Cymro - Comments

All the best with this David. Love listening about it on the FM Society Podcast.

First group game saw us take on Singapore. Murphy was on fire and so was the side. The most disappointing aspect was the act that we failed to score more. 24 shots and only three goals. Cannot say I was impressed.



The Philippines felt the full wrath of the team after suffering a grilling from myself. The dynamic trio of Wilson, Murphy and Thurtell saw off our opponents with Wilson displaying some real fine skills to earn a well deserved hat trick. Hopefully more of the same.



In the first leg of the Semi Final we played and saw off a strong Vietnam side. Over the time of this save the Vietnam league and national side has grown from strength to strength. However another hat trick from Wilson ensured we secured a dominant victory away from home. We were in full command of a tie and realistically could rotate the side in the next round to ensure player freshness.



Sadly this is not how I operate. I wanted to ensure we set out a marker and boy did we. Murphy and his strike partner Thurtell really put Vietnam to the sword. We were absolutely fantastic. Only the final to play and hopefully I will earn my first piece of silverware with Australia, and my second international trophy.



Advantage us, thanks largely to the heroics of hat trick and Pohang hero Anthony Thurtell. This tie has really been put to bed. The final leg at home should see us see this tie off.



Could have scored more, however pleasing to see the game off and earn an important victory. The Suzuki Cup is in my possession and hopefully this is the first of many trophies with Australia during my stint here.

A solid win for the boys. Saudi Arabia are a much underrated side in Asia and on their day they are a match for anyone. However we have some truly World Class players in Wilson and Murphy. The creativity and goals these players give us ensures we are able to boss and bully most sides in Asia and the world for that matter.



So this is how qualification looks after our one game. We are about to descend into the Suzuki Cup over the next month or so, my first real chance of claiming silverware for Australia and a chance to boost myself on the Hall of Fame board.

Not good enough. We were the dominant side and we couldn't beat lowly Oman. No disrespect to them, should have smashed them off the park. Kept on hitting the woodwork and shooting wide. Disastrous.



Made hard work of this game. Should have been out of sight instead we had to hold off an onslaught towards the end of the game. Not acceptable at all.



Top two teams qualify for the World Cup directly whilst the third place goes into a play off. So far so good. We are getting there slowly.



In the top 5 countries in the World. To be seen if we deserve this number.

Youth intake, assistant says there is not much to write home about. I think the top few there will and can progress further than their suggested starts say.

Bang. Inside the top 10 and now sit happily in 8th. Come on the lads.

Picking the poorish form from March up and continuing with it. How we switched off and failed to score is unacceptable. I really want us to get our heads in gear. Heads will role if this continues.



The mind games continued from the South Korean manager and I was going to have none of it. I asked the boys to focus and to shut him up. Sadly it didn't look like happening. Three goals down before 35 mins and I was staring down the barrel of defeat. Yet somewhere some inspirational shouting from the touchline and a rollocking at half time saw the most dramatic of turn arounds even after we were reduced to ten men. The scenes were unreal. Thurtell was off his the charts, scoring goals for fun and terrorised the South Korean defence. We were outstanding. Hopefully signs of things to come.



So we have started well in the last round of group qualifiers. Hopefully we can continue and cement our place in the next World Cup.

So quite an achievement really. 1,100 game in this career and I have just passed the 200 game mark for Pohang. Loving life here and I hope to continue for the foreseeable future as I look to build a dynasty here.

Disappointed just to score three. We were not at the races. Debut goal for Paul Hamilton, who coincidently is the man I am marking to replace Thurtell if he leaves Pohang. He's 19 and has bags of potential. Just the one game in this round of fixtures. We have quite a packed fixture list towards the end of the year so we will see how we get on then.

Shakhtar are our feeder club. Not bad.

Same expectations as last season. Champions League will once again be tough to win.

Favourites for the league. Bet your house on us?

Cheers man. Surprise for me too.

If I wasn't doing my career now, I would have attempted this. Might well do it next year.

In the top 10 now. It will be serious hard work to end top of that list. Luis Enrique is miles ahead. I will need another 10 years doing what I achieved this season gone with Pohang to top the list. I dunno if I see another 10 seasons in this save.

All three players have spent time under my tutelage. Nitta was someone I signed seeing potential from another Japanese side Sanga before bringing him to Marinos. Wilson of course was a youth superstar at the Roar and Salah Al-Sulaiti came through the ranks at Al-Sadd. Pleased to see these talents move on.

Did not know I had a chairman who was providing cash for us. Very shocked as I saw none of it. Nothing in the landmarks said we had a sugar daddy or anything. But if this is the case tightening the budget strings will be needed.

South Korea is treating me well. I am fortunate to be able to manage Australia and Pohang. Hopefully this can continue and the success for both can continue.





Fast and furious we started, slow and almost not steady how we ended. Lots of positives on show. Some really big results to some of the bigger sides in the league. We however struggled towards the back end of the season. What affected us was the run of the Champions League, KFA Cup and league. I am not disappointed with how the season ended. We had some 15 players out and lot of youngsters from the Academy had to come in and do a job. Great experience for them. Saw a lot of good talent on show. Might continue to develop a high number of youngsters next season too.



Not a massive points difference in the end. Injuries and throwing in the youngsters meant that the club did not gather as many points as it has done in previous seasons. However I cannot complain. Been a fantastic season.



Defended the Cup that the club has won over the last couple of season. Progress to the final was pretty straight forward. Not much to trouble us. The final against Sangju was a decent one, mostly down to the attacking intent of both sides. We were by far the better side mind. Can I make it 5th on the bounce?



Marinos 4 times this season! Previous club tried to stop us defending our Champions League crown. Was not going to stop us. Was so chuffed we managed to go back and do the business. Demolition of Shandong was a particular highlight of the season. Hoping to do the same next season and cement my legacy with Pohang in Asian folklore for years to come.



Yes. this did happen. Champions of the world baby. Saw of Atletico Madrid and then the might of Estudiantes (LP). Fantastic achievement for the boys. Done this twice now. However lucky we were. Needed some massive jam to dig us a win. Thurtell was class.



Fantastic squad assembled here. Lot of names that are becoming regulars. Not moving players in if I can help it. Some may shift out. Seeing what is in the academy has shown me I can sell some players and earn some major cash.



South Korean talent is where the money went. Nothing to write home about really.



Finances are steady. Hoping next season to continue to bring some stability to the finances. I am lucky that we are progressing well at the tail end of the season which tends to right off the small losses from throughout the season. Might need to look to sell or offload high earners to maintain a positive balance. News to come on finances situation soon.



Key Player Profiles:



Thurtell was outstanding but not as good as last season, in the league that is. His goals were amazing and I think the addition of Keen and Dong-Chan has meant that Thurtell has continued to adapt well to life in Pohang. Easily the best player for us this season. Big season for club and country.



Rock at the back. Provided much needed stability in defence and was at the heart of everything for us.



Donchev the Bulgarian winger was epic. He wanted out because of lack of first team. Told him to prove it and he did. Earned his stripes well.



Career Overview

2014 - BEC Tero Sasana F.C. - League Winners and FA Cup Winners
2015 - BEC Tero Sasana F.C. - League, League Cup, Royal Cup and AFC Champions League Winners
2016 - Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club - League, CFA Cup and CSL All-Stars Winners
2017 - Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club - League, CFA Cup, Super Cup, AFC Champions League and CSL All-Stars Winners
2018 - Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club - League, CFA Cup and Super Cup Winners
2019 - Saipa Alborz Football Club - Azadegan League Winner (Promotion)
2020 - Saipa Alborz Football Club - Persian Gulf Pro League Runners Up and Hazfi Cup Winners
2020 - Iran Under 23s - Tokyo Olympic 2020 Winners
2021 - Saipa Alborz Football Club - Persian Gulf Pro League Winners and Hazfi Cup Winners
2022 - Al-Sadd Sports Club - Qatar Star League Runners Up, Star Cup, Prince Cup, AFC Champions League and Crown Prince Cup Winners
2023 - Al-Sadd Sports Club - Qatar Star League, Sheikh Jassem Cup, AFC Champions League, Star Cup and Crown Prince Cup Winners
2024 - Al-Sadd Sports Club - Qatar Star League, Sheikh Jassem Cup, AFC Champions League, Star Cup and Crown Prince Cup Winners
2025 - Brisbane Roar FC - A-League 5th Placed and FFA Cup Semi Finalists
2026 - Brisbane Roar FC - A-League Winners, AFC Champions League and FFA Cup Winners
2027 - Brisbane Roar FC - A-League Winners, AFC Champions League 2nd Round and FFA Cup Winners
2027 - Johor Darul Ta'zim FC - Malaysian Super League Winners and Piala Malaysia Winners
2028 - Johor Darul Ta'zim FC - Malaysian Super League, AFC Cup. Piala FC Cup and Piala Malaysia Winners
2029 - Yokohama F. Marinos - J1 League. Emperor's Cup and Nabisco Cup Winners
2030 - Y.F. Marinos - J1 League, AFC Champions League, Club World Cup, Xerox Super Cup. Emperor's Cup and Nabisco Cup Winners
2031 - Sriwijaya FC - Indonesia Super League and Piala Indonesia Winners
2032 - Wolmido Sports Club - Highest Class Football League, Republican Championship and AFC Cup Winners
2033 - Pohang Steelers - K League Classic and KFA Cup Winners and AFC Champions League Semi Finalists
2034 - Pohang Steelers - K League Classic and KFA Cup and AFC Champions League Winners
2035 - Pohang Steelers - K League Classic and KFA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and AFC Champions League Winners



Next Season

Next season I am to continue to build upon the strong season we have had here. There is still plenty to do. Juggling Club and Country is going to be tough. Some have asked me to resign from one position or another. Don't think I can. I am enjoying my time with Pohang. It will need to take a special club to prize me away at the moment. Only one or two clubs can do that. I don't see them knocking ... yet.

Cheers Dan, love managing Australia. Probably down to the fact that most of the best talent I had a hand in developing whilst at the Roar.

Nordic not seemingly fun at the moment Dan.

You can submit these you know?

South Korean manager has failed to understand that if you are going to trash talk before a game then you better go and back it up. Sadly he and his players failed to do just that. We were quality. I used his words and used it as part of the team talk I gave prior to kick off. I didn't need to motivate them. Their two goals came from sloppy defending from us as we over committed looking for blood. My fault entirely. However Thurtell was once again a man possessed. Three goals and an assist. Wilson and Murphy were also on fire. What players.



Due to topping the group we are off to the Asian Cup. C'mon the lads.



Seems like qualifying is not yet complete. Got to ensure we don't mess up after doing all the hard work in these early rounds.



Sold out crowd saw us smash Malaysia. Thurtell again bagging more goals and another assist. Boy is class. Again the squad was outstanding. As I said above, we cannot now get complacent. We have a good chance of causing a storm at the World Cup.



So with one game left, we are 11 points clear and of course qualifying from the group with the utmost of ease. Really pleased. Only conceded three goals so far. Cannot fault that effort. So that is it now with international games until March where we will play one more Qualifying match before looking ahead to the Suzuki Cup. Back to club action now. Should have a post about the season with Pohang tomorrow.

Comfortable three goal victory against an emerging Malaysia side. Murphy bagged two but really should have and could have bagged a third goal had he taken his chances. Duffy again took a penalty from the spot inside 4 mins. Second half we took our foot of the gas and really ended with a very boring second half.



Thurtell was the major difference. Scored a goal but also involved with assists in the others. A real class performance. Turkmenistan however refused to go away, they equalised our first goal. However a greater class of player was the real difference as we brushed them a side. A very confident performance.



5 point margin and victory over South Korea in our next game will see us top the group and qualify for the next round. Can easily see the quality within this group.



Up to 12th ... not bad.



How things look in the World.

I've seen Golden FM has pointers on his players and custom stadium graphics for his 2D matches. I have tweeted him and left messages but he has ignored them. Can someone please let me know what add on he is using.

Thanks

So to start stuff off we are on the rise. Asian sides tend to jump the most from what I have seen in the World Rankings. Don't ask me why. I could be wrong. Just an observation. However moving up near the top ten countries in the world is by no mean feet. The next target is to break in to it and make our way up as high as we can up the rankings.



Not as clinical as I'd like. But a comfortable 4-0 win which saw the Duffman scoring was a positive. Jordan had their moments but really we were far to strong. At the moment there seems to be a lull in talent coming through. However there is some tidy lads in the U19s. So they might see first team action sooner rather than later.



We are in total command of the group and we should progress to the next stage bar any major mess ups.



So the South African FA wanted a game and we obliged. A chance for me to see others in action but also another game for the players to get used to the system. Really we should have scored more. I let the players know that. Some responded well and others not so. Those who look disinterested might well find themselves sitting out games. The old heads of the side seemingly have become to comfortable.



Explain the logic please? Win both games and drop. Ideal.

So my second game in charge of Australia saw us take on Turkmenistan. A side that could be a bit of a nuisance. After playing Peru I was slightly worried that the players have yet settled into my system. Fear not I should. A powerful six goal to nothing ensured that the players were fully in tune with my style of football. All goals scored by players who served under my tutelage either at Brisbane or Pohang. Note Frank Duffy scored. Yes the penalty taking expert grabbed his first international goal for Australia.



What a performance. The South Korean manager was talking the talk before kick off and attempting to pile the pressure on me. Sadly for him it was all about us. We should have scored more. South Korea didn't even get a whiff at our goal. Duffy again scoring another penalty. Might let him loose soon on free kicks. Wilson has just signed a £29 million deal with Inter Milan from Liverpool. The guy is class. Another of Cymro's babe's from Brisbane.



So the group looked like this. Very pleasing. We should manoeuvre ourselves through the group with ease. I mean should.



Rearguard it was. We were lucky as such. France operating a squad full of new and fresh faces. Whilst I was looking to establish a strong starting XI to compete for the future. I now need to blood some youngsters through, lot of old boys. Very pleasing mind to beat France. We are capable of beating the big boys.

So I am unsure how to report the Australian section of this. I won't do end of season report for them, just be tough to decide when it is. So I will post games as they happen.

So there was a buzz about the first game ... maybe not from the Australian fans after Tim Cahill gave them no success. But I was really looking forward. Some ageing players and some good experienced players with a smattering of talented youngsters. I felt and still feel that this squad could if perform could be a bolter in the World Cup and really make a song and a dance.

So I was pumped, the players were feeling it. However, we came back down to earth with a bump. Peru just took their chances. In the first 30 mins we were all over them. But we couldn't find the net. The world class Glenn Murphy couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo and influential midfielder Nicholas Wilson couldn't find his feet. Very disappointing.

Important upgrade, will likely take them to the state of the art category. Looking forward to them being completed.



Similar I would expect the youth facilities to be top notch now. Hopefully more class youngsters start emerging through the academy.

The board want it all ... bar the KFA Cup. Lot of work to retain all trophies. A good challenge here to build a dynasty.

Ye got Jai Keen and Anthony Thurtell. Both good players but internationally wise there are a couple of players who are far superior. These guys will be crucial for me when playing for Australia. Both will know the style of football so will likely get quit ea big of favourable game time along with it.