Round 16 - Sheep-shaggers v Mariners

[FFC Mariner]

All I hoped for at the beginning of the year was that we would make the 4.

Just about clinging to that hope. Just

 

[David Votoupal]

I still think the side will finish in the 4. However, it's important to remember that compared to last season the competition is a lot tougher.

A favourable GD and Melbourne's current poor form (as well as Sydney's) still help.

 

[cruiser]

Went out straight from work and have only just gotten home and read the score - AAAAARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAMN!! 

 

[FFC Mariner]

Went out straight from work and have only just gotten home and read the score - AAAAARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAMN!! 

Consider yourself lucky mate, you didnt have to watch us fail with the same tactics for 90 minutes.

 

[graaant]

Anyone remember www.sackviddie.com?

EDIT: BTW, best signature on there is "You guys suck look where they r now, in da final of da asia"

DA ASIA!

 

[kanewillow]

ohwell loss isnt the end of the world

 

[David Votoupal]

That's true, but in this league points are at a premium because the margin of error is small.

 

[fruitbat]

i am still extremely angry!!!!! last year we got all 9 points against them and this year we only got 1 and couldnt score a goal against them, think about it 3 games against wellington and not 1 goal!!!!!!

Hi Fenno,
Team form varies so much between seasons that its difficult to compare them. (Look at newcastle who won the final last year now far down the table). I think the inconsistency is due to the small pool of talent in the league and high proportion of players transferring between clubs. There is less stability in a team from one year to the next. (However I DO think the Mariners have fared well over the 4 seasons by retaining a large core of players).
With the creation of another 2 clubs in V5 (a good thing for the league) erratic form from one season to the next is more likely.

I've NEVER understood why we are so underrated and Sydney FC so OVERrated -ideas anyone?

 

[Razorback]

Ur kidding? He was the one who stopped our forward momentum time after time and allowed them to get behind the ball.

Get ball
Stop
Turn
Turn again
Now covered by 3 players & attack breaks down

ps his passing was shit too

I really was kidding... HUTCH OUT

 

[Brighty]

I've NEVER understood why we are so underrated and Sydney FC so OVERrated -ideas anyone?

I don't really care if we're under-rated... I think it's better to be under-rated than over-rated like Aloi$i FC!!!!

Can't remember who's sig line it is... but is something like..."nobody rates us, but we don't care!!" is the best way to be. I really like the under dog factor, not to mention everyone hates playing us cause they know we can come back no matter what the score... it's been proven too many times now!

As for the Nix game... they got a goal early and were happy to defend all game and then counter quickly, which I thought we may've been caught out a couple of times had their last touch/shot been a bit tidier. In all I think we pressed them hard and sat for a long time in their box... with no luck coming our way in regards of a goal... they did have some good desperation defence I must admit but again, we lacked that spark up front and lost the game.

Why do we not have anyone sitting just outside the 18 on corners ready to have a crack at a loose ball... from memory there were a few chances when, if someone was there would've had a good amount of time to drive a shot(ala Gumpy style), instead everyone's in crowding the box and then chasing the ball back on the counter.

Would love to see the % stats on the game though.... how many times were we in their box, corners, possession etc etc

 

[Razorback]

Newcastle getting up last night makes the loss even worse now... we could be in second place if only for a sort while.

 

[Roy Law]

"quite simply the most insipid, heartless, gutless, and piss-weak display I have ever seen from this football team" - so I presume you didn't see the home game against Wellington? Actually, they weren't gutless. they worked their socks off. The game simply came down to yet another terrible piece of defending, this time by Bojic. He tracked Smeltz all the way back to the penalty area and then gave him a free header. Cost us the game, could cost us the play offs. Don't understand defenders who do not have the basics of defending, it can't be that difficult can it? If an attacker is in our penalty area you do not give him a free header. Clearly Bojic's immense enthusiasm is counterbalanced by a complete lack of brain cells. And of course after that early Christmas present Wellington just sat back and defended in numbers, even in the first half Dodd should have been booked by the ref for timewasting at a free kick. Not happy.

 

[Roy Law]

And for all those who want to criticise Hutchinson, can you tell me if Gumprecht played today, because if he did I didn't see him.

 

[brett]

That game reminded me of Adelaide vs Waitekere in the CWC. When a team sits back on its own box for 90 minutes, A-League teams struggle to break them down. Our players don't know how to get close to each other and pass the ball quickly to create chances.

In that game Adelaide got lucky with two goals from set pieces to get out of jail. We were unlucky. We tried some passing through the middle and that didn't work, so we went for some balls over the top and created some chances from Macca knockdowns but the ball just wouldn't put itself in the net. How many shots looked good but then got blocked by an immense forest of legs? Conceding so early is what hurt us in the end, and we simply start too slow again and again.

I thought Gumps wasn't at his best, Hutch at least got wide and knocked some crosses in on the other side. Roddy said Gumps took some good options to switch which might be true but either he or Porter had to get high and wide on the right to give us width and spread the defence apart. Jedi played some nice balls early but looked more intent to go himself and be the hero than steer the team around into dangerous areas - a job better suited to Hutch when he gets to play as the deepest midfielder. Only because of Jedi's size and determination did some of his runs nearly pay off but he was also buggered by 75 minutes and we fell away at that time.

Hutch needs to watch videos of Corica, who also isn't blessed with the gifts of acceleration or dribbling at pace, but when the silver fox receives the ball, he moves it, then plays it. I have no problem with having at least one player who wants to settle the play and take easy options, but when he just pauses with the ball he gets caught out. Thou must dribble thy ball.

Heff had a mixed game both with and without the ball and he will get better as he plays more games.

I thought the first change should have been Gumps/Hutch for Sasho to revert to our 4-3-3 with Caceres coming from deeper to run at players. The deeper he comes from, the more dangerous we looked.

In the end we were only Adrian's great chance or Matty getting onto Dylan's header back across goals from equalising and probably going on with it. Credit to Ricki Herbert, he out-thought us this year. He basically played 270 minutes of defensive, compact, counterattacking football against us this season and he got a goal from a set piece and a goal from a quick break. Pretty good work against the highest scoring team in the league.

I, like Roy Law above me, don't agree with Serious that the effort or the heart can be questioned from this performance. It was clear the players were trying their guts out and were frustrated as all shit that it wasn't working out.

What we lacked is invention and cohesion in the final third, and some luck. Some of Adelaide's passing moves against Al Ahly were great and unfamiliar to A-League teams. Maybe our Asian adventure will teach us how to break down teams who are sitting back.

 

[clarence]

Serious is back in form! Last week's pasty weak spray was an abnormality eh, Serious?

Good to see some things are back to normal!

Your post , +1.

 

[Sym]

Cause We won last weekend

 

[serious14]

"quite simply the most insipid, heartless, gutless, and piss-weak display I have ever seen from this football team" - so I presume you didn't see the home game against Wellington? Actually, they weren't gutless. they worked their socks off

Great, another apologist who would rather gather the team together and have cuddling sessions whilst Lawrie sits with his circle of favourites and reminds them that no matter what, they'll never be dropped, than subject them to constructive criticism.

Lawrie is a nice fellow - I've had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions now, and he's not only been more than happy to talk and take photo's and all the rest of it, but he's also stood there and listened to criticism, and tbf, he's given his reasons.  The sycophants on this board would do well to realise that the one they're sucking up to the most is probably sitting at him laughing at you for being so utterly ridiculous.  HOWEVER, is Lawrie the person to take this team to the next level??    Alas, I don't think so anymore......

* The favouritism within the team/squad/whatever is rife, and it is clear for all to see, TO THE DETRIMENT OF ON FIELD PERFORMANCE.  I don't give a flying f*ck if _whoever_ hosts the best parties this side of Vegas or is best mates with someone else, IF THEY ARE NOT PERFORMING ON THE FIELD, THEN THEY GET BENCH DUTY.  It's a pretty f*cking simple concept, but one that we don't seem willing to embrace.  Seems the reward for mediocrity in this team at the moment is a starting spot the next week

* Once you've figured out Lawrie's tactics, that's it.  We've had this happen time and time again, against all our opponents on different occasions, and I fear it will continue to happen until something is done.

* Lawrie used to be a pro-active manager....... lately, he's become reactive, and sometimes, not even that.  89th minute yesterday, camera pans over to him, sitting on his chair with a dumbstruck look of "shit, what do I do" on his face.  Not on his feet, switching the team to a counter-attack protecting 2-4-4, so that we have a chance of getting a goal, but at the same time protecting our goal if we lose the ball, not firing the lads up - just sitting there.

* My feelings on Hutchinson as a semi-attacking midfielder in this team are well know, no point re-hashing them here.  He's shit, he has been all season, some really need to learn to deal with that.

* This football team has serious issues when we concede a goal.  All shape goes out the window, and we panic.  Other teams are cottening onto this more and more, and if it wasn't for the grit and determination of some (Simon, Jedi, Gumps, amongst others), then those results against Adelaide, Sydney, and Perth would never have happened.  Even the 3-3 against Sydney was borderline lucky - if Musialik's miss of the century from 2 yards out hadn't have happened........ well, you know.

Clarence - we played well for periods last week mate, there were nice things to write about.  Last night??  Unacceptable.  Totally, completely, and unforgivably unacceptable.  Those who adopt the attitude of "nah mate, she'll be right, we're still 4th" - guess f**kin' what, we're equal 4th with a team that was borderline last for all of last season and most of this one.  We throw up shit like this again in our next game (JUST SO HAPPENS to be away to Newcastle) and they will murder us.  F*ck, even Perth will take us to task on NYE if we play like that again.

FFS SOME OF YOU, STOP ACCEPTING MEDIOCRITY AND START QUESTIONING WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOUR FOOTBALL TEAM!!!!!!  Minus a certain few, we have a squad to really make something of our Asian assault and the rest of the domestic season...... do you really want to slip out of the four and be embarassed by the best that China, Japan and South Korea have to offer??

Wake up.

 

[LFCMariners]

Remember last time around we got beaten by Wellington and played shit then faced up against the Scum the week after and won. I think the boys will be fired up for a marked improvement this next weekend, especially considering who it is they are playing and where they are playing them.

 

[serious14]

Remember last time around we got beaten by Wellington and played shit then faced up against the Scum the week after and won. I think the boys will be fired up for a marked improvement this next weekend, especially considering who it is they are playing and where they are playing them.

I _sincerely_ hope so, I'm sick of losing/drawing up there.

 

[Jorome Alexander Bennett]

Lawrie McKinna is my hero.
He is the reason we have such a fantastic club.
He is the reason we get to many a grand final.
He is the reason we are Premiers.
He is the reason we are going to Asia.

Unless Sir Bobby Robson is cured of cancer and put in charge, there is no one I would rather have as manager.