Australian football needs long-term overhaul

[johnydep]

We need to find out whether the last 10 years of investment, planning and development is about to come to friution, or has it failed - in part or full.

While the A-League is thankfully booming with record crowds and huge interest, the fear is that it is going to take Australian soccer years to recover at international level and get back to a level that fans have grown accustomed over the past decade or so.

Now reality has hit. The Golden Generation is long gone, some of the players have stayed too long, the Socceroos have become a laughing stock and the recriminations are bitter and pointed.

Now is the time for Football Federation Australia, which is as much to blame for this mess as Osieck and the players, to step up to the plate and make the critical decisions.

As Melbourne Victory coach and Socceroos' heir apparent boss Ange Postecoglou correctly pointed out yesterday, the truth is that the national team set-up is broken from the top, all the way down, and is badly in need of a massive overhaul and restructure.

Unquestionably, the renewal process has to start with the appointment of a local, full-time coach -- a coach who knows the Australian mentality and system, someone with the courage to make the tough decisions and be in for the long haul.

And it is not just about the Socceroos, either. There are issues with the junior representative teams as we saw with the Young Socceroos, who were recently trounced 5-1 by Vietnam.

- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/f ... wWiuL.dpuf

[redfred]

after watching the socceroo disaster show on saturday morning and then listening to slater, bozza and kossie and having read on here for months, so many forumites scribing to DEVELOPMENT and not results, then Bozza (i believe) rightfully has a go about the Development only mentality and how its dragging our game down. and yes he was talking about under 16 up. With positive results development will come. Too many want to take the Aussie spirit out and replace it with technical only players. some times you gotta knuckle down with hard work as well as provide technical players imo. Team sports rely on a balance of numerous style individuals. If its a team full of high technique but not so high effort you'll get run off the park. If its a team full of higher effort and low technique you'll get played of the park. A better balance for all our national squads is required. And if your too slow good bye.(Lucas)

[Knight15]

Personally, I think after 32 years of not qualifying for the World Cup, we then set the bar too high, we had a much, much better squad and far better coach. Like it or not, Australia is 'small' in football terms, sure we have a reasonable population but it's currently not the 'major' sport. Australian's take qualifying for the World Cup as a given and most haven't stopped to think that qualifying for the 3rd time in a row, is already 'punching above our weight'. I have booked my flights to Brazil and have low expectations about our success but am looking forward to supporting my adopted nation for the 3rd World Cup in a row. Sure were not looking good right now, but qualifying was a big achievement given the players available

[GiancarloRed]

Like others I have read the commentary of the Socceroos hammering by France including Bosnich's statement about the questionable outcomes of our shift to a so-called performance based approach focussing on technical skills and possession. We all need to take a deep breath before we say too much. The junior player development curriculum is being implemented progressively and we will see more result of this over time, in terms of players being drawn overseas, more young locals in the A League and also, performance by the Joeys and other underage teams in international tournaments. The current Socceroos who play in a wide variety of leagues and situations are not the model for how we need or even wish to play, nor do they reflect the sport in this country. And also, two bad losses do not mean our stocks are at an all time low, that we don't produce any quality players etc. The Socceroos are simply a collection of individuals who are brought together periodically to achieve certain outcomes presumably playing to their strengths / getting results however possible. It is a tough job for any national coach to consistently achieve results within the tight operational context and get the player and tactical mix right whether you play France or Fiji. In our case, few of our players actually play regularly at the highest level and this shows at times. We have done well to qualify for the World Cup but we need to be realistic about our chances there, the depth worldwide is continually improving. Certainly renewal is always on the cards when veterans gets flogged but completely changing a national side and getting good results is not easy at the best of times, hence why Osieck lent to the older brigade, players he knew better and could presumably trust. We need to have faith that the key performance indicators are heading in the right direction, even if there will be blips along the way that make us question what we are doing.

[angk43]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWGNPFI-MtE

[Blotto]

Han Berger should be the first one to be turfed out the door.

Has done nothing for the development of the sport since he's been in the role.

Surprised he is being missed by everyone calling for heads. Was easy to sack Holger, someone high up needs to take a good hard look at this clown and what he's done so far (or lack of) and make a hard call.

[black]

Han Berger should be the first one to be turfed out the door.

Has done nothing for the development of the sport since he's been in the role.

Surprised he is being missed by everyone calling for heads. Was easy to sack Holger, someone high up needs to take a good hard look at this clown and what he's done so far (or lack of) and make a hard call.

+1

Recall when Han came on board it was about a system of play, a national curriculum, a starting point for all ozziesssssss to embrace and grow from.
This adaptation of a national programme would deliver long term tangible results in player development and growth.
The elite pathway based on this model, and we found ourselves adapting to a selection criteria was based on a pigeon hole approach - i.e. - 'left footed left back'.
Now almost a generation later the young players of today having far outstripped their predecessors technically, as a result of the overwhelming amount of inspirational and development content found on the wow.wow.wow.yourasuperstarinterweb, are still having to be critiqued on filling a national pigeonhole requirement. A philosophy to many of our local clubs also apply.
A paradigm shift recently to 'personal skills' being a key attribute has confounded things further.
No wonder we lost a generation, no wonder our kids are somewhat misguided by state league associations,misinterpreted or misrepresented and subsequently overlooked!!!

These kids are trying to conform to a selection criteria that blankets the nation.
This same blanket, sold as an all encompassing overlay delivering 'over time' a bright pathway for ozzzzzieeee footballers.
To what end - A league, Socceroos or Matildas?
Instead we have a large doily, looking superb and complete in its creation and structure, but lacking when put under pressure and stretched. areas.
The holes in the structure of football development in Australia is similar - they are large and obvious.
To bad the blanket was crocheted and not a heavy denim weave.

I have said many many times, the national curriculum is not diverse enough or flexible enough to cater for all the states individualities that separate us.
To hear Lucas Neil say our younger kids need to show heart, spirit, hunger (or whatever the trendy term is now) is somewhat disappointing when you consider his upbringing was totally alien to what our kids are exposed too and sold nowadays.

As Mark Bosnich says it all needs a shake up.
I feel its needs a shake up of epic proportion.