Moving house!

Hey, so after a couple of years I've decided to do a bit more football blogging - starting afresh at http://vulgargesture.wordpress.com/. Wassup!

Huuuuuugene and Jamo for the Roos

Yep, Galekovic and Jamieson have been named in Verbeek's 23-man squad for the upcoming Asian Cup qualifier away to Kuwait on January 6. All of the English Premier League guys are unavailable, so there's an opportunity for some of the A-League boys to stake their claim leading up to the World Cup.

Eugene is probably the best keeper in the league (if not an actual God walking amongst men) and he has had another good season, so his inclusion is a no-brainer; Jamo hasn't reached any great heights this year but he had a brilliant previous season and Pim has seen enough to give him another shot in the green & gold.

Galekovic will be up against Fumbles Velaphi and High Five Vukovic for the 'keeper spot, ex-Red Matthew Kemp and highly-rated Plymouth Argyle young'un Shane Lowry will probably be Jamieson's main competition for the left back position. Also interesting from a Reds point of view is the inclusion of big bad bustling Bruce Djite in the squad, time for him to step up & stake a claim for a World Cup spot.

Oh and congrats to Tommy Oar, if he gets on the pitch he'll be the youngest Socceroo since Harry Kewell.

THE SQUAD

Alex Brosque, Jacob Burns, Nick Carle, Simon Colosimo, Jason Culina, Bruce Djite, Eugene Galekovic, Scott Jamieson, Mile Jedinak, Matthew Kemp, Shane Lowry, Matthew McKay, Craig Moore, Tommy Oar, Nikita Rukavytsya, Matthew Spiranovic, Mile Sterjovski, Archie Thompson, Matthew Thompson, Tando Velaphi, Dario Vidosic, Danny Vukovic, Luke Wilkshire

Adelaide 1-1 Wellington

With the chances and possession Adelaide had they should have put this game to bed. There were about 20 minutes at the start of the second half where the team played better than they have all season, and it was great to see. And Alemao scored an absolute belter. Yet in true Reds fashion they couldn't hold it together, lost concentration and conceded a soft equaliser.

The past couple of matches have definitely been a step forward for United though, if their form continues to improve we could be in for a decent ACL after all.

Time for some positive news

The weekend's 1-0 win over Roar came hot on the heels of news that the Reds were successful in snaring the services of Argentine midfielder Marcos Flores for two years, starting with the upcoming ACL campaign. Since Diego left the team has been in need of a creative attacking mid, and maybe Flores is the guy to fill the gap.

There's more positive news on the transfer front, as well - striker Michael Baird and defender Hayden Foxe are currently training with the Reds, and apparently Mark Rudan is set to sign a contract extension.

Baird moved to Romanian side FC Universitatea Craiova after a good season with the Roar in 2005-06 - he's a handy player and still in his mid 20s, exactly the sort of guy that A-League clubs should be trying to lure back to Australia.

Foxe has had a tough time at Perth Glory with injuries, but he's a class act and he's spent many seasons playing for some big clubs in England - West Ham, Portsmouth and Leeds Utd. Since Veart retired I've always thought Adelaide was in need of a new talismanic ranga, Foxe ticks all the boxes.

With any luck there will be some better days ahead for Adelaide United - the signs are good.

Hayden Foxe - new Red?

Brisbane 0-1 Adelaide

Last Saturday night, for the first time in two months, Adelaide United recorded a win. A Barbiero header sealed the result over fellow table-propper-uppers Brisbane, in front of the Oranje's lowest ever home crowd. It wasn't a completely convincing performance but it was definitely well fought, and for the first time in a while the players showed a bit of heart.

Vidmar rang in the changes, leaving Cornthwaite, Rudan, Hughes and Pantelis at home and giving Shin and Monterosso a bit of well-deserved game time. The absence of Rudan's leadership was notable in a backline that was shaky at times, but the boys in red managed to keep their first clean sheet in a long time, thanks mostly to a few brilliant stops by Galekovic.

The best thing about the win was the reaction of the players at the full time whistle. Finally the team is starting to look united again.

I'm back

Hooray!

Yeah, I'll admit, I'm lazy... I went overseas for a couple of months and didn't really find the motivation to write much once I came back. The way AUFC have been travelling hasn't really inspired me much anyway.

So let's get back into the swing of things. Here's a piece I've submitted for this month's issue of the excellent Half Time Heroes zine:

-----

I think we're now in a position where we can safely say that this year has not quite gone to plan for Adelaide United. Two thirds of the season has passed and we're sitting dead last, with misfiring strikers, a leaky defense and a coach whose motivational genius is exemplified by his suggestion that his players might benefit from having their heads severed from their bodies. Well, at the moment anything's worth a shot.

I do feel for Vidmar, though. He's obviously a capable coach, and he's still got some brownie points up his sleeve after the feats of last season and the ACL. But the pressure is definitely on, and it's showing. Bad results piling up, unhappy players and behind-the-scenes issues at the club create a vortex that is very difficult to escape from. And the fans want blood.

Football supporters aren't known for being the most rational creatures when things aren't going well. Once a scapegoat has been identified, the knives come out. Viddie is number one with a bullet on the terrace hate-list at the moment, with a few of the players not far behind.

Of course, by and large, we supporters don't know what the hell we're talking about. If decisions were made based on terrace opinion, Kristian Sarkies would have been sent packing last season. This year, he's been our best player. 'Two up front!' became a mantra earlier in the season for supporters sick of drab football - well now Viddie's tried it, and the team played worse than ever.

Once things are going this badly, the vortex of negativity is so strong that it starts to override anything positive. Last home game, for example, there was a period of play where Adelaide actually kept possession for a little while. The team was holding the ball, patiently passing it around outside Newcastle's penalty box, probing for an opening. Fair enough it wasn't quite like watching Brazil circa 1970 but it was the right idea. Behind me, though, there was a bloke going absolutely off his nut: "Put the fucking ball in the box you muppets! You are FUCKING USELESS!" This was the same guy that made donkey noises whenever Cornthwaite or Hughes went near the ball, and gave Vidmar a massive spray every time a substitution was not made.

Obviously, that guy was a moron. But for all his negative, irrational idiocy, one thing about his ranting struck me: at least he cared. It takes a lot of commitment to hate your own team so strongly. It's better than the antipathy of some of my mates, who have just gradually stopped coming to games because they can't be arsed any more. It would be nice if we could all go to every match happy, watch some great football and come away with a win every week, but reality doesn't work like that. Through the bad times, it's the discontent, injustice and endless disagreement that keeps us going as fans. It’s not pretty, but being a football supporter rarely is.

Because of a Pissant Town... this blog is on hiatus

You'll notice that I've been a bit lax in updating this blog. And it's not as though there's been nothing to talk about.. the FFA's World Cup bid, ongoing soccerphobia from sections of the media (go here to check out what the Executive Sports Editor of one of Australia's biggest dailies has to say about our game), Socceroos matches, A-League preseason ramping up, etc. etc.

The reason the Spawning Salmon is on hiatus is that I've been directing energy towards an AUFC & A-League fanzine (working title: Because of a Pissant Town...), Issue 1 of which will be launched in time for the Round 1 game against Perth. Check out http://pissanttown.blogspot.com/ for news about the zine...

Cheers all!

Half time in Rome

It's five a.m. and, very much contrary to my usual sleeping rhythms, I'm awake. For good reason though - it's the European Champions League final. Barcelona v Manchester United.

I haven't been following European football all that closely of late, due to the advent of the A-League and my increasing (but completely natural and healthy) obsession with Adelaide United. But I've always considered myself a Barca fan, and the way this match is going reminds me what I like so much about the Catalans. They play great football, and they genuinely try to play a beautiful game.

Man U are a great side as well, but the way they play isn't on the same level as Barcelona. They seem to have a philosophy of 'get it to Ronaldo and we'll see what happens.' Barca, on the other hand, play as complete unit. You'll find plenty of commentators frothing about the style and sexiness of their play, so I'll try not to.

As I see it, this game is the best team in the world versus the best player in the world. I don't want to jinx the final result but I'm hoping that the best team pulls through.

Then I'm going back to sleep. If only I didn't have to work today.

DJ LMO in tha house?

As the off-season progresses, Adelaide fans are naturally starting to get a bit antsy about new signings. We have a squad of 16 going through the motions of pre-season training at the moment, and, needless to say, we'll need to get some new blood in before the A-League kicks off in August.

With that in mind, Adelaide have been having a good look at ex-Ghana international and Cheltenham Town striker Lloyd Owusu, who has just completed a successful season on loan with Brighton-Hove Albion. And he's been having a look at us. He's been in town to check out the club and the facilities, and has been giving the impression that he's ready for a change from the sodden pitches of English League One football. Or, he could just be out here for a free holiday.

Either way, I hope he signs. His football ability notwithstanding (he averaged a goal every two games last season), he seems a great character. According to this AdelaideNow article, "Owusu was known as DJ LMO, a master of hip-hop scratch in the London dance club scene 10 years ago."

He's known for exuberant and ridiculous goal celebrations and is not exactly a picture of modesty. Speaking of his aerial ability, he says: "I don't want to sound big-headed but if I time my jumps right I don't think any centre half can deal with me. They don't call me 'Hang Time' for nothing."

DJ Hang Time LMO is not the only new player on Vidmar's radar, either. There are ongoing rumours about a mysterious Chilean (or is that Argentinean?) attacking midfielder, and an article in the Sydney Morning Herald today claims that "experienced Italian defender Andrea Merenda and Ivory Coast duo Vamarra Diarra and Ousmane Toure have all been scouted by Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar." Obviously, we can't fit all these players into the squad considering that we already have several foreign players, but at least it sounds as though wheels are in motion.

The main thrust of that article, though, is the proposal for a second-tier national league to sit under the A-League. That really warrants a whole post of its own, and I'm too lazy at the moment, so for now I'll just say that I think it would be a fantastic way to bring the strong 'traditional' clubs - the Adelaide City, South Melbourne, Marconi Stallions et al - back into the fold. Get onto it Buckley & co.

Roar Against Papism

Now it's official - the Brisbane Roar, a team playing in orange and featuring two ex-Rangers players, will be playing Celtic FC in Brisbane on July 12, for the Roar against Racism fixture.

July 12 happens to be Orangemen's Day, commemorating the victory of William of Orange at the Battle of Boyne in 1690. If you're unfamiliar with the significance of this, let's just say that some Irish and Scottish Catholics don't look to kindly on the triumphalist, sectarian undercurrents of the Orangemen's Day festivities.

King Billy ready to Roar against Papism

Celtic and Rangers both have huge fan bases in Australia. I wonder if there'll be a march to the ground?

Marquee or not marquee?

That, fellow Salmoners, is the question.

The Football Federation of Australia has given United the green light to sign a marquee player for the upcoming season. However, according to Val Migliaccio (never a good way to start a sentence, but there you go), Michael Valkanis has indicated that United won't be looking to spend a huge amount on any player signed outside the salary cap.

Mile Sterjovski, then, would appear to be out of the picture. As would the superbly-talented Uruguayan playmaker Alvaro Recoba, who has also expressed interest in playing in the A-League. Perth had a sniff at him but chose not to stump up the cash. Perhaps a wise move, given his injury struggles over the past few years.

If we do take the marquee route, it will more likely be the sort of player that can provide a spark on the pitch and entertain a crowd but is not necessarily a household name in Australia. Which may not be such a bad thing. Sometimes the lesser-known marquee and import players in the A-League - guys like Fred, Shengqing Qu, Carlos Hernandez - have performed at a level well and truly above big-money signings like John Aloisi and Paul Agostino.

Above all, the player has to be the right fit for the team and has to be able to make an impact. A 'big name' might attract attention for a little while, but if the performance doesn't match the paycheque and the reputation the novelty soon wears off.

Mutiny on the Con Air

The Newcastle Jets are currently providing the sort of off-season story line that wouldn't seem out of place in Ramsay Street or Summer Bay. Con Costantine, the club owner with notoriously shaky ethics whose motto appears to be 'my way or the highway', is on a collision course with his playing group.

The players, who have the backing of the Professional Footballers' Association, are threatening to boycott their decisive Asian Champions League clash against Ulsan Hyundai due to outstanding match payments. Con has proposed a 'crisis meeting' but the players are refusing to come to the table, preferring not to deal with him personally and to let the PFA operate on their behalf.

And, of course, a new hombre has recently ridden into town to shake things up: the eccentric, enigmatic Ljubo Milicevic.

The Ljubmobile has never been backward in coming forward. Refreshingly, he speaks his mind and doesn't seem to give a fuck who he puts offside. Even his employer. He recently slammed Con for not providing appropriate travel arrangements for the players' Asian jaunt. He's compared the Jets' organisation to running a fish and chip shop. He's worn a knit vest and pork pie hat on The World Game. His interviews are littered with references to gay discos.

Gary van Egmond backs his star defender's footballing qualities, suggesting that he should be in Verbeek's plans for the Socceroos. He also seems to support Ljubo's leadership and attitude on the training paddock, despite the recent hoopla about his blow-up at young Sean Rooney for being a lazy sod. But Dutchie has been very diplomatic about the standoff between the players and Con. Understandably - after all, he doesn't want to get thrown off a balcony.

What's amazing is that on the pitch Newcastle are actually doing quite well. Their last-minute come-from-behind win against Beijing Guoan, with Sean Rooney providing the winning strike, demonstrated a fighting quality that is, quite frankly, very surprising given all the rubbish that's going on at the club.

Newcastle fans have had a real rollercoaster ride over the past four years, probably more so than any other supporters in the league. It must be frustrating having to cope with such drama on a seemingly daily basis. They deserve some stability.

FFA: can't live with 'em, can't remain solvent without 'em

I got an email this morning from the club, confirming what we all knew was coming:

____________

Dear Friend (that's me!),

As a valued friend of the Adelaide United Football Club, I wish to inform you of an important announcement that will shortly be made public. Club owners, Bianco Trade Supplies, today handed back its Hyundai A-League Licence and therefore ownership of AUFC, to the Football Federation Australia.

It is business as usual for the club and notwithstanding the transfer back to the FFA of the club’s licence, Adelaide United organisationally and people wise, is healthy and stable; and remains a strong, vital member of the A-League competition. Preparation for the 2009/2010 HAL season will carry on as usual, including day to day administration, football and financial operations.

The financial and personal contributions made by owner Nick Bianco and former chairman, Dario Fontanarosa are truly significant. They leave a legacy that will survive for years to come, in creating an intrinsically Adelaide entity that has set the benchmark in our still evolving national competition.

Full details will be announced tomorrow.

Yours sincerely

Sam Ciccarello

Chief Executive Officer, Adelaide United Football Club

__________

So, it's official. Adelaide United's ownership is now, along with the newly-renamed Brisbane Roar, in the hands of the FFA. Which is not necessarily a bad thing: at various stages the governing body has aided or (in the case of Perth Glory) taken full ownership of other A-League clubs, with positive results.

The franchise system, which gives the FFA far greater centralised control than a system in which individual clubs are masters of their own destinies (as per the 'traditional' European leagues), can be a bone of contention. Some are uneasy with the notion of a big brother governing body being directly involved in the way clubs are run and setting all the rules.

This has been a source of frustration in the past for Adelaide fans, with the FFA carving up the club's winnings from its recent Asian Champions League campaign and distributing the loot between all eight clubs and the league itself. The only club not to actually profit from Adelaide United's ACL success, ironically, was Adelaide itself.

Some people might view the franchise system as socialistic. Which, in a way, I suppose it kind of is - the FFA is a powerful central administration which redistributes the wealth, ensuring that each of its consistuent clubs remains on a relatively equal footing, for the supposed betterment of the league as a whole. The downside of this is that the ambitions of individual clubs are somewhat hamstrung by the FFA's requirements, most obviously the limited salary cap. Clubs are prevented from growing and flourishing organically, as they might in a less regulated system.

The upside, as we are seeing now, is that when a club (or, in Adelaide's case, its owner) runs into financial difficulty, the FFA has the power and resources to jump in and steady the ship. So long as the governing body itself is financially sound, clubs' survival is more or less guaranteed. The abortive New Zealand Knights aside, I can't see the FFA ever actually cutting the cord on any of its clubs unless things really go pear-shaped.

Bianco wanted out; transferring ownership to the FFA gave him the ability to get out without fundamentally damaging the club. Now the club has time to find the right sort of investors. I don't see this as a bad thing for United at all. Let's line up a cashed-up sheik or Russian oligarch and really start cooking with gas.

Off-Season Youtube Nostalgia

Here's some of last season's best goals in the A-League, thanks to Youtube's freshcelery. A good variety of long range crackers and well-constructed team goals.

And here's some pure Red goodness for your viewing pleasure, put together by a noble soul by the name of Reds4PM. There are some gems from previous years in there, like the Fred Agius missile against Brisbane Strikers in the last season of the NSL:

National Football Curriculum

The footballing revolution continues. The long, brave march towards footballing utopia has been given another prod in the back today, with the FFA's release of a National Football Curriculum which aims to improve player development and team performance.

I can haz Han Berger?

The main thrust of the football curriculum is that it heavily emphasises development of skill and technique. Skill development takes place within the context of game-related situations, rather than through drills that exist in isolation.

An extension of this is that the FFA has identified 4-3-3 as the ideal playing formation for 'proactive' football with a technical emphasis. As such, all of the FFA's 'development' sides - for example, the national representative teams underneath the Socceroos and Matildas - should be playing this structure. Increasing players' skills will, theoretically, be favoured over results.

Those that worry about the credentials of our domestic coaching stocks should be able to breathe a sigh of relief, as well - in future there will be specific minimum requirements for high-level coaching positions within the FFA structure, including national team, A-League, W-League, National Youth League, AIS and State Institute coaches and technical directors.

All of this is, to me, a good sign that Australian football is still going in the right direction. We have a governing body with a clearly-structured plan for ongoing development of the game. We're not going to see the results straight away, but things like this have to happen for football to benefit in the long run. Maybe one day, when I'm old and grey, we'll see the seeds planted in this decade finally come to fruition.

Pre-Season Matches

This pre-season, it looks as though A-League clubs are really starting to pull their fingers out in terms of attracting big European clubs to our shores. So far, from what I can gather:
- There will be a mini-tournament in Perth, featuring Perth Glory, North Queensland, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves are currently in the Championship but look set for promotion to the Premier League;
- Fulham will play in Melbourne and Brisbane as well. They'll be Brisbane's opponent for the 'Roar against Racism' match that, in previous years, featured SuperSport United and Palmeiras;
- Brisbane will also host Celtic - sure to pull a very large crowd given the club's huge levels of support in Australia.

There doesn't seem to be any movement at the station for Adelaide United, but it's early days yet. Oh well, we're used to disappointment - remember how Inter Milan were supposed to play a match at Adelaide Oval?

Sterj for sale

According to the Daily Mirror, Nigel Clough is currently in the process of overhauling his Derby County squad. It seems that Mile Sterjovski is not part of the plan for the Rams' future, and has been placed in the shop window with a 'for sale' sign around his neck.

Sterj seems to be an ideal candidate for a move to the A-League (and was apparently considered by Gold Coast United) - he's a current Socceroo, played at the World Cup and in the English Premier League, still at the top of his game but at an age where he may be starting to think about returning to Australia with his young family. He's a good player at a Championship level in England, but could certainly make an impact in the A-League as a marquee player.

Given Adelaide's dearth of good attacking players, Sterj should be at the top of our shopping list. He could do the job as a wide striker, right winger, second striker or even attacking playmaker - the only problem would be fitting he & Travis Dodd into the same lineup. But that's a problem that any A-League club would love to have.

A-League Draw 2009-10

The t's have been crossed, the i's have been dotted, and the 2009-10 A-League draw is finally ready for public consumption. Here is is in .pdf format, off the official website:
http://www.a-league.com.au/site/_content/document/00001133-source.pdf

The 27-round regular season kicks off on August 6 and wraps up on February 14. There's a finals series, 0f course, culminating in the Grand Final (Adelaide United v TBA) on March 20.

Here's a few things that I can gather from a quick scan of the document:

• Adelaide play 14 home games. Unfortunately, I'll miss 5 of them (including the only home games against North Queensland and Melbourne) because I'll be overseas. First home game is against Perth on August 7.
  


• The finals series has gotten even more ridiculous. There are now 6 teams in the finals - i.e., over half the league - with a convoluted system that seems specifically designed to befuddle (so that's why they hired Ben Buckley from the AFL):

• Lots of clubs seem to be moving home games around - Sydney are playing a match at the SCG (blergh) and a match at Parramatta (woohoo!); Perth are playing a match at Subiaco (double blergh); Wellington are playing a game in Christchurch and one in Palmerston North. Central Coast's fixtures at home to Adelaide and Perth are listed as 'TBC', which could mean anything but is probably Coffs Harbour or something. Interestingly, Adelaide doesn't look to be repeating the Adelaide Oval experiment this year, but other clubs seem intent on becoming travelling roadshows.


• Thanks to the greater number of games and longer season, there are more midweek matches. Adelaide's home fixtures include a Tuesday night match against Perth. Bizarrely, Adelaide plays 11 home games on Friday night - it suits me fine, but surely a bit of variety wouldn't go astray?


• Thankfully, there is no Pre Season Cup. Clubs are free to play whatever friendlies they want leading up to the start of the season, without the burden of having to compete for a trophy that might as well be a Mickey Mouse figurine spraypainted silver.

I have my reservations about a few aspects of the draw, but I'm looking forward to a longer and more varied season thanks to the two new teams. A 6-team finals series is just ridiculous though. In my humble opinion, they should scrap it altogether and start up a proper FFA Cup. Enough of this madness!

I'm definitely starting to get excited about the new season, even though it's still three and a half months away. Join me, will you, in this rousing rendition of Rolling Along:

http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/adelaide-united-chants/and-united-is-rolling-along/

Come on boys, make some noise, we’re a team of class and poise, and our Adelaide is rolling along... etc

Naoki Imaya's Football Vision

In my last post, I railed bitterly against the tendency in modern football to treat young players as expendable commodities, to be bought in bulk by large clubs and dispensed with if they prove surplus to requirements.

Thankfully, not everybody is taking that approach. There's a great article on the FourFourTwo website highlighting the work of former New Zealand Knights player Naoki Imaya. Having played in Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Germany, Imaya is a strong believer in the power of football in bridging cultural gaps and fostering understanding and cooperation between people of different backgrounds.

Back in Tokyo, Imaya has set up an English-language school that teaches football to Japanese juniors and adults. Through football, the students mix and interact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

In the FourFourTwo interview, Imaya is clear about the objectives of his school: "Aiming to be a world class player would be on anybody's mind who have tried to pursue a career in this beautiful game, but I think it is more important to aim to be a first class human being."

Imaya's vision also involves a sharing of football knowledge between Japan and Australia. "I hope in the future I can help the youth from Australia and Japan in some kind of an exchange program where they could learn each others' football style and build a better relationship between the countries as well."

Maybe I shouldn't be too cynical about the modern game. Imaya's football school is an example of the fact that there are still people and organisations around that see football as more than just a business and young players as people rather than robots. Here's hoping that there are people in Australia that are willing to take a similar approach.

If you can read Japanese (I certainly can't), you can find more information about Naoki Imaya's school at http://www.naocastle.com/blog/.

This is the modern world

Football can be a very positive social force. In modern western societies, people's identities have become increasingly attached to ephemeral and transitory things: income, occupation, social status, possessions. Following a local football club, and especially one that reflects an identifiable set of values, is an extremely important mechanism for a lot of men to experience identity as part of a community - a reprieve from the often-alienating demands of life in a society where getting ahead as an individual is everything.

Like the black and white cookie in the Seinfeld episode, football is a great leveller. It connects people across countries, cultures, religions, political beliefs, social classes, and income levels. Supporters bond to one another over a shared love of the game or the club. You can always strike up a meaningful conversation with a fellow fan, whether he's a university professor or a cleaner of public toilets.

Playing football, and sport in general, is obviously also important for kids' development into well-rounded adults. Values of teamwork, sportsmanship, humility in victory and grace in defeat are vital to counter the prevailing forces that encourage individual success - academically, socially, and as an adult monetarily.

At the highest levels of football, though, these values have been utterly perverted. The English Premier League has been disconnected from reality to the point where, especially for the top clubs, success is simply a question of purchasing power. England goalkeeper David James has written a very thought-provoking article for the Guardian highlighting the questionable ethics employed by EPL clubs (bravely including his own club, Portsmouth) in casting their nets wide and buying up huge numbers of promising junior players. This is usually a preemptive move designed to ensure that the players do not end up at rival clubs.

The effects of this are quite significant. It means that 'youth development' becomes a numbers game rather than a meaningful exercise in providing juniors with a solid football education. In the example of Portsmouth, the club has 180 under-nines on the books. Of these, maybe one will end up playing senior first-team football. The rest get loaned out to lower leagues in England and abroad, and end up being discarded when they are proven to be sub-standard.

These kids grow up believing that they are special, that they will become superstars, the next Wayne Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo. Their well-meaning parents contribute to these pressures, as do the forces of society through things like reality television and a celebrity culture that fosters the notion that fame and fortune are quickly and easily obtained. Psychologically, it must be devastating when these young players finally realise that they will never 'make it'.

And, of course, the hegemony of the big clubs in the big leagues is reinforced by this practice. Buy up all the best young players and success is pretty much guaranteed. Actual youth development and the promotion of the club as a community focal point takes a back seat.

Leagues like the A-League, outside the top European tier, suffer in terms of their football development. The wealth of big European clubs, as well as the status of playing in Europe, is a huge carrot for young Australians. There are hundreds currently playing overseas, with only a few of them playing at a level higher than what they could experience in Australia.

Meanwhile, the big clubs are now little more than brands for fans to attach themselves to. Teenagers in Sydney or Singapore will declare their undying loyalty to Manchester United, Liverpool or Real Madrid, clubs from cities that they have never been to and to which they have no connection, on the basis of a well-marketed concept of the 'history' and 'traditions' of the club.

It's not hard to see how this sort of attitude to football as a branded commodity undermines its significance as a force for community identity. Success and image is everything (witness how many people jump off the bandwagon as soon as a club starts doing poorly - Sydney FC is a prime example). It must be slightly depressing for a lifelong supporter of an English side to see what has become of their club during the big-money Premier League era.

I don't really know what can be done to fix these trends in the long term, but I think Sepp Blatter's '6 + 5' rule, limiting the number of foreign players that a club can sign, is a good start. A cap on the total number of players a club can have on its books would also put an end to some of the extreme practices highlighted in David James' article. Ultimately, a salary cap of some sort would be a good thing for European football, but as long as the big clubs call the shots I can't see that happening.

Anyway, I guess the point of my rant is that here in Australia we have the opportunity to make sure that the mistakes of European football (mostly stemming from unregulated greed by the clubs) are not repeated. Frankly, I don't care if the A-League continues to leak its best players to Europe and Asia - as long as Adelaide United continues to represent the city, develops and gives opportunities to young local players, and provides an outlet for me to go and yell my lungs out every second weekend during the season, I'll be happy.