The Matildas are yet to find a replacement for star Sam Kerr, 15 months since she played
It has been 15 months without Sam Kerr yet there has been little effort to replace the super striker. Former national team players Grace Gill and Tim Cahill explain why.
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Matildas’ super striker Sam Kerr has been absent for 15 months yet there has been no great effort to find a replacement or get a headstart on preparing for life without the Chelsea forward.
Paramount commentator and former Matildas’ Grace Gill says it is simply because the 31-year-old is irreplaceable.
“Sam is a once in a generation type of player for the national team,” Gill said.
“In the way that if I make the similarity to Mark Viduka, have we ever really replaced him at the Socceroos and arguably the answer to that is no, we haven’t ever had as prolific an out and out No. 9 as Viduka.
“I don’t think she is replaceable in that sense.”
Gill said it was difficult to say if there was a solution to the Matildas issues in front of the net given no coach had really tried to solve them – simply relying on existing players or Michelle Heyman to come off the bench and save the day.
Western Sydney Wanderers and last season’s Julie Dolan medallist Sophie Harding was given a chance to make the leap from the ALW to Matildas but was the first to admit she wasn’t ready for the big jump.
“In terms of then trialling different players, younger players as an out and out No. 9 maybe we haven’t experimented enough or even trialled some of the others,” Gill said.
“Some players have a good A-League’s season and get a chance at national set up but it is a huge step up and a bit of a gamble. Sophie wasn’t quite ready but maybe someone else would have thrived.
“But in terms of Sam, she isn’t replaceable in a way of finding someone to just fill her shoes.”
Former Socceroos’ striker Tim Cahill said the answer was simply getting players playing more games.
Cahill said by the time he was signed to Everton as a 23-year-old he had already played 250 matches in the second tier. He said young players making moves to overseas clubs was risky as they were unlikely to get as many match minutes as they would in the A-League's’.
Take Daniela Galic – she played 22 games for Melbourne City last season, scoring seven goals.
At her new Dutch club she has played just 20 minutes all season.
Cahill said the biggest benefit of the A-League's was the lack of relegation – it doesn’t matter if a team doesn’t win – nothing happens.
“If you don’t get relegated then it should be all about youth and talent, it should be all about making talent,” Cahill said.
“I don’t mind if a kid goes overseas and fails, but I do mind is where they are picking to go because you pick a club to play a minimum of 20 games a season.”
The ALW is bursting with talent but as Gill pointed out not enough had been done to ensure they were ready to take the step up to the national team.
“In the Tony Gustavsson era there was a lot of experimentation. He handed out 23 caps to the national team but some of those players played once and never appeared again so I don’t think that’s an accurate representation of players being given chance and opportunity,” Gill said.
“There is not a ready made team that’s ready to slot in and a lot has been said about that and the coaching pathways.”
While there isn’t a team ready and waiting for the new Matildas coach to simply swap out there are a number of ALW players making a move towards selection.
“I think if we had a Matildas coach in place several months ago then I think we would see a potential changing of the guard,” Gill said.
“Given that the time to the Asian Cup is ticking awfully close I’m not sure fundamentally how much of a change that would be and maybe that would be a progressive thing.
“It is such a fine balance because to make wholesale changes 10 months out could be pretty disruptive.”
Gill is certain Holly McNamara will have a role to play after her impressive return to from her third ACL injury.
Brisbane Roar’s Grace Kuilamu had also caught her attention.
Kuilamu, 18, has scored five goals and three assists so far this season, a year after rupturing her ACL. She has also been a part of the junior national teams.
“She probably hasn’t stood out in a way that someone like Laini Freier has, Laini’s got the attention because of the return on her shots and assists but I think Grace has been particularly impressive as well for a young player returning from a significant injury,” Gill said.
Melbourne Victory’s Holly Furphy, just 21, and Western Sydney Wanderers’ Sienna Saveska have also been standouts.
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