Pasquali said:

This is now where all podcasts will be posted and all discussions of the pod. No more threads.

Click to expand...

Good!

I've been struggling to find Podcasts 18, 19.

Just hearing the last Podcast - dual nationals and demise of WU.

Do I disagree with Alex's summation, and many others, appraising Popa's ability to identify national team talent!

Some fans, or even coaches coaching at lower levels, just don't have the experience and knowledge of performance criteria in football to criticise professional coaches - with long histories playing pro football, then undertaking heaps of coach education, plus transferring it to coaching pro football for a decade or more - Popa.

All coaches have ' favourites'.

Anthony Caceres and Luke Brattan, have almost a decade longer playing pro football to;

work out where to be, to support a player on the ball,

to anticipate where to be in a Defensive Transition when a team loses the ball,

when to commit to a tackle and when to stay on one's feet,

reading the game before it unfolds, hence making timely intercepts through speed of thought,

knowing one's own game well enough to organise inexperienced players around them where to position themselves.

We don't know, what we don't know.

This extrapolates to other pursuits.

I've Weight Trained for over 50 years. I spent 30 years training in a home gym. What did I learn new? Nothing!

In the last 7 years I've been under the the tutelage of 3 years tertiary trained Exercise Scientists and 4 year tertiary trained Exercise Physiologists.

What I was a doing wrong? A heck of a lot!

Out of 140 exercises I now do, 120 of them have been learned in the last 7 years from expert health pros. To the extent if I've ever been under the tutelage of 6 week trained Personal Trainers since, they are daunted how much we've learned from Ex Physiologists! In the 20 exercises I've done before, I was using faulty technique, or the Ex Physios found all sorts of clever progressions to make them a lot harder. I didn't know what I didn't know!

This goes back to football. It will always happen.

Scott McDonald, Ursum Gulum, Chris Herd, Rhys Williams looked great in club football overseas, for a short period. Fans always complained they weren't rushed into the Socceroos. Or if they did, they didn't meet expectations. None went on to have great international careers.

Conversely, Alex Tobin, Paul Trimboli, Mark Milligan, Jade North had good international careers mainly playing AL or NSL football.

Players should not be selected simply because of what they do at club level.

Another facet of football evaluation, is experience. It is often overlooked by fans. Mitch Duke, Goodwin, Irvine and Behich lead and organise on the pitch.

Decentric said:

Just hearing the last Podcast - dual nationals and demise of WU.

Do I disagree with Alex's summation, and many others, appraising Popa's ability to identify national team talent!

Some fans, or even coaches coaching at lower levels, just don't have the experience and knowledge of performance criteria in football to criticise professional coaches - with long histories playing pro football, then undertaking heaps of coach education, plus transferring it to coaching pro football for a decade or more - Popa.

All coaches have ' favourites'.

Anthony Caceres and Luke Brattan, have almost a decade longer playing pro football...

Click to expand...

Caceres and Brattan had longer than a decade - that is part of the problem.

Did Ange pick these two, did Arnold, did BVM. No. These are some coaches with long histories playing pro football, then undertaking heaps of coach education, plus transferring it to coaching pro football for a decade or more.

What did Popa see that they didn't. They are at the end of solid - not spectacular - club careers. A quick, young Jets team cut them to pieces - but sure they will be fine against Mbappe.

If they are not good enough to play in the World Cup at the end of a solid career then they certainly shouldn't be considered as we approach one. That has nothing to do with being 'educated' like you or Popa. It is to do with common sense. You should always be building on what you already have - not regressing to players that will not be able to perform at the highest level when they no longer compete well at their previous level.

patjennings said:

Caceres and Brattan had longer than a decade - that is part of the problem.

Did Ange pick these two, did Arnold, did BVM. No. These are some coaches with long histories playing pro football, then undertaking heaps of coach education, plus transferring it to coaching pro football for a decade or more.

What did Popa see that they didn't. They are at the end of solid - not spectacular - club careers. A quick, young Jets team cut them to pieces - but sure they will be fine against Mbappe.

If they are not good enough to play in the World Cup at the end of a solid career then they certainly shouldn't be considered as we approach one. That has nothing to do with being 'educated' like you or Popa. It is to do with common sense. You should always be building on what you already have - not regressing to players that will not be able to perform at the highest level when they no longer compete well at their previous level.

Click to expand...

Players develop at different stages.

Brattan may have been at close to his peak some time ago, when he was battling for a Socceroo berth with Milligan. I'm not sure how much LB improved after age 24?

I doubt Caceres was playing well enough in the tenures of Ange, BVM, or Arnie to be selected. I think he is a late developer, like Jackson Irvine.

Brattan possibly had the toughest game ever against Asian opposition played by any Socceroo against Japan A in the first half. A few times he, McGree and Hrustic combined for some scintillating passing and moving play in tight spaces. It didn't happen a lot though.

Having said that, Brattan is a skilled technician with the ball at his feet. From when I watched him a lot at Melb City, he was a good ball winner when he got to the contests, but he didn't get to the contests often enough. His speed of thought in Ball Opposition was too slow at AL level and against Japan A. In possession his speed of thought , execution and game sense has usually been pretty impressive.

Caceres - backed up by stats in the Socceroo games he has played, has been a proficient ball winner in midfield. Unlike Brattan who is two footed and both sides of the body proficient, Caceres is a bit too right foot dominant.

However, AC is tidy on the ball. And he has been as proficient a ball winner as any defensive midfielder we have to date in the last round of Asian WC qualifiers. Once again I didn't realise until slowing games down to record stats, just how proficient he has been at breaking up opposition attacks.

I reiterate, experience of players is often overlooked by fans. Popa needed players to do a job - immediately under great pressure, with poor results on the board. One doesn't need to blood inexperienced players in these scenarios. Moreover, another forum member, off forum, told me that Popa likes the fact that AL players don't have to deal with travel fatigue and jetlag like Euroroos - and even the Asian opposition.

I agree with you that renewal is important for any team, PJ. It is very important - at the right time.

And Popa did this by bringing in the experienced Geria - amongst others. From all the data I've looked at in replays, Geria has been close to the best player we have on the pitch ever since Popa has played him. Arnie got a lot right up to the Asian Cup, but overlooking Geria and playing Geraint Jones instead was a big mistake -in hindsight.

Also, Popa has selected Villupillay, Teague, Arzani, all younger players, but these players he knows well from club scenarios.

Ditto Popa has played the young Yazbek - another surprise in stats in terms of the number of intercepts and hard balls he won. He isn't a young player Popa has played at club level either.

In the part of the podcast where WU's demise is being discussed, loved Alex shedding light on Perth Glory's financial possibilities as to who could invest in them, and who was shunned as potential investors. Very interesting?

I've heard a lot of PG fans try to explain why they had bigger crowds in the late NSL than the AL. I've lived in WA and it does not make sense to anybody living outside the state.

At some stage Grazor asked a superb, timely question/comment. I think it was posing whether many of the young players, who can often make rapid progress, would not even have been on the radar under Arnie, or even early Popa.

Players usually need a sustained spell of consistent form. Segecic was often not played as a starting player for SFC last year. It tends to indicate a lack of discipline positionally, because his athleticism and technical prowess on the ball is apparent for all to see.

Alex ( G and G) makes a comment that Glory's 'Englishness' is a problem in attracting fans. I wonder why this is?

Totally agree with Alex G and G's take on Tas. I lost interest in the AL and hated Gallop for a few years after the bid was knocked back.

Alex (G and G) makes a lot of interesting points about finances and ownership in general.

Also, Alex ( guest) makes a compelling point that AL clubs in the past have wasted money on big salary players as compared to using it to building stadia and general infrastructure that clubs can potentially own.

Don't think South Melb could have exceeded Western United's performance in the AL on the pitch in this last season!

Like the German model for a club mooted by Grazor, and evaluated by Alex ( guest).

This podcast has been great! Well done all involved.

Was hoping to find out more nuts and bolts about why WU failed financially though?

Surprised so few Green and G posters have posted comments?

Again, I've learned heaps from yet another G and G FC podcast.

grazorblade said:

I cant remember that point haha what was it?

Click to expand...

I was busy ironing and had to leave shortly after, so I didn’t look. It was a timely and sage question/comment though, Grazor.

Decentric said:

Just hearing the last Podcast - dual nationals and demise of WU.

Do I disagree with Alex's summation, and many others, appraising Popa's ability to identify national team talent!

Some fans, or even coaches coaching at lower levels, just don't have the experience and knowledge of performance criteria in football to criticise professional coaches - with long histories playing pro football, then undertaking heaps of coach education, plus transferring it to coaching pro football for a decade or more - Popa.

All coaches have ' favourites'.

Anthony Caceres and Luke Brattan, have almost a decade longer playing pro football to;

work out where to be, to support a player on the ball,

to anticipate where to be in a Defensive Transition when a team loses the ball,

when to commit to a tackle and when to stay on one's feet,

reading the game before it unfolds, hence making timely intercepts through speed of thought,

knowing one's own game well enough to organise inexperienced players around them where to position themselves.

We don't know, what we don't know.

This extrapolates to other pursuits.

I've Weight Trained for over 50 years. I spent 30 years training in a home gym. What did I learn new? Nothing!

In the last 7 years I've been under the the tutelage of 3 years tertiary trained Exercise Scientists and 4 year tertiary trained Exercise Physiologists.

What I was a doing wrong? A heck of a lot!

Out of 140 exercises I now do, 120 of them have been learned in the last 7 years from expert health pros. To the extent if I've ever been under the tutelage of 6 week trained Personal Trainers since, they are daunted how much we've learned from Ex Physiologists! In the 20 exercises I've done before, I was using faulty technique, or the Ex Physios found all sorts of clever progressions to make them a lot harder. I didn't know what I didn't know!

This goes back to football. It will always happen.

Scott McDonald, Ursum Gulum, Chris Herd, Rhys Williams looked great in club football overseas, for a short period. Fans always complained they weren't rushed into the Socceroos. Or if they did, they didn't meet expectations. None went on to have great international careers.

Conversely, Alex Tobin, Paul Trimboli, Mark Milligan, Jade North had good international careers mainly playing AL or NSL football.

Players should not be selected simply because of what they do at club level.

Another facet of football evaluation, is experience. It is often overlooked by fans. Mitch Duke, Goodwin, Irvine and Behich lead and organise on the pitch.

Click to expand...

Fans know the game, and also have "gut feelings", and are just as entitled to criticize a top coach as any so called highly qualified expert!

I really enjoyed the latest podcast.

HappyGuus said:

God damn, so many young lads lost.

Absolutely disgraceful treatment by the Melbourne media, burying the news of any lost ones just because they played soccer. I kinda feel sick about that. Not sure what we can do to reverse that today, hopefully these Ashes help commemorate these names.

Click to expand...

I remember on the old forum pointing out the fact the only reason the AFL’s Anzac Day clash is a thing, is because Kevin Sheedy doggedly lobbied for it until it was greenlit for the 1995 season - and in turn the NRL copied the concept from them.