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After five months without a game, and having been dumped by a team that had just been relegated to the third division of English football, I must admit to having low expectations about the debut of former Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers last weekend.
Yet, the 29-year-old surprised many with a classy 60 minute performance on debut and backed it up with another strong outing on Wednesday night.
So is it a good or bad thing that a player who couldn’t get a gig in the English third division is able to walk into the A-League without having played a game since May and have such an impact?
To me it feels like a fairly damning indictment, but one which Australian football can learn from, and if we do so, the potential benefits are enormous.
First of all, let’s consider Jeffers’ main traits that have impressed in his first two games in Australia.
There’s no doubt he’s a crafty footballer with a great first touch. He’s particularly adept at sitting on the defenders shoulder then making little “half-runs” beyond the defensive line as soon as a team-mate wins the ball back in the opposition half.
On Wednesday night in particular this lead to a number of decent scoring opportunities where only a lack of match fitness let the Englishman down.
The other impressive feature from Jeffers was not just that he worked hard but how aware he was of his surroundings. If a defender hesitated or made a mistake, whether it was on the ball or in his positioning, the former England international was there to pounce.
Despite only having played for just over two hours in the A-League so far, Jeffers has already made a number of players briefly look like fools (sorry Theo). The reason Jeffers has been able to do this is because concentration levels aren’t as high in Australia as he’s used to in England.
Quite simply, in the A-League you can still get away with the odd mistake because there isn’t the quality of opponent, both technically and intellectually, to exploit it.
While this area has improved over the league’s short life span, it still lags behind what you would consider top class European football.
I’m not just talking about the strongest leagues on the continent but right across most first and many second division competitions in Europe.
A few weeks ago I sat down with Adrian Madaschi in the gorgeous northern Italian town of Portogruaro for an interview that was recently published in Australian Football Weekly.
At the time I found one of Madaschi’s comments about the difference between the Italian third and second divisions particularly enlightening and it’s just as applicable to the difference between the A-League and European football.
“Defensively you have to be a lot more alert, concentrate a lot more,” explained the 28-year-old.
“The slightest mistake can cost you. Over the last nine games so far we’ve committed mistakes that have cost us, which maybe in Serie C they wouldn’t have.
“If you’re playing in Serie C, the strikers might score two out of five opportunities. In Serie B, out of five occasions they’ll probably score three of five.
“So you’ve got to concentrate more. You’ve got to think in anticipation of what the striker’s going to do. You’ve got to think, “No, he’s not going to get that ball because I’m going to put myself there.”
“You know if you don’t get to that ball it’s going to be a goal. That’s the mentality you’ve got to take on.”
So how do we reach this level? In a word: pressure.
Pressure creates tension, which in turn increases expectations and this all helps to gradually increase the overall level of the league.
Ultimately the A-League exists to help support the Socceroos, and developing Australia’s domestic competition to this intensity will have enormous benefits to the national team.
An overall increase in technical ability may be a key requirement but it wont come without the necessary expectation from the wider football community.
It’s another crucial piece of the puzzle, so don’t be afraid to criticise and debate. Only through discourse will the game be able to realise its potential.
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