Dear Mr Pim Verbeek

I am an Australian, like many Australians I was ecstatic when, in November 2005, John Aloisi put the ball into the top right corner of the goal, and we were off to Germany.  I was also ecstatic when 3 goals were scored without reply in June 2006 to make us win our first World Cup match.  I shared our pain when we played Italy and were, perhaps cruelly, knocked out of the World Cup.  I have experienced the highs and lows of football in Australia.

Mr Verbeek, I paid my hard earned cash, I am not rich, I study full time and work once or twice a week and try to keep money for times where I may need it.  Yet I paid, to watch Australia versus Kuwait at Canberra Stadium.

Mr Verbeek, did those players want to be there? there was no spark, no fire in their eyes, they ran forward looking for penalties, gave the ball away in midfield and were indecisive in defens.  Mr Verbeek, the defenders were turned everytime, they did not stand up and close players down, and they were a shambles with no communication.

Mr Verbeek, I was most dissapointed with the midfield, Zullo seemed to be playing as a winger, this should not have been your instruction to him because you should know that we cannot get decent service to the strikers normally, another person on the last line of defense is not going to help.  The midfield was too leaky, why, at half time, did you not say to them 'when you get the ball, trap it, kill it dead.  Play the way you are facing, do not try to turn because you loose the ball too easily'.  This would have been the right thing to do to at least make the squad members play football that could tangibly get a goal.  when the midfielders were on the ball they never seemed to have options, when a player in midfield has the ball they should always have two simple and immediate options, they can then pass and move to get into a recieving permission, this would have drawn defenders up and given the forwards some space.  There was very little dynamic movement in the midfield and I belive this was the reason for our loss.

If I seem frustrated at the midfield I am just as frustrated at the forward line, there was no movement until the ball had started to arrive, and even then the balls being played to and from the forward line were comical, did they not relise that their through balls were rediculous? They should have, and then gone to playing the ball to feet, pass and move, their insistance to play 'the perfect ball' drove me crazy over the ninty minutes that i was forced to watch this butchering of the game of football.

Mr Verbeek, answer me this.  Would you, after seeing that gutless, passionless, talentless, and frankly comical performance from the team I was so wishing to do well, would YOU have paid your own money, to watch that abomination to football?  If your answer is no, then I reccommend you do some thinking, before more people boo your team at the end of a match.

This one I have not sent, mainly due to some trouble I got into with admin types after my last letter, but to the English folk $40 AUD may not seem like a lot, please watch the game however possible, and you should wonder why the FFA did not pay me to sit through that abomination.

I reckon I may have a decent point here, in the 2002 (I think, may have been 98, but I'm not that interested in perfection to waste time) Brazil played a formation of genius, no it wasn't 4-6-0 but 5-3-2, or according to some camps 3-5-2.  now let me get this straight, if Brazil played 5-3-2 then they got rid of the midfield, the ulitmate Brazilian power force.  No their backline was 3 central players with Roberto Carlos and Cafu on the wings to give them the most attacking freedom.  This is an idea for Arsenal. Heres how it will look

                                                             Almunia

                                Toure                     Gallas                 Silvestre 

Sagna                                                                                                             Clichy
     |                                                                                                                      |
     V                                                                                                                     V 

                            Walcott                      Fabregas            Nasri

                                       Adebayor                       van Persie

Any arguments?

I want to see more of Sagna attacking, every week Clichy is awe inspiring with his runs but i think they can hit us on the counter-attack more easily.  If we had this formation we would always have 4 at the back.  Again our defense let us down against Fenerbahce, you may cry that if we can score 5 goals every game, who needs defense.  our backline looked strongest when we had a bit of time to organise and then we hit them with the counter attack, so drop, organise, win the ball, streak ahead, get Clichy and Sagna weave in and out with Nasri and Walcott, score. Simple

 IN OTHER NEWS

A salary cap would be torrid for football, read my last post.  Wacott, lets just hope he doesn't catch 'great young english player' syndrome like Owen, Fowler, Lennon, Bowyer, Downing etc.  Wenger should keep his feet on the ground though.  Good luck to Adelaide United as they take on Bunyodkor, it can only be good for the A League.  Oh and that 4-6-0 is mine, use it wisely, it is the coolest formation ever, as I tried explaining to the Northern Territory Football Association President at a recent tournament, but oh no, he ridiculed it, but I'll get my own back...