Craig Moore is one of the greatest players to pull on the green and gold. Having 52 caps to his name as well as appearing in two World Cups puts him up there with some of the greats in Australian sport.
I for one will not forget his penalty against Croatia to help Australia progress to the knockout stages of the 2006 World Cup.
Moore has diversified his career into working within the media, with his voice filling the airwaves on ABC Grandstand for all Brisbane Roar games. His insight due to his long association with the game is appreciated.
His recent comments regarding a certain Frenchman, however, have left me feeling a bit left-field about the hardline former Socceroo.
In an article for The Courier-Mail, Moore expressed his distaste with Perth Glory signing former Chelsea and Arsenal captain, William Gallas.
Gallas has also played for French giants Marseille and has 84 caps for the French national side.
The experienced Gallas has joined the Glory on a one-year marquee deal, which places him outside the standard A-League salary cap. This puts him into the same category as Alessandro Del Piero and Shinji Ono.
Moore believes that this is a sign that the A-League is “a competition that just throws marquee positions to foreigners at the end of their careers”.
Yes, he is referring to the same Gallas, with the wealth of English Premier League experience and 84 caps for his country.
As a Melbourne Heart fan, I know I would have loved to see Gallas come to the red half of Melbourne, but I am still happy to see that he will be lining up for an A-League club.
The A-League has come a long way in regards to these “foreigners at the end of their careers”.
Take a look back to 2006 when the league was struggling for column space with 41-year-old Brazilian, Romario, a world-class player who was over the hill a decade before he signed for Adelaide. Or the 2007 signing of Zhang Yuning, “the Chinese David Beckham”, which was supposed to draw a big crowd but instead ended with him being shipped out six games into the season.
The new breed of marquee players that have joined in recent years have been far more successful than these expensive flops. Yes, they may be over the age of 30, but they still have something to offer the game.
It is a credit to themselves that they have picked the A-League over the riches of the Middle Eastern leagues, which have become famous for their wealth of players who earn a six-figure salary just because they are from South America.
Moore brought to light an age old problem in Australian football. Who wants to be a defender? Moore questions why the Glory are spending big money on a defender.
This astounds me, particularly as the Queensland Roar brought him as a marquee defender in 2007, which makes his whole argument somewhat hypocritical.
He looks to justify his point by saying how he has Australia’s national set-up in mind. Saying how signing one of the best defenders of the last decade is taking away the opportunity of a young Aussie centre back.
Well isn’t that what is happening to the likes of Joel Chianese at Sydney FC and Adam Taggart at Newcastle Jets?
As a former striker that ended up in defence, I know that in the younger age groups it is hard to convince kids that being a defender is cool. For young footballers to see the likes of William Gallas and Melbourne Victory’s Pablo Contreras in their own backyard goes a long way to changing that.
Football is a team game. A side goes out with 11 players of whom all need to share equal responsibility.
When this is done, success is plentiful (see: Western Sydney Wanderers). When this is not done, failure is probable (see: Sydney FC).
For a former Socceroos captain – a former Socceroos defender – to write publicly that a defender shouldn’t be as highly valued as an attacker is crazy.
William Gallas will be of benefit to the entire Perth squad. Not only the defenders, but also young players like Daniel De Silva and Jamie Maclaren, who now have an opportunity to expand their knowledge of the game.
Thousands of football supporters will be keen to see how Gallas goes in the purple of the Glory. Many will hope that he fails, but I know many more will hope to see him continue to raise the profile of the Australian game.
There is no reason why the next big marquee signing cannot be another defender or even a goalkeeper. The most important factor about a marquee signing is that they have the ability to add something to the club and to the league, and Gallas has that ability.
I do agree with Moore on one point – that clubs sometimes buy an overseas player just because they are from overseas when there is a player just as good playing state league.
This is an issue that must be addressed.
Stefanov
Roar Pro
Good read! Look at reception he received at Perth Airport. Clearly a positive signing for the league! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2495052/William-Gallas-arrives-Perth-Airport-signing-Glory.html?ico=sport%5Eheadlines
TheMagnificent11
Roar Guru
Will the increase in crowds after Gallas' signing be enough to cover the premium they are paying for a former EPL player? That is, let's say the Glory get an extra 1,000 people to their games after the Gallas signing. Will that extra revenue be enough to cover the difference in salary between Gallas and Thwaite? If the answer is yes, it covers it and then a bit more, then it's a great bit of business. Also, none of this takes into account the influence he could have on the young players at the Glory. They get to see how a established pro goes about his work. You can't put a price on that.
Wicked Ninja
Guest
It's important to keep in mind that while imports may keep promising youngsters out of the squad, they may also assist in the development of those same youngsters. Would Trent Sainsbury be as good if he never had the opportunity to play alongside Patrick Zwaanswijk? I doubt it.
fadida
Guest
Agree Dylan, and if this happens and results improve that makes Gallas a success, regardless of bums on seats. Agree too that teams need to be built from the back. Sydney show how not to do it
Dylan Arvela
Roar Guru
This is a fair point however someone would go just to see Gallas. We will just have to wait and see
Dylan Arvela
Roar Guru
No only is it a good opportunity for young glory defenders it is a good opportunity for all of Perth's players
Dylan Arvela
Roar Guru
I agree with you on many fronts there BUT the point about that epl is many ALeague fans want the league to be more like the EPL so maybe it is heading in the desired direction?
Dylan Arvela
Roar Guru
The best teams are BUILT on defence unlike Sydney FC who are trying to build around an ageing number 10.
TheMagnificent11
Roar Guru
Are Perth residents who don't currently attend A-League games more likely to go watch the Glory because William Gallas is playing? I think in most cases the answer would be no. They would go to see a famous attacking player. However, they are more likely to jump on the band wagon if the Glory are in the top 3 teams in the competition. If Gallas makes Perth so solid at the back that they are right up there, then it's money well spent.
bribieboy
Guest
I don't believe bringing marquee players here who are getting towards the end of their careers as a threat to our young players. I am sure that playing alongside some of these marquee players can only help our youth. Lets be practical we could not afford to bring these players out when they are still in their prime. Even Frank Lowy could not afford that. I agree with Dylan that a defender is just as important as a striker. To stop a certain goal is as good as scoring one
Towser
Guest
In reference to ageing Socceroos as mentioned by j binnie above,,this also comes back to the question we have raised several times on here,that is regarding the youngsters coming through are they good enough? Results at youth level haven't been too flash recently, so has a cog fell off the grassroots production line, or is it too premature to bin the "National Curriculum"? This is crucial as to whether we reduce the number of imports because as regular A-League fan I dont want to see the standard drop because we reduce the number of imports. Being smart in overseas recruiting we can bring in the right players to fit the position,but as I said we need quality young Australian players cementing regular spots in the A-League also who may be potential future Socceroos. So far me the ideal scenario is that our youth Socceroos from Joeys to U23's can firstly standout in Asia ,then hold their own against the rest of the world when qualifying for the various competitions, with the best of those players standing out in the A-League,then onto decent clubs in Europe, thus providing enough players with Football ability & nous to be fed into the Socceroos. So whilst I like the ideas I put forward above,at the moment it looks like a dreamlike scenario to me.
j binnie
Guest
Stevo - A game can be won in many ways & actually only needs one goal to be scored so,as the Italians proved in the early to mid 60's,good defence is just as important as good attack.it really depends on how the game is played. Over my life I have seen many great, great defenders playing & like some of the others who have commented, I think there are a breed of people out there who are attracted by a winning team,how they play is not so important. Take today's teams. I watch players playing a ball sideways & backwards pass after pass & pundits describing them as playing great "possession" football or "playing out from the back" & to me,without some sort of penetration occurring before they lose possession, I deem a waste of time & effort whether it be after 10 or 30 consecutive passes. Thoroughly inept & boring football. Do 30 consecutive passes to teammates bring in fans???? I doubt it but yet we appear to be encouraging our youth as to this being how the game is to be played.Give me a Triosi, Ifill,or Smith goal from last weekend,the skill shown & the finish applied were to me excellent football. jb
j binnie
Guest
Arto - Towser's argument does warrant a lot of attention but only one thing should be clarified and that is his reference to Han Berger making a statement about this matter a few weeks ago. Berger came out with his opinion only after the same type of debate had taken place around the football world over 3 opinions out of England as to the effect "imports' were having on the national team there So his, Berger's, comments could be deemed as re-active rather than pro-active to a problem we have had these last 3 or 4 years,that of ageing Socceroos. Towser's suggestion does get to the heart of the matter & he should not belittle his own suggestion.which is not only a comment but a workable sensible solution. jb
Stevo
Guest
jb, Moore is quoted as saying "Gallas is a fantastic name, but do we really want to be seen as a competition that just throws marquee positions to foreigners at the end of their careers, particularly when they play at the back? It's a different story in the case strikers and playmakers. They win you games either through creativity or scoring goals, or in the case Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero and Japanese star Shinji Ono, both. Eventually it would be fantastic for Australian players to be filling those matchwinning roles but we need to develop that over time." So he equates strikers and playmakers as being match winners but clearly he doesn't see defenders as being able to win you matches. Sorry but I must disagree with his opinion. The HeartFC's best run of form came when we signed Adrian Madaschi as a defender for a short stint in 2011/12. He organised our defence expertly and provided nous and leadership on the field. He won us games. When he left we slumped.
Stevo
Guest
You clearly don't read the posts very carefully :)
j binnie
Guest
Stevo - The "breed" you describe are very,very, welcome. If their form on the field is comparable with their reputation,there is no argument about that,but that "breed", Aussie players who have played at the "highest level" has been diminishing almost non stop since 2006 so then poses the question,what do we term the "highest level", is it the EPL, La Liga or Bundesliga or some indeterminate league "buried " somewhere in Europe, the Middle East of somewhere in Asia??. Get the real problem?? The only way to assess a player's talent is to watch that player playing,not from where he has played.but how he performs in "our" environment. Craig Moore is much too experienced player not to recognise that fact, hence my searching for the real reason behind his written opinions. jb
fadida
Guest
Agree Stevo
Arto
Guest
@ Towser: I like your idea about reducing the number of visa spots on the roster and making their wages outside the salary cap - that would encourage clubs to think big when looking for potential new recruits, yet they woud also have to carefully choose who they sign - thus increasing the strategy & planning involved in player recruitment, which hopefully evolves/becomes a part of a club idenity/playing philosophy. Eg: it´s great my team SFC have signed ADP, but there doesn´t seem to be a lot of forward thinking that´s been done around that signing apart from feed him the ball & stand back and watch!
fadida
Guest
Agree Brick. It's a great opportunity for young CB's at Glory to learn from him. Invaluable
fadida
Guest
Depends on how you measure success? Any player that improves a sides results could be argued to be a success. Generally crowds will increase if games are won. Marketplaces like Sydney will attract casual fans to big names. Elsewhere football fans want to see quality players that improve the standard of the football. No doubting Gallas' quality. His attitude? We shall see :)