Brett Emerton in the NSL & be ready to play in the first team for Bolton. Instead hes back here. Seems a waste of time to me. & Certainly didnt advance his career. Kaz Patafta,David Williams, another example.
Think we need to show a little more faith in what we are doing here now,not what happened in the past &have belief in the A-League. With expansion there is more openings for our youth players in the future.
My experience of footballers is if their EPL or Serie A material,it will be obvious as a teenager. So whether they go to Europe or stay here, if their good enough they’ll make it.
Sure quality training plays a part but Harry Kewell was Harry Kewell at 16 & so was Viduka whom I saw play in the NSL.
You asked why it is so bad to go overseas? I’ll tell you why, because it does nothing to improve our football or clubs here.
Better to produce players of quality then transfer them at a decent fee to the likes of Bolton or better still Arsenal.
Then we get to see their prodigious talent for a few years in the A-League & our clubs get more money to improve coaching facilities & develop more quality youth players.
As it stands now we get sweet FA when the likes of Jamieson,Williams, Patafta take the path they did.
george said | January 22nd 2010 @ 7:09am | Report comment
Towser
So this is all about money and not about development . Keep them as long as possible and sell to the highest bidder , but how many are we producing in oz . The last 2 players to step up to the socceroos were both in english academies at the age of 16 , Shane Lowry ( aston villa ) and Rhys Williams ( middlesbrough ) . You should check out wikipedias list of aussie overseas players , we have kids in top academies all over europe . They earned those spots and deserve to be there , there are no political players there , they will learn from some of the best coaches in the world , do you really think they will get that here .
Life is about choice , if they are good enough to earn a youth league spot overseas they should go with our blessing , if they decide to stay and take the Aleague route so be it . In the end it is their decision and no one elses .
I dont no how bring in dud overseas players that cant get a job anywhere else is a help to the youth players , they just pickup their bad habits . Why dont we have a cap on the amount of overseas players ? we only have so many spots in the league , and why can we play over age players in the youth games ? lets take away more oppotunities .
It will take many years more for it to be an option to stay here to develop to your full potential . This is just my opinion .
Towser said | January 22nd 2010 @ 8:56am | Report comment
George
. To quote the cliche “Football is a game of opinions” & we can spend all day on it . You have yours, I have mine. I doubt whether either will be swayed by the other to change it. Better to respect & acknowledge the merit of the other view.
I see it as a case of development & money ,because without the moolah,their is no development. Were just coming from different angles. Kids may be at top academies in Europe ,but show me the proof they will further their career any more than Brett Emerton Or Mark Viduka did coming from the NSL
The mindset has to change at some point that we can in Australia produce quality senior players from our youth, able to transfer overseas & not struggle like 95% of them do to break into the big time.
We did it from the NSL & having followed that closely there is even more reason to believe that the A-League can do much better.
The bottom line is we both want the same thing to improve the quality of Australian footballer produced. Its important for the standing of the Socceroos on the world stage. Lets face it they have to play in the top Leagues of Europe to acheive our full potential in the sport.
Just have a different viewpoint on how it should be acheived to extract the maximum for the progress of the domestic game.
Punter said | January 22nd 2010 @ 9:54am | Report comment
George,
there is a limit to how many overseas players are allowed in the A-League (5). Overage players can play in the youth league. Wanted to clear this up.
George & Towser,
With the advent of the A-League & the Youth League, this gives the Aussie youth the opportunity to choose, those strong & willing to move to Europe aged 15-16 years & those who may find this experience too much, they can go via the A-League/Youth League. It’s asking alot for a kid of 15 or 16 years to move from Australia to live in Middlesbrough or Birmingham without their parents.
Not all are at the same level of maturity, while their football level may be the same.
The other issue is kids may not be pressured to look at other int’l options by their clubs like both Lowry & Williams due the great distanced of Australia if they took up their football route via the A-League/Youth league.
Chris said | January 22nd 2010 @ 11:18am | Report comment
I would argue that staying in Australia is as good option as going overseas. Remember our current system has only been around for a couple of years so we cannot expect to have already produced Viduka’s and Kewell’s but the players that are coming through the NYL and A League look very promising. Kantarovski, Oar, ibrahim, etc.. all have the potential to be brilliant players. Also by staying in Australia they have the chance earlyer to play against MEN in our top domestic league not boys or sitting on the bench for an english youth academy. This experience, while not the pinnacle of football can provide a great experience for the players of this age.
Wait 5 or 6 years before you pass judgemen’t on the A Leagues ability to develop players and I bet you by that time we will have seen some very positive results.
TheMagnificent11 said | January 22nd 2010 @ 1:28pm | Report comment
The A-League is not a developmental league; it’s more of a finishing school. The NYL is a developmental league. The youngest players start in the NYL at around 15. However, a player’s technical grounding is developed from 5-15.
So basically, the ages of 5-10 is probably the most important if you want to develop a player of true world class ability. This where you learn the building blocks of football skills. If you haven’t mastered these basic skills by 10, you can still be a good player, just not one who has the touch and dribbling ability of a Messi or even a Kewell. It’s like learning to draw, unless you practise drawing as a young child you cannot be draw life-like portraits latter in life. You brain can only establish those neural networks in those early years. Thus, coaching in the 5-10 age group is main area where Australia is lacking.
As for teenagers heading to Europe, the two major thing a teenager would learn in a European academy that he can’t learn in Australia is professionalism and tactics. Training intensity is higher and coaching is generally better. So should Aussie kids try go over to Europe at 14/15? Yes if they are going to a club with a good youth programme. If they have trouble adjusting, they can always come home. However, there is no reason why a talent teenager cannot become a world class player coming through the NYL. He just has to put in a lot more extra hours on the training pitch.
Finally, when player is good enough to play in the A-League, his technique isn’t going to improve out of sight. It will improve a bit, but what improves the most is decision making and tactical awareness (when to apply what skills). The technique and style of football in the J and K League promote possession football more than the A-League (at the moment, no reason why the A-League won’t improve here over time). Possession is the most important part of football IMO. Therefore, IMO currently the J and K League are better finishing schools for players in their early to mid 20s.
whiskeymac said | January 22nd 2010 @ 1:43pm | Report comment
as an aside, and by way of comparison, England’s new St George facility is up and running (a la Clairfontaine (spelt?) and a few others in Europe). They are trying to teach the kids pre 15 yo. Trevor Brooking (sir) pointed out ina recent article that its all a bit late when they are in their teens to teach them technique and football smarts so this is what they will do, and that in any event the clubs are the “finishing” schools.
with clubs like CCM setting up academies etc we are getting similar infrastructure and are on track to teach our kids and prepare them for the HAL and beyond.
Chris said | January 22nd 2010 @ 2:01pm | Report comment
On the other hand think of all the best technical players in football, the african’s and south american’s. how much quality coaching do you think they have had before they were 15. What you need to create better technicians is just get a ball at young kids feet from a young age, heavily promote junior football, footsal, etc… (even just handing out balls, get the kid growing up with a ball, not an egg) you can’t really start scouting for academies until the kids are 11 or 12 and as you said they need to learn skill before that.
TheMagnificent11 said | January 22nd 2010 @ 3:10pm | Report comment
African and South American kids are technically gifted because they play a lot of unorganised “small-sided-games” in the streets. Lots of kids, one ball and lots of tight spaces. So they develop excellent close control and first touch. George Best was once asked where he got his dribbling ability from. He said all the kids from neighbourhood used to play in the park together and there were so many playing in the one game that he just tried to keep the ball for as long as possible when he got it.
However, you right, there isn’t much point to having academies for kids under 11. But kids probably shouldn’t play on a full size pitch till they are 13 (perhaps even 15). As soon as you go to full size fields, the bigger and stronger kids stand out. Not only that, coaches here don’t understand that and just pick rep teams that are likely to win (not players with the most potential). And, the coaching for 11-15 year olds here is not as good as Europe or South America (probably not even as good as Africa because a lot of European clubs invest a lot of money in African academies).
All this illustrates my original point that youth development here isn’t great (it’s only okay). So you cannot blame any teenager that wants to try his luck in Europe.
whiskeymac said | January 22nd 2010 @ 2:11pm | Report comment
interesting point and I agree on the need to coach pre teen kids because at 16 it is too late. hopefully the FFA’s maing moves with the SSGs etc.
we still produced kewell and viduka (as towser said) also. but are the africans and South Americans, on average, better? we see the best those continents can provide in Europe… or are the spanish, italians, dutch and french generally more accomplished professionals? messi (barca boy) and kaka or ronaldo and zidane… hard to say.but the French and Spanish (and potentially germans) seem to be producing consistently good to great players, whereas England have not. or so the argument goes.
David V. said | January 25th 2010 @ 5:19pm | Report comment
England produced about 2 or 3 generations of very gifted players but the last generation has seen fewer of them. Same can be said of Scotland, mind you. I don’t know if it’s down to luck or were clubs doing their job in bringing them through?
george said | January 23rd 2010 @ 8:47am | Report comment
Its been great to read all your point of views , I think we all agree the future is looking positive . The only factor that is of concern is how long until we can leave our youth in the hands of our youth structure . I feel for the next few years we will still have to leave it to the football gods . I am only now concerned for the boys who are already at the age where they have to make a decision to stay or go .
There are only a few spots availiable and with the FFA playing hard ball with releasing under 18s to pursue overseas options , i fear for the future of our national squads . As we have seen Aleague players are not up to the job .
David V. said | January 23rd 2010 @ 1:42pm | Report comment
How many of our players look like they can take on the world at only 20? England, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, etc have all done that and we should be aspiring to do so too.
Chris said | January 23rd 2010 @ 5:11pm | Report comment
but in all honesty you cannot compare the amount of talent which comes out of Australia to that of many countrys mentioned. Remember Australia is a country of only 20 million and our most popular sports are Australian Football, League, Cricket, tennis, swimming, etc… realy I think we are quite good at developing tallent from the tiny size of the pool we draw it from. At the moment we are producing a lot of solid players and sooner or later a superstar or two will come along.
David V. said | January 25th 2010 @ 8:08pm | Report comment
Alan Ball and Peter Barnes were already rippin it up before they were 20. And we all know how good Messi and Pele were as teenagers.
Mick said | January 24th 2010 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
Back on track… DAVID WILLIAMS as a future Socceroo. Definitely David Williams. Anyone who saw his performace last night against the Roar would know why. The kid’s got huge potential, and I get the feeling that some people only knock him because he plays for the Fury. Typical southern bias.
Griffo said | January 25th 2010 @ 11:33am | Report comment
Recent press on Ben Kantarovski has Branko Cullina advising him to stay in Oz a little while longer to finish development before going overseas. More specifically: make sure you go overseas to a good club. To many, a transfer to a club is a good transfer if it is overseas, but as we see that is not always the case. Hopefully Ben goes to a good club when he is ready and not just to any old club. He is on the lips of many when predicting future socceroos but that will depend on where he goes when he eventually heads overseas.
george said | January 26th 2010 @ 1:34am | Report comment
How do you stay until you have developed ? Dont you keep on developing for your whole career . Cullina just does not want to loose him as he is doing so well . I think Ben was already offered a deal with Bayern Munich at a younger age , but was told he would not recieve an ITC , like what has happened to few others lately .