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Poppa Out

I'm just wondering why we are using the poppa out thread then 🤓
Because Decentric wants us to bow down and suck Popovic's toes in deference for finally picking a good squad :ROFLMAO: We need to take this chatter to the Ashes thread which is where all the positive posts about the squad are.
 
I'm not getting too excited. He's probably going to leave Segecic and Irankunda out of the final squad as a test of their loyalty and we'll be having paperwork signed for Croatia and Burundi next month. /s
Irankunda has already played in 3 official matches. He is stuck with us but to be fair t I don't think he has ever shown any signs of wanting to play elsewhere. It would be pretty pointless not giving a lot of the new players some decent game time in these matches (30 minutes or more) unless they either get hurt in training or show no interest. Results don't matter at this stage, gathering the best squad is the most important thing and you can only do that by giving the players on the fringe a chance.
 
Irankunda has already played in 3 official matches. He is stuck with us but to be fair t I don't think he has ever shown any signs of wanting to play elsewhere. It would be pretty pointless not giving a lot of the new players some decent game time in these matches (30 minutes or more) unless they either get hurt in training or show no interest. Results don't matter at this stage, gathering the best squad is the most important thing and you can only do that by giving the players on the fringe a chance.
/s = sarcasm. I was being sarcastic/facetious. I like the squad.
 
Because Decentric wants us to bow down and suck Popovic's toes in deference for finally picking a good squad :ROFLMAO: We need to take this chatter to the Ashes thread which is where all the positive posts about the squad are.
Not just me.

I think we have a culture of Socceroo coach bashing in Aus on forums.

I think Popa deserves credit from G and G posters for selecting the players many Green and G posters have been mooting should be in Socceroo squads.
 
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Not just me.

I think we have a culture of Socceroo coach bashing in Aus on forums.

I think Popa deserves credit for selecting the players many Green and G posters have been mooting should be in Socceroo squads.
He's got a lot of credit for that. Check out the Ashes thread. I've never seen so many people on here that happy about a squad before.
 
I'm happy with the squad, but it doesn't change my view of Popovic as a coach. I have no doubt that almost everyone on this thread would have picked that squad, by and large. It ain't rocket science.
Fans have a bit of a romantic ideal with young talent. They just see the potential, what could be because they haven't been tested yet.

The squad is a free kick for Popa. Picking it was enough to satisfy expectations, the results won't even matter. But be under no illusions, if these were real matches, most of these guys would not be selected. Come time for the WC, a few of the young guys will have filtered themselves out from the rest to get selected along with the experienced guys, and the gradual transition will continue. As it should.
 
It’s not just about picking the squad it’s also about picking the XI and where and how they play. He completely mismanaged irankunda, balard and triantis before and hasn’t even looked at Nizz- our best in possession under pressure. I’ve relented on him a little for his results but I still want to see the best players picked and playing to their strengths
 
It’s not just about picking the squad it’s also about picking the XI and where and how they play. He completely mismanaged irankunda, balard and triantis before and hasn’t even looked at Nizz- our best in possession under pressure. I’ve relented on him a little for his results but I still want to see the best players picked and playing to their strengths
It'd be great to see a formation change. Would love to see a 4-3-3 or even 4-5-1
 
Lot of good points made in this post, JS.

I think we were lucky in the games you mentioned too. Good summations by you of them.

However, we were unlucky in both games against Bahrain.
Bahrain is something I overlooked. Away just freak goals and home was an anomaly.
 
is anyone poppa out after the squad announcement?
Great first XI - but many who I expect not to see at the World Cup as we have plenty out with injury.

Seriously though I am concerned with the keepers. I totally understand that you want to blood new keepers with the squad - but I find the choices he has very concerning. There is no keeper apart from Ryan that I want to see get game time in the World Cup. Whatever happened to Australia always having great keepers.

Schwarzer (for reference) and Ryan have played at a higher level and have performed markedly better than the three chosen

Club games only

NameGamesGoals concededClean SheetsMinsClean Sheets %Minutes per goal
Schwarzer7068472226387831% 75
Ryan4695491584245034% 77
Gauci8812420790223% 64
Izzo274374762458928% 66
Glover166224411482425% 66
 
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Bahrain is something I overlooked. Away just freak goals and home was an anomaly.
The Gold Coast game against Bahrain I thought our second half was very poor. It was as though our players had never seen a side try to waste time before and we lost our cool a bit.
 
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