The next Marco {Rojas not van Basten}
"At the end of the drive the lawmen arrive...
I'll take my chance because luck is on my side or something...
Her name is Rio, she don't need to understand...
Oh Rio, Rio, hear them shout across the land..."
Superb player, was fortunate to watch him plenty at Melville and for Waikato, one of the best young talents I've seen, and possibly the best under 19 player in the country, excellent news for him, hopefully he goes well.
Superb player, was fortunate to watch him plenty at Melville and for Waikato, one of the best young talents I've seen, and possibly the best under 19 player in the country, excellent news for him, hopefully he goes well.
This
I believe so...
Did he train with the Nix prior to heading over, i wonder if they looked at him or always new he was heading off.
Believe Nix offered him a trial and FSE spot last year - like they did with Louie and Tyler - and he turned them down. Fair dues to him for sticking to his guns and super-exciting for it to work out for him like this.
Fingers crossed he is in/around the first team and not in the juniors.
Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.
Believe Nix offered him a trial and FSE spot last year - like they did with Louie and Tyler - and he turned them down. Fair dues to him for sticking to his guns and super-exciting for it to work out for him like this.
Fingers crossed he is in/around the first team and not in the juniors.
Wonder if Ernie/new set up encourages young talents to give A league a go for couple of years first? Plenty of Aussie coaches trying to promote this line. #oldchestnut.
Kotahitanga. We are one.
Believe Nix offered him a trial and FSE spot last year - like they did with Louie and Tyler - and he turned them down. Fair dues to him for sticking to his guns and super-exciting for it to work out for him like this.
Fingers crossed he is in/around the first team and not in the juniors.
Yep this is true. More of a talent than Tyler so looked dubious at the time, but has worked out for the best, Declan clearly knew he had a star on his hands.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/9131017/Kiwi-teen-Thomas-signs-with-top-Dutch-club press article.
yung thug
Looks like a few of Edge's magic 8 and making good moves. Trials, signing contracts etc etc.
Looks like a few of Edge's magic 8 and making good moves. Trials, signing contracts etc etc.
You can't fault the time and dedication Declan's put into those players.
Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.
I don't think people were faulting it as such, just the idiotic things he says and the myopic points of view he has taken/shared. When you have 8 kids and the time invested, he was always going to get some success. However the idiocy of 'well we made 800 odd passes....' Its absolute bullshit if 799 of those are ineffectual. I think the best thing he gave those kids was to work on their first touch and then pass/move/show.
That said, good luck to them.
Grumpy old bastard alert
I don't think people were faulting it as such, just the idiotic things he says and the myopic points of view he has taken/shared. When you have 8 kids and the time invested, he was always going to get some success. However the idiocy of 'well we made 800 odd passes....' Its absolute bullshit if 799 of those are ineffectual. I think the best thing he gave those kids was to work on their first touch and then pass/move/show.
That said, good luck to them.
That passing rubbish made me laugh too. Interesting that Edge was signed sight unseen by Mariners Yoof. Good on Ole though.
Hey, most of NZ's professional players can't pass and move to save themselves so it's hardly a bad thing to put some emphasis on it.
a.haak
rather 800 pass and keep possession then kick possession away as tends to be here.
That's what I was saying Valeo about pass/move/show and its probably the best thing he has given them. Edge likes to focus on the numbers and trumpeting out stats are only good if they mean anything. If his team makes 2000 passes in a game and they lose 5-0, what does that mean? Here is the quote I saw this morning
"Our boys attempted 844 passes and completed 719 which is better than you'll find in any Premier League game, only Barcelona is putting up those kind of numbers. And we've got little kids out there doing that against men. They won the game in the process. We really believe in that style of play. Not only because it's fun to watch but also from a developmental perspective, it just forces the kids to make good decisions."
What's the relevance of that stat? Tell me because if they make on 100 passes and win 5-0, either way, its a bullshit stat. It bears absolutely no relevance with out a counter point reference. If the opposition made 1200, it means his team has less possession. Its numbers to try and justify the means and its a false representation. The fact of the matter is, he should really be saying "I had all these kids and invested time with them teaching them the crucial key of first touch and pass/move/show and look how many have kicked on overseas so fuck you all'. Fuck his team could make a million passes for all I give a shit. Its a crap stat without a reference point but it does tell me that by the 9th pass, his lot will be coughing up possession so pressure them to play in their half and wait for them to turn it over.
Grumpy old bastard alert
rather 800 pass and keep possession then kick possession away as tends to be here.
Possession for the sake of it is one thing. Meaningful possession is another. Our u20s play possession football around their back 6 but it never goes anywhere so what does that tell you? "NZ - Oh but we have possession!!!" "Opponents - So, you're doing nothing with it"
Grumpy old bastard alert
they can't score if you have the ball, I guess it comes down in individual ideas of what you want from your team. to me 800 passes is better then 100 as we spend less time defending.
I read somewhere that when barcelona work really hard to regain possession they then "rest/recover' whilst in possession! I'd never thought of it like that before.
I do agree with you JV that declan's passing stat in isolation lacks meaningful context. Of course the key to retaining the ball is to find a way to goal. If Declan's lads are doing that and able to defend or regain possession they'll win a lot more than they lose.
But the real point i think is this: If kids want to play in a professional environment they need to know how to retain possession. It appears to me that that is what Edge is coaching - the ability to retain possession, in order to play in a professional environment.
Kotahitanga. We are one.
rather 800 pass and keep possession then kick possession away as tends to be here.
Possession for the sake of it is one thing. Meaningful possession is another. Our u20s play possession football around their back 6 but it never goes anywhere so what does that tell you? "NZ - Oh but we have possession!!!" "Opponents - So, you're doing nothing with it"
Well, apart from keeping the ball away from opponents it also forces opponents deeper as opponents generally can't press for 90min.
Plus, they might like to feel in control and being proactive rather than being reactive.
rather 800 pass and keep possession then kick possession away as tends to be here.
Possession for the sake of it is one thing. Meaningful possession is another. Our u20s play possession football around their back 6 but it never goes anywhere so what does that tell you? "NZ - Oh but we have possession!!!" "Opponents - So, you're doing nothing with it"
Well, apart from keeping the ball away from opponents it also forces opponents deeper as opponents generally can't press for 90min.
Plus, they might like to feel in control and being proactive rather than being reactive.
Grumpy old bastard alert
Exciting to have another young Kiwi signing with a top team in Europe. Really hope it goes well for him.
All Whites | Phoenix | Baggies
The biggest myth in NZ football is "if you can hold and pass a ball, you'll be a good footballer". I agree with JV on this one.
Very simplistic. I can kick a ball back and forth against a wall. That does not make me a good footballer.
Grumpy old bastard alert
but if you can't do it you won't be a good footballer, what is more important in football then a players first touch and ability to pass?
Dear lord. I have never known a forum where any conversation invariably turns negative so quickly. This is a thread which should be celebrating Ryan Thomas' success, yet it didn't half a page for the conversation to be taken over by people bleating and moaning and carping about passing stats. What a bunch of miserable sods some of you lot are. Mods take control etc. Anyway, well done Ryan. I, for one, look forward to following your fortunes in Holland.
Dear lord. I have never known a forum where any conversation invariably turns negative so quickly. This is a thread which should be celebrating Ryan Thomas' success, yet it didn't half a page for the conversation to be taken over by people bleating and moaning and carping about passing stats. What a bunch of miserable sods some of you lot are. Mods take control etc. Anyway, well done Ryan. I, for one, look forward to following your fortunes in Holland.
It's opinion, debate. Nothing in here neg about Ryan at all.
Haha ha I reckon Bink is spot on and the debate needs another thread. Take your pick:
Declan: For & Against
Hoof & Head Ball vs Football
Whinger's thread
Kotahitanga. We are one.
rather 800 pass and keep possession then kick possession away as tends to be here.
Possession for the sake of it is one thing. Meaningful possession is another. Our u20s play possession football around their back 6 but it never goes anywhere so what does that tell you? "NZ - Oh but we have possession!!!" "Opponents - So, you're doing nothing with it"
Well, apart from keeping the ball away from opponents it also forces opponents deeper as opponents generally can't press for 90min.
Plus, they might like to feel in control and being proactive rather than being reactive.
This. We would literally get killed by Waitakere and Declan would say "we had 80% possession!". Here's the typical start to a Melville game:
First 20 minutes - Melville with 15 minutes possession, no shots, lots of passing around the back four.
Next - opposition break and score.
There was just no penetration, and a complete unwillingness to try things from the most efficient areas of the ground. Teams could just sit back and defend to their hearts content, and just hope that Ryan Thomas didn't receive the ball and run through their entire backline.
What annoyed me the most was that unwillingness to shoot, and try things from set pieces. Even the best technical teams know the benefits of a free-kick or corner, even a long throw - they are all excellent in creating goal scoring opportunities. At Melville, every corner was a short corner, and every shot outside 15 yards was met with howls of derision.
Ryan has enough skills and shooting ability to succeed despite this.
Could debut for reserves next week. Reserves play in beloften eredivisie the highest reserve league in dutch football
Zwolle are doing well to lead the Eredivisie currently because they are one of the smaller clubs in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands and have mostly been a second tier club with this only the 14th season in their history in the top flight - and only their fourth in the last 24 years.
They were an Eredivisie team for most of the 1980's but rarely since 1989.
Jaap Stam of Manchester United fame is probably their most famous former player (early 90's) and was briefly caretaker manager a couple of years ago.
Current manager Ron Jans took over in July after getting the boot at Standard Liege last season after only five months.
Managers never stay long - they've had eleven different ones (including caretakers) over the last ten years.
Big Pete 65, Christchurch
Well done Ryan.....is he the same lad that tore up and down the flank playing at RB for the Olympic team?
He will get good coaching in Holland. Even if all this kids playing in Europe like Ryan and Howieson, Tuiloma etc don't make the big time they still will be much better players for their time there. The AW's team for the 2018?? World Cup campaign is going to have some very good young talent......all they need to do is sort out the team coach.