Feb 19 v Where Were You When You Were Shit FC

[Forum Phoenix]

I reckon he was being saved for Tuesday

Instead of who? But giving him thirty he still would have been fresh enough for Tuesday.

 

[LFCMariners]

Some of the bickering on here brings back memories of Claude and Ty on AFTV...

 

[pjennings]

I like Pete's Xmas tree formation. Jason is a decent header of the ball but not dominant like Matty. Really, without Simon, going wide does nothing for us.

A front 6 when everyone is fit of

Nizz-------Ruon----Ollie--

----Marcos--Muller

--------Jason----------


Then you can have Steele and Ballard to cover the holding mids (even Muller could drop back)

Garang, Moresche, Beni, Cy and Harry or even Hatch covering next line

Up front Matty is the obvious cover but Marcos, Muller, Manny could all play there

 

[Kalvin]

I understand your point on the timing Middy, but honestly Ollie should have gone by 70 minutes. Re leadership and marshalling... Kye was considered one of the 4 senior leaders in the squad before he got a national team call up. And he has Birra behind him... they should be able to well and truly do the job. it wasn't an organisational issue imo. It was fatigue. Physical, and subsequently mental. In all three games.

I think others who have said Monty is scared of pulling off his best players because our squad lacks depth are correct. And despite the bench strength, the difference in attitudes by the coaches really matters in these key moments. Popa is making attacking subs and yelling at them to go forward. We didn't try to take hold of that game when the moment was there, just like last game. And the teams who haven't played scared againstVictory have all just beaten them. Barring a couple of players, I just don't think they're a mentally tough side, but we give them too much respect and lack serious attacking endeavour.

And now I'm worried the truth of what's happening will be lost inside the last minute short comings and think there aren't any deeper issues.

God I want Monty to turn this around. Cummings and Urena are the best attack we've had in a freaking age. Birra, Kye, Rowles, Hall and Miller are terrific- and Faz is on the way. It's our midfield we have to sort.

A start would be some proper midfield enforcing taking place and our wide players getting in behind.

Agreed Ollie should have been subbed at 70 but why go to 91 and then make the call?
Sub at 70 or just see it through!

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Ok, where do I start. Still trying to digest the issues. This could be multiple posts before I get to last night's game.

Overall the last few games.

We have a young very inexperienced side in many cases playing above their level, but being guided and maybe even carried by a salting of experienced players.

No worries, this is the Club's philosophy, as a way of being sustainable, and can be exciting and interesting, and can win silverware. But we have an Achilles heel. If the plan gets disrupted (injuries, call ups, etc), we do not have the depth or strength to adjust.

This season has been massively disrupted by covid and the FFA Cup. Big gaps, illness and then multiple games each week. The squad worked well up to the Cup final, at which point we were overwhelmed by it all.

I am seeing players still recovering fitness, experienced players having to do too much or trying to hard and messing up their own game. Players getting burnt out by too much game time and responsibility (Ollie).

There is a massive responsibility on the coach to rotate players at this time to maintain competitiveness. Many here are putting the heat on Monty. He carries the can for team performance, no argument, but he does not have the players with enough experience or quality at this stage to rotate with players getting 60min and 30min spells. The depth is just not there.

I find it hard to lay the blame at any individual's feet, our fragility has been exposed.

It is now time to regroup. Address the midfield problems, restructure the formation and the way we play in order to give players breaks so we don't just burn out in a pile of despair, backbiting, finger pointing and goo feasting.

There have been plenty of interesting suggestions posted here. I particularly like Pete's 4 3 2 1 suggestion from the podcast. I think it offers possibilities and some flexibility that we are lacking.

 

[true believer]

On the bright side tonight.... Miller continued his form....

highlights the need for ruon at DM

 

[Ancient Mariner]

On last night's game and our players:

Rowles has become a rock and saves our butt so often, that he has the value of a 12 goal a season striker:

Dan Hall is bloody good and one who will go far. I get the feeling he is still not at his best after the covid infections. The effects on him strike me as similar as those that affected Nizz. Maybe not as obvious being in a different position. I think a work off to refresh would help him.

Miller is still improving and was still going hard at the end. Starting to develop stamina and not appealing to the refs as often. The improvement since last season is amazing and is still progressing. If he has been having problems with the coach and the rest of the team, now is the time for all to offer him encouragement and bring out his full potential.

Farrel is not the messiah, but he is an up and coming fullback with a lot of potential. Not his usual dominant performance, but no problems. If you are going to bring off amazing tackles and are still young you will make mistakes, and you will cop some yellows. Happy to see him having a go.

It has been obvious Ollie has needed a break for a few weeks now. He has the weight of the team on his shoulders and is showing signs of burning out. He is no longer young enough to have the stamina to get back quickly after an attacking raid which is becoming more noticeable towards the end of games. He either needs to sit back more, pace himself better or be subbed regularly at the 60 or 70 minute mark. He cannot continually carry the load for the full 90 minutes with multiple games each week. Simple problem. No easy solution. This one is a coach killer, we have no obvious replacement and the team needs him. I suspect he would fight anyone who told him to have a break.

Harry may be a good marker but that is all, Ballard is a better option and a more skilful player but is not yet ready to be starting in this vital role. Midfield is where the problem lies.

Nizzy is clearly the most important player in this team. When he is absent the team is an empty shell. SFC have the need in a similar position filled by Brattan and now Amini. Without them they look totally different. As I thought giving him the rest has proved beneficial. He is playing great football on the wing, but is not a winger. Mick has pointed out that he does drift into midfield and we are trying to get the best of both worlds. Not necessarily the answer. I have learnt over the years across all sporting codes, YOU DO NOT PLAY YOUR BEST PLAYER OUT OF POSITION TO COVER A WEAKNESS. As an aside, although he has caused frustration to many by not scoring, those who watch the pre game warm up will have seen he has better shooting ability than most. Goals will come.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

 

[capauau]

highlights the need for ruon at DM

Miller at DM would protect Ollie and give us the muscle needed as replacement for Gianni

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Continuing-

Cy has been improving and showing his skills but looks like a square peg in a round hole. Maybe he is in the wrong team, more probably he is in the wrong competition. The A league is a very physical competition where strength, stamina and fitness play a disproportionate role over ball skills. At the moment he appears to be lacking all three along with an inability to tackle and win the ball back. He is not matching the player I expected following Alf's rave.

We have two quality forwards, that are being wasted through the inability to feed them.
Urena is having to drop into midfield far to often to get the ball and is showing that passing from midfield is not a strength. He can lay off a neat pass to put someone in a gap or on goal, but that is not what he is having to play at the moment. He is being forced to do too much.
Cummings also had to spend far too much time in attack looking for the ball. Both worked themselves into the ground but for little result. No wonder Cummings sounded frustrated at the end of the match.

Where to?

It is a risk to change your formation in the middle of the season and even a bigger one in the midst of a hectic period of games.
However we are having midfield problems, wasting good forwards and relying too much on the back 4 for attack as well as defence.
Can the squad pull off Pete's 4321. Maybe, maybe not but it is worth a try.
An advantage is that it can easily change into 433 or 4312 and I think we have the players to play it.
Back four stay the same.
Middle 3 Ollie, Nizz and Ruon. Even though others have suggested it I have been dubious about playing Ruon as a DM. Nizz has the ability to get the game going forward and can link, Ruon can provide some muscle and is not without go forward abilities and any mistakes he makes in rediscovering form should no be as critical as in central defence. The move should ease Ollie's load. Harry and Max can come on as needed.
Front 3 Cummings, Urena and Muller. One up front the other two providing or a false #9 and two wider strikers. Lots of options who plays where. Replacements can be Moresche, Benni, Kuol or Cy (maybe even Tsekenis or Matty) as the situation warrants.

There has been some criticism here of that both Moresche and Benni are not good enough. I agree that both are young, learning, make mistakes and wrong options. But what I like is that they are both what terrorists They play with enthusiasm and are unpredictable. This fill opposition defenders with fear especially coming on for the last 20 minutes. The only player in the squad who has been terrorising oppositions is Miller. Tognyik can bring the same from DM.

We definitely need more of it.

We may end up as a shambles initially, but things have to change.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

I like Pete's Xmas tree formation. Jason is a decent header of the ball but not dominant like Matty. Really, without Simon, going wide does nothing for us.

A front 6 when everyone is fit of

Nizz-------Ruon----Ollie--

----Marcos--Muller

--------Jason----------


Then you can have Steele and Ballard to cover the holding mids (even Muller could drop back)

Garang, Moresche, Beni, Cy and Harry or even Hatch covering next line

Up front Matty is the obvious cover but Marcos, Muller, Manny could all play there

Don’t agree re out wide PJ. If you don’t stretch the backline you don’t create room for strikers like Cummings and Urena. Doesn’t have to be headers. Cut backs, dribbles, triangles, low and hard across the face etc… for mine our most dangerous attacks have clearly been when Miller or Nisbet get in behind from wide positions or some of our breaks.

Bottom line in the modern game, if you don’t stretch teams with width and movement you’re rarely going to score against well drilled sides.

I like the 4321 though (think Pete nailed it) - and I think it would actually allow width because our fullbacks could overlap with more confidence instead of being pinned back worrying about players like Rojas or Folami… or soon to be Leckie…

 

[Rising Sun]

Miller at DM would protect Ollie and give us the muscle needed as replacement for Gianni

Maybe. But would but then means Storm at full back. Strengthen one position but weaken another.

 

[true believer]

Miller at DM would protect Ollie and give us the muscle needed as replacement for Gianni

Not a bad thought at all

 

[Rising Sun]

He was generally solid against Folami tonight but couldn’t handle Ikonomidis. Letting him cross for the goal was case in point.

He has been solid against one of the form wingers (Folami) twice this month. He has been struggling with his stamina and only got beyond 70 minutes for the first time last week (and is also a recent covid recoverer). So not being perfect against a player of Ikonimidis quality coming on late with fresh legs, I would put that more in the "work-in-progress" column - and even then down to fitness, not any major flaws in his defensive capability.

 

[Rising Sun]

We may end up as a shambles initially, but things have to change.

Agree with most of your post. Not against a formation change and I think a 4321 probably suits the current cattle. But I don't think things are that desperate that we need to panic and turn things into a temporary shambles.

With a tiny bit of luck / more last minute desperation / slightly less post-covid tired legs and brains to not concede late and we would have had 7 points out of the last 3 games and the conversations on here would be very different. It's not like we are miles off the pace in games, or the current formation is a shambles, so lets not start experimenting in 2 tough away games - with confidence probably down - and risk having the wheels come off completely.

Having said that, if we are sticking with the current set up then some tinkering is required. We are certainly way beyond the point of the Balard/Steele issue needing resolving. I am a fan of both and they are both going to be good players but they are a glaring weakness at the moment. Nizz needs to be in there on Tuesday; Ruon needs to get some game time into his legs but can replace Oli at the 70 mark in the next 2 games.

If Ruon looks like he can make a go of the position then we have some options and Monty can push Nizz forward again if thats where he thinks the best fit is. Mueller should be an automatic starter now. Would be happy to persevere with Moresche out wide (given nobody else is tearing it up) but that leaves us short on attacking power off the bench - so maybe he comes on out wide at 60 and then switches inside for Cummings at about the 80.

Neither Cy or Beni are demanding a spot on current form and whilst I think we haven't seen the best of them, I think it is now time to give Hatchy a bit more game time. He is another who is not going to die wondering, and deserves to be getting some of the same opportunities that Cy/Beni have had and will be the better for it. Whilst Nizz is at DM, maybe Hatch and Mueller start wide, with Moresche for Hatch at 60m and Cy/Beni or McCarthy for Mueller when he runs out of steam

 

[Coastalraider]

4 3 1 2.

When Muller played 10 recently it was the strongest our midfield has looked. He’s Smart, skilled, experienced. Takes the pressure of the wide players to try and create everything. Our back 4 is one of our strengths…. Back them to cover for one less DM.

At the moment it feel like the best service Cumdog is getting is from Birraz.

 

[shipwreck]

The Rot has begun.

 

[Yorkshire Mariners FC]

Playing Ruon has tactically fluidity. He can play as a DM but also the centre of a back three with Miller/Faz able to contribute further up the field without as much burn out. Midfield is our massive weakness so stack it without losing strength at the back or front (looks at everyone's comments on underperforming/developing players). 3-4 -2-1 hall, ruon, Rowles
Miller nizz/Muller oli faz
Nizz/Muller Urena
Cummings
Within game this could revert to 5-2-2-1/5-2-1-2 or if one of the CBs goes forward
Miller hall Rowles faz
Niz/Muller Oli ruon(CB)
Urena niz / Muller
Cummings
This also gives us these impact substitutions on the bench. Hatch- moresche- beni- cy Ballard/Steele koul
Thoughts?

 

[FFC Mariner]

Interesting watching Monty's bank of good will slowly starting to evaporate as his inflexibility/inexperience is coming out.

In his defence, the imports are largely duds (Beni, Shit Nerymar and Cy) - barely NPL1 level. Muller is a bit part player at best. I'd love to hear someone ask him "why" he doesnt trust Niz in the centre with Boz. Wonder how he would answer???

There is probably a half decent AL squaddie in Cy provided he gets into the gym and bulks himself up

Thats 4 senior squad places down and the need to rely on kids who simply arent ready. 5 if you count Smith as a senior (he probably was bought to start)

Cumdog is a genuine star at this level but we dont have players capable or brave enough to give him the ball (see the entry under Donovan R).

Marco is arguably our best signing for years but completely wasted in a 442

We ought not get the spoon, but it wil lbe close

 

[Corsair]

Felt very dispondent today after such a gutting loss.

Gradually realizing the sky hasn't fallen in just yet, we're a young side with a coach in his first senior season. There will be mistakes and there will be development, we have high expectations finally having some hope after so many shit seasons.

These are exceptional circumstances, we need to cut the team and the coach some slack and show some support and faith. There is no lack of effort or desire. If you give 100% and come up short that's unfortunate but there's no shame in it.

The darkest hour comes just before the dawn.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Felt very dispondent today after such a gutting loss.

Gradually realizing the sky hasn't fallen in just yet, we're a young side with a coach in his first senior season. There will be mistakes and there will be development, we have high expectations finally having some hope after so many shit seasons.

These are exceptional circumstances, we need to cut the team and the coach some slack and show some support and faith. There is no lack of effort or desire. If you give 100% and come up short that's unfortunate but there's no shame in it.

The darkest hour comes just before the dawn.

Great post. I felt philosophical after we bollocked up the last two late. But that one, probably accumulative, really got to me.

But still standing by the fact that it looks a season or so too early for starting Steele or Ballard and our midfield needs attention.