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Monday 20 October 2008

Enjoy the 2010 World Cup..it could be our last

I spent years telling everyone I knew that Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell were good enough to get this country to a World Cup.

With other players in Serie A, EPL, SPL and Eredivision it wasn't hard to see the potential.

After all even good old Ireland had made it with many lesser known stars and no-one with the individual talent of Kewell or Viduka.

Most non-football Aussies smiled and just shook their head.

Okay I was right, but what about after the 2010 World Cup.....we ain't going anywhere are we......

Our Under 17's aren't going to any World Cup after last weeks performance,
Under 20's well they might but do we have another Kewell, I'm not hearing it if we do are you, and the Olyroos were rubbish with only Matthew Spiranovic among the outfield players worth truly considering for future stardom.

So enjoy South Africa 2010 because there is no way we are going in 2014 and we may well need to host the thing to get there again.

Don't believe me?

Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill, Vinny Grella, Scott Chipperfield, Marco Bresciano, Archie Thompson, Craig Moore, Mark Scharwer, Brett Emerton, Jason Culina will all retire after South Africa. Age and travel will weary them. And if it doesn't they won't have much left in the tank for another four years, not all of them.

If Cahill was bursting through last World Cup, Scott Chipperfield and Lucas Neill were adding to Kewell and Viduka's depth but where are our next generation of top line players coming from

They all need to be playing Champions League, EPL or some other such fine divisions if we are to push on after South Africa.

Bruce Djite may come good and push into a higher league. Nathan Burns has yet to play. Carl Valeri and Brett Holman both need to take another step or two.

Matthew Spiranovic we need him to keep growing, but will he be on his own?

Who else will crack the EPL?

Adrian Leijer? James Holland not sure, Mark Milligan, I doubt it.

Adam Federici is a hope.

So here's my team for post-2010.

Federici,

Carney, yes we'll still need him, Spiranovic, Milligan/North, Wilkshire, yes we'll need to keep him as well!

In midfield James Holland, I'm not sure yet, Carl Valeri, Jason Culina still going?, Neil Kilkenny you are joking, Stuart Musialik..forget it, Ben Kantarovski only 16 so who knows.

Upfront Bruce Djite..will he really come back to play with this lot, James Troisi, Matt Simon, at top level I doubt it. Will Josh Kennedy's frail body really hold up?

How many of them will crack the top leagues by then? Few if any. Certainly none to compare to the current list in my view.

How many other potential stars have I missed? Nikita Rukavystya, Nicky Ward, Mile Jedinak, Shannon Cole, Michael Zullo..not at the level we are talking about are they?

That's my worry...I might have missed some but they are hardly stars are they?

Enjoy South Africa I will, because there is no way we are going again for a long time unless you know something I don't.

And the growth of the game will slow post-South Africa, no wonder we need to bid for the 2018 World Cup..at least that way we'll only miss one!


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

not going to 2014?

i think we`ll get there, but we won`t turn any heads at the big event.

i see a less talented, but more organised Australia team in the future. it`ll be just as athletic as now, and more players will have better basic technique.

too many guys are sitting on benches. carl valeri got it very right going to grosseto. spira at nuremberg? looking good. adrian leijer? david williams? wrong choices.

a handful of guys playing regularly in minor euroleagues, some euroleague bench players who get some time in league matches and cup matches, plus another couple starting regularly in the j-league. and the rest made up of the best of the a-league ... that should get us to the world cup.

eddy bosnar will probably be joined by travis dodd soon in the j-league ... that 4th AFC import spot should see a couple more aussies join up.

the quality of the a-league is paramount ... if it goes up, we have a better overall talent base, and a better shop window for young talent.

i think next year`s asian cup campaign (mainly non fifa dates) will give us a good idea of what that less talented, non-magical future looks like.

clayton
ramblingobsessive.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

Australian's are traditionally late developers, most of our players don't make a breakthrough to the top leagues until their mid 20s. Neill, Cahill, Grella, Bresciano, Valeri, Wilkshire, McDonald have all spent a few years in lower leagues around Europe. Only Kewell (Leeds) and Emerton (Feyenoord) made an impact in the big leagues at an early age.

6 years ago Cahill was only just breaking through at Millwall, Grella and Bresciano played Serie B for Empoli, Wilkshire played for Middlesborough reserves, Scott McDonald was at Huddersfield, Valeri and Carney were youth team players at Inter and Everton who would ultimately never get near the first team, Culina was an Ajax reject on loan at some mediocre dutch club.

In 6 years time, who's to say that Patafta and Troisi couldn't do what Valeri and Carney have done. Maybe some of the Aussies playing in the lower leagues of England will step up like Cahill, Wilkshire and McDonald did.

There's no need to to panic just yet.

Eamonn said...

mmm maybe you are right, but Aussie Under 17 made the World Cup final and Kennedy and Macca were in that side and have come good,

Patafta was a standout in Under 17 World Cup recently but seems to be struggling to make the grade at the moment...

thing is there aren't that many young guns around the lower leagues who could go to the next level..

Vidosic, Williams, Holman, Valeri, Troisi, Djite, Kruse, Burns, Rukavystya maybe they'll all be in Premier Leagues come 2014...

okay not panicking yet but not excited either by the achievements of our young players a s a group yet

Anonymous said...

how old is parick krisnorbo? and does anyone see any potential in him.

I'm a late round ball convert so still learning the game myself but krisnorbo throughly impressed me in a friendly against (Ghana, i think) in england a while back. this it was played at QPR ground.
anyway he seemed to have great potential and he's playing somewhere in europe (sweeden?) aint he?

what are his chances?

Eamonn said...

He's at Leicester been out injured. After the Asia Cup i think he has a long long way to go to give us much confidence...

and Spiranovic has jumped ahead already most people would think

Anonymous said...

Judging youth team results isn't the best barometer for success. Bresciano, Culina, Grella, Neill, Emerton, plus Viduka and Skoko as overage players were all in the Olyroos team that lost all 3 games on home soil in 2000 (including a loss against Honduras!). That side went on to make up the core of our team in Germany.

Eamonn said...

Judging youth team results isn't the best barometer..agreed but from the list you mention

watching those guys perform in the old NSL was a good barometer

Emerton Culina Viduka particulaly were noticeably talented...

so who in the current A-League or over the last few years has stood out and looks a similar prospect to any of those you mention

Ben Kantarovski..after two games I say definitely...Dario Vidosic..maybe, Rukavystya possibly, but there aren't many that come to my mind. Billy Celeski...could improve..and few to match those you mention

Burns and Djite...Robbie Kruse all could go further.

Taj Minniecon could develop but seems lightweight to go to the next level..

Midfielders? Holland probably the best bet.

Maybe there are more potential players than I think..but if Youth teams aren't a true indicator the national league definitely is and there aren't many young fellas showing us the talent to go to Grella and Emerton heights are there?