Ange Postecoglou to step down after 2018 World Cup: reports

Punter- I am not debating why the likes of Mark Milligan would prefer to play in the HAL, but due to financial consideration is playing overseas. What I am simply saying is that in recent games AP has consistently picked players who are playing overseas, and why they are over there is of no consequence, to the "outsider looking in" the question will be posed ,"Why does he not use HAL players?", and the answer has to be he does not consider them good enough to play in a World Cup tie at this point in time. Personally I think there are a few outstanding kids playing in the HAL at the moment but I ask myself ,would I play the likes of Caletti, McGree, O'Docherty orTongyk in next month's critical world cup tie?, of course I wouldn't ,and I don't think you would either. That doesn't make them failures it simply means their time has yet to come. Cheers jb.

No, no, no.......he has no plan B.....

Thanks for clearing this up JB. I think things have changed in the A-League since Pim made those comments, the A-League a lot better, most because of something you have allured to previously, better foreigners & secondly coaches are more technically & tactically more astute. I think the foreign based run on Socceroo teams will stand up to examination & I'll give you 2 examples, Mark Milligan, a Socceroo, more times then not a starting, would prefer to play A-league, he's missed the boat with a European contract, but the A-Leagye just can't afford him. 2nd example if & when Riley McGree plays & does well for the Socceroos, he will want to challenge himself on a bigger stage. Thanks JB.

Despite this factor he used the 30 man naming squad to keep local players interested in the FFA’ s supposed “improvement path” What are you talking about? If it's the national curriculum, then you are talking about 12-14 yr olds. If you are talking about the number of professional clubs and player pathways, then I agree.

Punter - This is a huge misconception on where our foreign based players have started their professional football careers. With the HAL now in it's 12 year it is inevitable that many of the "overseas brigade" have played in the HAL. That is not what I intended when I used the term "foreign players". Let me explain. There is no doubt in my mind that part of Ange's appointment would be a clause suggesting he start to use "local" players,that is players playing in the HAL. We must go back a few years to understand why that would have been asked of Ange, back to that statement when Verbeek said publicly that HAL players were not good enough to play with the Socceroos. Remember? I think that would have stuck in the craw of the then FFA chairman ,Frank Lowy,and he would have been instrumental in placing that on the requirements demanded of any new national coach. So what has AP done to overcome the perceived problem? I think he has used the "squad size" clause very well,in his 30 man squads he has consistently included 6 or 7 HAL players in his camps. then.when the squad is reduced to the mandatory 23, it is usually some of those HAL players who make the "cut".maybe leaving only 3 or 4 HAL players in the 23. Now we get to what I call "run on teams" made up out of the 23 named players. Take any of AP's recent World Cup qualifying games and you will find he invariably fields a team of boys who are playing overseas.The latest game against UAE is a good example with only one HAL player, Troisi, getting a start. (Whether he would have played had Rogic or Mooy been fit we'll never know.) So my statement re,"foreign based run on Socceroo teams"still stand up to examination. I'll leave any other connotations to you. Cheers jb

Very much agree with your last sentence JB. Not sure about your paragraph, "run-on teams” were becoming more and more “foreign based”, not really sure what you were trying imply there. If for example Riley McGree, keeps up his good performances for Adelaide United & plays well for the Socceroos, there is no doubt he will move to a foreign based club, like those before him, Mooy, Juric, Milligan, Sainsbury, Kruse & even Matty Mckay, all moving to a foreign club after starring for the A-League club & the Socceroos. So not sure your point here, especially the comment ''supposed improvement path' in regards to A-League players.

Cool -The reality of World Cup team coaching is that if you fail to get your country to the finals proper,your performance immediately comes under scrutiny and it doesn't matter if your country is Australia or USA. Ange took on this job at a good time for his ideas, he had had some success in club football and the recognised Socceroos were fast reaching their use by date., in other words he had a "blank canvas". His introduction to national team coaching, (twice as hard due to Australia's geographical distribution of players) was one obviously fraught with difficulties, for, as you are aware, the differences between national and club coaching are immense obstacles to overcome. So what did he do? Given an already qualified team he proceeded to Brazil where his selections performed exactly up to what was expected, close, but not close enough Since then he has ,as you say experimented with friendlies all over the world ,some successful,others questionable, but in the serious competitions,in Asia, his teams performed better than any other Asian team, resulting in an Asian championship. All looked good, but it is in this department Ange began to get a hard fact driven into his thinking,for most of the quality players playing in his country's top league were foreigners and not eligible to play for his Socceroos. Despite this factor he used the 30 man naming squad to keep local players interested in the FFA' s supposed "improvement path" and while that is very shrewd thinking on his part it began to become noticeable that his "run-on teams" were becoming more and more "foreign based" and that brings us up to where he is today. After 4 years in the job he finds immense pressure building on himself and his teams to perform. Can he go on from here ? Time will tell us, but that doesn't lessen the pressure being built ,and for a man of AP's age, it is doubtful if he is being financially rewarded enough to "balance the books" against his health,not to mention his "home life", in a job that almost demands absence, away overseas. This leading article is journalism at it's best or worst,,the seeking of an "exclusive", but anyone with a modicum of common sense would be able to make up conjecture on AP's future in the next 6 months. No matter what, under extremely difficult conditions, he has handled the varying situations,& himself, very well. jb

Yes, it's Japan for me. Ange could be a great fit there and prove to them that Graham Arnold is not the best we have to offer.

greeece

Maybe they will and maybe they wont, but I think Ange, will be in the job, most likely late 2018 post WC. Ange, is arguably the best local coach going around in Australia, and better then any foreign manager willing to come to Australia to take on any Australian job. I reckon Melb C, will bide their time and sit and wait for Ange, to come over---of course it's only my gut feeling.

Ange should be heading the FFA - he has the brains, the business and sporting knowledge and most of all, the passion to take the sport forward. His comments in his recent book on the imbecilic behaviour of Australian business leaders (so-called) in trying to promote AFL in Asia instead of Football, demonstrates he has all the right qualities for the job. Add to that his condemnation of the failure to expand the A-League and give more opportunities to Australian kids.

As said before in The Roar, even Socceroos cannot qualify 2018 World Cup, he should be given another 4-year-term. Simply, there is no better coach around in Australia and overseas, a coach knowing Australian football and willing to give young players a chance. Had Verbeer and Osieck done that?

True enough. There is probably more to Ange being in charge than mere matches (training, app tracking, mentality...) but he is nothing if not ambitious and I think he's looking at a club coaching gig post NT. Where remains to be seen and will have a lot to do on his performance in WCQ, Confeds, and hopefully the World Cup. Switzerland, Belgium maybe even Holland? Or more like Japan? As others mentioned it could well be Melbourne City, which could open Ange up to all sorts of roles in the City Football Group abroad.

Surely when putting so much money into the team they're not going to leave it to a caretaker coach who has not given any sign that he is up to doing the job full-time.

Its a shame I would've liked to have seen Ange do another term as National Team Manager ..

Interesting idea as it would be a shame if he didn't have some level of involvement with football in this country after 2018 as no-one can argue he isn't the best promoter of the game we've had in a long time. You can argue about his coaching methods, tactics etc. but you can't dispute that everything he does is for the benefot of the game rather than his own self-interest.

The little I've heard from him, he wants to be involved at the playing level; rather than admin. He doesn't seem the sort of guy who can be bothered with the red tape & bureaucracy that would accompany the top job in administration - dealing with Fifa, TV networks, etc. Having said that, if he could transform the administration of Australian football like he transformed the coaching, his legacy will be timeless. And, whilst even Ange has his detractors within the football community, I'd say he'd be the one person with the broadest appeal to all stakeholders.

Just a through ... would he be a good CEO of whatever the new governing body FFA and the stakeholders decide on.

Valkanis, will keep the seat warm at Melb City until, Ange, is ready to quit the FFA; as you say, when his WC commitments are over.

Makes sense in any event as from 2018 its a new cycle re: qualifications - hopefully whoever replaces him believes in the players and can progress the team. Wld be good to see some coaches exported and do well in some top tier leagues. as an aside Mooys recent goal was excellent!