Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The Fake Break - another brief update
Best of luck to Rob Baan and the Olyroos in their qualification match against Iran tomorrow. With some of our European Under 23s unavailable, and Stuart Musialik suffering an eleventh-hour injury, it will be a tough test indeed.
Baan has commented unfavourably on the refereeing that the Olyroos are likely to encounter in Asian competition, and I share his concern. The match against Bahrain in October clearly demonstrated that some Asian teams are quite likely to resort to drama against the "physical" Australians, and that some referees are weak and cowardly enough to let them get away with it.
The injury to Musialik, who cut such a calm, shrewd figure during the latter stages of the A-League, is a serious blow. The team that David Davutovic has proposed in his article looks worryingly soft in the midfield area; I would be tempted to push Mark Milligan into midfield, which would allow Nikolai Topor-Stanley to play in the middle (where he is far more comfortable).
Baan has commented unfavourably on the refereeing that the Olyroos are likely to encounter in Asian competition, and I share his concern. The match against Bahrain in October clearly demonstrated that some Asian teams are quite likely to resort to drama against the "physical" Australians, and that some referees are weak and cowardly enough to let them get away with it.
The injury to Musialik, who cut such a calm, shrewd figure during the latter stages of the A-League, is a serious blow. The team that David Davutovic has proposed in his article looks worryingly soft in the midfield area; I would be tempted to push Mark Milligan into midfield, which would allow Nikolai Topor-Stanley to play in the middle (where he is far more comfortable).
