Club World Cup Credibility

Club World Cup Credibility

Auckland lost 0-2 to a very top notch Eqyptian side that went on to finish 3rd. both goals were top drawer. There performance in this match if analysed technically was actually very effective.They then went down 0-3 to Asias top side and should have scored at least once. Waitak went down 1-3 to the Iranians. Blatters comments about professional clubs have been very harsh to say the least, other pro sides at the CWC have lost by bigger margins than this. Heck if you want to actually be brutal and compare credibility look at the scorelines of our senior All Whites, womens and age group sides over the past two years. some massive embarressing scorlines there and all hidden behind the guise of "friendly" or "buildup matches". Our clubs have had no buildup other than playing NZFC and OLeague and have on comparable terms to other NZ rep sides on the world stage actually probably out performed most of them. There is more to Blatters comments than meets the eye and they are probably more political, financial and commercial than actually performance based. Can NZF, who are "extremely worried about preserving revenue streams" say that they have assisted our clubs in preparing properly for this competition, in fact have they actually contributed aything at all to our clubs preparation (bearing in mind they have been first in line to take their 10% share of prizemonies). If you look at the concept of the CWC from a pure perspective the NZFC winner, as NZs champion, should, if it wins the O-League, go to Japan and NZF should assist this side in every way possible for it be as successful as it can. This has never been the case and with our national body, whose charter is to look after the game as a whole, having a vested interest in a club that plays in another countrys competition, in another confederation, this will sadly never happen. Unfortunately our national body does not have the vision, foresight and more importantly the commercial acumen to lay the foundations for what is the only true solution to our football problems in this country, a professional NZFC.

P A R A G R A P H S ? ? ?

Worst.Post.Ever. Go away and have a think

Seconded

That's not very nice, he'd have spent ages on it.

Yes, that's what makes it even worse than it ordinarily would be...

Uli raises a number of fundamental issues.

Firstly, we've done this pretty much to death - there have been a number of other threads here where we've discussed the club World Champs and the poor performances of the NZ sides in it, along with what Phoenix's role should be in it. It's a bit frivolous for Uli to start yet another thread on it when the views on the same issues from many YF members can be found in other threads. So do a bit of work before criticising.

To get back to Uli's points, both Auckland and Waitak were absolutely awful in the WCC. Saying the final scorelines weren't too bad misses the point - the fact that neither Auckland or Waitak looked like putting three passes together against teams that were barely above walking pace says it all, really. The Waitak game is even worse if you consider that 4 of the best Sepahan players did not play in the game, and about 4-5 guys on the field were ill with high fever. Yet the game was effectively over after 5 minutes, which in my view is embarrasing to say the least. So Blatter's comments, however much influenced by other factors, are pretty much on the mark regarding the O-league winners. The comparison with All Whites, is, basically, meaningless. Sure the AWs, and other NZ representative teams are not up to the mark internationally yet. That's precisely why Oceania doesn't have the automatic spot at the World Cup - and this fact alone should ring some bells for wannabe big shots in Auckland. The supposed answer - a professional NZFC - and the scolding of NZF for failing to pursue this goal are a mere fantasy. It's painfully obvious that conditions for a competetive professional league are non-existant in NZ right now, and it is highly doubtful when, and if, they'll be reached. There is simply not enough financial stability, player talent, and quite frankly, public interest, to turn such a venture into something resembling success. The only way NZ football can progress is through close association with the A-league (with hopefully another NZ franchise added within the next 5 years or so) and eventual joining of the AFC. Anything else at this point in time is either a mere flight of fancy or pursuit of self-important personal agendas.el grapadura2007-12-24 09:33:10

Now that is a much better post.

el grapadura you summed up the whole Phoenix concept and O-league inclusion perfectly yourself
"pursuit of self-important personal agendas" 

...and Uli's position isn't ?