Socceroos Josh Kennedy retires.

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Mr_Bojangles

Mr_Bojangles

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Got everything out of that sicknote body of his. Came from nowhere to be an important player for the Socceroos at times. His winner against Iraq will never be forgotten.
 
Delivered for the national team when required. Sad to see him finish his career this way but that's football.
 

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yeah thanks for all the great memories Josh delivered when counted numerous times but that goal against Iraq to qualify us for the World Cup the joy I experienced on my couch watching that night! Pitty it didn't work out for him at City he was shot and come home probably a season to late.
 
LCynic said:
If Wikipedia can be trusted, he has never played in an international loss. One draw.
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If true, that's quite remarkable!
 
Great servant of the national side though. Really gave us something quite unique up forward. Chipped in with quite a few important goals too (nearly a 1 in every 2 game ratio for the Socceroos - more than handy!).

Not sure if he is a dad or plans on becoming one but didn't he also manage an Aussie basketballer? Could be some handy sporting genes on hand...;)
 
NUFC Tiger said:
If true, that's quite remarkable!
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.... And it likely isn't. I just misinterpreted what I read.

What I should have said was "Every game he scored in, we never lost."

Don't know why it took me so long to realise the error.
 
LCynic said:
.... And it likely isn't. I just misinterpreted what I read.

What I should have said was "Every game he scored in, we never lost."

Don't know why it took me so long to realise the error.
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Ah, that sounds more plausible LC! :p
 

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Not surprised Josh is hanging them up after last season. But he carved out a great career internationally and I wish him all the best in what he does next in his life.
 
pantskyle said:
Very happy about this, was a terrible marquee choice for us and never suited our game plan.
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I think that's unfair. We basically didn't have anyone with the ability to utilise him since, amazingly enough, I don't think Kennedy and Duff played a single game together. I still maintain that combo could/would have been lethal for City.

Duff spent the first half of the season crossing perfectly weighted balls in to an empty box and Kennedy spent the second half of the season waiting for some decent service.

Samaras the likely replacement. Interesting...
 
MC Extra Dollop said:
I think that's unfair. We basically didn't have anyone with the ability to utilise him since, amazingly enough, I don't think Kennedy and Duff played a single game together. I still maintain that combo could/would have been lethal for City.

Duff spent the first half of the season crossing perfectly weighted balls in to an empty box and Kennedy spent the second half of the season waiting for some decent service.

Samaras the likely replacement. Interesting...
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I think it's perfectly fair. He was dead average for us.
 
pantskyle said:
I think it's perfectly fair. He was dead average for us.
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Did you read the rest of the post? He was signed to be a target for Duff in the box. They never even played together. A player like Kennedy relies on the service of others and without Duff, we had very few, if any, decent set-up men. Might as well have chopped one of Kennedy's legs off.

I maintain that he would have suited the gameplan just fine, if there was a class act like Duff on the park to cross it in to him.
 
pantskyle said:
I think it's perfectly fair. He was dead average for us.
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In the City matches I saw Josh was verging on a liability. Injuries must have taken their toll on him because he was glacier like. The semi-final against Victory being a prime example.

I watched him up close in the pre-match warm-up in an earlier game and he just couldn't move.

I wish things had have worked out better for Josh this year and he'd been able to go out on a personal high - but it just wasn't to be.
 
MC Extra Dollop said:
Did you read the rest of the post? He was signed to be a target for Duff in the box. They never even played together. A player like Kennedy relies on the service of others and without Duff, we had very few, if any, decent set-up men. Might as well have chopped one of Kennedy's legs off.

I maintain that he would have suited the gameplan just fine, if there was a class act like Duff on the park to cross it in to him.
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We did not sign in just to be a target man of Duff. How stupid would that be to hope a player of Duffs age would stay fit.

He was signed as a drawcard. He was the wrong player.
 
pantskyle said:
We did not sign in just to be a target man of Duff. How stupid would that be to hope a player of Duffs age would stay fit.

He was signed as a drawcard. He was the wrong player.
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I agree with you. After the Villa debacle I think the club felt they had to land a drawcard, and quickly, and they made a bad choice.
 
pantskyle said:
We did not sign in just to be a target man of Duff. How stupid would that be to hope a player of Duffs age would stay fit.

He was signed as a drawcard. He was the wrong player.
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There's a difference between having a couple of old man niggles and missing 4-5 weeks of a season and your season being over by Christmas.

It's not that easy to get an Australian marquee, in my opinion. If you're Socceroos-quality (which should be the minimum expected, I would have thought), chances are you'll be past your prime, because if you're good enough to play in internationals and you're in your mid-late 20s, you probably shouldn't be wasting much time in the A-League. I can't even think of anyone else that was on the radar last year...maybe Bresciano, until it was confirmed that he'd be finishing the season in Qatar. And based on a) his performance in the Asian Cup; and b) their respective positions (Kennedy filled an obvious need, while Bresciano would have created an even bigger logjam in the midfield), I seriously doubt Bresciano would have given us any more value.

Looking at the list of Australian marquees in the A-League last year, it's a pretty underwhelming bunch. And it will probably stay that way, until the standard of the league improves. You need to have a bit of luck for the right player to fall into your lap at the right time. That was what Kennedy looked like to me: a risk, but one that most other clubs would have taken, if they had the chance. It didn't pay off...oh well. And I think Samaras, considering his recent injury history, would be a very similar risk. I'd still be keen for them to do it, pending the usual physical assessments.
 
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