Lets Go To The Video

The calls for the introduction of video decisions in some form seem to have grown to a overwhelming roar in the A-league over the last week. The majority of managers support at least a limited introduction of technology to help the poor referees out but is this what we really need in our game?

The ability of referees to call on video replay to help make decisions has been around in other sports now for a significant amount of time ( in the case of cricket since 1993) and has been quite successful in helping those sports eradicate certain mistakes they were commonly made by the referees.

However there appears to be two common aspects of where a video decision can be and cannot be implemented.

Where the game has come to a complete stop and the ball is dead
Cricket is a good example of this requirement, each delivery is a “play” unto itself. Once the delivery has been completed the ball is considered dead. The ref can stop the game to consult the video as there is no direct effect upon the game except for a small amount of lost time. Tennis is another classic example of this principle, each point is self contained and video technology does not interrupt the continuous aspect of the game.

The video decision should not be used to interpret the result
Video is very good at giving you a yes or no answer. In cricket for instance it is common for it to be used to determine run-outs and stumpings. It is perfect for this as the decision is limited to whether the foot/bat has made it across the popping crease and is grounded. Cricket authorities have resisted introducing the camera for LBW decisions as these type of dismissals are much more open to various variables and although a referee may get it wrong it was felt that a camera would not be conclusive and would therefore cause more issues.

If we use these two principals in our game is there a place for some type of video decision? There seems to be three common aspects of our game that people suggest could be resolved by some type of video intervention.

The first is the goal mouth scramble and the debate over whether the ball crossed the line or not. To be honest I don’t think the use of a video decision for this circumstance passes either principle. In over half the cases where there is debate around this type of decision the referee has waved play on and the ball is still live so it fails Principle 1. There is also the added problem that in a great deal of cases the ball will be in the air and so unless the camera is perfectly positioned across the goal mouth there will be some doubt whether the ball fully crossed the line and so the second principle also fails.

FIFA has tried to solve this issue however by using ball tracking technology. Progress over the last few years has made it possible to embed tracking devices in the ball which would allow a conclusive decision on whether the ball has crossed the line of not. Although trails have shown the technology is not ready yet I think that FIFA are on the right track here and this approach is better than the Video Decision in this case.

The second type of decision is the curse of the world game, the simulation. There is nothing worse than losing a match to a penalty that was awarded to a dive that was more appropriate for the swimming pool than the football pitch. This type of decision certainly passes the first principle. The referee has awarded a free kick/penalty and the play has come to a stop, perfect time to check the video for cheating. But is the decision clear cut. There are many variables to consider and the video referee would need to make a judgement call (ie Was the contact sufficient to cause the player to go down). Lucas Neill’s infamous tackle on Italian Fabio Grosso at the 2006 World Cup is a case in point. Could a Video Referee overrule the controlling ref on the penalty decision, I don’t think so as it calls for a judgement call.

I suppose you could make the argument for clear example of diving to be overturned and the benefit of any doubt to rest with the controlling ref but I don’t think video decisions are the answer for diving. I would rather see post game analysis of the match and hefty suspensions handed out to “clear” example of cheating. Out the player for 6 months for diving and the culture would change.

The last type of decision is the one that is getting a lot of play in the Australian press at the moment. The “was it a free kick or a penalty”. There is no doubt that referee’s regular get it wrong whether the foul is committed inside the penalty box or just outside it. The best referees in the world are not immune to this mistake.

I firmly believe this is the one type of decision that our game would benefit from having video intervention. It passes the first principle. The game has come to a complete stop as a foul has been awarded. It also passes the second principle as the video referee has a clear cut decision to make. Was contact made outside the box or inside. This leaves very little room for the video ref to interpret the result.

So lets go to the camera, now we just have to convince FIFA to give it a try here in Aus.
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Queensland To Lose Roar

Interesting news during the week that Queensland are shifting their headquarters from the current home at Richlands to the Ballymore complex in Herston. This step will further distance the club from its original parent club Queensland Lions.

The Roar is an interesting case in the A-league as they were the only club that was granted a licence where a strong ethic background was already in place. As most football fans know the Queensland Lions were once known as the Hollandia Inala Soccer Club and still today maintain a strong Dutch flavour through the social club. The Roar’s prominently Orange strip is an acknowledgment of their history as an ethic backed club.

The move to Ballymore though will help the Roar to put some distance between themselves and Hollandia and begin the process of widening their appeal to all segments of the Brisbane public. With the Lions Social Club no longer part of the Roar, there is talk already of completely re-branding the club in the move. Although the club denies it, a change of name and strip would seem to be on the cards.

The Queensland name seems unwarranted now that two additional teams from Queensland are joining the club next year and changing the name to be more Brisbane oriented would seem to make a lot of sense. Also dropping the orange and switching to a maroon strip with a touch of blue would help identify the club more closely with Queensland.

The move to Ballymore is a fantastic for the club. Located only a couple of kms from the city centre, it will provide a terrific location for a training base as well as a match day stadium. It is well documented that the Roar have a poor stadium deal with Suncorp that results in the club is making zero dollars from the gate. The ability to transfer to the smaller Ballymore on a better package would be key to the long term success of the club and the current redevelopment there will provide the Roar with a first class training establishment that includes swimming pool, gym and elite medical centre as well as one of the best football surfaces in the country.

In an added bonus of course it also would allow The Roar to sidestep one of the great curses in the A-league, The Roar Home Record at Suncorp is nothing short of horrible. Of the 37 matches they have played there, they have won only 10. This is simply not good enough and there is no doubt the record has hurt the Roar’s ability to draw fans to its home games. Sydney claim that title of second most supported team in the A-League but the Roar are not far behind and some improvement in their home form could see them quickly leap frog Sydney in crowd numbers.

Many Roar fans would be hoping for a far happier experience at Ballymore.

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Three Down, Ten To Go

Great to hear last Tuesday that the football department at Victory have moved quickly to re-sign Roddy, Mitch and Evan. With both Gold Coast and North Queensland sniffing around the quicker we can lock up our key players the better.

Mitch especially appears to be an excellent signing as I am sure there would have been significant interest from North Queensland. It would appear that Theo’s impression of Michael Flattery on Petrovski’s foot and subsequent suspension has in fact being rather fortuitous for Victory as I am not confident the result would have been the same if Mitch hadn’t seen game time this season.

So with those three under lock and key what of the remaining nine players coming out of contract at the end of the season? I am going to take a punt and see if I can guess who is staying and who is going.

Staying : Hernandez, Thwaite, Kemp, Celeski, Ryall

Carlos is a must sign but in all honesty it most likely will hinge on his desire to stay in Australia and whether Kevin Muscat retires or not. In fact if Super Kev
does not retire I suspect we will lose both Hernandez and Thwaite as I doubt that Victory could find the space in the cap that would be needed to keep them while still carrying Kev’s salary.

Kemp, Celeski and Ryall have all done enough to warrant re-signing and I suspect that Victory would be able to match the offers from the newcomers for them.

Leaving : Muscat (Retired), Brebner, Ward, Theoklitos, Pantelidis

Victory will soon face the hardest decision of its short history when the future of Kevin Muscat must be decided. There is no doubt that Super Kev is the soul of the club and nobody would want a situation where he and the club are in dispute. However, Kev will turn 36 as the new season kicks off and as the highest earning player within the Salary Cap serious questions of him continuing into next season must be asked. I suspect retirement is on the cards and for him to be named Assistant Manager.

Grant Brebner and Nick Ward’s time at Victory has come to an end I feel, both North Queensland and Gold Coast are sure to be interested in their services and with both players fighting for starting midfield roles with Celeski and Broxham I can see them leaving for first team roles with the new clubs.

Theo has indicated a few times now he wants to explore opportunities overseas next year and the resigning of Mitch would seem to indicate that he already has one foot out of the door. Lets hope he ends up with a starting role somewhere rather than warming the pine in some second rate league.

Ian Ferguson is keen to recruit a squad of “hard workers and not prima donnas” and there is nobody who works harder than Panta. I expect Steve to don the zinc cream and head north.

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Qatar, Our Bunnies !

We are all thinking it but nobody is saying it. We own Qatar !

Yes they have just lost their coach to illness and yes the conditions last night couldn’t have suited Australia more or Qatar less but still they were like rabbits caught in the crosshairs of an oncoming semi-trailer.

Australia has scored 10 Goals in 3 games against the Gulf nation in the space of 8 months the same number of goals we have scored in the other 8 matches combined that we have played in that space of time.

From the opening whistle last night it was apparent that Qatar was already on the back foot. To have any chance of taking a point away they need to squeeze the space in midfield and deny Australia easy possession in the transition to attack. But right from the start Australia knocked the ball around with confidence and Qatar let them do as they pleased. It played into Australia’s hands and the enviable happened, a cross found a Carney was knocked on, found a second head in Josh Kennedy and fell to Super Tim and he shown why he is held in such high regard as a goal poacher, the guy just knows when to make his run and is a deadly finisher.

The penalty Cahill earned a short time later was well taken by Brett Emerton and left Qatar floundering. Half Time would have seen a very happy Pim Verbeek in the club rooms and asking his team more of the same please.

The second half saw Sterjovski replaced Chippers but very little changed in terms of the game. Qatar tried to be more aggressive in midfield but they were simply being outclassed. The passage of play that saw Brett Emerton slot through his second was a pleasure to watch and something that I am sure had every Socceroos fan in the country smiling. Clever one touch passing drew the Qatar defence out to the left opening up space for Emerton to run into, McDonald provided a clever run, a spot on pass to Josh Kennedy, a quick turn and through ball to the charging Emerton, beautiful to watch…more of that please.
Josh Kennedy’s goal was well deserve after a fantastic effort as the target man. He dominated the Qatar defence last night and typically it was a well timed cross from Luke Wilkshire that saw he head home our final goal.

Speaking of Wilkshire, he seems to have cemented his spot as our right back now and appears to be getting better every game. He cops a decent amount of criticism on the fan forums but I must say I am warming to him. He was rock solid last night, flashy he is not but I love the way he just goes about his business.

To say Australia bullied Qatar last night was an understatement, yes the Saudi ref was over keen on the whistle but Australia made sure that there was no easy possession for Qatar and it worked. By taking away the Qatar players ability to charge at the defence Australia took away their main weapon, Sebastian Quintana. Quintana was well held last night but he would have been a frustrated man with the lack of service to his feet.

With two wins from two and Bahrain away next the Aussies are well placed and Pim must be feeling vert satisfied. I doubt we will get a full squad next match (non-FIFA match day) so it will be interesting to see how we go with a reduced squad.

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Joeys Fail At Last Hurdle

The Australian Under 16 team has once again failed in their efforts to gain qualification to the FIFA World Cup Under 17 competition. The Joey’s were knocked out of the AFC Under 16 Championship last night in the quarter finals after a late goal to the United Arab Emirates saw them lose 3 – 2.

It’s disappointing to once again see our youngest national team fail to make it out of the continental tournament and onto the world stage. There is no doubt that results at this age group matter less than the development of the players however, results do influence the development as they allow the players to perform against ever higher quality teams.

I must admit I hadn’t seen the lead up qualification games heading into the match last night but by all accounts the Joey’s have been playing some excellent football and so I tuned in last night to Saudi Arabian TV (Foxtel lift your game) with high expectations.

I was looking forward to see how we would go against Japan and it was a bit of a surprise that we were playing the United Arab Emirates rather than Japan. I knew that Yemen had been accused of fielding an overage player but the AFC left it very late to uphold the disqualification. It is quite ironic that it appears that we were the nation to appeal and force the issue, there is a lot to be said sometimes for playing the cards that you are dealt.

The UAE had finished third in their group, so on the surface the change should have been a very favourable one for Australia but guess who is the only team to have beat the Joey’s in the last year on the road to this tournament ? Yes that is right the UAE inflicted the Joeys only loss over the past year when the defeated them 1-0 in the Lion City Championship and so it was never going to be a stroll in the park.

Australia started the game poorly when the conceded a goal through feeble marking but then went on to dominate the first half. There are several quality players within the Joey’s team and they were a class above the Emirates players. However like in any football match if you fail to take your chances possession means nothing. Going in at half time 1-0 down would have been disappointing to the young roos.

The first 15 minutes of the second half saw Australia continue to play all over the Emirates and finally they got their just rewards with two goals early in the half. The Joey’s had an opportunity to kill the game only minutes after they went ahead when a one on one chance was squandered.

Like a lot of Australian teams from that point on the players couldn’t seem to control the tempo and allowed the UAE to consistently expose them on the break. If there is one area of development that all junior players within this country need to work on is the ability to put their foot on the ball and slow the game down. The Joeys were being constantly caught too far forward and the Emirates players were finding too much space to move the ball forward quickly. Once the UAE equalised the game turned very much into an arm wrestle and looked headed towards extra team. The winning goal came from a beautifully executed free kick by the Emirates team in the 91st minute so the Joey’s have a right to feel a little hard done by.

Overall I was impressed with the skill and organisation of the Joeys. There were lots of missed passes and the defence was ragged at times, you expect that from players at this level, but over all it was a good performance. So where to now for the FFA ? Joining the AFC is all well and good but we cannot continue to have our junior teams failing at this level. The minimum expected must be qualification to the FIFA World Under 17 tournament and like Postecoglu before him the FFA will need to take a close look at the decision to appoint Crook.

The Young Socceroos will have their moment in the spotlight in two weeks time when the AFC Under 19 tournament kicks off. We have been given a quite favourable draw and if all goes to plan should easily progress to the quarter finals, let us hope this time it doesn’t prove as big a hurdle.

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Big Night For Adelaide United

Tomorrow marks the biggest night in the short history of the Adelaide United Football Club when they meet FC Bunyodkor at home in the AFC Champions League semi final. With not only a place in the final of the Champions League on the line but potentially a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup up for grabs as well, a good performance at home is mandatory.

Bunyodkor currently sit at the top of the Uzbekistan League ladder after regaining the top position, winning their first game under new manager, Zico, and then increasing that lead on Friday. They boast some very exciting talent within their ranks including former FIFA player of the year, Rivaldo, and will not be easy to beat. And if anybody thinks they are not taking the game seriously that was quickly quashed yesterday. Flying in on a private charter they have brought a total of 70 personnel to ensure that no stone has been left unturned to take away the best possible result tomorrow evening.

Adelaide must take advantage of this home game to gain a significant lead to take into the return away leg to have a chance of surviving. They have shown they can defend well and they need to ensure they keep a clean sheet tomorrow night. If Adelaide can contain both Rivaldo and the Chilean striker Villanueva they will get opportunities to score but must take them when they arise.

By all accounts Hindmarsh stadium is a complete sell out and has been so for over a week. It must have been tempting to move the game to the bigger AAMI stadium to accommodate the several thousand of interested fans that are sure to miss out. However I am sure Adelaide have made the right move to retain the game at Hindmarsh. Every advantage that Adelaide can garner at this stage should be taken. Which is why it is a little strange that the FFA has dismissed their request for postponement of some A-League games to help their campaign.

Now I am not saying that the FFA should rubber stamped the Adelaide request to postpone all three matches around this time but there does seem some logical changes could have been made to make Adelaide’s task a little easier.

Below is the schedule that Adelaide face over the next two and half weeks

03/10...vs Central Coast......Home
08/10...vs Bunyodkor..........Home
17/10...vs Queensland.........Away
22/10...vs Bunyodkor..........Away
26/10...vs Perth..................Home

Now, I don’t see any reason for Adelaide needing to move the just completed game against Central Coast. They have a five day break until the Bunyodkor match with absolutely no travel involved. Nor is their any valid reason to delay the Perth match on the 26/10 as the Champions League campaign for this stage will be completed by then.

The Queensland match is another matter. With Adelaide playing away against Queensland and then having to travel to Uzbekistan it would have seemed logical to swap the round 16 fixture and allow Adelaide to play at Home on the 17/10. This would have had little impact but would have allowed Adelaide an easier run into the away trip to Bunyodkor. Further it should have also been possible to bring the Queensland match forward one day to Thursday Night and allow Adelaide a further day to recover.

It seems pig headed by the FFA to not do this. The changes would not have had a significant impact on the Adelaide opponents, Queensland, and the chances of Adelaide succeeding in the away leg of the Champions League would have been greatly improved.

Aurelio Vidmar and the rest of the lads at Adelaide have a mountain to climb tomorrow night but it is not an impossible one. As they proved in the previous round they should not be dismissed lightly.

Best of luck to them

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More of Moore ?

So Frank Farina didn’t want Pim Verbeek to select Craig Moore unless he is going to start him against Qatar. News Flash Frank….You are not the National Manager anymore !

The good news is that Verbeek has ignored the request and selected a squad that is best for him not the players or A-league club. Exactly the right approach that is needed from our national manager.

I am not so sure though that Pim should start Moore. There is no doubt that Moore is a quality defender and his inclusion into the squad would help strengthen the middle of defence, a area that has look very suspect over the last two years, but there comes a time when you need to put your faith in the new up and coming players.

The home match against Qatar would seem a prefect opportunity to start Matthew Spiranovic. With Cahill, Kewell and Emerton all appearing likely to be available, the Socceroos squad is shaping up to be one of our strongest in quite some time, what better time to play Spiranovic. If Spiranovic can continue to improve he should nicely fill this role and has the potential to be star.

Now I know many people would argue that the match is too important to play developing players and that the strongest side needs to be selected but Pim also needs to keep one eye on the squad for the World Cup in 2010. The fact is he needs three solid central defenders for that squad and at the moment he has one (Lucas Neill).

Of more concern to Verbeek must be the Left Fullback role. With Carney not being selected at all in recent matches with Sheffield United it leaves Verbeek with really only one option, Scott Chipperfield. Chippers is getting on but is still a quality player and when available has to be the first choice at Left Back.

The lack of young players for this position however is a real concern, Carney has looked the most likely in recent times but needs to be playing regularly. Beyond that there is not much in the cupboard. It is for this reason that I suspect that Scott Jamieson has been added to the squad. I wouldn’t be expecting him to play a part in Brisbane but having him up there gives Pim an opportunity to take a closer look at him.

It is a mystery why Travis Dodd has missed out after his performances in the ACL but overall this is a solid squad and one that should get the job done.
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