I wasn't going to write this coz each time I do I make a damn fool of myself, or more of a damn fool, but at least I know where the lowest common denominator lies.
What explanation are we going to get for not making sure that every possible preparation was undertaken to achieve a possible $2 million payoff ?
The same one we 'got' for the woeful Olympics performance ?
Australian football has been handed 2 opportunities that wouldn't occur in a dozen lifetimes, an Olympics in our own country and a WC in our time zone, and we bungled both.
And we are going to get another golden opportunity in 2008 when the Olympics gets to China, once again in our time zone. What sort of 'planning' will that receive ?
I can, with great difficulty, put aside the issue of the $$$, but what I can't put aside is the issue of pride. Pride in ones work, in the company, in planning, in continous improvement, achievement.
What sort of organisation is SA that their organisation is, and is seen to be so pathetic ? Isn't there anyone there who is being mugged by the bleeding obvious that they work at/for/manage/attend an organisation that today is the but of all jokes ? An organisation that is being described in the media as not being deserving of being 'Australian'.
I don't want to lay blame on FF or the players but I was just dumbfounded that the Australian team could only produce 3 half chances in 90 minutes. if the preparation was so poor, why wouldn't you go out with 5 forwards and just run at NZ. I mean, its not as if they have a Ronaldo or Owen or Ballack who is going to brutally punish a defensive blunder. Not very tactical but what what's the point of spending so much time defending and still making basic errors.
I would argue that an NSL eleven should ALWAYS be able to soundly defeat a NZ national team. The problem with the NSL is that the stocks of the game are so low that even the players are dispirited with the politics, shenanigans, horsetrading and greed that is now the hallmark of administration of the game.
I know on this list it has been argued that WC qualification won't do much for the NSL. I argue that unless the standard and structure of the NSL are radically overhauled and improved, Australia will never qualify for the WC.
The NSL must supply the backbone of a national team to which we add the stars like Kewell, Viduka, Aloisi, Emmerton etc.
It is imperative we begin to plan a new NSL or A-League if you like, that will be about 12 teams,at least one from each state, all of them sponsored by businesses like Telstra, Qantas etc, like in Japan, Korea & the USA and all run along prudent business and management methods.
As I see it, there is only 1 current NSL team that looks anything like having the 'fundamentals' for inclusion in that league and that team is Perth, but only just. The rest of the NSL teams should go back to their state leagues, get themselves reorganised/refinanced and maybe they might be considered 5 years down the track.
Of course, SA would have to be reorganised, independent board etc, power handed over from the federations to that board, competent staff put in to run the new comp, transparent procedures so that sponsors and fans would see that the current outrages will not be tolerated, and then maybe we will get somewhere.
Of course none of this will happen, just like there was no enquiry into why the Olympic team flopped, why we didn't qualify against Uruguay, etc, etc.
In the meantime countries we used to wipe the floor with, like Korea, Japan, Mexico etc are going from strength to strength, so much so we probably will never catch up.
And in the totally unlikely event Oceania does get direct qualification, it won't help us one iota as NZ has shown they are far more prepared to plan and organise than we are.
Good luck to them.