It was nice to see Australia’s under-23 team get off to a winning start in China, on the same night Robbie Slater unleashed a stinging critique of the FFA.

It’s that yin and yang that makes football in this country such a compelling proposition – one moment the game is up, the next minute it’s down.

Kudos to coach Ante Milicic and his young charges for getting off to a professional, if at times nervy-looking 3-1 win over Syria at the AFC U-23 Championship in chilly Kunshan.

Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Reddit Email Share

Although the game was streamed live on the Fox Sports website and the Asian Football Confederation’s YouTube channel, I only watched the second half because I tuned into Just For Kicks beforehand.

And that was no doubt the whole point of screening the second half of the Olyroos game on the back of Fox Sport’s regular programming – to capture a few more viewers who might otherwise have neglected to watch Just For Kicks.

Sound enough logic, I would have thought, but tell that to Fox Sport’s genial executive producer Murray Shaw – who copped a flurry of Twitter abuse after announcing the network was to broadcast Australia’s opening game from what one A-League chief executive had earlier called “a meaningless tournament”.

But wait. Are they the Olyroos, or aren’t they? Kind of.

Perhaps our most famous Olyroo of all, Ned Zelic, wondered himself why certain players were picked despite being too old to represent Australia by the time the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo roll round.

Turn’s out Football Federation Australia wanted to expose a broader group of players to international football, and was worried about potential seedings for the 2020 Olympic qualifiers. Fair enough.



But that’s something a few more Australian fans might have realised if the information wasn’t buried on the suite of FFA websites, with fans paradoxically having to navigate to the Socceroos page to read news about the under-23 side.

Which brings us to Slater’s remarks about the FFA.

“The farcical pursuit of a national coach is ridiculous and embarrassing,” Slater thundered on what is usually a light-hearted program.

“We do not have a national coach – we’ve got a friendly in March, we’ve got a World Cup in six months. Pick a national coach.

“We’re using consultants, and I’m hearing – and I’d like this confirmed – we’re paying money to consultants. I’ve heard of Gerard Houllier, I’ve heard of Andy Roxburgh.

“Why? What are they going to tell us about what we need? Don’t we have a technical director… Eric Abrams? That’s his job to do that, along with Luke Casserly.

“These are the faceless men leading us on a farcical pursuit of a national team coach. We need one, and we need one now. We don’t need one now… we needed one a month ago.”

Tell us what you really think, Bulldog!



[latest_videos_strip category=”football” name=”Football”]

Slater’s abrasive style can sometimes rub fans the wrong way, but as a former Socceroo and one-time winner of the English Premier League, he’s more than earned the right to express his opinion.

And he saved his most withering barbs for last:

“Ange Postecoglou left in November. It’s not good enough on all levels. The FFA, lift your game or change your game.

“People are under pressure at the FFA. They closed their offices over Christmas. Open on the eighth of January.

“Not good enough – it’s our busiest time of the year!”

Touché. But if you believe some online critics, he shouldn’t have said it because it’s negative.

The truth is there’s no such thing as ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ coverage from Australia’s football media coverage – there’s just coverage. And those who care passionately about the game – like Slater or Zelic or Murray Shaw – are always going to comment on the topics of the day.



That’s all part of building a football culture.

We should embrace it and be thankful for it, because without it, the game would simply be all action and no talk.