Olyroo Squad Review

[admin]

Not sure who this person is but they have put together a pretty accurate review of the Olyroo squad going to the Olympics:

http://foggyatnight.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... -look.html

Saturday, 5 July 2008
The Olympic Squad, An In Depth Look
Ok, so the dust has settled a little on the Olympic squad that Graham Arnold has selected but that certainly doesn't mean that the questions have gone away. So let's have a closer look at the lucky 18 who are making there way to Beijing.

Adam Federici
Age: 23
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Reading FC (Coca-Cola Championship, England)
Olyroo caps: 0
Socceroo caps: 0

Federici is a fairly obvious choice at goalkeeper with Danny Vukovic now unavailable. However the biggest question mark over him is whether he is actually ready. Has played minimal first team football for Reading as he has continued to be the understudy to Marcus Hahnemann, and has not played at national team level since playing for the under 20s. A good keeper but does have a question mark over him due to the lack of first team football and international experience.

Tando Velaphi
Age: 21
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Perth Glory (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 1
Socceroo caps: 0

Velaphi is a talented young keeper from Perth who burst onto the scene when on loan to the Roar in season two of the A-League. Tando has been the understudy to Vukovic for some time and now finds himself consigned to the number two position behind Federici. He has yet to fully establish himself in Perth and does have some question marks over his readiness for a tournament of this magnitude. Has not been playing regular for the Olyroos in recent times as Arnold has looked at other keepers.

Jade North
Age: 26
Position: Central Defender, Right Fullback
Club: Newcastle Jets (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 15, 1 goal
Socceroo caps: 22

One of Arnold's three over age players, North now heads to his second Olympics having previously been in the squad in Athens. In and out of the national team he has burst into the side in the last six months and seemingly established himself as a regular. Tipped by many to captain the side in Beijing, North brings experience, quality, composure and leadership to the side.

Mark Milligan
Age: 22
Position: Central Defender, Defensive Midfield, Right Fullback
Club: Uncontracted
Olroo caps: 11, 5 goals
Socceroo caps: 5

Arnold's captain throughout the qualification campaign Milligan may now be forced to handover the role to North. Has been a strong performer at national team level but struggled last season at Sydney FC and has also fallen out of favour with Pim Verbeek and is yet to appear under him. Has shown a lack of discipline and a penchant for erratic behaviour having walked out on Sydney to trial in France only to walk out of the trial. Skipped an Olyroo camp to trial in England earlier this year and may be a little lucky to still have made the cut. Will be vying for a spot alongside with the emerging presence of Matthew Spiranovic. Milligan must have a big Olympics to enable himself to secure a decent contract in Europe.

Adrian Leijer
Age: 22
Position; Central Defender
Club: Fulham FC (Premier League, England)
Olyroo caps: 18, 1 goal
Socceroo caps: 1

Leijer has struggled for football since moving to England and has also been hampered by niggling injuries. He is always a strong performer for the Olympic team and will be pushing hard for one of the starting spots in the centre of defence. Strong and dependable, he may be forced onto the bench however.

Matthew Spiranovic
Age: 20
Position: Central Defender
Club: FC Nurnberg (Bundesliga 2, Germany)
Olyroo caps: 1
Socceroo caps: 2

One of Australia's brightest young stars, Spiranovic has established himself as a regular in the Bundesliga. Unfortunately missed a lot of last season due to injury he is expected to be a mainstay of Nurnberg's relegated side next season. Has looked comfortable and composed in playing with the Socceroos and should be the first choice to start alongside North in defence.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley
Age: 23
Position: left Fullback, Central Defender
Club: Perth Glory (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 19, 4 goals
Socceroo caps: 3

Topor-Stanley has been a fixture on the left of the Olyroo defence for some time so his selection comes as no surprise. Has been given chances by Verbeek with the full national team and is a regular in the A-League. Not always the most convincing of fullbacks he should still be the first choice in that postion I would expect.

Trent McLenahan
Age: 23
Position: Right Fullback
Club: Hereford United (League Two, England)
Olyroo caps: 12
Socceroo caps: 0

A regular starter for Arnold the former West Ham trainee is probably the most under-rated player in the squad. A dependable, no frills player rumour has it that he has no intention of returning to the Bulls where he is out of contract. So there is every chance that he is viewing the Olympics as a chance to put himself in the shop window and move to a bigger club. Should start regularly on the right of defence throughout the tournament.

Ruben Zadkovich
Age: 22
Position: Right Fullback, Right Midfield
Club: Derby County (Coca-Cola Championship, England)
Olyroo caps: 17
Socceroo caps: 1

Recently signed by Derby, Zadkovich is another of Arnold's regulars who retains his place in the squad. Viewed by many as one of Australia's more over-rated players, Zadkovich has a bit of a habit of going missing in the big games and can also suffer from a lack of discipline and poor decision making. Likely to play second fiddle to the more reliable McLenahan, Zadkovich may get his chance if Arnold decides he needs another option on the right side of attack.

Stuart Musialik
Age: 23
Position: Central Midfield
Club: Sydney FC (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 9
Socceroo caps: 0

Musialik, like Milligan, may be a bit lucky to be in the squad having failed to attend a camp earlier in the year. Back in favour, he is a talented midfielder who can play as the link man between defence and attack. Musialik should be a regular starter at the Olympics in a postion where Arnold has limited his options.

Neil Kilkenny
Age: 22
Position: Central Midfield
Club: Leeds United (League One, England)
Olroo caps: 4
Soccreoo caps: 2

Kilkenny has established himself in the lower leagues of England and is considered a talented, creative midfielder. Came into the Leeds side as they hit a mid-season slump, but he was at the heart of their charge to the promotion play-offs and is now considered by manager Gary McAllister as an integral part of his squad. Should be teaming up with Musialik in the centre of midfield and will look to instigate much of Australia's attack. Kilkenny is also a regular set piece taker for Leeds.

David Carney
Age: 24
Position: Left Wing, Left Midfield, Left Fullback
Club: Sheffield United (Coca-Cola Championship, England)
Olyroo caps: 0
Socceroo caps: 12, 1 goal

Now a regular for the Socceroos, Carney goes to the Olympics as the second of Arnold's over-age players. He can play all the way up the left side and could also be switched onto the right wing. He gives Arnold options in attack and defence but really needs to step up to the challenge as one of the squad's senior players. Most likely to be used in attack he needs to pin the ears back and start taking on players and beating them to give us some chance of cracking the oppostion defences open.

James Troisi
Age: 20
Position: Left Wing
Club: Uncontracted
Olyroo caps: 6, 2 goals
Socceroo caps: 3

Rated highly by many, Troisi is currently without a club and needs a big Olympics to enable himself to tie up a new deal in Europe. Has yet to fully impress with the national team, and like Carney needs to start having a crack at defenders to really impress. Could well start most matches on the left wing with Carney on the right.

Kristian Sarkies
Age: 21
Position: Central Attacking Midfield
Club: Adelaide United (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 15, 6 goals
Socceroo caps: 2

Somewhat underwelming at club level, Sarkies seems to save his best for the national team. He has been a regular under Arnold and should play a regular role in Beijing. Has a big reputation for his set pieces that he does not always deliver on.

Billy Celeski
Age: 22
Position: Central Attacking Midfield
Club: Melbourne Victory (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 3
Socceroo caps: 0

Probably the biggest surprise of all Arnold's selections is Billy Celeski. A talented attacking midfielder who was one of Perth's best last A-League season. With very little presious experience in the Olympic side Celeski has bolted into the side seemingly at the expense of Nathan Burns. He will need a big tournament to convince most that this was the right selection.

Mark Bridge
Age: 22
Position: Striker
Club: Sydney FC (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 15, 3 goals
Socceroo caps: 2

Bridge is another of Arnold's regulars and was always expected to be on the plane to Beijing. Not a prolific goal scorer Bridge may be used more to hold the ball up at the front. He will be using the Olympics to help force his way up the pecking order at Sydney. Bridge can score some good goals and is one of our better players on the ball.

Archie Thompson
Age: 29
Postion: Striker
Club: Melbourne Victory (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 7
Socceroo caps: 30, 21 goals

Thompson is Arnold's final over-age player and perhaps his most controversial selection. Currently struggling with injury, Thompson faces a race to be fully fit for Beijing. Thompson can be a prolific goal scorer though he has yet to really step up and convince against quality opposition. One of only three out and out strikers it is unliley that he would be used as a lone striker so he may be given a spot on the right wing. A poor Olympics could consign him to the national team scrap heap.

Nikita Rukavytsya
Age: 21
Postion: Striker
Club: Perth Glory (A-League)
Olyroo caps: 6, 1 goal
Socceroos caps: 0

An exciting young striker of Ukrainian heritage from Perth, Rukavytsya's selection was a refreshing surprise. He possesses pace, skill and can score some top quality goals. Not yet established at national team level he has bags of potential and could arrive on the scene if given his chance in Beijing. He may find his chances limited if Arnold's takes the approach of playing with a lone striker as he is at is best in a front two.

So that is is the squad and while there are some good selections here, I personally think that Arnold has made a number of crucial selection blunders.

Firstly he goes into the tournament without an established goalkeeper. Both Federici and Velaphi are talented but neither has fully established himself at club or international level yet. If ever there was a spot we could have filled with an over-age player it is in goal. Schwarzer, Petkovic and Covic could each have been worthy options and in the case of the latter two it would have been a great chance to give them some much needed game time. It's a sing and a miss for Arnold here.

The one part of the field where we surely had a wealth of options was in the centre of defence, yet it is here where Arnold chose to add an over-age player. With Milligan, Spiranovic and Leijer at his disposal Arnold was spoilt for choice and it is something of a surprise to me that he has opted to bring Jade North in. Again it's another swing and a miss for Arnold on this one.

While we now are spoilt for choice in the centre of defence it is not quite the same for us in the centre of midfield. We only have four players there and I'm not totally convinced that Billy Celeski is going to rise to the occasion. Personally I would have thought that Carl Valeri and/or Nick Carle could have come in here to add more depth and quality. So that is another whooshing sound for Graham Arnold.

Finally we come to the striking role and how on earth did he manage to leave out both Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite. Burns in particular had a huge Asian Champions League while Archie Thompson looked like an also ran. With only three strikers picked it's almost certain that we are going to play just one up front and I wouldn't say that any of the three picked are suited to that role. Again a swing and a miss, but this time Arnold has manage to trip over and fall on his stumps in the pike position.

All in all it's a squad that I don't think convinces anyone that we will be going past the group stage. Too bad really, I was actually looking forward to the Olympics up until now.

[pires7]

Zadkovich's sumary is fairly accurate! Interesting to see alot of these youngsters playing for lower level teams in England, in other words, rubbish competitions in terms of technical development!

Let's force the youngsters at the AIS to learn Italian, Spanish or French to give them the option of seeking a club in these parts.

[No Clever Alias]

That assessment is pretty spot on! Would have to agree almost completely.

Surely the side is too heavily weighted for defence:

4 central defenders - Leijer, Spiranovic, North, Milligan (3 of which can play right back)
2 out-and-out right backs - McLenahan & The Derby County Donkey (how Zadkovich is in the national team set up astounds me)
2 left backs - Topor-Stanley, who can also play centrally, and Carney, who can be pushed up the field.

That's 8 out of 18 players fighting it out for 4 spots! With 2 goalkeepers, there are eight players fighting it out for the other 6 spots in the team... with Carney and maybe the Derby County Donkey also pushing for wide midfield roles!

Celeski I would have thought is very lucky to be going, as is Sarkies to a lesser extent, who has hardly set the world on fire at United.

Thompson is very surprising inclusion... injury cloud, no form or match fitness to speak of... very poor choice.

And don't get me started on the omission of Burns and Djite... good enough for the Socceroos but not the Olyroos!!! Drop Celeski and Thompson for these two surely!

There has to be concern also about the lack of input from Baan and Verbeek in the selections. Why Arnold is given free reign to do as he pleases with the squad is staggering!

[rosco]

Yeah, I tend to agree with that summup.

As a selector you're never going to please everyone and in defense of GA and the over age inclusions, I am sure there is a lot of information we don't have about who was available. Having said that I thought some of the over age inclusions were strange if not plain wrong.

I'm a big fan of Jade North - think he's a great player and worthy of selection in any side you want to put out there. Perhaps he is included as an experienced head in lieu of Schwarzer (who was unlikely due to new Fulham obligations?)

ArchieT gives you 100% but I think he's had a fair few chances and not taken them at this level.
I would not have AT ahead of Bruce Djite or Nathan Burns.

David Carney - I think is a pretty good choice.

I am one of the many who think RZ is over rated. I'd love him to prove me wrong. Defends quite well, and occasionally has a good moment in attack, but too often goes backwards, or denies (or gives bad) service to the front men when they offer.

I'd really like to see Nick Carle get a real run. Seems like no one wants to include him - not sure why - I thought he was one of the standouts in the A-League. One of the few who look comfortable with the ball at their feet and capable of making something happen.

Above all, after seeing the quality of the Spanish in euro08, I hope the boys are encouraged to play some real football and not resort to the old dog soccer (kick and chase) routine.

0.02
Rosco.