Mariners Squad 2022/2023

[Allreet?]

Professional football is a constant Darwinian Struggle to stay in the squad.

Ollie Bozanic was an outstanding Mariner over two phases of his career but had an unfortunate final exit. These things happen when livelihoods are at stake and fans can't expect players to love and sacrifice for the club in the same way fans do.

Also, he's the only Socceroo whose first club was Avoca, which makes him a permanent hero in the minds of all right-thinking people.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Professional football is a constant Darwinian Struggle to stay in the squad.

Ollie Bozanic was an outstanding Mariner over two phases of his career but had an unfortunate final exit. These things happen when livelihoods are at stake and fans can't expect players to love and sacrifice for the club in the same way fans do.

Also, he's the only Socceroo whose first club was Avoca, which makes him a permanent hero in the minds of all right-thinking people.

In football you are worth your future, your past is irrelevant. Harsh? yes but thats the game.

Snarky digs at people who value the badge over egos aside, Matt Simon is the only Socceroo from E Gosford? So what?

Monty is concerned about the next game, not the last game and he would quite rightly sacrifice anyone to get those 3 points.

 

[Allreet?]

So basically, you're agreeing with me.

 

[Michael]

In football you are worth your future, your past is irrelevant. Harsh? yes but thats the game.

Snarky digs at people who value the badge over egos aside, Matt Simon is the only Socceroo from E Gosford? So what?

Monty is concerned about the next game, not the last game and he would quite rightly sacrifice anyone to get those 3 points.

And yet players are signed with their past (playing history, injury history etc) usually a firm focus and indicator all the time.
a players past isn’t irrelevant.

 

[FFC Mariner]

And yet players are signed with their past (playing history, injury history etc) usually a firm focus and indicator all the time.
a players past isn’t irrelevant.

Lets just agree to disagree, I love your rose tinted glasses. Football isnt like that. He burnt bridges and got f**ked off.
Thats just what it is

 

[Jimmy]

I'm just going to keep my post stuck to the facts and let it tell the story.

Season 2021/2022.
Points per match with Ollie playing = 0.93
Points per match without Ollie playing =2.36

 

[Ironbark]

Robbie Neilson provides Hearts Kye Rowles transfer update

The Jambos are close to snapping up the Aussie centre back after agreeing a deal

www.footballscotland.co.uk

 

[Wombat]

To counter the blatant gaslighting about OB
Both Pedj and Wee Mac played more games .

Pedj did a great job but was far from top quality and dogged us.
WeeMac Version 1 was exactly the same quality as Oli.....bloody good.
Okon or Mulvey signed WeeMac version 2 was a wage thief and sued us.

Pretty sure OB deserves more respect. Someone very close to the club told me the stories are not 100% true.

 

[Wombat]

I'm just going to keep my post stuck to the facts and let it tell the story.

Season 2021/2022.
Points per match with Ollie playing = 0.93
Points per match without Ollie playing =2.36

TBF....the turn around came when Nizzy moved to Centre Mid. That was the true catalyst to our improvement imho.

 

[Insertnamehere]

TBF....the turn around came when Nizzy moved to Centre Mid. That was the true catalyst to our improvement imho.

And when JC came to us.

 

[scottmac]

TBF....the turn around came when Nizzy moved to Centre Mid. That was the true catalyst to our improvement imho.

Which coincided with Boz warming plastic and then being nowhere to be seen.

 

[Wombat]

Which coincided with Boz warming plastic and then being nowhere to be seen.

The point was Boz and Steel or Boz and Max was a failure. Max and Harry together = failure.

Once Nizzy came into the middle our problem was fixed....regardless of who he was paired with.

 

[Rising Sun]

I'm just going to keep my post stuck to the facts and let it tell the story.

Season 2021/2022.
Points per match with Ollie playing = 0.93
Points per match without Ollie playing =2.36

That's a gross over simplification though. Some other relevant facts from the "0.93" period:
- we were ravaged by covid and a lot of players struggling with form and fitness post their bout of covid
- we came close to winning the FA cup
- we went through a spell of finding new ways to drop points in time added on every week
- Shaun Evans
- Oli was a contender for man of the match in just about every game

Niz and Max were great together (and Max/Steely were good late on) but finally shrugging off covid and signing a top quality striker were big factors as well, as was other things like the big uplift in the form of the likes of Miller and Beni, or not conceding at the death.

The key facts in regard to Oli are that Monty exercised his prerogative not to pick him and was justified with the form of Niz/Max, whilst Oli publicly at least, behaved professionally about it. He has been great for us but now sits behind Niz/Maxy in the DM pecking order and would be on wages not suited for a back up. So I am happy with him being released but he goes with my best wishes

 

[Ironbark]

Think if Ollie wasn't being played on form he was definitely good enough to be on the bench. We never saw him close to the team again after he was dropped so there was more going on in the background without a doubt.

Few know what that going on was, but lots of rumour.
Whatever it was it hasn't hurt the team and the future looks bright. So I guess that's that and onwards and upwards

 

[FFC Mariner]

He chose not to be available according to Monty.
Tough to put him in the bench

 

[midfielder]

A couple of points re Ollie, whatever the issues where he never went on a behind the scene's media rant, nor did he from the outside away seem to want to interfere with the stability of the team...

For want of better the story I heard was Ollie believed Monty was a poor coach, making poor decisions... further he was telling other players this... it came to a head Monty stood his ground backed by the senior players .... what followed from this point I am unsure but its clear Olie never played for us again and in time stopped attending functions were awkward questions could be asked...

The club has never said anything as well so Olie can go to another club without being seen by another club as a trouble maker...

Its sad when two fan fav's essentially fall out when both have key roles... IMO given the break down both sides in the end handled it reasonably well...

I wish Olie well and I wish Monty every success.... now tis time to move on...

 

[Jimmy]

The key facts in regard to Oli are that Monty exercised his prerogative not to pick him and was justified with the form of Niz/Max, whilst Oli publicly at least, behaved professionally about it.

The key alternative fact maybe.

The actual fact as @FFC Mariner just pointed out is that he refused to play for us.
Getting all your mates to post lies on social media doesn't sound all that professional to me.

Being the captain, and not doing the captains duties is also showing a lack of professionalism.

I stand by the what I said about him bringing back a huge positive change in his first season back.
Unfortunately for him and the club, it wasn't the same last season.

 

[Jimmy]

That's a gross over simplification though. Some other relevant facts from the "0.93" period:
- we were ravaged by covid and a lot of players struggling with form and fitness post their bout of covid
- we came close to winning the FA cup
- we went through a spell of finding new ways to drop points in time added on every week
- Shaun Evans
- Oli was a contender for man of the match in just about every game

- So did lots of other teams.
- We scored more goals in the games Oli didn't play.
- You're proving my point, there were some goals we conceded as he was caught ball watching.
- We get shit refs all year round.
- Positive passing and possession stats don't mean a thing if you're only going sideways and backwards and never forwards.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Nizz moved the team forward in attack.
Something we were missing badly in the midfield.

 

[scottmac]

- So did lots of other teams.
- We scored more goals in the games Oli didn't play.
- You're proving my point, there were some goals we conceded as he was caught ball watching.
- We get shit refs all year round.
- Positive passing and possession stats don't mean a thing if you're only going sideways and backwards and never forwards.

It didn't seem like ball watching, because you can get caught doing that even though you're busting a gut. He just seemed like he wasn't putting his all into it like we had come to expect. There were times he was a genuine passenger in defence and it felt like it was because he'd thought he'd earned the right to do so, like that striker in their late 30's that doesn't have the ability to get forward and defend.
Anyway, putting all that aside, it's indefensible to choose to sit and watch the team you captain over dollars/contract at a club that you KNOW doesn't have wiggle room. People were talking about him for the Socceroos before all this mind you, and he chose to sit.