Lucas Neill is a big boy but did not deserve the boos Neill turns on booing fans Heading into Australia's friendly match against Costa Rica, some fans had Lucas Neill in their sights, they may not have expected his response. PT1M6S http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2xu6z 620 349 November 20, 2013 - 10:36AM Lucas Neill's brush with the Allianz Stadium boo boys during Tuesday night's 1-0 win over Costa Rica has rather deflected from the overall mood of positivity over Ange Postecoglou's winning debut as Socceroo coach. Any crowd dissatisfaction with the under pressure Neill was, of course, always likely to make the headlines given his status as Socceroo captain and the question marks over his continued role with the team under a new management determined to sweep clean the dead wood of the Holger Osieck era with a new broom. Lucas Neil, right, was unhappy with the reception he received from fans in Sydney. But really, it has to be asked, why were they booing the beleaguered captain? It surely can't have been because of his on field performance. Neill didn't have a great match because he didn't need to. But he didn't have a bad game either. Lucas Neill reacts to booing from the Sydney crowd. Photo: Fox Sports Costa Rica provided such little serious attacking threat through the centre that the vastly experienced Neill and his two centre back partners, Rhys Williams in the first half and Ryan McGowan in the second, really didn't have that much to do. If its personal animus that drove a section of the disappointingly low crowd of 20,000 to berate the captain it is hardly the sort of thing that most fair minded fans would want to see or hear. But people who pay their money do get the right to vent their feelings and Neill is a big boy who has lived in the public spotlight for a decade and a half. Sometimes you have to take the brickbats, especially when you have picked up the bouquets so often in your earlier national team career. What is indisputable is that it has been clear for sometime that there is a growing body of the Australian footballing public who have felt Neill is living on borrowed time not just as captain but as a member of the team. That is a healthy sign: informed public debate over the national team is always good. Postecoglou has made it clear that all spots are up for grabs and nobody's tenure is safe. That's also a good thing. Neill certainly looked much sharper and edgier in the pre-match press conference, a look of concentration and determination on his face, a marked difference to the casual lolling and in-jokes he often shared on the platform with Osieck. He did enough on Tuesday night in the circumstances to justify retaining his spot in the squad. Whether he will play in the next game remains to be seen. Postecoglou may want to look at another centre back pairing. Or he may want to see if Neill's lack of pace is exposed against better quality opponents once a fixture has been arranged. He might want to see him in tandem with another centre back like Alex Wilkinson, called into this squad but not used. All permutations are open, but on this performance Neill will retain his place in the squad. The crowd on Tuesday night was poor. More than the 20,000 odd who turned up might have been expected for a game that was being hailed as the dawn of a new era. The weather was dreadful for three days leading up to the game - it rained in almost biblical proportions - so that might have been some mitigation. Sydney has hosted most of the recent Socceroos action, so it might be time to take the national team back on the road. Yes, commercial imperatives are important, but the FFA has also to bring Australia's team to all Australians. The Socceroos have played once in Melbourne this year, not at all in Adelaide, Brisbane or Perth, where they rarely venture. The World Cup farewell should be in Melbourne. If there is a home game in March, anywhere other than Sydney should be the choice.