Socceroos Thread

[GVGjr]

Re: Socceroos Thread

I think we can all acknowledge that Ange was able to make strawberry jam out of pig shit. Winning the Asia Cup and qualifying for the World Cup, with the dearth of top end quality we've had for the last 5 years, is looking awfully good on the resume.

Arnie will cop it for this performance but the reality is that we don't have enough elite quality coming through, and haven't for a number of years. Asia is no picnic either - South Korea crashed out at QF stage as the hot tournament favourite.

That's the way I see it, if we had some star players or some emerging ones coming through it might be different but despite the A league improving it's not yet producing enough talented players

Just out of curiosity, how many from the Socceroos squad actually play for teams in Europe's best 3 or 4 competitions?

[soupman]

Re: Socceroos Thread

That's the way I see it, if we had some star players or some emerging ones coming through it might be different but despite the A league improving it's not yet producing enough talented players

Just out of curiosity, how many from the Socceroos squad actually play for teams in Europe's best 3 or 4 competitions?

Three. Ryan, Leckie and Mooy

[GVGjr]

Re: Socceroos Thread

Three. Ryan, Leckie and Mooy

Thanks, that probably sums up the strength and depth of our Socceroos side.
That number needs to be closer to 10 or more likely 15 to really compete

[Sedat]

Re: Socceroos Thread

Three. Ryan, Leckie and Mooy

These 3 would barely make our 2006 World Cup squad - that's no knock on them, just the reality of our elite talent in our current squad compared to our golden age.

[Topdog]

Re: Socceroos Thread

How many from UAE and Qatar play in the top 5 leagues in Europe. Yes we don't have the stars at the moment but we have enough to do better than we have here.

[lemmon]

Re: Socceroos Thread

These 3 would barely make our 2006 World Cup squad - that's no knock on them, just the reality of our elite talent in our current squad compared to our golden age.

Rough on Ryan and Mooy. Ryan is a genuinely excellent Premier League keeper at 26 years of age - very good change to end up at a Champions League in a few years. Mooy was brilliant in Huddersfield's first year in the Prem, his injuries have a lot to do with their current predicament.

A little bit of chatter that Graham Arnold wants the Hibernian job in Scotland where Milligan, Boyle and Maclaren play. Wonder if he's jumping before being pushed? Or just realised that his style requires more constant contact with his players.

[Twodogs]

Re: Socceroos Thread

C'mon Hibs!

[Sedat]

Re: Socceroos Thread

Rough on Ryan and Mooy. Ryan is a genuinely excellent Premier League keeper at 26 years of age - very good change to end up at a Champions League in a few years. Mooy was brilliant in Huddersfield's first year in the Prem, his injuries have a lot to do with their current predicament.

We had 15 players in the 2006 squad playing regular top flight European football (England, Italy, Spain, Germany) and another 5 players in 2nd tier leagues like Switzerland and Sweden and lower English leagues. Ryan and Mooy would have snuck into the 2006 squad but would have barely gotten any game time. These two are our best players in 2019 but they would have been fringe at best in 2006.

if Arnie does take the Hibs job, I'll volunteer to drive him to the airport just to make sure he doesn't miss his flight.

[whythelongface]

Re: Socceroos Thread

I think we can all acknowledge that Ange was able to make strawberry jam out of pig shit. Winning the Asia Cup and qualifying for the World Cup, with the dearth of top end quality we've had for the last 5 years, is looking awfully good on the resume.

Arnie will cop it for this performance but the reality is that we don't have enough elite quality coming through, and haven't for a number of years. Asia is no picnic either - South Korea crashed out at QF stage as the hot tournament favourite.

And so he (Arnie) should cop it. We were tactically poor.

Agree we don't have enough talent coming through but we still should be making the finals of this tournament. It is not a strong Asian Cup competition at all.

We were much better at the WC even though we failed to qualify for the next stage (I do note that Mooy has been absent this tournament and Leckie played under an injury cloud). Our defensive structure seemed to be poor (this tournament) against inferior opposition.

[lemmon]

Re: Socceroos Thread

We had 15 players in the 2006 squad playing regular top flight European football (England, Italy, Spain, Germany) and another 5 players in 2nd tier leagues like Switzerland and Sweden and lower English leagues. Ryan and Mooy would have snuck into the 2006 squad but would have barely gotten any game time. These two are our best players in 2019 but they would have been fringe at best in 2006.

if Arnie does take the Hibs job, I'll volunteer to drive him to the airport just to make sure he doesn't miss his flight.

My point is that saying "they'd barely make the 2006 squad" is rough.

Let's break it down by position.

Goalkeeper:

-Mark Schwarzer - At 33, he was a regular at Middlesbrough, had a pretty good 05/06 season with 8 clean sheets in 27 appearances as they finished 14th. At the same time, he was dropped for the third group match after two middling first-up performances.

Mat Ryan's stats for his first two years in the Prem are very comparable - and he's only 26 years old. If Ryan had been in that squad, it'd be a very close pick between the two.

-Zeljko Kalac was warming the pine at AC Milan after being picked up as a pretty cheap second option. His previous side - Perugia - had just been relegated to Serie C. Had spent most of his time as a Serie B journeyman.

Mat Ryan would clearly have been selected ahead of Kalac for mine. Kalac was 33 at the time, and was at a big club but largely as a depth player. He'd previously had pretty limited top flight experience.

-Ante Covic - the third keeper, he was making a name for himself in Sweden. He was 30 at the time and his next move would be to the A-League. Four years his junior, Mat Ryan already has a better resume.

So in terms of the keepers, I have Ryan neck and neck with Schwarzer. We'll give Schwarzer the nod as first choice based on experience, but Ryan would be hot on his tail and clearly in the best two Australia keepers.

Midfielders:
-Jason Culina - Had just started breaking out in the Netherlands with FC Twente which would earn him a move to PSV. He was 25 at the time and starting to put it all together, but Mooy is playing at a far better standard and is a key pillar in a top flight side.

-Mark Bresciano - A similar player to Mooy in that advanced playmaker role, and Bresciano easily has him covered. Was a regular at a Serie A side Parma, played UEFA Cup and was two years younger than Mooy at the same point.

-Vince Grella - Playing with Bresciano at Parma, he was in a similar boat as a very good performer at a good club in a top league. They were in a relegation battle in 2005 but pulled through and Grella was made club captain in 2006. Different type to Mooy, but Grella is ahead of him.

-Josip Skoko - A superbly talented player, but he was struggling in his first stint in a top league. Only made 9 appearances for Wigan in the Prem before he was loaned out to the Championship. On performance, Mooy is comfortably ahead at the time.

-Scott Chipperfield - A Basel stalwart, was playing Champions League and had an excellent World Cup. It's a pretty close-run thing, but I lean towards Mooy for playing in a higher standard league each week.

-Mark Milligan - A 20 year old at Sydney FC, picked on talent. He's had a very good international career, but Mooy is ahead.

So if Mooy were available, I'd rank the midfielders:
1. Bresciano
2. Grella
3. Mooy
4. Chipperfield
5. Skoko
6. Culina
7. Milligan

And depending on formation, I reckon Mooy would be a good chance at starting in midfield.

Sorry to derail the conversation, but I think what Ryan and Mooy are doing in Europe at the moment is hugely underrated and they be pushing the first side of any Socceroos era.

[Twodogs]

Re: Socceroos Thread

For what it's worth we seemed much better prepared to actually play in the World Cup finals this year. We had a big opening game against France and we were all over them like a cheap suit and in the game deep. We were unlucky not to come away with a point.

Compare it to the train wreck that usually took place in the opening round and it wasn't bad.

[Topdog]

Re: Socceroos Thread

not about the Roos but Qatar apparently been fielding an ineligible player and may be kicked out of the Final.

[soupman]

Re: Socceroos Thread

Lemmon that is an awesome post. GK group not overly impressive, would even Langerak or Vukovic be a chance?

[Axe Man]

Re: Socceroos Thread

The under 23s have won through to the semi finals of the Asian Championship. A win over Korea will guarantee a first Olympic berth since Bejing 2008, whilst a loss will give them a second chance in a third place playoff against the loser of Saudi Arabia v Uzbekistan.

Good effort so far with 4 players missing due to misconduct suspensions and Daniel Arzani not ready for the tournament having only just returned from an ACL for Celtic.

[Axe Man]

Re: Socceroos Thread

Outclassed by South Korea but a mighty effort to beat Uzbekistan in the third place playoff to qualify for the Olympics.