Football in Australia is well known for its disharmony and in-fighting, going way back to the days of ‘old soccer’. Some of the decisions made and the timing of announcements can be bizarre too.
We should be celebrating an Australian victory against Syria, an exciting, pulsating and, yes, at times frustrating match that we won on our path to Russia 2018.
What about the heroics of Tim Cahill, the living legend of Australian football, fighting with every last ounce of determination to make it to his fourth World Cup finals appearance?
But it’s all about Ange Postecoglou and the Australian media not giving him enough credit.
The media and frustrated football fans are complaining; not so much about the fact that we are winning, but about the way we are winning.
Let’s face it, Ange’s tactics don’t need much analysis, meaning it’s not hard to work out how to beat the Socceroos.
Like Japan, Thailand, Syria and many others have done, just play a couple of pacey wingers, supported by attacking midfielders. Press the Socceroos into making errors near their own half and then attack the disorganised defence as quickly as you can. Easy.
Matt Ryan and the back three are going to try and play it out along the ground every time, so just stay in waiting, ready to pounce.
You could admire Ange for his persistence, but is he just taking the easy way out?
His tactics session with his technical team shouldn’t take any more time than what it does for Ryan to pick the ball out of the back of the net.
If you are an astute, hard-working manager and have a good relationship with the technical and coaching team, you need to be flexible and adapt to the situation. You need to be able to read the play and change tactics not just for every game, but for every minute of every game.
I suspect there are members of his own staff that don’t agree with his stubborn approach either. Why aren’t they being listened to?
And it’s not that pretty to watch either. You need to create some excitement with a positive attacking approach and some more goals. At the end of the game, it’s the one who scores the most goals and not the most passes, that wins the match.
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Ange is no stranger to criticism either. He must be expecting it, it goes with the job. Think back to the complaints he fielded during his years in charge of Australia’s under-17s and Under-20s, before finally being sacked in 2007.
At the time, Australian football professor Craig Foster singled him out as the main cause of the lack of youth football development. Now, we are blaming him for the lack of development in our national football team.
Its not just the media and the fans he’s not happy with. People are starting to deep dive into his relationship with FFA CEO David Gallop and the FFA. The FFA have problems of their own bigger than the coaching job, threatened with legal action by the A–League club owners and harassed by FIFA. Things aren’t rosy.
Obviously upset at the peanut gallery, now we hear about Ange’s plans to resign. Once again Ange is taking the easy road out. Couldn’t all that have waited until after the World Cup finals or at least after the Honduras game.
If he really loves Australian football and he believes that what he is doing is revolutionary and will one day allow us to challenge for the World Cup itself, then why is he giving it up? Why is he letting the criticism get to him? Sure, it’s easier to walk away.
In days gone by, great coaches like Rale Rasic after 1974 were dumped because they dared to ask for more money for all the success they brought. We’ve had to endure the likes of Jimmy Shoulder, Pim Verbeek, Holger Osieck and others.
Ange is getting a lot better treatment than any other Socceroos coach ever got from Soccer Australia or the FFA.
I think Australia is getting a bit tired of him. The majority of fans would now be quite happy to see him go.
What’s Guus Hiddinck up to now? You never know, he might still be interested in a few more late night poker games with Arnie and the Aussie boys. Here’s hoping.
I know Guus wouldn’t be looking for the easy way out.
Newie
Guest
You know what? David Davutovich has a lot to answer for. Yeah maybe Ange is on record as saying to someone he's out after Honduras. But really, can you just not leave it a day or two Dave? Just enough time for us to celebrate the win and the sporting hero that is Cahill? Nup. Your journalistic scoop has to be done, and done the day after the match, to enhance your own career, regardless of how much it derails the success stories. You're not beholden to anyone as a journalist, but I'm calling you out.
Gavin R
Guest
Assuming he has leaked it. Arnold could have ramped up the pressure on him to get the world cup gig for all we know
Gavin R
Guest
The amount of rubbish in the media about this is getting annoying. NOTHING has been confirmed by anyone. Its all terrible personalitys such as 'bozza and slater' stirring up something to talk about. Ange is not "taking the easy way out" at least not yet. Nothing is confirmed. If he does leave, you're making up the assumption that "the media aren't giving him enough credit" as his reason why. You're assuming "staff that dont agree with his approach arent being listened to" just because you dont agree with him. All evidence points towards everyone being on board with what he is trying to achieve. The player interviews are usually a decent indication and they appear to back him 100% And i dont know that "the majority would be happy to see him go". I wouldn't, not right now. I dont think i can handle another speculative, negative article on here.
Fadida
Guest
Exactly
Fadida
Guest
He certainly is
Realist
Guest
Stevo, in referring to 'risk management', are you alluding to Ange putting himself (his reputation) first and the National team second?
Stevo
Roar Rookie
He may not have a 'good' WC. There will be nothing to win, it's all downside. He knows he doesn't have the cattle and Timmy could be entering the field on a Zimmer frame. It's called risk management. Announce you're going end of this year and watch offers flood in - and smoke a cigar.
MatthewSkellett
Guest
Whenever someone talks about leaving an organisation,for their own credibility's sake they either have to do it or don't do it - make a decision - this dog-in-the-mangerish flouncing about is really poor and just muddies Ange's legacy -indeed makes a mockery of it .
RBBAnonymous
Guest
I am not sure why Postecoglou needed to leak this to the public. If he really wanted to, he could have made his intentions known to Gallop privately and be done with it. He could have announced his decision to step down after his series with Honduras, that is, if we managed to qualify. If we didn't qualify then he wouldn't even be having this conversation and no one would have known his intentions.
me too
Guest
Would be pathetic if he walks away if we get past Honduras. He has a contract and a mission. I thought Ange had done a magnificent job with a very poor team up until a certain point. He has rightly received his kudos after the Asian Cup, and is now rightly receiving criticism for the poor performances after switching formation. He seems very thin skinned - imagine the criticism he would be getting if he coached a team in a country where soccer is more than just a passion. He needs to finish the job properly - take this team to the World Cup and let us see his plan come to fruition. He shouldn't be thinking of anything else. Soccer has been one of the biggest sports in this country for many generations by participation and crowd numbers - yet is the least successful on the world stage by some way. In the 2000s we looked to be finally finding our way towards the upper echolon and, as our women have done in leapfrogging the men, ready to gain international success. Instead we have failed to develop world class players, and are struggling to qualify from the lowest ranked confederation outside of Oceania. Some argue soccer is much harder than any other sport to stand out - piffle. A loser mentality unseen in other sports. An unsubstantiated excuse shown to be erroneous by the many examples of success across sports where we have a lower percentage of participants than other nations. A quality of Ange has been the same ridicule of that inferiority complex - there is no reason that a well coached team can't compete. We have no excuses - look at the obstacles Iraq faced in winning the Asian Cup, or Syria in this campaign. We have a lot in our favour but need to play like we belong. Ange has this belief, but if he walks away it has all been a charade.
Nemesis
Guest
"Let’s face it, Ange’s tactics don’t need much analysis, meaning it’s not hard to work out how to beat the Socceroos. " Yet, in the past 2 years, only 2 nations (Japan in a WCQ in Saitama and the World Champions, Germany at the Confederations Cup) have actually worked out how to beat the AUS National Men's team in a competitive football match. I stopped reading after I read that statement.
Fadida
Guest
Agree, Guus is past it
Fadida
Guest
Of course "he reckons he's done plenty", but when you look closely he took over an already qualified team and lost all 3 games. Winning the Asian cup was an excellent achievement but as the best team in Asia we missed out on automatic qualification for the WC, and now he may not even be there for the final stage of qualification? Is this plenty? Arguably 2 failures out of 3 And how is it easier to find a coaching job now rather than in 6 months? Please explain the rationale for that. Surely a good WC makes him employable than not going? Given Ange consistently told us that we'd not only make the WC "in style", but make an impact when we got there, leaving before end is not a good look. If he had the unshakeable belief he keeps saying he has he'd not miss the WC for anything.
Olrac
Guest
We have not heard any direct quotes from Ange or the FFA so this might be a beat up. More likely that it is a strategic leak. However if you think about it from an Australian football point of view no manager will want to come in for a two game play off. But lots would be lining up for a free hit at the World Cup. Also if a manager needs time to work with his charges then a tournament with a month or so of time to prepare etc would be of more benefit than an international window of a few days. Maybe the timing is a little better for the team than people think....
chris
Guest
How do you know he's leaving (is he really?) because of the peanut gallery? Until he says he is actually leaving and the reasons for it then its just pure conjecture. Secondly we need to stop this fascination with Guus. He literally was here for 5 minutes and whilst no doubt a good coach, I think (judging from recent results) he has gone by his used by date.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
I'll get back to my point. He reckons he's done plenty to show himself off as a 'top' coach. Going to Russia will be a hiding to nothing. As I said, the team ain't gonna win the WC, will unlikely exit the group stage so there's only downside for him in going (reputation wise). Better exit now and work on getting a club job than spend the next 6 months on a fruitless mission - for himself personally.
Fadida
Guest
Nothing left to prove at the WC? We lost all 3 games at the last one and Ange believes he has come up with a revolutionary approach that will get is results on the biggest stage. Now he's giving up te chance to prove it? What would that say? Jumping says he was talking bollocks all along, Scenario B is he realizes the gig is up, that's he's been found out (the article is spot on about how to play against us), and he's jumping ship before his reputation is irrepairably damaged and the chance to manage elsewhere is gone.
marcel
Guest
Maybe Ange's real dream is to play rugby sevens for Fiji.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
So many throw away lines Cousin. Hard to keep up with all the twist and turns in your article. But how about this. Ange is self-managing his exit - publicly. The report in the Herald Sun was a strategic leak. Ange doesn't want to go to Russia. He doesn't have anything to prove there. He's already been to a WC and won the Asian Cup in 2015 as well as top honors in the HAL. The Socceroos will not win the 2018 WC, they'll probably not get out of the group stage. He can stay on for the next 6 months and achieve what? Or more preferably, he can start planning for his next club coaching position. It'll take that long to sure up a position at a Euro club (preferably) and have his new charges ready for the northern season in 2018/19. Easy.