In the 18 year history of the AFL’s Rising Star Award there’s been just three winners who’ve ranked among the top two rookies for both disposals and tackling throughout the course of a season; Paul Hasleby in 2000, Sam Mitchell in 2003, Joel Selwood in 2007.
Those three were not only deemed the competition's best first year player in their respective seasons, but demonstrated an incredible ability to both gain possession and to do everything in their power to get it back. In short, the perfect combination of midfield attack and defence.
In season 2011 the Bulldogs’ Tom Liberatore is only the fourth rookie in nearly twenty years to qualify for this elite category. He’s ranked second amongst rookie players for possessions (20) and second amongst rookies for tackles (6). He’s first among his peers for average Supercoach score (91), first for goals assists (5) and is ranked in the league's top 10 for driving the ball inside his team’s forward 50 arc (18).
Yet after eight completed rounds of football Libba’s still waiting on a call to even be nominated for the prestigious award, let only be installed as favourite.
Of the eight players to have so far received nominations only Essendon's Dyson Heppell is among his own club's top ten for both disposals and tackles. At the Bulldogs there’s just seven players averaging more disposals than Liberatore, while not one has performed better where tackling is concerned.
Consider for a moment the league's most recent Rising Star nominee, Hawthorn’s Shane Savage. A good young player to be sure, but one who at the same time is ranked just 17th amongst first year players for possessions and just 25th for tackles. His numbers paint a similar picture when put into the context of his own club’s playing list. An excellent contributer,yes. An indisputably integral part of the Hawks? Hardly.
In Liberatore’s case to have a player come in and be so effective, so immediately has been remarkable. Add to that the reputation of entering the competition as an 18 year old son of a former Brownlow Medallist, coupled with the intense competition for a place in the Bulldog midfield, and his achievements are even more impressive.
To still be waiting for a Rising Star nomination after two months of football is truly scandalous.
Tom Liberatore, like his father, isn’t the type who seems concerned by how the external football world perceives him but rather more so by how his on-field efforts are measured by his teammates and coaching staff. However like any professional doing a damn good job, a little industry appreciation wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
It really is about time he received some.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The Victory's New Manager-Avoiding The Easy Option
On the Saturday before the A-League’s unforgettable Grand Final in March which punctuated perhaps the very best season in Australian domestic soccer history, the new Melbourne Victory board chose to announce the sacking of Ernie Merrick.
It was a self-centred and arrogant move from the newly installed board intent on having their voice heard, at a time when the attention should have been focused on Brisbane.
Whether right or wrong, the dismissal of Merrick could have waited a few more days.
Merrick’s sacking was handled deplorably. Truth be told it was botched. The Anthony Di Pietro-led board portrayed it as a mutual decision when it obviously wasn’t. Weeks later long time football manager Gary Cole along with Merrick’s assistant Aaron Healy were axed in similar circumstances.
For Di Pietro and the board, the Victory’s undeniable successes and the people who made it possible were yesterday’s news and were dealt with accordingly.
Youth team coach Mehmet Durakovic was soon installed as interterm coach to see out the remainder of the club’s Asian Champions League campaign and to hopefully spare the club from further embarrassment. As for the board, we’ve heard very little. No statement to the media regarding the club’s direction or philosophy, nothing for the fans either.
If the new board were playing the game they’d already be a couple of goals down within the first few minutes of the match.
What we do know is that as many as 70 candidates have apparently applied for the Victory job with both local and international submissions. There’s been no publicised short list, nor a specific criteria as to the type of manager the board wants. Rather just an assurance that the position is highly coveted which is hardly something we didn’t already know. The tight lipped approach has inevitably resulted in a rumour circus which will only get worse the longer the process takes.
Following the Victory’s elimination from the ACL on Wednesday night, calls for the process of hiring a new manager for the A-League’s most successful club will get louder, while the temptation to keep Durakovic will be strong. He’s had plenty of media goodwill in recent times while as suggested he's done a reasonable job as interterm coach through a difficult time.
With that said hiring Durakovic as manager would also be the easiest and cheapest option for the club and it’s something that should be avoided.
There really is a lot to like about Mehmet Durakovic. As a player, he was an undersized central defender with a strange name who forged a decent international career as well as working his way to the very centre of the Socceroo defence in the 90's. As a coach he’s charismatic and laid back, comfortable with the media and seems to have an excellent rapport with the players. He seems passionate about the Victory and hasn’t shied away from declaring his hand for the job on a full time basis.
Unfortunately, however, nothing really changed in the five ACL matches he was at the helm.
The Victory finished bottom of their ACL group and continued to concede inexcusable goals which reeked of a lack of training ground application. Despite the buoyancy in and around the camp Durakovic seemed no more astute than Merrick in regards to the vagaries of continental football, whilst very little changed in regards the composition of the team or in regards to consistently playing any of the Victory’s promising youth players.
If Durakovic did anything during his five ACL games worthy of securing the job in the face of some supposedly excellent candidates, then I missed it.
There’s no doubt Durakovic’s time as a head coach at a higher level will come however that time isn’t now and the club isn’t Melbourne. He’s served an invaluable apprenticeship in a vital competition and at a difficult time for the club. He injected some real pep into a team whose confidence was shot to pieces yet he’s neither performed any miracles let alone save the club from yet another Asian embarrassment.
The new board has struggled in its early stages, quite badly to be honest, however unlike the team’s ACL campaign, their hard work isn’t nearly over. They’ve a huge decision to make in the coming weeks that really needs to be handled a lot better than the Merrick dismissal which got us here in the first place. The easy option must be avoided.
It was a self-centred and arrogant move from the newly installed board intent on having their voice heard, at a time when the attention should have been focused on Brisbane.
Whether right or wrong, the dismissal of Merrick could have waited a few more days.
Merrick’s sacking was handled deplorably. Truth be told it was botched. The Anthony Di Pietro-led board portrayed it as a mutual decision when it obviously wasn’t. Weeks later long time football manager Gary Cole along with Merrick’s assistant Aaron Healy were axed in similar circumstances.
For Di Pietro and the board, the Victory’s undeniable successes and the people who made it possible were yesterday’s news and were dealt with accordingly.
Youth team coach Mehmet Durakovic was soon installed as interterm coach to see out the remainder of the club’s Asian Champions League campaign and to hopefully spare the club from further embarrassment. As for the board, we’ve heard very little. No statement to the media regarding the club’s direction or philosophy, nothing for the fans either.
If the new board were playing the game they’d already be a couple of goals down within the first few minutes of the match.
What we do know is that as many as 70 candidates have apparently applied for the Victory job with both local and international submissions. There’s been no publicised short list, nor a specific criteria as to the type of manager the board wants. Rather just an assurance that the position is highly coveted which is hardly something we didn’t already know. The tight lipped approach has inevitably resulted in a rumour circus which will only get worse the longer the process takes.
Following the Victory’s elimination from the ACL on Wednesday night, calls for the process of hiring a new manager for the A-League’s most successful club will get louder, while the temptation to keep Durakovic will be strong. He’s had plenty of media goodwill in recent times while as suggested he's done a reasonable job as interterm coach through a difficult time.
With that said hiring Durakovic as manager would also be the easiest and cheapest option for the club and it’s something that should be avoided.
There really is a lot to like about Mehmet Durakovic. As a player, he was an undersized central defender with a strange name who forged a decent international career as well as working his way to the very centre of the Socceroo defence in the 90's. As a coach he’s charismatic and laid back, comfortable with the media and seems to have an excellent rapport with the players. He seems passionate about the Victory and hasn’t shied away from declaring his hand for the job on a full time basis.
Unfortunately, however, nothing really changed in the five ACL matches he was at the helm.
The Victory finished bottom of their ACL group and continued to concede inexcusable goals which reeked of a lack of training ground application. Despite the buoyancy in and around the camp Durakovic seemed no more astute than Merrick in regards to the vagaries of continental football, whilst very little changed in regards the composition of the team or in regards to consistently playing any of the Victory’s promising youth players.
If Durakovic did anything during his five ACL games worthy of securing the job in the face of some supposedly excellent candidates, then I missed it.
There’s no doubt Durakovic’s time as a head coach at a higher level will come however that time isn’t now and the club isn’t Melbourne. He’s served an invaluable apprenticeship in a vital competition and at a difficult time for the club. He injected some real pep into a team whose confidence was shot to pieces yet he’s neither performed any miracles let alone save the club from yet another Asian embarrassment.
The new board has struggled in its early stages, quite badly to be honest, however unlike the team’s ACL campaign, their hard work isn’t nearly over. They’ve a huge decision to make in the coming weeks that really needs to be handled a lot better than the Merrick dismissal which got us here in the first place. The easy option must be avoided.
Friday, April 8, 2011
24 Hours From Tulsa
It’s an exciting time for women’s basketball in Australia and for none more so than Elizabeth Cambage.
Having just completed a dominant season for the recently crowned WNBL premier Bulleen, Cambage was on Monday night voted the league’s Most Valuable Player.
The next step in the 19 year old’s bright future will take place next Tuesday when the WNBA, the world's premier female basketball competition, conducts its 15th annual draft. It’s an event which owing to the league’s increasing popularity will be screened live from ESPN’s Connecticut studios for the first time and where many analysts have Cambage rated as a top 3 prospect.
Cambage left for the U.S with her mother Julie the morning after winning the MVP and although excited about the trip she has some reservations about playing in the WNBA, particularly if drafted by the Tulsa Shock who hold the number 2 pick.
“I don’t want to play at Tulsa,” Cambage recently told the Herald Sun. “I’ve made that clear. They want to make me a franchise player, but I’m not going to the WNBA for that.”
Although in many ways it’s somewhat of a shame Cambage has taken this attitude towards Tulsa, the reality for Cambage (and for many teenaged professional athletes for that matter) is that the city of Tulsa in Oklahoma holds little to no appeal. Nor do the Shock, who relocated from Detroit last year and posted a league worst 6-28 record in their first season and attracted among the league’s smallest crowds, averaging just over 4,000 per game.
Predictably Cambage has stated a preference for playing in Los Angeles with the Sparks, cheekily suggesting she’d “look good in purple and yellow”. Indeed Los Angeles would hold plenty of appeal for any of the potential draftees based on it being a successful franchise which consistently features in the playoffs and who regularly attracts crowds in excess of 10,000.
The trouble for Cambage however is that the two-time WNBA champion Sparks won’t have a pick until selection 5 by which time it’s highly likely Cambage, with her size, ability and limitless potential would have already been snapped up. In essence the only conceivable way Cambage could find herself in LA would be as a result of a very complicated, multi-team draft day trade and based solely on how desperately the Sparks want the services of the 203cm starlet.
In the event Los Angeles doesn’t make a move for Cambage, her next best option could be the Chicago Sky who hold the 3rd pick in the draft and could appeal to Cambage based on being a far larger, much more cosmopolitan destination than Tulsa. Once again however, Chicago, like Tulsa, has struggled since their inception in 2006 having never made the playoffs and who attract even fewer fans than the Shock. In addition Chicago, like Tulsa, would certainly be requiring a greater and more immediate contribution from Cambage should she be drafted.
It all makes for a genuinely exciting, however agonising wait for Cambage who for a rare time must endure the experience of having absolutely no control over a situation. The wait will end Tuesday, having hopefully proven worthwhile.
Having just completed a dominant season for the recently crowned WNBL premier Bulleen, Cambage was on Monday night voted the league’s Most Valuable Player.
The next step in the 19 year old’s bright future will take place next Tuesday when the WNBA, the world's premier female basketball competition, conducts its 15th annual draft. It’s an event which owing to the league’s increasing popularity will be screened live from ESPN’s Connecticut studios for the first time and where many analysts have Cambage rated as a top 3 prospect.
Cambage left for the U.S with her mother Julie the morning after winning the MVP and although excited about the trip she has some reservations about playing in the WNBA, particularly if drafted by the Tulsa Shock who hold the number 2 pick.
“I don’t want to play at Tulsa,” Cambage recently told the Herald Sun. “I’ve made that clear. They want to make me a franchise player, but I’m not going to the WNBA for that.”
Although in many ways it’s somewhat of a shame Cambage has taken this attitude towards Tulsa, the reality for Cambage (and for many teenaged professional athletes for that matter) is that the city of Tulsa in Oklahoma holds little to no appeal. Nor do the Shock, who relocated from Detroit last year and posted a league worst 6-28 record in their first season and attracted among the league’s smallest crowds, averaging just over 4,000 per game.
Predictably Cambage has stated a preference for playing in Los Angeles with the Sparks, cheekily suggesting she’d “look good in purple and yellow”. Indeed Los Angeles would hold plenty of appeal for any of the potential draftees based on it being a successful franchise which consistently features in the playoffs and who regularly attracts crowds in excess of 10,000.
The trouble for Cambage however is that the two-time WNBA champion Sparks won’t have a pick until selection 5 by which time it’s highly likely Cambage, with her size, ability and limitless potential would have already been snapped up. In essence the only conceivable way Cambage could find herself in LA would be as a result of a very complicated, multi-team draft day trade and based solely on how desperately the Sparks want the services of the 203cm starlet.
In the event Los Angeles doesn’t make a move for Cambage, her next best option could be the Chicago Sky who hold the 3rd pick in the draft and could appeal to Cambage based on being a far larger, much more cosmopolitan destination than Tulsa. Once again however, Chicago, like Tulsa, has struggled since their inception in 2006 having never made the playoffs and who attract even fewer fans than the Shock. In addition Chicago, like Tulsa, would certainly be requiring a greater and more immediate contribution from Cambage should she be drafted.
It all makes for a genuinely exciting, however agonising wait for Cambage who for a rare time must endure the experience of having absolutely no control over a situation. The wait will end Tuesday, having hopefully proven worthwhile.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Victory's loss highlights some serious concerns
It’d be easy to dismiss Melbourne Victory’s 2-1 Asian Champions League loss last night to Jeju United of South Korea as something of a natural and acceptable outcome considering the events of the past week at the club.
As the expected effect of a coaching change and the general confusion which comes when the manager you’ve had for more than six years is suddenly axed by an administration who’s been at the helm for less than six weeks.
Unfortunately such thinking would be excusable only at the most amateur level sporting club and not for a professional entity in a must win ACL game. The reality is last night’s loss only confirmed just how serious some of the concerns are at the A-League’s once strongest club.
Not only does last night’s loss illuminate some of the significant problems related to the current composition of the Melbourne side, but the pitiful crowd of under 5,000 coupled with season long, relatively small attendances have many understandably and justifiably questioning the relevance and direction of the Victory within the so called sporting capital of Australia.
Despite suggestions going into last night’s game from caretaker coach Mehmet Durakovic that there’d be some significant changes to the Melbourne squad, things were pretty much left untouched.
With the exception of sending out a team which had a far more responsible shape and structure to it, Durakovic’s starting line-up hardly differed from Merrick’s with the average age of the team being more than 30 and with just 3 players under the age of 25.
Last night’s match further illustrated that Merrick had squeezed virtually every last drop out of the squad, and with the exception of Marvin Angulo who was deployed in an advanced role and granted far more responsibility and appreciation than Merrick ever gave him, there was little evidence from last night’s game that Durakovic will be the Victory’s saviour. At least not with this group of players. It remains frustrating and frankly illogical how Kevin Muscat can still command a game despite having no future as a professional footballer, while it’s equally baffling that youth system players such as Diogo Ferreira and Petar Frajic, arguably Melbourne’s two brightest prospects, have been demoted to the bench for both ACL games and made to step aside for the likes of the former Victory captain.
What’s perhaps even more alarming than the current composition of the Melbourne squad and its imminent departure from the Champions League is the small crowd that turned up at the Docklands last night. Whether it’s a case of the Melbourne public yet to embrace the importance or lustre of the Asian Champions League or the circumstances surrounding mid-week sporting fixtures in this town, what can’t be ignored is that more than ever the Victory finds itself in a genuine struggle for relevance in a city never short on sports and sporting teams. No longer does the Victory have claims of being the only A-League team in Melbourne thanks to the successful advent of the Heart, but its battle with Rugby will now have to be fought on two fronts with the emergence of the Rebels in Super 15 competition. To say nothing of the dominance of the AFL which has has recently forced the A-League to completely overhaul its season dates from next season on.
All of these concerns, both from a team prespstctive and marketing point of view should be treated as huge challenges for the new Victory administration, already widely criticised for its botched handling of the Merrick sacking last week. Its challenge should be nothing short of a full-scale search which must be conducted far and wide to indentify precisely the right coach for this team. One who's first and foremost prepared to radically reconfigure if not deconstruct the Victory squad in additioning to selling his team and football philosophy to a city never short on choice.
As the expected effect of a coaching change and the general confusion which comes when the manager you’ve had for more than six years is suddenly axed by an administration who’s been at the helm for less than six weeks.
Unfortunately such thinking would be excusable only at the most amateur level sporting club and not for a professional entity in a must win ACL game. The reality is last night’s loss only confirmed just how serious some of the concerns are at the A-League’s once strongest club.
Not only does last night’s loss illuminate some of the significant problems related to the current composition of the Melbourne side, but the pitiful crowd of under 5,000 coupled with season long, relatively small attendances have many understandably and justifiably questioning the relevance and direction of the Victory within the so called sporting capital of Australia.
Despite suggestions going into last night’s game from caretaker coach Mehmet Durakovic that there’d be some significant changes to the Melbourne squad, things were pretty much left untouched.
With the exception of sending out a team which had a far more responsible shape and structure to it, Durakovic’s starting line-up hardly differed from Merrick’s with the average age of the team being more than 30 and with just 3 players under the age of 25.
Last night’s match further illustrated that Merrick had squeezed virtually every last drop out of the squad, and with the exception of Marvin Angulo who was deployed in an advanced role and granted far more responsibility and appreciation than Merrick ever gave him, there was little evidence from last night’s game that Durakovic will be the Victory’s saviour. At least not with this group of players. It remains frustrating and frankly illogical how Kevin Muscat can still command a game despite having no future as a professional footballer, while it’s equally baffling that youth system players such as Diogo Ferreira and Petar Frajic, arguably Melbourne’s two brightest prospects, have been demoted to the bench for both ACL games and made to step aside for the likes of the former Victory captain.
What’s perhaps even more alarming than the current composition of the Melbourne squad and its imminent departure from the Champions League is the small crowd that turned up at the Docklands last night. Whether it’s a case of the Melbourne public yet to embrace the importance or lustre of the Asian Champions League or the circumstances surrounding mid-week sporting fixtures in this town, what can’t be ignored is that more than ever the Victory finds itself in a genuine struggle for relevance in a city never short on sports and sporting teams. No longer does the Victory have claims of being the only A-League team in Melbourne thanks to the successful advent of the Heart, but its battle with Rugby will now have to be fought on two fronts with the emergence of the Rebels in Super 15 competition. To say nothing of the dominance of the AFL which has has recently forced the A-League to completely overhaul its season dates from next season on.
All of these concerns, both from a team prespstctive and marketing point of view should be treated as huge challenges for the new Victory administration, already widely criticised for its botched handling of the Merrick sacking last week. Its challenge should be nothing short of a full-scale search which must be conducted far and wide to indentify precisely the right coach for this team. One who's first and foremost prepared to radically reconfigure if not deconstruct the Victory squad in additioning to selling his team and football philosophy to a city never short on choice.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Where to now for the Victory?
Ernie Merrick’s firing at the hands of the new Melbourne Victory board over the weekend came as a great shock and one which has been treated, understandably, with great emotion.
From those who argue that the verdict was scandalous, spineless and handled pitifully to those who regarded the decision as a long time coming.
Either way Merrick’s sacking must be understood, brutal or not, as a natural outcome of modern sports. Coaches get sacked. And they get extensions too. The same goes for the players, same for the boards. Ditto the sponsors. It’s never pretty and rarely pleasant but a reality all the same.
In the case of Merrick’s dismissal the facts really do need to be put on the table. First and foremost and after six years of the A-League there’s been no coach who can boast a better record than him. None. Two premierships, two championships, doubles in both seasons and twelve months ago a third Grand Final appearance which ended with a penalty shoot-out loss to Sydney FC. Over the years Merrick’s had his critics but for the majority of time he was able to keep them at arm's length, the best possible way; By winning and for the most part playing what was until Postecoglou’s Brisbane came along this season, the most attractive style of domestic football this country had to offer.
In recent times though Merrick’s short comings have been all too obvious. Throughout the season and essentially from the Victory’s opening round draw with Sydney they’ve reeked of mediocrity. They’ve looked a long way from the standard set by the likes of Brisbane, Central Coast and Adelaide and relied on reputation all season to mask the fact they were nothing more than a mid-table side. His supporters blamed periodic injuries to the likes of Thompson and Kruse for halting momentum but the fact was Merrick had no answer for the increasingly modern, quicker and more accountable game being employed by his rivals. He couldn’t or wouldn’t settle on a definitive structure let alone a discernible formation. Save from an early season victory over Brisbane and the jaw dropping form of Robbie Kruse there were few highlights for Melbourne this campaign.
What ultimately however led to Merrick’s firing was his inability to look anything but tactically amateurish when it came to the Asian Champions League. After two previous ACL failures it was widely assumed that Melbourne would be far better equipped this time around for the subtleties of continental football having had two previous cracks. Instead, Melbourne began their ACL season a fortnight ago with a trip to Osaka which ended with a 5-1 demolition which was as close to a sporting humiliation as one’s ever likely to witness. Merrick sent out an attack minded formation which left the midfield blatantly exposed, which returned resident psychopath Kevin Muscat to central defence without having played in weeks and which featured Captain Adrian Leijer in midfield where he’s rarely played. Within ten minutes of the opening whistle the Victory had conceded three goals and their campaign was once again in disarray. If Merrick’s firing was motivated exclusively by his performances in Asia, which should be the pinnacle for all A-League clubs, then the decision was surely justified for he failed miserably. The Osaka nightmare was the icing on the cake.
The question in the wake of Merrick’s dismissal is where does this leave the Melbourne Victory? The answer is at something of a crossroads. Merrick’s axing was handled extremely poorly by the new management both with its attempts to suggest the decision was mutual (total garbage) and its arrogant timing which opted to announce the decision the day before the A-League Grand Final, demanding, if only momentarily, that the spotlight move away from the excellent deeds of Brisbane and the Central Coast and to the petulance and desperation of a new board intent on having its voice heard.
What Melbourne now has is former youth team coach Mehmet Durakovioc at the helm to try to get the Victory’s Asian campaign back on course. To do that he’ll have five ACL matches to win over the new board and the fans. So far the former Scocceroo has made all the right noises by being respectful of Merrick’s legacy and by stating a preferred formation and footballing philosophy which preaches quick ball movement, a greater emphasis on the midfield and an apparent return to the centre of defence for Leijer.
While Durakovic will have until late May to prove he’s a viable candidate for the job on a full time basis the board will need to work extremely hard to make up for their own clumsy introduction to the Australian football world by keeping their heads down and going about the business of finding the right coach to take Melbourne back to the top of Australian football.
From those who argue that the verdict was scandalous, spineless and handled pitifully to those who regarded the decision as a long time coming.
Either way Merrick’s sacking must be understood, brutal or not, as a natural outcome of modern sports. Coaches get sacked. And they get extensions too. The same goes for the players, same for the boards. Ditto the sponsors. It’s never pretty and rarely pleasant but a reality all the same.
In the case of Merrick’s dismissal the facts really do need to be put on the table. First and foremost and after six years of the A-League there’s been no coach who can boast a better record than him. None. Two premierships, two championships, doubles in both seasons and twelve months ago a third Grand Final appearance which ended with a penalty shoot-out loss to Sydney FC. Over the years Merrick’s had his critics but for the majority of time he was able to keep them at arm's length, the best possible way; By winning and for the most part playing what was until Postecoglou’s Brisbane came along this season, the most attractive style of domestic football this country had to offer.
In recent times though Merrick’s short comings have been all too obvious. Throughout the season and essentially from the Victory’s opening round draw with Sydney they’ve reeked of mediocrity. They’ve looked a long way from the standard set by the likes of Brisbane, Central Coast and Adelaide and relied on reputation all season to mask the fact they were nothing more than a mid-table side. His supporters blamed periodic injuries to the likes of Thompson and Kruse for halting momentum but the fact was Merrick had no answer for the increasingly modern, quicker and more accountable game being employed by his rivals. He couldn’t or wouldn’t settle on a definitive structure let alone a discernible formation. Save from an early season victory over Brisbane and the jaw dropping form of Robbie Kruse there were few highlights for Melbourne this campaign.
What ultimately however led to Merrick’s firing was his inability to look anything but tactically amateurish when it came to the Asian Champions League. After two previous ACL failures it was widely assumed that Melbourne would be far better equipped this time around for the subtleties of continental football having had two previous cracks. Instead, Melbourne began their ACL season a fortnight ago with a trip to Osaka which ended with a 5-1 demolition which was as close to a sporting humiliation as one’s ever likely to witness. Merrick sent out an attack minded formation which left the midfield blatantly exposed, which returned resident psychopath Kevin Muscat to central defence without having played in weeks and which featured Captain Adrian Leijer in midfield where he’s rarely played. Within ten minutes of the opening whistle the Victory had conceded three goals and their campaign was once again in disarray. If Merrick’s firing was motivated exclusively by his performances in Asia, which should be the pinnacle for all A-League clubs, then the decision was surely justified for he failed miserably. The Osaka nightmare was the icing on the cake.
The question in the wake of Merrick’s dismissal is where does this leave the Melbourne Victory? The answer is at something of a crossroads. Merrick’s axing was handled extremely poorly by the new management both with its attempts to suggest the decision was mutual (total garbage) and its arrogant timing which opted to announce the decision the day before the A-League Grand Final, demanding, if only momentarily, that the spotlight move away from the excellent deeds of Brisbane and the Central Coast and to the petulance and desperation of a new board intent on having its voice heard.
What Melbourne now has is former youth team coach Mehmet Durakovioc at the helm to try to get the Victory’s Asian campaign back on course. To do that he’ll have five ACL matches to win over the new board and the fans. So far the former Scocceroo has made all the right noises by being respectful of Merrick’s legacy and by stating a preferred formation and footballing philosophy which preaches quick ball movement, a greater emphasis on the midfield and an apparent return to the centre of defence for Leijer.
While Durakovic will have until late May to prove he’s a viable candidate for the job on a full time basis the board will need to work extremely hard to make up for their own clumsy introduction to the Australian football world by keeping their heads down and going about the business of finding the right coach to take Melbourne back to the top of Australian football.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Aussie Osieck
Yesterday afternoon the attention of the Australian soccer world was fixed, of all places, on Ljubljana, Slovenia to learn of the appointment of the new Socceroos coach, German, Holger Osieck.
Those who tuned in to the announcement have been waiting and speculating on this hiring even before the World Cup began after it had become clear that Verbeek neither wanted the job (or was likely to retain the gig) post-South Africa.
In recent times frustration had increased as we headed toward our first post-Pim engagement in Slovenia with the less than appropriate circumstance of an interim coach in charge.
However frustration was eased when FFA Head Honcho Frank Lowy confirmed the appointment via satellite from Slovenia to a room full of soccer journalists in Sydney. As ever Lowy was agitated, uncomfortable and unreasonably angry at the conference and instead of breaking the news about the man sitting to his right he was initially and seemingly far more concerned about a technical glitch which Frank insisted was causing him to continually hear his own voice in his ears. Ahh, billionaires....
But in reality perhaps Frank had every reason to be a little irritated. After all by my estimations the local time in Slovenia was around six in the morning while more importantly for Frank its both his money and his footballing reputation on the line here. It was his final decision which will not so much determine how enormous soccer will become in this country (because it will with or without him) but a decision which will very much determine how quickly it happens.
At this stage I'm of the opinion Osieck's hiring will indeed get us there much quicker.
Now I'll be the first to raise my hand to declare that the moment I heard Osieck's name I had to start googling. And I bet I wasn't the only one. And truth be told his Wikipedia entry isn't all that glowing. Not in comparison with the Le Guens, Pekeremans and Bielsas of the world who had continually been linked with the job. But then again, should it?
After all did Australia want or need their most important hiring of all time to be someone who's already had a more important, more illustrious position? I don't think so. Sort of like hiring Del Bosque now. Indeed in hiring the 61 year-old Osieck we've handed the Homberg born Virgo the biggest and most scrutinised national coaching job in this country and in turn the biggest job he'll ever hold in his professional life. Which is something, seeing as though we may scoff that Osieck's most high profile pre-Socceroo job was his time in charge of the Canadian national team, it was an appointment in which he did bring Canada their greatest footballing triumph by was winning the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. A tournament the Maple Leafs had never won, and haven't won since, and one achieved through shocking regional super power Mexico in the semi final. Osieck's other major appointment, that of Japanese club giants Urwawa Red Diamonds was significantly successful, finishing just two points from the top in his inaugural J-League season before triumphing in the Asian Champions League the following year, guiding the Tokyo club undefeated and to their first and only ACL crown. Osieck got them back to the semi finals of the ACL a year later. Since he left Urawa in 2008 they've neither returned to play ACL football or finished any higher than 6th in the league. To say he's being missed in both Canada and at Urawa would be quite an understatement.
Osieck looked calm and composed, confident and receptive in his press conference yesterday. He handled Frank's petulance with a wry smile and when asked questions by the Australian media he fielded them without the veil of scorn which marked his predecessor's public appearances. He spoke glowingly of the Asian football region which he of course knows well and thanked the FFA for launching the A-League which Osieck's sure to be far more engaged with. When he fielded questions about defensive orientated football Osieck stated that he's taken the job with no rigid technical ideas, and that it was in fact the players and talent at his disposal who would largely determine how the team plays. More than anything Osieck stressed adaptability and individuality. As in the ability to be able to attack when necessary and to defend accordingly. The triumph of individuality will no doubt be music to the likes of Nicky Carle and Alex Brosque who's chances of being part of our 2011 Asian Cup campaign have certainly been done no harm.
Osieck's hiring is exciting for the Soccerooos and provides all of us who care deeply about soccer in this country great hope. Now's the time to neither glorify or criticise what either of the previous two Dutchmen were about or even to speculate on the seven identities of the men who didn't get the job. Perhaps we should instead take comfort in Lowy's final words which stated that he'd indeed contacted German football leviathan Franz Beckenbauer in recent weeks but only to question him regarding Osieck. Beckenbauer gave him a glowing endorsement.
For the moment, and like we did with Hiddink and Verbeek we need to hand over the keys and let the coach go about his very important business. If we don't like what he's doing we'll reserve the right to criticise. Hopefully it won't be for a very long time, if at all, and if so it'll preferably be received in the spirit it was intended. For now however Osieck's got the Asian Cup to prepare for in January which will be an assignment of critical importance.
Congratulations Holger Osieck and welcome to the Socceroos.
Those who tuned in to the announcement have been waiting and speculating on this hiring even before the World Cup began after it had become clear that Verbeek neither wanted the job (or was likely to retain the gig) post-South Africa.
In recent times frustration had increased as we headed toward our first post-Pim engagement in Slovenia with the less than appropriate circumstance of an interim coach in charge.
However frustration was eased when FFA Head Honcho Frank Lowy confirmed the appointment via satellite from Slovenia to a room full of soccer journalists in Sydney. As ever Lowy was agitated, uncomfortable and unreasonably angry at the conference and instead of breaking the news about the man sitting to his right he was initially and seemingly far more concerned about a technical glitch which Frank insisted was causing him to continually hear his own voice in his ears. Ahh, billionaires....
But in reality perhaps Frank had every reason to be a little irritated. After all by my estimations the local time in Slovenia was around six in the morning while more importantly for Frank its both his money and his footballing reputation on the line here. It was his final decision which will not so much determine how enormous soccer will become in this country (because it will with or without him) but a decision which will very much determine how quickly it happens.
At this stage I'm of the opinion Osieck's hiring will indeed get us there much quicker.
Now I'll be the first to raise my hand to declare that the moment I heard Osieck's name I had to start googling. And I bet I wasn't the only one. And truth be told his Wikipedia entry isn't all that glowing. Not in comparison with the Le Guens, Pekeremans and Bielsas of the world who had continually been linked with the job. But then again, should it?
After all did Australia want or need their most important hiring of all time to be someone who's already had a more important, more illustrious position? I don't think so. Sort of like hiring Del Bosque now. Indeed in hiring the 61 year-old Osieck we've handed the Homberg born Virgo the biggest and most scrutinised national coaching job in this country and in turn the biggest job he'll ever hold in his professional life. Which is something, seeing as though we may scoff that Osieck's most high profile pre-Socceroo job was his time in charge of the Canadian national team, it was an appointment in which he did bring Canada their greatest footballing triumph by was winning the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. A tournament the Maple Leafs had never won, and haven't won since, and one achieved through shocking regional super power Mexico in the semi final. Osieck's other major appointment, that of Japanese club giants Urwawa Red Diamonds was significantly successful, finishing just two points from the top in his inaugural J-League season before triumphing in the Asian Champions League the following year, guiding the Tokyo club undefeated and to their first and only ACL crown. Osieck got them back to the semi finals of the ACL a year later. Since he left Urawa in 2008 they've neither returned to play ACL football or finished any higher than 6th in the league. To say he's being missed in both Canada and at Urawa would be quite an understatement.
Osieck looked calm and composed, confident and receptive in his press conference yesterday. He handled Frank's petulance with a wry smile and when asked questions by the Australian media he fielded them without the veil of scorn which marked his predecessor's public appearances. He spoke glowingly of the Asian football region which he of course knows well and thanked the FFA for launching the A-League which Osieck's sure to be far more engaged with. When he fielded questions about defensive orientated football Osieck stated that he's taken the job with no rigid technical ideas, and that it was in fact the players and talent at his disposal who would largely determine how the team plays. More than anything Osieck stressed adaptability and individuality. As in the ability to be able to attack when necessary and to defend accordingly. The triumph of individuality will no doubt be music to the likes of Nicky Carle and Alex Brosque who's chances of being part of our 2011 Asian Cup campaign have certainly been done no harm.
Osieck's hiring is exciting for the Soccerooos and provides all of us who care deeply about soccer in this country great hope. Now's the time to neither glorify or criticise what either of the previous two Dutchmen were about or even to speculate on the seven identities of the men who didn't get the job. Perhaps we should instead take comfort in Lowy's final words which stated that he'd indeed contacted German football leviathan Franz Beckenbauer in recent weeks but only to question him regarding Osieck. Beckenbauer gave him a glowing endorsement.
For the moment, and like we did with Hiddink and Verbeek we need to hand over the keys and let the coach go about his very important business. If we don't like what he's doing we'll reserve the right to criticise. Hopefully it won't be for a very long time, if at all, and if so it'll preferably be received in the spirit it was intended. For now however Osieck's got the Asian Cup to prepare for in January which will be an assignment of critical importance.
Congratulations Holger Osieck and welcome to the Socceroos.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Troubling signs for Fremantle
Fremantle has spent the entire 2010 season in the top 4, an area of the ladder the Dockers are historically unfamiliar with. Eleven wins so far, an attacking game which is ranked 3rd for points scored and 2nd for kicking the ball long, and on the back of having faith in its promoted youth, its brave and commendable use of the rookie list and through the continued excellence of Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands. It's form which has resulted in a contract extension for coach Harvey and a re-evaluation about the potential of this habitually underperforming club. Unfortunately for the Dockers however it's by looking at the club's performance in the ever important contested football category which may signal that their time in the top 4 may be running out.
As it stands the Dockers are allowing their opponents an average advantage of 8.9 contested possessions per game, an area where only the free falling Brisbane Lions are fairing worse. Most alarming for the Dockers is that in the past decade only 17 teams have finished their campaigns conceding more than 8 contested possessions a game to their opponents. Only 2 of those 17 went on to play finals. Significantly, only one (the Bulldogs in 2006) went on to win a match in September, and only to be bundled out the following week by 12 goals. The inability to win 50-50 ball at this level has more often than not spelled failure for most teams.
The Dockers have won the contested count in just 5 of their matches this season. They've only two players ranked in the league's top 50 for winning contested ball. Their highest ranked was rookie sensation Michael Barlow whose sickening knee injury has ruled him out for the rest of the season. Next best is Sandilands who at 211cm tall really shouldn't be the man relied upon to win the type of ball generally fought for at ground level. The Docker's third best performer in the contested possession stakes is Pavlich who's surely much better served plying his trade in the forward line where without his 44 goals, Fremantle's position in the top 4, let alone the 8, would be suspect.
Fremantle's admirable youth, run and long ball attributes won't take them far without being complimented by at least a moderately effective contested possession game, particularly down the stretch. They will play finals in 2010 however if they don't improve their ability to win contested possession significantly, then they've no solid claims to trouble anyone once there.
As it stands the Dockers are allowing their opponents an average advantage of 8.9 contested possessions per game, an area where only the free falling Brisbane Lions are fairing worse. Most alarming for the Dockers is that in the past decade only 17 teams have finished their campaigns conceding more than 8 contested possessions a game to their opponents. Only 2 of those 17 went on to play finals. Significantly, only one (the Bulldogs in 2006) went on to win a match in September, and only to be bundled out the following week by 12 goals. The inability to win 50-50 ball at this level has more often than not spelled failure for most teams.
The Dockers have won the contested count in just 5 of their matches this season. They've only two players ranked in the league's top 50 for winning contested ball. Their highest ranked was rookie sensation Michael Barlow whose sickening knee injury has ruled him out for the rest of the season. Next best is Sandilands who at 211cm tall really shouldn't be the man relied upon to win the type of ball generally fought for at ground level. The Docker's third best performer in the contested possession stakes is Pavlich who's surely much better served plying his trade in the forward line where without his 44 goals, Fremantle's position in the top 4, let alone the 8, would be suspect.
Fremantle's admirable youth, run and long ball attributes won't take them far without being complimented by at least a moderately effective contested possession game, particularly down the stretch. They will play finals in 2010 however if they don't improve their ability to win contested possession significantly, then they've no solid claims to trouble anyone once there.
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