Money robbing the A-League of local talent

Columnist

By Davidde Corran, 15 Mar 2010 Davidde Corran is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: A-League, FFA, football, michael theoklitos, sasa ognenovski

Related coverage

Socceroos Michael Theoklitos team training in Canberra, Tuesday, March 3, 2009. The Socceroos will play Kuwait in the Asian Cup qualifying match at Canberra Stadium on Thursday. (AAP Image/Alan Porritt)

I doubt many were surprised when news broke last week that Michael Theoklitos had finally parted company with Norwich City after a nightmare stint.

The former Melbourne Victory goalkeeper, who has since decided to return to Australia by signing on with Brisbane Roar, had been out of favour with the Canaries since his horror debut at the start of the season ended in a 7-1 loss.

Nice guy ‘Theo’ was a reliable player for the Victory, but his trouble in England’s third division begs the question: how good of a player is he?

Despite genuine interest last year from Everton and two A-League Goalkeeper of the Year awards, Theoklitos was never head and shoulders above any of his fellow Australian number ones.

He went to England with the desire to try his hand at European football as well as dreaming of richer pastures. In the end, Theoklitos seems to have come up short on both counts.

Theo’s story got me thinking again about the masses of medium quality Australians who are playing in domestic competitions overseas and why they are there.

It’s a question that is even more pertinent in light of the fluttering eyes from Australian football fans, pundits and Feyenord following Tommy Oar’s performance for the Socceroos last week.

Of course there are the top tier of Australian footballers who need to be playing overseas as well as the more talented youngsters who head to Europe (and slowly Asia) to develop their game. Beyond them however is a large amount of ordinary players in ordinary leagues.

The inconsistent performances from the likes of Rostyn Griffiths, Adam Hughes and even Mile Sterjovski since they’ve returned to the A-League prove that these players aren’t beyond A-League quality. So is it because they don’t want to live and play in Australia? Every single one of them will tell you the answers to that question is no.

Then why aren’t they coming back?

Recently I got to spend a few weeks in South Korea and caught up with Sasa Ognenovski for an interview that will air on The World Game in the coming days.

When I broached the topic of why South Korea’s K-League manages to keep most of its local talent when there is a constant stream out the door of Australia, Sasa was forthright.

“A lot has to do with what their managers say to them,” Ognenovski explained.

“In Korea when an older person tells you something that’s pretty much how it’s going to be.

“They’re happy to live at home, earn decent money and if the opportunity comes where they can move on to a bigger and better league then they go.

“But they don’t just go out and find a team in Romania or Bulgaria or wherever it might be just for the sake of playing in Europe.

“For them they’re earning decent money here and I don’t think any Aussie would leave Australia if he was earning the amount of money he’d be earning anywhere else in the world.”

Excuse the pun but Sasa was right on the money. At the end of the day, while the A-League can’t come close to competing financially, players will still leave and not come back until another life factor other then money draws them home.

All of which makes Football Federation Australia’s continued refusal to accept the “3+1” rule or an Asian marquee system all the more saddening.

Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.

The Crowd Says (44) | Page 1 of Comments

whiskeymac said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:59am | Report comment

once the league is larger, more established (ie not propped up by FFA) and better funded maybe the caps will diminish but until then it wld be a folly to try and pay mediocre players unrealistic wages. with so many players to chose from in the world Theo is lucky to have been paid what he was here, and able to get another gig so easliy. wld HAL supporters normally accept, as you point out in the article, a third division player who didnt cut it joining their squad… or did he just have a bad year? (Comparatively am sure most HAL teams wld love Carney in theirs, and his euro adventuresarent illustious (yet))

As a comparison : doe anyone know what the go is with the MLS players? do US players flood overseas like the aussies? I heard they were revolting (haha) over their pay too.

Reply
- Davidde Corran said | March 16th 2010 @ 5:53am | Report comment
  
  whiskeymac, there are around 100 US footballers playing overseas last time I checked. An American colleague I know quite well, Brent Latham, is a part of the crew who run a site dedicated to the topic called Yanks Abroad. Really interesting little site: http://yanks-abroad.com/
  
  One of the biggest problems as I’ve had explained to me by the excellent Sean Wheelock (check him out on BBC 5live’s World Football phone-in) is that after college the starting contracts in the MLS are so poor (around US$20,000 from memory) that many just bypass it and head to ordinary European leagues. Others skip college all together and head to Europe at 18.
  
  Reply
Dogz R Barkn said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:24am | Report comment

I felt a bit sorry for Theo when he let in those 7 goals on debut – every keeper’s worst nightmare no doubt.

But I have to be brutally honest here, I never thought he was a top notch keeper. Sure, he was decent, but not top notch.

What I noticed in the A-League was that his reflexes and shot stopping were good, but any time the ball was up in the air and moving, he was pretty woeful.

Remember that Cassio free kick the last season? Yes, it was well placed, but the ball had zero pace on it, any keeper worth half his salt would have got to it easily – and with both hands!

I remember one time Tim Brown had a shot from outside the box, hit it directly into the turf, and the ball has skipped up and shot six inches above Theo’s head, and he let that one through!!

There have been other goals that have basically bobbled over him into the back of the net when in truth, they were harmless attempts at goals.

So I agree with you Davidde – Theo was a decent A-League keeper, and nothing more.

Reply
- Axel V said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:27am | Report comment
  
  I completely disagree, Aerially speaking, I think Theo was by far the best keeper in the A-League. He would command his box and any cross anywhere near him would be diligently intercepted. He could also pull out top draw saves to rescue the team on countless occasions. Watching him, I always felt easy and safe with reliable Theo in our goals. He was the perfect keeper for Melbourne’s style of play.
  
  Langerak on the other hand has enormous talent, is a good shot stopper and good in the air, however he is still young and has made a few mistakes. At 21 however, he has the potential to become one of Australia’s greatest keepers. In my opinion, we should have Bosnich, coaching all our young Australian keepers from all clubs!
  
  Reply
  - AndyRoo said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:29am | Report comment
    
    I think John Filan has been done a great job with Bolton this year.
    
    Reply
  - Dogz R Barkn said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:41am | Report comment
    
    You are probably biased – I can’t see how anyone could think Theo was good in the air – he let through goals that better keepers would have stopped.
    
    Reply
    - Axel V said | March 15th 2010 @ 12:05pm | Report comment
      
      I probaly am bias, But I wonder whether we are talking about the same thing?
      
      I think you are talking about aerial shots on goal? I’m talking about aerial crosses into the box. The beauty of intercepting crosses is, once you catch the ball, there is no need to concede a shot on goal!
      
      Reply
- Tom said | March 15th 2010 @ 12:10pm | Report comment
  
  Woeful is a bit harsh, I think. I never saw the Adelaide game but I don’t remember thinking that the Brown goal was a particularly bad error.
  
  Melbourne generally seemed to defend pretty well from set pieces which is normally a sign of a good aerial keeper.
  
  Can’t think of any other goals that ‘bobbled’ over him. Can certainly remember some wonderful saves, though.
  
  My abiding memory of Theo was the last minute save on Travis Dodd in the 06/07 semi-final. The crowd hadn’t stopped cheering Robinson’s winner yet so if he’d let that through it would’ve have been an interesting atmosphere.
  
  Reply
TheMagnificent11 said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:50am | Report comment

It’s the money offered overseas and the influence of agents that causes many player to move overseas. Also, I don’t know how much more a player could earn playing in Romania or Norway, but I sure some young players see such leagues as a stepping stone to bigger things (again, agents would tell players this). I think the PFA setting up their own player agency is a step in the right direction. I think players represented by the PFA are going to get better advice.

Reply
MarkShark said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:51am | Report comment

I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It is quite simple. Most of these players will earn at least triple the amount of money they are earning here in Australia if they go to one of the leading countries in Europe.

Our clubs sign new players on a 3 yr contract when they start at their club for very little money. Then in their first year they take the A-League by storm and even come into World Cup contention.

What does the club do for the player to reward this, nothing of course as they still have 2 yrs left of their contract. So what is this player to do. They have only a limited time in the game and with a National Coach who only looks overseas for his first team players they have to make hay while the sun shines.

Our clubs just moan about losing our best young talent overseas but really they do very little to keep them. Some players are on less money than the average wage so who would blame them to listen closely to their agents who have deals that will change their life forever.

Reply
Realfootball said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:13am | Report comment

The “stepping stone” theory hasn’t been working too well if we look at the players on a case by case basis. It is of course a chicken and egg question – is it the player that is the problem or the league he is playing in?

Who from Romania has stepped up? Sweden? Denmark? Even Holland? By stepping up I mean into England, Spain, Italy or Germany. Exactly no one. The only League that seems to have worked as a stepping stone is Belgium. But really, if you look at our top players, they went to a top league first up, even if in a lower division. The lesson, clearly, is that the second and third tier European leagues are not good options for ambitious young players. Instead, target a top league and start in the lower divisions, though not lower than second tier.

Reply
- TheMagnificent11 said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:27am | Report comment
  
  A certain Brett Emerton used Feyenoord as a stepping stone to Blackburn. Some may argue that this was a step backwards in terms of standards but he probably earns more money at Blackburn. Tim Cahill and Lucas Neil were at Millwall. Luke Wilkshire was at Bristol (I think).
  
  However, I never said that the theory worked very well, but occasionally it has worked. I think young players are wasting their time playing in places like Romania. Football-wise, I think they should only move if they are going to highest of second highest division in countries like England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France or Holland. Or, the highest division in Turkey, Greece or Belgium. The rest may offer more money but it’s highly unlikely they will get noticed. The reason being, if they were good enough, they would have been noticed while still playing in the A-League.
  
  Reply
- Ricky J said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:28am | Report comment
  
  Brett Emerton made the move from Holland to England OK. Tony Vidmar was in Holland for while before England and Scotland from what I know.
  
  Robbie Slater made it to England via the French league.
  
  Reply
- Ben of Phnom Penh said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:30am | Report comment
  
  Brett Emerton played three years with Feyenoord if I recall correctly
  
  Reply
- AndyRoo said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:12am | Report comment
  
  I don’t think all players are going with the intention of making it at Man Utd one day. It’s unrealistic for a lot of these players.
  If you go to Romania the only way to then make it into the big leagues is to become a star in Romania. So many of the players that went to Romania and such were not starring in the A league so were they expecting Romania to be easier?
  If you sign to go to Romania you should only do so because of the money not for some lofty dream of European stardom and realistically I think they know that too.
  
  If I was a mediocre player offered 4 times my salary to play in China I would do it. My love of Australia wouldn’t outweigh the opportunity to be able to avoid the need to find a job as a 30 year old with limited education and no experience.
  
  Reply
  - TheMagnificent11 said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:47am | Report comment
    
    Yeah you can’t argue with players going overseas for the money. They’ve only got a about 15 years in the sport and they have to make as much as they can to set them up for life. However, if they have ambitions of playing for the national team, they should only move when the they starring in the A-League and offer from a respectable club comes along. IMO, if they are starring in the A-League, an offer from a good club will come along. For example, Nathan Burns may be struggling for game time at the moment but he was playing pretty well in the A-League and got picked up by AEK Athens (one of the top clubs in Greece). So, I think he made the correct decision. It may have cost him a place in the national team for Asian Cup games, but he’s at a good club and will probably benefit in the long run.
    
    Reply
Dogz R Barkn said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:22am | Report comment

The so-called minor European leagues still represent a good shop front because some clubs will be involved in European competition, so which ever way you look at it, that’s a step up from the A-League in terms of being a shop front.

The only thing the A-League can provide to ambitious players (and there’s nothing wrong with being ambitious), is to have players like Tommy Oar appear in the occasional Asian qualifier, which has far more chance of getting the eye of a scout than your average A-League game.

If you’re not good enough to get a starting berth in those sorts of games, you’re probably not good enough for the top 4 leagues full stop – so you may as well get whatever money you can earn from where ever you can.

Reply
- AndyRoo said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:31am | Report comment
  
  It’s only the top teams that are involved in European competition and it’s very hard for a young aussie to do well their unless they have a European passport.
  
  You not only have to be good enough to make the first eleven you have to be better than the 3 cheap African/South American/Eastern European talents they have on the books.
  
  So that would be tough as you could be the best left back at the club but have no way fo playing
  
  That said I think Chippers would be pretty happy with his career. A couple of titles at Wollongong, some more at Basel and playing in the Champions League…all sprinkled with likely a Couple of world cups and a heap of caps for Australia. Chippers had starred in the NSL before leaving though, he wasnt a 1 goal in 10 games as a stiker kid.
  
  Reply
Towser said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:34am | Report comment

Apart from the money luring players overseas,another factor not to be overlooked is the still lingering NSL syndrome.
Theres still a bit of an overlap into the A-League from that in my book.
That being that Football is still underdeveloped in Australia has no profile & a waste of an ambitious players time.
Hence in the early days of the A-League players were still leaving.
Given that were still developing both on & off the field & in profile the NSL syndrome will still linger for a while yet.
The next TV deal is crucial to this amongst many other aspects of football.
Sasa may have stayed here on a larger wage packet. He was invaluable at the Roar & Adelaide. Same as Joel Griffiths at Newcastle. We cant continue to lose this sort of local player to Asia in future if the A-League is to progress.

Reply
- punter said | March 15th 2010 @ 12:34pm | Report comment
  
  I tend to agree, look at a player like Colisomo, he should not be looking at a move to Asia, this is driven purely by money (no issue with the player doing this). But, it’s all about increasing the ability to keep these type of players in Australia. Of course this means increasing the salary cap when it’s viable, ie, importance of new TV deal.
  We also need to keep the fans coming, the A-League this year is of higher standard than any other time during the A-League & yet we had our lowest crowds.
  
  Reply
  - AndyRoo said | March 15th 2010 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
    
    As long as we get a transfer fee I don’t mind players going overseas and earning more money. But the fee is important, players leaving does hurt the leagues marketability so we need the money to compensate and make clubs realize the worth in keeping players under contract, not like how it currently works where their constantly letting a player get into his last year of contract before renegotiating. I hope more clubs bring in a director of football so there is someone making decisions on playing list management and contract lengths with a long term view.
    
    Senior players are an important part of developing champion players and champion teams (Devere playing alongside Moore is an ideal scenario) but theirs a few recent things that have come up that are clouding my mind and making me feel it’s not the end of the world.
    
    Foz was on the TWG last night talking how the Dutch aim to export as many coaches as possible and that exporting footballers is fairly natural. It’s far better to have our players head overseas than no one wanting them.
    We also have Han Berger lamenting how many of our U20 Roos aren’t getting a lot of game time in the A league and instead are playing NYL as a % it was much worse than in other nations.
    
    There is a young defensive midfielder at SFC who doesn’t have a contract for next year. He’s only on a youth team contract and that’s 5k a year. SFC are sitting on the biggest talent pool in Australia so you would hope this kid can play a bit but for all I know he could be hopeless. It was more the lament of how he is facing some very tough life choices as to whether he keeps going and I felt for him.
    
    Adelaide, Brisbane and Newcastle should all be happy with numbers of talented players they have given a chance. SFC and Perth have been disappointing. In the first year SFC unearthed Milligan and Carney for a job well done. Since then they haven’t done much, Shannon Cole was a great story but it was 3 years of not much development wise and instead just signing players from other A league clubs. Their have been some promising signs this year as they signed 5 of their NYL players to contracts so I am hoping they turn it around but Chris Payne is their 4th choice striker. I would love to see how he would go with a long run in an A league first team but it’s unlikely to happen at SFC
    
    If Colisomo’s departure leads to more game time for Golec and Jurman then that’s no bad thing really.
    
    Reply
    - Towser said | March 15th 2010 @ 1:51pm | Report comment
      
      “If Colisomo’s departure leads to more game time for Golec and Jurman then that’s no bad thing really.”
      
      This is where the balancing act comes in & why as you say transfer fees are imperative.
      Because to be honest if Colosimo left & I was a Sydney fan I wouldnt be happy unless Golec or Jurman could step straight into his shoes.
      If not then replace/buy another player who can.
      
      Closer to home the Roar have lost SVD to Adelaide.
      
      http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/soccer/adelaide-united-signs-three-year-deal-with-serginho-van-dijk/story-e6frectc-1225840826777
      
      So we need the equivalent or better. No youth team player at the Roar can fit the bill.
      Will we get a transfer fee in order to help finance this new player.
      If not it shows the lack of football maturity in the business sense of A-League clubs.
      I notice the Roar via its football manager Thiago Cruz has been signing players to contracts recently,but I dont know SVD’s position as he was signed before they had one.
      
      So in my book unless a youth player is actually playing alongside a senior player before the senior leaves(ie your example Moore/Devere) that senior player needs to be replaced by his equivalent at the minimum.
      Otherwise I as a fan am being dudded.
      
      Reply
      - AndyRoo said | March 15th 2010 @ 2:24pm | Report comment
        
        Sergio, walked out for free, he had a 2 year contract and it expired. Whenever you lose an important player to another A league club I consider that a failure. If clubs are losing money then they obviously can’t compete with overseas options but you should make sure that you can keep other A league clubs from taking your best. In Roars defence their limited money (they have admitted they won’t have a marquee next season) is probably better spent making sure Oar, Zullo and Sarota have longer contracts and don’t leave for peanuts. More likely they will just lose the lot because their not prepared to back them with 4 year deals
        
        After realizing Sergio was a great buy they should have been trying to extend his contract half way through 2008/2009. If he didn’t re sign they could have tried to hawk him to an Asian club after the first season when he still had a year left. I guess clubs are scared of committing to too much for too long on a dud (say Renaildo’s deal) but once you have them on your books and training every day you should trust your football department and back the players early with longer contracts.
        
        Most of the teams have a few mediocre players that have been around the team for a while (the penalty for getting it wrong) but at least you have someone whose name the fans can remember.
        
        If Renaildo wasn’t such a dud then they would still have one experienced striker for Costa and whatever kid with potential they have to work with. As it stands they are going to need to recruit someone else.
        
        Reply
        
        AndyRoo said | March 15th 2010 @ 3:11pm | Report comment
        
        Further to the above the standard MLS contract is for 4 years….. but then they can get away with non guaranteed contracts which I don’t think would go down to well in Australia but food for thought.
        
        Edit: In regards to SVD, he is in the same category of player as Adam Griffiths and Danny Allsop who went to West Asian teams for big money. Brisbane would be kicking themselves if Adelaide make the second round of the ACL and sell him for 5 times what they are paying him.
    - Punter said | March 15th 2010 @ 3:39pm | Report comment
      
      The player in question is Sam Munroe, some who have seen him rate him very highly, NYL defensive midfielder.
      
      The players this year from the top NYL from last year signed this year, didn’t kick on, Grant, (injury), Danning (injury), Gan (inconsistentcy), Jurman (injury), not sure Payne was one of them. Sean Rooney was the top goalscorer for SFC NYL & moved to Jets.
      
      The lack of youth players is more due to the coaches not knowing how to handle them.
      
      But I go back to the players running around in other leagues, the 2nd-3rd tier players, who could all grace the A-League if the price was right.
      
      Look at Smeltz, he was running around in the conference league.
      
      Reply
      - AndyRoo said | March 16th 2010 @ 9:04am | Report comment
        
        http://www.smh.com.au/sport/a-league/mariners-on-horizon-as-payne-searches-for-new-contract-20100315-q9rd.html
        
        It seems SFC also like to leave contract negotiations late, they still haven’t offered Payne a deal and he may head home to the Mariners.
        
        Reply
keeper11 said | March 15th 2010 @ 12:04pm | Report comment

Probably the increasing role of dodgy/ unscrupulous player agents who reek of self-interest has been a negative..

as mentioned…why so many peripharal/ younger aussie players have gone to 2nd and 3rd tier lower Euro leagues..

Have they really improved or seen success…?

Clearly these players would normally have stayed few more years to estblish in A-league..

but maybe they listened and beleived with stars in their eyes the false promises of the agent spruikers:

‘ Maate..you’re a deadest talent ..you’re better than this..a big future awaits for you. Just look at Harry…”

Same as those flaunting so called NRL ‘stars’ to ARU for personal gain..

Reply
- Rob said | March 15th 2010 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
  
  Hmm, perhaps, but at the same time, you have players who have left and are struggling to cement places in their clubs, who are saying that they should have gone to Europe years ago, so they could have adapted to the higher intensity, higher level of skill, better coaching etc, sooner. A-League coaching standards also have to improve so that these players heading to Europe are better equipped to deal with European standards, rather than taking 12-18 months to adapt and by then it’s too late. I’m thinking of Nathan Burns here (because he said he wished he had gone to Europe sooner), but the same could apply to guys like Nikita Rukyavitsa, Bruce Djite, and to a lesser extent Mile Jedinak.
  
  So, the agents are one thing, but the standard of coaching is also an issue, which, I know, is being addressed, but too slow for my liking…
  
  Reply
  - David V. said | March 15th 2010 @ 2:02pm | Report comment
    
    And the Mariners appointing Arnold won’t help at all. In fact, the outrage over this should be the catalyst for a coaching revolution- to oust the local coaching establishment in Australia, and a foreign-led revolution that will culminate in a new generation of local coaches to compete with the best.
    
    Reply
    - Towser said | March 15th 2010 @ 2:14pm | Report comment
      
      Whilst I dont disagree with you about coaching improvement in Australia,how can Graham Arnold be judged as a club coach?. On what he did 10 years ago at Northern Spirit?
      You may be right he could be rubbish. There again he may have learned something from Hiddink & Verbeek.
      Lets not prejudge the cake maker on the basis of the flopped pavlova he made when he was an apprentice.
      Hes been training alongside some gourmet chefs recently, so lets see if hes learned anything before placing him in Mcdonalds constructing hamburgers.
      
      Reply
      - dasilva said | March 15th 2010 @ 2:49pm | Report comment
        
        Although I kind of agree with your point
        
        Remember that he coached the Socceroos and Olyroos AFTER he finished his apprenticeship with Guus Hiddink (with the Olyroos during his apprenticeship with Verbeek). So I don’t think that David V is prejudging him based on what he done in the Pre-Hiddink days at Northern Spirit. His workout with the Olyroos had him coaching the Olyroos in extensive training camps and tours and reasonable amount of practice match. They were pretty much club Australia minus a few European players so you can infer the ability of Arnold in coaching players on a day to day basis with the Olyroos.
        
        Now I admit that International Football is a lot more difficult then A-league football but we know for sure that he isn’t National team level.
        
        Maybe he learnt enough to be solid A-league coach but I think David V has the right to be skeptical.
        
        Reply
        
        AndyRoo said | March 15th 2010 @ 2:53pm | Report comment
        
        I am interested too see how he goes, at least it’s a point of interest around the Mariners.
        
        Towser said | March 15th 2010 @ 3:14pm | Report comment
        
        dasilva
        
        If memory serves me correctly he did get his “club Olyroos” through to the Olympics over 14 difficult qualifying matches. Maybe the fact that his team were not succesful at the Olympics may be more to do with the reality that the players were just not good enough compared to their opponents.
        Serbia 1-1 draw,Argentina & Ivory Coast 1-0 losses. Still reasonable resullts considering our squad.
        So just as Asia is not the Oympics neither is the A-League the EPL.
        Can the Mariners do better of course they can. Can they afford to do better? I doubt it ,so I prefer the optimistic rather than skeptical viewpoint until proven otherwise.
        
        dasilva said | March 15th 2010 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
        
        Fair enough Towser about Arnold qualifying the Olyroos to the Olympics and perhaps the strength of the squad was more responsible for our poor Olympics performance rather then the coaching (I think Arnold coach about 8 of the games, Baan coached the first 6 games of the Olyroos though).
        
        I think the reason why the people look back at Arnold’s period as coach of the Olyroos so dimly was because of the selection issues at the beginning (no Djite or Burns), criticism of training methods by the players (Kilkenny), also the “style” of football that was played (especially the comparison to Rob Baan’s club Olyroos) and the media no show at the end.
        
        I personally give Arnold the benefit of the doubt but I respect the opinions of those who don’t.
        
        David V. said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:22pm | Report comment
        
        I just can’t get over the poor performances of the team in the Asian Cup, or his lack of responsibility in any manner for dismal results under his watch. His reputation with players and fans is cancerous.
Tifosi said | March 15th 2010 @ 2:19pm | Report comment

Players also move to Europe because the Football Culture is much better also. They are immersed in it 24/7 and it feels much better than being here in Australia where the average aussie couldn’t really care less.

When Nathan Burns left Adelaide Utd for Greece( where he is currently playing second division), he said he had wished he had gone earlier as the level of training etc was at a much higher level than Australia, and this was Greece he was talking about.

He felt that it took him about 1 year to get up to speed. So thats another reason they go over and stay in second rate leagues. Simply they are still better than the A-league.

Reply
AndrewM said | March 15th 2010 @ 3:06pm | Report comment

I think the HAL is improving across the board, so you won’t get situations where training is better overseas, there is no excuses for not being able to hold the same training sessions such as man utd. I guess facilities are the key here, not the knowledge of training, and this is coming.. The CC will have amazing facilities in a few years time, and I hear the rovers are also planning something similiar.

As others point out, it will be the investment in the grass roots, the facilities, and the TV deals which bring about massive change in the game here and it should be much more competitive with a higher retention rate in 5 years time.

This will be the building block for the future.

Reply
- george said | March 16th 2010 @ 7:11am | Report comment
  
  You are joking , academy 18s games are played at a far greater pace than the aleague , with far less time on the ball . You must play and train at this level from as young as possible to achieve full potential .
  
  Reply