Days out from the announcement of the most anticipated Socceroos squad selection in many years, conjecture abounds about what it may or should look like.
What will be the mix of youth versus experience? A-Leaguers versus our foreign legion?
Which players fit a new philosophy and style and even who our captain should be have sparked a healthy debate among a broad swathe of the public, from those of us who love our national team to the bandwagon jumpers at the Daily Telegraph.
We will have our first indication of the new era with the team announcement on Wednesday, but until then we can continue to speculate and contribute to the debate.
While not a hardcore fan of any A-League team in particular, I have watched nearly every game of our league over the past couple of seasons. In that time, I have gravitated towards what I consider to be an outstanding club both on and off the field – finances notwithstanding.
The Central Coast Mariners have punched above their weight consistently, and have set the on-field benchmark in terms of stability, renewal and extracting maximum value from finite resources.
And in Graham Arnold, they have a manager who has developed into a very astute tactician. He’s also proven himself more than capable of fostering the development of younger players and reviving the careers of journeymen.
The basis of the Mariners’ success comes from a trait our Socceroos currently lack – a coherent and difficult to breach defensive unit.
Even though it is only very early days in the Mariners title defence, it is not difficult to envisage both a top two finish with least goals conceded and a significant points gap on at least six of the other teams.
The current Mariners backline consists of Josh Rose, Trent Sainsbury, Zac Anderson, Storm Roux and Justin Pasfield. The clamour for the composed Sainsbury has been justified and he should own a place in the squad come Wednesday.
The other player I would include is the form left back of the competition, Josh Rose. His willingness to get forward and support in the attacking third this season has been delightful to witness.
Naturally it’s too early for Zac Anderson, but I like what I see. A fruitful partnership with Sainsbury this season and the possibility of being the main man in season 10 may place him in the frame for the Asian Cup.
The other two players that are natural inclusions in the ‘new’ Socceroos are both Mariners ‘old boys’ in Mat Ryan and Mile Jedinak.
In the case of Ryan, I feel that if he keeps his first team position at Club Brugge, he should be first choice for the Socceroos on form. Especially when you consider that his rivals Mark Schwarzer and Mitch Langerak will on current projections have played less than 20 times between them by the end of the season.
With regards to Jedinak, I support any attempted trial of Jedi to centre back. I admire his commitment and hope he might be capable of adapting to the position well because as defensive midfielder for the Socceroos… good grief, enough is enough!
(As an aside, can anyone name a game where he made a positive contribution as DM?)
As centre back, his limited range of passing, high turnover rate and lack of forward momentum would be less of a liability, allowing his more positive attributes to assist what has become our most glaring weakness.
I would argue that a defensive spine of current and ex-Mariners in the squad would do the business (and Duke, of course), and all should be challenging with many other A-League players for game time against Costa Rica.
All the hoopla surrounding Ange Postecoglou will go up several notches if the composition of the squad signals a renewal rather than a shuffling of the deckchairs. We wait and hope.
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Here is the way the Roar expert panel sees all the action unfolding across the final weekend of play prior to the semi-finals.
Central Coast Mariners' star striker Angel Torres has been stood down from playing in the A-League Men after he was charged with sexual assault. …
Mathew Leckie played a pivotal part in Melbourne City claiming an 8-nil win; playing a role in several of his team's goals.
The Mariners must deal with possibly their toughest challenge yet - Kyrgyzstan’s FK Abdysh-Ata Kant in the first leg of the semifinal.
The loser of the Sydney Derby will be under immense pressure entering the final three matches of the season.
A good performance from Michael Ruhs, scoring twice to beat Macarthur and doubling his season goal tally in the process.
