Fantasy Dreaming
Fantasy football: more than just a game
The Trouble With Tim
'Tim needs to remind himself he’s more than capable on the ball...'
Lesson (Re)Learned
Player surnames and pseudonyms should be completely removed from all kits. Make it mandatory. Remove all numbers, too. In fact all players should be made to wear some form of breathable balaclava.
Better yet, all players should be replaced by robots. Balaclava-wearing robots. Yep, that'll do. ...
My Favourite Year (A-League Edition)
Is there anything in a football fan's life better than the perfect season? Probably, but Brisbane Roar's 2010/2011 A-League effort offered a pretty good argument as to why there isn't. It was, in a word, special.
After recently completing Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch - which, despite the ...
Sign him up!
Asked which two players they were most looking forward to seeing in the 2009 Under-20 World Cup, most Australian fans would have replied with Aaron Mooy and Dean Bouzanis.
Less than six months prior to the World Cup Mooy, the Bolton youth-teamer, was named player of the tournament in the ...
Socceroos... Fan Made?
This Sunday afternoon I will take pleasure in observing the hordes of bandwagoners, fairweathers and atmosphere spectators flocking to Suncorp Stadium for the first time this A-League season, all investigating whether the value of entertainment on offer is up to their standards.
A bitter-sweet ...
Last Hurrah
Even with the absence of star Shinji Kagawa, Japan's individual quality was always going to be difficult for the Socceroos to suppress. Nagatomo, Endo, Hasebe, Okazaki and the most talented of them all, Keisuke Honda; these are the types of players who can win an Asian Cup. As it turned out ...
Australia vs. UAE
Panic stations people!
Australia only have until Monday evening/Tuesday morning local time to perfect their Asian Cup preparations and we've begun with, what, a dour draw against tournament outsiders United Arab Emirates, the 88th ranked team in the world?
Not good enough, although it's not ...
Asian Cup 2: Time for Revenge
If there's one way to overcome heartbreak it's to look on the bright side, right?
Well, in less than a month's time Australia will have probably its best chance for 'revenge' over the sickening 2022 World Cup host decision, and that's enough of a bright side for me to find some comfort.
However...
The Centre Conundrum
Ever since Craig Moore announced his initial retirement from international football the Australian national team has been plagued by the question of who will fill the vacant centre-back position. Unfortunately, no real action has been taken to solve the problem. Over eighteen months has since ...
The soon-to-be Socceroos
With the senior national team producing fewer headlines than a singular Wayne Rooney, I have decided to take a look at just how the Young Socceroos success at the Asian under-19 Championship will benefit the senior squad. Arabella's latest piece about the under-19s progression into 2012 Olyroos ...
The Chance
The chance is coming. Or at least it should be.
While the two recent friendlies against Poland and Switzerland provided some decent results and the odd showcase of good football they didn't really teach us much we didn't already know.
Lucky, then, that they weren't intended to be a learning ...
First Impressions
One game into the Osieck reign and what have we learnt? Not a whole lot to be honest, which was always going to be the case with the familiar squad, but there is clear potential to work with should he take a few chances.
Firstly, high praise to the man for finally offering Matthew ...
Hungry, Hungry Holger
Managed at international level? Check. Coaching success in Asia? Yep. Experienced but in-touch with the modern game? Definitely. Enough pedigree to command immediate respect from the squad? Sure. Willing to meaningfully contribute to the progression of Australian football at all levels? A fair ...
Busy times
We've barely drawn breath and yet we are already on the path towards Brazil 2014. A new coach and a loss to Slovenia made for a busy week in Socceroo-land.
But dare I ask - are we being exposed to too much green and gold too soon after our South African foray? Before you ...
Moving Forward
It's not often I'll find myself considering the problems of the English national team. The questionable mentality behind the consistent underachievement, the influx of foreigners strangling the Premier League, even Wayne Rooney's temper tantrums; none of it is enough to engage my mind for fear ...
Added Importance
Season six of the A-League shapes as a critical one for many reasons, but from a national team perspective it offers the chance for generation-next to put their hand up for selection.
Now, more than ever before, we need our next wave of talent to announce themselves as we prepare ourselves for ...
New Australia? Austrayland?
For those of you that weren't aware, a few months ago there was some talk from some random politicians across the ditch that New Zealand should become a state of Australia.
The idea was quickly knocked down by his fellow MPs, but it did receive some support from the New Zealand public at ...
The new guy
As any drawn out rollercoaster ride must, the reign of Pim Verbeek has finally come to an end. The World Cup stage was the perfect setting for Verbeek's swan song but ultimately proved to be a group-stage letdown.
Most people - myself included - won't be sad to see the Dutchman make his way to ...
It's the end of the World (Cup)
We may have been hoping for a minor miracle but a fighting victory was enough to make Socceroos fans proud. A bright spot on a World Cup that was threatening complete disappointment for Australia was delivered in a typically hard-working fashion.
Realistically, we couldn't have asked for any ...