CCM vs Victory Away

[Jerem]

We smash cows
Lose to woodens
And cows draw top of the table
WTF

 

[Ads]

Although a pipe dream.

We should try and sales pitch a re-structure so Monty is long term director of football and youth development.

And spend on getting Talay type first team coach that might have the ability to get us over that mid season hurdle we ride out our youthfulness and other teams catch up to our energy and then our tactics and format are behind the 8 ball.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Not sure you want a DoF who is so dogmatic and tactically inflexible

 

[Ironbark]

A break is exactly what we need right now. It couldn't be better timed. We need time to recalibrate.

Honestly, MV weren't very good tonight. Just basic and evenly executed play with two opportunistic goals. Both goals could easily have been avoided with some simple sound defending tbf, nothing special.

Had we more than half switched on we should have smashed them. They were definitely there for the picking but we were simply subpar.

Time to get the mindset, fitness, purposeful play and tactics on track for a final push and run into the finals. Nothing else will do.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

 

[Ozhammer]

To be brutally honest, this type of result has been building for a while imo, as we haven’t played well for some time now and we are seemingly once again limping into finals football (assuming we don’t get dumped out of the 6 that is).

I have been deeply worried about our lack of intensity both with the ball and when defending and it seems that nobody in the side seems to be capable of carrying the team on their shoulders at present.

From what I understand, Nizzy is fully fit and so I am deeply concerned as to why he isn’t starting games lately, as Ballard/Steele clearly aren’t our best option as a combo.

Cummings has been subpar for a while now (yes I know he has scored more goals in a season than anyone since Macca and is second in the golden boot race) and his lack of impact on games has coincided with our drop off in performance. Not sure if he is still suffering from his rib injury but as our ‘marquee’ we simply need more output from him.

Last week’s win in Mudgee just put lipstick on a pig for me, as the Bulls were very poor in the second half, so there was no way anyone should have used that game to suggest we had rediscovered our mojo, as today’s performance has amply demonstrated.

I would like to know why we have we stopped taking the game to our opponents in recent weeks and we seem to have fallen into that awful halfway house style where we are neither playing an attacking or defensive style, so are basically only winning when a bit of fortune goes our way.

If we cannot rediscover how to play positive football with both intent and intensity, then this season will simply fizzle out after such a positive start.

Monty and Serge got the starting line up horribly wrong today and it took four substitutions to get the line up out there that should have kicked off, so the coaching staff need to own that but it still cost us any chance of getting an important result.

The coaches and players both need to be collectively brutal with themselves during the international break and get back to playing a positive, high energy style, where every pass, tackle, cross and shot matters.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

So as apparently as I am a glutton for punishment I have booked accommodation in Ballarat for our game on the 7th of April vs Western United.

Can we improve so I can avoid reaching the 8 year milestone as a Mariner without seeing a win in person?

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Simply put we were out coached and out fought
Monty picked the wrong side and paid the price
Watching CCMA then into this game what stood out was a lack of energy. A lack of aggression and an unwillingness to impose themselves on the other side.
I fear we will never see Dan Hall again he was awful

This for me. Lot of other good posts have summed most of it up already too.

Personally I don't think the issues are new. Ever since we went on our run and went top two I think our intensity has steadily declined, leading to less and less sharp play and more and more errors. Lot of talk by Monty on how we've been unlucky, some of it fair enough, but we've also had our share of results that have flattered us and have typically been so poor in first halves that we've been very lucky ourselves not to be finished off several times - even last week. We've also failed in all of our big opportunities to pull close to City and just didn't turn up in those games.

Inconsistency of youth. Disruption. Referees. Poor selections. Bad tactics. Stale tactics. Players dipping in form. Personality clashes. Over confidence. Under confidence... you can't truly know why — almost certainly a cocktail like most things —but at a minimum, what matters most to me as a paying fan who loves his team, is, like always, that we play with real passion and intensity.

Anything less will never be acceptable. And we didn't have that today.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

To be brutally honest, this type of result has been building for a while imo, as we haven’t played well for some time now and we are seemingly once again limping into finals football (assuming we don’t get dumped out of the 6 that is).

I have been deeply worried about our lack of intensity both with the ball and when defending and it seems that nobody in the side seems to be capable of carrying the team on their shoulders at present.

From what I understand, Nizzy is fully fit and so I am deeply concerned as to why he isn’t starting games lately, as Ballard/Steele clearly aren’t our best option as a combo.

Cummings has been subpar for a while now (yes I know he has scored more goals in a season than anyone since Macca and is second in the golden boot race) and his lack of impact on games has coincided with our drop off in performance. Not sure if he is still suffering from his rib injury but as our ‘marquee’ we simply need more output from him.

Last week’s win in Mudgee just put lipstick on a pig for me, as the Bulls were very poor in the second half, so there was no way anyone should have used that game to suggest we had rediscovered our mojo, as today’s performance has amply demonstrated.

I would like to know why we have we stopped taking the game to our opponents in recent weeks and we seem to have fallen into that awful halfway house style where we are neither playing an attacking or defensive style, so are basically only winning when a bit of fortune goes our way.

If we cannot rediscover how to play positive football with both intent and intensity, then this season will simply fizzle out after such a positive start.

Monty and Serge got the starting line up horribly wrong today and it took four substitutions to get the line up out there that should have kicked off, so the coaching staff need to own that but it still cost us any chance of getting an important result.

The coaches and players both need to be collectively brutal with themselves during the international break and get back to playing a positive, high energy style, where every pass, tackle, cross and shot matters.

Shit eh. Probably wouldn't have bothered writing if this post had been up when I started. Great post OH.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

From what I understand, Nizzy is fully fit and so I am deeply concerned as to why he isn’t starting games lately, as Ballard/Steele clearly aren’t our best option as a combo.

When you see something like this happening, along with the team looking all day long like they just couldn't have cared less - even in the warmups - then it makes you wonder if there's a problem in the dressing room.

I hope not, but when Nizzy is benched and we don't know why...well, we're left to wonder

fmd, would be nice to see them win in person. Forgotten what it feels like (though not quite as bad as JP who has never seen it happen!)

 

[Wombat]

Anyone willing to nominate a MOTM?No one really deserved to have this honour bestowed but if pressed would give to McGarry.

Thought he was average and too far up the pitch for Hall to link with.

Slim pickings but I will give 1pt each to Silvera, Kaltak and Cummings.

 

[turbo]

Poppa just copy Rudan?

Popa has had our number for a while now, like when they suffocated our midfield in the FFA cup final.

 

[Tevor]

The first game where we went negative and away from our normal game plan was against the Wanderers. We got everything wrong in that game just like yesterday. I wasn’t excited after the Cows game as I thought the score flattered us. Victory are ordinary even all the panel after the game don’t think they will make the finals as they aren’t good enough. One thing is for certain we are not looking like the team we were at the beginning of the season. If we don’t pump the Roar at home after the break then something’s up with the squad.

 

[Tevor]

Popa has had our number for a while now, like when they suffocated our midfield in the FFA cup final.

Yeah but that first 15 mins of just passing it around invited them into the game. We should have been straight at them and going for an early goal and if we got one Popa’s game plan was out the window. He probably couldn’t believe we played right into his hands yesterday.

 

[Big Al]

To be brutally honest, this type of result has been building for a while imo, as we haven’t played well for some time now and we are seemingly once again limping into finals football (assuming we don’t get dumped out of the 6 that is).

I have been deeply worried about our lack of intensity both with the ball and when defending and it seems that nobody in the side seems to be capable of carrying the team on their shoulders at present.

From what I understand, Nizzy is fully fit and so I am deeply concerned as to why he isn’t starting games lately, as Ballard/Steele clearly aren’t our best option as a combo.

Cummings has been subpar for a while now (yes I know he has scored more goals in a season than anyone since Macca and is second in the golden boot race) and his lack of impact on games has coincided with our drop off in performance. Not sure if he is still suffering from his rib injury but as our ‘marquee’ we simply need more output from him.

Last week’s win in Mudgee just put lipstick on a pig for me, as the Bulls were very poor in the second half, so there was no way anyone should have used that game to suggest we had rediscovered our mojo, as today’s performance has amply demonstrated.

I would like to know why we have we stopped taking the game to our opponents in recent weeks and we seem to have fallen into that awful halfway house style where we are neither playing an attacking or defensive style, so are basically only winning when a bit of fortune goes our way.

If we cannot rediscover how to play positive football with both intent and intensity, then this season will simply fizzle out after such a positive start.

Monty and Serge got the starting line up horribly wrong today and it took four substitutions to get the line up out there that should have kicked off, so the coaching staff need to own that but it still cost us any chance of getting an important result.

The coaches and players both need to be collectively brutal with themselves during the international break and get back to playing a positive, high energy style, where every pass, tackle, cross and shot matters.

Rhus and Ayongo while not great finishers were high intensity guys that set a tempo from the front. Certainly coincides with the intensity drop

We are slow outwide and require our wings to drop a long way back to pick up the ball and get us out of trouble in our own half

The cards have also been disruptive

We have been 1st half dog shit all year and Koul sparked alot of our recoveries. It’s really showing how much he brought to the team and Cummings in particular

 

[turbo]

Yeah but that first 15 mins of just passing it around invited them into the game. We should have been straight at them and going for an early goal and if we got one Popa’s game plan was out the window. He probably couldn’t believe we played right into his hands yesterday.

Totally agree. We had zero penetration and that comes down to poor energy (why?) and poor selections. When Kaltak came on he would drive forward or be prepared to put a strong pass through the middle. We missed that early as neither Hall nor Windust were willing to do it. When we keep following the same blueprint there’s no need to shut down the middle.

Secondly Steele and Ballard are not a good combo. Individually fine but not together.

 

[Meerkat]

This for me. Lot of other good posts have summed most of it up already too.

Personally I don't think the issues are new. Ever since we went on our run and went top two I think our intensity has steadily declined, leading to less and less sharp play and more and more errors. Lot of talk by Monty on how we've been unlucky, some of it fair enough, but we've also had our share of results that have flattered us and have typically been so poor in first halves that we've been very lucky ourselves not to be finished off several times - even last week. We've also failed in all of our big opportunities to pull close to City and just didn't turn up in those games.

Inconsistency of youth. Disruption. Referees. Poor selections. Bad tactics. Stale tactics. Players dipping in form. Personality clashes. Over confidence. Under confidence... you can't truly know why — almost certainly a cocktail like most things —but at a minimum, what matters most to me as a paying fan who loves his team, is, like always, that we play with real passion and intensity.

Anything less will never be acceptable. And we didn't have that today.

Too many good posts to quote. All true. Spot on with the “passion and intercity” FP. We can handle a loss but the lack of effort was inexcusable.

i think what angered me on top of the horrendous performance was Monty’s response on that PC.. he basically laughed it off, “we don’t like Aami park, don’t like coming here, we don’t win here, hopefully the final isn’t here.” I don’t know that any of us were laughing after that game and if they were heading into it with that mentality why bother? Save on trip costs, hand over the points and stay home.
I have an enormous amount of respect for Monty but some accountability had to be vocalised last night and other than “yeah it wasn’t our best performance” I just didn’t hear it.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Windust worries me. Technically a superb defender but lacks that yard of pace that top CB's need. He also doesn't yet have the physicality to get on top of his opponent.
May come in time but he needs to sit deep and that invites teams on

 

[BrisRecky]

well, i was gonna go off my guts at that shithousery we all witnessed , BUT, Oz and Phoenix pretty much covered it
MoM ...The Forum , for having to watch that shite

 

[Corsair]

Too many good posts to quote. All true. Spot on with the “passion and intercity” FP. We can handle a loss but the lack of effort was inexcusable.

i think what angered me on top of the horrendous performance was Monty’s response on that PC.. he basically laughed it off, “we don’t like Aami park, don’t like coming here, we don’t win here, hopefully the final isn’t here.” I don’t know that any of us were laughing after that game and if they were heading into it with that mentality why bother? Save on trip costs, hand over the points and stay home.
I have an enormous amount of respect for Monty but some accountability had to be vocalised last night and other than “yeah it wasn’t our best performance” I just didn’t hear it.

I wonder if they think we've already done enough to make the six....we haven't quite yet.