Pages

Saturday 31 March 2012

Joel Chianese - a rare find but too late for cautious Vitaslav..nice guy bye bye

Have Sydney unearthed a gem? And why has it taken so long to develop and give this guy a run.

A few more games could have meant a few more points with Joel on the team. But no Vitaslav and his coaching team were too cautious, too predictable, too scared throughout the season to go for youth and pace. Pace!

A local with pace and that rare ability to find the back of the net. Another two last night to add to his two last week. And he's had chances many chances in many games.

Pity his seasons over for it looks, still looks, like he needs a big dose of self-belief and anyone scoring as many and varied goals as he is should be cocky, arrogant and full of it. He'd get more.

It's the style of his goals that interest me. Something Sydney have missed for years. His second goal Mark Bridge could never score and never has. Following the play, in with pace, a tap in looks easy.

Funny how few Sydney players have achieved such goals over recent years. I love the tap in!

Joel has pace, and an eye for goal. With Eli Babalj down in Melbourne, another young Aussie hitting the net with increasing interest maybe just maybe we've unearthed a couple of strikers.

About time!

Read More...

English catching the Aussies up...finally

You see it's not true what the anglophiles say the English have got great coaches and great football culture coming out of its ears.

And it's just beginning to spread and that's the point.

Read More...

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Nearpost poddie: A-League heading to the finals. We got it all

The show is dedicated to Archie Thompson - is he moving on after his latest tweet.

Catch all the A-League news ahead of the finals and which team dropped 3,000 per week this season - this in a season when we had record crowds and more than 10,000 per game per week once more.

A-League on the up.

And Mike Cockerill takes his personal agenda out on Harry again and again - let it rest Mike. Harry played morDownload.
or play right from your computer....

e minutes than you dreamed of - bet it hurts!

Read More...

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Ange Postecoglou: the greatest Oz inspiration to Aussie Grassroots Coaches ever?

If you've ever watched the Brisbane Roar play - and most Aussie's don't have Fox Sports so will never have seen them - they play to instruction, tactic and a tempo rarely, some say never, seen in Australia.

There is many elements to their game but one is critical to Australian football development at all levels.

Ange has his team keeping possession, with quick movement and interchange of player and ball. And it all starts from the keeper, and often returns to the keeper.

And here's the rub:

All A-League teams know how the Roar will pass the ball out from their keeper and indeed Michael Theolokitos, while not as poor as Mark Bosnich was with his feet, Theo is no Lionel Messi is he?

But Ange continues to persist, nay insist football must be played this way.

And this in a brutal professional era where fans and owners are quick to criticise or sack the Coach if results and performances are suspect.

So if the leader of Australia's Champion Club can persist while other professional teams know and try and restrict their play-out from the back style what reason is there for your local U16, U14, U8 Coach to "inspire" their kids to punt it long and to never play back, ever?

Ange gives us some hope down here in club land.

We haven't had many Australians to inspire us in Coach land over the years and the parents down here take a while to understand what you are trying to do.

Yes they take a while.

So as grassroots, the mighty, unattached grassroots kick-off we salute you Ange and will use your name and your team's name ad nauseum.

Even if they've never seen you, or your team play, they'll know you exist and stand for something good in football - at least on my sideline.

Viva - and thank you.

Read More...

Is Jim's appointment the end of Vision Victory?

It looks like Jim down South, sounds like Jim and according to those in the know it will be Jim.

And while Australia Coaching stocks are at an all time high the Victory are unable to set a new course or claim to be an innovative club if they take on honest, but still unproven Jim.

He dropped Broxham and Brebner from the midfield and that for me gives him a huge tick, a huge insight. His results haven't improved but he saw the problem. His midfield and then his defence. He has bought in a Brazilian via Hong Kong, but it's no solution, no Kevin Muscat.

He's revitalised Marcos Rojas and Harry Kewell continues to play, well.

Like Mehmet before if Archie Thompson has simply scored 10% of this chances how many points would the Victory now have. They'd at least be in the six. Archie used to score - more.

Ernie Merrick, Gary Van Egmond, Graham Arnold, Ange Postecoglou, Aurelio Vidmar are five of our most proven best coaches. Will we add Robbie Hooker in time?

Some Coaches have failed in Asia - most notably Ernie Merrick - but all have impressed at times, with their tactical and team tempo and presentation.

Ange Postecoglou is a living legend but that's another story.

Should our leading club Victory turn to Europe? Or why not Asia or again why not Australia.

Muscat is too inexperienced, perhaps too close.

The playing squad has been too old, too stagnant for too long. Ernie must have known. And they've achieved this year what such an unbalanced squad would. Too rich up front and not much at the back.

Look at the goals conceded and even the Captain Adrian Leijer has looked rather ordinary without Muscat covering his errors and inexperience.

British Jim has tweaked the team and I've seen enough to suggest he can take the next step. Will he really not be able to improve that defence, rejuvenate the forward line?

Victory may not return to the top spot anytime soon but surely with a clear out of Brebner, Allsopp, Salorzano, Hernandez, Vargas, Pondeljak, Kemp and Broxham the remaining players and new personnel can gel into something evolving a football unit.

And there'd surely be some money to spend on decent wages with most of the above gone.

Attacking they've done well but rarely scored enough. Defensively from the front they've been a disaster.

Is Jim the guy to lead them forward - it looks like it, but Victory are not heading for the stars and Asia with this appointment are they?

Victory the end of a vision?

Read More...

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Mariners are favourites to win the A-League, in three years...

The Mariners win their first Youth League title, Adelaide actually win a match and Melbourne Victory make another misguided signing by offering Jim Magilton a 2-year contract extension! It's all here on the Nearpost, brought to you by Paddy Bordier, Nick Cumpston and Nick Amies.

Download.
or play right from your computer....

Read More...

Saturday 3 March 2012

Victory fails to take their chances but Aussie Coach of Jets making gains

Gary van Egmond has one Championship under his belt and looks like he has the craft to give this years title a little shake.

As he builds his team around him it was the quality of the goals that took my eye.

Ruben Zadkovich spreading 40 yard balls, player movement off the ball and young Jacob Pepper a local lad tapping home not once, but twice. Nice.

Melbourne Victory are out of the A-League. Not Mehmet Durakovic, uber British Coach Jim Magilton or Harry Kewell could save them.

They've improved since Magilton came. Mostly because Ernie Merrick's legacy of Grant Brebner and Leigh Broxham have not played.

But with Kevin Muscat on the bench as Assistant Coach it has been their miserable defensive record that has let them down. Muscat has been arguably the best player in the previous six A-League seasons and his loss more than any of the fabled recruits has seen the Victory's demise.

They had many many chances to win the game v the Jets but three goals conceded in the first half makes it difficult to draw never mind win and they needed a win.

Kewell missed a penalty, Archie keeps missing and Carlos Hernandez and Juan Carlos Salarzano also missed. That's a lot of talent - missing.

And if they all miss you can be sure the likely lads down the other end will be conceding at will - as they have been all season.

A lot not to like about Melbourne this year. Not least there unfulfilled promise.

But with another Aussie Coach taking them to the cleaners you just wonder if Jim Magilton is really the man for the job.

Has he shown us real signs he's shoe-in. The pro-British football media will talk him up - he's mate of some and others just want to see a Brit do well to shut you know who up.

I don't think Jim is a certainty or has shown us enough thus far. Mind you anyone who removes the visionary Merrick duo of the Killer B's in centre midfield must be worth another thought.

Victory in transition.

And he won't have much room to move with a Salary Cap in place you wouldn't think.

Victory have a lot of work to do - for next season - and it starts now. But is Jim the man or is their an Aussie out there, like Van Egmond who could give you so much more with so much less?

Read More...

Clive Palmer: Did you just get bored?

Clive Palmer, A-League Club Owner and Billionaire tries to takeover football, all of it - yet he can't even get his own Franchise right.

Before we forget:

Here's five things Clive did really well -

Signed Jason Culina and made a splash.

Appointed Miron Bleiberg and got plenty of coverage.

Made some nice noises early about his clubs intentions.

Opened the gates for free once the whole crowd thing seemed to be going pair shape.

Signed a whole heap of local talented Youth players.

Here's five, just five things he did really poorly.

1. Game one, away to Brisbane advised his own supporters not to travel.

2. Closed the stadium

3. Refused to pay injured players.

4. Talked the game down and other codes in the Gold Coast region.

5. Refused to sign players for more than one year contracts....which suggests to me the guy wanted out and is looking for an out.

He now has forced his out. Was this his plan all along???

Read More...

Belwest Foxes new website

There you go a new website for www.belwestsoccer.com by yours truly.

Simple and effective communication and layout - that's the aim, you be the judge.

Read More...