After a sensational substitute display in Round 4, Central Coast Mariners star Garang Kuol is providing head coach Nick Montgomery with a dilemma: to start or not to start the teenage star bound for the Premier League?
It’s one of many topics covered in this week’s episode of The Official Isuzu UTE A-League Podcast, brought to you by Neds, as KEEPUP’s Smithies and David Weiner are joined by Daniel Garb to talk through an action-packed weekend in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
The panel discuss Kuol’s Round 4 impact, pondering whether his ticket is booked to the World Cup next month, as well as Western Sydney’s undefeated start to the season, and much more.
Listen below, or via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you consume your podcasts.
Montgomery’s ‘quandary’ after stellar Kuol showing off the pine
Whether Garang Kuol makes it to Qatar or not, the rising Socceroos star has done almost everything right in his bid to get there – and his Round 4 performance for the Mariners was no different, as he came off the bench at half-time with his team trailing 2-0 to turn the game on its head.
His performance was all about “impact”, and was yet another reminder to Arnold of the 18-year-old’s potential to come off the bench and change a game.
He showed it with the A-Leagues All Stars against Barcelona. He showed it on Socceroos debut against New Zealand. He’s shown it time and again in the A-League Men.
Bound for the Premier League and Newcastle United in January, Kuol is using his numbered days in the A-League Men to practice his craft as an impact player – a skill he hopes to put on show in green and gold later this month.
Smithies: “I want to give Monty a little bit of credit here, because it would be so easy to start Kuol. He’s still growing and he’s still learning, and he’s resisted that. I think it’s been really good for his development – and he’s going to have that quandary again this week, because he saw how quickly he changed the game.”
Weiner: “I thought he was brilliant post-game too, Monty, where he was both showing the way he’s protecting Kuol, but at the same time buying into the reality that he’s got a special talent on his hands.
“It was: ‘He isn’t ready to start, I’m asking him to work harder. Should Graham Arnold take him to the World Cup? If I was him yes because in that role coming off the bench he can be magnificent’.
“I found myself doing something you rarely do when you’re a neutral… I was watching one particular player the whole time.”
Smithies: “Kuol cam!”
Weiner: “It literally was Kuol cam. Luckily A-Leagues All Access is about Garang Kuol this week on Thursday.
“It was literally like – and I’m not a Liverpool fan – I would watch Liverpool just to watch Kewell. I would watch Leeds just to watch Viduka. I was watching this game on the weekend just to watch Kuol – and didn’t he provide us some entertainment and match-winning difference!”
Garb: “Hopefully we’re watching Newcastle United games soon just to watch Garang Kuol.”
‘The whip on his delivery is almost un-defendable’
Macarthur FC winger Craig Noone has recorded assists in successive games – and there was an uncanny similarity to both of them, with his whipped delivery off the right flank finding Matt Millar’s head for a powerful finish by the six-yard box.
Noone has taken the creative burden in the Macarthur XI since captain Ulises Davila succumbed to a hamstring injury, shifting off the wing into a number 10 role and showing the best of his creative ability.
But is Noone – who has tallied 21 assists in four seasons in the Isuzu UTE A-League, the best set-piece taker in the competition?
Tom Smithies: “Craig Noone’s contribution, he’s the best deliverer of a set-piece in the A-League currently. He’s doing it every week. That is a phenomenal cross for Matt Millar.”
David Weiner: “That’s an interesting line, actually, because I was watching Wellington and I thought Clayton Lewis was fantastic in that regard – and then there’s Craig Goodwin.”
Smithies: “I think the whip on (Noone’s) delivery is almost un-defendable – and it’s happened week after week. He’s a terrific, terrific player.”
‘The numbers don’t add up. There is going to be some heartbreak’
Around the A-League Men, and indeed around the world, in-form Australian strikers are doing their utmost to impress Socceroos boss Graham Arnold ahead of his final selection of the 26 players bound for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, kicking off in Qatar later this month.
Abroad, Adam Taggart and Mitch Duke are stating their case for selection. At home, there’s a number of A-League Men stars putting in strong showings with just one week to go until Arnold’s final squad announcement.
And after having a goal disallowed, scoring another, and playing a heavy hand in the following three goals of his side’s incredible comeback win over Western United in Round 4, Central Coast’s Jason Cummings is banging on Arnold’s door.
Daniel Garb: “How could you not take the best all-round striker Australia has at their disposal? He has to be our best all-round considered, all facets of a striker option that we have.”
Smithies: “The key facets Graham Arnold’s looking at: fitness (and) game time.”
Weiner: “To your point, Tom, I think Mitch Duke in terms of the Socceroos selection – I actually expect him to start against France in that first game, because of the way he’ll lead the line and play in that defensive organisation.
“But we’re talking about a squad of 26 with different varieties of strikers, the argument for Jason Cummings is now compelling.”
Garb: “The player in the background of all of this when you start talking other players up, that seems to be dropping away amid every discussion is probably Adam Taggart. He is potentially the one that could make way as Garang Kuol impresses… as Cummings’ stock continues to rise, as Jamie Maclaren continues to score more, as Duke provides more of a direct aerial threat – Taggart’s the one you look at where you go: ‘Is he the one who’s squeezed out potential?’”
Smithies: “Taggart hasn’t scored in over a month – but he has played. He’s playing regularly, he’s getting the minutes.
“The other thing is the repetition of games before the World Cup. He’s playing every three days, and players have to back up. I think Arnie will be looking for a core group of players who can start each game, and are fit enough to start each game. He likes Adam Taggart, he’s always rated him.
“Jamie Maclaren, he’s the one with the point of difference. He’s a penalty box poacher, and he harries players. Roy O’Donovan did a terrific column for us on KEEPUP on what Jamie Maclaren doesn’t get appreciated for. His pressing is really smart, he knows when to hold back and when to really put a defender under pressure. If that is something Graham Arnold is looking for as a point of difference. You wouldn’t start him at the World Cup, but you’d definitely want him as an option on the bench.”
Weiner: “The problem is there, looking at the numbers: you’ve got Duke, Cummings Maclaren, Taggart – all four of them aren’t going. Then you’ve got the possibility of putting a Mat Leckie more centrally. Kuol, everyone’s talking about.
“The numbers don’t add up. There is going to be some heartbreak for somebody.”
The ‘big difference’ in Wanderers after unbeaten start
Western Sydney Wanderers are second in the A-League Men table after four rounds, with three wins and a draw to their name – and just one goal conceded.
After bursting out of the blocks, Marko Rudan’s side will now look to push on in search of the club’s first post-season appearance since 2016-17.
Next up is a home clash with Central Coast on Saturday night, and victory over the Mariners would confirm an ominous statistic for the red and black.
Smithies: “The extent to which they’ve started so well is underlined by the fact that, by my maths, if they win on the weekend against the Mariners this is their best ever start to a season.”
Daniel Garb: “They’ve conceded one goal this season Western Sydney.”
Smithies: “Overall, though, they’re hard to beat. That’s what the big difference is (this year). Western Sydney for years – basically since Tony Popovic left – they’ve had these little spurts of form but they’ve so easily thrown in the towel. But as you said, one goal conceded in four games – and they look tough to beat. They’re not amazing going forward, you’d expect they’d get better and better because of the quality of players they’ve got, but the first thing is: make yourself harder to beat.
Weiner: “(It was) a game that needed a difference-maker – well it simmers quite nicely for a couple of weeks time that Milos Ninkovic was a key part of that too. He still looks fit, he still looks very slim and athletic, and if he can find his feet in this system there’s no reason why it can’t be fireworks in a couple of weeks (in) the Sydney Derby.”