Player Management

Matt over at the World Cup Blog has posted a scoop interview with the brother of Middlesborough goalkeeper Brad Jones, in which Jones' supposed national allegiance issues are cast in a far less histrionic light than media outlets have suggested:

The press have made out that he is bitterly disappointed, but he would just like Football Australia to communicate better and let the players know where they stand.

Lack of communication between the FFA, coaching staff and international players is a problem that's been evident for a long time now. Frank Farina seemed to think that sending SMS texts was a favourable way of staying in touch with various players -- but then, perhaps he had no other choice back in the day when Soccer Australia simply didn't have the budget for expensive things like international phone calls. The best situation regarding the recent selection of the team for the World Cup would have been for Guus Hiddink (not Graham Arnold) to make a direct call to every player in the squad in addition to a bunch of players on the fringes of selection ... but do the math! A short ten minute call explaining selection or non-selection to thirty-six players amounts to six hours of ear bleeding torment. That's feasible, but certainly not desirable. And where do you draw the line for the periphery players anyway? Do Jacob Burns or Chris Coyne count? Paul Okon or New Zelic?! What about Kaz Patafta or Neil Kilkenny?

Yet, something still needs to be done. Jones, Milicevic, Ahmad Elrich, Patrick Kisnorbo and the like need to be made aware of the reasons why they have not been selected for the squad. Australian football fans deserve to know as well. If it regards technical quality, give the players a chance to take it on the chin and admit they still have work to do. (Milicevic has already gone off the rails and seriously harmed his future selection prospects, which he may have done anyway if he was told he wasn't good enough. But was he in fact told any such thing, or were the reasons more obscure and thus more infuriating to him?) It the decision is tactical, explain the reasons why a player's style or physical traits don't fit the preferred system. If it's because of a lousy attitude, discipline the players with a ban or something more relevant than non-selection. If it's merely because of the intuition of the coaching staff, that's fine. Just be honest about it and let the community know so that the endless speculation can be nipped in the bud. We tend to hear plenty of reasons for the selection of fellows like Johnua Kennedy (height) and Mark Milligan (youth, adaptability), but few reasons explaining why other players have been left out.

Although in reality coaches have the authority to pick whoever they want for the team without the need to face an inquest, it would be healthy to provide a more complete picture. When time allows, of course....