OT: Association Football

[84 Baby]

Thanks for answering the question about domestic soccer leagues... oh, wait.
Thanks for actually answering the question about domestic soccer leagues.

And actually of the "4 A-League players" (it's actually 5) I reckon Brattan's a chance of staying with squad & Risdon & Cahill are chances of starting against the Thais. And in case you were wondering the other 2 are Geria & Oar

Yeah, it's generally not the done thing to promote players playing in the local comps to their national sides.

Then again, it's easy for countries like Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, etc. because the European leagues are stacked with South American talent.

It's mostly about money or the opportunity for improving (read improve as more money, not necessarily more skilled). If the A-League could offer the sort of money EPL does, the flow would be the other way around.

Bart's either suggesting the A-League is a better comp than the ones I listed, or that our national team is on par with those nations with usual practice for selecting squads. I agree with Bart, if the top South American nations, who don't have to fly over oceans in order to play their world cup qualifiers, don't pick players from their own domestic leagues, why should we?

 

[84 Baby]

Imagine Portugal not picking Ronaldo or Argentina not picking Messi (pre-"retirement" now they might just to f**k with him some more)

Edit - I was surprised that Portugal had more players playing in their own league, as ok Porto & Benfica are, than playing in Spain. They've got merkins playing everywhere

 

[Gronk]

mob mentality

More like knob mentality.

 

[84 Baby]

More like knob mentality.

Meh nothing to do with soccer, they're just Poms

 

[Eelementary]

And actually of the "4 A-League players" (it's actually 5) I reckon Brattan's a chance of staying with squad & Risdon & Cahill are chances of starting against the Thais. And in case you were wondering the other 2 are Geria & Oar


It's mostly about money or the opportunity for improving (read improve as more money, not necessarily more skilled). If the A-League could offer the sort of money EPL does, the flow would be the other way around.

Bart's either suggesting the A-League is a better comp than the ones I listed, or that our national team is on par with those nations with usual practice for selecting squads. I agree with Bart, if the top South American nations, who don't have to fly over oceans in order to play their world cup qualifiers, don't pick players from their own domestic leagues, why should we?

I agree.

I am just saying that I don't think that the lack of A-League players in our Socceroos squad doesn't point to a lack of quality in our domestic competition.

 

[Suitman]

I agree.

I am just saying that I don't think that the lack of A-League players in our Socceroos squad doesn't point to a lack of quality in our domestic competition.

Exactly right, yet other's just like to bring the competition down for the sake of having a dig.
I reckon the quality is as high as its ever been and getting better year by year.
Now that Fox have 3 football BEIN channels, I've watched a lot of overseas football recently, and seriously seen some very ordinary crap from some of the premier competitions in the world.
I'm not saying the A-League is up there with some of these comps, but it's not as bad as some would love to make out.

 

[phantom eel]

Oh dear.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Each to their own. To those who like it, more power to you. To those that don't, shut the f**k up.

 

[phantom eel]

Bart's either suggesting the A-League is a better comp than the ones I listed, or that our national team is on par with those nations with usual practice for selecting squads. I agree with Bart, if the top South American nations, who don't have to fly over oceans in order to play their world cup qualifiers, don't pick players from their own domestic leagues, why should we?

I was just interested in whether the four domestic players joining the Socceroo squad (which already included Cahill before he made his recent domestic debut), represented a common perventage among the nations we aspire to equal as a national team.

Obviously some countries with top quality domestic leagues (or more pertinently, higher salaried leagues) are able to select more of their domestic players in their national teams.

Thanks for providing the examples of countries like us that don't, and still manage to form decent national teams with similar ratios.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Exactly right, yet other's just like to bring the competition down for the sake of having a dig.
I reckon the quality is as high as its ever been and getting better year by year.
Now that Fox have 3 football BEIN channels, I've watched a lot of overseas football recently, and seriously seen some very ordinary crap from some of the premier competitions in the world.
I'm not saying the A-League is up there with some of these comps, but it's not as bad as some would love to make out.

I think the clubs have gotten much better at recruiting as well, meaning the local players have better foreigners to play with and against. It brings up the standard of our own youngsters, which only benefits the national team.

 

[Eelementary]

Exactly right, yet other's just like to bring the competition down for the sake of having a dig.
I reckon the quality is as high as its ever been and getting better year by year.
Now that Fox have 3 football BEIN channels, I've watched a lot of overseas football recently, and seriously seen some very ordinary crap from some of the premier competitions in the world.
I'm not saying the A-League is up there with some of these comps, but it's not as bad as some would love to make out.

I totally agree.

 

[Suitman]

I think the clubs have gotten much better at recruiting as well, meaning the local players have better foreigners to play with and against. It brings up the standard of our own youngsters, which only benefits the national team.

Absolutely correct.
Although I'm not sure all clubs have got it right, and always will. I think the Wanderers have done appallingly in their recruitment this year, Jumpei and maybe Martinexz excluded.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I reckon the inclusion of the Wandrers actually raised the bar a few years ago. Ono and co were a great bunch. They had some fizzers after those for sure but I think their problem at the moment isn't the imports so much as the Aussies being very ordinary.

Anyway ADP was the best player the A-League has ever seen but for genuinely stupid money probably not such a great investment. I think Effen Cees have recruited pretty well since him. Likewise the Melbourne clubs.

 

[phantom eel]

Just on the benefits to the national team based on perceived improvements in the quality of the A League competition, below are our national team's FIFA rankings from the commencement of A-League in 2005.

(under Guus Hiddink)
2005 - 48th
2006 - 39
(under Pim Verbeek)
2007 - 48
2008 - unknown...
2009 - 21
2010 - 26
(under Holger Osieck)
2011 - 23
2012 - 36
2013 - 57
(under Ange Postecoglou)
2014 - unknown...
2015 - 57
2016 - 45

Sources:
http://www.foxsports.com.au/footbal...k=e1df26ade3dab5e33ef83621a6a4450a-1477643999
http://www.foxsports.com.au/footbal...k=e1df26ade3dab5e33ef83621a6a4450a-1477644532

So the trend in the past year is up, but prior to that it's been downhill since 2011...

 

[Poupou Escobar]

How long do you reckon it should realistically take before an improved domestic league will filter results to the national team?

 

[Eelementary]

Just on the benefits to the national team based on perceived improvements in the quality of the A League competition, below are our national team's FIFA rankings from the commencement of A-League in 2005.

(under Guus Hiddink)
2005 - 48th
2006 - 39
(under Pim Verbeek)
2007 - 48
2008 - unknown...
2009 - 21
2010 - 26
(under Holger Osieck)
2011 - 23
2012 - 36
2013 - 57
(under Ange Postecoglou)
2014 - unknown...
2015 - 57
2016 - 45

Sources:
http://www.foxsports.com.au/footbal...k=e1df26ade3dab5e33ef83621a6a4450a-1477643999
http://www.foxsports.com.au/footbal...k=e1df26ade3dab5e33ef83621a6a4450a-1477644532

So the trend in the past year is up, but prior to that it's been downhill since 2011...

Of course - but that says more about Osieck and Verbeek imo.

Both are ordinary coaches.

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

That bloke from Adelaide deserves a Logie.

 

[Suitman]

That bloke from Adelaide deserves a Logie.

No. He deserved a yellow. I hate that shit.
Pretty entertaining game so far.

 

[strider]

How long do you reckon it should realistically take before an improved domestic league will filter results to the national team?

I dont really see a correlation

Australia simply cant match the $s for any sport which is quite popular in other countries, so the local talent goes overseas when they get good - and we cant attract very high quality foreigners cos we dont have the money

But your national team can still be improving ... they players just happen to be on the bug $s elsewhere

Basketball is a similar example ... we came 4th at the recent olympics (almost 3rd) ... i think we had about 3 or 4 nbl merkins in the 12 man squad, probably would have been less but a few nba players werent available ... i doubt the NBL is anywhere near leagues in most of europe and north america

 

[strider]

Some merkin needs to get an air rifle and take out a few f**kin seagulls