Well the reign of Graham Arnold has begun. It may not be the regime we wanted – or deserved – but we enter this new age pre-warmed after Bert Van Marwijk’s World Cup custodianship.
Bert was, for all intents and purposes, a gold-plated Graham Arnold – a pragmatic middle-third man who liked to transition directly and with purpose.
In many ways, BvM was a ‘gateway’ Arnold. He rode into town like a career bikie and offered us a ‘taste’.
And while the results didn’t go our way in Russia, our defensive posture and weight of chances showed this country the power of pragmatism (we had more possession than Denmark and Peru and created 27 chances to their combined 14).
So we are never more ready for Graham Arnold than we are now – in terms of style and personnel. That is why Arnie needs to meet whatever goodwill is surrounding his arrival with a big generational broom.
Arnold needs to set his sights immediately at 2022. That means that every player in the World Cup squad over 28 should be politely retired from the national team.
Arnold has had one big (not unexpected) name announce his retirement in recent days. Tim Cahill – the legend – has officially retired from the national team. Joining him on the official list is Mark Milligan, who ended his Socceroo career on the pitch in Sochi.
It may seem like a countdown before other players join them, however, there is talk that Mile Jedinak is eager to go on into the Asian Cup next January.
Mile’s time at Aston Villa seems to be over, and he is now 33-years-old looking at a drop to a less established or competitive league to continue his career.
When he is 37, Mile will not be in calculations for 2022, and therefore should not be considered for the UAE 2019.
Like his long-term predecessor, Ange Postecoglou, Arnie has access to a cup competition early in his tenure to design a team in his principles, and to get a good look at the talent in the pool and their ability to play together in his system.
As he pencils Aaron Mooy and Mass Luongo’s name into his central midfield for 2022, he has a sensational opportunity in the UAE to get them together sooner and not later.
Ange’s big broom was severe – if not a little selective. Both Cahill and Bresciano were retained while other massive names like Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer and Luke Wilkshire were moved on.
Cahill and Bresciano, it seems, were then needed to fill positional gaps in Ange’s system.
Arnie doesn’t have these gaps. He has ballplayers, he has central midfielders, and he has extreme talent out wide.
In Russia, we saw the Premier League version of Mat Ryan take charge of the box. Trent Sainsbury emerged as a top-shelf ball-playing central defender, worthy of any league in Europe (bias notwithstanding).
Aaron Mooy and Matt Leckie put themselves in the shop window for truly top clubs.
And Daniel Arzani dazzled.
With so much talent on the good side of 30, Arnie has a fantastic opportunity to grow into this World Cup cycle with a group of players who are peaking when 2022 comes around.
Is there a lot of pressure on Australia to go back-to-back? Unlikely. Given that Japan, Iran, South Korea and Saudi Arabia all outscored the Socceroos in Russia – with Japan going through their group – we are unlikely to appear in the top three favourites.
Even with Japan and Iran flagging some major retirements, there is enough young talent in those squads alone to threaten the Socceroos.
Arnold’s primary (and only) challenge, is to qualify for 2022 with a team that has the cohesion and dynamism to be competitive in the tournament.
(AAP Image/David Moir)
For that, he needs four years of side-by-side development, galvanised by a cup run and time together in camp.
He needs to pair Aaron Mooy and Mass Luongo in central midfield to create the symbiosis that comes from experience together.
He must introduce Daniel Arzani into the starting XI as soon as possible in order to ride the inevitable development of his club career and fitness base.
He should hand the captains armband and metaphorical baton to son-in-law Trent Sainsbury to allow him to grow into the role in readiness for 2022.
He should be integrating his set-up with excellent young talents, Ajdin Hrustic, Chris Ikonomidis and Riley McGree – just to name a few – who in four years and a mix of luck and hard work could be competing in the top leagues in Europe.
Filling an Asian Cup squad with quick-fix older players pinches a learning experience from one of the players above.
The same applies to defenders. Both Aleksandar Susnjar and Alex Gersbach have age and European experience on their side. They need to be included – even as first backups – ahead of the options we could take to the UAE.
Arnold can afford to take a punt on a forward – or a forward structure – and stick with him or it for a run of games.
We are blessed to have experienced players in their mid-20s playing in top leagues. Between Mooy, Luongo, Sainsbury, Leckie, Behich, Rogic and Ryan we have hardened professionals on each line who can lead this team.
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In essence, he can afford to call the 2019 Asian cup a ‘developmental squad’ or ‘generational change’ to buy himself time if we go out in a quarter or a semi but show enough at times to inspire hope.
To do this right he needs to make his stand. Mile Jedinak, Robbie Kruse, James Meredith, Matt Jurman, and backups Brad Jones and Danny Vukovic should not be considered for the Asian Cup and beyond.
We thank, we admire, we adore – we build statues outside the MCG – but we retire our heroes for the good of 2022.
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