Mariners vs Adelaide - Friday the 13th

[true believer]

Defensively he is TERRIBLE. Defend or f**k Off is my mantra. How many assists has he had?

If he was scoring goals and putting in wicked crosses I could ignore his pathetic defending but like the uncontrolled olden day Storm he is costing us 1 or 2 goals per game.

Storm used to be the same before Monty taught him the basics and he had 3 fantastic seasons as a quality FB after that. Mauragis needs a massive factory reset.

if his instructions are to go forward (which i believe they are) then its a coaching thing .not the players.
he plays more like macgarry ,then faz

 

[Wombat]

if his instructions are to go forward (which i believe they are) then its a coaching thing .not the players.
he plays more like macgarry ,then faz

McGarry was a very average defender too but he could score a goal or two to make up for that weakness in his game and could cross the ball effectively. He didn't actually abandon his defensive duties like Mauragis, he just wasn't very sharp defensively.

 

[pjennings]

I was excited when DPC came in. Suddenly we had a keeper that wasn't afraid and was decent with his feet.

Sadly he has not impressed me at all since his debut. He looks very average. I will bow to Pat Jennings who is a specialist keeper but I actually have minimal confidence in him and you can see the other teams are lining up to shoot on site.

Out of who we have I think DPC looks not only the best keeper but also the one with the highest potential. I certainly wouldn't have gone in with 3 young keepers - even if it meant a visa GK. But given this is what we have I think he is the best in the squad.

I think we need to rethink a bit. Young keepers and young defence will make errors.

I'd like to see us set up a bit differently assuming Trent is back - so maybe a couple more weeks.

---------------------------DPC----------------------
---------Roux-----------Trent---------Brian-------
-------------------------Alfie-----------------------
Kuz--------- Doka------------Theohaurus------Mauraguis
---------------(Bailey/Eames/DeLima(prefer MDP))----------
--------------------------Kuol-------------------------------

The more senior CB lineup should provide DPC with a bit more cover - Alfie playing deeper in a five man midfield and the more attacking younger players further forward.

 

[shipwreck]

I agree that Alfie and Steele can't play together. The scary thing is, if Tapp wasn't injured and we played that lineup, Alfie doesn't make the team.

 

[bikinigirl]

I agree that Alfie and Steele can't play together. The scary thing is, if Tapp wasn't injured and we played that lineup, Alfie doesn't make the team.

. scary because three of our five visa players don't make the starting 11 from a young, inexperienced squad?

... and unless it is a grand final with a much better squad around them - they don't seem capable of having an impact off the bench either?

 

[FFC Mariner]

. scary because three of our five visa players don't make the starting 11 from a young, inexperienced squad?

... and unless it is a grand final with a much better squad around them - they don't seem capable of having an impact off the bench either?

Agree. Our recruitment has failed this season and will have to endure it and hope we get it right next time round

 

[Spacks]

I agree that Alfie and Steele can't play together. The scary thing is, if Tapp wasn't injured and we played that lineup, Alfie doesn't make the team.

I think if you're going to drop someone, it should be Steele.

 

[Corsair]

I was excited when DPC came in. Suddenly we had a keeper that wasn't afraid and was decent with his feet.

Sadly he has not impressed me at all since his debut. He looks very average. I will bow to Pat Jennings who is a specialist keeper but I actually have minimal confidence in him and you can see the other teams are lining up to shoot on site.

He's improving all the time and has made some fantastic saves to keep us in games. Doesn't have a lot of senior minutes, he's only 18 years old, i think he's doing an amazing job considering the circumstances, cut him some slack.

 

[Coastalraider]

What’s heartbreaking about this match is that in the first half I actually saw the plan starting to come together. Small triangles, movement of the ball, creating chances. But a couple of now customary defensive errors set us back, and once the heads dropped we completely fell apart.

I hope both the players and fans can see the start of some green shoots and not loose all hope in the system because of the second half.

 

[Corsair]

Every team has a shit performance now and again. It was bloody humid as well, doesn't help if you're already feeling flat. They had put a massive shift in for the Sydney game too.

Hopefully a week between matches will allow us to come back stronger.

 

[pjennings]

Agree. Our recruitment has failed this season and will have to endure it and hope we get it right next time round

No - I think there are enough non-performers to move some on in January.

 

[Ironbark]

What’s heartbreaking about this match is that in the first half I actually saw the plan starting to come together. Small triangles, movement of the ball, creating chances. But a couple of now customary defensive errors set us back, and once the heads dropped we completely fell apart.

I hope both the players and fans can see the start of some green shoots and not loose all hope in the system because of the second half.

Agree - this was my observation during the first half:

Looks like we're about where we were 3 games into last season.
Not good enough to keep out goals or cohesive enough to score well.
But the connections and understanding are still clicking and we'll improve enough to win more games.
The injury roarer this season has been a harsh mistress.

 

[FFC Mariner]

No - I think there are enough non-performers to move some on in January.

Agree.
However, we can't pay the duds out and would have to hope someone is dumb enough to take them off our hands
The injury money is needed to keep the club afloat I suspect.
We may be stick with them

 

[Tim]

Agree.
However, we can't pay the duds out and would have to hope someone is dumb enough to take them off our hands
The injury money is needed to keep the club afloat I suspect.
We may be stick with them

I recall comments some time ago that it takes foreign players anything up to a year to acclimatise to AU conditions. Some adapt more quickly than others. Are we expecting too much too soon from Alfie or is he simply not up to scratch? I recall some hammering (no pun intended) Torres early before he hit some form and looked the goods later in the season.

 

[Wombat]

I recall comments some time ago that it takes foreign players anything up to a year to acclimatise to AU conditions. Some adapt more quickly than others. Are we expecting too much too soon from Alfie or is he simply not up to scratch? I recall some hammering (no pun intended) Torres early before he hit some form and looked the goods later in the season.

Tulio, Torres and Doka all looked very average to begin with. I'm sure if we paired Alfie with Nizzy it would be a totally different story. Also if Alfie had players like Torres and Tulio to pick out he would have settled more easily.

 

[Michael]

I'm sure if we paired Alfie with Nizzy it would be a totally different story. Also if Alfie had players like Torres and Tulio to pick out he would have settled more easily.

Very true. Any hate towards Alfie is severely misdirected IMO. He’s the only midfielder constantly trying to create things. Even Doka has started to go missing regularly and would rather bitch at team mates. Same with Mauragis, one of only a couple constantly having a genuine crack. Most of the rest seriously have to look at themselves in the mirror and start asking questions.
When shit starts going slightly wrong 90% of them start bitching at each other. That was the entire downfall in this match. Paull f**ked up and lost the ball, Brian looked like a park footballer not knowing Goodwin was running behind him (pretty f**king obvious) and it all fell apart from there. They started quite well until that moment and it was honestly just pure mental weakness. Not a genuine leader on the park. The turn around from the Sydney match to this one was shocking. There is something seriously wrong with the dressing room.

 

[Stuartmcateer]

.Paull f**ked up and lost the ball,

Paull actually steps in front of Goodwin and wins the ball on halfway. Alfie gets in his way and the ball comes back to Goodwin.

Now, either Alfie or paull should have fouled him in the centre circle when he jinks around them but storm needs to be better defending the cross and kaltak is just ball watching and has zero awareness of where Goodwin is running into the box.

 

[Ironbark]

The player discussion is a tricky one because the team overall isn't performing in-tune. We could throw in any one decent player and in the second half performance couldn't have changed anything on their own.
In last years side many of the players that are not-quite-there at the moment would likely have performed well much more quickly in a functioning unit.

Jacko will work through this and injured players will return. Could really use some recruitment in Jan but I don't think anyone really expects it.
We're going to have these losses this year but as we saw against Sydney we'll have our purple patches too.

 

[Lunchbox Legend]

The player discussion is a tricky one because the team overall isn't performing in-tune. We could throw in any one decent player and in the second half performance couldn't have changed anything on their own.
In last years side many of the players that are not-quite-there at the moment would likely have performed well much more quickly in a functioning unit.

Jacko will work through this and injured players will return. Could really use some recruitment in Jan but I don't think anyone really expects it.
We're going to have these losses this year but as we saw against Sydney we'll have our purple patches too.

Agree with this. Injuries have definitely impacted our plans. Put in Trent alongside Kaltak it's a different story. Then Tappy in at holding mid and Alfie looks a different player. Harry is a workhorse but he's not as creative as Alfie and both are being overun in midfield. MDP at #10 and again it frees up Doka and others. It must be super frustrating for the coaching staff to see what's possible and then have your hands tied. On top of that the ACL travel.

I agree there are green shoots. At times we do put it together for short bursts.

 

[shipwreck]

Still waiting for that discussion about the new S and C team 🍿