2 points.

1. We should never bid for a world cup again until we get a guarantee like in all other previous tournaments that the legacy of the newly built stadiums is for the use of Football. Australia’s 2022 bid had most of the damn stadiums going back to the AFL.

2. Australia/Melbounre will never ever be any sports capital of the world while London stands. The number of events/sports it hosts and stadiums it has truly overwhelms any other contender.

what a shame the viewers choice function isn’t in HD, the commentators for sky are twice as good as the fox plebs

Easily one of rugbys great characters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnEpj2h1YTc

How come the uk get quality like Scott and we’re stuck with hacks like Martin and Clarke

there would have been no drama if gallen had just been sent off and given a good ban in game 1 but no…. as usual the NRL overreacts with rule changes rather than just look at the actual issue which is poor judgement from referees

I actually meant for the AFC Fuss, i wouldn’t we’d ever have the political nous to somehow get an Australian into the FIFA job.

Excellent article NUFCMVFC, it’s good to see you have a outlet for your huge insightful responses after being outlawed by the mvforum!

I feel the police in Australia still don’t really know how to deal with fans.They seem to enjoy the confrontation they cause when charging into fan areas rather than take a more withdrawn response as seen elsewhere in the world when it comes to policing fans. The peperspraying of Melbourne fans last season was so absolutely unnecessary and highlights that, like the supporters sing,’They Don’t Know What They’re Doing’ In Scotland where the Old Firm clash is a nightmare for police to deal with, it is still rare to actually see police come into the stands and especially rare to see them intervene. You will really only see them in the line between home and away fans. The rest of the police effort in the ground is focused on surveillance and identification of fans engaged in illegal acts through the use of CCTV. They follow this up with a banning letter to accused fans, yet the fan still has the right to review evidence and appeal wrongful banning. This is the model we should be asking the police to do as it is where it’s needed. A police line between fans would have stopped the heart fan king hitting the western sydney supporter and i still fail to see how active support groups need police watching them anyway.

These lions supporters are seriously showing up australian rugby fans with their passion and atmosphere that they bring to the game. They travel in massive numbers all the way across the world and out support the home team constantly. All the pubs are actually full before the games with a big build up of atmosphere through the cities through the day rather than people turning up to the game at the last minute before kick off. Even the many flags we see hung up and flown around the stadium are a pleasant sight to see because many not only represent their home nation but are also personalised with the names of their local rugby clubs and towns. Compare this to a paid for giant jersey and some stupid safari hats released by the aru so they don’t look so embarrassed. Also, I do enjoy that the “Lion Lions” chant is so simple and they completely out do Australia at home with it because the rugby fans here really don’t have anything after they got so snobbish about Waltzing Matilda. SH (excluding ARG) might go on about their players but compared to the NH they seem to not be anywhere near to creating the same level of support.

The game is being taken away from the fans who built it, faceless men enjoying the junkets to FIFA Congress’s or billionaire’s buying an EPL play-thing have no idea how much of a strain it can be financially to be a football fan these days. As for internationally, we can all only hope that Blatter just die’s soon for the good of the game but Fifa’s Scum nations like Qatar won’t be dealt with until more nations have the balls to stand up like England did post WC bid announcement and denounce those who are obviously responsible. In Asia, Football cannot afford to be taken backwards again by another middle eastern tool after the bahraini’s term is up. Australia, Japan and Korea need to put up a damn candidate and use whatever power it has to get the presidency to East Asia.

SCRUMS ARE RUGBY. The scrum has been there since day dot and it’s once again only Australians who whinge about them because they are crap at it, same goes for penalty goal kicking. It is the most identifiable and unique aspect of Rugby Union and those knocking it really are watching the wrong sport. It provides the most pure contest of strength and teamwork between sides and is a a pillar to the game’s ability to cater for players of all shapes and sizes.

If anything had to be changed it would be time off between resets, from the collapse of the scrum to the hit of the reset. The only other possible thing i would consider exploring would be the removal of the hit to reduce the chance of injury but i am unsure of how to either work this or even if i would want it.

The guy plays Rugby Union, he should thus stick with union because it’s obviously what he is good at. A move to league will just have him under ridiculous pressure to preform and could be a disaster waiting to happen. Regardless i think he’s starting to stagnate in Australia, especially considering he’s not getting picked again for Australia while Deans is in charge. A trip to Europe could do him some good i think, go to a team like Toulon, Stade Francais or Toulouse with it’s more laid back lifestyle and get a fat euro contract away from the awful Australian Rugby community and media hounding him constantly.

You are lucky edwards came in when he did or he De Silva may very well have been the latest young lad to abandon the west for clubs willing to play talented youngins like Melbourne or Brisbane

Are you serious about Muscat? The guy is a massive advocate of coaching passing possession football, especially so now that he gets to learn under Postecoglou. Having had conversations with him several time through his time at Melbourne it is clear that he has a very positive mindset when it comes to how he wants to see his team play and the players that i have met who trained and played under his watch, especially the defenders like Nicholas Ansell, Mark Milligan and Scott Galloway cannot understate how much of an influence he has had on them to improve their game. His playing career might of been controversial but he was not one to shy away from the challenge of playing the ball along the ground out of the back when under pressure.

This. A big part of world cup bids is that the stadiums are then left for the local football teams to use exclusively. Our shocker of a bid was going to leave them for AFL and NRL teams instead.

Brett Holman is now the latest to move to the middle east, with a transfer to Al Nasr. This trend of players no longer aiming for the top flight is a case where Holger is the problem, his leniency on allowing kebab club players even near the NT has accelerated our declining standard of players. We can’t keep allowing our players to move to these inferior leagues and still be considered as front runners for national duty.

And i completely agree on the the surface issues, FFA really need to put there foot down for these huge games and get a quality guarantee clause in the contract because that homebush pitch nearly cost us points. If we have an important match on Tuesday, we cannot afford to have an AFL or Union match on sunday absolutely ruining the ground. It’s because of this that i’d now even back a national stadium for Football in Sydney as it’s clear we cannot trust ground operators to ever do a good job when it comes to the turf.

So what happens when one of Neil or Og breaks down then Einstein? These players are our future and are actually capable of playing out the back. McGowan was in excellent form before while he was in Scotland (i can’t comment on china) and DeVere will be playing regularly again by towards the end of the east asian season.

McGowan left a team in scotland that was imploding financially and not paying it’s players and the only two teams willing to pay Hearts for him were Shandong and the Huns. Chinese football might not be glamorous but it’s a hell of a lot better than the 4th Tier of Scotland.

I agree that the world cup must also be used to rebuild. The Asian Cup is looming and it would be one of this nations biggest sporting travesties if we were to waste what is one of the worlds most watched sporting tournaments.

Rogic must start, he is one of the few players in the squad that can really split defences with his passing. We need other types in defence like Rhys Williams, Ryan McGowan, Luke DeVere to get a run as Og and Neil are notoriously slow in defence and we can’t afford anymore late challenges when it comes to WC time.

I never got the obsession with tim up front. He doesn’t really play CF too well. He can’t hold up the ball and look for flick on’s like viduka, nor is he going to dribble round them like kewell. What he’s good at is looking to connect with a cross or to just be there when a loose ball end’s up in the box. Kennedy is a good option but players hoof it to him to often when he is more than capable of playing it at his feet. Scott Mcdonald should be given another go as he is very good at both linking play with the midfielders as well as be a goalscoring threat.

My observations.

1. That pitch was absolutely terrible. Yes it rained but we were disadvantage from the start with that shocking turf. Players were sliding as turf came up and the ball was bouncing over bumps. FFA needs to seriously look at how they pick their grounds for the NT because it very nearly cost us points. Stadiums like AAMI Park should be given priority if other grounds cannot guarantee a top level pitch. I’d actually now back a national stadium in Sydney or Canberra just so we can have a dedicated facility because it is clear that even with no rugby now the only way we can have the best turf is if we are in charge of the ground.

2. Oar needs to get the ball to feet, not chasing balls played in behind. His best asset is actually dribbling past players and controlling the tempo along the flanks.

3. Vidosic or Rogic should be started ahead of Holman. Holman’s main asset is his work rate and stamina but his linking play in the final third is letting us down. Rogic wasn’t as effective as he was against jordan but his attacking movement and positioning is superior to Holman’s and he is actually a threat with the ball at his feet. Vidosic provides more of an attacking threat as well and should be given time in a friendly as well.

4. Kennedy is very effective when given a chance but our play goes to shit when he is on. Hoofing balls forward might have been the final throw of the dice but it’s a constant theme whenever Kennedy plays. It is imperative that we find a way to use the big man beyond just being a beanpole.

5. Wilkshire is a stain on the team. He cannot stop himself hoofing the ball forward aimlessly and that along with his floating set pieces crosses do not help anyone. This should not be surprising to Australia fans who will have noted he has declined significantly in recent years both for club and country. McGowan or Franjic need to be started.

I like McKay and obviously he is out of place at LB but there really isn’t much else. Zullo has been so so, Lowry is solid defensively but play like a CB out wide with little support to his winger. McKay can rely on his fitness and technical ability to make do at the moment but none of the options in this generation will ever be world beaters. All we can hope for is our lord and saviour, Adama Traore, can eventually make his way into the Green and Gold as our first choice.

No offence but those are actually terrible, i seriously hope this isn’t what happens on the night. With songs like that it really isn’t surprising why the HAL active support groups wants nothing to do with TA.

no clearly you don’t understand the point of extra time. Penalty shoot outs, like golden point, are for when a result MUST happen. Results are not needed through either scenario for regular season matches

I see Tommy Oars main issue in the australian team at the moment is that he is used to getting the ball to feet at utrecht rather than chasing after balls played in behind the full back. Yes he is generally fast enough that he should be able to cope with this but his best play in holland is seen when he can control the ball and dictate play along the floor up along the left flank with his fullback CAM and striker rather than just charge for the byline in hope of a good cross.

TBH, I think Behich is garbage and should not be within daylight of a cap again outside of a EACQ campaign. Carney is herding goats, Thwaite is simply not a left back and while Lowry is strong defensively he is not the type to go support his winger with overlapping plays.

Our best option in the long term is obviously Adama Traore when he gets his citizenship. Anyone who watched him week in, week out in the HAL can see that he has the potential to step up to international level. The guy has said endless times that he adores Australia and would love nothing more than to be a citizen which is good enough for me. The only ones i really see against him are the xenophobic, anti new Australians that dislike the idea of immigrants making their way to the NT.

There is absolutely zero point to extra time to NRL regular season games except to apease bogans who can’t get there head around the fact that a draw is a completely normal aspect of rugby league. Teams go out to play 80 minutes, not 82 or 90 and we should respect this. Bogans who can’t accept that an even score after 80 minutes of play just indicate to the world that the sport has a short attention span.

god do i hope this butt pirate brand fall on it’s arse. That bid is so plastic and awful it should never see daylight