The Socceroos' next ‘golden generation’ may be a lot closer than you think

Its actually the case one u17 team in Asia was found with a 26 year old by the Asian confederation. There are a few cases of people being caught, remember unless you go to the youth world cup you dont get a bone scan which can only tell if your at over 19 min not whether under 17. The other thing is the difference in squads sent to the world cup with not just men in the youth but men in the womens. The African womens championship is also notorious for men playing in the womens again its Nigeria. There is also questions with some North Koreans I have seen, tall slim hipped, funnily enough I give someone the Paramount plus account to watch star trek, and there I pick this trans actress playing a women easily from the hips easy. Thats the only problem with Paramount not only do I have to give them the account but I have to show them how to put it on Tv from the computer.

Are you suggesting some countries are illegally playing older players? Otherwise, I would generally agree that almost anything is possible in underage football and you can't really jump to conclusions one way or the other.

I think opposite. They should be going to the football grounds where most kids are and looking for athletic talent. High level Football clubs should be doing the same as well but looking at the whole package not at just the athletic talent.

Thats what caused the rego fees to rise though, everyone thought i will pay to get my kid there, instead they just paid the local clubs to ignore those who could make it, and favour their kids instead who never were going to make it.

If you remember Ange lost his job because of minor Asia countries at that youth level I think it was Laos. Unless you have watched the games then I think you really have no idea what is going on. I was in shock watching youth football in Asian tournaments. It was quite clear a lot of the teams were full of older players. It might not be that evident to the casual viewer as the asian nations involved are smaller but i saw balding players at u20 level. The younger the tournament the better older players can do. Nigeria has 5 u17 world cups, Ghana 2,Pele thought that was the reason they were going to be the next thing. Freddy Adu was the same weight height and muscle mass at 13 than he is in his mid 20's. Just to show how dumb Pele and how good physical condtiion he was in his 60's , he actually posed for a photo where he was carrying Adu who was quite big for his age. He didnt notice what he had was short African mature make, I suppose weight as the obese kids you get these days.

I was reminiscing with a mate during a morning walk, that back in 2007, when Fox still had the Premier League rights, around midnight on a Saturday night, you'd have your pick of around 8 games, and you could have your choice of 6 or 7 socceroos playing on the same night across those games.

Cambodia actually won that game 4-2.

Roberto, Cambodia really. But they don’t have 3 other codes picking the best before football gets a turn. When are we going to wake up. I also just noticed also that our under sixteens lost to Myanmar. This not a good portence for the future is it.

Grem, we are producing players for silver and bronze not gold medals. Producing gold medal players we all the attributes should be the bench mark.

The best place to spot future sporting star is at the local little athletics meeting. The drive, dedication of these kids are amazing. The is where the future star are for what ever football code has the plan to get them. When my girls were at little aths I did not see one football scout. Such a lost opportunity for our national teams. As I have said before if you are going to play against the worlds best you need to select your best. Rather than recruiting marquee players, I would like the money to go into large scholarships to lock in the future.

Australia U16s currently playing Cambodia in the AFF. Australia went down 2-0 but have fought back to trail 2-1. Nearing HT.

Wes, you just made my day. This is what I have waited for 40 odd years to hear. Back in the day, as a kid, being told I played W*gball and a girl’s game etc, I dreamt of this sort of scenario coming to fruition. Finally, there is a ray of light and long may it grow and become so robust that it sends a shiver down the spines of the World’s Highest Paying Probation Scheme and the Cross-Country volleyball. Support Australian footbal Wes and it will just get better and better. Thanks mate, this is a positive start to the weekend. Keep the faith!! Come on you Jets!!!

Hey FIL. I recently spent the week in Ipswich at FQ's TSP tournament, U13 - 16 I think. I really couldn't believe the standard there. The games were so fast, the kids technique was second to none, their football knowledge and vision was so impressive, and their physicality and drive was scary . Programs like TSP seem to be doing a good job at identifying the talent outside of the A League academies and making sure there is more than the A Leagues 16 elite players in each age group developing. Especially as we know the effects of "Relative age effect" and "maturation", these programs really need more funding and resources to be able to adequately keep tabs and contribute to the kids that don't fall inside the 80% of rep players born Jan - April as well as those that just need time for their bodies to catch up. Future really looks exciting.

Ernie Merrick has a lot of work to do, he needs to get everyone on the same side and make the focus for everyone on developing better players. Good to see him mentioning about learning from other countries especially he’s reference to a country like Belgium whom an outsider in 1998 to becoming No.1 in the world last year by remodelling their curriculum many years ago. Clearly we can learn from some of the world’s best but also have the local reference point with Merrick would bring into the role. Which I think is why he’s a good choice for role because we need someone that understands what is required here when an overseas choice often needs adjustment.

With that particular scenario, if the guys running it are favouring a particular group of kids, not good. Only when football has all emotion removed, and it's run purely on the best players making the top squad, and those on the fringes are encouraged to get stuck in, do the hard work and displace the top squads, will we truely be producing world class kids. Additionally, it does nothing in the realms of encouragement and sticking with the game if the kids get a wiff of preference and bias. We need the process to continue to produce lads like my brother. I say that without bias. he has his level three coaching ticket. The course was run by A-League staff, and he was assessed more than once managing his own team. He said straight out to the lads under him, you either do the hard work, produce and listen to my instructions or your pressing the pine.

Yes, all of the NRL front rowers would make amazing defenders in our national football team. If we play the 8 -3 formation they could link arms in front of goal and cover the whole penalty box. We would not win any games but we would not lose any either. All we need to do is harness the talent of the (massively significantly smaller number compared to soccer) NRL and AFL kids and ... hey presto 'Platimum Generation.' Plus sure, burn their fans to show them who the real thugs are. Thanks for the laugh riot.

It's a shame but I think you're right Freddy. We clearly have talented players in the 8-13 age bracket but then the system is failing them badly. Where are the development coaches to improve them after that formative age? The NPL clubs are under resourced and the A League Men's clubs are near on useless in developing youth. So many young kids are forced to turn to expensive private coaching groups or look abroad. The number one issue for the 17-20 bracket is that they simply do not get enough competitive matches under their belt. This has been covered time and time again but never properly addressed. ALM managers far too often turn to experienced 30 somethings rather than risk giving local youth a go (with the exception of Melb City and CCM). I would love to see a mandate that all ALM starting 11s have to include at least 2 locally produced under 21 players. Thoughts?

I learned the other day that Australia U16s lost 3-2 to Myanmar, who currently is in the midst of a civil war and would have access to 5% of the resources thrown at Australian junior teams. The senior Myanmar national football team is currently ranked 158. They have lost all four of the games they have played in 2022, against modest Asian opposition, by a total of 12 goals. On a bright note, they did manage to score in a 6-2 defeat at home against Singapore. Not the most auspicious start for the next golden generation.

We need to destroy the AFL and NRL in this country first and become first pick for aspiring athletes. The thugs supporting those sports should be shouted down at every opportunity.

Please note I am not implying the J-League is inferior to European leagues I mentioned, as it is one of the best outside Europe. There's a whole glut of European leagues where players can carve out decent careers and put themselves in the shop window, which makes competition tough. Competition is tough within and beyond the Big 5 - for eyeballs as much as it is for players.