Noel Gallaghar's Thoughts on Australian Football

[the wanderer]

I would love to see a sort of Ashes series between the two countries on the football pitch. The rivalry between the two countries in just about every other sport is always healthy (League, Union, Cricket etc...) so why not try to capitolise on that.

I know that a lot of Australian people have built up the Australian team to be much better than it is, but in all honesty, we are a team on the rise. Playing more games in the Asian confederation, against better quality teams will no doubt improve the experience of Aussie players and in time we may be a football power.

As much as i'd like to boast that we are a world class team, we are not there just yet, but anyone who writes us off as being average is going to be in for a shock. Yes we were knocked out of the World Cup at the second round, but if you remember the game:

A)- We lost to the eventual World Cup winners, and

B)- We only lost after Italy was awarded one of the most pathetic penalties in injury time.

On the subject of Noel....well he's been shooting his mouth off for years so i take it with a grain of salt. Still the man does know how to write good music (Y)

oh and for the record, the last time England Played Australia:

February 14 2003

England 1 Australia 3

@ Upton Park, London (one for each goal!)

[NobBe Nobbs]

Well, let's not forget this so quickly:

After being conned by cheating Portuguese players, Mr 'Gay Rights' decided, for some unknown reason, to send off England's star player Wayne Rooney. After the match went to penalties, the ref disallowed Jamie Carragher's penalty, as Ricardo claimed he was not ready. Despite this being a argument used in parks, and by children, Mr Elizondo decided to make Carra re-take it.

Eventually, England were out, and Elizondo was seen to give a small 'fist clench', in celebration. But, so far, no action has been taken.

[Zaz]

Cry more?

England claim to be awesome at soccer, yet have only won one World Cup? Apart from that one win 40 years ago, the best you've gotten is to the quarters. In the European Championship, you've never won it and the best you've gotten to there is the quarters also.

Add to that the fact you're shit at league, cricket (one Ashes win in the last 18 years. Woo, go England!) and any other sport you attempt (I might give you Union, but that's a farce of a sport anyway).

[Stone Cold]

We actually reached the Semis of both the World Cup and Euro. We were very unlucky though in the Semis of Italia 90 and lost out on penalties to Germany.

[Zaz]

My mistake, I read the stuff I was reading wrong >_<

[Liam]

Add to that the fact you're shit at league, cricket (one Ashes win in the last 18 years. Woo, go England!) and any other sport you attempt (I might give you Union, but that's a farce of a sport anyway).

It's interesting that you list these sports that Australia are good at, but yet they suck at the biggest sport in the world.

Plus if we're going to take recent things into account (like the bloke did with the last friendly we had against you in football), we beat you in the last ashes played (which was at least a competitive example, unlike the friendly example....and frankly, we stuffed you in it) and are the current Rugby Union world champions.

[Zaz]

It may be the biggest sport in the world, but it isn't over here. For good reasons too.

And you stuffed us in the cricket, eh? Despite the fact it went down to the last day of the last test? And you only actually won 2 tests? And all I heard was how poor we played! I wouldn't be planning on getting too attached to the title if I were you.

And hey, at least we've got a decent amount of trophies at the sports we're good at.

[Liam]

It wasn't a case of your players playing bad as such as you just getting outplayed in pretty much 3 (or arguably 4 of the tests). Aside from the first 1, you were never in it, and if there hadn't been a rain delay on the 3rd test (where we came to within a wicket of beating you), it could have been 3-1 overall, which was a much better reflection on how things went.

I'm not a big cricket fan, but I pretty much watched all the matches due to working in a bookies. Though I'll admit that England are going to lose them this winter, for sure.

Oh, and people don't take countries who pride their egg chasers over their football team seriously

[therockbox]

Didn't England's strikeforce in the 1-3 game include Francis Jeffers? Because if it did then it doesn't count.

[IAceI]

It was a different 11 either half, with the half including Jeffers faring better than our full strength side .

And you all need to fucking shut up about this. Jesus. He dissed Cahill for fucks sake and we're arguing between us! He. Dissed. Cahill.

Well, I used to hate Cahill when he always scored against Sunderland for Milwall and Everton (FA Cup Semi Final springs to mind) but now Cahill is a massive legend. So shut up all of you, because Noel dissed Tim!

[Chris the Human]

Australians aren't suddenly ranting about the Socceroos being unbeatable after one World Cup finals appearance. Some of us were arguing that the side was vastly underrated prior to that and it was only a convoluted World Cup qualifying system under the OFC that prevented us from making further appearances. It's nigh on impossible to build any sort of dynamic or realistic expectations when you play the likes of Fiji, Solomon Islands, and New Zealand (never with a full strength team) and then pull together the best you have (many of whom are playing together for the first time in four years) and throw them up against a South American team that has played eighteen internationals against the likes of Brazil and Argentina.

Australia's performances against top ranked sides have almost always been admirable, and it's only the lack of depth in the squad that gives us results like the 2-0 loss to Kuwait and the disappointing 2-0 win over Bahrain. When we rest our key players, we're basically left with a swathe of shoddy reserve grade quality players. There are steps being taken to remedy that lack of depth with the introduction of the A-League and the establishment of youth academies - but it'll be at least a decade before the benefits of that are seen in terms of talent production.

My point in starting this thread wasn't to say Australia were a better side than England, they clearly aren't. My point was to point out how farcical Gallaghar's comments are. Only an idiot thinks Australia are 'hopeless' at football. As other's have pointed out, we were controversially eliminated from the World Cup by the eventual winners and have had good results against strong Dutch, Brazilian, Croatian, Greek, and Uruguayan teams in recent months. The current run of poor form is entirely Graham Arnold's fault, and as soon as Hiddink's replacement is named, things should turn around.

And I'd back Cahill

[Guest Tequilla Rockin' Bird]

Let's not be so quick to bring up the ashes. We all know they're going to absolutely murder us this winter.

[IAceI]

Let's not be so quick to bring up the ashes. We all know they're going to absolutely murder us this winter.

[Guest muddatrucker]

Whilst not as big a cunt as Liam, Noel is still a massive cunt, his opinion generally counts for sweet fuck all.

[The Kraig]

Gallagher's a spastic. That is all.

And why are English people bashing Australian football? Almost all of the best ones play in the Premiership, in England. Viduka, Cahill, Neil, Moore, Emerton, Skoko, Schwarzer...

They have players of high quality to play in your top flight. They must really suck.

[Summers]

LOL. Kraigy, yr Scottish. You have no right to even talk about anyone sucking in football terms.

[Guest Anti-Hero]

Cry more?

England claim to be awesome at soccer, yet have only won one World Cup? Apart from that one win 40 years ago, the best you've gotten is to the quarters. In the European Championship, you've never won it and the best you've gotten to there is the quarters also.

Add to that the fact you're shit at league, cricket (one Ashes win in the last 18 years. Woo, go England!) and any other sport you attempt (I might give you Union, but that's a farce of a sport anyway).

[Guest The Bleeding Heart Show of Ringy]

I stopped reading after he called it the sport of the intelligentsia. Yes, clearly, David Beckham and company represent society's intellectual elite.

[The Kraig]

LOL. Kraigy, yr Scottish. You have no right to even talk about anyone sucking in football terms.