Tom Rogic sparks heated debate live on air after West Brom ace’s Australia snub
West Brom midfielder Tom Rogic has been left out of the Australia squad for the Qatar World Cup after avoiding their playoff match.
Socceroos manager Graham Arnold opted not to include him in his final 26-man squad as he had failed to play a significant amount of minutes for the Baggies since his free transfer move from Celtic.
Fox Sports issued a transcript of a heated debate on the topic between two Australian sporting icons in former test cricket captain Michael Clarke and Rugby League legend Laurie Daley live on the radio.
Daley: “He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to qualify.”
Clarke: “Is that what it is though, Loz?”
Daley: “If it’s my decision and I think he didn’t want to be there.”
Clarke: “Hang on, it’s ‘personal reasons’. We don’t know what happened. Something could have happened to someone in his family.”
Daley: “Tommy Rogic can get stuffed.”
Clarke: “Before you say that. Think for a moment. It could have been, imagine if someone close to him passed away.”
Daley: “I just don’t think he’s playing good enough footy.”
Clarke: “No, that’s a lie. You’re not saying that, You’re not saying that. You’re not picking him because you’re [swear] off because he chose his family or for personal reasons.”
Form
Whenever international selection comes into question, supporters everywhere want to see managers pick players based on form rather than their name or stature in the game.
That’s exactly what Arnold has done with the Socceroos for this upcoming tournament and it has caused great debate but in truth, Rogic doesn’t deserve to go.
He may be a reigning champion in Scotland but he has played so few minutes for West Brom that he has not warranted a call-up over anybody else in the 26-man group.
Before he can consider himself in with a shout of international football again, he has to first pick up his pace considerably to get a chance of featuring under Carlos Corberan.
The Spaniard will not be in any mood to change his side just to get Rogic into the side if he isn’t showing progress and giving him a reason not to leave him out so now it all rests on him to buck his ideas up.
In other West Brom news, Albion have seemingly been left with no option in this loan move due to a quirk in the FA regulations.