Craig Foster: "I like to see the best football team win all the time."
SBS Football Analyst and Former Socceroo Craig Foster was a guest on the Nearpost this week. Fozzie, as he’s known to many, gave us his views of a range of topics.
On the A-League Grand Final between Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets.
“I’m hoping for a good game of football, crowds are up, exceptional atmospheres, and
I hope we get another record crowd at the SFS (Sydney Football Stadium). From the FFA point of view it vindicates their decision to hold the Grand Final in Sydney I think it is the right one.
On the teams:
“(Sasho) Petrovski and (John) Aloisi will be key for the Mariners; Mile Jedinak has been good in midfield. Most of the rest are role players, good players but hard workers. The team is based on a hard working team rather than any real class football in my view.”
On the best A-League style:
“The Jets and the (Queensland) Roar have been the best football teams, by some measure. It’s good for the game that one of the best passing teams is in the Grand Final. I wouldn’t have liked the Mariners v Sydney FC or Glory final. I like to see the best football team win all the time. It’s a lesson Australian football need to learn.
On SBS coverage of A-League:
“SBS has promoted the game for thirty years. The game has now taken hold. We need to discuss the game, where it’s at and where it’s going. I don’t believe that is damaging to the game, in fact I believe the opposite. I believe strongly in debate. Good football cultures discuss the game.”
Is A-League football style limited by the Salary Cap?
“No, that’s ridiculous. If the Roar played good football for most of the last three years were they restricted by a Salary Cap?
They’ve all got the same money the same number of players. Why can Victory play football but others can’t? The Jets played good football, Glory were rubbish. It’s about buying players to play the style of football you want to play.
Lawrie McKinna has his team play a style of football he wants. He god rid of Noel Spencer presumably because he didn’t fit the style.
Look at John Kosmina for instance. He had (Steve) Corica and Juninho available to play together. He said Juninho can’t play with Corica, he doesn’t have a defensive bone in his body. That is a philosophy of a Coach.
Scottish fans say you can’t play good attacking football you’ll get beat. That’s why they don’t qualify for tournaments. The best nations actually do it. If you play a certain style of football, you’ll produce a certain type of footballer. This is the discussion Australia needs to have.
Frank Farina v Gus Hiddink:
“The Socceroos under Frank Farina, Frank was saying and he was still a young Coach at the Confederations Cup, he was saying this is the best we can do, these players are only as good as what they are doing now.
“He basically believed we couldn’t play any better than that, if we played attacking football we’d get destroyed. Hiddink came in and what was the change in three months with the same players? Why? Because the Dutch philosophy their vision of the game says we are going to keep the ball. As soon as you launch it down the other end you don’t play, that’s what Coaches in the A-League should be doing in my view.”
And finally; Why are you reading the Sports news on SBS World News?
“It’s something different, a challenge. I’m quite enjoying it. You might have noticed there’s a bit more football coverage, by the end it will be all football.
I saw it as an opportunity for football to be pushed in a Free-To-Air channel.”
You can hear the full Craig Foster interview on this weeks Nearpost podcast available at www.nearpost.blogspot.com
7 comments:
Thanks for transcripts bud..your last question was a bomb, I'd wondered myself.
listening to the transcript, i thought fozzie was a bit of a bully. like he`s this big tv guy and your a little community radio blogger. what was it that made me think this? maybe the bit where you guys were talking about the salary cap and quality of play. that turned into haranguing.
on another point - the scots are a useful example for us. they are having a bit of a renaisance at the moment. they have more young players coming through, more players going to the EPL. i think they require 3 under 21s in matchday squads. a move i`d like us to make. celtic punch above their weight in europe. rangers do ok. and that euro qualifying campaign was epic. they came up short, but in a group with italy and france they did themselves proud.
clayton
Clayton I felt harangued, there wasn't much room to breathe in there, as for debate, well that was fine but you've got to get your ideas in quick or you've had it.
Anyway great to hear Fozzie on the radio, and was delighted to be able to test some of his views a little further. On SBS he's given a free ride.
I enjoyed it, certainly an interesting experience for me.
From interviewer to debate, fortunately my time in International Football playing for Ireland gave some good insight to the game, and Fozzie is a passionate football believer, even if many don't follow his every word.
Oh and now I check my playing records, a year with Uni Canberra and Olympic in Men's Premier League is noted, but doesn't actually mention my 25 Irish caps adn two World Cup appearances:)
Thanks for the link Eamonn.
Very interesting to hear the Fozzie interview. He was determined not to get your point about the salary cap, wasn't he? ;-)
yeah Mike perhaps he has a point, but I was trying to suggest that the Salary Cap influences the ability of the players.
Sure you can play a nice passing game, but if the players that suit this aren't available for $1.8mill cap then you have a crap passing game or change the style to fit the players and perhaps keep your job!!
seems to me a fair point and one worth discussing, although he'd presumably argue you play a passing game full stop.
Isn't football a business, and entertainment rolled into one, Fozzie seems to have lost sight of this in his rather narrow viewpoint.
...seems to me a fair point and one worth discussing, although he'd presumably argue you play a passing game full stop....
It was a perfectly valid point you were making IMO, and his attempts to run roughshod over it were schoolyard-bully-esque, to be honest.
...Isn't football a business, and entertainment rolled into one, Fozzie seems to have lost sight of this in his rather narrow viewpoint....
His is the viewpoint from 50,000 feet. The voice of someone who's never had a proper coaching gig.
Mike the game thrives on fans..and while fans want to see the team play beautiful football..most of them/us will settle for a win on any given day.
and I suggest that applies to Barca, Celtic, Man Utd, Sydney FC and anyone else Fozzie would care to name.
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