Olyroos Round Up

Overall a very disappointing campaign by our Olyroos. The illusion of being one win away from getting to the quarterfinals might entice some to say that we did ok, but not this punter.

Considering the creative play that this team showed in qualifying, none of that was on display in the Olympics. I believe we should not go into youth competitions in a negative defensive mind frame.

Youth competitions are a scouting goldmine, and what scout would give a crap about a team that scores only 1 goal. I say go for broke. If you set up to defend, not only will the attack suffer, but the defenders will suffer, conceding only 1 goal from Argentina becomes a team effort, not the good work of a couple of key defenders.

I can understand hesitation and safety in qualification, but when your goal is reached, go for broke. Realistically we were never going to medal here.

Overall Best Player: David Carney. I really hope he gets a run in the Premier League soon. Interestingly he was more of an attacking threat as the RB compared to RM, probably because he had more room to work with.

Most Promising Talent: Matthew Špiranović. What can i say about this kid, just turned 20 and dare I say it, future captain of Australia. He made the best run of any of our players, running past at least 3 Serbian players and putting a shot on goal .... as centre back. His most effective position is DM, and he is much loved by the Nuremberg supporters. Nuremberg were relegated from the Bundesliga so hopefully he gets back to playing top level competitive football soon.

I can't escape saying something about not having Burns and Djite there. SO STUPID!!! Would have guaranteed more goals for sure.

Edit: Found two great articles written by Craig Foster and Les Murray. I really respect these guys and they agree with me entirely (no surprises). FFA have come out to defend Arnold, bloody hell when will it (his career as an Australian coach) end!