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.