All Whites V Saudi Arabia Friday 6 Sept 6.15am SS2

The good thing is the pool of players now is bigger. 

Another,  is the idea of passing game that suits the new young attacking players and will work vs Concacaf teams,, 

The brit hoof the ball long wouldnt work at times vs them, if you gave away possession to them, with pitch and the ball at their feet, they will attack and attack one-two and will take a dive near the box. 

What does this mean for a back 4 now as well? Have to try it again in the next match

So I have a number of people not talking to me this morning.

Still don't think we've got the fullbacks to support a back 4, really. Oh how I wish for the day where we unearth a top left back, right back and CM

Mcglinchey had a boy. Max. Nice work

Told you I was feeling it in my bones that we were going to win. Well I am also feeling it in my TAB account. Stoked.

Big Issue?

Butler did ok at the start but once Saudi settled he got shown up and took bad options.

Smith's distribution was really disappointing from the back and I expected more from him.

Still to direct for my liking and we still lack a link player through the center. Durante looked better when he took the ball forward. 

I was happy with Kosta, should of had a goal but I don't think any other player in the NZ squad would of found themselves in the positions he gets in. His movement is a lot better.

I would like to see Howieson start in the holding role like he did for the u20's as his distribution and touch is very good.

Lochy looked ok, but just simply can not cross. Siggy has not natural attacking instinct and stops play when he gets the ball. Really hope Roux and Fenton do well so we can start seeing more modern FB's in play.

Not enormous but I'm a pretty small-time gambler so I was pleased, turned $40 into $130.

But is it? We brought guys back from international wilderness..

Chris James is the new Simon Elliot! 

For me:

Moss was not really tested but took crosses well and kept up the chatter

Siggy not gonna cut it at RB in the future. Although did a decent job but let men in behind him.
Bertos not really tested there. Probably still our most likely option
Reid seemed decent on the ball - solid. Seemed to take advantage of being captain to take that free kick - odd.
Smith was shaky at times - covered Lochy a bit and was always safety first.
Lochhead was very rusty - made bad options and way too predictable

Durante was not spectacular but worth pursuing in this position imo. Could offer more than Ivan in the future
Butler was pretty average and did not do all the simple things right - which is what you need from him.
James really took his chance in a variety of roles. Dynamic and kept the ball moving.
Clapham was barely noticeable on the park except for his tackle. 
Howieson was impressive again. Great little touches and always looking for positive options.

Brockie looked tired - and not very dangerous or hungry. Had very little movement into dangerous positions.
Kosta was our most threatening attacker and his pace and touch are a threat. 
Wood didn't get as many chances as he would have liked but held ball up and had decent movement.
Killen hit a good goal, made it hard for keeper with that swerve. Unlucky that ref gave so many fouls against him.

I was actually asking if you were interested in purchasing one of these, but well done on your winnings

Kosta got in some good positions to score - but his shooting was woeful....Think he'll be benched when Smeltz/Rojas come back.

yes, add the 18 in the camp, plus McG, Fallon, Rojas, Smeltz, Payne, Boxall, Fenton, Roux, Boyd, Hogg, Gleeson, Myers, Rowe, Musa, Basalaj, Keat, Craig Henderson,    you have 35 players , and some other that maybe you can name

In terms of going forward, I think we need to look at a midifeld of McGlinchey + 1 of Payne/James + 1 of Vicelich/Durante.

However James looked pretty good even deeper but wasnt tested defensively.

Could see Payne, James & WeeMac as a midfield 3 - with Howieson off the bench for width or central cover.

    James  Payne
      McGlinchey
Marco Wood Kosta

Thats a pretty small side, compared to what we had last world cup cycle.
Which is why I'd potentially still look at Vicelich or Durante as a DM for  a bit of brute force

Howieson deserves to be given a start to show what he can do.

this is the starting lineup I was thinging of going forward

             Moss

Siggy, Reid, Smith, Lochhead

 James Durante Weemac

 Wood Smeltz Marco

that's assuming Ricki sticks with a back four. Kosta/Killen to cover up front, with Payne, Clapham for the mids with bertos for RB

My thoughts

**Disclaimer** I didn't see anything after the goal.

I thought it was good that Ricki played the formation he did. I don't think he would have gotten the answers from the midfield he was looking for but then thats what this is about. At times, they looked mobile, quick, nice passes and at other times, all at sea and I guess thats what comes when you have not played together in how long.

I think if he is looking at a back 3 and front 3, at the very least, the pieces he has should show him that is not the way to the play. The 4-2-3-1 looked more comfortable for us than the 3-4-3. I think had we played a 3-4-3 today, we might have been on the other end of a scoreline because I think we would have been split open a lot easier. When you have that front 4 of Kosta, Wee Mac and Rojas and you can pick a striker from Wood or Smeltz then that looks much better than what we have in Saudi and at the very least, makes Brockie redundant and the need for wingbacks. I think the other two midfield spots in front of the back 4 are still very open. I don't think this performance needs to have wrist slitting because of players coming back in and also the fact we won and are (still) experimenting but we also can't slap each other on the back and say we have it sussed. If that was Honduras, we might have been punished more severely.

Players

I thought Winston Reid played like he thought he was the best player on the park, rather than actually being the best player on the park. For a guy that gets talked about as being one of the better CBs in the EPL and looking to be signed by Arsenal, he certainly is not Ryan Nelsen. He looked his usual casual composed self but I think he gets involved in things where as Nelsen was a master of trying not to be involved and even then when he did, he was all about getting others in there and touches here and there when needed. I think while there is no doubt about his talent, his onfield marshalling needs a lot of work and thats the big difference between the former skipper and the current.

Tommy Smith I thought took some odd options and played more long ball than I thought he would. The axis between him and Winston was rusty but to be expected so can't really hang them for that.

Lochhead looked rusty. I think he was better for not having to get forward as much as he had to previously but he needs to get more game time than this. He will still be the best LB in the country if he never plays again for the next 3 months.

Sigmund I thought was not too bad at RB. I'm not a fan of his at all and while he is effective for club, an international footballer I believe he is not. Having said that, I thought he played better at RB today than he has at any other time I have seen him play in that postion. Needs a bit of positional help and is always going to be a long ball merchant, but it was ok compared to other times. That's no to say he is the answer at RB but I'll give him credit for playing better there than any other time he has.

Butler well I don't think he was terrbile, but he is not the answer. He can leave his feet at ASBP level and get away with it. International football will not allow you to do that and everything will be fine. He didn't cough possession up but he also never made a pass forward. Playing back to Winston and Tommy is the wrong choice when he should have been looking to hit James. At least Clapham looks to play forward so I do give AC that much.

Durante got up and down the pitch a lot including covering the Saudi counters. Its harsh to judge him on one game in that position. He made a better fist of it than Killen but I think he got dragged about a bit where as I thought Butler was not dragged about as much. Those two need to slide laterally in front of the back 4 as a unit of 2 and the was not done at all. The Saudis were able to make 30 passes through the space that they should have been patrolling. In that respects, when you see Manny do it for the Nix, thats how it should be done.

Chris James I thought did ok with what he had. I think he probably did not press himself on the game as much as I thought that AM/10 role dictates but then I read an article on the front page where he sees himself as a ball playing holding midfielder now. He had a cracking free kick and I think he can feel satisfied with what he put in.

Jeremy Brockie I thought was a bit invisible but then how often do we say that?

Kosta I thought was industrious although there were times when I was chastising him for taking the option he did. Smarter options would have seen him being the best player on the park.

Chris Wood I have to say I was disapointed with and I am not sure if that is because of the way he played or the expectation of the way I thought he would play.

I think if I was Ricki, for the next game I would want to try this.

Moss

Sigmund, Durante, Reid, Smith
Ivan, James
Kosta Howieson/Clapham Brockie
Wood
(although I expect to see Dura in the holding role again)

I know there are other players in the team but he needs to look at his best players in their best position for the up coming crucial games. If the likes of Bright, Clapham, Bertos don't get a run, I'm not fussed

A win is a win and they can take something from that, but you would hope we see an improvement in the next game.

Howieson as a LB? That's left field, even for you. He is definitely a midfielder.

Only idea that would be good  to try is tommy Smith at lb instead of lochhead. Here is killen s goal video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW8IUlXlbAU

Or Durante at Cb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v8TchHZy14

Highlights from the other game. No sound though sadly

Wee Max!

any official confirmation on who we play next?  both Soccerway and Soccernet have Trinidad & Tobago as winning the earlier shootout, but I'm sure Dewhurst kept saying the other way around

http://int.soccerway.com/matches/2013/09/05/world/friendlies/trinidad-and-tobago/united-arab-emirates/1553712/?ICID=PL_MS_47

http://espnfc.com/en/gamecast/statistics/id/381012/statistics.html?soccernet=true&cc=3436

Random - he probably did get it wrong?

Does anybody know where I can watch a full version of the game on the internet. Much appreciated.