Spain are not Barcelona, they are not the future of football, in fact they could bore us to death!

If you watch Spain play - it's beautiful, wonderful passing.

And it's often 1-0, only 1-0, so are they really so much better than the rest?

 Hopefully someone has a real go at them and shakes football to the core. It's time! Barcelona has Messi - goals, pace and excitement added to all the wonderful passing.

But when the pubs in England empty out, or worse still people start talking instead of watching the game - because it's Spain, pass, pass move but no end product - something else is happening.

Spain are boring.

Now you can't say that too loudly in Australia - and yes they are a wonderful team - but give me a team with a Messi or even Ronaldo. Excitement, amazing skill and goal, goals goals.

Two defensive midfielders make Spain a much more boring product than Barca, Alonso replacing Messi - don't even start.

The Beautiful Game - not where Spain are concerned. Winning finals 1-0 is a great achievement, but they are not excitement plus, not in the last World Cup, not in this Euro.

Passing is beautiful - but I want end product - and really champion teams should destroy other top teams. Think Barcelona v Man United. End product and lots of it. Come on Ronaldo!

Please note: Craig Foster has just done a wtf - he's had a god help Australia moment.

Further: I never watch the English Championship - ever!

And I never ever watch Bolton, Rangers, Wigan, Rangers, Stoke, Rangers, Everton, Rangers, Sunderland, Rangers, Chelsea, Rangers, Newcastle, Rangers, Blackburn, Rangers, Aston Villa, Rangers, West Brom, Rangers, Wolves, Rangers, Liverpool, Rangers, or any other useless English Premier League teams who play dire football. There are an awful lot of them!

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Finally an Anthem for an A-League team - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulDujgg4UzU

Got to admit overseas countries do it better, fan singing, whole stadium involvement.

Think Japan in June when the Aussies go there - the singing will be non-stop.

And of course Celtic Park - the fans, all of them, know how to sing.

Melbourne Victory do a great gig - down one end, the Cove never let you down, but no club has been able to create an anthem and get the whole club behind it. Or so it seems to me.

The National Team still hasn't got a unifying anthem. Why not?

So maybe just maybe the Western Sydney Wanderers could have found one.

If modernised - a little rebellious, a great feel but will it take off where it counts - in the stands?

Has any football team in Australia ever got the whole crowd singing? National team needs it - A-League clubs need it. But can we do it?

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The Nicks are back, Western Sydney to play in red and black.

Paddy Bordier is rejoined by Nick Cumpston and Nick Amies behind the microphones this week as we dissect all the goings-on in Australian football. Western Sydney Wanderers were unveiled as the newest A-league side in a strip reminiscent of Brazil's Flamengo while the Harry Kewell saga has finally come to a close. All this and more on the Nearpost.

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

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phew..lucky harry hadnt resigned a contract in...say april..could have been messy.

Does make you wonder why it took Harry so long to re-sign with the Victory doesnt it. Would have been very messy if hed needed to leave now after signing in March as he was soooooo happy with Melbourne...we loved it so much we're off:-) Also given his reputed contract last season was a financial flop - wa this why he suddenly split with long long time manager Bernie Mandic - always a few questions around harrys dealings. Good luck to him, but would love to know the real story.

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A-League stars - Has the money dried up?

Harry Kewell's gone to.....Blackburn Rovers.

The reasons appear genuine but in football circles who would ever know the truth. And Harry certainly didn't get the financial deal last year that he was expecting...suspicious, me...would you want to go to Blackburn when you were almost 34?

Bet t'Rovers fans are excited....not!

Maybe Harry saw the new BSB/Sky deal and thought I'll have some of that - or maybe he realises to make Brazil - he's got to play more than six months football at his age.

Nice while we had him, pity he's gone! Would have love to see him work with Ange.

But more importantly the great rebuilding job we had in the A-League last year could be in danger of doing a groin or two.

Last season Harry v Emerton rocked the opening game last year - enough hype for everyone.

This year Harry is gone and Emmo is still injured. Players like Dario Vidosic, Liam Miller all added to the interest last year - also Karol Kisel, Franny Jeffers, and a few old guy in Perth.

This year the intake has been incredibly uninteresting - losing a Eli Babalj or two, that will always happen, Harry Kewell is gone and who will entice us on those pre-season moments.

 Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Ahmed Elrich moving to Western Sydney is hardly razzle dazzle!

There is a long way to go until the start of the season and I'm expecting Marcos Flores to razzle dazzle back into town - but who else?

Has the money dried up? Bit of a worry when half of Europe is destitute!

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English Clubs should reduce fan prices and give the game back

If you need that much money to survive and can't structure your game and ticket prices to suit your fans, your young people and still prosper.

Then there is something sadly wrong with English football.

As ticket prices continue to rise, on the back of this new revenue, how can anyone justify putting up ticket prices.

 They don't deserve the fans!

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Er AFL that's not a tv deal - this is a tv deal, football style

Wolves can make $100 million per year from TV alone.

Bottom on the Premier League, average crowds around 18,000 and they can bring in that amount of money. Who the hell watches Wolves v Bolton!

Roy Masters thinks his League boys have a deal, Andrew Dimetriou reckons he rules the world....but boys, you're in the little league. Check out the real deal - and check point 6, the mobile rights are still to come.

And what do the clubs do with the money?

Waste so much of it on transfer fees and massively inflated player wages. $75,000 per week for Tim Cahill - is that pounds of dollars - either way it's not bad for a three goal a year man is it.

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Asian Cup legacy for Canberra football - I want to hear the plan

“We’re building a platform,” Michael Brown says. “We want to leave a legacy – we often talk about how good it’s going to be – but what is it? How do we define it?

“We’ll see other legacies in the fact that we need to upgrade some stadia and venues, and they will be local football facilities. Teams will be looking to play on facilities that are absolutely world class, and we’ve got to prepare 10 warm-up facilities across the eastern seaboard and that’s an obvious benefit.”

The leader of the Asian Cup football tournament to be held in Australia in 2015 says he wants to leave a legacy.

Amen brother!

Let's see you do it.

We have no A-League team in Canberra nor any hope of professional football or A-League youth team but apparently we are getting some Asia Cup games.

The Olympics left nothing for Canberra football - nothing. Not a skerrick of benefit - worse the Cosmos were dumped the minute the tournament was over.

The AFL get $30 million over ten years for three or four games, an upgrade to Manuka and poor old poorly connected football somehow continues to get nothing.

And you can hear the Brumbies and Raiders desperate to see Canberra Stadium is upgraded - to suit them. Fair enough they are the only sports that use it - and they can thank football - at the Sydney Olympics for the first upgrade and now the football at the Asian Cup for the next.

The ACT Governments policy which supports male sports teams incredibly disproportionately to female - and also professional sports like League and Union, way more than huge community sports like football means Canberra football has been going backwards over many many years.

We have to share fields, pay increased rates in the six months we're deemed not to be in season and when we do have fields there is little suitable for skilful play, no centre for Futsal, and have you seen where the poor ACTAS fellas used to train...maybe they still do....at Kambah.

So what does Canberra need apart from the obvious..a team, a youth team and some pathways.

Go for Gold!

A legacy would leave us with two fantastic training and football venues.

North and South. Turn McKellar into a six thousand seater state of the art football training complex. Forget Hawker, unless we can take over the grass fields that surround it for exclusive use.

Build a training venue in South Canberra to host a National Team - a football complex, with indoor facilities, that is football owned and run.

Again - we need a small football complex with room for growth that contains a state of the art field, futsal and real private commercial facilities inbuilt.

And let's get the Clubs or private enterprise in conjunction with community or Capital Football to run it. Capital Football should not run a commercial enterprise alone. We've learned from Hawker surely!

 A legacy doesn't just mean a field....for AFL, or a training facilities for GWS. It means something for the football community of Canberra. Something big.

Our CEO at Capital Football is on the Asia Cup 2015 Committee so here's hoping our sights are aimed way higher than ever before.

For so long in Canberra we've settled for way less than our sizeable community deserves.

Michael Brown - your test in Canberra is not to deliver three games that sell out, your test is to leave a legacy for football and the juniors who play in their droves. We're on your side. Let's do it!

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Japan wandering around Brisbane - Penalty, Podcast and Perth Glory

Paddy breaks in some new co-hosts while breaking 

For the latest and only football podcast still covering the local game out of season - listen to the men of football!

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Japan show us the future..and it's forming?

Japan are blooding them early and we need to do the same.
And yes the J-League is a wee bit ahead of the A-League - tell Adelaide United that - but it's time for the new young Aussies.

Hopefully we're seeing signs of the next generation starting to push into bigger arenas. By 2014 where could they be? And of course playing regularly?

Will they compete at the 2015 Asia Cup - will they get us to Russia 2018?

Adam Federici EPL
Mitchell Langerak Bundesliga?

 Rhys Williams EPL?
Luke De Vere J League?
Matthew Spiranovic J League?
Michael Zullo EreDivision

Brett Holman EPL
Carl Valeri Serie A?
Matt McKay J League
Chris Herd EPL

Robbie Kruse Bundesliga?
Alex Brosque J-League
 Nikita Rukavystya - Bundesliga?

We're lacking a little in attacking nous it seems - but with a Terry Antonis, Mustafi Amini, Tommy Oar, Eli Babalj, Adam Sarota and others pushing hard surely one or two of these guys can crack the full national team in two or three years time.

If we can see one of these young stars moving on to the bigger stage - we should bring them in now and give them a real lift. Predicting stars in football is a hard gig however.

 Is there a Honda or Kagawa in our midst?

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Did Japan freeze again on big stage?

If you saw Japan against Jordan - wonderful flowing youthful football with stars all over the park it was inevitable that Japan would win in Brisbane.

They didn't.

Indeed Holger's men tested them early and should have been a goal or maybe even two up with a bit of cool finishing.

Australia gave the Japanese young and golden generation a real fright.

With the results going Australia's yet again and of course the worst penalty decision helping us Australia are in a great position to get to the 2014 World Cup.

After last night - sprinkle a bit of Brett Holman, observe the nations we have to play who have capitulated in Japan - I expect us to win all home games and take at least one victory on the road. Surely enough.

Some fantastic performances for Australia last night and despite being a weary team late on, it maybe this point that gets them to the World Cup.

We all knew this would be our hardest route, our oldest players but last night showed we have enough quality to get the job done once more.

Then we really must rebuild!

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Canberra Football - Consultants say 18.000 registered players are a powerhouse of actons and POTENTIAL

With over 18,000 registered players, football has become the largest outdoor sport in the ACT and surrounding region. Combine those numbers with participation in Futsal, and you have a powerhouse of action and potential.

See www.capitalfootball.com.au for the Communication Report - Will we ever fulfill this potential the Consultants talk of?

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