Round 4 vs Brisbane Roar - Match Thread.

[typool]

so assuming Porter is fit he will slot into RB and Elrich will go to the Bench??

 

[FFC Mariner]

Elrich.........FFS

Face + Palm

 

[dibo]

Funny though that if the team is named as

          Danny
Elrich Boogs Wilko Heff
Pedj WeeMac Hutch
BigMac Simon Kwas

In reality it will look a lot more like

          Danny
Elrich Boogs Wilko Heff
      Pedj  Hutch
BigMac WeeMac Kwas
          Simon

This doesn't bother me in the slightest, but those who aren't fans of our 'defensive' outlook won't be keen on it.

Elrich.........FFS

Face + Palm

He was crap last week, but at RB? There's something about proof and puddings that comes to mind.

 

[marinermick]

so assuming Porter is fit he will slot into RB and Elrich will go to the Bench??

that i do not know

 

[David Votoupal]

A Mariners win is perfectly possible based on the fact that they did win there last season, and Brisbane's second-half implosion against Wellington.

The Roar clearly rely on Charlie Miller to make their attacking gameplan work. Look how he played in Henrique to set up Van Dijk for the opener. When Miller went off, the Roar lost their inventiveness, and then self-destructed with Farina, Oar and Kruse losing their minds.

Both Welly and the Mariners are showing a bit of steel this year too, while Roar have looked a little fragile in all three matches so far. They've got a bit of the 06-7 Mariners about them...

This would alter pre-season predictions and make the Roar a possible candidate to miss the finals. If Miller can play most of the season that'd be less likely to happen.

Still, it's one of the highest quality and IMHO will be one of the most open seasons. Almost all teams are now very competitive and have a realistic chance of making it- except Fury who look hopeless (though better at home) and are making no use of Robbie Fowler who is not and never has been a long ball striker. Shame Ferguson is too stubborn to see it.

 

[marinermick]

A Mariners win is perfectly possible based on the fact that they did win there last season, and Brisbane's second-half implosion against Wellington.

The Roar clearly rely on Charlie Miller to make their attacking gameplan work. Look how he played in Henrique to set up Van Dijk for the opener. When Miller went off, the Roar lost their inventiveness, and then self-destructed with Farina, Oar and Kruse losing their minds.

Both Welly and the Mariners are showing a bit of steel this year too, while Roar have looked a little fragile in all three matches so far. They've got a bit of the 06-7 Mariners about them...

except Fury who look hopeless (though better at home) and are making no use of Robbie Fowler who is not and never has been a long ball striker. Shame Ferguson is too stubborn to see it.

huh?  fergie changed his formation last week and had mcbreen playing as the point man

 

[Statue]

so assuming Porter is fit he will slot into RB and Elrich will go to the Bench??

that i do not know

Wouldnt that be why clarkey is in the squad to fit into right back for Porter if he is unfit

 

[dibo]

A Mariners win is perfectly possible based on the fact that they did win there last season, and Brisbane's second-half implosion against Wellington.

The Roar clearly rely on Charlie Miller to make their attacking gameplan work. Look how he played in Henrique to set up Van Dijk for the opener. When Miller went off, the Roar lost their inventiveness, and then self-destructed with Farina, Oar and Kruse losing their minds.

Both Welly and the Mariners are showing a bit of steel this year too, while Roar have looked a little fragile in all three matches so far. They've got a bit of the 06-7 Mariners about them...

except Fury who look hopeless (though better at home) and are making no use of Robbie Fowler who is not and never has been a long ball striker. Shame Ferguson is too stubborn to see it.

huh?  fergie changed his formation last week and had mcbreen playing as the point man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhKErCF2mJE

You twist the story, you put facts in the story...

 

[adz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhKErCF2mJE

You twist the story, you put facts in the story...

lol great clip... bring back the Late Show!!

 

[Deej]

Elrich RB? Can he even defend?

Can he attack?

 

[Forum Phoenix]

so assuming Porter is fit he will slot into RB and Elrich will go to the Bench??

that i do not know

Wouldnt that be why clarkey is in the squad to fit into right back for Porter if he is unfit

Thats what I thought.

I really like the team Mick put forward as likely to start. And do think I prefer this 4 3 3 as opposed to the 4 3 1, if Roar are planning on width, which they usually do, then I think this 4 3 3 will allow us to defend Roars shape while not getting our ears too pinned back, like we do when the 4 2 3 1 morphs to a 4 5 1 under pressure.

Re Elrich, I can understand the concern... but It wasn't his positional play or closing down last match or even his wide runs, it was the final deliveries and the fact that he didn't look comfortable yet taking players on... As a right back this is less of a concern.

Also up the road Tarek turned into a revelation when he was moved out of the mids to RB and for mine has clearly been one of the best in the league. No reason why I can't see Ahmad potentially doing the same. Few advantages also in that he has more pace than Boogs which can at times cause concern and can potentially offer more going forward than most backs you will find (Tarek does this extremely well for the jest) I don't know whether he's a better tackler than Porter, (We may well find out!) but while I'm a Porter fan, and think he's improved a lot in this area, tackling does not seem to be his strong spot for mine... or indeed RB in all honesty. Lets hope Ahmad may turn out to be a revelation at RB also and he can build confidence in this position that may see him return to his form of old.

 

[FFC Mariner]

If AE is able to transition to FB as successfully as his brother, that will be a feat of coaching genius unsurpassed in the history of the modern game.

If he can do it, LM would be a worthy successor at Old Trafford.

 

[Gopher of Pern]

Elrich RB? Can he even defend?

Can he attack?

Touche

 

[MARSHP1]

I could see Travis at right back, but not Elrich. I believe he's a guy that can play in defence as well as the mid. There's no doubt he can tackle, has pace and can pass.

 

[Deej]

I could see Travis at right back, but not Elrich. I believe he's a guy that can play in defence as well as the mid. There's no doubt he can tackle, has pace and can pass.

Travis is very attacking, Elrich at RB could work, his attacking attribute have been poor since returning to the HAL so perhaps defence might be better? Can't be worse........can it?

 

[Forum Phoenix]

If AE is able to transition to FB as successfully as his brother, that will be a feat of coaching genius unsurpassed in the history of the modern game.

If he can do it, LM would be a worthy successor at Old Trafford.

Don't think it would be quite as large a feat as that...
Maybe throw in Wilko scoring a goal and it'd push it over the line ;D

 

[Roy Law]

Ahmed sure has more pace than Boogs (who hasn't?) but Boogard can tackle, can head, has pure defensive instincts and is utterly unafraid - none of which I can say about Elrich.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

I could see Travis at right back, but not Elrich. I believe he's a guy that can play in defence as well as the mid. There's no doubt he can tackle, has pace and can pass.

Mmmm... Have only seen 20 minutes of Travis, and barely more than that of Elrich, too hard to say in my opinion. If Lawrie puts him at RB then I think he may well surprise and do the job.

Thought Heff would surprise and pwn Danning last week...
But much more confident Ahmad will pwn Drogba at old Trafford when Lawrie boots Fergie.
Put your money on it.

 

[clarence]

I like reading all this conjecture about having Elrich at RB. To me it simply won't happen, and it seems like folks are dancing around the prospect of putting Clark and Travis on, even though Lawrie has them in his squad and they must be fit.

The simplest thing to do if Porter is unfit or only good for half a game would be to utilise Clarkey @ RB. He's not had any injuries of late has he? For someone who is 30+ he's one of the fittest professional sports people in Australia, so I would back him to do at least 75 minutes against Brisbane Roar. Has he lost speed? Is his anticipation still up to the expected level?

I'd also consider putting Travis on instead of Elrich. Run him - he surely must be fit - and put Elrich on later in the game if he's not keeping up. It's looking like it will be hot there tomorrow, so maybe it's better to know if this Pom can handle the heat now - while you have option s to replace him if he cannot handle it - then later in the season when the midfield might be depleted with suspensions and injury.

Trying out a player with skill (I've only seen 10 or so minutes of Travis but his passing is very good and he took a corner in Melbourne that was quite deadly), like Travis, would seem a safer option than throwing someone, who has played most of his professional career either on the wing or in the midfield, as your last line of defence. The notion about him only doing some holding up of faster players won't ring true if he attempts a tackle and ends up spilling a spot penalty.

 

[Wombat]

Elrich RB? Can he even defend?

It might actually be just the thing for him. Wide players more than anything need to be able to hold up the attacker and buy time for the guys inside them. He needn't be an awesome tackler, but his passing and vision are nice for when we're moving forward, without the need for quite as much running as when he's at wide mid. Look at Heffernan - he's a bloody striker, but he's been pretty much playing at left back for five years.

That said, if he's a complete abortion it was simply an experiment that didn't come off.

Fair call.  Porter is a very ordinary defender but has done well at RB.  Elrich will be attacking FB and can cross the ball wel.
Having said that i'd start Travis at RB ot play Boogs there and switch Bojic to CB.
Kwas has been ordinary and doesn't deserve to start this week imho...i'd prefer Caceras.