Today In Sport

This past week the Football Federation of Australia announced the successor to Pim Verbeek for the head coach position with the Socceroos, Holger Osieck.  Who?  No, seriously.  Who the hell is that? 

Well apparently after a mediocre playing career, he worked his way up to being Franz Beckenbauer’s assistant/clipboard monkey at Italia 90.  Oh by the way, he is German, not Dutch so that is a step in the right direction.  After winning a World Cup with Germany he then descended into lower league club football before landing the top job with Canada.

Osieck managed to win a CONCACAF Gold Cup in his time there but was unable to take Canada to the World Cup.  He then joined FIFA in 2004 as the chief of their Technical Department.  Hopefully he still has some contacts there that might help us win the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.

He rejoined the coaching ranks in 2007, taking over J-League side Urawa Red Diamonds.  He took them to the 2007 Asian Champions League title.  But does that make him a good coach when he was dumped early in the 2008 season for a poor start?  I am not convinced by his credentials yet.

However, he is now our manager and he promises us that he will usher in a new generation of Socceroos.  At least we newspapers around Australia will be able to have such witty headlines as “Ossie leads us into the World Cup.”  Assuming we make it.

A brand new Hyundai A-League season begins on Thursday complete with a brand new team, the Melbourne Heart.  There have been changes a plenty over the off-season, new managers have entered, goalkeepers have been moving around left, right and center and Australian players have returned from their time with overseas clubs.

So, who will win this season?  Can Sydney do the double or will a brand new champion such as Perth or Wellington be crowned?  Let’s have a look shall we.

ADELAIDE UNITED

Last season was, to put it mildly, an unmitigated disaster.  The inability to put the ball in the net on a consistant basis was the chief reason for their dramatic slide down the ladder.  So they went out and got the best available striker they knew could perform in this league, Serginho van Dijk.

He has already proven his worth during The Reds encouraging Asian Champions League campaign where they managed to make it to the round of 16 where they were beaten in extra time by Korean outfit Jeonbuk Motors. 

We had a brief glimpse of Argentinian playmaker Marcos Flores at the end of last season and during the ACL and he looks like he can provide the midfield polish that United were sadly lacking last season.  But the biggest off-season change was with the manager.

Aurelio Vidmar ended his association with The Reds after the ACL campaign to take up a role with the national team.  He has now been replaced by Dutch coach Rini Coolen.  Coolen has experience in the European leagues, having played and managed there and will bring some new tactics to the Adelaide squad, including a 4-3-3 formation if the pre-season has been anything to go by. (continue reading…)

This weekend sees a clash of the only two remaining winless teams in the AFL, Richmond and Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in Adelaide.  One of them has to win, right?  Well, it could be a draw.  I’m just saying.

Both teams have very similar Points For totals but the Tigers have a much worse Points Against, thanks to some drubbings by most of their opponents, most recently Geelong.  The week before against Fremantle however, Richmond did show enough to suggest they are not completely rubbish.  Pretty close to it though. (continue reading…)

I’ve made my decision.

For all those players running around in the AFL these days, the spectre of Dream Team looms large over their careers.  It is no longer enough to just be a good player, you have to be a good DT player as well.  But what about the guys wh0 fail at this?

Who are they and what should we do with them?  Well, you do need some mid to low priced guys who will give you some guaranteed points and just hope that they improve over the course of the season.  But some of these guys are average DTer’s and will always be average.

So who are these guys and how do you avoid them……or even pick one for something to do?  Well, that’s where I come in.  Please welcome Team Average. (continue reading…)

The Eagles were a once proud and mighty club, but lately they have been the subject of rumours and drug scandals and players leaving by the truck load.  Well maybe not by the truck load but a truck load of talent left with Chris Judd.  Truck Load. (continue reading…)

The Western Bulldogs came up just a little short last season and now face the pressure of being one of the favourites and all the scrutiny that comes with it.  Can they handle the stress and go that one step further and make the Grand Final and even win it? (continue reading…)

The Sydney Swans, the AFL’s answer to sleeping pills.  They are without doubt the most boring team in the competition and the only way they end up winning games is by sending their opposition to sleep before lightly tip-toeing around them to score. (continue reading…)

After a season that promised so much and ended so disappointingly for the Saints, this off-season has been one of trials and tribulations.  The drawn out saga of former club captain Luke Ball and his desire to go elsewhere started off an explosion of mishaps for the club.

Ball wanted out but the Saints were unable to strike a deal with another club that suited them and ended up having to just let him go to the draft for nothing where he ended up with Collingwood, of all clubs.  A war of words erupted between the two camps and a lot of ill feeling will seep into the season. (continue reading…)

Last season was meant to be a season of promise and hope.  They had a good nucleus of players and then they added to returning superstar, Ben Cousins to their list.  Expectations rose along with their membership and crowd numbers. (continue reading…)