Comments on: Mid-Week Reaction

By: xfirestormx

xfirestormx — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:36:01 +0000

sorry to spam this and leave another comment, but i just “informed” myself about nicky carle a little bit… why has he not been played? its insane. i saw the highlights against nigeria and some other stuff and read a bit… super creative, threat from outside the box, great ball control. to me, he seems perfect. not because he fits with the overall play of the socceroos, because he most certainly has a different style and does not, but because that is exactly what the socceroos need — a player (cahill is a great example) that is a threat no matter where he is on the pitch. it not only increases the creativity of the offense, but it also is intimidating enough to draw iraqi players out of position to deal with the looming threat. after all if they dont try and shut him down, he can score. if they do, he can outplay them and set up a strike. what is there not to like?

in my opinion, pim really really needs to quit playing defensively and conservatively and start to branch out. that is what is so great about hiddink — no player, team, or circumstance intimidates him. im fine with a defensive lineup, but you need to have some attacking options. i think carle and djite are those attacking options and should be put on the pitch. maybe i am wrong, but i think they put something else on the field that isnt just crossing the ball into the box (which i will GLADLY welcome).

By: xfirestormx

xfirestormx — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:39:50 +0000

holman has been in the right place at the right time, but seems to be having trouble getting a goal. yes, you can blame the passing and poor balls, but look at what kewell did with that rather poor ball in the 66th minute against iraq in brisbane — he controlled it and nearly scored. i think that people see a great player developing in holman and just really really want him to be the next cahill or kewell. this makes it very disappointing when he has a moment of vision followed by a shot straight to the keeper (which is why he is catching the flak). i think that he needs to really get a level of concentration in his playing and throw out the nerves (how many caps has he even had?). once he does that, he will surely not disappoint.

i think that pim needs to put djite in the game if he wants mcdonald to make an impact. carle i would like to see get the chance to prove himself, but, being an american, i am not familiar with his brilliance on the pitch for his club. so i really am not sure and must go with verbeek on that decision, more out of ignorance than anything else.

i watched the netherlands game and was delighted to see the italians lose largely due to being babies and crying on the pitch (which is why the netherlands player was onsides. GET UP AND PLAY THE %*#&ING GAME ITALY). maybe theyve learned their lesson. if only the rest of football would learn it…

By: pche0508

pche0508 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:54:22 +0000

Absolutely agree, the Carle debate is now very much one in relation to the type of player Australia wants to see in the Green and Gold. Unfortunately, the national coach is kind of isolated in his assessment, well he might have the support of Graham Arnold but I’m rather glad I’m on the other side of the ledger to Arnie.

By: clayton

clayton — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:13:23 +0000

unfortunately for carle, the “carle for socceroos” debate is bigger than him. its really about where aussie football is now, and where its going. carle`s problem is that he isn`t a typical aussie player – hard running, hard tackling etc etc

whether kaz patafta got a fair chance at melbourne is the same discussion, just with different names.

holman doesn`t suck, but he does frustrate. all the bashers are quick to point out his misses. (yes, they are frustrating). but even more frustrating is the fact that he is the only player making these nice runs, getting into position to take these shots.