Australian soccer fans would have cracked a wry smile on Monday morning upon hearing the news of Aaron Mooy’s double strike in the Premier League.
Mooy managed two long-range goals – one of them a curling free kick – for his team Huddersfield Town in their win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
It’s a timely performance from Mooy, who hasn’t scored for the Terriers since December 2017, bringing his tally to six goals in 48 appearances in England’s top flight. His last goal for the Socceroos was even further back, in March 2016, on the long road to World Cup qualification.
Obviously, the gifted playmaker isn’t just on the pitch just to score goals. In his central midfield role, he has an uncanny knack of wrestling the ball off opponents and distributing the ball quickly. But, with his speed and skill, he does get into attacking areas with the ball at his feet so the Socceroos need him to pinch a few goals at the Asian Cup if he gets the chance to shoot.
Scot-turned-Aussie Martin Boyle looks a good prospect as striker but it won’t be easy to replace Tim Cahill, Australia’s top goal scorer. Together with Hertha Berlin’s Mathew Leckie and Boyle, Mooy should be looking to contribute in the goal-scoring department.
Remember that Mile Jedinak’s goals from the penalty spot will be lacking in the UAE in January after the former Socceroos captain retired this year.
At the moment, Tomi Juric is cumbersome at centre-forward, Tom Rogic seems weighed down by his endless potential and Massimo Luongo never seems to get any game time – no matter who’s coaching – for us to even find out whether he can still score at international level.
Ask any Socceroos fan out there and they all say it: we need more players scoring goals, more often.
Ahead of this year’s World Cup, veteran EPL commentator Martin Tyler described Mooy as a “clever player” but noted how hard he had worked at Huddersfield throughout last season just to keep his team afloat.
(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
In Russia, Mooy was unable to conjure any assists or goals in a tough group including France, Denmark and Peru – despite starting in all of Australia’s matches. Was it due to fatigue or just the class of the opponents? Either way, I hope he gets a chance for a short rest over Christmas to freshen up before this tournament.
It would be great to see Mooy play with a bit more swagger when he rejoins the national team. After missing out on selection for the 2015 Asian Cup tournament, the 28-year-old is now one of the older heads in the side and, barring injury, will play in his 40th international when the Socceroos open their tournament on January 6 against Jordan.
Between now and then he has a handful of games in the EPL to really hit a purple patch. At Huddersfield, with David Wagner as coach, Mooy is well appreciated and one of the first names on the team sheet. Whether his post-match interviews will ever be entertaining and rollicking affairs remains unlikely, but on the pitch he should feel free to express himself with the ball at his feet.
If he does that and it comes off, his estimated 9-million-pound market value will surely continue to rise. And, more importantly for Aussie fans, he could help the Socceroos secure a second Asian Cup title in a row.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Good point
Sydneysideliner
Guest
Agreed, and also in the Middle East, where we've struggled to score in competitive fixtures (see the last two times we played Jordan away!)
Sydneysideliner
Guest
And the style of play of teams that play Huddersfield is quite different to that of Australia's opponents. He struggles to adapt to teams parking the bus and forcing turnovers in their own third. Compared to PL teams that probably disrespect Huddersfield's attacking threat and give him more space to move.
Nemesis
Guest
You don't need to be a greyhound in football if you have good technique & good tactical vision. Aaron Mooy is playing in the league that is considered the highest-paced & played at a frantic level of intensity. If he's too slow, it's not impacting his output against quicker players.
Barca4life
Guest
Mooy is not a No.10, that's why he's not effective against Lebanon, he's too reactive to defenses and often takes too long on the ball, hes clearly more suited deeper for us. I suspect the style of play the Socceroos play is quite different to Huddlesfield.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
I don’t see anyone flip flopping unless they removed those post He is obviously technically gifted but very slow, everybody’s saying that It works to a degree at Huddersfield and also to degree with Australia. It’s not crazy to suggest Luongo Mooy rogic have not been in sync for Australia
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Well...at the risk of being a poser, I’ll say it again - the modern Mooy is too slow. Have you seen him playing for Huddersfield? He’s glacially slow and it’s him who sets the lumbering tempo that makes Huddersfield the poorest attacking team in the EPL. I can see why he’s favoured there - he can hold the ball and slow the game down against the 15 or so sides that are clearly stronger than Huddersfield. Occasionally, but not often, he also manages to pull a rabbit out the hat with an incisive pass or a shot from distance. But for Australia, Mooy only really stands out against very weak teams or against strong teams that get cocky and over-commit. Like in judo, Mooy can take advantage of an opponent’s injudicious movement. But, mostly, Mooy just looks technically competent but frustratingly pedestrian. Japan, S Korea etc will all stand off him - knowing there’s little chance he’ll run through them - and they’ll wait to pounce on the inevitable poor touch from one of Mooy’s less skilled teammates.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
I thought it was fat but if it is muscle it’s not what he needed. He needs speed. If he improved his acceleration and added a few km/h to his top speed he could be a great footballer. I wonder if he does sprint training at Huddersfield.
Nemesis
Guest
Too funny to see the same posers who dismissed Aaron Mooy a week ago as being: too slow, not good enough, just a 2nd Div player; now doing a complete flip-flop about the same player. Mooy is a technically gifted player. He's been outstanding for Australia in the past. He had a bad game against Lebanon, as did most of the team.
Fadida
Guest
It's astounding how awful his set pieces are for us. He's undoubtedly talented and hard working, but yes, he's been turned into a cautious robot, and an overly muscular one at that. I'd love for him to become the attacking threat he was at City, which would allow Rogic to take his rightful place on the bench. He seems to have lost the ability to turn and play forward, lost in the sideways vortex that so many "recycling" midfielders seem to be.
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
Good point... although I like the idea of a few really strong goal threats in the Socceroos team. Maybe Mooy isn't going to be that player ever... but having one or two clear goal threats attracts opposition defenders and allows our lesser lights to then sneak in with extra goals more often. Also... the last Asian Cup is a fair while ago, there's been a fair bit of water under the bridge since then. I've been more concerned about a lack of other goal scorers at the 2018 World Cup etc... although the level there is obviously higher too.
Sydneysideliner
Guest
We tend to underappreciate the amazing spread of goalscorers in this group. Excluding Timmy and Jedi, we still had 8 other goalscorers at the last Asian Cup, more than any other competing nation. And that was without Mooy and Rogic. We may not have a single player in double digits anymore, but the fact that most of our starting team have 5 goals or more each should scare the opposition more than a team reliant on a prolific striker..
Redondo
Roar Rookie
And yet...when he plays for Aus Mooy has an uncanny knack of losing the ball, missing key tackles in dangerous areas, distributing the ball too slowly, lacking speed, missing passes someone with his skills should never miss, and, not getting into attacking areas with the ball at his feet. A big problem for Arnold to solve is why that happens when Mooy plays for Aus at the same time as he is performing so well in one of the strongest leagues in the world. It is a plus for Aus that he’s one of the few who can control the pace of the game, but mostly that means he’s slowing the game down. We have a lot of athletic players who only have moderate skills so our best bet is for Mooy to create dynamic situations where their athleticism is an advantage. He’s doing the opposite too often at the moment. I was a big fan once, but Huddersfield seems to have turned him into a cautious robot. One theory: he’s breathtakingly introverted and maybe he’s taking time to get to know his Aus team mates. Perhaps it’s another job for Arnie’s shrink.