Peter Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) A-League players can take soft options or make hard choices DateFebruary 5, 2014 16 reading now Michael Lynch Senior sports reporter with The Age Are Australia's younger A-League players too soft? Do they have a culture of entitlement? Do they lack the mental strength and toughness of their predecessors? Do they have the same hunger to make it in the world's bigger leagues as those who came before them displayed? In short, does life in the A-League make it too easy for too many players to accept their lot in this country without pushing themselves to be the best they can be? Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou posed a similar question in his Fairfax Media column in January after witnessing soccer red in tooth and claw in the English lower divisions where he watched some unheralded Australians to gauge if they might be worth considering for the national squad. Hard man: Kevin Muscat playing for Millwall. Hard man: Kevin Muscat playing for Millwall. Photo: Getty Images In the lower leagues - much disparaged in this country - and in other countries where the pyramid exists, players have to fight to get a game and a contract. Advertisement There are consequences for a lack of performance. Teams drop into the relegation zone or are demoted, with the loss of money and cachet that brings. Relegation might also bring serious economic hardship for the whole club, threatening its existence and the jobs of its players. Players can suffer individually through poor team performance, as many clubs negotiate contracts that guarantee them a certain basic wage if they are in a particular division, and a lower one if they slide down the pyramid. Nothing concentrates the mind as well as the prospect of a pay cut. Danny Tiatto in action for Manchester City. Danny Tiatto in action for Manchester City. Photo: Getty Images Sure, the technical level at certain clubs in League One and its continental equivalents might leave something to be desired, and players need more than toughness and athleticism to succeed in the highest class. But assuming the best of the locally based Australians have the skills and technique to force their way into Postecoglou's calculations, the coach is right to wonder about their mental strength, desperation and desire to make the best they can of themselves. There is a growing feeling among several senior figures in the game that many of the younger generation simply are not as tough on themselves as they should be. After all, a young man in his early 20s can earn a very tidy living in the A-League, with the better players pulling down $150,000 or more without having to get out of their comfort zone by leaving home or exerting themselves in difficult and competitive foreign environments, the sort that invariably make them better players if they can get through the challenges involved. Compared with overseas competitions, the A-League is a doddle, as any of those Australians who have returned home after long careers abroad would admit. Not so much in the standard of play - there are some decent players and teams - but in the demands made upon individuals. The A-League season is only 27 games long, plus a maximum of another three if a team reaches the grand final, having finished anywhere other than top of the home-and-away table. There is no relegation and no real pressure. Failure is embarrassing, but hardly fatal. It is usually the coaches who pay the price, not the players. Compare that with Italy's Serie B, where there are 22 clubs and 42 home-and-away matches before any play-offs are taken into account, or England's Championship, where 24 teams battle to get into the promised land of the Premier League or avoid the relegation trapdoor into League One. Championship teams play 46 matches a season in a marathon that starts in early August and finishes in May. Of course, something usually gives when such strains are put on players. They sustain injuries and cannot be expected to maintain high-quality levels over such a lengthy period. But it does test a player's mental fortitude in a way that the A-League, with its disappointingly short season and extraordinarily long off-season, won't. As Postecoglou pointed out, part of being successful in any walk of life is having a steely determination and a desire to be so. In sport, it's impossible to really succeed without talent, but the world is full of talented players who lacked the toughness, application and mental strength to prove themselves and didn't make the best of their opportunities. I have spoken to a number of coaches - both in jobs and out of work - in recent weeks who echo Postecoglou's suggestions, some much more vehemently than the national boss. So do player agents and those involved in dealing with clubs and administrations. There is a reluctance to publicly criticise the mindset of many players because there is a fear that it will be seen to be bagging the game or damaging the A-League. The A-League has made a remarkable splash in its nine years, and no one would want to go back to the ramshackle days of the National Soccer League, where clubs often went bust mid-season, the sport was marginalised and players, even the best, earned peanuts and played in some stadiums that left a lot to be desired. Save for one facet: those were the days when Australia was producing players capable of establishing themselves at the highest levels. Through the 1980s, '90s and early 2000s, men including Eddie Krncevic, David Mitchell, Graham Arnold, Frank Farina, Ned Zelic, Paul Okon, Mark Viduka, Vince Grella, Jason Culina, Mark Bresciano, Aurelio and Tony Vidmar, Robbie Slater, Tony Popovic, Danny Tiatto, Kevin Muscat, Zeljko Kalac, Mark Schwarzer and Brett Emerton, to name some of the best known, came out of the NSL despite its privations. They all had talent, of course, but also the right mentality to push themselves to the limit. If Australia is to replicate its successes in the 2006 World Cup, it needs the A-League to toughen up and start producing players not only with talent, but with a fierce will to win, the kind all those mentioned above possessed. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/aleague-players-can-take-soft-options-or-make-hard-choices-20140204-31zfc.html#ixzz2sOinRgdE Edited February 4, 2014 by Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Good post Peter. IMO it's a very good point. The very fact that we've heard the "If we win, we win; if we lose, we lose" statement, that players feel that they are now fighting for their employment "because we have new owners"...these back up the opinion canvassed in the article. It's all too easy in the A-League. Not are there 40-odd league games to play in many other leagues, there are also various cup competitions. Clubs can easily play as many as 60 senior matches in a season. That's why I like the entry of Manchester City into our league and into our club to bring the ultimate professional approach to everything we do. I used to think Melburnian was a bloody whinger with his(?) monologues about mediocrity, but I realise that he was right. It's the same in many other aspects of our lives. It is absurd that we cannot compete with imported goods that have to come half-way around the world to even reach our inwards ports. It's about professionalism at all levels. Just think about how often you have to follow up to make sure that some service is provided to you...and how many stuff-ups you have to endure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahanga Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Excellent article. Far too many Aussies go overseas as the next big thing only to re-appear not that long after, with their tales between their legs having hardly played a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Cunado Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Excellent article. Far too many Aussies go overseas as the next big thing only to re-appear not that long after, with their tales between their legs having hardly played a game. Agreed. I think that many players appear to have a sense of entitlement without actually having earned anything (think Mustafa Amini kicking off after not making the u22 World Cup a few months back) just due to the fact they've been signed by an overseas club. A lot of these players are also hyped to the moon by the local media, immediately demanding that any player who plays a half decent a-league match get called up the national team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Excellent article. Far too many Aussies go overseas as the next big thing only to re-appear not that long after, with their tales between their legs having hardly played a game. I think you meant "tails" there, but "tales" brings such an intriguing perspective to your post... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahanga Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 ahh got me there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesicabon Posted February 21, 2014 Report Share Posted February 21, 2014 So nice, thanks for sharing this article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutherglen Rambler Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahanga Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Schwarzer has just come out and said pretty much the same thing: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-12/schwarzer-says-a-league-easy-way-out/6013084?section=sport Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer believes the A-League is providing an easy "way out" for Australian players not wanting to do the hard yards overseas. Asked in a recent interview why the national team had failed to build on their 2006 World Cup success, the veteran goalkeeper suggested the domestic competition had played a part. "All of us who played at the 2006 World Cup went through the hard times in Europe," the 42-year-old told Australia's FourFourTwo magazine. "It is not happening any more. We have very few guys getting their head down and digging in in Europe. You see it now more than ever - guys come overseas, they last six months and then they turn around and return to the A-League. Mark Schwarzer "The A-League is a way out: it is an escape route for some players. "You see it now more than ever - guys come overseas, they last six months and then they turn around and return to the A-League." Schwarzer has spent the last 20 years playing in Europe, racking up 109 caps for the Socceroos in the process. Earlier this month, he left English Premier League leaders Chelsea for last-placed Leicester City in the hope of more first-team outings. I hope the right people pay attention to him. As Schwarzer tells it, he had it pretty tough when he first went to Germany. He stuck at it though and look what he achieved in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) Don't forget Schwarzer is a goalkeeper, and GKs can quite easily have quite a long playing career at the top level - David Seaman, Pat Jennings, Peter Schmeichel, Peter Shilton spring to mind as players who have gone on at pretty much the top level until they were 40 or so. I'm sure that there are more. So a GK may be prepared to, and can afford to, warm the bench for a number of years waiting for his big chance. Outfield players generally have relatively short careers. They can't afford to warm the bench for too long before they disappear out of sight. And the game is faster and physically more demanding than ever before. IMO Schwarzer is being a little hard on present-day Australian players. Edited January 15, 2015 by jw1739 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Aardvark Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Nice of Schwarzer to offer a solution. The way it reads it's as if he's saying Australian soccer would be better off without the A-League, or at least a version thereof that contains fewer Australians and more foreigners. Whats the other solution? Players that leave for overseas aren't allowed back until they've made it? At least when they come back they theoretically help improve the standard of the league, which will hopefully eventually see it replace the need to develop in some of the smaller European leagues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Exactly. If not the a-league then what ? Should we just have an academy system and send players oversea when they reach 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Fucking hate it when guys like Schwarzer and Chipperfield spout this sort of nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahanga Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 I don't believe Schwarzer is criticising the A League. All I think he's saying is when you go overseas and find out how hard it is, don't take the easy of option of coming back here. RAther get your head down and step up. Actually I think things are getting better in this regard. Can't think of anyone who has come back from Europe recently having been there a short time and hardly played. asiA is more of a worry but that's because they want the finished product there and want you to leave if your not. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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