Mariners V (lack of) Heart

[midfielder]

7 points ... good lead in to ADP match ...

 

[localpom]

Good result. Apart from last weekends debacle a solid start to the season. Would be nice to score more than a goal a game though. Maybe next week....

 

[Wombat]

Another ugly performance but a decent result.

With that set up with two defensive middies and no top line striker we are in for a long season of dour boring Football.

Ryan 8. Please dont ever leave Matty.
Rose 7. A much better game.
Dutchy 7. Solid.
Tesco 7.5. I reckon he will be a better player than Wilko at this rate.
Pedj 7.5. Cracking goal and decent defensively.
Sterj. 6.5. Looked a bit fitter and nearly scored a great goal.
Hutcho 7. Looked great in the first half but ordinary in the second.
Monty 7. Reasonable and one superb ball to Bernie late in the game. Possibly are only player that likes to play one touch.
WeeMac 8. Good game and along with Rogic our only threat.
Rojic 7.5. Looked classy at times.
McBreen 6.5 Tried hard but not much of a threat.

Subs...all did there job without any wow factor.

MOM

3pts WeeMac
2pts Ryan
1pt Pedj (the goal edged him in front of Rogic).

 

[Roy Law]

I wasn't able to see the game; you all will be pleased to know that I have christened Monty 'Selleys' as he leaves no gaps

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Wombat agree, 4231 will equal a pretty dour year. Glad we have it in the arsenal, but I really want Olly and 442 back.

However I suspect that with Monty and Hutchos performances, and another clean sheet, it will likely be hear next week at home. Though I hope not. Hoping for a big crowd for this one!

Great subs by GA, on the money. Mile offering the least. Subbed. Tommy, clearly suffering from one too many hacks and headshots is out on his feet, Subbed for the perfect injection of energy in Hearfield. I would have brought Anderson on just a little earlier for McBreen mind you protecting that slim lead. But what the f**k do I know

All in all, we were solid, but lacked the fluency and speed of transition that we played in the first half against scum last week. Look forward to seeing more of that.

Pretty dour game, but a great 3 points.

And as my step mother said in response to people decrying boring football.... It's football, not cabaret.



Love it.

 

[12th player]

Defensively very solid but we are lacking creativity and penetration from midfield to attack.Our ball possesion is good but it's mostly in defensive mode.Not an entertaining display by our mariners but at the end of the day,what really matters, is getting those 3 pts.

 

[hasbeen]

Defensively very solid but we are lacking creativity and penetration from midfield to attack.Our ball possesion is good but it's mostly in defensive mode.Not an entertaining display by our mariners but at the end of the day,what really matters, is getting those 3 pts.

This is exactly where the conundrum lies ... 3 points for dour, boring wins are good for the race up the ladder, but alienate the non-hardcore fans ... I for one cannot watch boring shitty football every week. I screamed with frustration again yesterday every time the midfield chose to play it back to the defense instead of going forward, and our past attack options of the overlapping Ped and Josh seem to have dried up, and we don't look like we have a plan B.

 

[adz]

Going by Arnie's comments rating our game a 5 or 6 out of 10, I would think that's not the intended game plan! Very frustrating watching us kick back so often and hoof it up the park.

 

[ExiledMariner]

I'll struggle to give this game a rewatch.

Lacking any real partnership options up front. They're all decent enough on their own but none of them seem compliment each other. Looking forward to having Kwassie back in the squad.

 

[dibo]

I enjoyed it. The 4-2-3-1 is rally just the FFA 4-3-3.

We've got a bunch of players who are quite useful in this shape, and I thought we actually played a very good controlling, comfortable brand of football. We created chances too - Rogic had a good game that was just let down by being too slow to release on a couple of occasions, and we bring the fullbacks into play pretty well.

I'm always happier to see us seek a backwards relieving ball than mindlessly lumping it forward, and when we dropped it in to Matt Ryan he almost always found a forward option in a blue shirt. That's good football - recycle the ball and advance it safely when you can.

I enjoy watching that, but I can see how others might not. I have to say though, for us to get good at football as a nation, we need to accept that quality must win over entertainment. and we've got to bring people along with that. Brisbane have started this process really well, and to be honest we're now the club playing the quality stuff across the park.

 

[elevated position]

This shape is how we will play in the ACL next year

 

[Gratis]

I have faith...first season with Arnie in charge was the same, new style for the players to get used to and weekely tinkering until it did. when they kicked into gear boy did they. it'll be the same with this new formation, they've already got the defensive element solid and will work on and improve the rest from there. come mid/late season they'll be on fire.

also here are some more comments from Arnie post-game (442):

"I was very happy again with our defensive structure," Arnold said.

"We work hard on our defence, we didn't give too much away. Three clean sheets in four games, our defence is strong, we've just got to keep working and keep working hard on our attacking shape."

While Arnold had no complaints about his team's compact, organised approach, he knows there is still work to do in the attacking third of the field if the club from Gosford are to challenge for honours again in 2012/13.

"We've changed our system to suit the personnel that we've got, so it's taking a little bit of time to get going forward," he said.

"If you're defensively strong it builds confidence, it gives you ... the opportunity to stay in the game.

"I feel our build up is quite good, I'm quite happy with that.

"Our transition from defence into attack is letting us down at the moment. We're being a little bit negative when we win the ball at the back.

"What we were good at (last season) was breaking forward with the ball and the first pass going forward, moving forward as a unit.

"Sometimes now, at the moment, it's like the first pass will go forward and the second will go back."

 

[Roy Law]

This shape is how we will play in the ACL next year

Got it in one; GA is using the A League to prepare the Mariners for the ACL. It also shows he is confident of the Finals this year.

 

[Wombat]

I enjoyed it. The 4-2-3-1 is rally just the FFA 4-3-3.

We've got a bunch of players who are quite useful in this shape, and I thought we actually played a very good controlling, comfortable brand of football. We created chances too - Rogic had a good game that was just let down by being too slow to release on a couple of occasions, and we bring the fullbacks into play pretty well.

I'm always happier to see us seek a backwards relieving ball than mindlessly lumping it forward, and when we dropped it in to Matt Ryan he almost always found a forward option in a blue shirt. That's good football - recycle the ball and advance it safely when you can.

I enjoy watching that, but I can see how others might not. I have to say though, for us to get good at football as a nation, we need to accept that quality must win over entertainment. and we've got to bring people along with that. Brisbane have started this process really well, and to be honest we're now the club playing the quality stuff across the park.

Nice diagram but the reality is we are not playing that shape.

I don't know how you could have enjoyed that game unless you were viewing it like a chess match.

The reality is it was a horrible game and we created two decent chances in 90 mins and could have easily lost that game.

We need to go back to 442 with Olly on one wing and WeeMac on the other.....imho.

 

[localpom]

It's early days yet and the players are still getting used to a new system. Last year we didn't really start firing till the 5th or 6th game. I think with a bit of fine tuning we will get there, would still like to see Olly on the pitch as well though.

 

[neverwozza]

http://australiascout.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/arnold-mariners-diamond-rogic/

Nice blog post on the discussions above.

Also I gotta say I love the way this forum has headed. I don't post much because TBH I don't really have that much to add on most topics but I always enjoy the read.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Yeah I feel that way to NW. Always good intelligent football talk these days. Never too over reactive or unduly negative with a good range of intelligent opinions and insights. I enjoy my time on here probably more so than ever these days.

 

[Wombat]

It's early days yet and the players are still getting used to a new system. Last year we didn't really start firing till the 5th or 6th game. I think with a bit of fine tuning we will get there, would still like to see Olly on the pitch as well though.

We stank the first six games of last year for 3 reasons. Pelle started in centre mid. Wilko was out and Brad Porter was his replacement.

On a positive note this year we look nicely organised and confident.

If Arnie feels the need to start Hutcho each game then it should be on the left. Monty can hold the middle. Having said that I prefer Olly to Hutch at 11.
I would give Sterj a couple of games up front with a strike partner in a 442. If he doesn't produce then he can drop back to the bench.

WeeMac, Rogic, Olly, Monty, Hutcho, sterj is a fantastic midfield but they can't all play at once.

Rogic is also a conundrum. Hugely talented but inexperienced he doesn't fill Musti's boots yet.....but that might also be because we have been playing with only one striker which gives him no options half the time.

 

[dibo]

Nice diagram but the reality is we are not playing that shape.

I don't know how you could have enjoyed that game unless you were viewing it like a chess match.

The reality is it was a horrible game and we created two decent chances in 90 mins and could have easily lost that game.

We need to go back to 442 with Olly on one wing and WeeMac on the other.....imho.

What shape are we playing then? I'm not picking a fight, I'm interested in what you think.

And I do like watching football like a chess game, honestly.

A lot of the time this year, we're going to win from our one chance. Other days we're going to get the measure of the opposition and simply storm people. That's OK, we might well win the league again by being incredibly hard to beat as well as being on occasion incredibly hard to keep out.

Playing away from home, I want us to be hard to beat more than any other thing. It's not our job to entertain their crowd - it's our job to sneak past the guard, cut through the glass and get away with the shiny baubles before anybody catches us.

I think the system is very solid, can be very flexible, and at home against Perth frankly we could've had a hatful and they didn't have that many chances. I'm completely OK with that, and I'm very confident going into this weekend's game that we'll get the job done again.

 

[Wombat]

What shape are we playing then? I'm not picking a fight, I'm interested in what you think.

And I do like watching football like a chess game, honestly.

A lot of the time this year, we're going to win from our one chance. Other days we're going to get the measure of the opposition and simply storm people. That's OK, we might well win the league again by being incredibly hard to beat as well as being on occasion incredibly hard to keep out.

Playing away from home, I want us to be hard to beat more than any other thing. It's not our job to entertain their crowd - it's our job to sneak past the guard, cut through the glass and get away with the shiny baubles before anybody catches us.

I think the system is very solid, can be very flexible, and at home against Perth frankly we could've had a hatful and they didn't have that many chances. I'm completely OK with that, and I'm very confident going into this weekend's game that we'll get the job done again.

Dibo,

Your optimism has made me feel a bit better.

You and me will watch the Mariners week in week out regardless.

I look forward to watching the Mariners all week and when we put in an insipid performance it really gets to me.

I always want us to win but to be honest we have sucked this year....in purely Football terms.

In 4 games we have probably created 7 or 8 good chances....probably less than we would create in any decent game of Football.

Something is wrong and even if we win the league we wont keep any knew fans if they fall asleep and say "how boring was that" when they venture out to BT.

Less intellectual people than you, or people who have not played the game, are not going to be impressed to see us pass back to the keeper from within our opponents half.

For the record i think we have been playing 4411 or 451.

I'll be in Ballina or Lismore this weekend wearing my Mariners shirt....so please god i wont have to venture into Nimbim to dull the pain of another shocker.