Joel Griffiths little hissy fit has just explained exactly why Pim Verbeek left him out of the Socceroos squad, for those who did not already know.
Griffiths says in the Sydney Morning Herald article that “Some people change and I think I have ever since I became a dad but I never got a chance to prove him wrong.” Sadly this outburst that is now in the public domain is unlikely to enamour him with the new coach, and shows that despite what Griffiths may think he has not changed. He has always lacked maturity as a person and a player and has always been prone to throwing his toys out of the cot if he doesn’t get his own way. Even on the pitch we witness tantrums that give the impression of a player who is more concerned with himself than his team mates.
When you are away for a month with a team it is not just about how good a player you are, it is also whether you are going to be good for the ambiance of the whole group, and disrupt preparations if you are upset by something. Griffiths despite his undoubted football ability is a risk in such an environment as were a few other players on the fringe of the Socceroos, and they need to look at that side of their careers. You cannot whinge and moan publically and then expect to be embraced by those same people you have criticised. If as he says “He likes brown tongues and that’s what I will never be – a f—ing yes man” then Joel prepare to stay on the fringes. Or learn how to discuss your opinion in a more mature and reasonable way.
To say that Pim Verbeek did not support Australian Football is also off the mark. Verbeek was honest. Anyone who believes the A League is, as one journalist tried to claim, on par with the English Championship is kidding themselves. As Rob Baan the former Technical Director of the FFA stated we simply do not play enough football in Australia, and until the players are playing for nine months of the year the product will always be behind our colleagues in Europe. The A league is better than the old NSL, but it still has a fair way to go. For a start no more new teams now for the next 3-4 years.
