Anti-football media awards..another 2008 entry...yawn!

Courier Mail's Mike Coleman: Talks rubbish!

Poor Mike Coleman. A journalist, a sports journalist with the Courier Mail.

Guess with all the footall stories from the Socceroos, to the A-League, and the Roar in the finals, he's been told to write something about football.

And it's crass it really is.

So Mike you are another entry in the 2008 Anti-football media awards.

You can read his full post below and my ten cents worth. Will have to put you on the radio show in January's entries. Sorry mate you give me no choice.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23112566-10389,00.html

I RECEIVED some news this week that I must admit was a little worrying.

Not content with a good showing at the last World Cup, 30,000-plus crowds at A-League matches and blanket media coverage, the geniuses who run soccer in this country have had to reinvent the wheel.

I am reliably informed that from next season junior matches will no longer be played on a cut-down version of full-length fields so that kids can emulate their heroes.

Starting with matches up to under-8s and then extending to under-12s in coming seasons, they will be played five-a-side on tiny grounds with portable pop-up goals. And no goalies.

Now apart from the fact that youngsters like to feel they are playing the same game they see on TV, I believe the "no goalie" edict could lead to huge problems later in life when the kids leave the junior ranks and even make it to the A-League.

They will think they can score goals.

Anyone who watched Friday night's semi-final between the Queensland Roar and Sydney FC will know that simply isn't the case.

Seems to me anyone who went through the A-League this season betting solely on 0-0 draws could retire to the Bahamas.

Not that this means the games were dull, sleep-inducing bores – well not all of them anyway. Friday night's game was very entertaining, if for no other reason than to see if Reinaldo could finally put a sitter into the back of the net.

Now I don't want to pick on the guy because he obviously has completion problems, but if I read one more time how he's going to play for the Socceroos or how clubs from Botswana to Brazil are lining up for his signature, I'll take up the game myself. It's obviously an easy way to make a buck.

Still, for once, the Brazilian Bomber wasn't the worst offender. How about Alex Brosque? Three times the goal yawned at him like the gate at Luna Park and three times he came up short.

That's not to downplay the effort of young Queensland keeper Griffin McMaster, who had a blinder, but if Brosque is the best finisher in the A-League, no wonder Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek is looking offshore for talent.

I couldn't believe the outcry when Verbeek said a training run in Europe was worth more than a game in the A-League. Anyone who was insulted should invest in Fox Sports and open their eyes.

For what it is, in its third year of existence, the A-League is sensational. It provides fans with local teams to follow and gives up-and- comers like Michael Zullo, Robbie Kruse and Tahj Minniecon the chance to showcase their skills and hopefully earn a ticket to Europe.

But as a direct route to the World Cup, forget it.

Verbeek was spot-on with what he said, and it didn't come lightly. He has spent weeks looking at A-League matches through the eyes of experience, leaving the rose-coloured glasses to the fans.

He is certainly not going to gamble Australia's World Cup chances – and his job and reputation – on the boot of a Brosque or Reinaldo. Or at least a Brosque or Reinaldo who hasn't been hardened by top-level football.

Imagine what the score would have been on Friday night if Harry Kewell or Mark Viduka had been playing for either side. Imagine how many of those chances John Aloisi would have put in the net.

Even closer to home, imagine where the Roar would have finished if Craig Moore hadn't brought his talent and experience back home to Queensland.

Hard as it is for some to admit, some of our most over-hyped A-League players still have a lot of work to do. Either that or they should find a five-a-side league with pop-up goals. And no goalies.

What a load of dross Mike. No-one expects Alex Brosque to be the same as Viduka or Kewell.

Money talks in all sport, and for a salary cap of $1.8 mill could you afford one Viduka never mind a whole team.

As for kids playing with no goalies, and small sided games. You're article is an embarrassment to parents, kids and football players everywhere. Do you have any idea what you are talking about.

And sure Alex Brosque may not be the next Kewell or Viduka, but what price a Bruce Djite, or James Holland.

Methinks you have spoken too soon, and besides that stick to what you do know. It's clearly not football.