No Use For A Name
23-07-2007, 05:54 AM
edit: Just realised this could be a spoiler so if the title needs changing could a mod do it although everyone should know the result by now i would think.
Well now that our inaugural Asian Cup adventure is over the inevitable question and point of discussion is just what went wrong? Also what are the ramifications for Australia as a result of our participation and performance at the Asian cup?
What went wrong?
• Poor Preparation: Perhaps one of the most fatal errors occurred before a ball had even been kicked at the Asian Cup due to poor preparation prior to the tournament. A total of only 2 friendly matches, against Singapore and Uruguay, were organized with the squad for the Uruguay game quite different then what we saw in the Asian Cup with players like Jones and McDonald involved. Now given that the majority of our players had come off long European season’s maybe it wasn’t a good idea to play any more but on the other hand the more game time the squad can get playing together with one another is a lot better. Most of the other Asian nations had players playing in leagues that are in mid season currently so they were going to be sharp and have the match fitness advantage in that sense already which is also why friendly games were important for us. If this is to do with Arnold or the FFA is another question and issue altogether.
• Weather/Climate: Everyone knows that the weather obviously took it’s toll on us throughout the tournament. Perhaps greater preparation could’ve been used to combat this element as everyone knew before hand that it was most likely to be a factor. Simon Hill said that just walking up to the top of the stadium to commentate the game left him with a soaked shirt and it stayed that way for a good 15 minutes which goes to show what it was like over there.
Like before the World Cup, it was reported that Arnold worked the players quite hard as Hiddink did, with the similar aim of reaping the fitness rewards during the tournament. However in the climate they were training in it’s a lot different to Europe so by flogging players on the training track could’ve done more harm than good and caused tiredness within the squad instead of getting the desired effect of reaching maximum fitness during the tournament. There was a clear lack of intensity during the first 2 games where players complained about the conditions. This could be seen as being partly down to poor preparation as well.
• Underestimated Opposition/Arrogance: This had been stated quite a bit by people and in the media that Australia seemed to have underestimated the opposition in Asia and were seen to have had certain arrogance about them. For example Lucas Neil came out a month or so before the tournament and said Australia was going to win the trophy which raised eyebrows overseas and gave the other teams an added sense of motivation. Perhaps again there was a lack of preparation in terms of preparing to play some of the ‘weaker’ opponents in the lead up to the tournament as we partly underestimated them and what we believed they were actually capable of. I know some teams certainly surprised me. Or were our opponents just simply to good for us?
• Graham Arnold/Tactics: This subject has been done to death already so I won’t go on about it to much as has been discussed a fair bit in othet threads. What I will say is that people seemed to think in the last first months since he took over that he had done well in carrying on the Hiddink influence/philosophy and expected that to carry on during the tournament. For some reason it all crumbled and went pear-shaped, and I believe the poor preparation is a major factor in why that happened.
We never quite got our tactics right and the main problem was with the defence. No Moore, Chipperfield, Vidmar and Popovic who were there 12 months ago is a massive loss of experience. It took us to long to sort out the defence which was show in that we were forced to constantly shuffle it throughout the entire tournament. Also it has been apparent in the past that Viduka on his own up front doesn’t work and when it was tried again in some of the games it again failed and changes were then made. He didn’t really seem to have the full support of the dressing room, which meant there wasn’t that great Aussie spirit throughout the squad which is what the Socceroos are known for and built upon.
• FFA:This has been discussed a fair bit but i will keep it short. Main issues are if they were the ones who should’ve been responsible for the poor preparation and could’ve they done more about the coaching situation, such as sorting it out sooner and getting someone with higher credentials. Not even necessarily getting someone else but perhaps handling it better than telling Arnold that his future is uncertain and making public comments about his future just before the tournament which isn’t appropriate and just creates unnecessary added pressure.
• The players: Was it that the players just simply didn’t perform or respond to the tactics like they should’ve? Were they not motivated and had their minds on other things such as wanting to be on holidays after playing long seasons overseas or had the arrogant attitude like some others? Was it the disharmony between certain senior players that caused the downfall such as in regards to the captaincy issue and Viduka’s u-turn? Were people expecting more out of Kewell and Cahill who had just come back from injury and was it poor management by Arnold to use them sparingly and which caused some players to look ineffective, such as Cullina playing in a more defensive role when he is suited to play in a more attacking position.
The ramifications
• The results will now apparently have a direct impact on our future WC 2010 and AC 2011 qualification paths and make it more difficult as we won’t be in one of the best seeded positions. It’s not easy always to get the best players back for these games so we need the easiest path possible to qualify as it is extremely vital we continue to consistently play in these tournaments as it’s the best way to progress and to help achieve better results in the future.
• There may be no prize money but the winner goes on to compete in the confed cup which brings in revenue through a few ways as well as having the opportunity to play against the worlds best in a tournament style competition, which we’ve seen how valuable it actually is in the past when we have qualified for it.
• The sponsorship dollars were coming in nicely after the World Cup and could’ve potentially done so from a good showing in this tournament, but the performance at the Asian Cup as well as some of the negative media and comments from the Australian camp won’t have done much to improve the image of the team.
• The performances won’t have gained us much respect in Asia, and remember a lot of people still resent the fact that Australia were made a part of Asia to begin with so we need all the support we can get and it will take time to build up. It is important to gain respect as it will help give us more powers in terms of lobbying with the AFC and FIFA over certain issues such as hosting future World and Asian Cup’s which has been discussed. Also in terms of arranging future international fixtures a better showing would’ve made the task easier and more attractive for opponents to be willing to play against us. As a result of the results our FIFA ranking has officially dropped already and may continue to do so (not that I believe in these rankings much anyway!).
• More senior players will be retiring soon such as Viduka and the like after this tournament and the decision to do so could be made easier after this tournament given some of the trying circumstances such as the timing of the tournaments and the conditions and rifts that allegedly occurred. New players were exposed and now we have some Asian experience.
These are just a few thoughts and it is very easy to say this in hindsight looking back over the tournament. There were plenty of positives as well and things that can be taken away from this experience, which was after all our first ever Asian Cup don’t forget! If only i put this much effort into my uni essays :p
Well now that our inaugural Asian Cup adventure is over the inevitable question and point of discussion is just what went wrong? Also what are the ramifications for Australia as a result of our participation and performance at the Asian cup?
What went wrong?
• Poor Preparation: Perhaps one of the most fatal errors occurred before a ball had even been kicked at the Asian Cup due to poor preparation prior to the tournament. A total of only 2 friendly matches, against Singapore and Uruguay, were organized with the squad for the Uruguay game quite different then what we saw in the Asian Cup with players like Jones and McDonald involved. Now given that the majority of our players had come off long European season’s maybe it wasn’t a good idea to play any more but on the other hand the more game time the squad can get playing together with one another is a lot better. Most of the other Asian nations had players playing in leagues that are in mid season currently so they were going to be sharp and have the match fitness advantage in that sense already which is also why friendly games were important for us. If this is to do with Arnold or the FFA is another question and issue altogether.
• Weather/Climate: Everyone knows that the weather obviously took it’s toll on us throughout the tournament. Perhaps greater preparation could’ve been used to combat this element as everyone knew before hand that it was most likely to be a factor. Simon Hill said that just walking up to the top of the stadium to commentate the game left him with a soaked shirt and it stayed that way for a good 15 minutes which goes to show what it was like over there.
Like before the World Cup, it was reported that Arnold worked the players quite hard as Hiddink did, with the similar aim of reaping the fitness rewards during the tournament. However in the climate they were training in it’s a lot different to Europe so by flogging players on the training track could’ve done more harm than good and caused tiredness within the squad instead of getting the desired effect of reaching maximum fitness during the tournament. There was a clear lack of intensity during the first 2 games where players complained about the conditions. This could be seen as being partly down to poor preparation as well.
• Underestimated Opposition/Arrogance: This had been stated quite a bit by people and in the media that Australia seemed to have underestimated the opposition in Asia and were seen to have had certain arrogance about them. For example Lucas Neil came out a month or so before the tournament and said Australia was going to win the trophy which raised eyebrows overseas and gave the other teams an added sense of motivation. Perhaps again there was a lack of preparation in terms of preparing to play some of the ‘weaker’ opponents in the lead up to the tournament as we partly underestimated them and what we believed they were actually capable of. I know some teams certainly surprised me. Or were our opponents just simply to good for us?
• Graham Arnold/Tactics: This subject has been done to death already so I won’t go on about it to much as has been discussed a fair bit in othet threads. What I will say is that people seemed to think in the last first months since he took over that he had done well in carrying on the Hiddink influence/philosophy and expected that to carry on during the tournament. For some reason it all crumbled and went pear-shaped, and I believe the poor preparation is a major factor in why that happened.
We never quite got our tactics right and the main problem was with the defence. No Moore, Chipperfield, Vidmar and Popovic who were there 12 months ago is a massive loss of experience. It took us to long to sort out the defence which was show in that we were forced to constantly shuffle it throughout the entire tournament. Also it has been apparent in the past that Viduka on his own up front doesn’t work and when it was tried again in some of the games it again failed and changes were then made. He didn’t really seem to have the full support of the dressing room, which meant there wasn’t that great Aussie spirit throughout the squad which is what the Socceroos are known for and built upon.
• FFA:This has been discussed a fair bit but i will keep it short. Main issues are if they were the ones who should’ve been responsible for the poor preparation and could’ve they done more about the coaching situation, such as sorting it out sooner and getting someone with higher credentials. Not even necessarily getting someone else but perhaps handling it better than telling Arnold that his future is uncertain and making public comments about his future just before the tournament which isn’t appropriate and just creates unnecessary added pressure.
• The players: Was it that the players just simply didn’t perform or respond to the tactics like they should’ve? Were they not motivated and had their minds on other things such as wanting to be on holidays after playing long seasons overseas or had the arrogant attitude like some others? Was it the disharmony between certain senior players that caused the downfall such as in regards to the captaincy issue and Viduka’s u-turn? Were people expecting more out of Kewell and Cahill who had just come back from injury and was it poor management by Arnold to use them sparingly and which caused some players to look ineffective, such as Cullina playing in a more defensive role when he is suited to play in a more attacking position.
The ramifications
• The results will now apparently have a direct impact on our future WC 2010 and AC 2011 qualification paths and make it more difficult as we won’t be in one of the best seeded positions. It’s not easy always to get the best players back for these games so we need the easiest path possible to qualify as it is extremely vital we continue to consistently play in these tournaments as it’s the best way to progress and to help achieve better results in the future.
• There may be no prize money but the winner goes on to compete in the confed cup which brings in revenue through a few ways as well as having the opportunity to play against the worlds best in a tournament style competition, which we’ve seen how valuable it actually is in the past when we have qualified for it.
• The sponsorship dollars were coming in nicely after the World Cup and could’ve potentially done so from a good showing in this tournament, but the performance at the Asian Cup as well as some of the negative media and comments from the Australian camp won’t have done much to improve the image of the team.
• The performances won’t have gained us much respect in Asia, and remember a lot of people still resent the fact that Australia were made a part of Asia to begin with so we need all the support we can get and it will take time to build up. It is important to gain respect as it will help give us more powers in terms of lobbying with the AFC and FIFA over certain issues such as hosting future World and Asian Cup’s which has been discussed. Also in terms of arranging future international fixtures a better showing would’ve made the task easier and more attractive for opponents to be willing to play against us. As a result of the results our FIFA ranking has officially dropped already and may continue to do so (not that I believe in these rankings much anyway!).
• More senior players will be retiring soon such as Viduka and the like after this tournament and the decision to do so could be made easier after this tournament given some of the trying circumstances such as the timing of the tournaments and the conditions and rifts that allegedly occurred. New players were exposed and now we have some Asian experience.
These are just a few thoughts and it is very easy to say this in hindsight looking back over the tournament. There were plenty of positives as well and things that can be taken away from this experience, which was after all our first ever Asian Cup don’t forget! If only i put this much effort into my uni essays :p