Olyroos – Beijing Bound

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Strikers

Mark Bridge, Nikita Rukavytsya, Archie Thompson

Midfield

David Carney, Billy Celeski, Stuart Musialik, Neil Kilkenny, Kristian Sarkies, James Troisi

Defence

Adrian Leijer, Trent McClenahan, Mark Milligan, Matthew Spiranovic, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Jade North, Ruben Zadkovich

Goalkeeper

Adam Federici, Tando Velaphi

The Offsiders

Everyone is talking about the exclusion of Burns and Djite. This is what Arnold had to say: “It’s a mature and quality squad and most of them are 22 or 23 years old. Unfortunately, Burns and Djite are only 20 which made it pretty difficult for them…I was looking for maturity, quality, athleticism, speed and tactical nous“.

If you are good enough, you’re old enough. It shouldn’t be the other way around. But I’m rather glad that Djite and Burns missed out. They need a full pre-season with their new clubs. Not going to the Olympics means that they will be given time to settle into their new surroundings before the season starts and also become tactically aware of what their manager requires of them. Going to the Olympics would have made them match-fit but having that extra month to get the know their new teams could mean that they will be ready for first-team action from the off, not a few months into the season after becoming educated about team tactics. This should have been the reason for the exclusion, like it was for Harry and his search for a new club. Unfortunately, Arnold’s reason makes no sense. It could also be said that the less time they spend with Arnold, the better.

There were others that were unfortunate to miss out. Michael Zullo’s exclusion makes no sense from a footballing perspective. The squad has four central midfielders and only Troisi (and Carney depending on where he plays) is the only genuine winger. Having another wide player who is willing to run at opponents seems to be a necessary selection. Even the selection of Sarkies and Celeski don’t make sense: James Holland and Jedinak have both had better seasons in the A-League.

Probable line-up

Federici

Topor-Stanley – Milligan – North – Zadkovich

Musialik – Kilkenny

Carney – Sarkies – Troisi

Thompson

Desired starting line-up

Federici

Topor-Stanley – Spiranovic – North – Milligan

Musialik – Kilkenny

Carney – Celeski – Troisi

Rukavytsya

I’m quite sure we will play the above formation which has become the dominant formation at national team level over recent years.

Front & Back

Without Djite and Burns, the attack does look a bit toothless. Although he is the least likely to start out of the trio of strikers, the form of Rukavytsya towards the back-end of last season actually makes him the most in-form striker. He is an awkward player to defend against due to his height as well as excellent acceleration. None of the strikers have really proven that they excel at holding up the ball or bringing the supporting midfielders into the play. I guess I’d rather see Rukavytsya leading the line because I’d hate to see Thompson preventing the younger strikers from playing in what should be an under-23’s tournament while I think that Bridge will struggle without a partner to play-off.

The defence is suspect as Zadkovich, Topor-Stanley and Milligan have all shown that they are capable of making simple mistakes. The Spiranovic and North combination provides us with the most assured central pairing with Milligan being moved to the right. Both are good at bringing the ball out the defence which will be vital if we want any possession against the likes of Argentina. I think Arnold got it right with the selection of North as an overage player as his leadership and maturity will be vital.

The Midfield

How the defensive midfield duo of Musialik and Kilkenny work out will probably have the biggest bearing on the success of the Olyroos at the Games. If they fail to exert authority over this area of the park, we will get repeat performances of what happened against China with possession being given away cheaply with hopeful long-balls. Both these players need to take on the responsibility of providing the first option for defenders and ensure that their passes to the next line of midfielders are precise. Whether these two can put in such performances will determine whether we play long-balls and have little possession or whether we have our fair (or more) share of the ball against our more fancied opponents, like the Socceroos against Brazil in 2006.

If the ball flows to the feet of our next line of midfielders from Musialik and Kilkenny, the attacking midfield trio will be burdened with the responsibility of cracking the opposition defence. Playing two genuine wide players in Troisi and Carney will allow us to stretch the opposition which should create space in the centre of the park as well as make it easier for the likes of Musialik and Kilkenny to play from the back. For Troisi, as well as Milligan, this tournament is massive as they seek to secure contracts after the Games. Troisi has always looked good in patches for the Socceroos without ever putting in a dominant and complete 90 minute performance. Consistency involvement throughout the game and quality final balls are what Troisi should be aiming to achieve in this tournament.

Carney was a bit of a surprise selection although it does not bode well for his club career that his manager did not exercise the right to stop him from playing. A good tournament could allow him to escape Blackwell. We should really be talking about Burns playing in the hole but it will either be Sarkies or Celeski in this position. I haven’t seen enough of Celeski to say much while Sarkies, apart from a few performances for Melbourne Victory, has been underwhelming on the occasions I have watched him.

Final Word

The squad has now been selected. Whether we agree with it or not is now irrelevant. We should now just wish the team luck and hope that they enjoy the Olympic experience and that they learn something about tournament football.

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