Apparently Etihad Stadium is to miss out on the 2018 World Cup Bid?
Why? Because enlightened CEO Ian Collins and his AFL mates realised after five years of trying they could never get a pitch up to football standard....ain't that the truth!
Quiz is on page 8. Any junior club in Australia can use any of the content in this newsletter providing they acknowledge me, and also inform me that you are doing it. flanagan.eamonn@gmail.com, thank you.
Next one May 1st so set your clubs newsletter by it!
A-League, Socceroos, Robbi Fowler, Nearpost, Perth Glory, Matildas, Asian Champions League, FFA, Asia Cup, India, South Korea, World Cup Memories we've got it all.
Lucy Zelic, Paddy Bordier and Eamonn Flanagan take you through all the Australian football news and views, quiz and this weeks dedication to SBS lover of all things English football!
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South Korea will be tough, Bahrain are beatable but we open against India.
And to think Aussies thought the Indians only played cricket.
Over 100,000 regularly attend the Calcutta Derby and with Coerver making in roads among the 200 million middle class, and Chelsea FC's search for a football superstar in India we'd better grab the chance to beat the World's second biggest nation while we can.
A great draw for the future of Australia in Asia. And with India and China at the Asia Cup there will be an increased bit of interest you'd imagine.
Imagine if we win the World Cup bid, the AFL and of course Mr Ian Collins, CEO of Etihad Stadium will have the satisfaction of being the only CEO of a major stadium in Australia.....
Who doesn't get to host any World Cup games...nice one Ian, one for the CV, and the Grandchildren!
Anzac Day, then May.
First the Bid Book!
Then Matildas head to China for the Asia Cup. All Aussie games live on ABC TV and of course they must come in the top three to make the World Cup.
For football, for the Women's game this is a crucial development point. It will be tight and tense with China and Korea Rep in our group.
And then to the build-up to the World Cup. Squad announcement, let the speculation start in earnest come May 1, then the farewell friendly against New Zealand.
Then on South Africa.
The World Cup, all live on SBS. I'm starting to focus!
Bit of a yawn to see the papers full of "NRL" crises, again.
This time, shock oh horror, the Salary Cap has been breached, and not a News Ltd employee knew a dicky bird.
And what of every other code, AFL, A-League, Union etc I'm sure the only reason most clubs don't break the cap is because they don't have the money.
Really, reckon it's just a plot to keep Rugger's one big news story of the year off the back page. FTA TV, for Union, both Super 14 and the Wallabies and some more dosh and of course a heap of local Union games. Finally and doesn't it make sense.
Well done boys, but reckon the Socceroos are about twenty times bigger than the Wallabies,even if your daddy doesn't think so; so about time we saw the Green and Gold on FTA. If Union can do it and survive financially surely the FFA can sort a package out.
Meanwhile back in Storm land, the CEO of Storm has joined the Melbourne Rebels, the S15 Union side.......carry on everyone...
Sorry Mr Dimetriou it's a Melbourne Victory player, when it said Australian Football I thought of you!
Good luck with your recruitment in Co.Kerry and South Africa, mate!
From the Bangkok Post
Following his new deal with Melbourne Victory, he is believed to be the highest-paid Thai footballer.
Surat said he received A$85,000 (about two million baht) a year in his original contract.
He will get A$168,000 (about 4.5 million baht) per year or about 378,000 baht a month from his new contract.
The three Roar players, Tommy Oar, Adam Sarota and Michael Zullo left for Utrecht last week.
All players will receive the Dutch minimum wage for overseas players with Zullo and Oar, given their representative football, getting possibly getting more.
The minimum wage in Holland is Euro 200,000 which transfers to a cool $300,000 just now.
Adam Sarota, 21, hardly played for the Roar yet when he did he looked like he might improve, if he played a lot more. By 21 he hadn't had many games in Australia and yet Utrecht saw something, enough to offer him $300,000 rumoured to be just $100,000 less than Archie Thompson is on!
So are we undervaluing our players, in monetary terms, yes of course, but more importantly in playing terms.
A three year deal in Holland should, providing they don't let it go to their heads, and lets face it after being on $50,000+ at the Roar who wouldn't let it go to their heads, provide for an increased payday next time. No wonder they don't care if they don't play..too much.
Nice work lads, but given the transfer fee, the three players involved, the A-League clubs should be playing the young lads even more. By 21, we could have many more Adam Sarota's running around and loads of dosh being transferred to the league.
Time to play the young guns, and more of them, more often!
Salary Cap approaches $5 million for cashed up clubs! (Can't find one under my bed)
More money for another Marquee announces the FFA. Fantastic but hasn't someone told them the Fury, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Phoenix, Adelaide, Sydney and more are all in some sort of financial woe.
Make that basket cases!
So our A-League clubs struggling for revenue has the opportunity to spend more money...on players. And what football club can resist that overspend. History shows, in Australia, and indeed in the EPL, not one!
So our resource stretched clubs can now spend:
$2.5mill (approx) on salaries etc.
$150,000 on an Under 23 Marquee
$1 million or more on Marquee, Fowler-esque.
$1 million on an Aussie Marquee. Kewell-esque...but wait will they spend it on Chippers or Carney or Sterjovski, oh they already did!
And of course the Youth budget, can't call $5,000 a salary can you?
It sounds great, almost a plan. But which club can take the plunge, actually use it and make it sustainable.
The FFA announced the W-League with a salary cap of $150,000 when it was launched; total bollocks of course, that is never used. Surely this will be the same in the A-League.
If Melbourne Victory can't put a team together worthy of Asia with their crowd base over the last five years, what chance any other club (bar one with a one-off spend big investor do we still have any of them?) utilising the full options of our salary machinations.
Aren't the FFA supposed to be trying to assist the clubs, ensuring they survive?
Any evidence of a football club keeping within it's revenue restrictions in the history of the game? Maybe but not in Australia.
Are the FFA finally embracing the games history!
A-League, Asian Champions League, Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United, Socceroos.
Lucy Zelic takes the chair, Paddy and Eamonn are up for the quiz question, and did Zeljko mean it...the goal not the comments!
Quiz, dedication to Lucas Neill and news; we've got the lost.
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A-League, Asian Champions League, Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United, Socceroos.
Paddy Bordier takes the chair, Lucy Zelic and Eamonn are technically and tactically knocked out.
Quiz, dedication and news; we've got the lost.
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or play right from your computer....
A-League, Asian Champions League, Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar, Mitch Langerak, and why Mitch will be our last Socceroos keeper EVER!
Con Stamacostas joins Eamonn as technically and tactically Lucy Zelic and Paddy Bordier are knocked out, one two bang.
Quiz, dedication and news we've got the lost.
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or play right from your computer....
