ALM @ Home vs Wellington Phoenix

[crock]

The stats are bad, have not one a competitive game this season from Aust Cup, ACL and A League. Scored 1 goal in four games of A League. Tonight’s crowd was woeful in my opinion, next home game at 6pm on a Sunday will be lucky to get 4K especially as we will continue to lose games up until that game. It’s hard to go up a hill but easy to go down. I fear we are on the downward slope.

Let's hope not because if we need more investors we need to make sure on field the club is in best shape so we can get attract the investors

 

[Ads]

* Ngor surely has to get the nod for a start
* And not sure about Roux fitness but we really need some experience now.
* And the boys need more specific jobs to focus on, especially the mids, Alfie worked his arse off and then when the chance comes to get on the ball your off balance or lethargic from a massive chase.

So updated structure for me involves giving Steele a single job of sweeping the midfield and stopping the counter attacks between our lines.

And when in attack the midfield line of 4 all move forward together so 4/5 players should present when ball move forwards or wide.

Need to make sure we don’t sacrifice defence for the sake of attack and keep a solid back 4 ready for counter attacks as most of our goals conceded are in fact counter attacks.

Doka also had a lot of impact from the deeper role last year and I believe even scored and created more danger on the counter from right back with more room to move.


Doka———-Roux———Kaltak———Maragius
————————Steele——————————
?????———Alfie———-Brandt————-Ngor
————————-Alou——————————


Without Injuries:

Doka———-Sains———Kaltak———Maragius
————————Steele——————————
Beandt———Alfie———-Dipizio————-Ngor
————————Durate——————————

 

[Tevor]

Let's hope not because if we need more investors we need to make sure on field the club is in best shape so we can get attract the investors

This afternoons display was not good at all. I’ve been sitting in the same seat for 11 years and so have quite a few around me. All I could hear this afternoon was grumblings of the good times are over and now we are back to to the bad old days. People leaving early as well. It’s very concerning when you see players getting annoyed with each other during losses.

 

[Tevor]

* Ngor surely has to get the nod for a start
* And not sure about Roux fitness but we really need some experience now.
* And the boys need more specific jobs to focus on, especially the mids, Alfie worked his arse off and then when the chance comes to get on the ball your off balance or lethargic from a massive chase.

So updated structure for me involves giving Steele a single job of sweeping the midfield and stopping the counter attacks between our lines.

And when in attack the midfield line of 4 all move forward together so 4/5 players should present when ball move forwards or wide.

Need to make sure we don’t sacrifice defence for the sake of attack and keep a solid back 4 ready for counter attacks as most of our goals conceded are in fact counter attacks.

Doka also had a lot of impact from the deeper role last year and I believe even scored and created more danger on the counter from right back with more room to move.


Doka———-Roux———Kaltak———Maragius
————————Steele——————————
?????———Alfie———-Brandt————-Ngor
————————-Alou——————————


Without Injuries:

Doka———-Sains———Kaltak———Maragius
————————Steele——————————
Beandt———Alfie———-Dipizio————-Ngor
————————Durate——————————

I’ve been watching Steele closely lately hoping to see improvement. Unfortunately he loses a lot of possession and duels as gets pushed off way too easy. Not sure a sweeper is the right spot. Not sure there is a right spot unfortunately. Tonight he ran forward for five steps, stopped and passed backwards.

 

[booney]

Excellent free kick for their first goal.Kaltak is under pressure with two inexperienced CBs beside him and an inexperienced keeper behind him and almost tries to do too much.

 

[Meerkat]

I’ve been watching Steele closely lately hoping to see improvement. Unfortunately he loses a lot of possession and duels as gets pushed off way too easy. Not sure a sweeper is the right spot. Not sure there is a right spot unfortunately. Tonight he ran forward for five steps, stopped and passed backwards.

He literally has no idea what to do with the ball when he has it. He stops, panics, tries to figure out where to pass it to and by that point he’s ambushed and lost it. If he manages to get the ball safely to a team mate it’s a win. Unfortunately, the complete lack of creativity or determination or .. anything really… means the game half the time stops with him in the middle of the park.

 

[priorpeter]

Steele is useless and a liability. Can’t put it any other way.

That’s a bit much.

 

[priorpeter]

Genuine question, has Paull ever won while starting a game with us??
He started the first 4 that we lost last year, and we haven’t won yet this year with him?

Yes - played the full 90 when we broke the Melbourne Vuck AAMI curse.

 

[Meerkat]

That’s a bit much.

Is it though? (I can amend it to.. useless as a midfielder?)

Zero reflection on him as a person .. I think he’s great. I know you think highly of him.

I’m just not loving him in the middle of the park

 

[nero]

I was at the game and liked what I saw for the first 20 or so minutes.
However, once they scored and we got three cards, Jacko had to make changes. After half time the team looked far to young with no leadership. I couldnt see anyone but Doka and Brandtman take the Nix on.

No ones fault, as injuries have torn the team apart. These young players need to be coming off the bench into a team to change a game, not run it.

 

[Tevor]

Let’s put some perspective on where the team is at. Nix travelled to Perth and beat Glory 2 nil. We played Glory for a scoreless draw at home. City over in Perth are leading 3 nil. Suggest at the moment we are far from a top 6 side. After this afternoon any talk of making the finals is fanciful.

 

[Spacks]

After this afternoon any talk of making the finals is fanciful.

+1 We're a bottom 6 team, the perth glory game proved that.

 

[priorpeter]

+1 We're a bottom 6 team, the perth glory game proved that.

The Perth game proved nothing.
Top 6 is not decided in November.

 

[turbo]

Let’s put some perspective on where the team is at. Nix travelled to Perth and beat Glory 2 nil. We played Glory for a scoreless draw at home. City over in Perth are leading 3 nil. Suggest at the moment we are far from a top 6 side. After this afternoon any talk of making the finals is fanciful.

Imagine how bad they’d be smashing Perth if most of the first XI wasn’t out injured. Would be a cricket score.

But also watching and thinking how did we draw with this rabble?

 

[pjennings]

+1 We're a bottom 6 team, the perth glory game proved that.

2022-23 after 4 games - 3 points - Grand Final win
2023-24 after 4 games - 0 points - Treble win
2024-25 after 4 games - 3 points - don't know - but I am sure as hell not going to say we won't make the six at this stage. We have Trent, MDP, Tapp, Duarte and Theohaurus all injured at the moment. Tapp won't be back this season but the rest will be and we also have a January window.

 

[FFC Mariner]

I was at the game and liked what I saw for the first 20 or so minutes.
However, once they scored and we got three cards, Jacko had to make changes. After half time the team looked far to young with no leadership. I couldnt see anyone but Doka and Brandtman take the Nix on.

No ones fault, as injuries have torn the team apart. These young players need to be coming off the bench into a team to change a game, not run it.

This

 

[FFC Mariner]

Alfie doesn't seem to be getting the stick that others are. Creates nothing, rarely passes forwards. Arguably Eames has more vision already.
He is not what we need.
Steele is a perfectly good anchor. We don't need 2

 

[priorpeter]

2022-23 after 4 games - 3 points - Grand Final win
2023-24 after 4 games - 0 points - Treble win
2024-25 after 4 games - 3 points - don't know - but I am sure as hell not going to say we won't make the six at this stage. We have Trent, MDP, Tapp, Duarte and Theohaurus all injured at the moment. Tapp won't be back this season but the rest will be and we also have a January window.

De Lima to come in too. Brandtman and Eames to grow into it.
We’ll be ok. Will we win the treble? Prob not. Are we gonna give a good crack at the top 4? Yup.

 

[Neilmcloudy]

2022-23 after 4 games - 3 points - Grand Final win
2023-24 after 4 games - 0 points - Treble win
2024-25 after 4 games - 3 points - don't know - but I am sure as hell not going to say we won't make the six at this stage. We have Trent, MDP, Tapp, Duarte and Theohaurus all injured at the moment. Tapp won't be back this season but the rest will be and we also have a January window.

My opinon from the game is we have become sooooo slow from distributing from the back that the mid field and the forwards can't be running around looking for through balls which are only going to happen every 5-10 minutes. They don't expect anything to happen quickly so they are on their back feet. Speed it up from delivery from the back and we will look a different team, and perform like a different team. Unfortunately as much as I like Brian, he is soooo slow at moving things forward, and then Harry is to scared to try and pass forward. We have no fast attack. Tonight at Times we showed we could create opportunities with interaction in the front third, but it took us 2 weeks to get the ball up there. If the players expect faster delivery, they might be ready for it.

 

[Stuartmcateer]

Last season the international break gave us a chance to regroup for a derby win, hopefully it does this year.

Top 6 is still possible. Jets, roar, WU, Perth are all poor. MacArthur, Adelaide and WSW are all inconsistent.

Taggart has come short and dropped the ball off to midfielders a dozen or so times tonight (in a badly smashed team).

We need alou or edmo to do that every now and then. Every game we have players looking to pass forward to feet and they are static facing straight up and down the pitch or only looking to run in behind (although we do need to look for that channel run more often and earlier).

Hopefully a couple of weeks on the training paddock irons out a few of the wrinkles of players being too similar and wanting to all run into the same spaces.