Maybe we should try and play an African team and a European team since then we'll have played teams from each confederation in Popa's time as manager.

We don't know who'll be grouped with in the World Cup so it's always good to test out playing different countries to see how their style of play works.

Hopefully Popa won’t still be at the helm by then

BA81 said:

Hopefully Popa won’t still be at the helm by then

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I really don't know what/where to go regards this though.
Such a catch22.
Nothing against him personally same going back to Arnie < kudos R16 finish a record for us but playing not the way we wish for so he got the best out of a 6cyc compared to a v8 so to speak.
Maybe this maybe that ? will it change ?
We can't afford jack shit.
I respect pjennings comments though - Monty has some good runs on the board.
That wouldn't upset the whole NT apple cart - knows our players and the system.
Least I expect he would introduce a more open outlook to play.
Whereever the camp is I really don't give a shit - just focus on the key players being together more and get them to know each other like the back of their hands FFS.

This team is a Lada Niva. Arnie knew he couldn't get any more out of them, that's why he quit. I think my mate Pat would be happy with any ex Mariners coach

We still haven't seen our strongest 11 play a competitive game yet, so cant put to much into Poppa and his selection. We were always gonna lose to Colombia and Ven with a mixed bag squad. I think the March games will tell us a lot about if we will get out of the group games or not. Look Im not a fan of Poppa at all but he got us to qualify without the play offs and Im sure he has a plan for the squad cum world cup.

NoMates said:

We still haven't seen our strongest 11 play a competitive game yet, so cant put to much into Poppa and his selection. We were always gonna lose to Colombia and Ven with a mixed bag squad. I think the March games will tell us a lot about if we will get out of the group games or not. Look Im not a fan of Poppa at all but he got us to qualify without the play offs and Im sure he has a plan for the squad cum world cup.

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without going back to the earlier squads when he took over to win those games I'd say he used alot of the main core barring the exceptions.
Look credit where credit is due he did get us over in the fast lane give him that - nah Arnie was burnt out as was the players NM.
They went down a rabbit hole real quick after Qatar.
I suppose Poppa gave the squad a new fire starter hence got there.

Jetsfan said:

This team is a Lada Niva. Arnie knew he couldn't get any more out of them, that's why he quit. I think my mate Pat would be happy with any ex Mariners coach

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Lady Cornfield? Is this the car? Very interesting.

Arnie rightfully knew the players were no longer reacting to his methods and that his tenure had ran its course.

As I've said before I literally don't care who our NT manager is. I just want, more so demand, two key principles.1. Go and get the ball. 2. PLAY the game, that is trying to score as many goals as you can because you are trying to win.

Everything else is the 'human' element of football. Players, tactics, conditions etc. We aren't fulfilling the basic objectives that I feel fits with how we choose to play as a sporting nation.

Popovic is out of step with how every age group below the Socceroos are playing nowadays. Popaball's success is 100% hinged on whether or not you can keep a cleansheet or not! He'd play with five CBs if he had it all his way!

NoMates said:

We still haven't seen our strongest 11 play a competitive game yet, so cant put to much into Poppa and his selection. We were always gonna lose to Colombia and Ven with a mixed bag squad. I think the March games will tell us a lot about if we will get out of the group games or not. Look Im not a fan of Poppa at all but he got us to qualify without the play offs and Im sure he has a plan for the squad cum world cup.

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I pretty much agree with this. The friendlies were what they were. I'd hoped to see more effective implementation of the system (which he is clearly going to take to the WC) so that remains the big disappointment. But there was a lot of experimentation with players, and below our top guys there is a drop off.

Quicky said:

I reckon Muscat would make a good national team manager. Always has a tight galvanised team. Also finds a balance between defence and attack. Experience in different countries and success. His Chinese team finishes their season in November so could make a play.

But the FA won't change now. Popovic is contracted to the Asian Cup I think? Too much money to switch manager. They seem pretty happy with Popovic. It would be risky to switch this close to the World Cup too, for the team. There isn't much time left to prepare if we switch manager and tactics.

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If we compare it to Osieck the circumstances are not the same. Osieck barely made it through qualifying. Three match stretch. He lost away to Jordan, was down 1-0 to Iraq until the 80th minute where Cahill and Thompson bailed us out, then he was down 0-2 at home to Oman. Add to this a complete inability to rejuvenate the side. The 6-0 losses were just confirmation, the real problems occurred much earlier.

Popa's situation is the complete opposite of this. The FA would have viewed all these friendlies as a free kick for him to do what he wants and I expect he is in good standing. The noise is only with football losers like us, the rest of the public just know we qualified.


Looks like until the World Cup? So I may have been incorrect assuming he would continue after, I thought he had the next cycle as well. I would like Muscat but I expect his career trajectory has him aiming to move to Europe. If Popa equals Arnold and gets out of the group he will get the next cycle. If he doesn't my prediction is Aloisi.

More likely to be from countries qualified for the world cup. Please not No Mates New Zealand again. Cape Verde Islands anyone?

The FIFA series brand has been associated with giving small nations a chance to play friendlies.

One tweet said that we had reached out to Barbados (178) and Sao Tome and Principe (190), I sincerely hope that this is misinformation and that at least one of our March opponents are of World Cup pot 1-3 calibre, or the best of the non qualifying teams.

I don't think we will know who we will play until after the WC draw in 2 weeks.

rebelliousfeminist974 said:

I'd like to see the Socceroos play Cape Verde but if they end up getting the upset and defeating us then serious questions need to be asked about whether Tony Popovic gets his marching orders before the World Cup in what will most likely be a litmus test of the squad heading into the latter part of the current major tournament cycle.

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I'm not sure what planet you live on if you think Popovic may be sacked before the World Cup

Quicky said:

I think the FIFA series is perfect prep. It'll give us 3 opponents. Probably a mix of challenging, styles, confidence building. Happy its at home. I'm good with that.

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Only two opponents. All 4 nations play 2 matches, not 3.