6-0, 6-0 may be the best thing to happen to Australian football in many years.
I was planning to write my first Roar article early last week on why I thought Lucas Neill should retire but I declined because I thought I might be accused of attacking the man.
However in the aftermath of Saturday morning’s game, it would have looked rather prescient.
While not a favourite player of mine, Neill has been a wonderful servant for football in this country.
However the France game has proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that he is not the man to lead Australia to Brazil next year.
It is inconceivable that with Holger’s removal that a small number of our stalwart and long term fringe players will not join the exodus.
Who and how they will be eased out will be fascinating to observe in the next few months.
So what is the silver lining for two of the worse consecutive defeats in our illustrious history?
I would argue that probably for the first time in a long time, the FFA, the media and the public are on the same page.
Only the players and current/recently departed staff appear out of lockstep.
Despite our qualification for our third consecutive World Cup, the problems have been well documented: a sustained decline in our playing standard, lack of rejuvenation etc underly these results.
The results of the past month have dispelled any notion that the status quo is acceptable. So change is coming and in all probability will blow a whirlwind through the Socceroos setup which is precisely the solution to drive out the perceived complacency and lack of competition for places.
In the aftermath of the France game in which the urbane David Gallop informed the players that Holger was gone, I hope he also indicated to them that not one of them has a mortgage on a World Cup ticket.
This will arguably be the greatest legacy of these heavy defeats.
Many A-League players know that performing week in week out may move some up the pecking order dramatically and catapult others into the frame from nowhere. There could be no greater motivation than the lure of one of the 23 golden tickets.
Whoever the Socceroos next manager will be, I would argue he will be pleasantly surprised by the number of unpolished gems he will find.
Our two Aussie candidates already know this and that’s why I would hope either Graham Arnold or Ange Postecoglou are tapped for the job.
If the job goes overseas again, then it shouldn’t go to a mercenary like Guus Hiddink who with all due respect was the man for a different time and different team.
It must be a man prepared to commit to a medium term strategic brief to rebuild our nation’s premier sporting team.
Back to the present, it will be fascinating to view the first 11 that caretaker manager Aurelio Vidmar puts on the park on Wednesday morning.
Unfairly or not he may be swept away as part of the Holger era, but this is his one chance to stamp his own authority.
The changes he makes will define his tenure, however brief as his own, or as Holger’s man to the end. I for one, hope he goes for some radical surgery.
Finally thank you to Holger and Aurelio and your staff for your parts in getting us to Brazil, and sorry it didn’t work out.
Mary byrne
Guest
Ange Postecoglou is the man for the He has the knack of resurrecting teams at the bottom He understands players He knows some need time He is brilliant with young players He also knows players that will never make it Will have no problem getting weeding them out But the knuckleheads that make decisions, have INTERNATIONAL engraved in their brains So it will be more of the same, we'll be lucky if he speaks English
albatross
Roar Pro
Regardless of who is selected to be coach qualification for WC2018 seems problematic to say the least. The performance of Australian under age national teams has been poor of late and that of other countries such as Vietnam on the improve. There is also the issue of young players being seduced by the siren songs (and doubtless dollars) of the lands of their fathers, mothers and grandparents.
Jukes
Guest
What a refreshing article. Well said, you probably should have written this a year ago like you suggested. You would be looking like a genius.
Mike
Roar Guru
Welcome to The Roar, Namajira! Don't worry too much about being attacked. There are some crazies out there, so sometimes it's inevitable. :) I'm surprised that some of the Socceroos staff and players couldn't see the sacking coming. Were they really so surprised? A coach needs to generate wins, or at least a decent performance/finish. Consistent losses for any coach in any big sport will result in their dismissal. The other thing that surprised me this year was the average qualification campaign. The Socceroos should've qualified around the same time as Japan, and not letting it come down to the wire. It's an indication that, even in an arguably easier qualification confederation, they're still not immortal. There's some great young guys coming out of the A-League, such as Nabbout and De Silva. They won't be ready just yet, but I can see them maybe getting picked for Russia '18 (pending we get there!). What I'd like is for Australia to get to the Round of 16 in Brazil. It might be a bit difficult this time round, so I'm happy to overlook defeat. But a win at the Asian Cup is essential. Part of the reason I want that is because it will do the sport wonders in Australia and the AFC, and really help speed up our future development.