224: Mile Jedinak, Australia, FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, Panini Official Licensed Sticker Album

The advent of streaming services has paved the way for a whole host of sporting documentaries of varying quality. Netflix’s ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’ confirmed that Jonny Williams was a very nice bloke and that the Black Cats were in such a mess that their misery warranted a second series. Amazon Prime veered more towards the hagiographical with their ‘All or Nothing’ spotlights on such endearing underdogs as the All Blacks, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. The latter at least gave us the comedy stylings of Jose Mourinho at the very peak of his shithousing powers but was on the receiving end of some sharp reviews who variously described it as “boringly sanitised”, “a lot of hype, little delivery” and a “glorified puff piece”. For similar viewing the Spurs’ 2020/21 Season Review should suffice.

However, everyone’s favourite tax-evading online shop for everything did strike a more insightful chord with the recently released ‘When Eagles Dare’ which took a look at the trials and tribulations of Crystal Palace following their close shave with liquidation back in 2010. Having been rescued by the investment of Steve Parish’s CPFC2010 consortium, and retained the services of heroic goalkeeper Julian Speroni, South London’s finest set about plotting their path back to the Premier League. A couple of ropey seasons were followed by the departure of Dougie Freedman, the batshit brilliance of Ian Holloway and Kevin Phillips smashing in a penalty for the ages to seal the deal. I appreciate that I might not be the most impartial of observers but it’s well worth a watch.

Perhaps it’s because of the draining half term of exam marking and moderation but I actually found watching back the events of that fateful season quite emotional. The footage of the 2010 flirtation with annihilation reminded me of watching the decisive Sheffield Wednesday game at a lad from school’s house where my mate Sean’s loud exasperation at Stern John hitting the post led to him being bitten on the arse by the dog. Revisiting the rise of Wilfried Zaha reminded me just how brilliant he has been for Palace and how much fun it was to sing the ‘He’s Just Too Good For You’ chant through the thin walls of my flat in Canterbury to my Brighton supporting housemate. Finally, seeing Super Kev’s Wembley spot kick took me right back to the Blythe Hill Tavern and jumping on my Sunderland supporting mate Dennis, who is sadly no longer with us, to lose the last of my voice screaming. In short the whole story just took me back home.

Central to this story was a man who couldn’t have been further away from his home. Mile Jedinak had come through the ranks at his hometown club Sydney United, moving on to fellow Aussies Central Coast Mariners before heading to Turkey with Genclerbirligi. Having spent much of his second season in Europe on loan with fellow Turkish side Antalyaspor he announced his intentions to move on in the summer of 2011 and within a month found himself in sunny South London. He played 35 times in a decidedly mediocre 2011/12 campaign for the Eagles and established himself as a commanding presence in the centre midfield. It was therefore not a massive shock when he was handed the captain’s armband at the start of the 2012/13 season following Paddy McCarthy’s groin injury. As you may have already read that all went pretty well for Palace and Jedinak deservedly collected the club’s Player of the Year award for his excellent leadership and vital contributions on the pitch.

Although the Eagles initially struggled to adapt to life back in the top flight, especially the seven hundred and fifty wingers Ian Holloway signed to replace the recently departed Wilf Zaha, Jedinak looked like a man who had well and truly found his level. With the ship steadied by the arrival of Tony Pulis the Australian went on to play all but half an hour of the 2013/14 season where Palace defied the odds by finishing eleventh in the Premier League. As Mat Jolin-Beech has proven not once but twice on the pages of this very blog statistics are not everything but I love the fact that at the start of 2014/15 Jedinak was rated as the best midfielder in Europe based on his Opta credentials and although this data was brushed off in typically humble style by the man himself he acquitted himself impressively as Palace finished tenth in the Premier League. Jedinak also picked up the goal of the season accolade for his expertly placed free kick against Liverpool in a 3-1 win at Selhurst Park. He was only on the bench for the return fixture but I’m pretty sure he enjoyed watching Palace win by the same result at Anfield in Steven Gerrard’s last home game. There was no real reason to mention this other than, both at the time and still today, it’s funny.

Over the next two seasons Mile Jedinak was gradually ushered away from regular first-team action denying the Palace faithful of more sights of him alongside Joe Ledley in the beardiest midfield duo in world football. He eventually left for Aston Villa where across three seasons he helped the Villains build towards their eventual return to the top flight. With the job complete he retired from professional football at the end of the 2018/19 season. A year earlier he had fulfilled a lifelong ambition of playing for Australia at a World Cup finals and even contributed two goals in their group stage clashes with France and Denmark at the close of a 79 cap international career which also saw him find the net on 20 occasions and captain the Socceroos 25 times.

I had a few takeaways from ‘When Eagles Dare’. The first was that the documentary is a must watch for the younger/convert Crystal Palace fans who’ve spent the last two seasons complaining about our lack of European pedigree as it should give them a clearer understanding of how far the club has come. Secondly it hammered home how grounded and likeable so many of the players that took the Eagles up from the Championship are. Finally it served as a reminder of how important both the club and where I grew up are to me. When it sometimes seems impossible to afford to stay anywhere near the city I was born in, especially as more and more people move away, it was nice to be reminded of what keeps me here. It’s easy to slag London off but that community spirit and collective kindness that so many people flee the city to find is well and truly there if you look hard enough. Mile Jedinak, an Australian of Croatian descent, found it in South London.