Hey Guys, I'm an Aussie, so obviously reasonably well informed about Matt McKay in the A-League and his performance for the Socceroos. Cards on the table, I know next to nothing about the venerable Scottish game, except that I have to go see an Old Firm derby before I depart this Earth, cause they fucking rule. I am a Melbourne fan, not a Brisbane devotee. First off, he wasn't even in contention for the World Cup Squad cause for some reason we hired a douche of a coach who decided to play a 442 against Germany with a right winger and an attacking midfielder up front. Holger Osieck was appointed afterwards, spouted off some drivel about playing players based on performance not league/club, and we all thought he was full of shite. Well he proved us wrong. Took 4 or 5 A-League players into the Asian Cup, which we were all apprehensive as f**k about on account of our WC beatings. Matty got his chance in the game against Bahrain, last of the group stage, as an injury replacement for our LB. Did okay, defended about as well as he could. Then 1st knock out game against Iraq. Every pundit, armchair coach and his dog in Australia was waxing lyrical about how it was unfortuneate for Matty, that Brett Emerton would be back from suspension, and Matty would have to lose his place. Well Holger said f**k that, stuck Matty in as a LM. He fucking owned. Best Aussie of the night, even counting Harry Kewell who was somehow coaxed back to damn near Leeds form. 3 minutes away from penalties, McKay steals the ball from a huffing and puffing Iraqi, lays on a f**king INCH-PERFECT-CROSS from the half-way line, right into Harry's onrushing head, who scores a mammoth goal. He DID NOT play as a winger - he has an engine that'll go all night and into the next morning, but it's less a ferrari and more a volkswagon. More of a tucked in old-style 90's left midfielder, who linked with Harry and Carney (converted wing-back) and sprayed passes all over the park. Then came the annihilation against Uzbekistan. Again, Aussies old and young were still trembling from our WC beatings, every pundit figured Matty's selection against Iraq was a reward, a mere bauble for being a good lad. Again, kept Brett Emerton, who at this stage holds the record for 2nd highest caps for Australia, out of the line up. Again played as a tucked-in left midfielder. This worked really well because Holger played two absolute destroyers in the middle, so our LM (McKay) and RM (Holman) tucked in and rampaged with the safety of two-holders behind them. Matty was again the best Aussie of the night, and took 3 assists to his name. This is a video i watch when I'm depressed.
and this is a ZM article analysing his performace http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/01/26/australia-6-0-uzbekistan-tactics/ We Won 6-0, probably helped by their suicidally high-line and playing their playmaker at CB for some stupid reason. Then the final against Japan. Finally Aussies are starting to realise Holger isn't a dipshit, and McKay is actually, on current form, our best player. 3rd min, instrumental in a sweeping Arsenal-esque move, gets in on the end, Keeper rooted and BLASTS...his shot over the bar. We lost the game deep into injury time, which is still too painful to think about. But something everyone remembers about the game is this. Australia and Japan had players from the best leagues in the world on the park. Cahill from Everton, Kagawa from Dortmund, Schwarzer from Fulham, Honda from CSKA Moscow, etc etc. Matty McKay was the fittest mother f**ker on the pitch. He would literally NOT STOP running. Like I said he isn't the fastest bloke, but he was running those Jap blokes into the ground. and still laying on quality passes, sparying them diagonally, threading them through the defence, and once again displaying his puzzling inability to finish at point-blank range. What's even stranger is the A-League is one of the shortest leagues on the planet. We have a 5 month off season for f**ks sake. But Australia has the best sports science in the world, i would bet money some of the fittest footballers. (Makes up for a lack of passing ability) Latest game in the green and gold was the friendly against Germany. Can not emphasise how hungry the Aussies were for some German schnitzel. 4-0 rollicking from the WC. For about 60 minutes, Australia looked like a bunch of amatuers. Gomez finds an absolute pearl. They get lazy and drop off, thinking to run down the clock. Now for that 60 minutes, McKay was again the best player in green and gold in a side including Cahill, Holman, Schwarzer, Neill and Kewell. Then somehow we switch on and stop passing straight to the Germans. McKay again instrumental in passing. Then Carney bombs down from Left back, links up with McKay who is literally in the middle of three German blokes, all at least a head taller, and he lays on a 1st touch back heel flick into the box, Carney sweeps it up and finishes. We won 2-0. In terms of A-League performances...Matty has always been regarded as a handy player, but only since the new gaffer (Postecouglou; remember his name. After he wins he Asian Champions League, he will conquer Europe) came in has his form stepped up to a new level altogether. you might have heard McKay capatined the Brisbane Roar to their first every Premiership and Championship, acting as a lynchpin throughout the entire season. In the Grand Final, Brisbame went down 2-0 in the first period of ET. Undeafeated for 29 games, (34/35 all season) about to fall at the last hurdle. He delivers an inspirational speech, Brisbane close the gap with 3 mins to go. Brisbane get a corner and equalise with the LAST TOUCH of the game. Matty takes the 3rd penalty and the wins the game, withstanding the pressure from 50,000 screaming delirious orange clad fresh-from-horrific-flood-destruction Brisbaners. Now obviously the A-League can't compare with the standard of European football, but he was literally the competition's best performer. In terms of general play...when Brisbane played a conventional 442, Matt partnered another player on the left side of the middle (LCM). After Brisbane switched to a 4-1-2-3, Matt played as the left of the '2'. In terms of physical stature, he is clearly not the biggest player. But i would put good money on him going to Rangers and being one of, if not the fittest, players. He has tidy passing range. Words used to describe him have included 'metronomic'. He is not a trequartista, nor a proper DM. If i had to compare him to a premiership player, I'd say he's a skint man's version of Tom Huddlestone, who we all know is a hobo's version of Michael Carrick. From what I've gathered, he'd compliment Davis in terms of playing style. The NT coach deploys Matty as an important creative hub on the left, linking well with our multitude of left-wingers-cum-left-backs and Harry Kewell, a left sided 1st choice striker. but it is important to note that Holger plays with 2 defensive midfielders in the centre. I'm not talking Busquets defensive or Xabi Alonso defensive. Real tough tacklers. Scotland is renowned for physical play, but Matty should deal with that fine. Australia has also garnered a well deserved reputation for physicality. And the Aussies have to do it in 35-40 degree heat. Also once again, he doesn't play as a left winger - has the crossing ability but not the pace. Plus his game is more based around short passing and positional interchange. Yes that sorta sounds like Barca, well Brisbane consciously set themselves out to play possession based football. Nickname of 'Roarcelona'. dont laugh, Mariners just beat Celtic down under, and the Roar beat the Mariners. in terms of how he'll adapt to life at Ibrox....absolutely no trouble off the field. family man. he is 28 after all, hardly the age to make sex tapes and such. For the national team, he has a defensive shield of 2 tough tacklers in front of the defence, so he's more or less free to create. But he is also very much aware of his defensive responsibilities, which was how our 1st choice LB had such a great Asian Cup campaign, as he was allowed to bomb down the flank when Matty covered. weather wise could be an issue - its apparently bloody cold in Scotland - then again every footballer these days wear skins and thermals. loyalty wise...well he is 28, so he's got next to no re-sale value, which is part of the reason his moving to Europe was questioned. We all figured at best a big money move to Korea, Japan or even a loan spell in China during our gaping hole of an off-season. And he's been a one club man alll his life. He's been at brisbane since his teen years, and now the captain of his hometown club. Safe to say he won't be fluttering eyelashes and lifting his skirt/kilt to Celtic. The thing to love about Matty is this. He's the quintessential underdog. He's been doubted - and been proving those doubters wrong his entire life. No one thought he could make it in the A-league; too small and it was too physical. he responds by becoming captain, talisman and lynchpin of the greatest club side to ever be assembled in Australia. No thought he could even make the bench for the national team. He displaced one of our longest-serving, most loyal and most talented servants, in Brett Emerton. No one thought he could make a meaningful contribution on the field for Australia. 5 Assists in the Asian Cup, 1 against Japan and another dazzling performance against an admittedly under-par German side, with an assist and he proved em all wrong. If i had to give odds....I'd say 1/5 he does to Ibrox and absolutely flops. Can't adapt to the demands, to the weather, to his team mates, to not being captain and centre of attention, to the peculiar Scottish accent etc etc. 2/5 he becomes a handy squad player with odd flashes of brilliance and is quickly forgotten. BUT... 2/5 he goes to Ibrox, proves himself central to Rangers, becomes a leader in the dressing room after winning over players who sneered at this tiny s**t from the Antipodes and gets a hat-trick of assists in the Old Firm derby. Bet on it. (BTW JUST REALISED THIS IS SEVERAL PAGES LONG. WONDER IF ANYONE WILL EVEN BOTHER TO READ IT)
Oh Dear! There Goes Another One! So Wesley Verhoek is now a Nottingham Forrest player (well almost)……what a total surprise! Sorry I’m being facetious folks…….my frustration is getting the better of me now. But following hard on the heels of the David Goodwillie saga I’m sure you will forgive my frustration and my growing lack of faith in our transfer dealings. Come on now, you must admit that it’s all becoming intensely frustrating and entirely predictable. I find it very difficult to maintain even a thin façade of support for our transfer policy in the face of a strategy (and I use that word very loosely!) that is so obviously failing, and which sees us finish empty handed almost every time we compete for a player. This is how I think most people perceive our strategy and tactics; 1. We make an initial derisory bid which is unceremoniously rejected 2. Our competitors make a realistic one, which not very far off the ‘mark’ 3. We make a further desultory bid which is again unceremoniously rejected 4. Our competitors stick with their original bid because ours is still well short of what is required 5. We make another bid which is ever so slowly creeping up, but still falls well short, and is again unceremoniously rejected 6. Our competitors meets the asking price and get permission to talk to the player in question 7. We make another half-hearted bid which is still significantly short of the asking price and is again unceremoniously rejected. 8. Our competitor signs the player while we’re considering what to do next and whether or not to lodge another bid! OK. Maybe that seems a tad unfair – but it’s difficult not to draw these conclusions from our bizarre behaviour. Maybe there are factors that influence our bidding that we are blissfully unaware of. Maybe we’re just unlucky; or maybe we, simply, don’t have the money! Or maybe we simply don’t have the negotiating skills or the business acumen that is so vitally necessary in these circumstances. Whilst I am poking fun at our apparent amateurish attempts to negotiate deals to ‘land’ players that we continue to insist are ‘prime’ targets, you must admit that our efforts are rather pathetic, and there is much merit in the process I have outlined above. Certainly, that is how it appears to those of us who are not ‘insiders’, but merely workaday season ticket holders, regular attendees, staunch supporters, loyal and true followers and members of the common herd who pay their money each week to follow the team we love. Should we worry that we are losing out to English Championship clubs in circumstances where the transfer fees in question are really quite small in today’s inflated transfer market? Should we worry that we are, increasingly, regarded as a club that can’t ‘cut it’ with the minnows of English football, never mind the mammoths! Should we worry that the targets we identify are always, seemingly, beyond our reach? Yes, indeed we should. Verhoek is almost a Nottingham Forrest player, and our sights are now firmly focused on Roland Juhasz of Anderlecht. Juhasz has said ‘come and get me’, and SSN reports this morning that he would like to move to Glasgow and hopes a deal can be done in time to meet the Europa League registration deadline of 11pm on Monday evening. Will this deal happen……who can tell? But one thing is certain; if we continue to react in the way we have to date we will lose him. We must rethink our strategy now, before it’s to late. If money is not a factor, then please explain our desultory bidding strategy. If money is a factor, then the Club needs to be honest with the fans and say so!
