With the Socceroos 3-1 defeat of Qatar in the early hours of yesterday morning, the result finally came which ensures advancement into the final stage of qualifying for 2010.
All is good, all is well, the papers are once again jumping for joy with positive articles left right and center – there couldn’t be a single negative from last nights game, right?
After browsing a number of web based football sites I came across one such article praising the efforts of one particular player who has been under scrutiny in the previous few weeks for sub par performances – Brett Holman.
Yes – it’s not a typo – an article praising the efforts of Holman. One question, had the Socceroos drawn or lost last night’s match would this praise had been thrown Holmans way regardless of whether he had a good or bad game? I think not.
Holman – no fault of his own, he seems to have become a scapegoat to Australian fans who look for a release of frustration for poor results in the national team. The reason? Simple. The bloke is just not good enough. I will be the first to admit that last night he probably played his best match for the socceroos but it was still overly mediocre.
How does aimless running around and blind passes constitute a good football player? Some will say, but what about Brett Emerton, he fits that bill perfectly? True. But Emerton differs from Holman in his ability to read the game and create opportunities out of nothing as opposed to ruin genuine scoring opportunities.
Not to mention actually finding players on the end of his passes. And the other night was a perfect example of this. Emerton seizes on his chances – Holman throws them.
And lets not forget that Emerton applies his trade as primarily as a right wing back for the national team and when given the chance to impress in front of goal, has an almost flawless game. We were playing Qatar remember, god help us had we been playing Japan or a European powerhouse.
This just reinforces the issue that Holman is not Central Attacking Midfielder (CAM) material in the national team. A RWB inclined player for both club and country can outshine a CAM player in one game. Tim Cahill must be sitting in his lounge chair quite comfortable knowing that Verbeek seems deadset on using Holman as opposed to Carle as the socceroo’s CAM.
What topped off last nights game was hearing the rumours of Holman being linked to the likes of Ajax. Has Ajax management employed Stevie Wonder as their latest scout? The bloke can’t even get consistent first game time as it is.
Pull the other leg Slater/Hill, it plays jingle bells.
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Even though St.Pauli ultimately lost a high-scoring affair, Jackson Irvine was a standout, as well as scoring a late goal.
What if we celebrated all of the achievements big and small, and weeded out those hell-bent on bringing down a game that is doing a hell of a lot right?
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