Morning to the blog, guys and gals.
Just a bit of breaking news, Jamie Coyne will not be going to Wellington after he was ruled out with a thigh injury. What makes this even more interesting, was that no one picked on this at yesterday's presser, the assumption was that there were no new injuries. Click to continue reading...

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We got all the issues from Jesse Fink to Fozzie, Socceroos to Dan Silkman, Greg Baum, to Ange Postecoglou, Ben Kennedy replaces Tando Velaphi, where should Harry play, should Dario play, why Aussies are sick of the Socceroos...well the Aussie media, is the A_League boring. Click to continue reading...

After the Roar Board, via the Courier Mail, complained that Frank had too much influence, Ange is now laying down the law. Rado to the young team, Ange doesn't need any help.
Physios Tony Ganter and Cameron Schembri have resigned.
I hope they win this afternoon, go Rado. I like coaches with sons in the Socceroos. Click to continue reading...

Its been just over a month since I last put fingers to keyboard and tapped out a paragraph or two for this blog and a lot has happened in that time. Crowds continue to be a major talking point and I was very pleased to see Gold Coast and Brisbane take steps to reduce their ticket prices and make them more affordable for the general fan. Click to continue reading...

A roundup of news about Bolton Wanderers players who have been on international duty this week.

South Korea 2 – 0 Senegal

Bolton's Lee Chong–yong assisted Ki Sung-yong in getting on the score sheet in the friendly against Senegal in Seoul. Celtic's Sung–yong took South Korea ahead with a shot from 20 metres a few minutes before half–time.

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Dutch international Dirk Kuyt has stressed how he is enjoying life on Merseyside with Liverpool despite the club's poor start to the season.
The striker, who played for his homeland in a friendly against the Socceroos in Australia this week, is expected to feature against Sunderland despite his long round-trip and hopes that the Reds can now focus on getting their title challenge back on track. Click to continue reading...

In three games against Australia, Oranje hasn't been able to win. Last Saturday, Oranje played the Socceroos away. In Australia. A unique happening, since most big nations balk at the idea of traveling 42 hours to play a 90 minute friendly. Bert van Marwijk - and the powers that be at Click to continue reading...

The premise of Channel 7's new sci-fi series might not lie in the realms of fantasy after all. Last night, watching the Australia v. Netherlands game, I had a vivid premonition of how Pim Verbeek's side will approach games against superior (or even peer) opposition in South Africa next year.
Plenty of shuffling the ball across the back four. Click to continue reading...

I'm a bit overwhelmed with the soccer available this weekend, and excited.
The only live soccer I'll be seeing was this morning, when the West End Terrorists (Jacob's team, though they now only use their name privately and on the team sheet are just, 'West End') won their second indoor game 8:2, against the Feral Rats. Click to continue reading...

How can you not love these guys? That run in the '06 World Cup was a blast.
And led by awesome-dude Tim Cahill the team is going to help out the earthquake and tsunami victims in Samoa and Indonesia.
Not just a neat goal celebration.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) said it will donate one dollar for every fan who attends the Socceroos' matches against the Netherlands in Sydney on Saturday and against Oman in Melbourne next week.

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It was all done in about 4 minutes. 3 Great goals.
Melbourne had their big game last week. And in front of over 30,000 they just were not there. Kruse lasted 30 minutes and didn't do much. Towards the end Melbourne gave them a barrage, particularly Thompson. But Simon Colossimo showed he has earned Craig Moore's Socceroos spot. Click to continue reading...

Australia is excited with Oranje's presence Down Under. The friendly against the Socceroos coming Saturday is close to being sold out (45.000 tickets sold). It doesn't happen too often in Oz, the visit of a top nation. The Aussies praise Oranje for coming down mid-season. Most nations only want to Click to continue reading...

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Nationally we cover Fozzie on the Young Socceroos, A-League, crowds, Danny Tiatto, Robbie Kruse,how did that Ref miss the Perf goal, Alex Brosque, Chris Grossman, why the Celtic crowd are louder thanBordeaux, even Liverpool but it was The Cove who took Paddy's breadth away, W-League, quiz questions and more and Lucy Zelic thinks Melbourne will beat Sydney FC. Click to continue reading...

I saw you Danny putting your finger up to me on the big screen.
Well i did it back louder and longer.
Robbie Kruse v Tiatto and co, great stuff. Fozzie might not have liked it, but Bozzo loved it...me to.
Great game, particularly that first half, and great to see Danny Allsopp out of the Victory side. Click to continue reading...

No points from three games, eight goals conceded, only two scored. On the face of it, a pretty miserable showing by the Young Socceroos in Egypt.
Yet there were a few consolations to take away from the tournament, and the way the team started against Brazil showed that this was far from a bunch of no-hopers. Click to continue reading...

It's a little early to be passing final judgement on Jan Versleijen's group of Young Socceroos, given that they are still in with a slim chance of progressing. But the report card is less than impressive so far.
Many have showered praise on them for how they took the game to both the Czechs and Costa Rica, but it's surely significant that Versleijen's charges only really did so when they were already chasing the game. Click to continue reading...

The Socceroos are taking advantage of the FIFA double break and have named a strong line-up for this month's two home matches against the Netherlands and Oman. Returning to the squad are Harry Kewell alongside new Everton clubmates Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill; all three omitted from the last squad that lost . Click to continue reading...

So we didn't get the 12th licence purely it seems because we weren't called Western Sydney.
And the FFA has certainly angered many Canberrans with their process of selection. If indeed there was ever a process.
But when the dust settles many will agree, the Canberra Bid Committee although failing in their aim to get the 12th licence has moved Canberra back into the world of professional football. Click to continue reading...

HOPEFULLY this blog finds you all enjoying the public holiday. The sun is somewhat visible through the clouds, but it is still a pleasant day.
Moreover, there are only six days left until Perth Glory take on North Queensland and Robbie Fowler.
There's been no talk of injury to the former Liverpool striker, so FP expects him to make the trip to Perth. Click to continue reading...

En esta jornada dominical entre los Grupos E y F hubo buenos partidos, muchos goles, y emociones.

Brasil 5-0 Costa Rica

Quizá el segundo partido más disparejo de lo que va del torneo (después del España-Tahití), donde los brasileños golearon al cuadro tico sin despeinarse.

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He settled into the back seat of the cab. His blackberry flashed.
It seemed like it would be fun when he signed up. Lots of international travel. Helping Australia's most international of sports reach its destiny. And secure the type of TV rights deal he and the team had won for the AFL. And the World Cup. Click to continue reading...

Australia would be concerned after their 3-1 loss to South Korea. The Socceroos were wobbly, unsure and overly cautious and made a mockery of their FIFA ranking of 14. Pim Verbeek has much to think about between now and next year's World Cup in South Africa. On the one ... Click to continue reading...

Obviously the news has been a little slow this weekend due to the international break.
First off lets catch up with our Wanderers who were playing for their country:

Gretar Steinsson featured for Iceland in a 1 all draw with Norway in a Qualifier. Steinsson made the cross which resulted in Iceland's goal.

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Australia's remarkable run of results has come crashing to a halt at the Seoul World Cup Stadium as Korea downed the Socceroos 3-1  tonight in an International Friendly. With both teams safely through to the World Cup Finals as top of their Asian qualifying groups, this was a chance for both managers to test some new players, and Aussie coach Pim Verbeek rang in the changes in what was a homecoming for him, as he coached South Korea before taking the Australian job.

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Mark Viduka one of Australia's greatest sportsmen is in danger of leaving the game with a stain around his image.
If he's retired from professional football, club football fair enough. But when he decided or if he has decided to step down finally from the National team the country deserves better. Click to continue reading...

Qantas Socceroos vs Netherlands For all of you who want to book tickets and come to Sydney. I'm going myself. More than happy to organize something funky and orange if there's more of you... With our place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup locked in, the Qantas Socceroos continue their build up Click to continue reading...

Football NSW Launches ‘Project 22'

Free to all selected players, this highly professional development setup allows players to train up to five (5) times a week – for 40 weeks of the year – with highly experienced and qualified instructors.

Now it's time for Canberra to follow, not neccessarily in the same form, but develop we must. Click to continue reading...

Now we all know Pim Verbeek is worried about his Aussie boys returning home to the A-League, and probably no-one concerns him more than ever-present Socceroo Jason Culina.
Great player, who Robbie Slater praises before he even plays a pass, but are Culina's standards already slipping?
A few showpony touches with the score at 1-0 in the Fury game on the weekend suggests this whole A-League thing has finally attracted a professional player who finds the games too easy. Click to continue reading...

(Picture) Clay figurines of several top NRL players on display inside "Fan Central - Football Jersey"
During my recent Down Under trip, I got an opportunity to see how thriving the industry of club merchandise is.
"This is colourful!" I said to the store owner behind the counter, having overwhelmed by the colours and designs of those clubs' jerseys, balls, etc. Click to continue reading...

The Republic of Ireland were on the receiving end of Cahill's goalscoring skills in the recent friendly against the Socceroos.He scored two out of the three goals that Ireland lost the game by.This inspite of the fact that he has a grandmother from Cork and that Cahill is an extremely irish name.

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Thomond Park hosted Ireland and the Socceroos last night in a game that Ireland should have taken in their stride. Cahill got the Aussies in front after 38 mins. Giovanni Trapattoni had obviously given a good pre match speech because Ireland did give it all they had , but with so many premiership players on the pitch it was definitely a night of "Could have done better".

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Pim put out a third rank team for the Asian Cup game in Canberra recently. Insulted Archie Thompson prior to the game, and you have to wonder at Verbeek's motives.
The team that took the field against Ireland, a friendly on a FIFA date, had Jade North flying in from Asia and all basis covered. Click to continue reading...

Aaron Walker, Eamonn (me) and Paddy Bordier discuss A-League crowds, the Gold Coast, Pim's Socceroos squad, and our differing views on our Young Matildas and keep you up-to-date with the key football news in Australia.
Haven't got Fox? Where better to get your Aussie football news on the radio. Click to continue reading...

So Jade North and his Asian mates couldn't fly in for an Asian Cup Qualifier v Kuwait in Canberra in March, and Australia lost as a result.
But he can head to Limerick.
And anyone knows there are no direct flights to Ireland from Korea or any other Asian city. Everyone has to fly through Heathrow or Europe, and then travel down fron Dublin to Limerick. Click to continue reading...

We're only an hour or so away from the first match of A-League ver. 5 and already it's promising to be a cracker of a year!
Two new teams in Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury, new and "unique" kit designs, a host of new faces from local and abroad, ex-socceroos and marquee talent the likes of Robbie Fowler, Jason Culina, Mile Sterjovski, Chris Coyne, Jacob Burns etc. Click to continue reading...