There is a new Tasmanian blog up and running.

The owner ‘The Governor’ has commenced operations and his new blog ‘The Football Forum’ can be accessed HERE

The Blackjack blog is now closed and no longer accepting posts. I am pleased to announce that three people have expressed an interest in starting up their own blog and once they are up and running I will put up the URL (web address) so those interested can be directed to the new sites. Just a little piece of advice…the new blogs are not a rehash of the blackjack blog so don’t expect things to be done in the same manner. It’ll be different and that’s the way it should be. Good luck to the new blog administrators.

Once again I want to thank all the people who have assisted me in making the Blackjack Blog such a resounding success. I do hope the Blackjack Blog may make a come back but it won’t be for a good amount of time. There are other things that are equally or more important that need attention too.

Good luck to your club and your teams but remember;

If you’re not doing it for the good of the game, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.

You can view the previous articles from the Archives to the right hand side menu (you may need to scroll down a few pages)

I have decided to commit to another project and I can’t devote the time and energy to do both jobs as well as they deserve to be done.

I have informed the plebian administrator (the guys who hosts the blog) and he has informed me he would be please to assist and guide someone else if they decide to pick up the torch for Tasmanian football. I believe it is a job that should be done and done as well as it can be.

Questions should be continued to be asked of the administrators of the game in a public forum, and not just from club presidents. The people ‘at the coal face’ (the parents, the players, the referees, even the kids playing for their school). It is for those, that this game is run in this state.

So if anyone feels they can devote a few hours a day to run a blog such as this please contact me at blackjack@plebian.net and I will put you in contact with the plebian administrator. A couple of new blogs would be brilliant. 

One final word…

Club committees are the people who make our game run in this state. They do what they do not for financial gain but because they love the sport and their clubs with a passion most just can’t understand. Most clubs/schools etc. are screaming out for assistance as the vast majority of club committees now consist of a handful or people who, as the years pass, are wearing out and being ground into the grass of the grounds they tend with such love and passion season after season. If these clubs and schools don’t start receiving an injection of new blood the game as we know it will die. It’s all very well to register, pay your fees (even this is done with some incredible reluctance), play your game and then leave with no commitment & no responsibility. But who is the first to complain when the ground is full of divots and weeds, or when the nets have holes in them or the team strips look a bit worn and faded? It’s usually the one who has to have their rego squeezed out of them.

It’s time to turn up at your club and ask, “Can I do anything to help?”. 

I have received over 3,000,000 hits on this blog since the first day back in November 2006. This equates to nearly 30,000 unique visitors to the blog. For sake of no one else but the kids coming up in this state, get your finger out of your proverbials and make a contribution to the game. I know a lot of you do already but far too many of you don’t.

For the sake of the beautiful game, get on the phone now and ring the club president and offer to run a fundraising event, to attend a sports trainers course, even do a grassroots coaching licence. The contribution might be a small as offering to wash a team’s shirts each week. How easy it could be if the many could take a load of the few.

As the Nike advertisement says, JUST DO IT!!!!

I thank you and bid you good health and happiness for you and your families. I sincerely hope to catch up with some of you around the grounds of Tasmania in the coming years.

Blackjack

PS. The blog will remain open to take posts for the next 14 days but no new posts will be forthcoming.

Branko Culina and Sydney FC have “decided to part ways amicably”

Intense speculation has culminated in the sacking, or friendly cheerio if you listen to Sydney FC Chairman Andrew Kemeny.

Kemeny revealed that the only news he could reveal is that “… we’ve decided to part ways amicably, and Branko will now stop working for Sydney FC …”

Culina was only appointed in a full time coaching role during April, having impressed during the AFC Champions League campaign but ultimately falling short.

The next coach becomes the fourth to take control in only three seasons.

Pierre Littbarski guided Sydney to the inaugural A-League Championship in 2005-06, but did not return after being offered a significantly reduced contract offer for the following season.

Terry Butcher then took over and managed to reach the finals amongst player disquiet and a high injury toll, but was fired at the end of the 2006-07 season.

Rumours are that Graham Arnold had been offered the job, but turned it down to pursue other coaching avenues.

Former Adelaide United coach John Kosmina continues to be linked to the Sydney FC role and appears the man most likely to take over.

Other coaches names to make the rumour mill include Perth Glory assistant David Mitchell and Young Socceroos coach Steve O’Connor.

What you think.

Who is the right person to appoint from here?

Group A
Beşiktaş  2-1 Liverpool    Report

Marseille  1-1  Porto    Report

Group B
Rosenborg  2-0  Valencia    Report

Chelsea  2-0  Schalke    Report

Group C
Bremen  2-1  Lazio    Report

Real Madrid  4-2  Olympiacos    Report

Group D
Benfica  1-0  Celtic    Report

Milan  4-1  Shakhtar    Report

23rd October 2007

Group E

Stuttgart  0-2  Lyon    Report

Rangers  0-0  Barcelona    Report

Group F

Dynamo Kyiv  2-4  Man. United    Report

Roma  2-1  Sporting    Report

Group G

CSKA Moskva  1-2  Internazionale    Report

PSV  0-0  Fenerbahçe    Report

Group H

Sevilla  2-1  Steaua    Report

Arsenal  7-0  Slavia    Report

0900 - Champions League round-up ESPN

       

Mens Premier League
Players Player: Marc Iseli

Mens Premier Reserves
Best & Fairest: Ash Moor
Players Player: Ben Daley

Mens Under 19
Best & Fairest: Sebastian Gore
Most Consistent: Richard Overeem

Mens Division 1
Best & Fairest: Tom McDonald & Hamish Cunningham
Players’ Player: Tom McDonald

Mens Division 1 Res.
Best & Fairest: Rob Csokas & Paul Jarman
Players’ Player: Tim Dale

Mens Division 4
Best & Fairest: Bob Daley
Players’ Player: Tony Daley & George Harms

Women’s Division 1
Players’ Player: Lisa Jarman

Women’s Division 2
Best & Fairest: Amy Newberry
Players’ Player: Monika Steiner

David McCarthy Perpetual Trophy (Outstanding Potential)
Brett Andrews

Laurie Harvey Perpetual Trophy (Outstanding Club Person)
Adam Coleman

Mike Perrin Perpetual Trophy (Outstanding Club Service)
Cam Ellis

The Finishing Touch Trophy (Club’s Leading Goalscorer)
Lisa Jarman

The President’s Award
Warren Iles

The Hughes Family Perpetual Trophy
Robert Norton

Here’s a question that attracts extreme responses: how long will it take the Socceroos to win the World Cup? The very notion of Australia displacing the likes of Brazil assumes, of course, that an ideal strategic football plan would have been in place right across the country, at every level, for some time.

So, the answer? Some say never, others at least 20-50 years. Regardless of such speculation, everyone would agree that vast improvement on the world stage would require radical change.

In reality, it is the youngest generation of players who have the greatest chance of triumphing in the most difficult sporting competition in the world. Yet a system to support this goal must be put in place. They need the optimal environment of coaching and playing structures to foster their development, and a higher level of competition in their late teens to keep pace with their peers in Europe.

Since we’re already talking about seemingly impossible goals, let’s go even further. We’ll need the most focused, the most targeted and the most integrated football system Australia can produce. And we’ll need absolute national unity. We need perfection, not compromise.

World Cup success requires a revolution in our football systems and culture. It is a such a tall order because we have a limited population base and football has to compete in the national talent pool with the other codes - at least for a few more years until Australia wakes up.

We have a chance to succeed, but now is the time to act, or it may be lost forever. Four years ago the football family, through the Crawford Report, said enough was enough. It said we needed a top-down, nationally driven approach that represented the absolute best Australia could achieve.

The appointment of Rob Baan as national technical director to develop the ultimate strategic plan was the first step. But when the states became aligned this year, we expected Football Federation Australia - for once in our history - to go further. To lead the game and to galvanise all parties to work together in the national interest.

Let’s be clear about what that means. The FFA’s job is not to ask the states what is acceptable, but to direct policy with a sledgehammer approach when necessary. The Crawford Report was driven to give the FFA that mandate, because the states often work against the national interest when they are given even a modicum of control.

So we come to last week and the first real test of whether the FFA is prepared to act on its responsibility. The issue was the future of the football program at the Australian Institute of Sport - the unwanted prodigy of the game in Australia.

The AIS program kept us going when the states failed with their technical programs, and now was looking for a home in the NSW Premier League to provide a high level of competition to the country’s best under-20 footballers.

After assessing the scholarship-based AIS program and where it fitted within the overall strategic plan, Dutchman Baan concluded that the AIS team must play in NSW - not Victoria, as it has been. Perfect. A decision from someone who been involved in football for 40 years in a country that actually knows the game. So, what happened?

Exactly what always happened in the past - NSW said no. The FFA asked again, more forcefully this time, but still ended up relenting. At a board meeting on Wednesday, the FFA agreed to fund a $200,000 rescue package to keep flying the team south to compete in the Victorian Premier League. That’s $200,000 the governing body could not afford. Once again the ideal was compromised.

No doubt NSW made all manner of excuses, but what FFA chief executive Ben Buckley needs to make clear is that we’ve heard this before and it’s unacceptable.

Buckley’s management style is collaborative, and he has been vocal on ensuring co-operation in the administration of the game, from the top to the bottom. But he cannot allow every directive from Baan to get watered down through negotiation at state level.

The bottom line is that the national interest must prevail over what serves the states and their constituent clubs. The FFA’s charter should enshrine this ethos. Put bluntly, it must say: Get on board or get out of the way. Buckley has the mandate from the football family to implement change directly, without compromise, without negotiation. Allied to this approach, the guidelines provided by Baan should be monitored and overseen by a national technical committee.

The new state constitutions give Buckley the sledgehammer. Many in the game, if not all, want him to start swinging.

Dates: 3rd and 17th November.

Venue: Valley Road, Devonport

Cost: Free of Charge

LEVEL 3 REFEREE’S INSPECTOR ACCREDITATION COURSE (North-West)

Dates: 19th and 20th October.

Venue: Valley Road, Devonport

Cost: Free of Charge

SENIOR LICENCE COACHING COURSE (Hobart)

Dates: 3rd, 4th, 10th and 11th November, 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Venue: Hobart Showgrounds, Glenorchy

Cost: $220.00

NOTE: Senior Licence is the MINIMUM standard for senior coaching in 2008

SENIOR LICENCE COACHING COURSE (North/North-West)

Dates: 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th November, 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Venue: To be confirmed (two days in Launceston, two days in NW).

Cost: $220.00

SPORTS TRAINERS COURSE (Launceston)

Organised by Sports Medicine Australia

Level 1 SMA Sports Trainer Accreditation

Dates: 11th and 18th November

Venue: Aurora Stadium, Launceston

Costs: $185.00

Visit HERE for all details and enrollment

Hyypia (og) 41′    Kuyt 2 (2 pen) 52′, 91′ 

Arsenal  2  v  Bolton  0

Toure 68′

Rosicky 80′

Blackburn  4  v  Reading  2

McCarthy 18′, 82′ (pen)  Doyle 80′, 91′

Santa Cruz 22′

Tugay 32

Fulham  0  v  Derby  0

Man. City  1  v  Birmingham  0

Elano 37′

Middlesbrough  0  v  Chelsea  2

                                      Drogba 8′

                                      Alex 57′ 

Aston Villa  1  v  Man. United  4

Agbonlahor 13′       Rooney 36′ 44′

                              Ferdinand 48′

                              Giggs 75′ 

Wigan  0  v  Portsmouth  2

                       Mwaruwari 80′

                       Johnson 86′

West Ham  3  v  Sunderland  1

Cole 9′                    Jones 52′

Gordon (og) 78′

Bellamy 90′

Newcastle  3  v  Tottenham  1

Martins 45′              Keane 57′

Capaca 51′

Milner 73′ 

Once there, type in your Christian Name, Surname & preferred shirt number and you can see what the name on your shirt would be if you had been selected to play for Brazil.

Total BS but good for a giggle or two.

Let us know what the name is…

Women’s Div 1
Most Valuable Player   -   Nikki Hallam
Most Improved   -   Debbie Deegan
Most Consistent   -   Sophie Lipscombe
Coaches Award   -   Justine Hallam
Encouragement Award   -   Riana Cashinella

Mens Div 4
Coaches Award   -   Gary Fisher
Most Improved   -   Scott Munday
Players Player   -   Johnny King

Under 19s
B&F   -   Daniel Chisholm/Marco Schiro
Most Consistent   -   Joshua Clutterbuck
Coaches Award   -   Anthony Rhodes

Reserves
B&F   -   Scott Bagorski
Most Consistent   -   Andrew Herring
Coaches Award   -   Matthew Dunn