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Opinion
After a series of stellar seasons with Melbourne City and an admirable scoring record with the national team, the question must be asked as to why Socceroo coach Graham Arnold appears to have little faith in Jamie Maclaren.
In the Socceroos’ opening fixture of the 2022 World Cup, a 4-1 loss to reigning champions France, Maclaren earned a few more splintered war wounds on the pine as his mates did their best against one of the best teams in the world.
Frankly, former Socceroos and other questionable pundits need to settle down a little in terms of their reaction to what was a scoreline close to the most favoured.
There was no shock in the Australian football team losing to France by a convincing margin and anyone suggesting that the performance was anything less than full of effort and an admirable one, should perhaps consider how long they have been out of the game, as well as the meaning of the word ‘context’ in the English dictionary.
What critics do have the right to question is the omission of Maclaren from the starting 11 and the reasons why he was not shown the respect he has well earned by at least being given an extended period to show his wares off the bench, as the most prolific striker that Australia possesses.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Frankly, I’m confused.
Mitchell Duke is a player who Graham Arnold has gone to on many occasions in national colours and did so again against the French. In a match where the chances coming Australia’s way were destined to be few, Duke chased admirably and pounced on a sole opportunity from which his effort at goal almost had the outsiders in front by two after Craig Goodwin’s opening goal.
For the remainder of the time, Duke harried around like a jack rabbit, with every good intention yet without the quality service he would require to convert, especially considering his career goal scoring record.
The former Wanderer is scoring at the rate of around one in every four games in the second tier of Japanese football, Fagiano Okayama his latest club after doing slightly better in his most recent period in Australia, where he managed six goals in 17 games in 2021 for the black and red.
In national colours, Duke has managed to find the net on eight occasions in a Socceroo career spanning a decade, five of which have come in the most recent World Cup qualifying campaign, against Chinese Taipei, China and Oman, with his most recent goal in national colours against New Zealand in September 2022.
The 31-year-old is a quality player and a proud Socceroo, yet the man who replaced him against France during the second half appeared neither, with Maclaren occupying the pine and no doubt seething that he was not given the opportunity to contribute to the cause.
Jason Cummings has become something of a cult figure in the A-League. He has been given a rather silly nickname by Australian fans and is something of a loose cannon, with some unsettled times in the UK making many a little sceptical as to his potential value.
Eligible for Socceroo selection thanks to an Australian mother, the Central Coast Mariners have profited from his presence with 12 goals scored across 26 matches, and Arnold spoke openly of his intention to select Cummings in the green and gold as soon as was humanly possible.
However, the Edinburgh-born striker was aimless in the minutes he received against the French, with the game well and truly gone and the Socceroos appearing as slow and cumbersome as Cummings often appears in Mariners colours.
Frankly, it is a nice story, yet the selection of Cummings is far from justified and obviously something Arnold was determined to execute, all the while leaving the best Australian marksman wondering what on earth he has to do to return to the starting 11 or even find his way onto the pitch as a substitute.
Winston Reid, captain of New Zealand, tackles Jason Cummings of Australia. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)
Maclaren was an emerging star with Perth Glory from 2013-15, with 11 goals from 38 games suggesting the young striker had something special. The 40 goals in 53 games at Brisbane Roar from 2015-17 confirmed his potential and after a brief stint in Scotland with Hibernian where he managed nine goals in 27 games, the City Football Group lured Maclaren back to Australia, with championship glory awaiting.
Since, Maclaren has scored 77 times in 91 games for Melbourne City and found the net eight times in 21 appearances for the Socceroos.
The last time Maclaren started in national colours was in February against Oman. He scored that night and in the match prior against Vietnam, yet since that time has seen nothing but limited minutes, as Arnold has tried just about every other option available to him.
Duke and Adam Taggart had cracks at the arrowhead against the Kiwis in September, Duke started the intercontinental play-off against Peru, Mathew Leckie took on the role against the UAE, whilst Nick D’Agostino assumed the striking role against Jordan back in June.
Ajdin Hrustic and Duke formed a duo up front against the Japanese back in March in the match after the last Maclaren starting cap.
Statistically, it is absurd.
Maclaren is the most prolific and consistent Australian striker by the length of the straight, and whilst unlikely to have made a match-winning difference against the French on Wednesday morning, has obviously fallen out of favour with Arnold, with the manager looking anywhere but in his direction over the last 12 months.