I for one, welcome the sight of Matty Simon coming onto the pitch in the 75th minute with the sole purpose of running around to annoy the opposition players in the World Cup.
Graham Arnold takes over now and its not hard to identify what we lack. Ange tried to compensate for it by putting more players in midfield and pressing higher up hoping that we will create more chances and somehow convert some of them into goals. Bert tried a more traditional approach of solid defensive formations and counter attacking quickly mostly down the flanks using a forward midfielder as the link. Both had the same result, good possession stats but not a lot of goals. Not sure what Arnie will try, but I suspect whatever he does will have the same result unless a really good finisher emerges. Most of the best finishers in the A league are foreigners so I don't know who he can use. I don't mean to disparage those we have, they are solid footballers and put in lots of effort, but they aren't good goal scorers at higher levels.
Still can't wait to see Matty Simon running around for the last 20 minutes of a match like a headless chook!
Not a nice comment. Never wish worse for anyone and at least try to stay neutral unless they are your opponent/rival.
What’s not nice is the agenda that his mates have had against our past two national team coaches. It will be interesting to see what they say if Arnie doesn’t do well.
Do you guys expect Graham Arnold stays as Australia head coach if the Asian Cup does not go well for him?
Depends on what you mean by go well. If we don't make the knockouts there will be people screaming for his blood. An elimination in the round of sixteen will probably see him on probation with better results needed in the near future. I think a par performance for us is quarter finals this time, with a better result being above par. If we can find a solution to our lack of goal scoring ability we can still win the tournament, but if we continue as we are then we will struggle to win enough games to have a deep run.
Thank you. We need to find that solution for our team as well although my main concern regard our team is Center Midfield not wingers or forwards. Center Midfield position is one of the most important reasons that I want Iran avoids Australia in AC 2019 and WCQs 2022.
Ange set the bar. Anything less will be seen as a failure. Personally, we have to make the semi finals.
One quote from the article above I just have to comment on “I just think that there’s a lot of talk that we don’t score goals... I think we’ve got the players there, but then it’s about the belief and backing yourself and giving yourself the opportunity to make a big impact.” The reason there is talk that we don't score a lot of goals is simple. Its because we don't score a lot of goals. The biggest evidence of this is in our last group qualifying match against Thailand. 74% possession and 41 attempts at goal for a return of 2 goals. In our last five competitive matches we have scored zero goals from general play, with goals coming from four penalties and one free kick. Positive talk is nice, but the solution must come from the players themselves. We can't wait around forever for another Mark Viduka, the current players need to sharpen up their shooting skills.
I did not know what they said about your past two national team coaches. However I do not think they had anything against them. They were probably saying just their personal opinions.
Interesting! I looked at full schedule of Asian Cup 2019 today. Before today, I did not know anything about path of teams before the final. Because of that, I wanted we avoid you except the final match of tournament. Now I am not hoping to avoid you at the AC 2019 because I do not want to root against you unless you play with us. If Australia plays with Iran, I wish the worst of luck for Australia. Except that match, I cannot root against you. Good luck Australia unless you play with us.
Graham Arnold reveals he turned down a job running a Major League Soccer team in America to steer the Socceroos to the World Cup. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...S-team-America-steer-Socceroos-World-Cup.html
Long article- read more thru the link: https://sport.optus.com.au/articles...ZNfBmsHQsGb41wL12PE_Ah25t4XOhZ9BIUdIJR2K0MFII
I realise we usually terminate contracts at the end of a World Cup cycle but IMO the cycle should end with the end of the Asian Cup, at least as long as the Asian Cup is a year after the world cup and we have common qualifiers. I'm still not sure if new dates have been set for the Asian Cup so don't know how long an extension that would be on Arnie's contract, but I think after the Asian Cup would be a good point in time for a new coach if thats what the FFA wants to do.
Graham Arnold signs new deal to remain Socceroos coach until 2026 | Australia | The Guardian I'm happy with this but as I've said previously I think the cycle should end with the Asian Cup 2027 rather than the 2026 world cup. This is a trophy that we have a chance of winning (although it's not easy). The world cup is a tournament where we have a chance of making the knockout stages (also not easy). The qualification for both tournaments is the same, although I would include a term that says if we don't make the 3rd stage of qualification (the last 18 now) the contract ends and someone new takes over for the rest of Asian qualifiers and the Asian Cup (if we get there).