Former Celtic striker turned BT Sport pundit Chris Sutton certainly hasn't been backwards in coming forwards with his opinions on football in Australia and Asia, describing the continent's top tournament as "Mickey Mouse football" and saying we should stick to prawns, BBQs and shove our XXXX where the sun doesn't shine.
But The Hairdryer wonders why Sutton is so sour on the land down under when he has reasonably extensive family ties in the country through his two brothers.
Back in the day: Chris Sutton, now a BT Sport pundit, celebrates a goal for Celtic in 2004.Credit:Reuters
John Sutton, his younger brother, played eight games for the Central Coast Mariners in 2012, scoring just once during an A-League loan stint from Motherwell.
And it turns out his older brother Ian actually lives in Sydney. He's a respected neurologist at the St. Vincent's clinic in Darlinghurst, specialising in multiple sclerosis and neuro-immunology. Perhaps Dr. Sutton should invite Chris down for a BBQ to talk him around.
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Scots in the stands
While injured Socceroos winger Martin Boyle left Dubai early on Wednesday morning to head home for Edinburgh, his Hibernian teammates will actually be headed the opposite way.
Neil Lennon's Hibs are headed to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday for a training camp, with the Scottish Premiership on hiatus until January 23. There's talk they may even come along to a Socceroos match at the Asian Cup to watch Mark Milligan and Jamie Maclaren in action.
Keeping tabs: Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is set to meet up with Graham Arnold during the Asian Cup.Credit:AP
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is also going to be in the country and is planning on catching up with Socceroos coach Graham Arnold.
Those are two pretty strong signs that Aussie-Scottish football relations are actually in good shape, despite what's been portrayed in public.
Burying the hatchet
New Year's Eve is as good time a time as any to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. That's exactly what former Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek and retired defender Sasa Ognenovski did, burying the hatchet in the final hours of 2018.
Verbeek, now the coach of Oman, and Ognenovski, these days a pundit for Fox Sports, have a chequered history.
No hard feelings: Socceroo Sasa Ognenovski shared a meal with former national team coach Pim Verbeek on New Year's Eve.Credit:Ben Rushton
Verbeek famously snubbed Ognenovski during his peak years in the A-League, prompting the strapping centre-back to pledge his allegiance to Macedonia instead and savage the Dutchman for his infamous comments on the quality of Australian domestic football.
Ognenovski never ended up playing for the country of his heritage, though, and eventually got to don the green and gold at the 2011 Asian Cup after Holger Osieck took over from Verbeek.
If there were any residual tensions between the pair, they were eased over a few wines and a lovely steak dinner in Abu Dhabi to bring in the new year. Isn't that nice?
Well-travelled skipper
The Asian Cup is a homecoming of sorts for Mark Milligan, who spent two seasons playing for UAE Pro League club Baniyas.
The Socceroos skipper knows the country very well – to the point where before the tournament he was acting as a tour guide for his fellow Australian players.
The Hairdryer has been told Milligan was dispensing advice about what hotels their families should be staying at in which cities, giving them a number of options at varying price points to choose from.
"I love coming back here, it's wonderful that the tournament's here," Milligan said. "They are passionate as a country about their football and they have some very nice stadiums … the facilities are always wonderful. I don't expect it to be any different for the Asian Cup. It's a good time of year here to be playing football as well."
Ninky-Di Aussie
Sydney FC star Milos Ninkovic is one step closer to becoming an Australian citizen.
It's understood the Serbian international underwent his medical and english test this week to finalise his permanent residency before he then looks to become an Australian national.
It's understood Ninkovic is eager to become an Australian nearly four years after arriving here, which will free-up an additional visa-player spot for the Sky Blues next season.
Delayed gratification
Western Sydney Wanderers' supporters may be looking for some more firepower up front but they will likely have to wait another game before seeing striker Kwame Yeboah in action.
The Wanderers' new signing isn't likely to face Melbourne Victory on Saturday despite confirmation of his move last week. The former Borussia Monchengladbach man is due to touch down in Sydney on Friday morning.
Dominic Bossi is a football reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.
Vince is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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