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84 Baby

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Worst Socceroos side in 40 years?

Harsh call...
I didn’t read it but yeah I reckon it is. At least 30 years. Not heaps worse at the moment but the decent players are going over the hill and there’s heaps of players who’d struggle to make the 3rd string of previous generations
 

Eelementary

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I didn’t read it but yeah I reckon it is. At least 30 years. Not heaps worse at the moment but the decent players are going over the hill and there’s heaps of players who’d struggle to make the 3rd string of previous generations

There are a lot of players who are lucky to be wearing the Green and Gold - but some of those early 90's Socceroos teams were just awful...
 

84 Baby

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There are a lot of players who are lucky to be wearing the Green and Gold - but some of those early 90's Socceroos teams were just awful...
World Cup 94 qualifier teams still had the likes of Bosnich, a young Schwarzer, Zelic, Okon, Lazaridis, Slater and both Vidmars.
I think early 90s is comparable to now with core of competent players but with key players who weren’t/aren’t good enough or don’t fit in to style.

Leckie needs to be let go so the likes of Goodwin/Arzani/Tilio can get better opportunities.
Maclaren should at least have his role reversed with Duke, or be listed as an early rounds, versus minnows only player.
Mooy retains his place dependent on how Luongo comes back from his injury.
I don’t know what’s happening with Jackson Irvine but for some reason we never have all 3 centre mids playing well in the same game.
I guess some comparison can be made with Eels too. I like the way we play but there’s in game tactics and personnel selections that make me scratch my head. I like the effort to play upfield but then why make head down barrel runs in the box? At least try to avoid your immediate defender, or turn out and get the ball moving instead
 

Eelementary

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World Cup 94 qualifier teams still had the likes of Bosnich, a young Schwarzer, Zelic, Okon, Lazaridis, Slater and both Vidmars.
I think early 90s is comparable to now with core of competent players but with key players who weren’t/aren’t good enough or don’t fit in to style.

Leckie needs to be let go so the likes of Goodwin/Arzani/Tilio can get better opportunities.
Maclaren should at least have his role reversed with Duke, or be listed as an early rounds, versus minnows only player.
Mooy retains his place dependent on how Luongo comes back from his injury.
I don’t know what’s happening with Jackson Irvine but for some reason we never have all 3 centre mids playing well in the same game.
I guess some comparison can be made with Eels too. I like the way we play but there’s in game tactics and personnel selections that make me scratch my head. I like the effort to play upfield but then why make head down barrel runs in the box? At least try to avoid your immediate defender, or turn out and get the ball moving instead

Fair points!

I think Irvine, and McLaren, are very average.
 

84 Baby

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Fair points!

I think Irvine, and McLaren, are very average.
Irvine can be a good box to box mid and he’s not really error prone but lately he just isn’t getting involved and I’m wondering if he and Rogic crowd each other.
Maclaren can score a goal but he does very little to actually create goals so having him as a lone striker is insane
 

Eelementary

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Irvine can be a good box to box mid and he’s not really error prone but lately he just isn’t getting involved and I’m wondering if he and Rogic crowd each other.
Maclaren can score a goal but he does very little to actually create goals so having him as a lone striker is insane

I'm not a fan of either, tbh.

Irvine is busy, but makes too many poor decisions with the ball at his feet, for mine.

McLaren is just nippy. Does little without the ball, and just doesn't do enough to put himself in good scoring positions, imo.

I think we would be better served with Boyle, over McLaren.
 

84 Baby

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I'm not a fan of either, tbh.

Irvine is busy, but makes too many poor decisions with the ball at his feet, for mine.

McLaren is just nippy. Does little without the ball, and just doesn't do enough to put himself in good scoring positions, imo.

I think we would be better served with Boyle, over McLaren.
Boyle could be used in there but he’d really just be a more active version of Maclaren. He’s not a point man either. Straight swap with Duke is easier. Duke isn’t a world beater but for the style we want a solo forward to play he’s the only capable forward we have.
Irvine is fine. Realistically of our mids, he’s behind Rogic, Hrustic, Luongo & Mooy anyway.
 

84 Baby

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World Cup 94 qualifier teams still had the likes of Bosnich, a young Schwarzer, Zelic, Okon, Lazaridis, Slater and both Vidmars.
I think early 90s is comparable to now with core of competent players but with key players who weren’t/aren’t good enough or don’t fit in to style.

Leckie needs to be let go so the likes of Goodwin/Arzani/Tilio can get better opportunities.
Maclaren should at least have his role reversed with Duke, or be listed as an early rounds, versus minnows only player.
Mooy retains his place dependent on how Luongo comes back from his injury.
I don’t know what’s happening with Jackson Irvine but for some reason we never have all 3 centre mids playing well in the same game.
I guess some comparison can be made with Eels too. I like the way we play but there’s in game tactics and personnel selections that make me scratch my head. I like the effort to play upfield but then why make head down barrel runs in the box? At least try to avoid your immediate defender, or turn out and get the ball moving instead
f**ken kill to have Stan the Man and Robbie Slater in the side
 

Eelementary

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Boyle could be used in there but he’d really just be a more active version of Maclaren. He’s not a point man either. Straight swap with Duke is easier. Duke isn’t a world beater but for the style we want a solo forward to play he’s the only capable forward we have.
Irvine is fine. Realistically of our mids, he’s behind Rogic, Hrustic, Luongo & Mooy anyway.

I just don't believe that McLaren has any skill.

Boyle has shown he has skills on the ball to beat his man, as well as finishing ability.

McLaren is quick - that's all he really offers, imo.

I miss the days of Viduka, Cahill, and Kewell.

Though I can't wait for Luongo, and Arzani, to return.
 

Eelementary

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I've been saying for years that one of Australian football's biggest issues is that we teach our young players, at the grass roots level, to be "team players"; the result is players that mindlessly hoof the ball into the box, without thinking.

Part of why I am such a big fan of Rogic is because he is dynamite on his feet - he will look to beat his man with his dribbling skills, and then lay a cross into the box.

Players such as Rogic - that can create space for his teammates - are invaluable.

Time, and time again, we've watched Leckie beat his man with pure speed down the wing - and hoist a cross into the box, for nobody.

It's like players are afraid to dribble, for fear of being labelled selfish, or something.

Well, nuts to that - we need a "selfish" player, or two.
 
Last edited:

Suitman

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World Cup 94 qualifier teams still had the likes of Bosnich, a young Schwarzer, Zelic, Okon, Lazaridis, Slater and both Vidmars.
I think early 90s is comparable to now with core of competent players but with key players who weren’t/aren’t good enough or don’t fit in to style.

Leckie needs to be let go so the likes of Goodwin/Arzani/Tilio can get better opportunities.
Maclaren should at least have his role reversed with Duke, or be listed as an early rounds, versus minnows only player.
Mooy retains his place dependent on how Luongo comes back from his injury.
I don’t know what’s happening with Jackson Irvine but for some reason we never have all 3 centre mids playing well in the same game.
I guess some comparison can be made with Eels too. I like the way we play but there’s in game tactics and personnel selections that make me scratch my head. I like the effort to play upfield but then why make head down barrel runs in the box? At least try to avoid your immediate defender, or turn out and get the ball moving instead

That's a fair summation. Can't disagree with any of that.
 

84 Baby

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WEAKEST PENALTY EVER! What a f**ken joke. Guess we off to Honduras or Paraguay or wherever again (if we even make it that far)
 

84 Baby

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Actually the weakest penalty was that time in high school inter school comp, on a through ball I tracked back and shielded the ball thinking our goalie would pick it up. The ball was at my feet when the attacker barrelled into my back and the ref (a teacher from their school) gave a penalty to them. Conjecture around if it was even better in box (no line markings) and then when the keeper saved, ref reawarded a retake because defenders encroached (again no line markings).

Oh well… that didn’t scar me for life.
 

Twizzle

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Actually the weakest penalty was that time in high school inter school comp, on a through ball I tracked back and shielded the ball thinking our goalie would pick it up. The ball was at my feet when the attacker barrelled into my back and the ref (a teacher from their school) gave a penalty to them. Conjecture around if it was even better in box (no line markings) and then when the keeper saved, ref reawarded a retake because defenders encroached (again no line markings).

Oh well… that didn’t scar me for life.

reminds me of an instance in cricket, I was batting and I played at the ball and they all appealed, the ball came off my pads and the ump gave it not out

the fat f**k at first slip said what about LBW

the ump says, yeh, OK, I'll give it out LBW
 

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