2014 World Cup Qualifying

[hawk]

Smashed iraq u20 1-0 so proud

[furns]

Pretty sure I seen Timmy up on that Capo stand don't call me a liarnewyrover and timmy repping for Newy. No-one else put their hands up, except for one of the sydney lads who was in halfway with the other mega.
Timmy Cahill comes up on the victory lap, leaps onto the capo stand and proceeds to go apeshit with the boyz

amazing scenes

[MFKS]

http://proxy.storify.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FBNCuuLUC cAIBxW0.png

http://proxy.storify.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FBNCuXUKC cAAEfmi.png

Photoshopped for accuracy:sup:

[BodyNovo]

one of the better nights of my life.

lazed home around 2am thanks pv4 for the lift from Gosford.

haven't watched a replay, don't know who was good or who was bad.

[Jeterpool]

The pitch looked like a disgrace last night - people at the ground, can you add anymore to this? Was it as uneven as it appeared on the TV coverage?

[Premy]

The pitch looked like a disgrace last night - people at the ground, can you add anymore to this? Was it as uneven as it appeared on the TV coverage?

Looked absolutely horrible it did flog down before the game and during but

[Jetmaster]

Great night in the end....it pissed down rain of course and it took 45 mins to get in the ground, there were about 20,000 of us still outside at kickoff !!

The goal was one of the great football moments - complete pandemonium.

Crowd was vocal but was let down by the bogan bandwagoners (who I swear were all Gypos). All I heard near me was Aussie, Aussie, Aussie (chant usually started by drunk, old bogan and finished off by schoolkids) and the horrendous "Let's go Aussie, let's go *clap clap*...." - WTF ?

The Ole chant was gold though when it went round the stadium.

[Jetmaster]

Looked absolutely horrible it did flog down before the game and during but

Can see AFC (with the shits because we qualified again), telling us we must have a world class surface - all games to Hindmarsh !

[snake]

Smashed iraq u20 1-0 so proud
:rof::rof:

[Jetmaster]

Some guys have all the luck....

324

[Jeterpool]

Some guys have all the luck....

324

She looks scared, and scarred

[belchardo]

she looks like she's scared...

[Jeterpool]

she looks like she's scared...

Ok - after the comments last night, who has bugged who!?

[Jeterpool]

After Belchardo rightly pointed out, last night was for celebrating. Having now come back down to eartha bit, I think we shoudl reflect upon how lucky we were to escape with a win last night.

If we are to have any chance of escaping the group, a few key things I have picked up include:

* The need for a proper left back. With qualification secured, the opportunity exists to give a prospect left back a run. My first thought was someone like Aziz Behich. But I'd be keen to hear what others have to say or suggest too. Matt McKay won't cut it against the likes of Arjen Robben or even Aaron Lennon.

* Wilkshere is too inconsistent and is need of replacing. The problem I have is I don't know who by. His crossing was woeful last night. Too highly floated, lacked speed. If this was his asset, we are in trouble. Defensively he was shown up a bit too. Did the ground and conditions hinder him? Maybe...but still not been impressed with his last 3 games.

* Corner set piece - Why are we always fading these away, and they end up on the edge of the 18 yard box? We can't score headers from there, unless we get a knock down and scramble situation. Need to mix it up a bit.

* Number 10 - Holman isn't cutting it for me. Granted i've never rated the bloke. I did soften after his goal in the last world cup, but I've swung back to being harsh again. Rogic was far superior to him in my opinion, and I hope he can work his way to become a starter by this time next year.

[MFKS]

After Belchardo rightly pointed out, last night was for celebrating. Having now come back down to eartha bit, I think we shoudl reflect upon how lucky we were to escape with a win last night.

If we are to have any chance of escaping the group, a few key things I have picked up include:

* The need for a proper left back. With qualification secured, the opportunity exists to give a prospect left back a run. My first thought was someone like Aziz Behich. But I'd be keen to hear what others have to say or suggest too. Matt McKay won't cut it against the likes of Arjen Robben or even Aaron Lennon.

* Wilkshere is too inconsistent and is need of replacing. The problem I have is I don't know who by. His crossing was woeful last night. Too highly floated, lacked speed. If this was his asset, we are in trouble. Defensively he was shown up a bit too. Did the ground and conditions hinder him? Maybe...but still not been impressed with his last 3 games.

* Corner set piece - Why are we always fading these away, and they end up on the edge of the 18 yard box? We can't score headers from there, unless we get a knock down and scramble situation. Need to mix it up a bit.

* Number 10 - Holman isn't cutting it for me. Granted i've never rated the bloke. I did soften after his goal in the last world cup, but I've swung back to being harsh again. Rogic was far superior to him in my opinion, and I hope he can work his way to become a starter by this time next year.


Behich has barely played since leaving Heart so at this point in time No. I say pick Zadkovic there. He will aim up any way


Wiklkshire >> Chris Herd at Villa if he is ever fit. Rhys Williams at Mibblesboro

Set Pieces are an issue. We don't really have someone who stands out to deliver free kicks<Bresciano may be good for one occassionally but no consistent quality

Holman has always been shit. For some reason he seems to have even lost his running around like a headless chook gift he had. Offers little now. Rogic for sure



As for the earlier query about the playing surface. Not being a grass man but would the grasses found in Aussie stadiums be slightly different to what may be found in a Football specific stadium???

Our grounds have to standup to rugby codes AFL etc and for this would probably need to be a bit more resistant to the bash and barge of these games. Would this also be the reason why even the Socceroos have a hard time keeping their feet yet when they play in club football in Europe they don't???

It always seems the grass has a bit of moisture making the field slippery??

[Imyourhero]

Rogic lifted the team last night, how a boy of his height has such a small and quick turning circle ill never know.
I really hope he manages his body and career correctly. Surely he'd have to get more of a look in next season for Celtic.
Also hope Holger really gives him some gametime in plenty of friendlies over next 12 months.

Friendlies friendlies friendlies is what we need!
Give us a chance to try out players in fullback positions, also abit worried about who would fill Bresc's creative role is he was to be injured.

[belchardo]

elephant in the room for me is the coach. he got us there, but is he the guy to take us there? i'm not sure.

[MFKS]

elephant in the room for me is the coach. he got us there, but is he the guy to take us there? i'm not sure.GVE for the gig???:pissup: Kill two birds with the one stone

Agree that Holger is a bit clueless.We only got their on the back of him backing old blokes and they just made it!!!

The old blokes will get smashed in Brasil by the World Class teams we will get

[belchardo]

over two million watched the TV coverage (1.52 million on SBS (http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1156633/1.5-million-watch-Socceroos-qualify-for-Brazil-on-SBS) and 549,000 on Fox Sports). http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/les-murray/blog/1156665/Another-tortuous-conquest

pretty good numbers.

[hawk]

We are quite industrious and seem to be playing in a fairly organised way but to me our players except Bresc dont have the close ball skill. To unfairly highlight that point i did watch spain put a 1000 nails into urugay just before. Bresc 1st touch can beat that 1st player nearly everytime thus creating time and space to distribute. I cant see anyone near his level. All of our mids should be able to do this.
Oar, kruze, tim, did well the backs we ok, lolman was not interested. Makay seems to ride a bike and backs off way too quick in defence. Im not sure what role milligan plays but he seems adequate.

[militiamon]

We are quite industrious and seem to be playing in a fairly organised way but to me our players except Bresc dont have the close ball skill. To unfairly highlight that point i did watch spain put a 1000 nails into urugay just before. Bresc 1st touch can beat that 1st player nearly everytime thus creating time and space to distribute. I cant see anyone near his level. All of our mids should be able to do this.
Oar, kruze, tim, did well the backs we ok, lolman was not interested. Makay seems to ride a bike and backs off way too quick in defence. Im not sure what role milligan plays but he seems adequate.

^ Exactly, hence why I've rated Bresc as our best player ever since he came back to the NT and started playing in that midfield role. He's the only one with the legit footsoccer skills, the rest of the team's skills can be summarised as follows:

- Tall/Can jump
- Fast

which aren't bad qualities by any means, but as you say we still need to midfield players who can create the space and provide for the freaks in the team.

Milligan is very frustrating. At first I was very pleased with some of the passes he was making, but then for the rest of the match he seemed to be our worst player. Best example of him killing us is when we're passing the ball around in tight spaces, the ball is passed to him, and all of a sudden he decides to do a one-touch pass which flicks up into the air either straight to the opposition or close enough that we lose possession. Only problem is that I don't know whether Jedinak would be any better at this.

I still stand by my call of putting McKay back in midfield and partnering him with Bresc, pretty sure this is where he played in the Asian Cup and killed it. Putting Rogic in that attacking midfield role is a step in the right direction though.

[toad]

* Corner set piece - Why are we always fading these away, and they end up on the edge of the 18 yard box? We can't score headers from there, unless we get a knock down and scramble situation. Need to mix it up a bit.

Agree 100% with this. There's no poorer option than an out-swinging corner especially when we have the upper hand in the air.

[plague]

interesting hearing the different opinions on the last few games. heres mine.
Agree with everything about Bresch, bloke is a legend. (post playing) the quicker he is drafted into the FFA hierarchy as technical director the better.
Milligan is a good foil for Bresch, legs it and scraps well. My hope is that Jimmy Holland becomes a hybrid of those two (i.e. another Jason Cullina) and we will be good.
Holman is better than people are giving him credit for. Bloke can play. Y'all need to remember he is trying to 'set up' people (Oar/Cahill) who arent natural strikers. That is really fricken hard.
Im worried about Wilkshire and McKay, a couple of poor games in a row. With Williams being seen as a future CB, i dont know who else is a natural fix.
No dramas about the coach. his decision making and subs have been spot on. Ballsy call Kennedy for Cahill (instead of just adding another man up front) and he was proved right. Same vs Jordan when he went for Archie. He deserves to take the team to the finals and the players respect him. this is HUGE when you are on the world stage (cough cough everyone hated Pim in Sth Africa cough cough Arnie at the Asian cup cough cough).
we need to play approx 50,000 friendlies over the next year. the usual suspects should be rested for most of them and players like Holland, Zullo, Langerak, Vidosic etc should be the mainstay of most of them. This next world cup is just as important for the Asian Cup and WC2018. i think the next generation of players can be something real good.
Well done to the crowd, both active and bandwagoners (cheers MFKS). i dont care if people turn up once every 4 years to cheer them on, plenty of sports out there that no one gives a toss about. the more the merrier.

oh and Middleby out, that bloke is shit.

[Jeterpool]

interesting hearing the different opinions on the last few games. heres mine.
Agree with everything about Bresch, bloke is a legend. (post playing) the quicker he is drafted into the FFA hierarchy as technical director the better.
Milligan is a good foil for Bresch, legs it and scraps well. My hope is that Jimmy Holland becomes a hybrid of those two (i.e. another Jason Cullina) and we will be good.
Holman is better than people are giving him credit for. Bloke can play. Y'all need to remember he is trying to 'set up' people (Oar/Cahill) who arent natural strikers. That is really fricken hard.
Im worried about Wilkshire and McKay, a couple of poor games in a row. With Williams being seen as a future CB, i dont know who else is a natural fix.
No dramas about the coach. his decision making and subs have been spot on. Ballsy call Kennedy for Cahill (instead of just adding another man up front) and he was proved right. Same vs Jordan when he went for Archie. He deserves to take the team to the finals and the players respect him. this is HUGE when you are on the world stage (cough cough everyone hated Pim in Sth Africa cough cough Arnie at the Asian cup cough cough).
we need to play approx 50,000 friendlies over the next year. the usual suspects should be rested for most of them and players like Holland, Zullo, Langerak, Vidosic etc should be the mainstay of most of them. This next world cup is just as important for the Asian Cup and WC2018. i think the next generation of players can be something real good.
Well done to the crowd, both active and bandwagoners (cheers MFKS). i dont care if people turn up once every 4 years to cheer them on, plenty of sports out there that no one gives a toss about. the more the merrier.

oh and Middleby out, that bloke is shit.

Fair summation. You raise some great points.

And you had me worried til the last line

[russjaybee]

Freakin' awesome experience, couldn't care less about the performance, once it was over nothing else mattered.

Was on the 330 from Newcastle, waiting on Strathfield was awesome with the drums and singing etc, wouldn't get that experience with any other code, brilliant.

Cityrail f**k up again, should have been alternating trains from Central and Strathfield, every single train that came through form Central was already chockers, c*nts that got on at Central were not keen on making room for people at Strathfield either, rats.

The 'Ole' chant that went round the whole stadium was sick.

About players and performances ...

Holman
Never rated him, don't think he has a football brain and think he lacks technique. Tries to do too much which results in holding in to the ball for too long and killing chances.
Thought Rogic was tops when he came on, his touch was fantastic. When you compare how he handles tight areas with Holman it's painfully obvious who should be starting.
Holman gets props for his workrate however lately since he's cemented his spot I think he's read a few too many of his headlines, not doing the dirty work as much.

Kruse
In and out of the game. Want to see him take on players around the outside more when breaking from the half way line. There was one point when he chipped it in to Timmy when he probably could have just tried to run round the guy. Happy to have him in the team though, we need to play attacking wingers on the wing.

Oar
Thought he was good, when he got the ball he tried to make things happen and was positive. He's one of those little players that is pretty strong and has good balance. Manages to hack the ball away and sort of scrap through challenges at times. Also happy to have him continue in the team.

Holger
Got us there, but out. Not sold on him.
Should have brought the Archie / Rogic combo on much earlier.
I probably would have brought Kennedy on for Bresc and moved timmy in to midfield, he has played there once or twice before ;)

WE DUN IT

[militiamon]

No dramas about the coach. his decision making and subs have been spot on. Ballsy call Kennedy for Cahill (instead of just adding another man up front) and he was proved right. Same vs Jordan when he went for Archie. He deserves to take the team to the finals and the players respect him. this is HUGE when you are on the world stage (cough cough everyone hated Pim in Sth Africa cough cough Arnie at the Asian cup cough cough).

Word.

I thought it was funny as soon as Cahill was being taken off the commentators were quick to jump on it and make out like it was a risky or strange decision for Holger to make. For me it was pretty straightforward, Cahill had done very little for 70 mins, and whether this was his fault or not is beside the point, we needed something different in attack and Kennedy was the perfect weapon to use.

I don't agree with all his selection choices but for the most part I think he's a good coach, not a brilliant one but he gets us playing a good game when we need to. Levels above Pim Verbeek who was much more reactive and pessimistic.

[front2]

Walked the walk across Olympic Pk. Finally after 25min after we entered the stadium we (3) were seated . The rest was worth it.

[seldom]

Word.

I thought it was funny as soon as Cahill was being taken off the commentators were quick to jump on it and make out like it was a risky or strange decision for Holger to make. For me it was pretty straightforward, Cahill had done very little for 70 mins, and whether this was his fault or not is beside the point, we needed something different in attack and Kennedy was the perfect weapon to use.

I don't agree with all his selection choices but for the most part I think he's a good coach, not a brilliant one but he gets us playing a good game when we need to. Levels above Pim Verbeek who was much more reactive and pessimistic.

Not sure what kennedy did different to cahill tbh...except score lol...that ball played in for the goal was what cahill was waiting for all game.I think the difference was the Iraq CB who was grappling with cahill all game, tugging arms ,pulling the shirt got a little relaxed when timmy went off.As for Milligan he's there as a midfield enforcer to try and cover and win possession when opposition are countering.This is why Holger loves him and keeps playing him.I was never a fan but he is doing this job well atm

[Premy]

Just realised because I'm on the ball and quick with everything Kenedys goal was not as significant after all Jordan beat Oman we actually would of qualified even if we had of lost by 12 goals or less.

[Premy]

Still it was a Great Sporting moment well up there with Aloisi's penalty

[Wilso8948]

Still it was a Great Sporting moment well up there with Aloisi's penalty

Haha been saying this now since I woke up and saw the result on wed. Was in the stands and was saying to my mate that if we draw or loose I'm staying up to watch the Jordan v Oman game at 2am. Thank god I didn't have to. Although by the time we got home it could have almost been the 2nd half

[Retro Jet]

Haha been saying this now since I woke up and saw the result on wed. Was in the stands and was saying to my mate that if we draw or loose I'm staying up to watch the Jordan v Oman game at 2am. Thank god I didn't have to. Although by the time we got home it could have almost been the 2nd half

I refreshed the scores from the other group for fun whislt getting a lift back home.
Watching the ticker and those 5 goals for Uzbekistan and wondering if Sth Korea was on the way out was heaps of fun.
Pity Uzbek's didn't put more on Qatar earlier and that Iran didn't go on with it.
I would have loved to see those arrogant Sth Korean pr!cks battle out 5th place, (whick I think they'd win easily) then FAIL v 5th in CONMEBOL.

[Jeterpool]

Just realised because I'm on the ball and quick with everything Kenedys goal was not as significant after all Jordan beat Oman we actually would of qualified even if we had of lost by 12 goals or less.

You don't think our winning may have deflated Oman who had a chance if direct qualification if we drew?

I know if I was banking on a result and had more to play for it makes it easier to be motivated

[MFKS]

You don't think our winning may have deflated Oman who had a chance if direct qualification if we drew?

I know if I was banking on a result and had more to play for it makes it easier to be motivated

Oman still had plenty to play for. Win/Draw and they were through to the 5th Round and the play offs.

Lose and they were out.


Sure Oman couldn't control what happened in Sydney but they had heaps to play for when they actually kicked off