Socceroos have a way to go still - on and off the field

Australia’s Brett Holman celebrates after scoring a goal against New Zealand’s during their soccer friendly in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, May 24, 2010. Australia won the match 2-1. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Brett Holman’s last gasp goal against New Zealand may have saved Australia’s blushes, but their performance left an uninspiring feeling amongst supporters as the Socceroos head to South Africa.

It was a stodgy first-half performance from the Socceroos, and what was most worrying, aside from the tactical ineptitude on display, was the lack of spark from seasoned Socceroos.

My biggest concern, aside from the Pim Verbeek’s strategic predictability and the lack of depth, is the lack of spirit and emotion that the Socceroos are carrying into this World Cup campaign as opposed to four years ago.

While Holman’s late winner gave the Socceroos another come from behind win – and saved them from the indignation and national embarrassment of a home defeat to the Kiwis – I still don’t see the self-belief and hunger of 2006.

There were few standout performances, and more than a few disappointing ones, especially from experienced campaigners.

Vince Grella was a menace for the wrong reasons and wasted some rare chances, while Craig Moore looked slow and vulnerable at the back – not surprising given his lack of football of late.

Tim Cahill’s influence was negligible in the first half, while Scott McDonald was yet again exposed and isolated in a system that doesn’t suit him.

One has to wonder why Verbeek gave him the opportunity yet again when we all know McDonald is wasted when the Socceroos are lobbing long balls with no build up and control through the midfield.

Why did he not give Tommy Oar more time than the 15 minutes he had at the end of the match? Or Nicky Carle a final chance to impress?

On Oar, he did show flashes of pace and touch in his limited time, and surely he deserves a ticket to South Africa as the possible go-to man off the bench when the Socceroos need a lift.

But the overriding lesson we can take from the game is how vulnerable the current Socceroos team is when a few key ingredients are missing.

Take away Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton, Luke Wilkshire, Scott Chipperfield and the option of Josh Kennedy up front and they suddenly look very vulnerable, one-dimensional and predictable.

In attack, long balls to Kennedy (or worse, anyone else) and failure to create a cohesive attack from the midfield won’t worry Nemanja Vidic, just as Moore’s vulnerability will have Miroslav Klose and co. licking their lips.

The Socceroos need to have their strongest possible team on the park playing at their utmost ability and with a bit more passion if they are to do anything in Group D.

If any positives can be taken from the game it was the performances of the next generation of leaders, namely Dario Vidosic, Carl Valeri and Mile Jedinak, who provided the much needed stability and control in the midfield that had been lacking in the first half.

The much-maligned Holman smartly took his opportunity to win the game and is starting to prove the doubters wrong, while Beauchamp had a positive influence.

And credit to Jason Culina, who was one of the few experienced Socceroos to have a noticeable impact. It isn’t too damaging playing in the A-League, Pim.

But the negatives outweighed the positives. At the end of the day, it was dour and worrying.

There is much work to do for Verbeek as he contemplates the final make-up of his final squad, and, worryingly, I’m yet to see anywhere near the emotional wave of self-belief and passion of four years ago.

If it took so long for the Socceroos to lift in front of 55,000-plus fans at home against New Zealand, then perhaps we need to be worried.

Also, as opposed to four years ago, Verbeek doesn’t seem to have the tactical cards up his sleeve that Guus Hiddinck had (perhaps he just doesn’t know how to play them like Guus) come critical moments in matches.

Perhaps it’s the Verbeek mindset of only lifting when necessary that we saw in the Socceroos’ performance last night.

If so, it’s fitting Verbeek’s final Australian performance typified how he coached the Socceroos during his tenure.

Either way, there is still a lot of work to do for the Socceroos, and the final friendlies against Denmark and the USA in South Africa are critical.

Let’s hope Verbeek’s Socceroos show their true colours before it’s too late. Off the field there is a way to go yet, also.

I spent much of the night floating in and around the MCG gauging fans’ opinions and attitudes for a separate article.

While 55,000-plus crowd was beyond expectation, within the MCG it felt a lot less with gaping gaps in the stands. And amongst that crowd was a fair contingent of bandwagon support.

While a half empty MCG doesn’t lend itself to creating a dynamic atmosphere, it’s worrying how many of those bandwagon supporters know so little of the Socceroos and the game itself (some of the conversations I overheard were laughable).

The All Whites’ early goal, not to mention the Socceroos’ woeful performance, may have silenced the crowd to a certain extent, but the lack of atmosphere from the crowd was stifling.

The support, like the team, didn’t lift for the occasion, and there was a noticeable lack of antagonism from the Australian fans toward the Kiwis.

Encouragingly, heading into the stadium, the huge number of corporations represented in numerous stands handing out freebies (Solo undies took the prize for most innovative) highlighted how far the Socceroos brand has come. But in terms of hearts and minds, there is still more progress that needs to be achieved.

Thankfully the bandwagon support had a last gasp victory to go home with, but the Socceroos class of 2010 doesn’t seem to have the bandwagon support of 2006 just yet.

In more ways than one, our 2010 World Cup campaign is falling well short of the mark set in 2006.

We can only hope there is a marked improvement come South Africa, both on and off the field.