Pages

Thursday 17 June 2010

Socceroos next Coach: Aussie proud please

If he's not Australian he must never:

Talk down the local game, the local players or the A-League.

In fact part of his job, now, must be to talk up the local game and players.

He must assist the local players who only play 30 games a year to train and prepare for other internationals at a high level. They could easily add another 10 games plus camps to their playing base and play as the national team will, same tactics etc.

We must have a team capable of competing with Japan and Korea etc which comes from the local base. ie there fitness and skills must be lifted outside the A-League season. Of course we will still use the overseas players but the local guys could play NZ home and away every year, Indonesia, Thailand etc etc.

FFA can keep a heap of these "home-based" Socceroos on special contracts much like many Asian nations do. That way we lift our pool of talent and the local league and national team benefit.

Because our overseas talent pool isn't so strong post this World Cup, I'd like to hear the FFA's development plan for our future Socceroos especially our home-based ones which we will be using time and time again.

Wouldn't it be great to see a home-based squad improving over the next four years, rather than being criticised when they are thrown into a must-win game re:Kuwait or Indonesia.

FFA: Appoint the Coach but make sure you have a guy who understands the market he's coming into, both in a sporting sense and playing sense this time.

And let's hope the next Coach is the last overseas Coach ever. I'd like an Aussie next time please!