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It wasn’t that long ago that we could call on Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, John Alosi and Paul Agostino to lead the Socceroo frontline.
How we were blessed.
We also had a midfield where the likes of Tim Cahill, Brett Emerton, Mark Bresciano, Mile Sterjovski and Jason Culina, as well as Scott Chipperfield at the back, who could contribute goals. No wonder they were called the Golden Generation.
You look at the national team today and we have an attacking midfielder-turned forward, Cahill, who remains our greatest goal threat. As he has done for the past six or so years. Between him and the rest is daylight.
Hardly any of the other players who wore the green and gold against Japan on Tuesday looked likely to score. But Cahill comes on and does like has has 35 other times before – he puts the ball in the back of the net, saving Australia’s blushes, keeping us in the hunt. He is the ultimate finisher.
So where have all our strikers gone? And who will score our national team goals when Timmy finally, finally hangs up his Adidas?
He’s 35 in a few weeks and can’t go on forever.
It’s one of the issues, and Ange Postecoglou has a few right now, that must be keeping the head coach up at night.
At the World Cup we had Adam Taggart, who was the top scorer in the A-League last season. Taggart is just 21 and has a lot of potential. But he has played not one minute for his new club Fulham since arriving from Brazil, because of injury. He’s a massive long shot to be right for January.
Tomi Juric has been decent in the A-League – 11 goals from 28 appearances – and has shown a tendency to produce in big games, like in the Asian Champions League final first-leg. Like Taggart he has huge potential but like Taggart he’s also had injury problems. The 23-year-old was rested for the Japan game but should be included in the Asian Cup squad. The Socceroos need him.
Who else is there? Matthew Leckie can play up front but is better on the wing. Robbie Kruse hasn’t got back to his 2012-2013 form yet. James Troisi is yet to ignite at international level.
Josh Kennedy is actually a proper centre-forward who has 17 goals from 33 matches for the Socceroos since 2006. But he is 32, has back issues and hasn’t played for his club Nagoya Grampus since August 23. He’s scored five in 11 appearances this season, but that’s out of a possible 31 fixtures. In the last 10 club matches he has been in the squad once, against Kofu, and in that game he didn’t make it off the bench. Kennedy won’t be match fit for the Asian Cup.
Ben Halloran has been overlooked since the World Cup. Dario Vidosic is not a striker. Nikita Rukavystsya has just come back to the A-League and joined Western Sydney.
We can cast the net wider.
In the A-League the top scorers so far this season are Besart Berisha with five, Nathan Burns with four, Andy Keogh with four, Henrique with four and Michael McGlinchey with three. Except for Burns, the rest can’t play for Australia.
Burns has been out of the Socceroo set-up for some time and is just getting back to regular game-time in Wellington, which is great to see.
The top Australian scorers in the A-League are Archie Thompson with three, Jamie Maclaren with three, Bruce Djite with two, Joel Griffiths with two, Corey Gameiro with two, and Mark Bridge with two.
Thompson and Griffiths’ Socceroo days are seemingly over, Djite has been there before, Bridge isn’t on Postecoglou’s radar, while Maclaren and Gameiro are both raw but in great form.
The young pair recently both scored for the Olyroos in a three-game tournament in China. Both could develop into real stars, and spent time in the UK in their early days, but it’s too soon to know just how far they will go.
You look back at last season’s A-League goal-scoring charts and it’s a similar story – the top marksmen are mostly foreigners. Apart from Taggart, of course, the other prolific Aussie poachers were Melbourne City’s David Williams, Troisi and then Berisha, Stein Huysegems, Alessandro Del Piero, Jeronimo Neumann, Fabio Ferreira and Sergio Cirio.
If you look overseas in other competitions it’s a similar story. Australian forwards scoring regularly are hard to find.
Daniel McBreen has banged in a few in China, Roko Strika is earning his stripes in Croatia’s top flight, youngster James Demetriou is on Swansea’s books but in the development squad, Eli Babalj isn’t getting game-time in Holland, Brent McGrath is playing in Thailand, Brett Holman has retired from international football, and Kerem Bulut is in the wilderness.
Scott McDonald is playing regularly in England’s Championship, but has managed one strike from 18 appearances this campaign and is often playing on the wing. At 31 years old with 0 goals from 26 Socceroo games, is he really the answer?
The days of Aloisi, Kewell, Viduka and Agostino, let alone David Zdrilic, Damian Mori and Aurelio Vidmar, are long gone.
What began as a problem scoring goals has become a drought. And it could become a lot worse in the Asian Cup.
There’s no quick fix up front but every Socceroo fan needs to pray that Tim Cahill remains injury-free and fit for the kick-off against Kuwait on January 9.
Our Asian Cup hopes depend on it.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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