Auckland City FC - Thanks a Trillion

Ivan rumour officially quashed.

what was the rumor?

i actually thought he was great throughout. second half he set up a really good base for the side and allowed mulligan to play further forward.

he was an outstanding signing for auckland city, who enabled them to play from the back and move forward out wide with confidence.

good on the acfc coaching staff to have the foresight to recruit a less glamorous player to do an essential job well

No comment...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HcOLXHLgoo

Hilites from Saturday v Canterbury:

Tonights Game : Best team lost. To be honest im not sure many would argue with me! City were close to awful, absolutely no shape, players all over the place! Best players were substituted! nothing made sense to everyone watching! Daylight robbery at the end of the day. Amicale made two crucial mistakes one giving away a pen to let City back into the game and the keeper mistake for the winner. Apart from that they played better football and created better chances.

Some City players arnt up to it but get away week in week out in the dreadful ASB League. I dont want to sound negative but recently City have been crap to watch. Boring slow/ going nowhere football. Albert Riera wouldnt make most winter sides but possibly get a game for Manawatu in summer. The coach is getting away with beating poor sides weekly, against good sides hes quiet and clueless.

I know other City fans in the stands feel the same way at the moment.

Amicale were very unlucky not to take something from the match. They looked to have got their tactics spot on, kept their discipline and their shape, but lacked cutting edge in front of goal (Fenedy Masauvakolo and Gibson Daudau both guilty of squandering decent chances). Ernest Bong's goalkeeping calamity at the very end was a sad way for him to finish the match after his super diving save from a David Mulligan free-kick earlier in the match.

I think three games inside a week meant Auckland City looked a bit jaded in the final twenty minutes in all fairness. Curiously, Albert Riera won ACFC Supporters Player of the Match for his role as a makeshift left back. Albert is naturally right footed but he's a very intelligent ball player and more at home in midfield.

I'm not sure I agree with the comment that the coach is "clueless and quiet" against good sides. I've watched Auckland City beat Central Coast Mariners and Ryuzu Keizai this season, two professional teams, and Auckland looked pretty good. Even the Kashiwa Reysol defeat showed Auckland could prepare and compete with a "good side".

Having watched Gold Coast United play Melbourne Heart while on holiday recently, I have to say that Auckland wouldn't look out of place taking on those two sides, given the chance. I think your frustration expressed may have more to do with the possession style of play employed by the team?

To be fair, Auckland City played the ball a lot longer and more directly than they would've liked and that's credit to Amicale sitting off and inviting City to search for more hopeful options.

Andreu has left for Dinamo Tblisi, Ian Hogg is in Sweden, Sam Campbell is in Australia and Liam Little has returned home to Dunedin for family reasons, so the depth and quality of the Auckland squad is being tested at present.

As a fan of Rangers, I recall fans getting on Dick Advocaat's case for his team (Ronald de Boer, Rino Gatusso, Mikel Arteta, Lorenzo Amoruso, et al) keeping possession rather than biffing long balls forward at every opportunity. Rangers dominated that league in much the same way Auckland (and Waitakere) have dominated the ASBP.



Mikhailichenko2012-01-18 23:01:18

Ok maybe Riera isnt a left back however thats no excuse to give the ball away 90% of the time. If he got an award it must have been a sympathy vote.

'Jaded' is an excuse. One mid week game 4 days after their last...thats plenty of recovery time. The game against Canterbury was a bit of a stroll aswell.

I dont mind ACFC' possession' approach. But now its turned negative, always going back and if we lucky.. maybe go side ways. Putting ourselves under pressure. Its starting to fail. But can get away with it in ASB because other teams are very poor. Not sure how you think Auckland City played more direct today...Alex Feneridis's long balls that run out for goal kicks dont count.

Agree Andreu and Hogg are massive losses and thats been evident last couple of games especially against Amicale. It was like players were looking out to the left hoping Hogg had burst down the wing and got us going foward. All the play had to go down the right side today. I would say not having Hogg is going to hurt City. But also the fact City dont have another left footer in the squad. Crucial they are active in the transfer window. No doubt a Spanish player will come in.

I hope City improve. Will cruise in ASB. But O-League worries me abit!

Three at the back didn`t work, coaches got their tatics wrong and should take the blame

You'll faint Greyhound but your assessment is pretty accurate with me.

Also the coach subbed a player who just got you back into the game after scoring two goals. At no stage did City look comfortable to make decisions like that. Coach is not smart despite his 'barca' mentality. I could get a bunch of kids that could keep possesion and pass a ball around against manawatu and most teams in ASB. Think City will struggle up in the Islands.

Any one know of any transfer news? Auckland City must surely be looking to bring in a couple.

seems quite up there today

Ramon Tribulietx needs to take responsibility for performances! The team we put out today was ridiculous! Dickinson has been our best player in recent games and he benches him with Tade who is only good for 20 mins at a games end! Danko has been in good form too and he was benched! Again starts his facebook mate Riera after a horror performance on wednesday night! Hes using excuses like player tiredness etc, well thats not the case because i know they players have said they feel fine energy wise. Also time for Feneridis to be benched, no time for passengers anymore despite the fact his dad pumps money into the club! Mulligans performance is effected by the fact hes doing a 3 man job in the middle of the park! Auckland City needs to get serious or i dont think we will win much this season! The departure of Hogg and Andreu i know has killed us a bit but surely we are good enough to beat these weaker sides! Credit to Waikato they worked their socks off but they are not flash.

Will find out how good or not ACFC are on the 18th March.
No christmas break or lack of training's to get over leading up to that game.
Would be good for the game and ASB premiership media coverage if it was a title decider but don't think Auckland City will drop that many points.

Hilites from yesterday's match:

Great peformance today against a quality oppo. Milne dealt with Krishna very well and though the 2nd ACFC was a bit lucky it was a result of the high pressing game employed early in the 2nd half.

Waitakere were a bit toothless in the middle. It took a long while for Bale and Butler to do anything and Bullock was a passenger all game. ACFC really exploited Ross Haviland at RB and I think Waitak failed to make the adjustment sweeping across the pitch from one side to the other and as a result, Exposito was frequently 1 v 1 and all Haviland could do was foul him and in the end, carded for repeatedly fouling him. How one of Pearces team mates has not twated him for continually calling his own number or getting caught in possession is beyond me. He lost a lot of ball and then whinged when he got touched. Krishna got little ball and made little effect on the game.

Auckland... I thought Coombes was more industrious up front using his pace than at any other position on the field he has played this year. He ran and chased constantly. He certainly proved that he is not a RB but he at least faced the goal. Dickinson is very much a back to goal man that holds it up so it was a bit different than seeing them pump the ball into him to hold it up and have men running off of him. There was even (shock horror) a long ball over the top to try get in behind the back 4. They actually looked like they had more go forward. An Exposito stunner was the highlight of what was a bit of a dour game.

Jeff, I agree with just about every point you have made.

Highlights from yesterday's match:

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

quality.

I've always though that watering the pitch at half-time required the permission of both coaches/managers.

I don't know where I got that though and if it was/is correct.

Not a great derby game. But at least there were some goals in it.

Bruce not sure what your trying to achieve by saying Corralas is a headcase. He was mellow yesterday and rightly deserved his man of the match.

Pearces whinging antics need to stop, its a blight on the game.

Bullock was he out there??...

Coombes wont play upfront ever again didnt hold a ball up.

Oh, the aside on Corrales was just an observation. I have nothing "to achieve" by it as such. Just sharing views, as you do on a forum.

Sometimes players need the 'other stuff' going on to enhance their performance! and hes a much better player when hes angry!!

I just find it weird that you label him like that when he showed no sign of it in this game. Youve said it without being able to justify in in regards to yesterdays game.

Tade is a good finisher but is poor in general play, he is weak and often gives the ball away. My mate did stats on him when he started and in the first half he gave away the ball 14 times in 18 possessions. Hes not flash.

just a wellingtonian's point view

corrales = great character, but with a short fuse

tade = impact sub only, needs the pitch to open up a little to do his (outstanding) work

Interesting points of view and I think all of them are pretty much spot on.

Corrales was behaved on this game but there have more than enough games where he is petulant and been the reason why ACFC have looked poor. I can recall games early this year and last year where the game plan was obviously pass and move but that's not his style and deviated. His team mates were even telling him. He starts now because he plays to the game plan more so than himself so in that respects, much improved, but I can certainly see what Bruce is referring too. Reg22 I think kinda has it.

Tade is a nice little footballer but it seems like he is like Sean Lovemore - a 20 minute footballer.

Re: Coombes, to be honest, they looked better in some respects. His game plan is not the same as Dickinsons so while I can accept he can't hold the ball up, that's not his style. He has pace and runs and players and is a bit more direct so in some respects, better because he attacks the goal more (and we have all moaned about how ACFC do not go forward as often as they should) but it depends if that or if you want to use Dickinson with guys running off him in the middle i.e. Danko who has benefitted.

I feel sorry for Neil because he is a good man. I've had a few chats with him and he is an educated football man without the crap, ego and agenda that some have. He has the pieces but they just do not gel like they should. I wonder if there is too much duplicity or similar players (I don't like the Myers Haviland combo on the left, a bit shaky) or perhaps the wrong formation with a 4-3-3. I wonder if Pearce and De Vries would benefit more playing in a true right half/left half role with Bullock coming out of that midfield to be replace by an striker alongside Krishna i.e. 4-4-2. In my opinion, I think Pearce has the talent but embodies what is wrong with that team in that they do not play for each other.
Jeff Vader2012-02-06 10:13:19

ACFC 3 HBU 1:  Good game, a draw would have been a fair result. Ref had a shocker - ACFC 2 goals from penalties, 1 an absolute shocking decision and the other perhaps [goalkeeper diving at the feet of a player]. City are a nice team to watch, patient and plenty of skill.

yeah, 4-3-3 has a tendency to quickly become 4-5-1 and can rely on the opposition full backs being out of position in order to have any effect out wide.

i'm sort of hoping emblen doesn't replicate this for the NZ U23's; i see nothing wrong with the 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 of the phoenix being replicated at international level. but it's sort of like there seems to be a 'thing' in coaching that you have to be more complex than 4-4-2

for waitak, i enjoyed the killer side that had bazeley, hay, perry and sykes at the back, they opened the field up from the back and then hit their front three with quality possession. it was good to watchreg222012-02-06 18:30:30

Highlights from Monday's match vs Hawke's Bay United:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgR2akciXLo&feature=youtu.be

Emi Tade has gone back to Argentina for six weeks. Something to do with an illness in the family.

Highlights from Sunday's match at Manawatu:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_HwBu5bxz8&feature=youtu.be

Hi, FYI photos an a brief write-up of yesterday's OFC Champions League game vs Koloale FC Honiara now up on my blog here:

http://in-the-back-of-the.net/2012/02/19/the-champions-league/

Highlights from yesterday's match v Hawke's Bay United:

http://youtu.be/AsrZOBevzmo

Auckland City booked their place in this season's O-League Final thanks to a 1-1 draw at Hekari United. Alex Feneridis levelled the scores with a stoppage time free-kick.

Hard News2012-04-24 08:39:42

Some photos and very brief write-up from today's O-League final first leg:

http://in-the-back-of-the.net/2012/04/29/tefinal/Enzo Giordani2012-04-29 22:43:37

Wonder if that's enough for the return leg in Tahiti.

nice

ACFC to A-League: "We'll take you all on! RAAAGH!"

 

I'm not sure what was more weird... that or "At the same function, Socceroos star Harry Kewell was named as the most popular footballer in the Oceania region for the 2011 year."

WTF??!!