Socceroos vs China: 2013 East Asian Cup live scores, blog

Spiranovic was a regular starter in Qatar,then injured for 3 months, had still not recovered and then played the last 4 games of the season on one leg. No doubt he would have been at the qualifiers if fully fit.

I did watch a few Melb Vic games and he was good going forward but the old chestnut of a high ball coming into the box---he still has trouble heading it clear and out of danger.

Maybe you should have watched him during his time at Melbourne Victory. His defence was AMAZING and he also managed to get forward. He is the best left back in Australia, I am certain of that 100%. I hope he comes back from injury better than ever.

Og wasnt selected for the tournament

TRAORE, sorry good in attack, but can't defend even if his life depended on it. Watched him closely over three seasons with GCU... In saying that, I'll say give him his chance to take the LB spot, but hold your breath when the opposition puts in a high ball over to his far post which he is defending.

McKay is 30yrs old and yes clubless and still part of Osieks squad, so too is Archie and Milligan. Also two experienced campaigners. You do realise Osiek still has to figure out the LB position and he is giving McKay every chance. You also cant have every single player a development player. You still need some experienced heads in the side. It is harder to assess for the coach when the full squad is full of kids and inexperienced players. There is no where to hide, everyone would play better when there are better players around you. So its safe to say when your in a development squad and you shine. It means you have done reasonably well, hence Duke, Juric, Mooy and to a certain degree Nichols. I would also say Connor Pain for his performance against Liverpool was a stand out, flying back and forth between Australia and Korea not easy. He already knows what Archie, Milligan and McKay gives him. I cant be critical of Osiek here. He has done what we have all been crying out for, he is giving the youth a chance and finding out useful information. I am not sure what else you expect him to do. The results for this tournament are secondary.

Oh yes you were calling for him to play all the youngsters. Oh wait now you have added a disclaimer... Glory be what next?

Neil is far and away better than any other central defender we have even at his golden age. The 3 games in June showed that. His problem is he has told Sydney FC he should be getting paid almost as much as ADP hence why he is not going to play there anymore. Hence why he has gone to the MLS but not sure they will pay so much either. He may end up backing himself in a corner again. Our problem is back up to him, Ognenovski aside, is woeful as you saw last night. Holger has to look at our options playing in England which he refuses to do. Maybe because he is German and thinks England aint much chop. Its better than not getting a game in the Chinese or Korean leagues Holger

Ramos gets forward but hardly like a galloping fool he moves up field with the midfielders (which Thwaite does) maintaining the triangle structure with Iniesta or Xavi. Stick with your Helensvale under 14's son you're not ready to discuss top class football yet..

It doesnt make sense Kellet if its a youth team and experimenting than what's Mckay doing there he's clubless and 33 yrs of age, where is that youth development. ?. Every midfield player on that pitch constantly had the ball taken from them, Its torture to watch this.

Oh Qantas! "Thwaite in the Ramos mould" :) :) :) :) :) Ever noticed Ramos galloping forward? Modern fullbacks be able to attack. You are so out of touch sir

It was not a waste and it served its purpose. These are comments from Holger and for me they are spot on, and what this tournament was all about. The results for this tournament were a secondary consideration. This is from theworldgame.com Veteran Archie Thompson who hadn't figured much in the last two matches came on late to great effect, setting Duke up for his second goal of the tournament. Brillante, who plays in midfield at the Jets, struggled to adapt to the right-back role. "Aaron I think he played a very good game," Osieck said. "Mitch Duke played wide, which is not ideal for him, but I think he had a good game. "You see when a player like Archie comes on, it changes right away. But I know what Archie can do for the team. "I needed to see Taggart, I needed to see Juric, I needed to see Pain, Duke again, and I now have a fair picture of who is standing where."

Fuss the most disappointing aspect I can take away from this tournament is that our most pressing needs still havent been adressed and thats our back four. This is an area where we need to get things sorted out. The most glaring omission for me was not trying Sainsbury. He got little or no game time at all. I was hoping that he would emerge from this tournament with a better understanding of where he is at. No such luck I am afraid. The left back spot is still one which is giving us problems, I am not having a go at McKay, but we really should be looking to fill this spot with a specialist. Where does that leave McKay, probably out in the cold or warming the bench. He is simply not a left back. Everyone knows my thoughts on the left back spot, its TRAORE for me. I have no problem seeing him once again star for Melbourne Victory this season and shutting absolutely every forward attack that comes his way, swearing in his allegiance to Australia on Australia day and then getting on the plane to Brasil. Problem fixed. My thoughts on Neill are this, he wont find a club in the MLS as much as he tries. He is simply not good enough and he will come back to the A-league with this tail tucked between his legs. As long as he performs well in the A-league he will make it to Brasil, much to my displeasure. An opportunity missed to try out Sainsbury. Oh well I guess he will have to rip it again in the A-league, he will get plenty of opportunities in a much weakened Mariners line up. He gave the young kids a go and some of them stood up which was a pleasing aspect for me. Its not all doom and gloom. Its the back four where we need to concentrate on, most other spots are sorted or we have good back up in those areas. The results in this tournament are purely secondary.

Last three WC quaifiers: Mark SCHWARZER Lucas NEILL Tim CAHILL Mark MILLIGAN Sasa OGNENOVSKI Luke WILKSHIRE Robbie KRUSE Tommy OAR Brett HOLMAN Matthew MCKAY Mark BRESCIANO SUBS: Archie THOMPSON Joshua KENNEDY Tomas ROGIC Mitch LANGERAK Eugene GALEKOVIC Ryan MCGOWAN Jade NORTH Mile JEDINAK James HOLLAND Robert CORNTHWAITE Dario VIDOSIC Michael THWAITE Ivan FRANJIC And you could add Kewell (if firing). I'll be surprised if Franjic and Cornflakes actually go and Vido is a maybe for me. If Babalj has a good season then he is a chance likewise for Juric and Duke.

Let's play in the bloody Suzuki Cup next time. This is such a waste.

I thought you meant top job.

HO comments tonight: "We are a developmental team. How else can you give them experience but in a tournament like this." "I don't want to blame the boys because they now (have) a taste of what it means to play on (this) level." "It was important to see the young guys and how they do and there has definitely been some pleasant surprises." "We shouldn't panic right now. We are not happy with the outcome but we have gained experience." Hmm...

"AP was under 20 coach" Still national level Kellett

I put Thwaite in the same mould of a Ramos. Has two good feet strong in the air, defends well on the floor and can play anywhere across the backline. I think you are unfamiliar with the way Barcelona play. I think you have shown your naivety of wanting greyhound type players overlapping wingers and can't get back to defend properly, which may have been the style of the 80's. Today it's the tight triangles working up field dominating possession and not wasting too much energy.

@Jukes Thanks for being a calm voice of reason, whilst the usual suspects move into default mode of whining & whinging. I wanted Holger to focus on giving the younger players a chance & he did that (eventually). I thought: Juric & Duke were excellent - the National Team is screaming out for such player. Thought the midfield was poor, which meant Juric & Duke didn't get enough quality balls to their feet. Both Archie & Nichols showed excellent creativity in the matches they came off the bench; not so good when they started. Galekovic & Birighitti were outstanding; Mooy showed he's lethal with set pieces & shots. Not sure about McGowan, but he certainly didn't grab his chance the way I expected. Disappointed with McKay & Franjic but I've seen enough good stuff from them in the HAL.