Football looking well placed into the future

Kasey -I don't think I am any better than the average football fan in this country. Now to your response. In 1982 I resigned from an NSL club because I felt the NSL had reached a pinnacle of semi-pro football & were actually started on a downward slide that could only end in failure.With great administrative turmoil & change they managed to keep it going for another 20 years.By this time I had become a member of a State Federation & got an insight into how football was run in Australia. I was not impressed & with a young (female) family decided I was wasting my time so in 1986 walked away from those aspects of the game,not as you suggest thinking the NSL & SA were our greatest sporting organisations ,but KNOWING they were doomed to failure, & yet, hoping, like thousands of others,that they would turn the ship around.It was not to be.This may give you an insight into my thinking for I can see the same mistakes being made by this present administration when ,in my opinion,a little research into the history of the game could prevent the wastage of time, money,& resources.Mike Tuckerman has an article today that raises a question in my mind immediately. When the planners at FFA decided to have the Socceroos play at Suncorp tonight did they not know that the Wallabies had played a few days before & Darren Lockyer's farewell match was scheduled for Sunday & was already deemed a "sellout".That's the sort of decision making that makes me "aggressive" although I would think "incredulous" would be a better description.History is there to be referred to if required,& to think ours started in 2003 is being grossly shortsighted.Keep up the good work,I do believe in the HAL & the future as long as they are nurtured. jb

Futbanous Thank you for the clarification as requested.No argument from me re. our entry into the AFC for the benefits of better return and competition for our national team & the potential for attracting sponsors.However I think you were a bit harsh in your assessment of "high profile teams" doing little for the game here.Between 1967 when Man.Utd brought a European Cup winning side to Australia (I would class that as a high profile team) to Celtic's latest visit I don't think pitching our best teams against "touring" teams did any harm,in fact when scores went from being beaten 7-0 to the local teams getting a draw or even a victory it was perfect chance of measuring our real progress on the field.Remember back in those dark days Australia drew with the mighty Santos,Queensland beat Aberdeen,Australia drew with Rangers, so improvement was noted.I could go on but I think you'll get the gist of my thoughts.Just another question,if the Roar of last year had played say, Everton,what sort of crowd would they have drawn to Suncorp?????? What would it prove?. Nothing in your eyes but 50,000 people would show you the public would be in,boots & all. Remember football is now in the entertainment business. Cheers jb

Stated earlier:- "Going back to quality players produced in the past,whatever era we view, until we can get a few players competing at top clubs in the top comps ie EPL,Serie A,La Liga ,Bundesliga we wont be cooking with gas as far as coaching etc,whether that comes from our professional clubs or produced earlier. So far the Top club top Comp player can be counted on one hand." Also "In this sense there is a way to go compared with Japan/South Korea.Europe having recently discovered that there are such players from those countries" Arsenal have signed striker Park Chu-Young from French club AS Monaco. striker Park Chu-Young from French club AS Monaco. http://www.the-afc.com/en/member-association-news/west-asia-news/36189-ar-park-chu-young

j binnie AFC to clarify, post joining Asian Football Confederation. The International teams are enjoying more action & Indeed money has to be spent. However greater revenue is coming in at the gate through the turnstiles(ie 415486 for 9 WC2010 & AC 2011 qualifiers average gate 46165) compared with the 2000 odd gates we got in Oceania against Western Samoa etc. Not only that but we have 2 bites of the cherry in terms of revenue via qualifiers. One for the World Cup & one for the Asian Cup. Therefore by regularly seen I mean seen enough on the Australian Sporting calendar to register not just fans through the gate but as mentioned sponsors. Nobody gave a toss about Australia vs Samoa & never would have. Not to mention that by qualifying this way (for in particular the World Cup) it is a fairer route & for me a clearer reflection of where were at in football & enables the FFA to better monitor our progress(or lack of it if we wish to be cynical). Also we will actually get to more World Cups this way & be very much in the public spotlight because of it. By high profile teams I mean International teams not club teams. For me those touring teams you mentioned did little for the game here in fact having been at some of them & in particular the last Roar Vs Celtic match they did more harm than good in forwarding the game locally. Others including yourself may differ on this point ,but for me finding our way in football through the AFC via Regular meaningful matches is better than feeding the ego of those fans who follow Celtic,ManU etc.

jbinnie , I agree with Kasey you seem a bit to wound up and agressive . You seem to no alot about your football and your comments are very important here . Perhaps you could explain some points a little more tactfully . Im not suggesting your an agressive bloke, but i learnt to calm down a bit here as time has passed .

Futbanous -This is an interesting ,if somewhat confusing,contribution to the debate.Firstly the term "post AFC", Did you mean ASF (Australian Soccer Federation), or SA (Soccer Australia). or is AFC something I've missed?There is little doubt the international teams are now enjoying more action than previously but that only signifies more money is being spent to achieve this. Many would question where that money comes from (is it from junior fees?).Your point about more high profile teams is debatable, 2 jump to mind in recent years,Celtic & LA Galaxy but I can remember Man.Utd,Birmingham,Rangers,Scotland,Everton,Manchester City,Santos,Cosmos, Dundee,Aberdeen (to name but a few) all having teams visit Australia.Your last three points are all linked to commercial opportunities and you've hit the bull's eye there,we can but hope they are exploited. Good stuff. (Another question. What does "they NT (football) is regularly seen" actually mean??)jb

jbinnie, have you ever wondered why a lot of fans don't or haven't researched the history of the great game in our country? You obviously have a fair bit of BTDT experience, but your writing style comes off as ultra aggressive. why would anyone ask a question if they felt that it would be like sticking your head above the parapet. c'mon mate, meet us half way. Sometimes I wonder if you are writing from the POV that the NSL and SocAus were the greatest sporting institutions that marched the Earth? further down this page you mention Viduka, Okon, Skoko and Zelic, all of whom were individually great and talented footballers, I witnessed the v-bomber ripping Adelaide City a new one at a packed Hindmarsh in the mid 80s. IThere is no question they received a brilliant grounding in football from the community clubs they began their careers with, but are you suggesting that the NSl was great for our football as an International footballing entity. With the glaring exception of Emerton, who stayed in Australia with Olympic singularly due to the carrot of captaining the Australian Olympic team at Sydney 2000, all of the players mentioned bogged off at the first opportunity to further their footballing career. For its faults, it is not inconceivable that a player should the Damien Mori situation arise; would be able to spend his entire career here in the HAL as a reasonably well paid professional - a situation that never could have happened in the NSL.

jb yes, yes, I didn't know the details, but it's a well worn theme.

Andrew-Thank you for your quick lesson in the tactics being used by the "new guys" rather than the "kick and rush" style used back in the late '80's & early'90's that produced the Viduca's,the Zelic's,the Okon's, the Skoko's,the Emerton's,the Chipperfield's,what a bunch of "clodhoppers" that lot turned out to be,didn't they?. I'll ignore your opening remark & give you some meaningful advice.Instead of listening to the spin language put out by the spin doctors we have to listen to & read (your language gives you away) get with it & go & learn how this game of ours has developed since it's inception & will continue to develop into the future.This "new" system of 4-3-3 that you talk about is over 50 years old,& no,it wasn't introduced by Holland, but by the Brazilian WC teams of 1958/60 who, with a wonderfully fit & intelligent player in Zagallo, used him to play 4-2-4 when attacking in possession but drawing him back to midfield when they lost the ball & had to defend.This system did not reach Holland until 1970 when Feyenoord,under Ernst Happel , used it to stifle the great Ajax side that still played 4-2-4.Now if you watched the "new guys" you would have noted all our boy's opponents were far further ahead in the basic skills,both personally & tactically,& that is the real root of our problem for,with a 3 year gap between our two teams,there isn't a lot of time to correct the inherent faults is there? Solve that & I for one will be very,very happy. Thanks again jb

Perhaps the simplest indicator of change post AFC is the sheer number of competitive matches for the National team& crowd attendances both in Australia & overseas . Take any previous 5 year period & you'll see the difference.Also several high profile teams involved in friendlies since then if you wish to boost the numbers. This is the one major difference pre/post AFC,the ability of the Socceroos to participate in Regular meaningful matches meaning several things. One they NT(football) is regularly seen in the mainstream public eye. Two sponsors notice this as the market(Asia) we play in is a hundred times more valuable than our previous one Oceania. Three there is continuous revenue for the FFA. The long term effects are yet to be seen as 5 years is only the tip of the large iceberg were now attached too.

Very true Andrew very very true if you talk about South East Asia in particular...

Another thing going for the HAL is the ability to sell the product overseas. It has to be instantly more appealing than AFL or NRL just based on familiarity with the sport. So a market in Oz of 22m but a market of asia europe etc has alot of potential. Especially come finals time, so there has to be a bit of money in that which can only help grow the league and help it compete with retaining talent.

jb, respectfully you have no idea what you are talking about. Australian youth teams under the old system played a simple 4-4-2, and played long balls out from the back. They never really played proper football but were more successful as they used to pressure their opponents more, and look for the long ball to get out of any problems they faced. If you watched the new guys they played a much more technical system played out from the back, kept the ball on the ground. Sure we struggled with this, but they need to play this system from early on, it will take many more years to get comfortable with this system, but they are streets ahead in terms of direction of playing style. If you want to go back to the dark old days, of 4-4-2 and long balls, and a competition that was only for ethnics then you need your head checked.

JB Thank you for your question on the NSL in the 80's and at its lowest ebb on 2000. Just for the record I too have a long association with football ... IMO the early days of the NSL [agree subjective judgemments on my part] were far better in terms of technical ability on the park than the early seasons of Hal... Hal 6 ... especially The Roar, Mariners & AU equalled if not passed the best the NSL had... My point is this the NSL started at a very high level and feel away a little each year... until its death ... Hal started with what was left over from the NSL and has got a little better each year.... agree all subjective judgements... However if you read fans forums like yellowfever.co.nz & melbournevictory.net & other team forums there is general agreement that Hal is improving ... The mood has changed to the extend that while most agree that PG have a great squad ,,, many ask id the coach up to the task of improving this team... the general consensus he is not and will be sacked at sometime during the season... So everybody is today in the football world constantly talking of style and technical issues ... and have been by and large since Hal started... JB there is no greater critic of FFA than me ... but sometimes in a cycle the time comes when you can help or not ... I think the next 18 or so months is a time went we can do both help and still keep pushing the things that need improvement ..

Punter -No one said Kewell had played in an under age team He was being used as a "potential "figure for players at that level.Now I won't bore you with details but how do you think these "ghosts" who are employed all over the world by major clubs and who wander around local pitches can pick out a player and then recommend that their employer spend thousands developing them.Scouts they are called. Does that not make a fallacy of your " ridiculous" statement.Players ,even at an early age can start to show an aptitude,skill level,all in all a talent that makes them stand out above the rest. You cite a Paul Wade statement for some reason or other,I'm not sure why, but I saw Matt McKay playing at under 12 level where he stood out but was obviously "missed" by those same scouts.This year at 28 he has "arrived" ,both as an international and a "big" club player.(Doesn't happen too often) jb

Midfielder -Thank you for your answer.Clarification needed obviously. It is me,not you, who has been following the game at all those levels for nearly 50 years.Now in my experience your use of a comparison between today's HAL and the NSL of 2000 is grossly unfair. Probably in it's 27 year history the NSL was never at a lower ebb than the year 2000,2 years before it's "death" So why isolate that year in particular. Why not 1980 when Sydney City were playing some of the best football ever seen in this country with an expensive mixture of local and imported talent? Get my view?.Your point about the youth teams. When watching a player perform I obviously look for totally different things than you,a players first touch,his mastery of the basic skills,his comprehension of when and where to move when receiving a ball or trying to retrieve a ball.These are the things a player must master if he is to succeed.Our boys were way behind their opponents as the scores showed.Now the HAL standard. It is an opinionative topic and one that causes sites like this to exist. I too think the Roar,&CCM lifted the game to new heightas last year with no marquee players and "local" coaches.Ad Utd took another tack and fell a little by the wayside when it mattered but, and this is the question you MUST ask ,would the fans of Melbourne Victory,Sydney City, Perth,or Newcastle agree with your "improvement" observation.You see,when saying a standard has improved the big picture must be studied & analysed, not gathered from a few mates or the opinions of some people who may be getting paid to say what they say. However,keep the articles coming,don't worry about aggressive views,just read ,analyse,research and if still not the same as yours discard.Easy jb

Good work Middie I largely agree with your points but would like to add one more potential hope / upside which is the implementation of an FFA Cup model (and marketing of it) that really energises the football community and provides the tangible - and respect-laden - bridge to the State leagues (included disaffected ex-NSL sides). On the various comments I don't understand all this comparison going on and the argument that a down-side for A-League is the availibility of better leagues on tv or online from abroad. The important thing is that each league is roughly competitive internally (though as you know I'm not a big fan or artificial levellers like salary caps and drafts). I follow French Ligue 1, A-League and EPL plus Asian and European continental comps and though my head recognises different standards and styles, my heart enjoys them all just as much - with the main determinant of happiness being loyalty and passion for "my" clubs (PSG and Sydney) rather than some objective criteria. I also don't get people's problem with following a 'feeder' league. The development and progress of players is in itself an exciting thing, and I for one have had my footballing knowledge opened further by being more aware of clubs in Asia and Europe that take our best young-uns. In any case any decent fan knows that even in the big clubs there is serious churn each transfer window, and are used to yearly change. The Rececca Wilsons of this world don't get it as they are more used to a small pool of players being recycled through a bunch of suburbs; at best 2-3 cities with no significant international market to speak of. Bring on the season!

Nice article Mid, I'd go even further and say that you have only barely scratched the surface regarding what football has achieved in the last 5 years compared to its 100+ year history. The return of some notable Socceroos has certainly lifted the spirits of the football community and I am even sensing some positive veins of optimism in parts of the media where gloom and doom predominated. Jesse Fink's popularity is on the decline and he is not being sought out for a return to SBS as a football commentator.

I just want to stress that that was on a gradient scale. They didn't do all those in one session. Lol.

JB First I never said I have been involved in the game for over 50 years in playing,coaching,club management,Federation management, I used 2000 as a time when the then Soccer Australia was not in a position to even fund the Socceroo a home game... the point I was making if you compare administrations then the FFA today run a far better ship that that run by Soccer Australia ... My points were two .. One which you have asked for evidence that Hal has improved in quality on the park from each year... My second point is ... we are were we are .. nothing can change that ... may I also point out the first half of my article pointed out short coming as I see them anyway FFA have... To my second point first ... the hand of fate and football management over decades has us were we are today... we have a new media deal due sometime over the next 18 months... How can we as supporters of Football help in this process ... my simple approach is to attend or if it can be afforded watch. My assumption is the extra money a strong media deal would bring can assist in many of the issues facing Australian football ... You asked for evidence that from Hal 1 to Hal 6 the quality on the park has improved ... it is a good question ... For what its worth this is my evidence .... first is my personal observation I have been watching football for a number of years have attended most Mariner games a reasonable number of SFC games and a few Newcastle games .... Second is the observation and comments by some mates ... who have also commented on the improvement... Third is the general press and media reports.... SBS, Fox, Fairfax & News journalist all seem to say the same.... the lift in quality by the Roar, Mariners & AU in Hal 6 was widely praised. The coaches in Hal all now hold greater technical qualifications than they held in the early years of Hal... this has resulted according many media comment ors to a lift in standards... Finally there are the various football forums around the country .... I have not read an article than indicates anything other than a steady improvement from Hal 1 to 5, with a big step up in Hal 6... JB... I therefore can only offer my observations and the observations of my mates, the media in general & various football forums I read... if you say copy the links I say there are way to many and if you read the same stuff I read and form a different opinion then so be it... Just as an aside IMO The Roar, Mariners & AU of Hal 6, would have beaten any team in the Scottish league aside from Rangers & Celtic last season.. As for you own style it is quite aggressive and I am not sure why ... as I said I offer no more comment than we still have heaps of problems, however we are were we are and need all the help we can get, and Hal will get better [this is a trust thing] and has got better each year...