Socceroos Arnold to manage Australia post World Cup

May 5, 2006
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Urgh.

Did not much with Northern Spirit in the NSL, was ordinary when he was Socceroos coach for a bit, did well with Central Coast with a very strong A-League squad then jumped s**t to Vengatta Sendai, did nothing with them and lated 5 minutes and is now doing well at Sydney FC with a very strong A-League squad.

I don't doubt his ability to get teams playing good football, you can't deny his record with CCM and Sydney FC. But there is a difference between managing a team you see day in day out for most of the year and a squad you cobble together every once in a while. As an A-League manager he's always been in charge of good teams. Granted the Mariners aren't a big club but they had a strong squad by A-League standards. Back when the Mariners were a top side they had great young players coming through. Mat Ryan, Tom Rogic, Rostyn Griffiths, Bernie Ibini, Trent Sainsbury... plus they had some good established players like Zwaanswijk, McBreen, Hutchinson, Wilkinson, McGlinchey... Arnold left during the 13/14 season and over that season and the next they lost a heap of quality and plummeted. I doubt if Arnold returned for the 14/15 season with the Mariners he would've had them winning trophies with the players they had.

As a club manager it appears players like/respect him. Matt Simon, Alex Wilkinson, Bernie Ibini are all ex Mariners players who've played under him at Sydney FC. Brosque, Carney, Wilkshire are all pretty established players who are comfortable playing under him at Sydney. How much say he has in signing Bobo, Ninkovic, Buijs, Adrian etc. I don't know. This is great for the manager of Sydney FC but not all that relevant to being the Socceroos coach. Sydney FC put together the best A-League season on record last year and are pretty much already out of the AFC Champions League half way through the group stage. That is what worries me. The Socceroos might have the luxury on beating up on a few weaker nations in Asia, but it took us extra time after two legs to beat Syria then a play off against Honduras to make the WC.

I hope I'm wrong but Arnold gives me a 'big fish in a small pond' vibe and the Socceroos are anything but that. Guys like Mooy who plays in the Championship, Rogic who plays in Scotland, Cahill who is 95 etc. are our best players, meanwhile our first WC game is against France who have players at Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal, Man Utd, Juventus and Bayern. I understand Graham Arnold won't be in charge for the 2018 WC but it's a very, very different landscape to managing an A-League club with a bunch of capped Socceroos and some of the best foreign marquee players.
 

Guido

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Also the timing of the Announcement by the FFA..how bloody strange? why now? why not wait till after the A-League season? or after the World Cup?
Because the game is being run by a pair of f$$$ing idiots?

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...y/news-story/b826145a4da4cdb6e8534427fc2bb179

Behind a paywall, but says he'll become Australia's highest paid coach ever at $1.4mil per year. Plus bonuses. So could realistically be a $5.6m spend to not qualify lol

I've got no problem offering that to someone that delivers, but the bloke was utterly desperate for the gig, and they offer him overs. For 4 years.

It's as if HE held the aces in negotiations, FFA had boxed themselves in without any alternative option and the dimwits were s**t scared of losing him.
 

Lebbo73

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it's disheartening to go from someone like ange who, for how much he was criticised, tried to have the team play in an attacking way and to set up similar to modern football techniques. people will probably be pining for that soon.
I liked Ange’s approach. It was the players who couldn’t put the ball in the ******* net when they had sitters presented to them. My criticism of Ange was that we went to Japan and didn’t play a style more suited to getting the crucial qualifying point. We only needed a draw in Japan assuming that we beat Thailand in Australia. Then the Aussie strikers nearly ****ed that up!
 

hey shorty

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That is a huuuuuuuge amount of money for a guy not in demand. He's been overseas, he failed. He's coached a better Australian team, he failed.

$1.4 million !!!!!!!
 
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cant wait for the 'why matt simon should go to the 2022 world cup' articles. 'yes he's 36, but look at tim cahill.'

This is what makes my piss boil about the whole thing. Arnold is the best choice as so far as Australian coaches go but the way Ange was chased out by the Sydney clique of Slater et al was awful. Now all those on Fox Sports will be looking to sew their tongue to Arnie's arse. No one goes out of their way to speak out against the FFA and have career progression in football journalism in this country.
 

hey shorty

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It's a huge career risk for Arnie.

If we fall down like we did in 07, and he reacts in a similar fashion, his career will be in freefall.
 

hey shorty

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I liked Ange’s approach. It was the players who couldn’t put the ball in the ******* net when they had sitters presented to them. My criticism of Ange was that we went to Japan and didn’t play a style more suited to getting the crucial qualifying point. We only needed a draw in Japan assuming that we beat Thailand in Australia. Then the Aussie strikers nearly ****** that up!
He did play to our strengths though. Loaded the midfield and played 1 up top which is what we needed to do.

As you say, our 'strikers' ballsed it up.
 

hey shorty

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I'd rather see muscat as national coach than that top bloke Arnold and I don't rate muscat at all.
As a coach Arnie is way ahead of big Kev.
 

scon

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A game going nowhere at a rate of knots.
Dysfunctional management.
Appointing klutzes like themselves.
 
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Hawks1994

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Seems the best way to rub the FFAs face in it would be for Bert to do an outstanding job during his tenure then we regress after Arnie takes over the reins

The whole thing is head scratching

Why announce it now? Why not after the ALeague season finishes or maybe until Van Marwijks contract comes to a close?

I like how after these things involve 'extensive world wide searches' they seem to always just pick the 'easy' option
 
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Seems the best way to rub the FFAs face in it would be for Bert to do an outstanding job during his tenure then we regress after Arnie takes over the reins

The whole thing is head scratching

Why announce it now? Why not after the ALeague season finishes or maybe until Van Marwijks contract comes to a close?

I like how after these things involve 'extensive world wide searches' they seem to always just pick the 'easy' option

Yeah but no money etc.. needs to all go in to Gallop's pockets!
 
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