Where is Football Going

[midfielder]

Great read in smh, Frank Lowey wrote article on the appointment of a new coach, and footballs current state.

www.smh.com.au/news/football/reality-bites-we-need-the-best-to-keep-our-dream-alive/2007/09/18/1189881512772.html

My only disagreement is on his assessment of Graham Arnold.

[Jesus]

I think Arnold has potential. But needs to step away from the system for a few years, so as to command more authority. He is close to the players, which can be good, but currently, I think he lacks the authority to command.

[midfielder]

I just checked the link with smh and it did not work so I have copied the article below.

I agree with Jesus in regards Arnold.

Also to Half time orange & Craig Foster love your push and overall committment but listen to whta Frank says, you can only play the cards you have not the cards you want.

Anyway hers the article sorry about link not connecting

Reality bites: we need the best to keep our dream alive
As the FFA closes in on a new Socceroos coach, chairman Frank Lowy writes exclusively about why he wants a foreigner in charge.
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In just a few months, the Socceroos will begin their campaign for the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa. It will be perhaps the toughest challenge yet faced by the Socceroos, including all those endured during the wilderness years of 1974-2006.
So now, before the campaign begins, is a good time for a sober assessment of the state of Australian football.
It's also a good time because there have been worrying signs from some commentators, including the Herald's football writer Michael Cockerill, that hark back to "Old Soccer", when personal relationships and parochialism led to poor decision-making.
Much of this has revolved around discussion of the national coach. This is understandable. The national coach embodies the hopes and dreams of the team, and the nation.
His reputation, authority and experience count for a lot in the way other football nations see us. They count for everything in terms of how his players see him, and how they see their own prospects for success.
In the end, players and coach are judged by on-field results. It is a brutal calculus, but that's life in top-level sport.
That is why the leadership of the game - Football Federation Australia management, the board, and ultimately me as chairman - must not let parochial concerns or wishful thinking cloud its judgment in any respect, least of all when it comes to selecting a national coach.
The fact is Australian football remains in a fragile state. The success of the A-League and the 2006 World Cup campaign gave the game a boost, but they did not guarantee our future.
In international terms, Australia is a shooting star, capable of flashes of brilliance but not yet with enough depth and maturity to win more than we lose, and to ride out the inevitable ups and downs of global football.
The FFA must work on two fronts simultaneously. One is to do everything possible to ensure the Socceroos are given the best chance of winning each match they play. The other is to build a sustainable framework for the game so that in years to come the future of the sport is not hostage to our performance in a single match, or a single tournament.
Australia faces unique challenges on its 10- to 20-year journey to become a consistent performer on the world stage. Our geographic isolation is one. The inevitable (and in some ways desirable) exodus of our best players to Europe is another. The lack of a development system to grow a pool of top players and coaches is another. Lack of funds, and the list goes on.
These are not gripes. They are facts of life which the administrators of the game must confront daily.
So it is with the appointment of a national coach.
There is a school of thought which says our national coach should be an Australian. Nice sentiment. But there's no place for sentiment in football. Michael Cockerill knows this. Or at least he should. In his column last Friday, where Cockerill argued for the appointment of an Australian coach, he had a bet each-way. He acknowledges that the decision to appoint Guus Hiddink was vindicated. But he didn't like the way Hiddink achieved his success. He says Graham Arnold performed well but ultimately "the black-and-white of the scoreboard shows he failed".
He says Hiddink left no legacy. Where would football be today in the public consciousness had Hiddink not led the Socceroos to their first World Cup in 32 years? Many would argue that Hiddink's legacy was to underscore the importance of authority and leadership. His legacy was to help show what the Socceroos are capable of.
Cockerill would accept a foreign coach, but not a proven one. Instead, he argues for a younger coach with "passion, drive and enthusiasm", as though a seasoned international coach somehow lacks these attributes.
For the record, it's my view that Graham Arnold is probably the closest Australia has come to producing a coach of genuine international standing. It's dangerous to make predictions, but I would not be surprised if Arnold was one of the candidates for the top job after the 2010 World Cup. In my view, he has performed well under the circumstances and has faithfully honoured every undertaking between him and the FFA.
It is a definite goal of FFA to produce Australian coaches of the highest calibre, but none exists today and in the meantime our national team deserves the best we can possibly get.
It's worth noting that 50 per cent of the 32 teams at the 2006 World Cup had "foreign" coaches, among them football's founding nation, England.
It's also worth reminding some commentators that these international coaches don't fall from the sky. The way some write about the recruitment process one would think it's a simple matter of hanging out a sign: "Coach wanted, apply here."
The recruitment of international-level coaches is a big and complicated business. There are timing issues (when can the coach be free of previous commitments?); financial (what can the coach command, and what can Australia afford?); travel (how much time can the coach spend in Australia and with the players?); game development (can the coach contribute to the national team, and to development of a national framework for the game?).
Football fans can rest assured that FFA has worked diligently to secure a coach with the qualities and enthusiasm that will give the Socceroos every chance of success.
The appointment of a new coach should be cause for optimism, tempered by a realistic assessment of our true standing in world football today.
We all dream that one day the Socceroos will comprise a majority of Australian-based players, and be led to a World Cup victory, or an Asian Cup victory, by an Australian coach. In the meantime, we have to bridge the distance between reality and that dream.
Everyone who shares that dream, and I know that Mike Cockerill does, needs to appreciate that we will only ever realise it by playing the cards we have, not the ones we wish we had, and by taking one step at a time.

[Bearinator]

I have not read it, cos I could not be bothered, but what I think arnold needs to do is leave Australian International football for a few years, say 10 years, coach in the a-league, or even better the Netherlands, then come back a more experienced coach. He needs more experience IMO.

[marinermick]

That is why the leadership of the game - Football Federation Australia management, the board, and ultimately me as chairman - must not let parochial concerns or wishful thinking cloud its judgment in any respect, least of all when it comes to selecting a national coach.

a bit rich coming from lowy given who he installed as assistant socceroos coach and all the cronies he appointed on the sydney fc board

[Pete]

That's a good article by Lowy.

I tend to believe that Arnold needs to work away at the lower national teams, and assist the Socceroos' coach. I have seen teams under him play some good football, but then something changes throughout the match, and Arnold reacts wrongly to the situation. Bearinator's suggestion of Arnold going away to coach for a few years is good, btw.

I feel he may be too close to some senior players, but if he takes on the more junior national teams, and have the likes of Rob Baan and the Socceroos coach to bounce ideas off, he can command more authority to his squad. And in time, it is expected that these junior national players will forge their way into the Socceroos.

I don't, however, think time is on Arnold's side in respect to getting the top job. After 2010, it would be another case of seeing who else we maybe able to attract. Lowy mentions 20 years as a guideline, so if you take 20 years before an Aussie coach would take charge of the Socceroos, it's too late for Arnold.

And if that is the case, if I was Lowy or one of the bods from the FFA, I'd be looking at the younger Assistant Coaches running around in the A-League or even a bright spark from one of the State Leagues. Get a squad of them, have them go through numerous coaching clinics and get qualifications, keep tabs on how they perform etc. and see who shapes up in 2014 or so as a contender.

[marinermick]

petethebusdriver said:

And if that is the case, if I was Lowy or one of the bods from the FFA, I'd be looking at the younger Assistant Coaches running around in the A-League or even a bright spark from one of the State Leagues. Get a squad of them, have them go through numerous coaching clinics and get qualifications, keep tabs on how they perform etc. and see who shapes up in 2014 or so as a contender.

if you are talking about 20 years then wilko for socceroos coach!

start the campaign now:

wilko 2026 or alex26.com.au

[Bearinator]

All the coaching clinics and qualifications in the world dont mean shit without 1st hand coaching experience and good management skills.

[Jesus]

The FFA are already overhauling the coaching system arent they? That will lay the seeds for future coaches.

[Pete]

Bearinator's and Jesus' posts above both have valid points.

Bearinator is true in that qualifications and clinic are only part of the solution to eventually having an Aussie coach. The other part is the individual brilliance, communication skills, management of players etc. that each individual would react differently to.

That's why it's best to spot a number of potentials, tap them on the shoulder, let them know the FFA is watching their career and see how it spans out.

Yes, as Jesus mentioned, Rob Baan has been going over the coaching qualifications and assessing what is needed. I believe he (through the FFA) got some coaches into the AFC coaching licensing courses (?), whereas in the past, coaches had to go to Europe to get the same qualification. More coaches, better qualified does provide the seeds for better coaching at all levels, but it is generational, so it isn't an abstract statement of Mick's to suggest Wilko for 2026! He's certainly got the voice for the job, at least (But he may have to tone his language down . BTW, Mick any chance Wilko could assist Auburn up in Bay 16 while he's injured, will help keep Alex's voice in shape ;D).

[countryhick]

I had this discussion briefly with Serious this afternoon.

Why not send the assistant coaches (obviously you couldn't send the 1st string coaches) to Europe for two weeks on "work experience"?

Practically speaking, what hurdles are in the way of that happening? I realise that you need the assistant coaches on hand, but maybe send those coaches who have been knocked out of the finals or something along those lines, or send the assistants during the first month of the season.

[Pete]

Good idea countryhick, but I dare say the European clubs have a heap of requests for folks to join their training sessions etc.

Maybe sending some of our Assistant Coaches to the J or K League and see how things happen there, some study and qualifications upgrading and then maybe, the Assistants being made to take on local coaching to implement what they've learnt.

[countryhick]

Yeah not necessarily the European leagues, they are the most recognised leagues is all...more just the general idea.

But one of the Asian leagues would probably be better off anyway so that we can get more used to the style of play.

[omni]

marinermick said:

petethebusdriver said:

And if that is the case, if I was Lowy or one of the bods from the FFA, I'd be looking at the younger Assistant Coaches running around in the A-League or even a bright spark from one of the State Leagues. Get a squad of them, have them go through numerous coaching clinics and get qualifications, keep tabs on how they perform etc. and see who shapes up in 2014 or so as a contender.

if you are talking about 20 years then wilko for socceroos coach!

start the campaign now:

wilko 2026 or alex26.com.au

alexin.com