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Post by jollyroger on Sept 13, 2006 21:52:10 GMT 10
I cannot say that i have seen a championship game. What do u guys really think? Is the a league comparible in standard and crowds to the championship?
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Post by jollyroger on Jul 16, 2006 8:33:45 GMT 10
If i understand correctly, juv are in serie b with -30 points starting positon!
You would have to ask whether they would get promoted at the end of next season from that starting position. especially if players move on.
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Post by jollyroger on Mar 17, 2006 21:05:21 GMT 10
I know things can happen in the heat of the moment on the pitch, but ive never thought that they are valid reasons to take someone out like that. Ive lost count of how many times ive seen the commentors of thugby league defend the actions of people on the playing field.
There are alot of people who think that the "laws of the land" stop and start at the playing field sideline. Its only a matter of time before the courts will remind people otherwise.
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Post by jollyroger on Feb 3, 2006 18:56:43 GMT 10
With claret in our hearts; Bearinator, i just watched hooligans on DVD. Your lot get claret in alot of other places apart from the heart!!! You guys are thugs.
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Post by jollyroger on Jan 13, 2006 17:24:30 GMT 10
The thing that shocked everybody in the case of Andres Escobar is that he was murdered for making a mistake on a football pitch. Something that was beyond comprehesion. Its only game after all.
If anybody gets a chance to see the documentary referred to in the link i posted above, they should see it. SBS showed it serveral months back. Its an amazing piece of work
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Post by jollyroger on Jan 12, 2006 19:22:24 GMT 10
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Post by jollyroger on Aug 1, 2007 21:43:37 GMT 10
I hope he is a success. Like it or not it is important for Sydney to be strong in the A League.
He was a great player once. Certainly on of my favourites in years past. I hope he goes well. I will certainly look forward to watching him play in gosford.
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Post by jollyroger on Jul 22, 2007 13:05:00 GMT 10
With Grella, a midfielder getting sent off, and with Australia under the pump the way we were, it was a reasonable decision for Carle or Perhaps Valeri to come on for Aloisi a striker.
It would seem a logical substitution to me.
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Post by jollyroger on Jul 22, 2007 7:43:50 GMT 10
I'am with you serious. Personnally i think Carle is a very good player and iam not going to dump sh#t on the guy because he played for Newcastle.
I think the asian cup has been a learning experience and one important thing has been revealed. Carney, Milligan and Beachamp are all up to the task of wearing the green and gold for australia. Ok, Milligans clearance wasnt great which led to Japans goal, but hes young and will learn from the experience.
I think the boys defensive shape was very good tonight. When reduced to 10 men, they sat back and absorbed the presure and conserved what little fuel was in the tank by only doing the running that had to be done. I wasnt pretty, but i dont think the game would of made the distance to penalties (which i think was the plan) if we went out there and tried to play football against japan with 10 men.
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Post by jollyroger on May 8, 2007 22:53:21 GMT 10
It can be easy to think that some of the issues at hand in relation to youth/player development are addressed at levels higher up the Football tree and there isnt much that we can do about it at grass roots level. This is true to some extent.
It is also true that at club land, where even the best players started there football journey, there is lots that can be done to improve the standard of junior players.
I have played and coached all my life and I thought i knew something about coaching until i did the youth license Mark Boyd several months ago. The course was a real eye opener and quite a learning experience. Probably an awakening!
If you look at the clubs on the coast, there is lots that we can do to improve the standard of junior players and perhaps improve the stardard of players prior to entering representative programs when they hit the right age.
Clubs being selective about who coaches their top tier team in each of there age groups for instance. Perhaps a youth license in conjuction with significant playing experience should be the minimum requirement for anyone coaching the "A" division team at a club. This may also go some way to improving the standard of competition in the divisions. I think that too many clubs are happy to let the "enthusiastic guy" who has a son in the team, but very little football knowledge run the side.
Perhaps a reduction in field size, or player numbers in the U10's to U12's divisions are also possible. I watched a video on the World Game website where the guy who runs the youth program as PSG was interviewed where this subject was discussed at some length. In france, apparently kids play 11v11 on full size fields for the first time in under 13's. IN Oz, they start and struggle to do it in U10's.
I dont have the knowledge or experience to pass comments on all the things that can be done to improve the standard of youth players. The above maybe some points for consideration. The answers however are certainly out there, and i am sure clubs on the Central Coast would be only to keen to to introduce policys and procedures aimed at improving the standard of youth players on the coast within an enjoyable learning environment.
Perhaps as a collective (all clubs) adopting the same systems and policies, we would go along way towards turning the central coast into a football player factory. We in club land we just need to be shown the way.
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Post by jollyroger on Nov 9, 2006 20:19:22 GMT 10
There was a write up about him today in the herald or the Australian. I forget which one i was reading. On the surface of things, he would appear to have the contacts and has been at the centre of some major deals put together for the AFL.
There was reference to the "National youth league" in the piece i read which i thought was interesting as well.
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Post by jollyroger on Nov 9, 2006 20:32:55 GMT 10
On the subject of the ACL. Have you seen the names of some of the teams in the competition??
I cannot wait for the clash between "Central Coast Mariners v Thailand Tobacco Monopoly"
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Post by jollyroger on Sept 20, 2006 8:34:45 GMT 10
Kazu would be an exception to the rule. His appointment was strategic in that it established a connection between the Japanese public and Sydney FC when the world club championships were held in Japan last year. This was clever by Sydney FC and probably did wonders for their merchandise sales in Japan during the tournament
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Post by jollyroger on Sept 19, 2006 23:19:24 GMT 10
guest players on these short term holiday stints do nothing but devalue our league. What are they doing in newcastle entertaining the idea of getting collymore who hasnt played for five years. Id be ashamed if i was a newcastle supporter.
And whats with Romario & Carbone for Adelaide and Sydney. Surely we are are not that hard up for crowd numbers that we should resort to this kind of thing.
In my opinion the following should never happen again in Australian Football; 1) Guest players should not be considered by any clubs as i believe they devalue the league and Australian Football generally.
2) An Australian national team should never play a touring club side (like Man United several years ago) for the same reasons above.
We need to grow up.
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Post by jollyroger on Sept 4, 2006 21:38:47 GMT 10
i have to agree. I havent seen the home strip for the roar this year. Maroon and orange just doesnt work at all.
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Post by jollyroger on Jul 16, 2006 22:59:54 GMT 10
Like i said at the bottom of rubbernoses posting, Roy Masters took the opportunity to dump on all aspects of Australian soccer.
The guy is a goose.
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Post by jollyroger on Jul 16, 2006 22:53:35 GMT 10
This is a copy of the Roy Masters article NET LOSS (1st July 2006) It is the article that preceded Frank Lowys response as reported by Rubbernose - "Football Strikes Back"
Net Loss July 1, 2006 By Roy Masters
HARRY KEWELL'S gout and an Italian player re-enacting the death scene from Othello may have cost Football Federation Australia $3.3 million in World Cup payments - but it's unlikely the money would have flowed to the sport's biggest creditor, the taxpayer.
Australian soccer owes the Federal Government $4 million, but the chances of the federation's chairman, Frank Lowy, repaying the capital are remote.
Lowy, Australia's second richest man, has received considerable credit for the resurrection of the game in Australia but the real benefactor has been the Government, which gave the sport $9 million on the condition it undergo a major reform after years of internecine fighting.
A further loan facility of $6 million was set up, of which FFA has drawn $4 million. Before Kewell's gout and his unavailability against the Italian team in Germany, the possibility was raised of Lowy finally repaying the debt.
After all, FFA has already received $7.68 million for qualifying for the World Cup and a further $1.65 million for advancing to the round of 16.
"Good luck," a Lowy confidant said of the chances of the Australian Sports Commission recovering the money.
"He won't pay it back. He wants more. He wants the ASC to put more money into its youth and Australian Institute of Sport programs."
The ASC is the Government's policy and funding arm.
Its deputy chairman, broadcaster Alan Jones, made mention of the debt in a 2GB radio interview with ASC chief executive Mark Peters shortly after the drawn match with Croatia.
Jones also referred to Lowy's use of the broadcaster to lean on the Prime Minister, John Howard, for a rescue package for the sport in 2003.
Jones said: "Frank Lowy said to me, 'You must ring the Prime Minister, we need money'.
"I said, 'Frank, you ring the Prime Minister'. He said, 'Oh, that would ruin my friendship'. I said, 'Oh, you want to ruin mine?"'
Peters chuckled and Jones continued.
"So I remember saying to the Prime Minister 'Twelve million' and he said, 'How much?' And somehow or other the $12 million materialised in a grant and a loan - no problems now.
"It will be able to be paid back won't it?" Jones asked.
Peters responded: "That's right." Although, rather than clarify that only $4 million was repayable, Peters praised the Minister for Sport and the Arts, Rod Kemp, for his role in rescuing the sport.
Earlier in Jones's broadcast, he interviewed FFA chief executive John O'Neill, who deflected praise directed at him for Australia's achievements, saying: "No, thank you to the Sports Commission."
There was no mention of the $4 million debt. On Thursday the ASC received a small interest payment and FFA is seeking to have the term of the loan repayment extended. Mark Ryan, a Lowy spokesman, said Lowy understood the loan would be retired.
FFA is by far the most heavily funded of the four football codes in Australia.
For 2005-06, FFA received an allocation of $2.812 million from the ASC. That compares with $466,000 to AFL, $528,000 to rugby league and $454,000 to rugby union.
Just under half the allocation to FFA - some $1.115 million - is funding for its program at the Australian Institute of Sport.
Twelve ex-AIS scholarship holders were in Germany representing Australia at the World Cup. Furthermore, Croatia's Josip Simunic, Joey Didulica and Ante Seric were all born in Australia and trained at the AIS. Sydney-raised Seric says: "I owe the AIS."
Funding for soccer's AIS program is nearly six times greater than the $200,000 AFL, rugby league and rugby union each receive per year for theirs.
The other half of the ASC grant to FFA, or $1.423 million, is an allocation for the development of the sport, an ongoing payment which is five times the $208,000 AFL, league and union each receive annually to encourage participation in their sports.
Soccer is the only sport which receives funds for its elite players, the men who competed in Germany. Of the $1.423 million annual grant to FFA, $1.282 million is allocated to its high performance arm.
Furthermore, in the year to June 30, FFA received an additional $60,000 for international travel.
All this is on top of the $9 million non-repayable grant which Lowy sought to reform the sport and the loan facility of $6 million.
Lowy has indicated he will remain head of FFA for four more years.
When he announced this to state presidents on the eve of the A-League grand final earlier this year, it was met with rapturous applause.
However, O'Neill, whose contract ended with the World Cup, has not reached agreement on his new term.
O'Neill's salary is $1 million a year - a reason, perhaps, why the canny Lowy is stalling contract talks.
Relations were strained before the two left for Germany. There were suggestions Lowy's hands-on role indicated he may assume the position of executive chairman.
John Ribot, chairman of Queensland Roar, a Brisbane-based A-League team, compared Lowy running FFA with Rupert Murdoch taking charge of the National Rugby League.
Ribot knows the responsibilities of running a national football competition: he was CEO of Murdoch's Super League in 1995-97 when it was at war with the Australian Rugby League for pay TV rights.
Shortly after the A-League final, when it was announced O'Neill had secured a $130 million, seven-year TV deal with Foxtel to show A-League matches, Lowy convened a meeting with the club owners.
Ribot asked one of the first questions to Lowy: "Now that you have agreed to stay on, will our CEO also be reappointed?" Lowy indicated O'Neill's future was secure.
Indications are Lowy and O'Neill got on very well in Germany, but why wouldn't they in an atmosphere where only Harry Potter has had a more magical ride? Lowy's spokesman, Ryan, insists negotiations between the two will begin soon.
Lowy's FFA board initially consisted of Melbourne-based company director Ron Walker, who is also chairman of John Fairfax; Sydney businessman John Singleton; Brian Schwartz, then CEO of Ernst and Young (Australia); Suzanne Williams, a lawyer and formerly company secretary to SOCOG, the organising committee for the 2000 Sydney Olympics; and Phil Wolanski, a property developer and managing director of DW Co Pty Ltd.
Singleton resigned late last year when he surrendered all his public company directorships. He has subsequently raised the issue of conflict of interest over Lowy's position as chairman of FFA and his family's investment in the Sydney FC A-League team.
Singleton is a part owner of the Central Coast Mariners which was defeated by a goal by the Lowy family team in the A-League grand final.
Sydney captain Dwight Yorke, on loan from Manchester United, was paid more than Singleton's entire team.
In early May, when Lowy's coach resigned because he could not come to terms for the 2006-07 season, Lowy's colleagues at Sydney FC tried to poach Singo's coach.
The larrikin businessman, who holds the marketing rights to Central Coast Stadium at Gosford, took a late night mercy dash to the coach's Central Coast home to secure him on a marginally upgraded contract.
However, Lowy's spokesman insists his boss made an 11th hour plea to the Sydney FC to stop negotiations with the Mariners coach.
Asked if Lowy's involvement is a conflict of interest, Ryan said: "He's between a rock and a hard place. If he puts money in it's a conflict of interest but if the family private company, LFG, didn't put $5 million in, Sydney FC may have gone down."
FFA elections are due in November, when Lowy and the interim board must go to the sport's grass roots for re-election.
But there are signs that the old rump board of Soccer Australia will seek a shoot-out and attempt a comeback.
Although all state and territory associations have adopted FFA-approved constitutions, the NSW Soccer Association is yet to reform and adopt an approved constitution.
NSW intransigence looms as an own-goal for the sport. O'Neill appears determined FFA will not return to its old ethnic roots, saying before leaving for Germany: "The lunatics won't come back to run the asylum."
Nor does he believe the sport will continue as Australia's fourth football code, insisting from Germany that "normal transmission won't be resumed".
The accumulated losses of the A-League clubs amount to $16 million, with $6 million attributed to Sydney FC.
The competition it replaced, the NSL, lost $60 million in its last four years.
Ribot estimates the Foxtel TV deal will result in each A-League club receiving a grant of $1.4 million, wiping out the 2005-06 losses of most clubs.
"The phones have been running hot since the World Cup with sponsors wanting to get involved," he said. "There has also been a definite spurt in the sale of season tickets.
"The Rebel Sports group, one of the sponsors, ordered 100,000 football jerseys before the World Cup and my understanding is all have been sold."
But with 10 of the Socceroos expected to retire and only three expected to return to Australia and play in the A-League which begins in August, the heroes of Germany won't be appearing on Australian pitches. And none of the three - Mark Milligan, Archie Thompson and Stan Lazaridis - played a minute at the World Cup.
Funding is the key and FFA is already counting the cost of Germany. FFA's High Performance manager, John Boultbee, a former director of the AIS, was lamenting the mounting expenses the day after Australia's final-seconds loss to Italy.
"FIFA paid our airfares and gave us an accommodation subsidy but it didn't go near meeting our total costs," he said from Germany. "We had to fund a big proportion of it."
Asked when the ASC can expect the $4 million repaid, he said: "I don't know the answer to that."
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Post by jollyroger on Jul 16, 2006 22:38:40 GMT 10
I read the Roy Masters article in the saturday SMH. It was the 1st July i think. I meant to get the SMH on sat 8th to see the letters people would have posted in response to it but i forgot to get it.
I writing disected virtually every element of australian soccer from funding, world cup, and A-league, and meticulously dumped on it. Quite frankly, the article infuriated me.
I thought it would only be a matter of time after Australia were eliminated from the world cup that some writer from another code would rain on the parade. Roy Masters was it.
If anybody is a member of the "F2" site (www.f2.com.au), i am sure you would find a copy of his writing there.
I am glad Frank fired a ballistic missle back at him with this article.
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Post by jollyroger on Mar 15, 2006 21:05:00 GMT 10
Paul Okon isnt everybody's cup of tea however, i have always liked him as a player. I am surprised he hasnt moved back to oz earlier. I think hes in cyprus playing at the moment.
I am not sure whether he fits into the dickhead category.
Overall i think its great that these players are coming home. When you look the australians playing abroard at the FFA website, you have to wonder why they would want to play in the lower leagues of europe instead of the A league.
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Post by jollyroger on Mar 15, 2006 20:30:13 GMT 10
Its got to make you wonder what could be achieved if australian football was recieving the money the AFL got for the TV rights from channel 7 & 10.
I think it was 580 million for five years?? Imagine a piece of that pie filtering down to the a league clubs.
Oz football would be offering a great life style, good league and decent salaries. I think australia would offer an attractive carrot to the players of the world
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