"Aussies Abroad" Thread

[Ney_Fabiano]

Is the commentator calling him "Harry Potter"?

hes saying "the fans have nicknamed him harry potter" and "here we see harry potter the australian footballer score"

[dannywhiteboot$]

What happened to that Danish guy who used to come on here and post about Dave Williams? He hasn't been playing much at all lately - maybe he's injured.

He did his knee in September, not a full reco but is out for the year.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/152/img0277bz2.jpg

[andrew1116]

Adrian Leijer played a full game for Fulham Reserves this morning, they lost 2-0 to Arsenal Reserves, and played pretty badly according to the match report on their website. Nothing was mentioned about Leijers' game.

[stefan]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aBYsM1zuhis

Link to Holman's goal from the 3-3 draw on the weekend, a ripper strike. Why can't he score for the Socceroos? Hopefully starts the next AZ Alkmaar game.

[suigenerus]

Yep, crackin goal from Holman

[The Space Cowboy]

Zadkovich got half an hour for Derby overnight. As much as he is an arrogant cunt. If he could get his head right and start listening to his coaches etc, he could turn into a half decent player.

[dannywhiteboot$]

I agree cowboy, ya gotta laugh at the people who deny that he is talented.

[redzepi9]

nice play and strike from holman.

[A.Haak]

I agree cowboy, ya gotta laugh at the people who deny that he is talented.

He's a good athlete but an average player at best.

[dannywhiteboot$]

I wouldn't say athlete is his strongest quality.

Probably more so technical ability, he's a very smooth mover that boy though.

Has all the key attributes but is rather fkd in the head.

[amnesiac]

Excellent goal by Holman.

[Socceroo_06]

brilliant goal by Scott Mcdonald this morning

[Pasqualino]

Fantastic goal from Scott this morning.

[Shawry]

what a finish by scotty mac, had class written all over it, just need him to get a few for the NT now

[JCole]

Yeah, awesome touch by McDonald!

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Kewell has a fracture in his toe.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/aussies-abroad/kewells-latest-injury-setback-149476/

[Robbos]

Pure class by Scotty McDonald with the goal against Man U. Despite his lack of goals for the socceroos I hope persist with him. He is very calm in front of goal & I think will score alot of goals for the socceroos.

[Socceroo_06]

Pure class by Scotty McDonald with the goal against Man U. Despite his lack of goals for the socceroos I hope persist with him. He is very calm in front of goal & I think will score alot of goals for the socceroos.

Cannot play in the same team as Kennedy though. Would work better with Dukes.

[victory_sa]

AZ on top as well with 19pts

[Rob]

Pure class by Scotty McDonald with the goal against Man U. Despite his lack of goals for the socceroos I hope persist with him. He is very calm in front of goal & I think will score alot of goals for the socceroos.

Cahill, Grella & Culina must be in the side.

Kennedy also.

- Kewel, Bresc, Viduka, McDonald.

Good to have some options.

[mulhollanddrive]

Showed something I hadn't seem of him with that goal. Able to create his own without poor defending. Nice.

[andrew1116]

No Aussies playing last night; Coe and Kalac were both on the bench, and Kewell is injured.

[JCole]

Showed something I hadn't seem of him with that goal. Able to create his own without poor defending. Nice.

Maybe you haven't seen him enough. All 30-odd goals last season can't have been as a result of poor defending.

[dannywhiteboot$]

Yea he scored some gems last season. I think he will move to the EPL in not 'too' distant future.

[A.Haak]

Celtic > mid table EPL team. At least he gets to play Champions League often.

[dannywhiteboot$]

hey Haak is that you in the avatar or Costa Barbarouses? Or do you just look like Costa Barbarouses?

[Kiza]

- Spira played another 90 mins this morning in Nurnberg's 0-0 draw with Frankfurt
- Kilkenny was on the bench for Leeds as they drew 1-1 with Northampton

[Socceroo_06]

Great site for Aussie Abroad updates:
http://www.euroos.blogspot.com/

[Socceroo_06]

Cahill Deja Vu

Tim Cahill's Everton produced a come-from-behind 3-1 victory against West Ham United tonight, reminiscent of Australia's 2006 World Cup win over Japan.

Cahill lined up against former Millwall teammate Lucas Neill in the match at Upton Park in the English Premier League and both would have had a sense of deja vu after the game, although Cahill's would have been sweeter.

West Ham took the lead in the match in the second-half but the Toffees struck with three goals in the last ten minutes to win in a stunning contest.

Neill had a solid night for the Hammers until the final ten minutes. The Socceroo's defensive partner Matthew Upson went off early in the match which meant Neill had to take on extra responsibility but he was like a rock at the back for West Ham.

Cahill, who famously scored the two goals which turned that fateful World Cup fixture Australia's way, didn't have the best of nights personally for Everton.

Toffees boss David Moyes opted to start with Louis Saha and Victor Anichebe up front with Cahill withdrawn in a normal midfield role. The Aussie struggled to have an impact and it is obvious he prefers the 4-5-1.

http://www.euroos.blogspot.com/

[Socceroo_06]

Saturday's European Wrap

Carl Valeri played a key part in keeping Grosseto top of Serie B tonight, as the Little Bulls defeated bottom club Modena 2-1 in Tuscany tonight.

Grosseto had to come from a goal down but Valeri was on hand to help with an assist for striker Marco Sansovini to equalise in the 47th minute.

The Socceroo could have been the headline hero when he had a chance to put Grosseto ahead in 52nd minute, but Valeri fired his shot too high.

Nonetheless in the 77th minute, Grosseto would eventually claim the winner and a crucial three points in the race for promotion to Serie A. Grosseto lead from Empoli and Sassuolo who also both won in Saturday's games.

In the Serie A, Mark Bresciano was suspended after last weekend's red card for Palermo as his team played Vinny Grella's old side Torino. The Turin club won the match 1-0 to dent Palermo's European hopes.

Over to Germany, where Joshua Kennedy's Karlsruhe SC produced a miraculous comeback to draw 3-3 with early title challengers Bayer Leverkusen.

Karlsruhe trailed by three goals after just half an hour but managed to peg their opponents back and in doing so, ended a five match losing streak, although they still sit just one spot out of the relegation zone.

Next to the Netherlands, with Jason Culina's PSV Eindhoven, who had endured a poor week following their UEFA Champions League thrashing in Marseille. Culina played a full game for PSV tonight but the Dutch champions suffered their fourth loss of the Eredivisie season, beaten 1-0 by NEC Nijmegen.

And finally to another club who've had a bad week in Nathan Burns' AEK Athens, who managed a reasonable 1-1 draw at Xanthi in the Greek Super League. Unfortunately, once again the young Aussie wasn't involved in the match.

http://euroos.blogspot.com/2008/11/saturdays-european-wrap.html

[El Zilcho]

James Meredith is now on loan from Shrewsbury Town (League 2) at Telford Utd in the Conference North (effectively "league 4"). He's sinking like a stone.

[dannywhiteboot$]

Shrewsbury are going places so hopefully he does well in the conference.

He's only young.

[andrew1116]

Yet again Kennedy doesn't score. According to ESPN he's still been playing as a centre forward, as per usual. Wonder why he's struggling to score so much - 16 games in row now without scoring.

Burns not doing anything in Greece, have patience, it'll take time. Hope he's prepared to wait it out, will probably he going out in loan to the second division in January.

Fulham play tonight, hopefully Leijer makes the squad.

Turkish boys back in action tonight, as is Brett Holman who might start since he scored a ripper last game.


Great site for Aussie Abroad updates:
http://www.euroos.blogspot.com/

Good find mate, this is a quality site.

[victory_sa]

Great site for Aussie Abroad updates:
http://www.euroos.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the site.

[The Space Cowboy]

Both Grella and Emerton in doubt for Rovers.

[Socceroo_06]

Both Grella and Emerton in doubt for Rovers.

Since you have a danish avatar, do you know much about the aussies boys in Denmark and how they're tracking.

Haven't heard much about Brent Mcgrath.

[forthegame]

brent is still in the brondby youth system

[Socceroo_06]

Sunday's Turkish Super Lig

Australians Bruce Djite and James Troisi were part of the Genclerbirligi side which came from two goals down to earn a draw against Konyaspor today.

Djite and Troisi both started the game for Genclerbirligi but failed to fire, and Gencler needed substitute Mustafa Peftemek to rescue them with two late goals.

Elsewhere in Turkey, Michael Petkovic was absent as Sivasspor crashed to a surprise 2-1 defeat at struggling Antalyaspor.

Meanwhile, Harry Kewell should return to the Galatasaray side which lines up against Fenerbahce today.

And finally today, 21 year-old Australian defender Ersan Gülüm's Manisaspor were thumped 4-0 by Kayseri Erciyesspor in the Bank Asya 1 Lig.

Wilkshire One Step Closer To UCL

Luke Wilkshire's Dinamo Moscow have all but secured a UEFA Champions League spot for 2009-10, after today's 2-0 win over Luch Vladivostok moved them to 50 points in the Russian Premier League.

Wilkshire played a full game for the Moscotives as they moved five points clear of fourth placed Amkar Perm, who are on 45 points. UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg are in fourth on 44 points, along with Krylya Sovetov. Their remains two matches in the Russian Premier League season.

In Russia, the top two sides automatically qualify for the UEFA Champions League while the third placed side must go through the qualifiers. Dinamo will be keen to secure that second spot but still trail CSKA Moscow who are second on 50 points, but with a game in hand.

Holman's AZ Stay Top

Brett Holman's AZ Alkmaar reasserted their position on top of the Dutch Eredivisie with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over FC Twente at the DSB Stadion today.

Holman was a second-half substitute for Louis van Gaal's men and was given about half an hour to impress the boss.

The Socceroo moved to AZ in the summer from NEC Nijmegen but has been kept out of the starting line-up by in-form Moroccan forward Mounir El Hamdaoui this season.

Former Tottenham striker El Hamdaoui has scored an incredible 13 league goals this term denying Holman a chance and it was the Moroccan who made for Holman in the 63rd minute of this game. But El-Hamdaoui had already scored in the fixture thus confirming him as van Gaal's preferred forward option.

AZ are leaders in the Netherlands ahead of Ajax and NAC Breda on goal difference.

Holman may get a chance to impress on Wednesday when AZ play Jason Culina's PSV Eindhoven in the KNVB Cup.

Grella Limps Off At Blackburn

Australian midfielder Vince Grella has limped off before half-time today in Blackburn's 2-0 English Premier League loss against Chelsea at Ewood Park.

Grella had been in doubt to take his place in the match due to a hamstring problem but the Socceroo was passed fit and took his place in Rovers' starting eleven.

Unfortunately though, Grella limped off just minutes before half-time although the severity of the injury is unsure at this stage. Nonetheless, it is more bad news for Pim Verbeek's Socceroos ahead of the November 19 Bahrain World Cup qualifier.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Mark Schwarzer was in goal for Fulham as the Londoners earned a much needed 2-1 victory of fellow strugglers Newcastle.

http://www.euroos.blogspot.com/

[dannywhiteboot$]

blarrrrch Dynamo won't get second but third and another UCL playoff is likely for Luke.

[Scotland]

Leijer wasn't in the squad and I doubt he will be unless there's some sort of injury crisis.

Hodgson believes heavily in a very organised structure and the starting lineup and formation has pretty much not changed all season, nor the bench despite a poor league position although they've been unlucky. He sticks with players. Add that to the fact that he apparently doesn't really rate Leijer and he's probably best served going out on loan somewhere in January.

[Dasher39]

Wilkshire played a full game for the Moscotives as they moved five points clear of fourth placed Amkar Perm, who are on 45 points. UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg are in fourth on 44 pointsSomeone's getting confused!!

[andrew1116]

Is Brad Jones injured?

Because I noticed he wasn't in the squad last night, is he their 3rd choice keeper now? So much for him being Schwarzers replacement. He needs to move elsewhere I reckon.

[Senton]

Does anyone have a list of every Australian playing overseas? Like even in your Conferences, Aston Villa Reserve Team, Danish League 1 etc.... would be very interesting to have a look at.

[andrew1116]

Does anyone have a list of every Australian playing overseas? Like even in your Conferences, Aston Villa Reserve Team, Danish League 1 etc.... would be very interesting to have a look at.

http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Abroad/index.html

[andrew1116]

Kisnorbo injured his knee again, not sure whether it's the same one or not, but he will be out until January.

Adam Federici has been given rave reviews from Southend fans, saying he's a quality keeper etc.. Hopefully he will finally start getting some time at Reading.

The Carling Cup starts tomorrow, so hopefully we'll see a few of the fringe Aussie players in the UK get some game time.



And also.........

Teenager Impresses Villa
Young Australian full back Chris Herd continues to impress Aston Villa with another decent performance in the reserves this weekend.

Herd, originally from Perth, is just 19 but has been playing regularly for Villa's reserves. On the weekend, Herd smashed a right-foot shot into the crossbar with the rebound falling to teammate Barry Bannan, who tapped the ball home. Villa reserves won the match 2-1 over West Bromwich reserves.

The 19 year-old right-sided defender is believed to be on the fringes of the senior squad.

^^^^ Great news!! (source: euroos blog)

To be playing regularly in the EPL reserves is great, it's a good standard. He's only 19 too.

Future back line-up of...

Herd----McGowan----Spiranovic----Jamieson ????

[Socceroo_06]

Jamieson was at wanderer's reserve's for ages too, but was never going to break in.

Reserve's football is good to an extent but i think Chris should take a leaf out of James Troisi's book and go to another club to get 1st team football regularly.

[andrew1116]

Reserve's football is good to an extent but i think Chris should take a leaf out of James Troisi's book and go to another club to get 1st team football regularly.

Maybe not so soon, I would give him at least another season and a half to try cracking into the Villa XI (or regular match day squads) - see how he goes. By the blog post it sounds as though he's making progress.

Surprised he hasn't been in any of the Australian youth teams.

[maktifo]

Aleks Vrtevski had a top game for FC Pobeda in the Macedonian league on the weekend. He saved a penalty and 3 one on one vs FC Vardar, macedonia's top team to earn Pobeda a 0:0 draw.

[mulhollanddrive]

Heard Herd's name around a bit for about a year. Won't be able to crack the NT team for at least a few years, but one for post 2010.

[andrew1116]

- Ruben Zadkovic played 45mins for Derby against Leeds - did well by all reports.
- Mile Sterjovski came on for 10mins in the same game, almost scored.
- Neil Kilkenny played 80mins for Leeds and did quite well in the midfield
- Jacob Burns played a half of football
- Still no Burns for AEK, despite them making 7 changes to the starting XI for this game from their last league game last Saturday. No idea why, they are playing really shitty football at the moment. They played Ilisiakos (a second division) side and only just won 2-1 in ET, was 0-0 after FT. Their league form is average as welll.

[andrew1116]

Well done Nathan Coe.

Coe The Hero (http://euroos.blogspot.com/2008/11/coe-hero.html)
Young Australian goalkeeper Nathan Coe was the hero for FC Copenhagen tonight as the Lions defeated Lyngby BK on penalties to advance into the semi-finals of the Danish Cup.

Coe was given a rare opportunity in goal for FC Copenhagen as boss Ståle Solbakken opted to rest regular number one Jesper Christiansen. And the 24 year-old Australian grasped that opportunity with both hands.

The match had been evenly poised at 0-0 for a long time and before the game entered the dreaded penalty kicks stage, Coe had to make a wonderful late save to deny Lyngby forward Lasse Qvist from breaking the deadlock.

Then the young Australian confirmed himself as the hero of the night in the decisive shootout, as he got the better of Lyngby pair Matti Lund Nielsen and Brian Hamalainen, before FC Copenhagen's Canadian international Atiba Hutchinson scored the winning goal, to progress 4-2 on penalties.

The result means Coe's FC Copenhagen advance to the Danish Cup semi-finals alongside Michael Beauchamp's Aalborg BK, David Williams' Brondby IF and tiny Nordvest FC.

- No Culina for PSV (rested)
- Holman came on as a late sub
- McDonald played for Celtic
- McClenahan played for Hamilton (great move that: going from League One/League Two to the SPL, seems to be getting quiet a bit of game time)
- Spase Dilevski scored for Universitatea Craiova, Josh Mitchell, Josh Rose, and Michael Baird all played in the same game. I thought we might have heard something about Baird coming home to play in the a-league; especially with two new QLD teams coming in. Maybe not.

[Socceroo_06]

Man how good is that euroos blog, it has all the info you need.

On Coe, he should start to come into consideration at some point. Guys like Petkovic and Covic are not the future.

Federici, Coe and Bouzanis are.

[mstrkrft]

Coe will be good. Good to see him getting a run.

Dilevski can't be far from a call up?

[andrew1116]

Man how good is that euroos blog, it has all the info you need.

On Coe, he should start to come into consideration at some point. Guys like Petkovic and Covic are not the future.

Federici, Coe and Bouzanis are.

I know, especially for leagues in Romania, EPL reserves, and other places not well covered by the mainstream sites.

WD for finding it.

[mulhollanddrive]

I don't see any of the up and comers making any impact til 2011. Pim has shown he likes his experienced players from obscure leagues.

[forthegame]

Bad news

Spiranovic Out Indefinitely
FC Nuremberg have confirmed 20 year-old Socceroo Matthew Spiranovic will miss several months due to a foot injury he sustained in training this week.

Spiranovic pulled out of the Australia squad to face Bahrain in a World Cup qualifier next Wednesday, after he injured himself whilst training with his German 2.Bundesliga club.

The initial diagnosis was an ankle injury but the problem was soon realised to be in Spiranovic's foot. Spiranovic has already undergone an operation on the injury in his left foot and it has been confirmed by FC Nuremberg that he it will leave him unable to play indefinitely.

While Spiranovic has been ruled out for an indefinite period of time, it is clear he will miss at least two months of action. It is a major blow for the young Aussie who has been playing regularly this season at Nuremberg and was just pushing for a place in the Socceroos team

[dennisb]

looks like Zola will try and sell Lucas Neill to try and free up some money and will instead buy the best players from lower leagues to replace him (and other high earning players)

[suigenerus]

Kewell scored in the 1st half for Gala and looked dangerous throughout.... playing on the right

[stefan]

Kewell scored in the 1st half for Gala and looked dangerous throughout.... playing on the right

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=nvqAjGZS2e8 nice header by kewell

[Socceroo_06]

Coe Gets Another Gig (http://euroos.blogspot.com/2008/11/coe-gets-another-gig.html)

Nathan Coe's midweek heroics in the Danish Cup have created a goalkeeping battle at FC Copenhagen, after coach Ståle Solbakken used two goalkeepers in tonight's 3-0 win at FC Midtjylland.

On Wednesday, the young Australian got FC Copenhagen through to the semi-finals of the Danish Cup after leading the Lions to victory in the penalty shootout against Lyngby.

On the back of that performance, Solbakken had a selection headache, as he was unsure of whether to bring back in preferred number one shot-stopper Jesper Christiansen. Instead the FC Copenhagen boss used both players either side of half-time in tonight's SAS Ligaen match.

Solbakken started with Christiansen in goals but changed the keepers at half-time with the Lions leading 1-0. Coe didn't have too much to do though in the second-half as FC Copenhagen ran away with the game.

The young Australian shot-stopper, who hasn't been in the Socceroos frame for a while, may have just created a great opportunity for himself.

Elsewhere today in Denmark, Michael Beauchamp's Aalborg BK scored a much needed victory over bottom club Esbjerg. Beauchamp, who is currently out injured with a hamstring problem, would have enjoyed seeing Aalborg, the Danish champions, earn just their third win of the season which moves them up to 8th on the Danish SAS Ligaen

Coe could become the big story in this years European season for Aussies abroad. Glad to see he is finally breaking through.

[Gunner10]

looks like Zola will try and sell Lucas Neill to try and free up some money and will instead buy the best players from lower leagues to replace him (and other high earning players)

Smart move by Zola... Neill was never worth the 60k / week offer to start with.

[wb888]

Smart move by Zola... Neill was never worth the 60k / week offer to start with.

+1

What happened to Barcelona...hahaha

I think he is a gold digging twat when it comes to his club games. He should have never left Blackburn at that stage..

[Socceroo_06]

+1

What happened to Barcelona...hahaha

I think he is a gold digging twat when it comes to his club games. He should have never left Blackburn at that stage..

Actually if i remember correctly Liverpool were more keen on his signature.

Oh well, where to now old Lucas?

[Socceroo_06]

Praise For Aussie Whizkid (http://euroos.blogspot.com/2008/11/praise-for-aussie-whizkid.html)

Teenage Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy has won praise from his Bolton Wanderers academy boss after scoring the winner in his side's 1-0 win over West Bromwich U18s.

Mooy, 17, took on a West Bromwich defender before curling a superb shot into the back of the net. The second-half strike turned out to be the winner for Bolton U18s.

Bolton academy boss Peter Farrell gave Mooy high praise saying, "Aaron was the best player on the pitch and he has all the ability to be a Premier League player."

"He isn't ready yet but he has got the attitude and hopefully he will develop the whole round package and go all the way," Farrell added.


Carney Hints At Move (http://euroos.blogspot.com/2008/11/carney-hints-at-move.html)

Australian winger David Carney has indicated he is considering a move away from Sheffield United as continues to be frozen out at the Blades under boss Kevin Blackwell.

Carney has completely fallen out of favour at Bramall Lane under Blackwell this term, after he enjoyed a good spell in the first-team under previous coach Bryan Robson last season.

And the 24-year-old has been told by Australia boss Pim Verbeek that he needs to be playing regular football to remain a member of the Socceroos, which clearly concerns Carney.

Carney said recently, "I spoke to the boss, I've got to be playing pretty soon otherwise I might not get picked anymore (for Australia) after January. So I'm looking forward to January (when the transfer window re-opens) and hopefully something comes up."

The former Sydney FC man eluded to his frustration about his current predicament at Sheffield United when he positively described joining the Socceroos camp as a 'change in scenery'.

Carney added that with the Blades, “I keep bashing on the door but each week I keep being left out. No footballer wants to sit in the stands and not play."

He may get his chance to play on Wednesday when the injury-riddled Australia face Bahrain in Manama.


Good news on both fronts.

[Socceroo_06]

Also just some latest thoughts from Fulham fans on Leijer from their forum:

"He'll never get a chance under our current manager."

"He's ordinary."

"He is fecked. Best he can hope for is a loan."

"Cant see him playing myself. Judging from the ressie games iv seen, chris smalling has done better and with him being 4 years younger than leijer i would say they would look for smalling to get a chance ahead of leijer"
http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/Messageboard.aspx?mode=thread&TopicID=59058

[andrew1116]

^^^^ Maybe Leijer isn't as good as most people on here think. It doesn't help that he's one of the older ones in his Olyroo crop, he'd be lucky to find a move to another good league to a top tier club.

His career at Fulham is over.

[ROBINHO2CITY]

Would accept him back at MVFC in a heartbeat (fwiw).

[Dantè Hicks]

^^^^ Maybe Leijer isn't as good as most people on here think. It doesn't help that he's one of the older ones in his Olyroo crop, he'd be lucky to find a move to another good league to a top tier club.

His career at Fulham is over.

A shame he didn't even get one opportunity, but much like James Troisi he needs to now lower his standards/expectations a little, and move to a league/club where he will be a starter.

[Socceroo_06]

A shame he didn't even get one opportunity, but much like James Troisi he needs to now lower his standards/expectations a little, and move to a league/club where he will be a starter.

Romania, Turkey, Belgium, Holland or Switzerland would all be good places to go.

[redzepi9]

Isnt Leijer's background dutch or something, if so holland wouldnt be a bad place to go, could easily fit in and develop his game even more.

[Socceroo_06]

Isnt Leijer's background dutch or something, if so holland wouldnt be a bad place to go, could easily fit in and develop his game even more.

I believe his Dad is Dutch, so he must have family over there.

It would be a good move, as would Belgium, which speaks a similar language and is starting to develop a lot of good players.

[redzepi9]

Yea the quicker he gets out of fulham the better.

[mstrkrft]

Fulham have alot of depth at the back. Quality depth.

I'd probably move to Turkey or Switzerland if I were Leijer.

[Socceroo_06]

Matthew Fletcher (Sunderland)

http://www.safc.com/uploads/images/aug_08/safc_1219830268_matthew-fletcher.jpg

Born in Sydney.

Anyone every heard of him? Apparently he is a great striker and scored a treble against Barnsley on Saturday in the U18 FA Cup.

[ifuckinghatemyspace.com]

In my mind it shows the greater problems in Australian football. Our players are usually 4 or 5 years behind Europe, to no fault of their own. Most players (Troisi, Leijer, Miligan), want to have a fantasy path, just like Harry Kewell, but we have to be realisitic. Harry Kewell was an outstanding player, and no liability for Leeds United. Australian players are not lot like African players, that seem to just have the ability to go from the street to the big stadium and play champions league football with ease.

[Socceroo_06]

In my mind it shows the greater problems in Australian football. Our players are usually 4 or 5 years behind Europe, to no fault of their own. Most players (Troisi, Leijer, Miligan), want to have a fantasy path, just like Harry Kewell, but we have to be realisitic. Harry Kewell was an outstanding player, and no liability for Leeds United. Australian players are not lot like African players, that seem to just have the ability to go from the street to the big stadium and play champions league football with ease.

It's more to do with the fact that their agents give them terrible advice more than anything else.

I mean what was Burns' manager thinking sending him to a top team in Greece? He aint going to get gametime nor is it going to be easy to adjust to such a cultural change.

He would have been better off lowering his expectations and building up from there. The same goes for those kids who sign for EPL Academies.

The other route of going to one of the lower English leagues and building your way up is a long road and sometimes does not pay off.

[Socceroo_06]

Porter Fires Pools To Cup Win (http://euroos.blogspot.com/2008/11/porter-fires-pools-to-cup-win.html)

Australian Joel Porter was one of the heroes tonight for Hartlepool United as they moved into the FA Cup second round after a come-from-behind 2-1 replay win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Porter, 29, who has been linked recently with Miron Bleiberg's Gold Coast United, scored the equalising goal for Hartlepool after they trailed at the break.

The Australian, who has won four international caps, sparked the Hartlepool fight back in the second-half as he exploited a Brighton defence which sat too deep, eager to hang onto their one goal advantage.

In the 60th minute, Porter gave the Seagulls a warning when he found space to come inside from the right and fired a 25 yard shot just over the bar.

Then just six minutes later, the Australian won a penalty for Hartlepool when he made a nuisance of himself in the box after a hopeful long ball. The Brighton defence didn't deal with the danger well and centre-half Colin Hawkins clumsily pushed Porter in the back giving the referee no option but to award Hartlepool a penalty.

Porter dusted himself off and stepped up to the penalty spot, before he finished the spot kick emphatically past Brighton keeper Michel Kuipers.

Three minutes later Hartlepool were in front after a short corner move resulted in time and space opening up for Gary Liddle and he promptly fired home what would be the eventual winner.

Porter and Hartlepool will now look forward to a second round tie at Blue Square Premier North club Fleetwood.

Roos Reject Ready To Fight (http://euroos.blogspot.com/2008/11/roos-reject-ready-to-fight.html)

Surprise Socceroo omission Nicky Carle has said he is up for the fight of winning back his place, after missing out lately with his club Crystal Palace as well as his country.

Carle has not started the last three Championship games for the Eagles whilst he was again left out of Pim Verbeek's Australia squad when the Socceroos boss named his team for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Bahrain.

Palace boss Neil Warnock has preferred John Oster to Carle lately leaving the ex-Newcastle Jets midfielder to play just 12 minutes in the Eagles' last three Championship outings.

But the former Johnny Warren Medallist is desperate to win back his place at Palace saying, "it's always difficult when you lose your place, but John Oster has come in and done really well, so it's about me working as hard as I can to get back in the team."

This weekend Palace come up against Bristol City, the club the Australian left in a £1m summer transfer, and Carle spoke about the match saying, "it's a big week for me because we are facing my old club at the weekend and I want to get my place back as soon as possible so I can play against them."

On Sunday, Carle turns 27 and he will hoping for an early birthday present from Warnock in the shape of a starting berth against his old club in Saturday's match.

Since leaving Bristol, Carle has managed three goals at Palace and it is obvious he will be extremely keen to get the chance to add to that tally this Saturday. .

[andrew1116]

Geez... Joel Porter is doing really well. He's banging in the goals, if he does too well he'll probably play another season in the UK opposed to coming home and playing for GCU. His stats so far this season; 19 games, 19 starts, 9 goals. Hartlepool are sitting mid-table, but it's a long season, they are still in touch of those in the promotion zone.

As for Nicky Carle, I'm not that concerned, he's played 15 of their 17 games, and is sure to get plenty more game time in Palace's 50+ game season (including FA/Carling Cup). He'll be fine.

In other news, Dean Bouzanis played a full game in goals for Liverpool reserves and kept a clean sheet. It was his second start in a row, so it seems as though he's making good progress.

[DJI]

Good news on Porter. May have that extra year in the UK now. Pity for Gold Coast, be a very solid signing along side Smeltz.

www.footballau.com

[mstrkrft]

Porter is dominating a league that Coyne isn't getting a game in. Coyne's been impressive too.

On that formula, Porter should be getting a Socceroos call up.

[andrew1116]

Porter is dominating a league that Coyne isn't getting a game in. Coyne's been impressive too.

On that formula, Porter should be getting a Socceroos call up.

Coyne has been getting a few games, has had a few niggling injuries this season I think.

Good news on Porter. May have that extra year in the UK now. Pity for Gold Coast, be a very solid signing along side Smeltz.

www.footballau.com

Agree about Smeltz-Porter. Wellington were after that attacking combination for this season, it will turn out that next season they have neither of them, and they would have paired up elsewhere, bl Phoenix.

Nice site.

[Scotland]

Isn't the talk that Porter was pretty much all but signed for GCU though? He may be doing well over there but the only reason he's there and not playing for the Nix' is that Hartlepool had the option to extend his contract by an extra year, so he wasn't able to sign for the Nix on a free. It sounds like he's ready to come home but maybe the good form will change his mind.

Socceroo_06 is the Euroos blog your site?

[andrew1116]

Isn't the talk that Porter was pretty much all but signed for GCU though? He may be doing well over there but the only reason he's there and not playing for the Nix' is that Hartlepool had the option to extend his contract by an extra year, so he wasn't able to sign for the Nix on a free. It sounds like he's ready to come home but maybe the good form will change his mind.

I heard Miron is going to the UK to meet up with him and discuss GC with him for next season. I'm pretty sure this is not a done deal as yet. Porter would be stupid to sign a contract with GCU now; Hartlepool could go up, he could better offers elsewhere, etc...

If he does come back to the a-league he'll be as good as Archie has been for us. Him and Smeltz up-front, with a quality midfielder as their marquee, along with a few classy foreign players and they will be a very dangerous team.

[forthegame]

Porter is dominating a league that Coyne isn't getting a game in. Coyne's been impressive too.

On that formula, Porter should be getting a Socceroos call up.

Coyne should not be playing in that league, he is top championship club or better

[andrew1116]

Karlshrue lost again, Kennedy came on as a late sub, didn't score.

[dannywhiteboot$]

Time for us to start Djite.

[El Zilcho]

Wilkshire will be playing Champions League football next season, at least in the qualifying rounds. Dinamo finish 3rd in the Russian league.

[stefan]

Schwarzer had an absolute blinder against Liverpool in this mornings 2:00 AM match, pulled of 6 spectacular saves, reaffirming he is one of the EPL's finest. He gave Fulham their 0-0 result.

[Kiza]

Joel Porter scored again in Hartlepool United's 4-1 defeat to Leeds last night.

[Socceroo_06]

Brief Review (http://euroos.blogspot.com/2008/11/brief-review.html)

Australian shot-stopper Mark Schwarzer hits the headlines today with a fine display in goals for Fulham as they claimed a point at Liverpool after a 0-0 draw.

Nicky Carle also had a day to remember, as he returned to the Crystal Palace starting line-up against his old club Bristol City, and celebrated in grand style as the Eagles ran out 4-2 winners.

Scott McDonald was also back in his respective side's first team, as Celtic ran away with their eleventh consecutive win in the Scottish Premier League, winning 3-1 at St Mirren, although the Aussie wasn't amongst the scorers.

Staying in Britain, Joel Porter maintained his good form this season at Hartlepool with his eleventh goal of the season, but the Pools crashed 4-1 to Neil Kilkenny's Leeds.

In Italy, Carl Valeri played a half an hour as a substitute for Grosseto who won against Triestina to maintain their position at the summit of Serie B.

In Holland, Jason Culina was a second-half substitute as PSV Eindhoven emphatically returned to the winners list with a 4-0 rout of Heracles Almelo.

In Russia, Luke Wilkshire played a full game for Dinamo Moscow, as they finished the season with a 2-0 win over Tom Tomsk.

In Turkey, Harry Kewell's Galatasaray drew at Ankaraspor while Bruce Djite and James Troisi had a bad loss with Genclerbirligi going down at Gaziantepspor 2-0. .

[dennisb]

that's weird Ryan Gazet under 18 at pompey was an unused sub.. Even though he scored 2 goals a week or so ago..

[Socceroo_06]

that's weird Ryan Gazet under 18 at pompey was an unused sub.. Even though he scored 2 goals a week or so ago..

I'm pretty sure they rotate their squads a lot at U18 level.

[HHHHH]

Wilkshire will be playing Champions League football next season, at least in the qualifying rounds. Dinamo finish 3rd in the Russian league.

Any chance of a Fred style loan to the A-League?

[dannywhiteboot$]

Hmmm I don't see it happening, but now that you mention it he will have heaps time off won't he? Maybe not a bad decision by Luke, he consulted with Pim before the transfer so he knows his NT spot is safe. He gets to spend the next few months in barmy Wollongong while everyone else is toiling away, and to top it all off he's earning great cash. Though one thing I feel is that Twente are killing it atm, I think McLaren is a good coach and wrongly maligned by the highly English focused OZ fans, personally I think I'd rather him in Holland at the top of the Eredivisie and on a UEFA Cup run.

[MVFC_Lad]

Hmmm I don't see it happening, but now that you mention it he will have heaps time off won't he? Maybe not a bad decision by Luke, he consulted with Pim before the transfer so he knows his NT spot is safe. He gets to spend the next few months in barmy Wollongong while everyone else is toiling away, and to top it all off he's earning great cash. Though one thing I feel is that Twente are killing it atm, I think McLaren is a good coach and wrongly maligned by the highly English focused OZ fans, personally I think I'd rather him in Holland at the top of the Eredivisie and on a UEFA Cup run.

he doesnt play for twente anymore, transfered to dinamo in russia

[dannywhiteboot$]

I know I meant that I'd have preferred he stay with them because they're going places, plus building a new stadium.

[Socceroo_06]

Apparently there is a 20 year old GK on the books of QPR by the name of Reece Crowther.

He's their 2nd choice keeper and stands at 196cm.

[suigenerus]

born in the states, raised in Aus it seems

[Socceroo_06]

born in the states, raised in Aus it seems

Well he should be courted by us IMO.

[Socceroo_06]

Great new for Nathan Coe. Played his first full 90 mins in the SAS Ligen for FC Copenhagen and they won 2-1 against AGF Aarhus.

[andrew1116]

Adam Federici has finished his 2 month loan deal with Southend and is back at Reading. He played 10 games for Southend and impressed, hopefully he can start getting game time for Reading. We need our 2nd choice keeper to be playing regularly and getting games under their belt, need to be prepared should Schwarzer not be available.