The Socceroos are not as good as we like to think they are, and that’s okay

thanks for feed back kangas ,i cant believe the mess we are in its only going to get worse before it gets better and the other codes are laughing their heads off ,i mean look at this guy gallop he is an embarrassment stiff as a dried up blank useless and gets paid $1,000,000 a year what a waste of money no character, uninterested, no passion, just going thru the motions and getting paid and he is the face of Australian football he represents us WOW we are really stuffed what a Zombie

Jock Imagine if we were in the euro group we wouldn’t qualify Well Australia lost 2-1 to world champions France Drew with strong Europe team Denmark 1-1 Thrashed Hungary and Czech Republic before the World Cup Drew with Germany 2 years ago Mmmmm. How about that

Con We’ve been discussing these kind of issues for months . That’s all we can do , we are powerless to make change , our collective voice and opinions are constantly ignored by the people who run football in Australia.

Just further explaining my angst on the commentators and opinions on this forum i am trying to get people talking about the real issues of our code in this country as i feel people on here are being reactive not creative in finding out answers where we are at and why is our game is going south, as in the national team and our top league The FFA want to keep the status quo they will not change as they have no vision . there were two man who were not friends but had the same vision to make Australian soccer our version our style ,Angelo Postacoglou and Craig Foster ,they both have pushed for real change and got pushed out by the authorities , we the fans love them but have no say , we are kept in the dark and never told the truth no matter what we are the paying public and this dictatorship rules are not good enough ,look at the matilda's fiasco , that is fishy and we are left to speculate not good enough , look at the A league full of imports and our young talent driven to go overseas to play reserve useless football in Europe and most in second and third division ,reserve football is rubbish as they is only friendlies among-st clubs you learn nothing but become frustrated and fade out to much talent lost because. Our top league is too small and full of imports .the A league is to powerful and will get more power become harder for our children to get a chance to play here in Australia and learn ,i can go on forever about this game i am passionate and care you should too as you have better words than me i am a builder not a commentator ,GET SERIOUS PLEASE

Though Lowy we have the easiest path to the world cups . It’s not like we deserve to be there. Just imagine we were in the euro group, we would never qualify. Thanks for the reserved World Cup spot.

Gee there is a lot off bromance in this forum kissy kissy ,feel good ,the main comments on here are so nice ,how pathetic ,no substance, no guts , just nice grammar and statistics don't make any of you good football commentators your are all gutless, our country got beat by a team that is rated 50 points lower than us not good enough , we are not even second best any more ,come on post some passion and anger

@njm Yes I agree. It's the aussie media who keep talking up the Socceroos and individual players and then the uneducated football punters swallow the hype. Also to blame for the absurd hype are Ange P and G Arnold who have set unrealistic goals and expectations. According to G Arnold everyone and everything in Aust football is just fantastic. The Asian Cup result is what I expected considering the current is squad is so very ordinary and our only good player (ie Moy) was injured . Why anyone expected better is a mystery but then the media probly think it'll boost ratings and advertising revenue.

VIDUKA IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE BEST PLAYER AUSTRALIA EVER PRODUCED tell me another player that scored a hattrick against Liverpool and were you there when a young 17 year old boy scored a hattrick in the NSL grand final giving his team the championship ,and were you there 2006 world cup in Germany he played all four games and was the hardest worker on the park took all the pressure ,to me he is GOD of the Socceroo's, and its sacrilege to talk down about a great player like Mark Viduka ,humble ,quite achiever and a gentleman ,

AFLers are drawn from a talent pool 1/1000th the size of Football's global talent pool. So, to answer your question, all of the players you've named would quite probably make fairly ordinary Footballers. They might look extraordinary playing AFL but that's because most of the people they play against are probably extraordinarily ordinary athletes. After all, the quality of the talent must drop off sharply given AFL's minuscule talent pool.

You ask for comments You do know how difficult these players have found it to beat Ireland in the hybrid games. They are terrific at their chosen sport only . Ireland are amateurs remember.

This got me thinking. If the AFL had never evolved in Australia, ever, just think who may have taken up football. Assuming these players were coached from a reasonably early age then how would a team of these players stack up, given their height, weight, body shape, athleticism and attitude to succeed in sport: GK: Jeremy Howe, Jordan de Goey or Alex Rance Defenders: Steele Sidebottom, Jaeger O'Meara, Eddie Betts, Andrew Gaff, Paul Puopolo, Adam Saad Midfielders: Tom MItchell, Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett Jnr, Charlie Cameron, Patrick Dangerfield, Dyson Heppell or Josh Kelly Forwards: Isaac Smith, Lance Franklin, Orazio Fantasia, or Dustin Martin Reserves: Choose from - Dayne Zorko, Dane Beams, Mark Blicavs, Jeremy McGovern, Nic Naitanui, Taylor Adams, Zach Merrett. (among others) There is a preponderance of speed, agility, co-ordination and athletic prowess in this team as well as the ability to use both feet in many cases. How many would have made it big? Who knows but one thing is for sure, given their AFL abilities, they would not have left anything in the tank trying to make it to the top of world football. Comments anyone?

Its very unlikely Australia will ever become a football powerhouse because our kids growing up just aren't passionate enough about the sport. In countries like Uruguay (a population of only 5 million) as soon as a child is born, they get given a football, and from that their love for the game starts, they are always surrounded by the passion of football. I coach an under 15s side, and probably 2/16 of them religiously watch the game every week, the rest of them just play for the social aspect and because they like the game, they don't love the game. In Uruguay, this number would most likely be close to 16/16 players. Long story short, its not about the amount of registered players we have, its the amount of youngsters who are obsessed with football which is the telling number to analyse.

Matt Simon who was the only the fourth most used sub, and didn't come on till the last 10 minutes made teams lose to Sydney. If he is that good at intimidating teams when he is on the bench then he should be in the EPL. If Arnie had brought Matt Simon, and played a physical 11 at the Asia cup, it would have worked a lot better and they would probably win the tournament. Jurman, Matt Simon, Leckie, Irvine, Grant fill the criteria. Too bad Jedinak isn;t available. Sainsbury is physical and also good on the ball. Petratos to deliver set pieces as the only beefy 10 I have seen, plus Nabbout. Then all you need is a strong man in the midfield to replace Jedinak, maybe Melling and its on for all money.

Nem - Your calculation surrounding the effects of the Nat. Curr. are roughly correct but it has to be added that by 2004 very few NSL clubs were in a financial position to channel money into youth development. The Golden Generation, as it is known, did participate in a coaching experiment introduced in 1975 when the first move to small sided games on small pitches was introduced into this country's football psyche. This coaching revolutionary move at grassroots level got no help whatsoever from the "heads" of football at that time,even the principal's wages were a cause for concern when tobacco sponsorship was withdrawn. Rothman's paid his salary. Frank Lowy knew of this "experiment" and introduced the idea of a NC to football ,not in 2009, but in 2007 when the FFA employed a Dutch coach ,one Roberts Baan , to write a coaching program for the game as a whole. This was done, though after 2 years the "author" chose to retire from the game but not before seeing a countryman Han Berger introduced to his former position. So we got an NC introduced in 2009 and we were led to believe Berger had re-written the contents to make it easier for consumption at junior football levels. We now move to 2014 when Berger's contract was complete and surprisingly,he chose to end his connection to the NC and moved to Sydney FC as a director. No real explanation was ever forthcoming from either the FFA or Berger, but it was noticed by some that he had had contact with the 2 principals of the Coerver franchise coaching system in USA. One does not have to be Einstein to work out that those meetings would have gone down well with the FFA, for as I said , the Coerver system. already in Australia, was in fact a franchise system, which in fact put it outside the control of the FFA. Berger has since moved on and is now employed at the highest level in the Dutch game,and the original author of the NC,Rob Baan has come out of his "retirement" to do the same job for the Indian FA. Thoughts?. Don't hold your breath on the expected improvements we have been promised will emanate from the National Curriculum. The "originators" no longer have an interest.! jb

Viduka did nothing at international level let alone anywhere near Cahill and Kennedy. Kosmina and Aloisi would be next. Even Leckie has done more than Viduka.

Bolt the greatest athlete not the jokers you have named, who played football as a kid and didnt train for athletics didn't make it. Steve Smith is lazy he gave up bowling and stands at the slip, no way he would be any use on the field . The other two you got to be kidding, how many AFL players tried and failed before they switched to AFL. Australia have got a large number of players, the real problem is the corrupting influence of Asia, easy money, easy availability of all substances. Milligan had everything to be better than Lucas Neill, much better passer, much better in the air. However he went to Asia multiple times and he looks 10 years older than he should. Troisi remember he scored 10 goals in Turkey at a young age, then went to Serie A on big money, not like Bresciano and Grella who to Italy on nothing but a pray and worked hard. Burns is another one, he cant even play in the A-league any more he is so far gone. Kruse even though he was dodgy even before he went to Europe he still made it in the Bundesliga, and I dont believe injuries are the only factor in his subsequent decline. Herd was playing in the premier league at a young age, and the stuff I have heard about him is very strange. Jedinak on the other hand limited talent worked hard made it. Rostynn Griffiths, David Williams,many more

Agree entirely. But the Major point is they were developed by CLUBS not Franchises! Clubs made up of people invested in the GAME rather than the Business of Football. We need to stop offering Franchises to the A-League and start promoting Clubs into it! Any Franchise with hopes of entering the A-League should be told to go and buy an NPL side and develop them to a level where they can Win their way in. No more FFA picks!

Arnold MUST go! He does not understand the international game! There was no way he would get away with the tactics he used at Sydney FC. International Referees are all over it. The use of thugs like Simon etc. to take down opposition stars and delay & hold up play is ol' skool football. His appointment was just another example of FFA having no clear direction, but keeping it all in house so no-one outside realises how few ideas they actually have. Australia needs a Leader not a guesser! And we need a clean-out of the Football Administration root & branch around the country! The Rot goes much deeper than just the FFA Board!

Well said and dead right. It's only in the cultural cringing minds of people who think handball and water polo are more globally significant sports than cricket that this isn't obvious

Arnold needs to resign or be sacked in the morning. Could not understand his appointment after having previously failed. His appointment is the definition of insanity. No need to state the quote. Success at club level in the A-league should have meant nothing when appointing new national coach. What ever credit he gained from coaching in the A league should have been ignored given his absolute failure in Japan. Support from the fox crew for his appointment should have been ignored.