All Whites V Saudi Arabia Friday 6 Sept 6.15am SS2

wasn't Musa playing at left back last season? Though surely it'd be Hogg ahead of him. Lochie was a bit short of a gallop and touch. Again we've got better CB options than LB/RB...

also with Coombes he was desperately looking for a solution at right back (which was where he played him), ditto Dura where he is desperately looking for a solution at DM- I'm sure he's well aware of Dura's defenive chops, Boxall has played at CB...I don't think it is a major problem when he's either just getting a look at a player or trying to find a player with ability and convert them into a problem position...

i agree with jds point in termsof the 3-4-3 formation that basically asks that everyone plays out of position.

but generally speaking, we are new zealand, we aren't blessed with much ability or depth and ricki needs to find 11 players at a time to fit into some shape and be effective.  this inevitably means that players will be played out of position.

One of the things we do miss is an out and out ball winner that will put in a mongrel tackle and break shit up. I guess Manny fits that role well for the Phoenix because he is a ball winner and will get stuck in. 

Our DM options are generally space holders that are more there to clog passing lanes (Keat, Ivan, Dura, Butler) or we are looking at ball players (James, Payne). 

I guess while Ricki is shoehorning players in to fit a formation (and I guess myself, JD and TV feel the 4-2-3-1 we played is our best option based on opinions I have read on here), Ricki needs to decide exactly what he wants from his DMs. It seems he is just forcing players in there to say 'see we have a DM' but I'm not so sure he knows what he wants from that/those roles. In the 3-4-3, he really only has 1 and the other midfielder will be Wee Mac. If he plays the 4-2-3-1, then he has 2 positions. I guess I say that because he tried Killen and now Dura and both of those two are not the same type of players nor possess traditional DM qualities. So I ask, does Ricki know himself what he wants from those positions or is he just trialling players and going 'we've found one'. I still think Ivan is our best option for one of them because he has composure, positional discipline and awareness, defensive qualities, has played a fair chunk of his career in midfield and doesn't give away dumb fouls or cough up cheap pill. He's not the fastest, but doesn't need to be with a back 4 and another player beside him. He won't need to get up and down the pitch if he has Wee Mac, Kosta and Marco in front of him who are faster than greased farts on roller skates and if he has Keat/Payne/James beside him who he can tuck in for if they do set off.

I think if Ricki is smart (and I don't doubt he is) he should end the Dura experiment and play his best starting team for the next game to give them time together. It'll give the CONCACAF teams some footage but they'll find that anyway.

nice post.

also agree with your earlier assertion that durante would be a better option at right back.

my guessing is that herbert wants to go with 2 'blockers'.  one will probably be ivan and the other either durante or butler, probably the former.

i'd like to see a player with more 'zip' in there alongside ivan, but can also see good reason to deploy two defensive centre midfielders.

a 4231 for me is the way to go.
And RB is the main concern. If Roux stepped up then maybe, but you could look at this:

I think Smith at LB isn't the worst idea if it means Durante at CB.

The front 4 have to be:
Marco McGlinchey Kosta
              Wood

And the two behind them, id play a defender, and a ball player. So either vicelich or Durante as the defender and james or payne as the bll player to link with wee mac.

for the next game tomorrow though, would be good to see howieson given a start but think he is an ideal bench player for us currently with the dynamism he brings. Henderson could be similar in the future.

I agree Reg and I think it again comes back to 'does Ricki know what he wants from those roles?' He'll get more ball playing out of James beside him who can provide more of a link forward but Payne and Keat will give more starch. I'm discounting Dura, Butler and Henderson for the time being because of experimental, not up to it and not been seen.

I think we can both see it Reg, can Ricki? I know it's a bit keyboard warrior coaching but I'm just a little surprised at his desire to manufacture a DM rather than use what we have and change formations (permanently away from 3-4-3)

You have to remember that Ricki picks his players before he decides on a formation.

Yeah I know and that's going to be his undoing. The Killen/Durante experiment wreak of that and Ricki is certainly guilty at times of holding on to some players/ideals that have passed their expiration date. Ferguson was the master of moving players on when he could sense they had done their dash, and by the same token, getting every ounce out of older players that he sensed could still perform. Can Bertos and Lochhead be the former or the later?

Going on from whst you've said jv I don't think $SirRicki knows what a functioning central midfield looks like. He hasn't been able to coach one at club or international level for a couple of seasons. The balance ends up all wrong because he looks for players to do a single job only

I think that part of the problem with CMs in Ricki's formations is that he likes his defenders to sit deep, his wingers to hug the lines, and at least one striker to stand on the last defender's shoulder. This means that the CMs end up isolated both in possession and when trying to cover space when the opposition have the ball. This doesn't mean that the formations can't be effective, just that it's hard to have a centre mid who looks impressive in them. Elliott looked good because he had a freakishly accurate long ball.