"What happens on the football field matters, not in the way that food matters but as poetry does to some people and alchol does to others: It engages the personality, It has conflict and beauty, and when those two qualities are present together in something offered for public appraisal they represent much of what I understand to be art. The people own this art in the way they can never own any form of music, theatre, literature or religion because they cannot be fooled in it as they can in these other things, where intention can be deliberately obscured and method beyond their grasp. Football does not ask for faith; it compels examination. Phoney footballers are simply booted aside. The crowds can be vindictive and brutal, but they can seldom be deceived. They know about their football intuitively, as they know about their families.Extract taken from "The Football Man" by Arthur Hopcraft
Good man Arthur I couldn't have put it better myself ...
I think these sentiments are particularly relevant in light of the fact that we are on the run into the World Cup. For the Oz games they are erecting huge screens in the city centre, it should be great the ozzies are starting to get really excited about about the prospect out togging out in the WC, it breaks my heart that we are not competing.
With regard to soccer on a less glamourous level i.e. Queens Park:
After the hammering we got last sunday, tuesday night training was fercious, savage fitness drills coupled with analysis of what went wrong on sunday. It is quite impressive the oz way of doing things, we don't have a trainer just 11-13 guys and everyone turns up for training and takes it serious, I can't imagine this happening at home , training really hard on your own that is. Speaking frankly we might get another hammering on sunday, the team problem is not fitness related, it is probably just down to tactics and a lack of really good basic skills. We'll see how we go anywhoo .. watch this space as the man said !!
