Olyroos……..dying to put my 2 cents in on that

The European clubs dont care about the Olympics. When you consider the cattle that could have played in that game – Bos, Circati, Gauchi, Robertson, Niewenhof, Triantis to name but a few…..

HOWEVER for the Graham Arnold bashers I note

2008 Olympics – we qualify….under Graham Arnold

2012/2016/2024 – no Arnold no qualification

2020 – we qualify…..under Graham Arnold

I dont think the Vidmar brothers “have it” unfortunately

The product on the paddock is better than ever and the conveyor belt of youth never been moving quicker.
The national sides show the benefits from this
Its the mainstream media coverage . Said it before and said again. People need to know the games are on. You have to go searching for news on the fantastic Sydney Derby and its been happening a couple of years now
Fix this and half your battle is won. Super Rugby is garbage compared to the A League – but its Fairfax media plugging it week in week out no matter how woeful it is
We need the same
Simon Pearce has been a disaster for the local leagues. He should never have been given such control. Got rid of the Lowy family and with that went leverage of local politicians

Not 100% correct re Scottish players – Burgess doesnt miss a beat at Ipswich who are close to the EPL next year
Hrustic always needed Aaron Mooy to scoop up behind him….am hoping Alex Robertson is that man down the track. Hoping Alex Robertson and Circati arent being forgotten about with these squad picks.
Next year we could suddenly have Circati, Burgess, Irvine and Metcalfe all playing in major leagues

News Ltd have gone very quiet……and Nine not far behind them. It was always a Vlandys ego play and nothing else. Unbelievable hype here has amounted to ZERO interest in the USA as we all knew would be the case. They still think its Rugby BTW

In major tournaments when it comes to knock out rounds it gets very tight and the margins are very fine. Arnie was 2 minutes from being a Jordan semi final game away from a Final
Talk to anyone from Brazil who have lost to European opposition in 5 world cups in a row over the last 20 years
Or England – 1966 and still waiting
Even Japan – heavily favoured – again, beat Germany and Spain in the last world cup, they are also out
This is what happens. The game is massive in every country . Lets face it – aside from Rugby Union the other major football codes and cricket really are scratching around for meaningful games outside a few other countries
Korea have the 4th and 6th highest scorers in the EPL and starters at PSG and Bayern. We have no starters in those respective leagues. Yet we were a silly penalty away from progressing

100% agree with this. You can add Czech Republic Bulgaria and Romania to this list to name just a few. I cant ever think of anyone who has gone there from here developed further and have great careers .
Aside from the usual destinations I think we go alot better in Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Japan
Keeping an eye on young Triantis who is at Sunderland and in each match day squad without getting a go yet

Most of the globe refers to it as Rugby. Heck most of the globe doesnt know the difference between rugby union and rugby league……and parts of Australia still get confused by the 2 different codes

Add tennis to your list as well…..completely dominated by Europeans for the last 20 years

Bos is a cracker – A League born and bred, his next club move going to be really interesting – if you were his agent where would he head – Germany? Holland?
Interesting conundrum on where he should play for us….Arnie loves Behich so is trying to accommodate both of them …think want Bos at Left Back long term. I side in 5 years that has Robertson in the middle Circati and Triantis at the back and Bos and Irakunda bombing down the wings is quite exciting
Not sure who we want next South Korea or the Kingdom. Jurgen K tends to blow up sides he manages at the moment – and with the playing stock they have they should be doing better. A revenge game against the Kingdom after those 2 clashes in 2021 would be very interesting and a really good test for us

Melbourne Rah Rah

Well at least our league which gets battered from pillow to post from those within is not having one of its clubs calling in receivers like another code this afternoon

One could argue the Wallabies get kicked around like a red headed step son – but where are the crisis talks around Australian tennis with yet another Week 2 bereft of anyone local

Bos is going to be a starter for the Socceroos for the next 10 years – the really interesting call is whether he should start at left back or further up the field. Think I prefer him at left back. Aziz has been a soldier for years for the national side but is getting on in age
Bacchus and Irvine in the midfield dominate possession – they work well in tandem and ensure we always have alot of ball. What we do with that ball when we get further up the filed has always been the question but the 2 of them are in form and i hope Jackson gets promoted to the Bundesliga because his career deserves it
McGree is very good.
Dont think Metcalfe at this stage has it. Yengi is an interesting one – a little clunky, not fluid, but I am interested to see what happens as there could be something there with a bit more polish
There is a quarter final brewing with the Kingdom I think. Its going to be an interesting clash. Last time we played them was that disaster of a March 2022 and Covid when Japan and the Kingdom dusted us . Since then the only team that has outplayed us was the one with Mbappe flying down the left wing

At the time everyone was screaming to expand the A League – and so Western United (because of their stadium which still doesnt exist) and Macarthur were added . Now everyone is screaming they have been a disaster. People in this game have very short memories

Having known Danny for almost 20 years always remember Danny was a former player and lifelong fan of the game – he wanted nothing but the best for it and lived and breathed his role 24/7. Some of the journalists on the Roar need to spend a bit more time digging deeper into the APL – and ask themselves the question where the real power lies within the APL and who has been making all these decisions. Danny wasnt an owner nor did he control the board and in the end had to answer to power brokers on that board
There is a figure on that board backed by Abu Dhabi who spent the best part of 3 years dismantling the Lowy Family – remember without the Lowy Family you have no A League, no joining Asia, no Guus Hiddink and no 2006 World Cup
Once this figure got hold of the keys to the APL clearly he had no plan on how to run the competition nor promote it – despite the product on the field being of the highest standard in years. This lack of plan is evident at the failure of Melbourne City to grow a fan base after all these years
We wait to see what happens to the City football group when the EPL finally addresses the elephant in the room being Manchester City and the ramifications of financial fair play being ignored over the last 10 years or so. Every other club knows its coming….and is waiting

Suddenly I think we want to top the group as you would avoid Japan Korea and Iran till the final

The mighty Japan go down to Iraq. So maybe our struggles aren’t a disaster

I describe Vinge Rugari’s journalism as Honking. 2 articles on the A League in 12 months – one re the riot at the Melbourne derby and one re his breaking news on the staff getting made redundant. Zero words written on actually anything on the field

I agree with this – with Arnie in charge the national set up is extremely organised – preparation, resources, detail, negotiating with clubs, finding players with links to Straya, nurturing youngsters, interaction with Olyroos, big picture planning
The national teams are extremely well set up. Peru probably should have beaten us in 2021 player wise, ditto Uruguay in 2005, but off the field Australia national sides have their stuff together and sometimes the small things get you over the line
The performances are below par – heck in 2021 against Oman, China etc they were below par. Ange was below par against Thailand and Syria and Jordan . Ditto Holger against Jordan and Pim against Bahrain. Historically we dont put these countries to the sword. Duke still starts up front and he was second division Japan last season so theres not truckloads of strikers running around
That said Arnie got us to the second round and has had the team performing well against Peru, Tunisia, Argentina x 2, England, Mexico, Ecuador over the 1-2 years. He just has a style that is not easy on the eye…..

Over the last 2 years we play Peru, Tunisia, Denmark, Argentina x 2, Ecuador, Mexico and England – teams all ranked above us…they take us on and we look good
We play Oman, China, Palestine, Syria – all ranked below us – they sit back and we struggle
Looking at the draw it may suit us to come second in the group…..

Get media coverage and half your battle will be won. Vince R in Fairfax is supposed to be a football writer but the only time we see him talk about the A League are riots and this news yesterday. He actually doesn’t cover any games. Its no surprise when Fairfax/Nine have invested so much in other sports that they ignore alot of the AFL let alone the A League in Sydney. Same applies with News Ltd coverage of anything that is not AFL or NRL.
If the APL are a collection of such brilliant business minds how come they still cant solve this media coverage issue?
The Lowy Family did wonderful things for the game – when they were turfed out all the discussion was “we need new clubs” and the “apl need to be in charge”. I ask the question just what good has Simon Pearce sitting in Beauty Point done with his revolution of the ownership of the A League and how good did the expansion move with Macarthur and Western United go.
Ironically – being a football watcher for 30 years – the standard of the league has never been better – and where did Ryan, Bos, Rowles, Behich, Mooy, Rogic, Duke, Goodwin, Silvera, Metcalfe, Bacchus, Riley M all come from?
Arnold currently has the best depth in the Socceroos for many many years – the push for youth paying off for the national side.
They just need to sell the story better……and having their own journalists help sell the game.
Look at Rugby Union….a shambles off the filed, a shambles on the field, still Fairfax promoting positive stories. After Qatar 22 and AUS/NZ 23 where are our feel good stories?

Key is if that major media business has rights to your sport they will flog your product. Look at Rugby Union – teetering on the brink after a group exit at the World Cup – News Ltd ignores it – Nine flog it as they need people to look at Stan. Our backerts media wise are all fragmented over numerous organisations

Jordy Bos looks the goods. Next club move going to be very interesting. Plays every week in Belgium and his side has climbed up the ladder. Would love for Ange to take a punt on a kid from his home town – will get a good price too

Shame – as the standard of play on the field and the rapid development of youngsters for the future of the national side has never been better. Many were fans when Simon Pearce of the City Football group led the rebellion from the Lowy Family…..how is that looking now.
The solution is PR. They need to get the league talked about in the major media groups they have no incentive to cover the game -News and Nine.