Hold it Ernie

WHY, why, why Ernie?

Once again Ernie Merrick's foray into the transfer market seems to be another big folly.

The loan signing of Jose Luis Lopez seems like another case of the Victory manager aiming to put a square peg into a hole with three pieces already jammed in there.

The holding midfielder - who seems to have all the credentials of a class player - is the fourth holding midfielder on the Victory's roster.

Meanwhile, even according to the club website, there are no left full backs and no right-sided midfielders.

The problem with the Victory side last year was not a lack of quality, but a lack of flexibility. When sides like Newcastle took on the Victory they had a simple strategy, crowd the central midfield area, and force Melbourne wide.

With few specialist wide players, the lack of quality run, overlap and decent crosses meant attacking movement was all too predictable. It also forced Thompson, Allsopp and even Love to find space wide and away from goals.

The question also needs to be asked is why on earth a manager would use two of four spots on his roster for overseas players with the same role.

And with five central midfielders bought in the last eight months, how are they all going to fit onto the teamsheet, let alone in a balanced formation. Anyone?

Arnold looks past the young superstars

Graham Arnold’s squad of 18 for the Olympics is another reminder why he should not be in charge of any team in the national set-up.

The former Socceroos manager has somehow found it necessary to exclude arguably Australia’s most promising youngsters in a misguided by for success.

In particular, the omissions of James Holland, Bruce Djite, Nathan Burns and David Williams cast more doubt over whether Arnold learned from the 2007 Asian Cup disaster.

Arnold told SBS, "you can take them away for two months and still they can't acclimatise. You've got to be able to handle the conditions to give yourself the opportunity tactically to carry out the job.‘’

Which is a massive label to be putting on four of Australia’s brightest prospects. The idea that a player can’t tackle the heat of China would also imply, they would struggle in the Gulf, Middle East and South East Asia.

It also seems an incredibly stupid statement given Djite, Holland and Burns have all proven themselves regularly in the A-League – a tournament played during summer.

The real doosies in Arnolds squad are Nikita Rukavytsya and James Troisi. It wasn’t until Perth’s season was done and dusted last year that Rukavytsya began to fire, and his overall record of six goals and one assist in 23 games is poor.

That is underlined by him scoring just one goal in six appearances for the Olyroos. And while Bruce Djite seemed to be the fall guy for the Socceroos poor performance against China, it was James Troisi who has the most to answer for. His performance was not only sub-par, but selfish. It should be expected that even the best players will have bad games, but good players will always play to a team plan.

All Troisi did on that yawn inducing-night was shoot from 40 yards while off balance. He seemed more concerned in bringing glory to himself than working for his teammates.

Meanwhile Archie Thomspon’s selection has sparked many of the howls of protest. I’m a huge fan of the underrated Victory striker, and think he has not been given the chances he has deserved in the national set up. But… for the development of the senior side, the three overage players must be regulars for the Socceroos.

There are two key principles which should guide youth teams; development and preparation for the senior team.

By including Socceroos regulars, it gives those younger players hoping to make their mark, an idea of what is required both technically and tactically.

On his time as national coach, Arnold said…

"If there's one thing I've learned from playing in Asia it's that if players can't play in the heat, they can't play in the heat, no matter who they are.’’

What we’ve learnt is Arnold clearly can’t take the heat of being in the national set-up.

Might Be Time for Pim to Flip for Coyne

LITTLE known defender Chris Coyne could be the answer to Australia’s defensive woes.
The experienced Colchester United central defender could be included in the starting line-up to face Iraq on Saturday.

And his inclusion may force a re-shape of the team that means the squad plays more to its strengths.

The inclusion of Coyne alongside Beauchamp and North would give more liberty to Carney and Emerton as wing backs to get forward and provide extra width to the Socceroos play.

Neither Emerton or Carney are solid defenders, and reducing their need to play a purely defensive game will see their slick passing come to the fore, and generate overlap with some of the attacking midfielders.

Luke Wilkshire would be the obvious omission from the starting line-up if Verbeek went ahead with the change, but one of Culina, Bresciano or Grella would also have to start on the bench.

And while all three players have been vital cogs to the team, as Hiddink showed at the World Cup, having strength from the bench could be valuable especially in the heat of Dubai.

The 3-5-2 that would be the obvious formation with the shuffle would also give room for the inclusion of either Bruce Djite or the return of Josh Kennedy up front.

This would help remove pressure from McDonald to be a target man, and put Kewell back to his preferred spot as the free-wheeling creative midfielder.
But that is of course only if Verbeek sticks to his assertion that he is going after all three points.

Patafta a loss for Victory

MELBOURNE's loss is Newcastle's gain for the 2009 A-Legue season.

Just when you thought Newcastle would be gutted by the loss of Durante, Bridge & co from the Premiership side, Gary Van Egmond has done some smart business in signing Kaz Patafta.

The 19-year-old was criminally underused by the Victory both in the A-League season and AFC Champions League.

Desptie being a fans' favourite the pint-sized National youth player rarely saw game time, mainly coming off the bench with a handful of minutes played. According to one site, he only had two starts and just over 300 minutes football for the season.

The loss is twice as tough for Victory fans who see one of their most promising players go, and also one of the three key spots to be held by youth players.

I will always advocate for the need for youth over experience in the A-League, both in terms of excitement for the fans and for the future of the clubs through resulting transfer fees.

Also, full credit to the World Game website who picked the transfer nearly two months ago.

Good Result – Bad Performance

The Socceroos have clearly bought themselves some breathing space going in ahead of two tough away games on the road to South Africa.

And despite a fifth successive clean sheet under Verbeek, the defence looked at sea last night, with Iraq arguably having the better chances in match.

Marking and positioning were sloppy, especially given the Iraq side were playing with just one forward.

The 1-0 score line flattered the Australian side, and only a good amount of luck helped them secure the win.

Obviously the absence of Lucas Neill is going to have an impact on the team, but the Socceroos must have numerous options in the position.

Since the last World Cup the performances from Neill, Beauchamp, Milligan, Kisnorbo and North have all been patchy.

The importance of the centre backs is heightened by the continual inability to find a specialist left-back in Scott Chipperfield’s absence.

The result is leaving the side with deficiencies in both defence and up front, with a second disappointing display from Scott McDonald.

While McDonald is clearly one of the team’s in-form players, he only seems to fit in to the system if Josh Kennedy is also available.

Unfortunately for McDonald, the creativity of Bresciano, Kewell, Cahill (when available) and Carle are the real strengths of the team.

And it was clear when the more solid Bruce Djite was brought on, the Socceroos attack looked far more potent.

Unless Verbeek can have an alternate system to suit McDonald, he might follow the fate of Archie Thompson – a good player that isn’t suited to the national side’s style.

While Verbeek had a very difficult assignment recently against China, it is the next three weeks when he will really earn his money. It is this stretch with a close-to full strength squad that he can impose his style on the team.

And in McDonald and the central defensive problem he will have his work cut out for him.

No Victory for departing players

SOMETIMES the things you love hurt you the most.

While I could take a disappointing A-League season after the brilliance of the 2007 championship win, the Victory’s off-season and Champions League campaign have been disgraceful.

And I’m not talking about the results.

Last Wednesday night’s effort by the Victory management was appalling given the opportunities that abounded.

Two of the clubs favourite sons were moving off after serving the club with passion and sharing the A-League title.

Yet there was not a mention of the contribution from either Daniel Piorkowski or Adrian Caceras.

Neither player was on the bench to get one last run for the club. There was no public address, motorcade around the stadium or highlights on the big screen.

Thanks for nothing boys.

The incident highlighted a growing number of gaffes from Victory management that could prove costly on and off the field.

While Sydney FC and Newcastle both have memberships available, Melbourne are lagging behind on the April timeline they set out, and missed the opportunity of making sale to Victory fans at the last matches.

With a crowd of less than 10,000 for the match, where were the free tickets for school kids to come along, or cheap $5 tickets for members to reward them for their support.

Or why couldn't there be an incentive for those who forked out a $25 minimum for tickets to a dead rubber? What about a 25% discount on merchandise?

Instead the club are more interested in promoting their meaningless match against professional cheats Juventus... more to come on that one.

The only A-League club to be recording a profit needs to be sure to treat its fans and players well for its own good.

Better Times

ON a day of disappointment for both Melbourne and Adelaide fans, here's a reminder of some better times.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=qdVtCG1wFs0

Analysis of the Victory game to come...