[quote=âcaoimhaoin, post: 752684, member: 273â]Australia are shit, mostly because they are starting to believe their own hype about the A-League. There must be something seriously wrong between amateur/youth etc and the transfer to the pro and national level. The talentand standard at local level is as good as anywhere else I have seen.
Now much of the amateur league standard is boosted by ex-pats of Ireland, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Italy and a massive English Soccer playing population. The coaching seems pretty good from what I see (massive Englush influence un WA) but the attitude up the line seems backward and disorganized.
In all sports here, in WA at least, they waste money on big names andignore development alot. I know Perth Glory and Football West are trying to do that now, nut it seems they couldnât figure it out for themselves. Itâs outsiders are driving the changes.[/quote]
where else have you seen this talented standard at local level kev? AUL 3B for Waterfall?
In fairness the statement you have made above about the transfer of local talented players to pro level is applicable particually to football and is especially eveident at local level in Ireland and Israel which are the only 2 countries i have played in and id say it applies in most other countries as well., but ill use these examples as both domestic leagues and national teams are pretty poor , much like the Aussies
there are some fanstastic players in Ireland playing MSL, look at Avondale United last season, ok im biased as loads of the lads are from home and my brother used to play for them but last season they played very well against Bohs in the FAI cup and would probably give Cork City a decent game if the need arose, Most of these fellas arent interested in going semi -pro in the LOI as the money is crap and their quality of life would suffer been hauled off to shitholes like Longford, Donegal and Dublin for games on a Friday night. they have missed the boat to go accross the water and now are just playing for enjoyment, albeit its serious stuff, much like senior club GAA i suppose.
The same in dublin , teams like Tolka Rovers, bluebell have fantastic players. Go down to Limerick in the summer and watch the Kennedy Cup, an U-15 tournament, games between the Cork Schoolboys League and the DDSL are top notch, very little of these players tho make it thru to LOI level , few more make it accross the pond.
I played with John O Flynn when i was younger and i remember Steven Ireland playing U-14s with Springfield, these 2 guys were special, O Flynn was incredible as he always knew where the ball was going to end up in the box, Ireland as well was 2 steps ahead of most players on the pitch, i was delighted when he was at the top of his game at man city in 2008-09 as it was like he just showed how good the quality of footballer exists at home in the local leagues.
the coaching at schoolboy level in Ireland varies but it is very good at the bigger clubs , St, Kevinâs Boys, Springfield , for example and superb players are being produced, its interesting to know where they all fall away to tho