Postecoglou stays mum on Socceroos future

cool and cold. The famous Arsenal manager, (not Wenger but Herbert Chapman) ,first introduced three tough tackling players as his back line when experimenting at Northampton and Leeds Utd in 2008 and 2012 and later on at Huddersfield, before moving to Arsenal in 1926 when, by then, his system had become known as the WM formation.. They didn't talk the "numbers " games in those day and the "WM" signified 3 in the backline, 2 in front of them, with another 2 backing up the 3 forwards.This system was to dominate world football for some 20 years until other innovations started to appear mainly led by coaches from the Eastern bloc like Hungary and Russia. So you see Cool , there is nothing much that is really new in our game of football. Cheers jb.

I can't find a single piece of evidence suggesting this. Care to share some?

Good post. Agree entirely.

Where is the evidence? A link would be nice

Seriously? Given the anger & venom that's poured out of some on this Forum, I guess, I shouldn't be surprised but it's still stunned me. No wonder he's had enough.

There were death threats sent to him and his family.

I just checked, no front page picture with his head as a turnip, no drive by shootings of the family home, no firey poos on the front door step, no burning effigies, no media hiding in the bushes outside his house, no public campaigns for his sacking. Not even a plane with an "Ange out!" sign. So what line had been crossed?

Agree, he has nothing to complain about

Yeah I'm confused too, what line? Ange has it easy from the fans and media compared to the criticism most other international coaches get, let alone club coaches. Pim and Holger copped more critique than Ange ever did.

Ok, you mentioned it, so explain it. What line was crossed?

You are correct, and you are correct to put pen to paper even though it seems the opinion of many is that no criticism is justified. I heard AP 'hit back' at critics which frankly was childish. He is on good money and with good money comes analysis.

Yeah, good reminder, Leckie and Kruse in those positions. Football is complicated.

Congratulation to Ange for taking the Socceross to another WC. Again credit to him for renewing the Socceroos and bringing in a new style of play. Criticisms come with the territory but there is line that should not be crossed. Those who breached that line should apologise. If Ange stays on, then it is a given that he will employ the 3 defender system at the WC. There is no point debating that anymore. However, we definitely need the Jedi to sit in front to the defense. "The force is strong; with this one". So please stay healthy Mile.

But if he walks away, what shall he be remembered as?

On paper Honduras may have declared a 3-4-3 but in reality they played 5-4-1. 3-4-3 means your wing backs role is to push up to attack and press the opposition. They didn't do that. Their 'wing backs' sat back the whole time. One was glued to Leckie.

Key difference is that England formation was closer to 5 at the back - Walker and Bertrand are full back/wing backs, not advanced wingers like Leckie. 3 at the back can work really well if the wide players have a good defensive mindset, because they have to be able to track back and protect wide areas. Ange's problem in the past was putting strikers/attacking midfielders like Leckie and Kruse in these positions and wondering why we get torn apart on the flanks. Having said that, whilst we presented last night as three at the back Jedinak played very deep, often playing as our deepest player in possession, effectively making it 4 at the back at times. Really allowed us to be solid defensively.

Critics can be good or bad. If you want to criticize Ange's coaching tactic (in a match) or strategy (in a tournament), criticize on the way Socceroos play. Unlike before, under Verbeek and Osieck. Socceroos played quite a lot of long ball. Lucas Neill would kick the ball out of the danger zone like Lockyer in NRL. And there is a player nicknamed long ball Wilkshire. Remember? What Ange has been trying to do is playing a different style of football. It is not just about the formation. Even with a 3-4-3, 3-5-4-1 or 3-5-2, the style of play can be conservative, aggressive, possession first, position first, or ... Like yesterday, when it had reached a critical point (do or die), the play is similar to what the Honduras' play, quite many long balls conservatively in a formation of 3-2-4-1. Formation is one thing while the style of play is another.

I'll admit that I was one of his critics and am still puzzled at the reasoning behind many of his selections during this qualifying process which undoubtedly made it harder than it could have been, but fair is fair, he finally prevailed and secured qualification on his terms. So, full credit to him for sticking to his beliefs and ultimately succeeding. He is NOW a fully qualified international quality coach with a ever increasing reputation for achieving on his own terms. He "has made his bones" and will forever be revered as the first Australian coach to qualify the Australian men's team for the World Cup and kicked the opportunity door open for other talented Australian coaches to follow his example. He will be remembered as a guru of Australian coaching and I wish him the best of luck in whatever he chooses to do in the future.

Just do not know why people keep blaming on 3 at the back formation. It is not new. Yesterday, Honduras adopted 3-4-3 while Socceroos adopted 3-2-4-1. https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/match-centre/match-live?matchid=WCQ2016-170502 The 3-5-2 formation has been around for decades, very common. England adopted 3-5-2 in the match vs Brazil 2 days ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExBnZv7mYys

Agree, it is shameful that a national team coach could have media camped outside his front door step, effigies burnt, death threats, front page of the newspapers with pictures of his head replaced by a turnip. Oh, wait, that happened to other coaches in other countries. Fox justifiably IMO criticised the many disappointing performances in the last 2 years, as is the job of a mature football country media. They also gave credit last night I noticed. Ange also had to put up with questions about this future. Questions he still won't answer. He supposedly allowed the ridiculous speculation to go on due to a brilliant piecee of mind games, taking attention away from the players. As it has turned out he really is planning to walk away it seems. There was truth behind the story. How dare the media report that the national team coach is planning to walk away before the World Cup? Hardly a witch hunt