Vs Mexico 1st Leg Thurs 14th 9:30am SS2

How would you rate somebody who hasn't had a club for 2 years?

Was ordinary 5 years ago ....may have improved immensely by not playing at any decent level for the last couple of years ...

I'd rather have Siggy at the back, and keep Ivan in the midfield instead of Christie.

It is going to be priceless reading back on this thread if Christie scores the winner.

Exactly. Hasn't been compromised by being played out of position, e.g. And of course he's stayed injury-free. Or perhaps not...

lawl makes sense 

Fixed

It's called Karma. On one hand there are those who believe everything happens for a reason, and that there are no mistakes or coincidences; on the other we know that life throws up curve balls that remind us to expect the unexpected. He'll score. Which end is a different matter.

Herrara in an email to de Jong.."Hey Fred....we going to beat your team of lower league pros, amateurs and no clubbers.....yubba dubba do.  Lets go bowling after"

Hmm, spent a couple of weeks in Mexico and seriously there are two Mexicos, the one that works and the one that just doesn't work. 

Personal safety is something you can't guarantee.

Most traffic jams I've been in have been "impromptu".

Annual leave taken. Should be a giggle anyway.

What is the All-Whites starting XI please ??

moss, durante, vicelich, smith, chrisitie, mcglinchey, bertos, lochhead, barbarouses, brockie, wood - I believe

If the guy wants to stick his tactics to his beloved 3-4-3 fomation that in reality is a 5-4-1, give him a chance he won it over, i dont see this a bad tactic for altitude games, Raul Blanco is over there and the guy is a good advicer, he knows a bunch of football himself.  

And if in that key position he wants to bring a player that is cards free, and thinks he is the best piece for his tactic jigsaw, then let it go, he wants a player to block the passing from midfield to the box,  with a bit of pace, not too tall, not too small, and he thinks that since Reid is out, is better to have Vicellich as libero, to cover the defensive duties.   The role is simple, is to play that dirty job, to block, cut and cover.  It is a tactic role and it demands huge discipline and altruism from a player with experience. 

James and Clapham are ball players like MCG, and that Butler guy,  dont think he is cut to finesse needed to be there, keat is similar to Clapham so I think he took one of them as for rojas and howieson.  The other valid option is to change tactics, something that Herbert is not considering. 

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Mexico's business people are in deep desperation because a multimillion briefcase may fade away, they threw this guy Herrera to save the gold pot, he named Jimenez as striker for De Nigris

Fortune favours the brave.

All Whites starting XI likely to reflect a lack of bravery ...

 ... and ambition.

El “Piojo” dio sus razones para elegir a Muñoz por encima de Jesús Corona y a Jiménez en vez de Aldo de Nigris, quienes significaban sus dudas. El conocimiento que el arquero tiene del sistema de Herrera y la movilidad del delantero fueron las razones.

“Moi maneja ya muy bien el sistema, tenemos ya dos años trabajando con él, es también uno de los mejores que también mejor salen en México, junto con (Alfredo) Talavera”, explicó.

“De Raúl, nos da un poquito más de movilidad y ahorita aquí lo que necesitamos es mucho más movilidad. Obviamente esperemos que el factor de la altura pegue en ellos y si tenemos delanteros que se muevan mucho y hagan muchos piques y hagan correr a sus defensas, podremos fundirlos más”.

De esta manera, el Tricolor arrancará con Muñoz, con Paul Aguilar como lateral derecho, Miguel Layún como lateral izquierdo, mientras que los centrales serán Rafael Márquez en puesto de líbero, acompañado por Juan Carlos Valenzuela y Francisco Javier “Maza” Rodríguez.

En la contención estará nuevamente Juan Carlos Medina, con Carlos Peña y Luis Montes también en el medio campo con labores más creativas. Ambos buscarán abastecer de pelotas a Oribe Peralta y Jiménez.

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In bold it says Mexico's manager tactics for the game out loud, something that someone could tell to Herbert or send a message, but I think this is pretty obvious for Herbert he is a tactician.  Herrera said that he is gonna play Jimenez up front because he is younger, faster to pick and roll, and to drain over the NZ defenders, and he expects and also he wishes that the altitude factor will destroy the NZ's fitness, stamina and energy  and team morale, physical condition of the players, as the game goes on"

He based the tactic to the altitude factor, that's why he took only local players, mostly from altitude teams

Alternate All Whites lineup

 Wood, SBW,   Fallon

Steve Adams,  Buck Shelford, Brodie Retallick , Rojas

Dude from Mitre 10 Mega, Bushwhacker Luke, Bushwhacker Butch 

Hitro Okasene

 

Scare the bejebus out of the Mexicans and leave Rojas to bring the quality    

http://www.nzfootball.co.nz/index.php?id=11&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2624&tx_ttnews[backPid]=10&cHash=cf3ff3fcee

Christie is actually starting this game.

It's actually happening.

LATEST - MEXICO STARTING ELEVEN NAMED AND MEDIA INTERVIEW:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/9395455/Mexican-coach-confident-of-beating-All-Whites

"...Herrera was asked about the All Whites' "hostile" reception last night, when Marco Rojas was aggressively surrounded by journalists at the airport.

"I don't think the New Zealand team had a hostile reception," Herrera said.

"You guys should go to Central America and you could see real hostility there. We don't take mariachi singing anywhere, and they do that outside team hotels whenever we go to Central America.

"We're not mean to other teams as other teams are mean to us."

Herbert strode to the podium an hour later and did his best to charm the local media.

Asked if he had encountered any pollution, Herbert replied: "I haven't seen any pollution. Where is it?

"I had a good night's sleep last night, thank you … Gee, it's going to be a tough time, isn't it, from all the questions I'm getting asked?"

Both teams trained at the 105,000-capacity Azteca Stadium today.

The stadium is magnificent and intimidating, and just walking around the fortress leaves you slightly short of breath.

The altitude and atmosphere will be a massive obstacle for the All Whites, although the good news is the New Zealand-like weather.

Tomorrow's forecast is for 16 degrees Celsius and a chance of rain...

Herbert: "It's a real hotbed of football and I'd be disappointed if it wasn't like that...

"We're prepared for it, and while it will be very different for a lot of players, let's hope they cope with it."

Mexico side named to play the All Whites: Moises Munoz, Juan Carlos Valenzuela, Rafa Marquez, Francisco Rodriguez, Miguel Layun, Paul Aguilar, Juan Carlos Medina, Luis Montes, Carlos Pena, Oribe Peralta, Raul Jimenez

MEXICO COACH HERRERA:

"Herrera, nicknamed Barney Rubble by the Mexican media because of his likeness to the Flintstones character":

Also resembles Moe of the Three Stooges:

Moe, the leader of the Three Stooges, known for his brash temperament.

Miguel Ferrera - coach of Mexican National Team

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HERRERA'S CRAZY SIDELINE ANTICS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emjn7nG5UMk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7cfRVfpTBk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkTcUcnME0U

Weather for the game tomorrow at 2pm based on 5 weather reports: 50% chance of showers/thunderstorm, 10-15 degrees, 18-25(km/h) NNE Wind, 90% Cloud cover.

Oh yes. Ricki has rewritten the coaching manual for international football. Not playing, no club, over the hill, no worries mate! I think this is the final hurrah of a stubborn fool. Do you think Nelsen would have tolerated this if he was still captain? By all accounts he ran the show at the World Cup finals in 2010. How I wish Nelsen was still there. Heavens knows what players like McGlinchey are thinking.

                                           Moss

                 Durante    Vicelich       Smith

        Bertos        McGlinchey        Christie             Lochhead

                       Barbarouses          Wood           Brockie

Confirmed line up