Qantas Socceroos Assistant Coach Graham Arnold has his eye on North Queensland Fury FC striker Daniel McBreen.
With head coach Pim Verbeek spending much of his time overseas, Arnold is in Townsville staking out the Fury squad for talent.
“I try to get around to all the Hyundai A-League clubs and have a chat to the coaches and see how things are going and obviously keep an eye on the players,” Arnold said.
“For the future of the … Socceroos it’s important that we have a viable and a good A-league.”
He pinpointed thirty-two year old McBreen as the player on his radar.
“We’ve been very impressed … he’s been a handful or all defenders this year, we’re always looking for central strikers.”
“I think Josh Kennedy has the mortgage on that position at the moment but in Australia… young Matty Simon (Central Coast), Mark Bridge (Sydney), Alex Brosque (Sydney) and McBreen up here have been doing well,” he said.
A former striker himself, Arnold will be a very interested spectator at North Queensland’s round 12 encounter with Perth at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
However, his main man might be in doubt for the clash.
McBreen was absent for at least the start of the Fury’s final training session before the match.
Though, others will have their chance to impress, including former Olympic squad member David Williams.
“I think that he’s got a lot to offer the A-League especially, he was one of our hottest talents and I’d like to see him get back to the form that we all know he can get back to,” Arnold said of Williams.
“It was good to see him play a good ninety minutes last week instead of coming off the bench.”
Arnold had nothing but praise for the Fury’s efforts in their inaugural Hyundai A-League season, hinting they deserve more than to be sitting on the bottom of the ladder.
“I think they’re doing fantastic,” Arnold said.
“I think the crowds here at the Fury have been stable and good … on the field I think Fergie (Fury Coach Ian Ferguson) is doing a wonderful job,” he said.
“They’re very hard to beat now, unfortunately for them they’ve been conceding goals early on in the games and having to chase the games but at the same time, it shows there’s a tremendous team spirit and mentality they’ve got here to always fight back.”
