Germany v Australia Mon 14 6.30am

i didn't think the red was that harsh - late, and could've hurt the guy, and with Cahill the offender, one tended to doubt the sincerity of his protestations of innocence.

Pim's unforgivable, indefensible chaos
Kevin Airs (Friend of the Fever)
Jun 14 2010 19:49
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My dad wasn't a big one for giving advice, and it always basically boiled down to "...do your best and don't do anything stupid."

If only Pim's dad had given him the same advice.

This morning's performance was unforgivable. Worse still, it was indefensible. Pim's masterplan was just ludicrous, flawed in almost every area...and almost anyone could have predicted the outcome.

After two years of playing a 4-2-3-1 for almost every second of every match, Verbeek suddenly chose to switch to a 4-4-2 literally 30 minutes before the start of the World Cup.

For that last half-hour of the USA final pre-tournament warm-up game, we suddenly looked like the dangerous attacking side Pim's critics had demanded...but already it was too late.

Scott McDonald, a prolific striker in his club's 4-4-2 formation, had already been sent home after failing miserably to slot into stubborn Pim's rigid 4-2-3-1 - and yet suddenly we were playing 4-4-2.

However, it still looked like it was merely an experiment to use in desperation if we ever went behind.

And then came the Tweet from South Africa...

Five hours before the game against Germany was due to kick off, FourFourTwo publisher Andy Jackson - our #wcinsider in South Africa - exclusively tweeted the starting line-up on our @fourfourtwooz Twitter account...and that we were playing a 4-4-2 with Garcia and Cahill upfront.

Kennedy, Kewell and Bresciano were all being left on the bench. It all seemed too unlikely to be true - and yet that's exactly what happened.

Now, granted, Pim needed to do something to spring a surprise at this World Cup. Our tactics were far too rigid and predictable (strong defence, diagonal ball from the wing, Kennedy/Cahill to try to knock it home...)

But this? This smacked of unplanned desperation, of grasping at straws.

If this was a considered masterplan, we should have kept Scotty Mac in the side - that really would have been a shock to see him come out alongside Kennedy and play 4-4-2.

But instead we had Garcia and Cahill pretending to be strikers (but in reality it was 4-6-0).

Worse though was what we did in defence. We proved in the USA game (if we didn't already know for sure) that our ageing, one paced sluggish defence was no match for a mobile attack.

And yet still we played a ridiculous high line offside trap that failed time after time after time. Lucas Neill spent more time appealling (wrongly and in vain) for offside than anything else.

If ever the appalling pace of our backline was exposed it was was when Ozil gave Neill - probably our fastest defender - a head start ... and still left him for dead.

Meanwhile Moore's leaden pace can now only be measured in geological terms.

It was obvious after a matter of minutes that the trap was not working, yet not only did we persist in it, we moved it higher and higher until we got an offside decision (almost the only one we got in 90 minutes) literally just inside our own half and no more...

Pim's stubborness extended to forcing players into his new chosen formation regardless of their ability or experience in the role...meaning Culina was bizarrely running the wing.

After the Roos were two down, Verbeek realised it just wasn't working and reverted to the more familiar 4-2-3-1 with the introduction of Holman in the second half.

But by that time, it was all too late. Germany sat back and soaked up the light Aussie pressure until Cahill's harsh dismissal opened the floodgates.

We were thrashed and humiliated. It wasn't the players' fault. It was entirely Pim's. If ever there was a game to stick to the 4-5-1 formation, it was this one. Strong defence and the chance of a counter if we're lucky.

But no, Pim chose to experiment...after literally years of stubborn reluctance to any sort of change. The result was an entirely predictable debacle.

Pim had won me over despite my initial doubts with his efficient approach that got us to the World and Asian Cups.

But through it all, there was the constant underlying issue with our inability to take control of games and command them (not necessarily win 5-0, just impose ourselves) and the over-reliance on simple luck.

There was also the rigid structure to his formations that were never varied against strong or weak opposition, and his steadfast refusal to work around the strengths of his potentially best players, instead making them fit into his formation - or go home.

He also completely ignored other defensive options to bring a player out of international retirement despite not having a club and lacking match practice.

This is not the benefit of hindsight. These were concerns repeatedly aired long before the game this morning.

No-one really expected us to win today. A draw would have been great, but a 2-0 or 3-0 loss was always on the cards.

But for the match to unwind in tactical chaos like that was unforgivable and has left an indelible stain on not only Verbeek's record and reputation, but Australia's too.

It was sheer madness. He let the Socceroos down and he let the Socceroo fans down. What's more, I really hope he phoned Scott McDonald at some point to apologise...again.

It was a humiliating gamble that disgraced the country and the players.

We all deserve an apology but to be honest, it will make no difference.

The damage has been done, and I don't think we now have the players available - through selection, injury or suspension - to redeem ourselves in the next two games.

Prove me wrong, Pim. Please.

But this time, don't do anything stupid.

* Vinnie Grella said we shouldn't worry as no-one died and it was just a game of football. It's an interesting perspective from a professional player talking about his country's performance at the World Cup.

All I know is that if I ever told my colleagues not to worry about us doing a poor job on here as it's "only a website", that would be the day I should really jack this job in...

Ha-Ha Aussie.



Not true, I lost count of the times Aussies said something like "Go the All Whites!" as I walked about town wearing my All Whites scarf late last night in Sydney. The Aussies I was in town with want nothing but the best for the NZ National Football Team.


Traitor2010-06-14 23:57:11

I had a bad internet steam and couldn't see who was up front. But a 4-4-2 without genuine striker/forwards against a top 8 team is spelling trouble with a capital T for sure.

He would have been better with a 3-3-3-1 system that Guus used in 2006 than the 4-4-2, as least that is familiar and close to the 4-2-3-1 that they used for the last two years.

Kennedy, Kewell and Bresciano on the bench --> unbelievable. Culina on the wings??

Still feel very sorry for Pim. Can he motivate them by say that is the bottom you can be and the only way is up with the 4-2-3-1? Was it a training match focusing on the other two teams? Sounds a bit dumb. I feel sorry for his silliness.