Ange Postecoglou, currently being pelted by 140 character-long calls for his dismissal – all of them premature, blind to the fact no one suitable could successfully replace him at such a precarious moment in qualifying – is feeling besieged.
Having won the Asian Cup in 2015, taking the national team to its loftiest triumph since that night against Uruguay 10 years earlier, Postecoglou is now facing the prospect of leaving the Socceroos wallowing at their lowest point just two years later.
Failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup via the two-part, home-and-away playoffs route would be a hugely disappointing way for Ange to leave the national post.
What makes the shrill harping for his immediate sacking even more annoying – at this stage – is that a toxic mood, that saps morale, is just as harmful to Australia’s chances as an ill-fitting line-up, or some shoddy piece of defending. The first playoff tie, against Syria, is a little under a month away. That means plenty of time for the critics swell in number, to stew and steep, consolidating their lamentations of the status quo.
Having reacted so incandescently to the third-placed group finish, they set a mark for themselves; how likely is it that Mark Bosnich and Robbie Slater et al soften to the point of going back on their assertions that Ange should be sacked? The mind boggles how the dissatisfied lot will react if an underwhelming result is thrashed out in the opening away leg of the Syria tie.
What Postecoglou needs – in fact what every crestfallen, hand-wringing Socceroos fan needs – is a sign to bolster hope. Not just hope of success in early October, but hope that Ange’s chastening in the last few months has actually had an effect on his thinking, and has perhaps – if only slightly – prompted a change.
By now, having been chiselled into the national tactical approach over the last five months, few anticipate Postecoglou will change the formation. So, the next most glaring area of weakness is Ange’s player selection.
For a while it was Robbie Kruse who provoked the most teeth-gnashing. Mathew Leckie – a player few would argue deserves to be omitted from the squad, but rather one who shouldn’t be played at right wingback – was the hot topic for a brief spell as well.
Mile Jedinak’s value was questioned, as was James Troisi’s. But throughout this whole carousel of criticism, the left wingback spot and the player filling it has made turn after turn, an ever-present problem garnering the most tut-tutting, a constantly churning well of discussion.
The manner in which Postecoglou persevered with Brad Smith, and has shuffled Aziz Behich and Alex Gersbach has only clouded the issue. Perhaps it’s time to usher in a new factor, one that might prove decisive in solving the problem.
Craig Goodwin, playing for Sparta Rotterdam in Holland’s Eredivisie, is that factor. Four games into the new season, Goodwin has appeared in each game, starting three of them, playing the full 90 minutes in two. To the extent a small sample size can, this shows Goodwin is – unlike Smith – playing regularly in a strong European league.
He is an important player for Sparta; on the final matchday last season, with his team hanging perilously on the edge of the relegation playoff, Goodwin assisted twice and scored once to keep his team safe. He has scored once this season too, sliding home a volley from a swooping cross, deep in the box, under pressure.
He plays as a left-winger for Sparta, and has struggled with fitness and consistency since arriving there in July last year. But he’s already made more starts for his team in this young 2017-18 season than he did in the four-month period last season between December 2016 and May 2017. His stature and influence in Rotterdam is growing, and his competition within the Sparta squad has been reduced over the off-season.
So, although the role he is best suited for in the national team is technically a wingback role, one glance at Alex Gersbach’s heatmap against Thailand shows how the wingback tends to linger higher up the pitch, especially against weaker opposition.
Besides, Goodwin played intermittently at left-back when he was at Adelaide, excelling during their wonderful run to the premiership-championship double two seasons ago. He is just as good – if not markedly better – defensively as Leckie is on the other flank, and his crossing is excellent – only Aaron Mooy and Leckie made more crosses than Gersbach did against Thailand, so Goodwin’s skills would be put to good use.
On paper, and on the most relevant evidence at club level, Goodwin would make the Socceroos better. The Syrians are unlikely to take the initiative against Australia, and as such Postecoglou needs to pick a team that won’t labour against a stolid defensive set-up. Why not pick a player, well-suited to a troublesome position, that is playing and scoring in a fine European league? It can only help Australia to have Goodwin in the squad.
Furthermore, it can only help Postecoglou ease the pressure bearing down on him. His reluctance to depart from his national team favourites, regardless of playing time, positional suitability or recent form, has been a major irritant for the public, and has drawn ire from some of the game’s most vocal commentators.
They are now calling for the most drastic action, a lopping off of the proverbial head. By introducing a worthy new squad member, addressing a key tactical problem and satiating his critics in one fell swoop, Postecoglou can make this a win-win.
Redondo
Guest
This link is for the first game against Greece. The Greeks didn't press much at all in this game. For the second game 3 days later they wised up and pressed hard. When Australia tried to pass out through midfield the Greeks swamped our midfielders. From memory Milligan was hospital-passed a couple of times. The second game against Greece set the template for opposition teams in subsequent games i.e. Aus defenders nervous and vulnerable with the ball under pressure and then can't pass to midfield effectively - so press hard and errors will come. Regardless of formation the obsession with always playing out from the back just invites trouble.
Fadida
Guest
I'm happy to accept your assessment if you've just seen the game
Newie
Guest
Yep, +1
Footoverhand
Guest
I just re-watched the game last night, we mixed up playing out and played more longball than previous games because of Greece's press. Just a theory that it goes against what Ange is about, he wants us to play a possession game and play out from the back. Whether the resolution is correct or not is another discussion, just something I thought while watching the game. You can watch it here and come to your own conclusions, I'm happy if you disagree. https://youtu.be/UKCy57uIWJA
Fadida
Guest
I actually thought the opposite, we played out at all times, Greece jumped on the first pass into midfield. We need to play a few longer balls in behind to break it up and stretch the game
KJ
Roar Rookie
I saw many people applauding the selections against Thailand that he'd finally got it right. Then after the game I saw many comments of what was wrong with his selections. One of his problems has been picking around injuries and having many players at the almost there quality (think strikers v Thailand). I personally don't see how he can win on this issue.
Footoverhand
Guest
I will add that it was the Greece game that made Ange change formation, the 433 we played way to direct and that wasn't what Ange wanted. His crazy 3 at the back formation meant to make us play a more possession game more than anything. The problems with it though are congestion, players recieving balls in the wrong shape (less diagonal balls, a lot of times players recieve balls with Thier back to goal and need to turn blind and disables explosive attacks), players out of position. The biggest problem is selection of players out of form, if Smith gets picked again he must have some incriminating photos.
northerner
Guest
Lee - I gotta say, your repetitive botspeak isn't exactly a convincing argument for either side of the code wars. So maybe, get your Mom to tuck you in for the night, and try to come up with something a bit more original tomorrow.
tommaso
Guest
Basically the players and coaching staff are not good enough and I suspect Aust are going to fail to qualify for the WC and so it wont matter if Goodwin is included in the squad
Steve
Guest
You sound like a hater Lee, If Goodwin had poor skills he would not have won Adelaide's best player in their championship year, (Coming from a Newcastle Jets fan) and been signed by an overseas club in Sparta Rotterdam. But you keep on hating all you like, stupid comments like yours only attract attention to yourself and the sort of loser in life you must be. It goes for all the hateful comments on all players whether it be facebook etc or here. Those players are living the dream, whilst the haters are living a meaningless life. Posting crap is not going to reach up and drag those players down to your level, so dream on. LOL
Lee
Guest
Rearranging deck chairs on the titanic. Goodwin has poor skills and is not likely to make a difference. In any event, I hope the Socceroos don't make it to Moscow. My reason? Asso football in this sunburnt land has done unspeakable damage to Australian rugby and cricket.
Brian
Guest
The problem with Ange is how after 3 years in which they have played 6 Asian Cup Games and 18 World Cup qualifiers plus countless friendlies he has no idea what his starting XI should be? The selections remind me of the lucky dip XI approach Roy used for England in the Euros. We have predictable tactics and unpredictable personnel. The exact opposite of how it should be st this pointy end. I hope we reach the World Cup but the despair is that unless the coach is changed we will go there predictable open and conceding 3 goals every game we play.
Eamonn Flanagan
Guest
Mabil for the Socceroos? One day maybe. Ange has seen Mabil and Goodwin in camp many times. He left them out for a reason. Interesring how many players Ange took to the World Cup, and Asian Cup Final and are never seen again. Burns, Davidson, Halloran, Bozanic, Franjic, the list goes on. Rogic and Mooy didnt play Asian Cup. Imagine where we would be without them now!! Ange cant be criticised for overlooking players. He's used most camps to assess and give them a taste. There aint easy solutions are there?
Ken Spacey
Guest
The valid criticism of Ange is that he hasn't been very brave in trying things when he could. Goodwin and Mabil etc are not necessarily better or worse but they have qualities that need to be examined. Goodwin can do a job but is also quick, agile and yet tallish. Not a consistently dangerous scorer but capable of finishing off or letting a rocket go from range and offers another option at out predictable set pieces. Ange should have played Mabil ahead of Amini because neither are auto first choice national teamers but Mabil is the genuine impact player where you don't know what he's going to do or when. But he is capable of the sublime and has enormous beleif and is not overawed by any opposition or his own clangers. He is he sort of player that defenders and opposition coaches find hard to work out and counter.
Cool N Cold
Guest
Everyone is behind the socceroos, for sure. Unless for those who want Ange's job or hate him. When people criticize, they warn about over confidence or groupthink. "Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints by actively suppressing dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences (from wikipedia)"
Footoverhand
Guest
I don't think sacking Ange is the answer and I'm still confident we will qualify. The LB saga is one of the more curious things to happen in this campaign, speed means nothing if every time you are on the ball you loose it from lack of ball control, it seems obvious to me as well that Goodwin would be a good fit but admittedly he did get a couple of injuries. It is what it is, time to get behind the socceroos and Ange and hope that players will be in mid season will get us through.
Cool N Cold
Guest
Inclusion of Goodwin may mean changing back to 4-3-3. After all, Ange has never won a Japan team, club or national. Socceroos now are the same as the then Roars, highly predictable. Syria can prepare easily.
Fadida
Guest
A slightly confusing article. The tone seems to both criticise the critics of Ange while also criticising Ange for the "weaknesses" that the critics highlight!
Kurt
Guest
How goodwin was not chosen originally, dumbfounds me. That being said miles spot was never questioned, and not only this, his spot was further cemented, following the poor defensive display against japan. Troisi needs game time. And in a month doesnt cut it