All Whites vs Oman | Fri 13th Nov | 3:00am

Match chat in here

Another one bites the dust - Smeltz out injured with "low grade groin injury" picked up in Sydney's A-League game last week.

Also the venue has been switched to a smaller stadium in Muscat, the Al Seeb Stadium.

http://www.nzfootball.co.nz/injury-rules-smeltz-out/

We are going to lose and lose badly and Hudson is going to come under all sorts of pressure.  How can we not with that team??  It would struggle in the A-League

...and the replacement for Smeltz its going to be... let me guess... an inexperience asb youth league player...someone like Judd Baker. That's the Hudson way!

Or no replacement.

More cost effective.

I think I am the only one, but I have a really good feeling about this game.

I don't know why though. 

Just cancelled my flight and hotel in Oman.  Yes me may Nick a 1-0 victory but that will be despite what Hudsons doing, not because of it.

I wish I had your positivity.

Have you got money on Oman?

Given the front 4 (assuming he plays Kosta, Rojas, Thomas and Wood at same time which I think he will) are our first choice attackers I think that should be the area we focus our judgment and analysis on. That is the movement and interplay between them with whatever ball manages to sneak it's way to them. 

It will be a hard night for Wee Mac and whoever else he picks in the middle (TWH??) and I think our attacking players are really going to need  Fenton and Doyle to do more than defend their wide players and get themselves in advanced positions to give us an option in transition.

This would undoubtedly be the weakest back four to have played in the last decade so it's likely we are going to ship a goal or two. It just would be nice to see us bag a couple at the other end. Given all 4 have been playing regularly of late (even if Rojas and Thomas could still be playing more) the guys should be primed to show us the Hudson attacking verve...,

should call up Reid, Patterson, Appiah, Bright or Vincent to replace Smeltz

Doyle and Fenton are going to really need to be on there game. The Oman side are very fast on the counter and even faster attacking down the middle. They also have a decent defence - Though I am sure Kosta and Rojas have the goods to break them down.

Tough game - Who knows we might pull a upset?.

Reid is in media about it, hip injury then coming back blah blah

Patterson still got a broken leg, either that or he is only just entering rehabilitation.

Appiah - Don't know

Bright - Very good question

Vincent - Called up once, never called up again, probably another Van den Broek. 

Has Smeltz pulled out of the squad?

niggly injury, not major but might be exacerbated by the flight apparently, aws  not enforcing a stand down

Here's how I think this will pan out:

We'll get overrun in midfield and won't be able to control any meaningful possession. Our backline will get forced deeper and deeper but our attackers won't drop back so there'll be acres of space in the middle of the park. We'll concede a few. As everyone tires and subs are made Oman will ease back on us, we'll have a couple of decent attacks late but ultimately lose 4-0 or so. Hudson will then talk about how there were promising signs and blah blah blah.

These games are a complete waste of time.  This isn't the All Whites, it's a random bunch of NZ football players

Waste of time and Money that NZF does not have.  Surely if Hudson wants to see some of these players perform, it is cheaper and more effective for him to get on the Silver Bird and watch them in a club game

LOL. We complain about not enough All Whites games. Then when we get one we complain about it being a waste of time and money.

Its a waste of time and money to be constantly tinkering, playing random players from far flung corners of the world and the ASB Premiership

Hudson would say he's trying to find someone - anyone - able to rise up from the dross.

Actually, after the last game he said he was going to pick his strongest team.  Logan Rogerson?  Hudson-Wihongi?  Tom Doyle?  Alex Rufer?  Come on this is a complete joke - how can any of these guys actually say they have earned a spot.

Who would you have? From who we know is available?

Its got to be better than nothing.With our standing in the football world it is very unlikely we will have all our players together very often so we have to take what we can get.

The only way to get more meaningful games is to start winning and move up the rankings, making us look like a worthy opponent.

This won't happen with our current selections.

No one wants to play us because our ranking is soo low

Hudson-Wihongi is in great form though with his two very good goals and all round play in the Charity Cup game between Auckland City and Team Wellington. He also looked good in the opening ASB Premiership game on Sunday against Watakere on TV. Definitely a player worth developing. Solely based on these two recent games for Auckland City, I'd say he has more potential for devlopment than say Ridenton or Rufer. He's already spent time in the Major League Soccer youth system with Real Salt Lake.

Logan Rogerson seems average from what I saw of him in the recent u-17 World Cup. For every good thing that he did, it was followed immediately by two bad things.

You could put Ronald McDonald in the ACFC midfield and he would look like Gasgoine such is the other players around him.

Who is this Ronnie McDonald?  Give him a run, I say.

Yes but is that really enough to be picked over pros in real leagues?  I do not get it at all to be honest - Keat cannot get a game for this team?  Boyd cannot get a game for this team?

Come on JD. It's standard coaching practice: promote a coupla players from age-group National X1s into the full National squad when you're playing an international friendly to see how they handle the heat. No more, no less. 

I 'this'd' this, but now I'm undecided

Despite not having a great squad - I'm still happy we're playing games, no matter who against.

I like you. You have positivity.

Cmon Woodsee,Kosta,Marco,Ryan,WeeMac whack em in.

We have the talent - lets play the game.

YAW

Any predictions for line up? I reckon Hudson is gonna do that 3-5-2 formation again, which I personally as a coach, don't know how to use so I don't think it works well. So I don't like it. But anyway.

3-5-2

Mine is:

GK: Marinovic

Def: Boxall - Themi - Brotherton (Big call)

Midfield: Kosta(Wide) - McGlinchey - THW - Rojas - Thomas (Wide)

Attack: Wood - Rufer/Rogerson

This is just my prediction, but in the defense, I say Brotherton because if you play 3 at the back, the backline is normally central. I personally don't think Doyle and Fenton can play central, well I have never seen them play it. They could do though, I just haven't seen it myself. I would expect to see them out wide today. 

I think the midfield would be what most people would call. 

Attack, I was looking at it, and I thought, Hudson as been playing two up front, he did this in U-23s and he did it against Myanmar. 

Wood is the only one who would naturally start, I am not sure who else would, so I just put Rufer and Rogerson there. 

Even in the 3-5-2 formation I think Hudson gives Doyle a run first over Brotherton. But who knows - Come on AW's!!!!

Twit me thinks this game is on Friday and drives up to Christchurch, and of course sky has no replays past midday 2moro. Looks like I'm gonna have to try and scavenge some sharke stream again );