Brisbane Roar FC v Central Coast Mariners

[Forum Phoenix]

I feel our whole team works a lot harder than they should.

We don’t use the ball well at all and our off the ball movement is lacking.

We do lack width with the narrow structure and I think that hurts our attack and defence as well.

But at the end off the day even if we had Mclaren or Tov there is still that searing and unconscious lack of confidence across the rest of the park that makes us nervous when we get on the ball & contributes to poor passes and no time on the ball from opposition pressure.

If we can snag a win every 3 or 4 games through poor performance from other teams and our fitness holding out I think that would even be the best we could hope for unfortunately.

Completely agree. It’s an area that we had clearly improved in our early games and then with the losses the jitters came and we have become slow and tentative.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

The similarities between the two are quite unique for their HAL careers to date;
Muzz (aged 24)
2018/19 Played 23 Starts 13 Goals 3
2019/20 Played 6 Starts 3 Goals 1

DWH (aged 27)
2018/19 Played 20 Starts 11 Goals 5
2019/20 Played 5 Starts 1 Goals 0

Interesting facts;
- 1 goal difference between them with Muzz playing in 4 more games.
- Last 9 rounds of the 2018/19 HAL season;
DWH started and played in all 9 rounds most of the time playing the full 90 mins and this is where he scored 4 of his 5 goals.
Muzz also started in 7 playing for 90 mins in 4 of those games of the last 9 rounds which surprised me and scored 2 of his 3 goals.

I stand corrected as Muzz has had more starts than I could recall from memory, only a bees dick between them so far from a stats perspective though.

He’s def 21. But I think the ultimate A league wrongly has him as 27.

Yeah the fact with a couple less starts he’s a couple of goals and assists in front of Muzz is not really what’s telling for me. Or even that he’s 3 years younger. It’s how much more impact he’s having in games. To me that’s because he’s better on the ball, a yard faster and quicker in the turn. He’s a clever player too, but I think Muzz has good football intelligence as well.

But anyway my response was really more that I don’t think we can blame lack of opportunity to develop for why Muzz hasn’t shone.

 

[Tevor]

He’s def 21. But I think the ultimate A league wrongly has him as 27.

Yeah the fact with a couple less starts he’s a couple of goals and assists in front of Muzz is not really what’s telling for me. Or even that he’s 3 years younger. It’s how much more impact he’s having in games. To me that’s because he’s better on the ball, a yard faster and quicker in the turn. He’s a clever player too, but I think Muzz has good football intelligence as well.

But anyway my response was really more that I don’t think we can blame lack of opportunity to develop for why Muzz hasn’t shone.

Yeah I didn’t think 27 was right. I like DWH and think he has a future and will probably do well under Fowler.

 

[turbo]

It’s how much more impact he’s having in games. To me that’s because he’s better on the ball, a yard faster and quicker in the turn

I think part of that comes down to how they’re attacking. DWH was running at defenders and making a lot of his chances, also getting on the end of passes and through balls. We did a bit of that in the earlier games but lately it’s been all about crossing and while he’s good in the air so are defenders that outnumber him. Look at Murray’s goal against Newcastle last year when we played him through on a quick counter. We seem afraid to lose possession playing that way but then we ping long balls at defenders and lose it anyway.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Strangely similar how the team looked under Okon for the 1st couple of games and then seemed scared.

 

[marinermick]

Strangely similar how the team looked under Okon for the 1st couple of games and then seemed scared.

We had just beat Wellington 4-1, we were in the top six, DDS was once again a prodigy and Okon was being hailed as a brilliant coach.

 

[Wombat]

The defence is playing quite well compared to last year but they still ball watch and are not aware of the attacking players around them. This is a relatively simple thing to remedy.
For me Duric and Kim have to start and Jair is desperately needed.

 

[Coastalraider]

We look like we are currently stuck in the usual CCM rut of relying on fringe players to play better than expected.

Stens, Fox, GG, Cisse3.0, Clis, Murray, Simon would all be unlikely to get starts in other teams - and their history in the league proves as much. Instead of relying on this type of player to fill a gap, we rely on this type of player to build the bulk of our starting team. Each of these players is 100% capable of playing a good game - but its a bridge to far to expect them to play a consistently good season. Thats where we get exposed on a regular basis, and have been for years.

We absolutely need to get our older quality players on the pitch a much as possible - Kim, Milan, Jair, Oar need to play big minutes. Ziggy needs to find a home and stick to it. And we need to add something to our backline - even if its jsut a journey man style player who can give a consistent performance - we have youth to develop, we dont need another young kid. We need a consistent, known player who simply does his job.

 

[Ironbark]

Essentially - depth is an issue

 

[Coastalraider]

Essentially - depth is an issue

No I think it the exact opposite - we have 5-6 fantastic depth players, but they are playing starting side because we are 5-6 quality players short.

most teams will have 2-3 ‘gap fillers’, we have 3/4 of our starting side made from that quality. On occasions, they will play great, like in Perth, but the average will always be lower.

 

[Ironbark]

No I think it the exact opposite - we have 5-6 fantastic depth players, but they are playing starting side because we are 5-6 quality players short.

most teams will have 2-3 ‘gap fillers’, we have 3/4 of our starting side made from that quality. On occasions, they will play great, like in Perth, but the average will always be lower.

Yep, I agree. I've said it before but we need to play out of our skins to win. But can't expect them to do it all season

 

[pjennings]

No I think it the exact opposite - we have 5-6 fantastic depth players, but they are playing starting side because we are 5-6 quality players short.

most teams will have 2-3 ‘gap fillers’, we have 3/4 of our starting side made from that quality. On occasions, they will play great, like in Perth, but the average will always be lower.

I think you are spot on there. The problem is three-fold though
1) We need to lock in asap the 5-6 first team players that we want to keep
2) We need to recruit for the other 5-6 first team spots
3) We need to lock in those fantastic depth players

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Nailed it Coastal.