The Socceroos Blueprint - Is Holger really to blame and are we stuck with Lucas Neill?

 

 

Believe it or not last month’s 6-0 loss to Brazil isn’t the first time we’ve lost to the Samba Kings by such a margin.

Brazil trounced the Socceroos by the same score back in 1997 in the Confederations Cup Final, where the Socceroos side contained named such as Bosnich, Tobin, Lazaridis, Vidmar, Foster, Zelic, Slater, Kewell, and Viduka.

All names I’d love to still have around today.

As much as I was frustrated by the decisions Holger Osieck made, I think he has been thrown under the bus in a way, given the position we find ourselves in on the world stage is really a sign of the times.

Our youth sides have been poor over recent World Cups; we didn’t make the Olympics in 2012 and we have just one player playing in a top league.

Back in 2005, Kewell, Cahill, Neill and co were flying the flag in the Premier League, Bresciano and Grella in Serie A and Aloisi in La Liga. Today, Mile Jedinak is in the Premier League with Crystal Palace, with the other Socceroos dotted throughout the UAE, Korea, Japan, MLS and A-League.

Many have been crying for a youth policy and for the Socceroos to usher in the next generation, but much of the talent have stunted their development with poor moves overseas.

Tom Rogic sits on the bench for Celtic each week, whilst Mustafa Amini plays in the third tier of German football with the Borussia Dortmund reserves. Nathan Burns has been in the wilderness for years, as has Matthew Spiranovic, both of which have recently returned to the A-League alongside names such as Djite, Zullo, Vidosic (gone again), Babalj, and Behich who all have moved abroad, only to return soon after and lose any momentum gained due to a lack of action.  

The reason Holger Osieck selected the squad of players he did is because he clearly did not feel the younger players were up to it, and although I do not entirely agree with that, you have to say they certainly haven’t helped their cause.

Holger has also been criticised for not looking towards the future during his recent tenure but it’s no real surprise given the way the FFA structured his deal.

 Holger’s main objective was to ensure World Cup qualification, which he did.

The Socceroos qualification for Brazil triggered a bonus in his contract and Holger would have received another if he managed to guide the Socceroos out of the group stage.

Now the way these bonus payments are structured is pretty conventional but it is a factor in the way Holger selected and prepared his sides. Holger prepared the best squad that he thought would assure qualification and progression through the group stage of the World Cup.

People are saying his view was too short sighted, but he was only doing what was outlined in his contract and for which he was to be heavily rewarded financially.

There is plenty of doom and gloom about regarding the Socceroos but the position we find ourselves is not too dissimilar to the one in which we found ourselves back in 2005.

Australia went to the Confederations Cup and lost every game.

The Socceroos lost 4-3 to Germany, 4-2 to Argentina and 2-0 to Tunisia, which led to Frank Farina getting the axe and the FFA turning to Guus Hiddink.

I don’t have to go into detail over what happened next but the argument is simple. The squad which saw Frank Farina fired was the same squad that would seal qualification under Hiddink and almost stun the eventual World Champions in the knockout stage of the World Cup.

Hiddink brought in the odd player but the bulk of the squad stayed the same and I believe the next Socceroos manager only needs to follow the example.

Hiddink brought the Socceroos of 2005 structure, organisation and a bit of belief and I feel that is all that is lacking with our current crop. There is no question some tinkering must be done, but I cannot see too many players coming in from outside the current squad. Some of the fringe players will be given more prominent roles, but many of those Socceroos that fell to Brazil and France will take their place in June 2014.

There are areas on the field where the Socceroos are clearly lacking and that needs to be fixed up urgently.

Much of the finger pointing from both defeats has been towards Socceroos captain Lucas Neill and whilst to be fair he is not the sole culprit, I have been calling for his head since the 4-0 loss to Germany back in 2010.

Neill was slow then and almost four years later, we haven’t seen much improvement.

Now, Holger is not an idiot, he is watching the same matches as everyone and obviously he feels Lucas brings something extra to the team. He is the most experienced option we have, having played 94 times for the Socceroos, and maybe Holger felt the fact he isn’t overawed by the big stage as key, not to mention his leadership.

Neill has survived up until now for a couple of reasons, one being the fact that the Socceroos have until recently got the desired results and sealed qualification for Brazil. Secondly, who exactly do we turn to if Neill is shown the door? The Socceroos are devoid of any real experienced centre halves with the likes of Rhys Williams, Robbie Cornthwaite and Jason Davidson having just 21 caps between them. Other contenders include the likes of Curtis Good, who is yet to be capped and you’d have to think on recent form someone like Matthew Spiranovic is firmly off the international radar.

You can see now why Neill has survived this long. The question that needs to be asked now is what’s more of a liability- Taking Lucas Neill to the World Cup or a younger option who has just six games to get up to speed before the tournament begins.

One thing the Socceroos must do is change their structure and revert back to the two midfield “screeners” adopted by Guus Hiddink and Pim Verbeek. Australia clearly has a weakness at the back and this formation does counter this. It may not be the easiest on the eye, but it does ensure results, something that is important in tournament football like the World Cup.

Another area where the Socceroos are lacking is creatively. They didn’t have a single shot on target against France and had just two against Brazil. Hardly surprising when you lose by 6-0, but the Socceroos have struggled going forward in recent times, as shown throughout the qualification stages.

The Socceroos still do not have a striker they can rely on and Holger tried several throughout the campaign, including Alex Brosque, Archie Thompson, Josh Kennedy and Dario Vidosic. The best option for me is to play Tim Cahill as a striker, given his knack of finding the net. I feel Cahill serves to team best as a striker as I do not feel Cahill is the player he once was and we are better served creatively with someone like Tom Rogic in the no.10 role.

Cahill is still deserving of a place in the Socceroos side and has a high work rate and will press from the front. The Socceroos are certainly not flush with options up forward and he has saved our bacon countless times, ensuring he must have a place.

As mentioned I believe Rogic should become the player in behind and although not playing regularly at Celtic, he has shown promise in his short cameos with the Socceroos. Another option at No.10 could be Robbie Kruse, as I feel he is Australia’s most dangerous attacking weapon and naturally you want to give him as much of the ball as possible. However there is a lack of options to fill Kruse’s role on the right hand side of midfield and a Rogic-Kruse-Oar combination certainly strengthens the Socceroos attack.

As mentioned earlier the Socceroos must adopt two holding midfielders like previous campaigns and Mile Jedinak and Mark Milligan are my first choice to hold those places. Jedinak is performing solidly for Crystal Palace and Milligan was a revelation in this role throughout the final World Cup qualifiers.

This means Mark Bresciano and Brett Holman move to the periphery, but both have underperformed in recent matches and I feel do not offer enough when played out of their natural positions. Both are probably best suited as attacking midfielders and with the future in mind, Rogic wins the race for that role.

The biggest conundrum for any new manager is the back four and as mentioned above, I’m not the biggest fan of Lucas Neill, but who fills the void, given most options are so inexperienced and we have so little time until the World Cup.

David Carney and Luke Wilkshire have also been poor in recent times and again continue to survive given a lack of any real alternatives. Players such as Michael Zullo and Aziz Behich should be pressuring for the left back role, but how sold are we on both at the top international level. Both still have a lot to prove.

We can’t discount a guy like Shane Lowry either, who has struggled for a look in under Holger. Perhaps the new Socceroos boss will open the door for several who have seemingly had their cards marked in days past.

 Whatever is decided and however gets the Socceroos job, they have just six games to turn things around before the World Cup begins.

Australia played some stunning football throughout the Asian Cup in 2011, and two years later they are playing some of their worst.

In the middle of all of it I still feel the performances of 2011 are possible, but some tough decisions need to be made. Whoever the new manager decides to turn to must be given confidence and we need to understand that there is really no quick fix.

There’s no guarantee results will improve, but I’ve learnt a valuable lesson in my time covering sport.

Never write off the Aussies.

Adam Santarossa

Follow Adam on Twitter - @adamsantarossa