Kewell makes a solid return: Update

Click here to watch highlights of the reserves match between Liverpool and Everton.

As I half wished for in the previous post, the stage is set for a magical moment as Milan and Liverpool face off once again in the UCL Final in Athens, thanks to a masterful performance by Ancelottis men.

Now for Harry to make the bench......

Kewell makes a solid return

Another post about our 'Arry.

I don't want to come over all sort of Harry Kewell fan boy, but hey, he is one of our best, and the way he travels he may get injured again, so we may as well get in as many blogs as we can aye?

Liverpool TV reports that H is back with a sprinkling of form. To quote the report on the Liverpool Reserves match vs Everton:

Kewell made an instant impact. He was only on the field for five minutes when he beat two defenders down the left and set up Craig Lindfield for a tap-in from close range.....

Lindfield added the third goal on the hour mark after some magical wing play from Kewell......

The Aussie then nearly set up another goal but Anderson's effort was superbly saved by Ruddy.

Reds Reserves won the game 3-1.

Sounds like he is in form and although probably not at all match fit, and too late for the bench against Chelsea in the upcoming UCL Semi unfortunately. If the Reds can get to the Final in Athens, he'll definitely have the away to Fulham FC and the home against Charlton to get in a run and show his stuff.

I am sure we would all like to see him run on to the ground for the UCL final and actually finish the match. It'll be a huge boost to his confidence, and a fairy tale to boot if they end up playing Milan again. They have to get past Chelski first though - far from impossible at Anfield.

I'd love to see him run up against Uruguay again in Sydney too. Hopefully he will. .

Where have all the good times gone?

Or should I say, where have all the band-wagoners gone?

Watching the Australia vs China game in the pub the other day, I was a lone viewer squinting at a tiny, volumeless screen, surrounded by a sea of rugby watchers playing pool and barely glancing at the three big screen plasmas that were up in the main bar of the local establishment, showing back to back rugby type games.

But before long, I had curious on-lookers joining me in my little corner, checking the score, and asking if this was live or a replay. In fact a common theme for the night was - 'Oh I didnt know this was on'

I have noticed a similar phenomenon for Syd FC and Adelaide U ACL games - no one talking about it much over the water cooler, and general dis-interest across the board.

The theme continues with the fare of our favourite Socceroo World Cup heroes.

Harry's back - no interest. Cahill injured, Craig Moore's hammy, Viduka's form, Brett Holman's hair band, where has Guus gone to? - no one seems to be bothered.

Let alone Olympic Qualifiers for the Olyroos and Matildas (anyone catch Mel and Kochy praising Katie Gill for her hat-trick in the 10 - 0 drubbing of Chinese Taipei by the Matildas the other morning? Nuh).

I have to say, though, when you bring it up with general sports fans, you can see a gleam in their eye - I think there is a chink in the psychic armour of traditional resistance to the game which has been worn down by the efforts of Lowy and Co. No amount of effort by the axis of evil is going to drag that down too quickly.

But I guess this post is just a clarion call to all the band-wagoners - the Asia cup is coming, and the Aussies are going to win it - and we are going to beat the pants offa the Argies and the Uruguayans in front of sellout Aussie crowds, to boot.

If you know any of these guys, spread the word cause they probably won't know its coming.....get your seats on the wagon now...it leaves town around the end of May......

Its a Kewell, Kewell World

The troubled one, Harry Kewell. is set to make his return next month, after 9 months of rehabilitation.

We all know the cliche line: The man they apparently call 'sick note' has never been able to consistently reproduce the mesmeric form he had at Leeds, form that opened doors to Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona and his boyhood fantasy club, Liverpool FC.

But the glimpses have always been there since those times - wonder goals for the Reds, ripping Uruguay apart in Sydney and just being on the spot vs. Croatia to send us hurtling into our quarter final frenzy. There have also been the heartbreaks - coming off injured in the Champions League Final, or hobbling onto the bench straight from the dressing room before the Italy QF.

He'll run out in a reserve grade team for Liverpool, and once again we'll all hold our collective breath and hope he won't tweak, pull, tear or break anything in the leadup to the Asian Cup. So it was for the lead up to the World Cup in Germany, so it is again this year for I-M-T-V.

The buzz around the football web used to be that without Harry, we were always behind the eight-ball. Since his enforced absence, however, the National Team has thrown aside the need for the 'one saviour' crutch. The total football approach of the Hiddink era re-inforced the fact that no individual is greater than the whole team. Sure, Australia is a far better side with him in it, but now I think its more that Harry adds a new dimension to our attack, rather than being a crucial linch-pin that keeps the wheels on the wagon. I would worry more if a Vinnie Grella or Jason Culina were unavailable for the AFC Finals because that type of player has a larger impact on our overall system.

Now the talk is of Harry moving on from Liverpool, and I imagine the Asian Cup Finals and his return this year will outline his destiny for the years to come. For a guy who has had so many troubled weeks of injury, he is still the best player we have ever produced. Hopefully this won't be yet another heartbreak return, and we'll see him in Sydney and Melbourne again in June.

Best of luck H, break a leg....

Aus v China - Post Match Thoughts

What a surprising first half - I certainly didn't expect China to capitulate so easily in midfield where the Aussie's were running rampant.

The second half showed some cracks in team discipline that, for me, need to ironed out by Arnold or his successor. There was no need to change the simple passing game and switch to floating long balls just because the Chinese turned it up a notch. Put it down to fatigue and lack of interest, perhaps - I hope.

Key points of note:

- Viduka was on fire - As a serial 'off the ball' and out of the limelight front-man when he dons the gold jersey, he finally brought over some of his club form on the ball and produced a few moments of magic.

- Brett Holman - More to prove against tougher opposition but at least he was there when he needed to be, and a scuffed goal is better than no goal at all.

- Carl Valeri - If this guy gets regular time with Inter or a similar club then our midfield future is secure.

- We still can't take a spot-kick to save our life. A dimension of the game that we are really lacking in, which I believe is costing us goals.

- Why bring on Nick Carle with only 10 minutes to go? Give the guy half an hour at least. Showed flashes of confidence on the ball, albeit against a defence that had probably given up the ghost by the 88th minute.

- Did Lucas Neil play?

- Marco - flashes of form, and I hear at Club level he is ripping it. Obviously a solid performance but I guess I still expect more.

- Shane Steffanuto - What is with that haircut man? Depeche Mode or Norties 'Emo' ?

All in all I think we caught China at a bad time for them, with obvious off field issues affecting their motivation. A contrast to a relatively stable ship for the Aussies. We are now really starting to see the rewards of regular internationals against real opposition.

More opportunity to see our real quality with the Argies and Uruguay to come, and more opportunities to groom a squad for Asia, 2010 and beyond.

Digging to China

I have been pondering this week, how big a television audience the Australia vs China friendly match will draw. I am not talking about Foxtel Subscribers. I am thinking more about how many Asian viewers there will be. According to this guy's figures, it could be a bucket-load.

So lets start here....8.28 billion Asians watched the world cup. Now of course thats cumulative, over the course of the largest single sporting event in the world.

After about 10 minutes of hunting around on this interwebby thing, I found this page, which floored me...

There are 250 million regular football fans in China.

In fact, this is such a nugget, its worth a copy and paste:

China has more television sets than any other country in the world, which means that it represents a huge and growing audience for football.





These television sets are being well and truly used. 400 million Chinese watched the China versus Brazil match at the 2002 FIFA World Cup™. In total, China delivered a cumulative viewing audience of almost six billion to this event, representing 20% of the global audience.



Over 50% of the population in major Chinese cities chooses football as its favourite sport. Team China matches have an average TV rating of at least 30%. With at least six leading Chinese players now playing for European clubs, the standard of play is rising sharply and audience interest is keeping pace.

Okay thats good. Its time to get the old calculator out...

Lets see, if the football viewing population of China is potentially 250 million, and team China Matches average a TV rating of at least 30% , then thats 75 million people.

No that cant be right.....

250 000 000 x 0.30 = 75 000 000

That is right.

So nearly four times the entire population of Australia will tune in to watch the game on Saturday night in China.

Thats ridiculous.

Look out Joey Johns

Before I moved into the Newcastle area I knew that Andrew Johns was a popular figure on the local scene. I knew that he was a local boy done good and that the Novacastrians were proud of him.

What I didn't realise was HOW proud of him they are. He does ads for just about everything under the sun, is always being talked about and there is a news story on Joey Johns every single day. 'Our Andrew' is everywhere.

I am not exaggerating. Every single day there is a story on Andrew Johns in the paper, on NBN (home of RL) and on every radio station north of Gosford.

Every little trivial detail about his life is big news. Yesterday it was 'Joey goes surfing before the big match'. They love the guy - I got no problems with that.

But lately there has been a new face that has been appearing in the papers and on the tele more than is normal.

I keep hearing the unmistakable voice of a bloke who has grown up playing the wog ball game around us effniks. Nicky Carle. Last week it was on the back of the Newcastle Herald showing Nicky in a local climbing Gym. Nicky Carle. A fortnight ago, he had just won the HAL Player of the year and Newcastle couldn't get enough of him. Nicky Carle.

And the big news this week, Nick Carle has been selected to play for the Socceroo's against China on March 24 in Guangzhou. There he was again, in the papers.

The town that has the Greatest Player in the WORLD in Joey (Ray Warren, 2005), now has a new face to pin its hopes on.

Lets hope he does us proud.