ALL WHITES V BAHRAIN - Official 1st Leg T

Given that we beat Saudi 5-0 away back in 1981 (and conveniently ignoring how things have changed since then)

How about

"We wanted to go back to Riyadh
Bahrain said no, no, no"

Do we know approx how many kiwis are gonna be there for the away game?

me and the wife (although she might not be at the game if the shops are open at the same time)

dreamt that the newspapers slammed us after the 1st leg , saying we had blown it

Re Bahrain stadium tickets, here's some advice from an ex-pat in the know:

"sh*t hole of a stadium, you are better off splashing out and getting a VIP ticket at least you will get a reasonable seat to watch the game."

20 dinars (NZD76) is cheap when you consider the cost of travel & hotels?

For emotion you'd be hard pressed to top C-Diddy's Greenacre/Iffil sandwich dream! But your one does come close (and it's clean).

so is TVN covering the game or sky??

A bit of FIFA comment on NZ Bahrain
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1103133.html#herbert+hoping+history+repeats

[/QUOTE]
What does Bahrain on me mean?
That is terrible.
It doesn't make sense.
You are a disgrace.
Have some respect for yourself.
[/QUOTE]

now my b(ah)rain hurts

We don't swim in the seas at all, we sail on them!

Only problem with buying the vip tickets as suggested is that all tickets, outside the away ones are only going to be sold on the day, so we will end up with people all over the place.

Does anyone know where the NZ team will be training and staying at in Dubai, tried emailing the NZ football site, but have not had a reply yet, other than the initial we will let you know... a week ago.

I love this man.

Keep it up Bahrain.

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofcnewsdetails/nz-football-kick-off-tv-coverage-confirmed-for-all-whites-away-playoff

At the poor time of 430 am.Even an hour later would be much better.

It's Sunday morning, what difference does it make...el grapadura2009-09-29 18:47:37

Hopefully i'll be able to find a stream...

Unless it's on Setanta which I doubt?

I can't speak for anyone else, but 4.30am Sunday is almost the perfect time for me.

yea i think i might just do an all nighter

just flicking through my new october sky mag and wowser sky are showing the game live on sky sport 1, coverage from 3:15am!!!   

bennie992009-09-29 21:36:16

OK, if Herbert is serious about possibly playing 3-5-2 (and not just spreading misinformation for the Bahrainis) I reckon we would line up as follows:

Please don't play three at the back.

I think that away from home this becomes a 5-3-2 with the wingbacks having very much a defensive responsibility.  Therefore I wouldn't think Leo would be one of them.  If he plays three centre-backs, I'd predict... liverpoolfan12009-09-30 11:40:52

I would do an all nighter but i have school the next day

So we're not going to approach the game defensively by playing 5 at the back? lol.

and? who cares bout school, i have school as well.

4.30 am on my 18th Birthday haha.

Its an interesting one, if we did play 5 - 3 - 2. It is likely a couple of expected starters will be under a bit of pressure.

Sorry ML, but that side would get absolutely raped.

My thoughts on this from another thread:

Nah, 3-5-2 wouldn't work for either (All Whites or Phoenix I mean). You have to have a very special breed of wide player to pull that off, and neither side has them.

Not to mention that as a formation,3-5-2 is largely discredited at the highest level. It is to easy to get in behind the defence out wide, and the team loses the overlapping fullback on attack, who can provide the extra numbers when you're moving forward.

The only way this could happen is if the back 3 is effectively a back 5, with the fullbacks having the licence to provide the extra numbers on attack occasionally. But personally think that's way too negative, and also unlikely that you would change to an unfamiliar formation on the eve of the most important game NZ is about to play in 27 years.

pros and cons for different formations. I dont think it would be absurd to play 3-5-2. But away from home we would end up effectively playing with a sweeper (ie 1432) and being outnumbered further up the park. Probably end up chasing the ball all day and under the constant kosh. So, broadly I agree with you el grap. I was really just speculating as to what a 352 would look like if Herbert was serious about it as an option.

I'm just hoping we can get through 70min without a red card. I've just been having some bad nightmares of losing Brownie or someone in the first half.

Look if 3-5-2 is used, then Scott has to play as RWB and not Mully or Bertos. that would be dangerous for the defence. Scott can make strides down the right side like Lochy does for the left side.

The question then comes, who do you leave out in the midfield? Does Ricki think that McGlinchey is a wide midfielder and not a central midfield playmaker? If so, then he would have to consider that Brown is the box2box midfielder and he would have to drop either Bertos or McGlinchey.

Of course, I think that Smeltz with either Fallon or Killen plus Woods is headache enough up front.

So who do we decide?

I think it depends on who the other team will put out and how they play. The chances are that the Bahrain team will put their best players out and work the same things they were doing in the Asian WCQ games.

Probably they would do similar tactic as they did against Australia B side. If so, then they would be surprised but we don't play like the Australians and definitely not like their B side.

We need McGlinchey more for attack and Brown more for defensive. If this is the case, as a precaution we should start Brown at the start and bring in McGlinchey when the midfield has loosen up to create goal chances.

Also Wood is important to use off the bench. We really need that couple of away goals, so hopefully we are not scared to reveal our players just so we can get those goals.

Already that is two substitutions. With the other forward on the bench (either Fallon or Killen) we have a third attacking option. The important thing is that we need those away goals.

The first 10-15 minutes can be a bit of a test. And sometimes, it is best to catch the Bahrain players on the hop to grab them goals. The second half of the first leg is going to be interesting. I think we should not wait until the 65 minute to make the first sub. Half-time sub maybe enough to keep the tempo up against them.AllWhitebelievr2009-09-30 21:35:28