Hey guys, it's been a while between posts, sorry for that. The last few days have been s bit rough, what with the loss, the red card, the backlash against Pim, a rumour of Ossie becoming Aussie, there's been a lot to take in.
One of the good things that has kept me going has been Cup Fever (@cupfever on Twitter) which has been airing on SBS at 2030, repeats at 2300 on SBS2 and also streamed online. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, it is worth it. It's a bit patchy at times, but the champagne comedy makes up for sketches like Sam's Kim Jong Il impression. It features Santo "Snato Garo" Cilauro, Ed Kavalee and Sam Pang, and granted it's no Baddiel & Skinner, it does have some great stuff, including Mark Bresciano's World Cup Diary, where he details his day, usually telling us about his dinner selection, it's usually the chicken. Tim usually has the lamb. They've had some good guests on like John Aloisi and Archie Thompson, but it could do with an extra half hour.
You may be wondering what the title of this thread is? Well, I went to the Ipswich Cup today, and I picked the winner, which won by photo finish. My picks during the World Cup haven't been so good, so I really hope my luck from today rubs off on my pick for Australia to get the win over Ghana tonight. Even if they only scrape through, I'd take them winnng by a nose, say 1-0, than to see them face another drubbing, and I really couldn't stand the stress of a draw. Here's hoping Pim's had a chance to reflect on his decisions from the last game and perhaps start Kennedy up front. Cahill's out for this game, and pretty sure Holman will be starting for him, and looks like Valeri may be starting in place of the injured Grella. I think Kewell may get a run, but don't think he's certain to start.
I'm looking forward to this game, and really hope, for the good of football in this country, that we get the result we need tonight. I've got my, wee bit too small, Solo lucky undies in my pocket, they don't quite fit,but let's hope they BEng more luck than they did against Germany, who did a good impression of joking against Serbia last night.
Showing posts with label pim verbeek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pim verbeek. Show all posts
19 June 2010
14 June 2010
Gutted By Germans
Yeah, it was terrible. Granted, we were facing European powerhouse Germany, and we weren't the same strong side that we had in 2010, but 4-0? Absolutely gutted by that result. Fair play to Germany though, and it could have been much worse for Australia at the end of the day.
Frances Awaratefe @francisawaratefe said on Twitter that blaming selection and tactics isn't going to help, and that realistically it was always going to be the results against Ghana & Serbia that had more weight behind them to get us out of the group stage, and I think he's right, but I can't help but be left wondering why Kennedy wasn't on the pitch for the game, and why Cahill was starting as a striker with Garcia up front with him, a formation I'm pretty sure Pim didn't use in any of the warm up games.
Where to from here then? The obvious answer would be to win the next two games, but who do we put in to replace Cahill, who I honestly feel was hard done by with that red card, yellow for sure, but not red. Here's hoping he's back for the Serbia game, but in the meantime, can Holman fill that position and perhaps in the process get that LOLman monkey off his back? Is Bresciano fit, and if so, could we hope for a full 90 from him in that central role? Whoever ends up in that position, let's just hope that they, and the rest of the team surrounding them, can put it together to at least get a draw, because obviously, anything less will see the squad back on the plane home, making the last game a dead rubber, and having to rebuild for the Asian Cup.
On the topic of the Asian Cup, I've heard it being said that the FFA has already selected the manager they want to take Australia forward but are awaiting the World Cup to be over before announcing who it will be. I've also heard it mentioned that the FFA is still chasing the right man for the job, and is looking at shelling out a salary somewhere in the region of $6 million, more than double what Pim s getting now. I don't really have a preference for who they get in the job, and honestly, I don't think it's going to be as important as getting our team right. The major difference between this team and 2006 is that we had guys in their prime who were plying their trade in some of Europe's biggest leagues, plus we had a couple of younger guys along for the experience. This time around it appears that the guys that were in their prime who are still in the team are now that little bit past it, and some of the younger guys that are in the squad haven't had enough experience yet to be considered near their prime. Will there be enough quality there after this group of players to not only have a successful Asian Cup campaign, but also see us through to Brasil in 2014? Currently I fear not, but time will tell.
Here's to Saturday night and a good showing against Ghana, it's not impossible, even after all this doom and gloom.
Lastly, if you have time between sleeping, eating and football, head over to @thefootballack or follow them on Twitter. They are doing a podcast which you can find on their website http://www.thefootballsack.com which is quite good, and also on iTunes, so take the time to check them out, and tell them I sent ya.
Frances Awaratefe @francisawaratefe said on Twitter that blaming selection and tactics isn't going to help, and that realistically it was always going to be the results against Ghana & Serbia that had more weight behind them to get us out of the group stage, and I think he's right, but I can't help but be left wondering why Kennedy wasn't on the pitch for the game, and why Cahill was starting as a striker with Garcia up front with him, a formation I'm pretty sure Pim didn't use in any of the warm up games.
Where to from here then? The obvious answer would be to win the next two games, but who do we put in to replace Cahill, who I honestly feel was hard done by with that red card, yellow for sure, but not red. Here's hoping he's back for the Serbia game, but in the meantime, can Holman fill that position and perhaps in the process get that LOLman monkey off his back? Is Bresciano fit, and if so, could we hope for a full 90 from him in that central role? Whoever ends up in that position, let's just hope that they, and the rest of the team surrounding them, can put it together to at least get a draw, because obviously, anything less will see the squad back on the plane home, making the last game a dead rubber, and having to rebuild for the Asian Cup.
On the topic of the Asian Cup, I've heard it being said that the FFA has already selected the manager they want to take Australia forward but are awaiting the World Cup to be over before announcing who it will be. I've also heard it mentioned that the FFA is still chasing the right man for the job, and is looking at shelling out a salary somewhere in the region of $6 million, more than double what Pim s getting now. I don't really have a preference for who they get in the job, and honestly, I don't think it's going to be as important as getting our team right. The major difference between this team and 2006 is that we had guys in their prime who were plying their trade in some of Europe's biggest leagues, plus we had a couple of younger guys along for the experience. This time around it appears that the guys that were in their prime who are still in the team are now that little bit past it, and some of the younger guys that are in the squad haven't had enough experience yet to be considered near their prime. Will there be enough quality there after this group of players to not only have a successful Asian Cup campaign, but also see us through to Brasil in 2014? Currently I fear not, but time will tell.
Here's to Saturday night and a good showing against Ghana, it's not impossible, even after all this doom and gloom.
Lastly, if you have time between sleeping, eating and football, head over to @thefootballack or follow them on Twitter. They are doing a podcast which you can find on their website http://www.thefootballsack.com which is quite good, and also on iTunes, so take the time to check them out, and tell them I sent ya.
09 June 2010
Those Bloody Septic Tanks
It might have been the wake up call Australia needed before the tournament proper kicked off, but a 1-3 loss, especially to the USA, wasn't pretty to watch. Don't get me wrong, I applaud the US for their deserved win, and they were unlucky not to have won it with 4 goals, but it didn't make it feel any better, especially watching what's supposed to be our defence, crumble like it was made of honeycomb.
It's up the other end of the pitch that concerns me about this squad too, with Kennedy missing two good opportunitties on goal, and Pim changing to what shockingly looked to be a 442 formation. But Pim, you sent Scotty Mac home because you weren't playing a formation that could accomdate him, why then use 442 in this match? Was it for the knickers, so that when they complained about you not using it, you could point to this game and say, oh, but see, I did use it and it didn't work, so, there you are. I seriously can't work out some of Pim's decisions, but then again, I'm not looking after the team.
You may think I'm being ungrateful here, I mean, yes, Pim got us to both the World Cup and Asian Cup, and leaked very few goals doing so, so at the end of the day, he's been a success. I do enjoy beautiful football, but I'll take the way we qualified, heck, I'd be ecstatc if we get through the group stage playing the same kind of football that got us there in the first place, that being said though, is it good enough to get through Serbia and Ghana, let alone the powerhouse that is Germany?
Other factors that are going to be a worry include our injury tally, with the latest to join those ranks being Timmy Cahill picking up a neck injury in the US game on Saturday. Apparently Kewell and Emerton look set to line up against Germany, but it's looking ever more likely that we may be without Cahill for the opener, something. Just can't think about right now.
after all this self indulgent whinging, I wanted to make mention of Brad Jones, who found out before the US game that his son Luca had contracted Leukemia. Obviously there are some things more important than football, and missing out on the World Cup would pale in comparisson to your child being ill, let alone finding out they have something like Leukemia. My thoughts go out to Brad, Luca and their family at this time and hope it all works out ok for you.
It's up the other end of the pitch that concerns me about this squad too, with Kennedy missing two good opportunitties on goal, and Pim changing to what shockingly looked to be a 442 formation. But Pim, you sent Scotty Mac home because you weren't playing a formation that could accomdate him, why then use 442 in this match? Was it for the knickers, so that when they complained about you not using it, you could point to this game and say, oh, but see, I did use it and it didn't work, so, there you are. I seriously can't work out some of Pim's decisions, but then again, I'm not looking after the team.
You may think I'm being ungrateful here, I mean, yes, Pim got us to both the World Cup and Asian Cup, and leaked very few goals doing so, so at the end of the day, he's been a success. I do enjoy beautiful football, but I'll take the way we qualified, heck, I'd be ecstatc if we get through the group stage playing the same kind of football that got us there in the first place, that being said though, is it good enough to get through Serbia and Ghana, let alone the powerhouse that is Germany?
Other factors that are going to be a worry include our injury tally, with the latest to join those ranks being Timmy Cahill picking up a neck injury in the US game on Saturday. Apparently Kewell and Emerton look set to line up against Germany, but it's looking ever more likely that we may be without Cahill for the opener, something. Just can't think about right now.
after all this self indulgent whinging, I wanted to make mention of Brad Jones, who found out before the US game that his son Luca had contracted Leukemia. Obviously there are some things more important than football, and missing out on the World Cup would pale in comparisson to your child being ill, let alone finding out they have something like Leukemia. My thoughts go out to Brad, Luca and their family at this time and hope it all works out ok for you.
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