BEHIND THE DESK: Is it time for Ange Postecoglou to leave?

Pottsy and the Moose discuss the news that Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou will stand down after November's fixture against Honduras

POTTSY

THE NEWS that Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou will stand down after November's fixture against Honduras, a match-up that Australia needs to win to secure a spot at the 2018 World Cup, has annoyed me on two levels.

I'm annoyed because it seems like an admission of defeat. If Australia lose, their World Cup dreams are over, and the campaign will be a failure, after it seemed almost a certainty that Australia could book a spot through the Asian qualifiers.

However if Australia win, it leaves the team behind the 8-ball with hardly any time to find a new coach and give whoever gets the job a chance for a proper preparation before the World Cup kicks off in June next year.

For me, it feels like Postecoglou is jumping before he was pushed, but he should have been pushed months ago. Australia haven't been playing good football, and while the coach isn't solely to blame he needs to take his fair share of it.

The Socceroos have been struggling to turn opportunities into points, and putting away opponents that should have been easy wins.

The tactics and formations also need to be drawn into question, and some of Postecoglou's squad and team selections have been bamboozaling to say the least. It's time for Postecoglou to go now and give another coach a chance.

THE MOOSE

IF THE Socceroos' chance of impressing at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia wasn't already in dire straits, it is about to be.

Rumours abound coach Ange Postecoglou is planning to put down the clip board before the quadrenniel showcase whether we make it or not.

It would be a mistake for Postecoglou - the man who built his first campaign at the helm of the Socceroos as doing it the "Australian way".

That self-determination to fight through the muck and keep on keeping on when times get tough. The ideals Victoria Bitter TV ads are built on.

Times are tough for the Socceroos. Goals are hard to find and clean sheets harder to keep.

But that does not mean it is time for Ange to throw the toys out of the cot and pack it in.

There is no sidestepping the fact the past two years have taken a toll on Ange. It has been his first qualification process and it hasn't been easy.

Running a complete formation change midway through has not helped either, but it provides a chance for the coach to stand by his convictions.

If you want to play the "Australian way", now is your chance Ange.

We have been mediocre at best ecent games, but that is not all down to the coach, with players struggling for form.

We have a month before meeting Honduras at the next stage of qualifiers. A month to sort it out.

We're better than this. Now is the time to prove it.

Originally published as BEHIND THE DESK: Is it time for Ange Postecoglou to leave?