Fox Sports FC last night hosted the second round in an increasingly ugly feud between ex-Socceroo and current football pundit, Robbie Slater, and Socceroo star, Harry Kewell.
Last Sunday, an article by Slater appeared in the Sunday Telegraph, “confirming” disharmony in the Australian team during the South African World Cup. In the article, Slater wrote: “No player will say it publicly but there was disharmony. And here’s one story to put a new spin on the spin.
“It’s an incident involving Harry and another player, whose privacy I will respect. It happened at Australia’s farewell dinner after the Socceroos’ exit in South Africa.
“Put simply, the player told Harry to f … off, saying he was of no value to the Socceroos any more.”
Straight away, Slater is guilty of hypocrisy. He goes to great pains to “respect” the privacy of the “mystery player,” but tramples all over Harry Kewell’s right to the same thing. For if such an exchange did take place, surely the anonymity of both parties should have been respected. If not, then the “mystery player” should have been named along with Kewell.
Of course, the whole structure of the article was designed for sensationalism and Harry Kewell’s name is enough to sell papers so there was no way his name could be left out.
But if you read the quote I have taken from the Slater article again, he does not directly say that the player who allegedly told Kewell to f… off and his informant are the same person.
Kewell was audibly ropable during a phone hook-up on Fox Sports FC, and made it pretty clear he thought Slater’s insider was Graham Arnold.
However, Kewell denied that such an incident had ever taken place and hinted strongly that he was considering legal action. During the phone interview, he also stated that he was felt he was fit enough to start in the Socceroos opening World Cup game against Germany, but would always be guided by the boss’s decision on such matters.
He rightly pointed out that the media circus surrounding his fitness leading up to the Germany game was not his creation. In his article, Slater blames Pim Verbeek for “allowing the circus to get out of control …”
Yet here is Slater, flogging that circus’s dead horse two months after the event.
Journalists are always keen to “protect their sources”. But Slater’s article wasn’t journalism – it was grubby muck-raking of a type that seems pointless and vindictive. Having an opinion on Kewell’s future worth to the Socceroos is worthy of journalistic comment and Slater’s standing in the game may have, up till now, given him the right to comment on that.
But apparently that wasn’t sensational enough for either him or his pay masters at News Limited.
Harry Kewell has certainly had a chequered history when it comes to the Socceroos, especially as a youngster who took the Premier League by storm at Leeds United. But no-one could deny his commitment to the cause through the last two World Cup campaigns.
His match-winning performance in the final group game against Croatia in 2006 was achieved despite an injury which ultimately ended his Liverpool career. His efforts to overcome chronic groin problems were a huge focal point in the 2010 campaign. Slater claimed the players were “sick to death” hearing about it, which is not exactly an earth-shattering exclusive, given a lot of players publicly expressed that view in South Africa, including Kewell himself.
They did so without blaming Kewell for it, and I’d wager a good amount that they would have loved for him to have been available for more than 24 minutes of the campaign, which is another thing Slater seems to take issue with Kewell for.
Simon Hill tried to act as a moderator on the show and brought up Kewell’s comments during the World Cup regarding the role of journalists being “supportive” of the team.
In this regard, I believe Kewell was wrong to suggest the journos act as virtual cheerleaders, but what Slater produced for the Telegraph was not journalism, nor was it even a vague critique of Kewell’s value to the national team in the future.
If Harry Kewell does take the action he hinted at, the whole business will continue to get more sensational and distasteful. If it transpires that Slater’s “mystery” informant turns out to be who Kewell not-so-subtly suggested it was, it will damage the reputation and standing of the Socceroos coaching and support staff.
All for the sake of a headline.
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
Spot on Fußball! Unfortunately, Cockerill, Slater, et.al are all locked in at Fox Sports, and Cockerill's job at SMH lookds pretty solid too, so, despite Cocko's terrible analysis and his own attack on Kewell during the WC (which, ironically, helped fuel the "circus" surrounding HK), I don't see him going anywhere anytime soon, sadly. Slater, though, could find himself in a lot of trouble if this goes on much longer, and especially if it goes to court. I could see him disappearing off the face of our football planet, and I, for one, won't miss him. I also hope, like you, that football fans in this country give Arnold as much stick as possible at every opportunity for the way he handled the 2007 Asian Cup, for destroying what was a very good Olyroos team so his favourites could get a run, and for hampering the careers of many talented Australian footballers during the time he was with the national setup. Arnold, SHAME! SHAME!
apaway
Guest
If Graham Arnold is "the source", and the incident he decribed to Slater never happened, where does that leave the relationship between Arnie and Slater?
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
I agree. Perhaps now we might get some explanations from Arnold, too, about his farcical Beijing Olympics campaign. (Ok, I know, I'm dreaming, but one can dream, right?) :)
Art Sapphire
Guest
Yes Rob Gremio , it will be interesting to see how Arnold reacts to being named in public. This has backfired spectacularly for Slater and his mates. We should now be thankful to Slater for penning the self-serving nonsense :)
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Rob I reckon you are spot on in your analysis. I cannot find a single football fan, who ever thought highly of Graham Arnold as a coach of the National Team. His coaching efforts with the National Team at the 2007 Asian Cup and the Olympic Team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics left us shaking our heads in dismay. In my opinion, there is likely to be one major benefit to result from this incident that was initiated by Slater and that is: ... Slater's role in the football media is probably over (before it began??). The one advantage in having an ex-National Team player as an analyst is they have direct connections and ongoing relationships with current players. I'd be surprised if any current National Team player ever again voluntarily talks to Robbie Slater. Also, Cockerill's moronic analysis during the WC will, hopefully, put an end to his career as a football analyst. So, as they say ... with every cloud there is a siliver lining. PS: What a shame CCM are playing in NZ this w/e and Arnie won't have to front up to an Aussie football crowd. Let's hope the lads in The Cove let Arnie know exactly how they feel when CCM heads to Sydney on 28 August.
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
General, I had a listen to it just now, and it makes for very interesting listening. That Mandic places all of this at the feet of Arnold is absolutely no surprise to me, and that he also notes the agenda that Arnold has - if you don't kiss my arse you will never play for the Socceroos - again, no surprise. We heard that in relation to Bosnar, we have seen Kilkenny criticise Arnold for the Olyroos business and Kilkenny never played again for the Socceroos, we saw Burns, Djite, and Vidosic not get picked by Arnold for the Beijing Olympics (apparently they wouldn't handle the head in Beijing), but now we wonder if it was more to do with them disliking Arnold. Burns was off the radar for the socceroos, Djite too, and Vidosic only got a run because I dare say Pim saw him play in Germany and ignored Arnold. I recall after Vidosic was not selected for the Olyroos he started publicly voicing the opinion that if he couldn't handle the heat in Beijing he might need to think about playing for Croatia, since at least Croatia is in Europe where the heat isn't so bad (he was only half-joking). Arnold has held back the Socceroos for far too long, in my opinion, and this latest revelation from Bernie Mandic just confirms it for me. If people want to talk about ego - Harry's ego - we should look no further than Arnold and his best mates Cockerill and Slater for the largest egos in Australian football. It's a disgrace, and I hope that they all get their comeuppance sooner rather than later!
General Ashnak
Guest
Bernie Mandic interview names source of allegation as Arnold and the alledged player as Chippers whilst affirming Harry's statement that him being to told to f off and he contributes nothing to the Socceroos as being an outright fabrication. http://sen.com.au/audioplayer/Audio/Harry-Kewells-Manager-Bernie-Mandic/916 Enjoy
aljay
Guest
Lots of fans believe Kalac (self-confessed gambler) had money on Croatia, the rumour is that the players accused him of it in the dressing room after the match. If you get a chance to watch the game again with that thought in your head, you'll see it very differently. Not just the goal blunder, but the clearance kick that went straight to an attacking Croatian player and a goal stop that he left sit at his feet in a crowded box while he looked around. Sorry, can;t remember how many minutes on the clock when these happened, but I'll try to dig it up. Zelic/Okon, apparently over a girl when they were much much younger players in Australia. Heard this one many times, not a big deal. Think about it, they're never on TWG at the same time are they? After the Melbourne game - think Tony Pignata & the Sharks. I don't believe this one, but I've heard it twice from different people. To clarify my first post, nothing but rumours and gossip that do the rounds of the club dressing room, I won't stake my life on the truth of any of these.
DiCanio
Guest
Whilst I agree that HK and the HK 'brand' are overvalued this is not relevant to an article in which we are discussing Slater's assertion of a public bust up with other players. Does HK deserve a comeuppance? Probably Is it HKs fault he was picked for the 2010 squad? No Is it HKs fault he was played in some games and not others? No On average had HK performed better then the team average when playing in the green and gold? I say yes This is nothing more then poor journalism and poor form by Slater and the mass media company behind him. HK can behave however he wants, it's his life. He has made no public assertions. If he want's to appear on channel 9 and other media companies resent him for it and choose to target him with unfair and poor journalism, then all that really indicates the profit driven bias of the media company. Say no to Robbie Slater and the disgraceful behaviour of his colleges and managers.
jimbo
Roar Guru
Kalac has conflict of interest - he is a chronic gambler and a goalkeeper, so he can influence the result of a match if he wants to and still come out on top. He was keeping for Milan during the 2 biggest match fixing periods in Seria A history.
jimbo
Roar Guru
The disagreement itself is not ugly, its the fact that its between two so called ambassadors of Australian football. News limited's main objective is to sell papers that's why they had several days in a row of back page headlines about Tim Cahill's so called "brawl" at a Sydney nightclub and why the FFA's World Cup bid was portrayed as corrupt in the press (now subject to legal action). Shows where Slater's loyalty lies and how desperate he is for publicity and 30 pieces of silver.
Axel V
Guest
what was Kalac accused of by the players? to be honest my immediate reaction on the way he was keeping for Australia was that he was trying to make Croatia win.
Rob
Guest
that 40k crowd in Sydney "that they only got" (43,967 to be precise) remains the ground record for the SFS and was actually more than the official capacity of the ground at that point in time
James
Guest
Can't wait for Cockerill's defence of Slater tomorrow
Go Harry
Guest
Recall just before the 1997 Iran qualifying match at the M.C.G. that Robbie Slater was bagging Melbourne and the MCG as not being an appropriate venue for Socceroo games. Then they got 87,000 at the match, got record tv ratings across the country and changed Australia's sporting landscape forever. Meanwhile, back in 1993 they played the giants in Argentina at the Moore Park rugby ground in Sydney and only got 40,000(not even half what they could get in Melbourne) and it barely raised Australia's sporting awareness. Typical Sydney-centric person in our Robbie. Robbie is a big mouth, good on him, but picking on Harry is not on. We should give Slater a kicking for allowing Iran to win that night. It still give me nightmares. He would blame it on Peter Hore too, not on his poor defending.
David V.
Guest
I've always believed that. The "football media" in Australia are disgraceful for their lack of balance.
Midfielder
Guest
David Don't think you are far off the truth
David V.
Guest
So maybe I'll throw Slater in the same boat as Arnold, Farina, Foster and Kosmina. The clique that thinks they are the game.
Midfielder
Guest
A client drove me home today and he is a RL fan so listens to 2UE a Sydney Fossil AM radio station that has a RL program on that miis in other sports ... but a station that carried the great JW for years and has Robbie on as a regular I am told for the last few years [stopped listening a number of years back so can offer no real comment about their football coverage] One of the commentators Greg Alexander a RL great and Australia player who also works for Fox was giving his opinion on the whole thing... He made what I tho was the most telling comment.... you can get your message across without saying a player said this... it is insanity to put pen to what Robbie did even if his source told him... Greg said he gets told things all the time but there are other ways to report the story....meaning I guess that Robbie has made one huge mistake ..... If he was a junior I can accept a mistake ... but he is not .... and lets be honest we need stories like this like we need a hole in the head.... but what sadness me more is IMO Harry is the greatest player we have ever had and he has always been their for the big games and has copped crap from fools for years.... that Robbie would publish what most would not have is in excusable... he has shown that he is incapable of making a reasoned decision .... accordingly not up to the job.... Robbie should be sacked today by Fox .... even Jessie Fink who helped write his book is against Robbie on this one....
dasilva
Roar Guru
So what did the players accused Kalac of? I knew Schwarzer thought Kalac was unprofessional for publicly criticising him but that was about it What was the entertainment? Okon and Zelic was just a captaincy stouch right or is there something more to that.