Mariners v Fury

[Ancient Mariner]

F..k! I must have gone to the wrong ground cos the game I saw was shit!!!
I`m sure half the people around me were talking about anything but football.Hell, I would have left at half time except a chick In the row behind & down a bit (bay 46 row I seat 22 to be exact) had her tits half hanging out & i`m sure if we had scored again the girls would have popped right out!.
Maybe that`s why I`m pissed.?

I can`t agree with ZYCIE"we`re playing attactive football"
Mate, what we played tonight would put a glass eye to sleep.Boring as all f..k!

Gull..if Wilko was awesome I`ll give the game away completely.Wilko was crap! He was that bad that crowd around me was booing him every time he got the ball.

Sorry to sound negative, but I paid my hard earned & got ripped off badly.
I even thought Fury played better than us.

My analysis (for what it`s worth) is:

Ryan 6/10: had very little to do but did most things
well.
Pedj 5/10: not sure if he played, he certainly didn`t
make any of the attacking runs down the
right that we`ve come to expect.
Wilko3/10: very poor. 50% of Ryans touches came from
him.Arnie, please explain to this guy that
we change ends at half time.He plays boring
football
Dutchy8/10:this guy is gold for us, if he ever misses a
game I shudder to think what the score
would be. I nominate him to take over the
captaincy.
Rosey 6/10:did nothing outstanding but it was enough
to keep the Fury out
Griffo7/10: made an impact with his solid defence but
some of the passes out of defence went
astray & put the pressure back on us
Olly 5/10: I try to like this guy, he has great style
but it just doesn`t happen for him & he
doesn`t have the confidence to shoot.
Maybe he is too good for this level
Weemac 5/10:did a lot of defending but never went
anywhere in attack
Perez5/10: Started off well with a great run that cut
the Fury defence to pieces but after
that..nothing!
Kwassie 3/10: not one of his best games.He put in a
good header to score for us but now on
reflexion I` thinking that maybe Simons`
cross hit Kwassie in the head
Matty 4/10: Probably the worst game I`ve seen him
play.Apart from the superb cross for the
goal he was a passenger.
Amini 8/10 : this kid really added some spark to our
game but unfortunately it was like feeding
strawberries to pigs
McBreen 2/10: He breathes & has a pulse but thats about
where the similarities to a footballer
end.I coudn`t wait for Kwassie to be
hooked but after 5 mins of McBreen I
wanted Kwassie back.He was an
embarrassment really.Being hit in the
back of the head & the having a shot that
nearly hit the lnesman on the far
side,what a joke!
Doig : If he isn`t better than Wilko by a country mile
I`ll eat my hat.

Don`t get me wrong, I`ll gladly take the points, but don`t piss in my pocket & tell me it`s raining

I suggest next time watch the game rather than the other supporters you may then get some idea of what is happening on the pitch.

 

[Roy Law]

I would also confirm that none of us would have thought at this stage of the season we would be in third place, especially with GA in charge; The football overall this year has been pleasing and entertaining and occasionally absolutely brilliant; the emergence of Ryan and Amini will be talked about for years to come; The Adelaide loss last night puts our draw against Perth in perspective.
Merry Christmas to everyone who visits this forum and see you all at Bluetongue on Boxing Day for another great day out and three more points

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

we're playing attractive football,

We can't be watching the same team - get an early lead then defend, defend, defend, oh screw it I'm bored, put a long ball up the front so somebody can cross it, is far from attractive football

Not our best game ... but they never looked liked scoring...

NQF had plenty of chances - the difference between a team at the top or at the bottom of the ladder is whether you can convert those (although we had a few decent chances we didn't convert as well)

Amini hacked again this week..

He's a new kid, and a young one at that - the older guys are going to try and own him, that's part of the game.

I really like him, I think he shows a lot of potential but he needs to get a bit of mungrel into him, he seems like he's afraid of getting hurt or afraid of doing something wrong. He'll be awesome once he gets a bit of confidence. He has a great touch, he puts his head up and positions himself well - though I think some of his teammates are reluctant to give him the ball at times.

I'm reminded of Matty Simon - when he started he had no idea how to use his strengths and he was dominated by his markers, and was lacking that mongrel element. Took him about a year to really come into his own.

Had to laugh at the bench - Amini was warming up behind the goal line when they wanted him, so the bench was miming his afro to try and call him over. Brilliant! Loving the massive cmile he had on the field. I really wish him all the best.

As for the game - a very lacklustre performance. The midfield didn't offer a great deal of support to the attack - I think they're dropping in too far behind, and a lot of loose balls could've been picked up just outside the box if we had midfielders pushing up just behind the strikers. And when you pick up those balls, they're always worth a long-range shot - remember when Hutcho found his sweet spot and scored about 3 goals in 4 matches from 28m out?

There seems to be a lack of confidence - in the box I'd like to see our boys back themselves a bit more. Try some close ball control to work the ball past the defence - all you need is the tiniest bit of space to slot the ball away, but last night it seemed that they'd rather send the ball back then try for a little bit of brilliance. All of our attacking players have shown in the past that they can do this - so why aren't they? Not just this game, but it's been happening a bit (I've only seen a handful of games though). Creating a brief little spark, or a close shot from a long range can really fire up a team.

Aside from that, a lot of our players were flat footed or standing and watching - I think NQF worked a lot harder than we did. Sure, working smart is better than working hard, but I remember in the early days how the Mariners were the fittest team on the park - NQF also tore too many of our players apart for pace.

But hey, as somebody said, maybe they were told to take it easy and just think about Sunday's game, so I hope that's the case.

Of course, the bloody missed penalty against Matt Simon didn't help matters much....Not sure what was wrong with him last night, worst game I've ever seen him play - though he knew it. His head went down the moment he walked off the field.

Normally he's the one carrying the team on his shoulders...I guess everybody has their bad days.

Watching the replay on TV - the games looks better than it did at the ground

Unfortunately a number of games I've watched this season have been played in similar fashion, which kinda leaves me scratching my head as to how we're in third - but living in Melbourne, without Foxtel makes it very hard to watch games. So perhaps I've just been unlucky enough to watch the wrong games and that's why I may be a bit harsh on them when they play like this, because it's about all I've seen this season. From some of the comments on here it seems that I've missed the better games.

WTF was Ryan doing at the end of the game though, the final goal kick - their keeper is up the field to attack, so instead of taking a quick goal kick to take advantage of him being out of position, he stops and gets a frikking drink???

Disappointing crowd, but the numbers seem to be down all around - I think the Wed night games are a killer.

Still, the Marinators were loud and strong for much of the game - nice to see some numbers are coming back a bit, the few games I've been to this season has seen them completely nonexistent. I still mourn the glory days of the first few seasons though :'-(

 

[kevrenor]

A match report at: http://back-of-the-n.../R19-CCvsNQ.htm

Nice to see so much commentary about the game but some people do need to a take a chill pill: Not a great game, not a great performance, but we need to have wins from these sort of games. We did, and Fury are no easybeats despite their position on the table (I still think they will be above Sydney).

Now for a six-pointer with Adelaide in less than 4 days! Get to the game if you can.

 

[Wombat]

F..k! I must have gone to the wrong ground cos the game I saw was shit!!!
I`m sure half the people around me were talking about anything but football.Hell, I would have left at half time except a chick In the row behind & down a bit (bay 46 row I seat 22 to be exact) had her tits half hanging out & i`m sure if we had scored again the girls would have popped right out!.
Maybe that`s why I`m pissed.?

LOL.

I can`t agree with ZYCIE"we`re playing attactive football"
Mate, what we played tonight would put a glass eye to sleep.Boring as all f..k!

IT WAS BORING IN PATCHES BUT ALSO SOME NICE FOOTBALL AT TIMES FROM PEREZ/BOZANIC/AMINI.

Gull..if Wilko was awesome I`ll give the game away completely.Wilko was crap! He was that bad that crowd around me was booing him every time he got the ball.

WILKO WAS SOLID. IT IS FRUSTRATING THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO PLAY FOWARD BUT ITS SAFETY FIRST FOOTBALL AND WE ARE NOT CONCEEDING TO MANY, SO I WON'T COMPLAIN TO LOUDLY.
Sorry to sound negative, but I paid my hard earned & got ripped off badly.
I even thought Fury played better than us.

I THOUGHT FURY WERE AVERAGE AND WE HELD THEM IN CHECK PRETTY COMFORTABLY FOR MOST OF THE GAME.

My analysis (for what it`s worth) is:

Ryan 6/10: had very little to do but did most things
well.
VERY GOOD GAME.
Pedj 5/10: not sure if he played, he certainly didn`t
make any of the attacking runs down the
right that we`ve come to expect.
GREAT WORK RATE AND CREATES ALOT, THE ONLY PROBLEM IS HE HAS VERY LITTLE COMPOSURE SO TENDS TO COCK UP ALOT OF OPPORTUNITIES AFTER HE HAS ALREADY DONE ALL THE HARD WORK. ONE OF OF BETTER PLAYERS LAST NIGHT.
Wilko3/10: very poor. 50% of Ryans touches came from
him.Arnie, please explain to this guy that
we change ends at half time.He plays boring
football
SOLID IF NOT SPECTACULAR. SOME LONG BALL RUBBISH CREEPING INTO HIS GAME, AGAIN.
Dutchy8/10:this guy is gold for us, if he ever misses a
game I shudder to think what the score
would be. I nominate him to take over the
captaincy.
MY MOM. THANK GOD FOR DUTCHY AND THE ONLY DEFENDER THAT SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO PASS TO FEET.
Rosey 6/10:did nothing outstanding but it was enough
to keep the Fury out
REASONABLE GAME.
Griffo7/10: made an impact with his solid defence but
some of the passes out of defence went
astray & put the pressure back on us
SOLID BUT ANNOYED ME WITH HIS LONG BALL RUBBISH AND PASSING BACK WHEN UNDER VERY LITTLE PRESSURE.
Olly 5/10: I try to like this guy, he has great style
but it just doesn`t happen for him & he
doesn`t have the confidence to shoot.
Maybe he is too good for this level
PROBABLY SECOND BEST MARINERS PLAYER. SHOWED SOME LOVELY SKILLS AND A REAL ASSET TO THE TEAM.
Weemac 5/10:did a lot of defending but never went
anywhere in attack
DID OK.
Perez5/10: Started off well with a great run that cut
the Fury defence to pieces but after
that..nothing!
LOVELY PLAYER TO WATCH. HIS TIMING AND VISION IS SUPERB. FADED BADLY BUT I'M VERY GLAD HE STARTED.
Kwassie 3/10: not one of his best games.He put in a
good header to score for us but now on
reflexion I` thinking that maybe Simons`
cross hit Kwassie in the head.
LOL. IT WAS A VERY GOOD HEADER FROM A SUPERB CROSS. WENT DOWN HILL FROM THERE.
Matty 4/10: Probably the worst game I`ve seen him
play.Apart from the superb cross for the
goal he was a passenger.
SUPERB CROSS BUT LOOKED ABIT OUT OF SORTS FOR MOST OF THE GAME.
Amini 8/10 : this kid really added some spark to our
game but unfortunately it was like feeding
strawberries to pigs.
FANTASTIC CAMEO. SHOWED A LOT OF CLASS.
McBreen 2/10: He breathes & has a pulse but thats about
where the similarities to a footballer
end.I coudn`t wait for Kwassie to be
hooked but after 5 mins of McBreen I
wanted Kwassie back.He was an
embarrassment really.Being hit in the
back of the head & the having a shot that
nearly hit the lnesman on the far
side,what a joke!
AGREE TOTALLY. I WANTED MCBREEN ON BUT HE WAS COMPLETE SHITE LAST NIGHT. I STILL THINK HE CAN BE USEFUL BUT GENUINELY TERRIBLE LAST NIGHT.
Doig : If he isn`t better than Wilko by a country mile
I`ll eat my hat.

I'M CERTAIN THAT DOIG IS A BETTER DEFENDER THAN WILKO BUT I'M VERY HAPPY WITH WILKO IN GENERAL THIS YEAR.

IN SUMMARY WE WERE OK AND IT WAS A GOOD PROFESSIONAL WIN. THE FOOTBALL WAS A MIX OF SOME SUPERB STUFF MIXED IT WITH SLOPPY DROSS. WE LOOK LIKE WE HAVE ALOT OF POTENTIAL STILL AND THE ONLY GLARING PROBLEM IS UP FRONT.

MOM. DUTCHY 3PTS
BOZANIC 2PTS.
RYAN 1PT.

 

[MagpieMariner]

Small thing but after the game Musty was called over by a group of young fans, then kids came from everywhere.... when the team was off the field in the shed Musty was still their signing shirts talking etc .... the kid is not up himself another plus for me..

Was watching that from up in the stand and he was loving every minute of it. He was even laughing when they were patting his hair.
A class act, hope he never changes.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

Or gets snapped up by another team

Seriously though, that's great to hear - but his smile when he took the field shows that he's loving every minute of the opportunity he's been given.

I've already spotted a few fans in the stands wearing red afro wigs

(Actually, I think I might have to get one!)

 

[garlo]

We've been wearing the Afro wigs for a few weeks now ...didn't last night coz we couldn't find them haha we need to see a sea of yellow on below and a sea of red on the head haha !

 

[Wee-mac]

Watchiing that second half last night was frustrating. 1nil is a lead but it's a stressful lead. One mistake and they are level. Which worries me especially against a team like the fury who are mobile and counter with speed. They are normally a team who do threaten, thankfully last night that was not the case(fortunately).
We passed the ball well but a few times to many held it to long or tried to run it into the box instead of having a crack from outside. I can't see us scoring any goals from outside the area this year for this reason.

I'll take the points but would like to see more attacking play.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

I tend to agree with most of what has been said here (with the exception of style).
Just a few points.
It will take the team a while to get used to Perez after playing with Amini. It is coming.
I like Amini's defence. He hassles the opposition and steals many balls. Perez just serems to cover.
I think Kwassie is looking the best he has been. He has given our attack some menace. Looks trim and is scoring. Remember he has only had a couple of full games, needs some match fitness.
Ollie is looking better every game.
Ryan is also improving. Do not know why we are wasting money on Pasfield. Ryan is good enough with Hendo on the bench.
Are there any others to be found like Dutchy? What a find.
I think the team can improve but more importantly I think they will improve and be a real threat at the business end.
My only fear is that injuries may stuff us.

 

[Jerem]

yes but they are afraid to fly, or about to retire!!
what a shame

 

[style_cafe]

I can see what Style Cafe is getting at, although I reckon he's getting a bit overly passionate about it. In other words, I don't think we were quite that bad but I understand the frustration. In the end, we didn't play the best even though it wasn't bad. It wasn't the type of football we were playing weeks ago which was a pleasure to watch and where we looked extremely solid in defence and fast and flowing through midfield.

IMO we were lucky to get the 3 points; NQF created a few clear opportunities to equalise especially down our left around rose who was beaten a more than a few times with nice crosses - there have been other games where our back four were rock solid with virtually every cross stifled and no penetration into the box. This game was not one of those.

Arnie's attitude was appreciated, but I wonder how long we're going to keep admitting we've got to improve without doing it. They've already proven they can play beautiful, effective football so what's stopping them doing it? I'm wondering whether the motivation is there. There were certainly times in last nights game where our players simply looked lethargic and I can't help but think back to our game against Perth where we were second to every ball all afternoon seemingly through a simple lack of determination and desire.

Anyway, we shall see. It's a sign of a good time to pick up good points when you're not playing the best. Hopefully it's just a slump from which we're about to emerge. I say that because I don't want to beat Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United because they themselves fall into a slump; that's a very negative ambition for our team and for the A-league. I want to beat Roar and AU with the type of football we know we can play; tearing them up through the midfield with beautiful passing, angled runs and players linking up; strong runs down the wings through overlaps between defense and midfield and beautifully judged switches of play from midfield. I've seen them do it and I want more!

Thanks Bex, I wish I had the talent to put it the way you did.
I wrote my original post as soon as I got home from the game so I was pretty fired up.!
I`m glad to see tho that the essence of what I was saying wasn`t lost.
Cheers mate.

 

[style_cafe]

F..k! I must have gone to the wrong ground cos the game I saw was shit!!!
I`m sure half the people around me were talking about anything but football.Hell, I would have left at half time except a chick In the row behind & down a bit (bay 46 row I seat 22 to be exact) had her tits half hanging out & i`m sure if we had scored again the girls would have popped right out!.
Maybe that`s why I`m pissed.?

LOL.

I can`t agree with ZYCIE"we`re playing attactive football"
Mate, what we played tonight would put a glass eye to sleep.Boring as all f..k!

IT WAS BORING IN PATCHES BUT ALSO SOME NICE FOOTBALL AT TIMES FROM PEREZ/BOZANIC/AMINI.

Gull..if Wilko was awesome I`ll give the game away completely.Wilko was crap! He was that bad that crowd around me was booing him every time he got the ball.

WILKO WAS SOLID. IT IS FRUSTRATING THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO PLAY FOWARD BUT ITS SAFETY FIRST FOOTBALL AND WE ARE NOT CONCEEDING TO MANY, SO I WON'T COMPLAIN TO LOUDLY.
Sorry to sound negative, but I paid my hard earned & got ripped off badly.
I even thought Fury played better than us.

I THOUGHT FURY WERE AVERAGE AND WE HELD THEM IN CHECK PRETTY COMFORTABLY FOR MOST OF THE GAME.

My analysis (for what it`s worth) is:

Ryan 6/10: had very little to do but did most things
well.
VERY GOOD GAME.
Pedj 5/10: not sure if he played, he certainly didn`t
make any of the attacking runs down the
right that we`ve come to expect.
GREAT WORK RATE AND CREATES ALOT, THE ONLY PROBLEM IS HE HAS VERY LITTLE COMPOSURE SO TENDS TO COCK UP ALOT OF OPPORTUNITIES AFTER HE HAS ALREADY DONE ALL THE HARD WORK. ONE OF OF BETTER PLAYERS LAST NIGHT.
Wilko3/10: very poor. 50% of Ryans touches came from
him.Arnie, please explain to this guy that
we change ends at half time.He plays boring
football
SOLID IF NOT SPECTACULAR. SOME LONG BALL RUBBISH CREEPING INTO HIS GAME, AGAIN.
Dutchy8/10:this guy is gold for us, if he ever misses a
game I shudder to think what the score
would be. I nominate him to take over the
captaincy.
MY MOM. THANK GOD FOR DUTCHY AND THE ONLY DEFENDER THAT SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO PASS TO FEET.
Rosey 6/10:did nothing outstanding but it was enough
to keep the Fury out
REASONABLE GAME.
Griffo7/10: made an impact with his solid defence but
some of the passes out of defence went
astray & put the pressure back on us
SOLID BUT ANNOYED ME WITH HIS LONG BALL RUBBISH AND PASSING BACK WHEN UNDER VERY LITTLE PRESSURE.
Olly 5/10: I try to like this guy, he has great style
but it just doesn`t happen for him & he
doesn`t have the confidence to shoot.
Maybe he is too good for this level
PROBABLY SECOND BEST MARINERS PLAYER. SHOWED SOME LOVELY SKILLS AND A REAL ASSET TO THE TEAM.
Weemac 5/10:did a lot of defending but never went
anywhere in attack
DID OK.
Perez5/10: Started off well with a great run that cut
the Fury defence to pieces but after
that..nothing!
LOVELY PLAYER TO WATCH. HIS TIMING AND VISION IS SUPERB. FADED BADLY BUT I'M VERY GLAD HE STARTED.
Kwassie 3/10: not one of his best games.He put in a
good header to score for us but now on
reflexion I` thinking that maybe Simons`
cross hit Kwassie in the head.
LOL. IT WAS A VERY GOOD HEADER FROM A SUPERB CROSS. WENT DOWN HILL FROM THERE.
Matty 4/10: Probably the worst game I`ve seen him
play.Apart from the superb cross for the
goal he was a passenger.
SUPERB CROSS BUT LOOKED ABIT OUT OF SORTS FOR MOST OF THE GAME.
Amini 8/10 : this kid really added some spark to our
game but unfortunately it was like feeding
strawberries to pigs.
FANTASTIC CAMEO. SHOWED A LOT OF CLASS.
McBreen 2/10: He breathes & has a pulse but thats about
where the similarities to a footballer
end.I coudn`t wait for Kwassie to be
hooked but after 5 mins of McBreen I
wanted Kwassie back.He was an
embarrassment really.Being hit in the
back of the head & the having a shot that
nearly hit the lnesman on the far
side,what a joke!
AGREE TOTALLY. I WANTED MCBREEN ON BUT HE WAS COMPLETE SHITE LAST NIGHT. I STILL THINK HE CAN BE USEFUL BUT GENUINELY TERRIBLE LAST NIGHT.
Doig : If he isn`t better than Wilko by a country mile
I`ll eat my hat.

I'M CERTAIN THAT DOIG IS A BETTER DEFENDER THAN WILKO BUT I'M VERY HAPPY WITH WILKO IN GENERAL THIS YEAR.

IN SUMMARY WE WERE OK AND IT WAS A GOOD PROFESSIONAL WIN. THE FOOTBALL WAS A MIX OF SOME SUPERB STUFF MIXED IT WITH SLOPPY DROSS. WE LOOK LIKE WE HAVE ALOT OF POTENTIAL STILL AND THE ONLY GLARING PROBLEM IS UP FRONT.

MOM. DUTCHY 3PTS
BOZANIC 2PTS.
RYAN 1PT.
[/quote








I thought someone had Hijacked my original post at first..but thanks for the additional comments.


If nothing else it has provoked others to write.

 

[midfielder]

Big call but I don't fear any team... our defence is as good as any ... our midfield in attack is IMO the best.. in defence ... well its our style because we have little folk in weeMac , Olly, Musty & Perez, we play a tight centre of the park and let play go down the sides with Rose & Pedj shielding and holding the attack until the defence is set and rely on Wilko, Dutchie & RG to handle the ball in the air with Olly and weeMac cutting in to stop the runners... it suits our size and style but does leave us open at times..

Our attack ... it's not the best is it and all the same ... although the mids are making even Kawwise look good..

 

[Atomic]

WTF was Ryan doing at the end of the game though, the final goal kick - their keeper is up the field to attack, so instead of taking a quick goal kick to take advantage of him being out of position, he stops and gets a frikking drink???

Wednesdays game was frustrating imo. I could say a lot of things but, to be honest, I just want to accept the three points, forget about this game and move on with my life. One thing I do want to say though is that there were a lot of fans sitting around me that were howling at Ryan to do exactly what you said in your post Gus... Not me though. We were up 1-nil, one minute to go, playing conservative, unattractive football, Fury were desparate... just waste time and wait to the whistle. Why kick it back into play and risk one more attacking raid? Crazy stuff! The right decision was made.

 

[Atomic]

Big call but I don't fear any team...

I fear Brisbane, Victory, CGU, Adelaide, Newcastle and Nix when they're playing at home. To a lesser extent I fear Heart, Perth, Sydney and Fury - but the fear is there nonetheless

 

[bikinigirl]

F..k! I must have gone to the wrong ground cos the game I saw was shit!!!

... snipped for brevity ...

. at least the match has encouraged some debate which i think is great ... but we all see things quite differently. other than swayze, you have rated griffiths above all other starters ... however much of your other criticisms i believe have their root cause at his feet

. not for the first time ... when we have had possession, griffiths sat too deep. it really limits our options when trying to play out from the back. with the option of a dm running backwards wilko often took the option of going back to ryan in order to create the space griffiths was not offering

. consequently the likes of the wee-man were being drawn backwards and inwards to create an option because griffiths was too deep. because of this we ended up with a huge gap between our midfield and strikers ... passing was no longer an option. it didn't take much pressure from north qld to resort to the long ball

. as for the booing and continual 'foward!' calls from the crowd ... nothing has changed in five years, its always been the case. but i think it shows a lack of sophistication in the stands - like i said not much has changed in five years. bearing in mind the above, not only is it often the best option ... sometimes it is the only option

. a number of times on wed all 20 outfield players were compressed into about a quarter of the pitch ... very difficult to play the right ball in that situation. as we inched forward space became even more restricted - a backward pass often created the space needed, suddenly there was twice as much room and the 'right ball' should have been easier to play

. unfortunately most of the time the whole midfield just tended to drop deeper with the opposition at their backs so instead of relieving pressure it actually increased it

 

[bikinigirl]

I think Arnie was just fudging in his remarks. He obviously told them to take it easy, just do enough to win, and save yourselves for Sunday. That's the only way to explain the casual approach I witnessed.

. interesting observation and i remember thinking early on 'they seem to be taking it easy'. but as it was the whole team it may have been a directive

. as i became engrossed in the game (say what you will about the quality ... the result was never a foregone conclusion) i didn't really think about it. but at the end of the match i was simply thinking 'they did enough'

. so if that was the case and we have the reserves to win again on the weekend ... it was the right approach - if it works it should be appreciated. we do have a busy time ahead of us again

 

[stormin]

. at least the match has encouraged some debate which i think is great ... but we all see things quite differently. other than swayze, you have rated griffiths above all other starters ... however much of your other criticisms i believe have their root cause at his feet

. not for the first time ... when we have had possession, griffiths sat too deep. it really limits our options when trying to play out from the back. with the option of a dm running backwards wilko often took the option of going back to ryan in order to create the space griffiths was not offering

. consequently the likes of the wee-man were being drawn backwards and inwards to create an option because griffiths was too deep. because of this we ended up with a huge gap between our midfield and strikers ... passing was no longer an option. it didn't take much pressure from north qld to resort to the long ball

. as for the booing and continual 'foward!' calls from the crowd ... nothing has changed in five years, its always been the case. but i think it shows a lack of sophistication in the stands - like i said not much has changed in five years. bearing in mind the above, not only is it often the best option ... sometimes it is the only option

. a number of times on wed all 20 outfield players were compressed into about a quarter of the pitch ... very difficult to play the right ball in that situation. as we inched forward space became even more restricted - a backward pass often created the space needed, suddenly there was twice as much room and the 'right ball' should have been easier to play

. unfortunately most of the time the whole midfield just tended to drop deeper with the opposition at their backs so instead of relieving pressure it actually increased it

AT LAST SOMEONE KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT SPOT ON.

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

Wednesdays game was frustrating imo. I could say a lot of things but, to be honest, I just want to accept the three points, forget about this game and move on with my life. One thing I do want to say though is that there were a lot of fans sitting around me that were howling at Ryan to do exactly what you said in your post Gus... Not me though. We were up 1-nil, one minute to go, playing conservative, unattractive football, Fury were desparate... just waste time and wait to the whistle. Why kick it back into play and risk one more attacking raid? Crazy stuff! The right decision was made.

The referees weren't born yesterday though - when it's clear timewasting, which it was, the referee is just going to keep stopping his watch (and possibly caution as well), so he's certainly not going to gain anything and was just blowing a great opportunity. The ref isn't going to let time run out because of this - as for the match ending immediately afterwards, I'd bet the farm that the ref had decided 'after this attack, I'll end it', so even if he had put the ball back into play in 2 seconds flat the match would've been over immediately.

Towards the end of the game I can appreciate playing conservative football and just keeping the ball away, but for the length of time that it was?