2014/15 Pre-Season - v Canterbury United | 2:30pm | Sun 28 Sept | RoF

ACFC's little Sydney sister.

Italiano, Brindell-South, Sigmund, Boxall, Caira, Rufer, Ridenton, Hicks, Boyd, Krishna, Cunningham

So a full strength line up to start. 

What's the bet they do well!

Any updates from anywhere? Can't find nought.

Closed door game so don't expect anything but a full time score.

#COYN. Let's hope they do well!

Fingers crossed

I'm still waiting for us to give someone a real hiding in pre-season.  We should have better players and be better prepared than these teams

I'm wondering if we are a little under done - we had an early start to the pre-season then took it easy for a bit before building again. If we compare ourselves to Newcastle (who obviously just bet us) in August they played Juventus, Brisbane, Sydney, and a North Queensland XI. Whereas we played the New Zealand XI (read it as an intersquad game) and a Central XI.

I give up waiting for any score. It's time for bed!

Checked their twitter to see and saw this reply to someone asking for a score:

@Bodie3030 Sorry, it's a closed game. We will have a update in the morning.

— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) September 16, 2014

It doesn't seem like we've really hit our straps yet.  But there's still 4 weeks to go, lots of clubs overseas would only have a 6 week pre-season so we're only in the second half now

International window didn't help in that regard either. 10 or so days without half the squad. 

That's a good point.

It does seem strange, but with such a long off season teams do seem to come into the league really under done.  Definitely happened to us last season, we had loads of time to prepare but we took an age to get going.  

1 - 1 apparently

Our squad was a bit of a shambles at the start of the off-season last year though. Didn't Ernie have 9 players or similar at the first training?

I actually think that this is the best off season prep we've had for a long time. No pointless trips to India/China etc, a fairly settled squad (comparatively anyway) to build combinations with, and some good quality games (e.g. United tour). While you want them to be playing hard games to prep, you don't want to do 5 months of it and blow them out before the real stuff.

Interesting - it could be that none of those named are in the starting XI v Glory....

Wondered that as well.  Does that indicate a potential for Roly at CB and Sigmund on the outer? Or is it simply a case of Sigmund making up the starting numbers here?

You'd imagine that Sigmund and one of Boyd, Krishna or Cunningham would be in the starting lineup. Personally based on last years performances I would take Sigmund over Durante, however it could be that Durante's ability to marshal the troops tips things in his favour.

http://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/article/rufer-shines-in-phoenix-draw/1bwlgtsrqkjse1do6vnn1s5l70

Rufer, along with another 18-year-old in Matt Ridenton, ran the show in the first half after the Phoenix opened the scoring in the second minute through Jason Hicks.

Good to hear some good press about Rufer.

Hoping he kicks on, along with Ridenton, who needs to get stronger on the ball and bit more agressive.

Yet another game where we "played really well and created lots of chances"......and didn't take them!!!!!!

This is starting to become the theme of the Nix side this season......great midfield, great buildup.....crap scoring. Doesn't matter how fancy your midfield is.....if you can't find someone to regularly put the ball in the back of the net then its going to be a long hard season. Our lack of a decent mature striker is going to hurt us IMO. We are totally relying on Brockie to suddenly transform himself into a 15 goal a season striker. It may happen.....or as history has shown it might not. If Brockie does not fire, we have big problems.  After that plan B is that Krishna suddenly steps up....but there are many on these forums who would question that.

Austin did you see the line up that played? Considering it was literally our 2nd XI, I think thats a little too much angst in this case.

Aye...thats true......guess we will have wait and see how the season unfolds. 

If you've been watching the pre-season build up games he has played in, there's no suddenly about it. He's stepped. I say he should start ahead of Brockie...

He scored a few goals against domestic opponents of a lower level than he used to play in the ASB Premiership. Better than Brokie but we always new he Krishna could score at that level.

A brace against a central XI and a hat trick in basically an inter squad game is good but lets not get carried away. I do have high hopes for Krishna this season. (or is that wishfull thinking?)

As far as I can recall Krishna has only had bit parts in the games against profesional sides and has been behind Cunningham in the pecking order. It's fairly clear that Merrick does not see Krishna as the number one striker.

Is it just me, or do others similarly not rate Cunningham.

I just can't get over how poor his touch is!

Maybe that's why the Dom Post / Stuff are calling him "Kneey Cunningham."

He's good with his knees?

From yesterday's report on the Sydney United friendly:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/10507036/Wea...

 "fellow midfielder Hicks, forwards Roy Krishna, Kneey Cunningham plus defenders Josh Brindell-South, Reece Caira also had a useful hit out."

The Fairfax newspapers are fast becoming like the Grauniad in London. My local Christchurch Press also has atrocious spelling and grammar these days.

Maybe it's because they rely on Spell Check rather than human proofreaders.

In yesterday's Idiot's Guide to Scottish Independence Siobhan Downes defined The United Kingdom as Great Britain "and Northern Island."

Dear me...

Off the top of my head I think Krishna has the best A League goals to A League games ratio in our squad....

I think Krishna could step up, but still think brockie is the man for the job, hoping his drought is over.   just don't give him tap-ins give it to him on the edge of the box

Definitely goals to minutes played.

Roy 1 in 9 games, 1 goal in 303 mins

Kenny 7 in 23 games, 7 goals in 1598 mins

http://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/article/phoenix-welcome-canterbury-united/ix0qlivv5mbxznrqjt5wme7i

I can't believe I'm being charged $4 to watch a preseason game against an ASB Prem team. As a premium season member, I expected that the club would treat me with respect and give me things that weren't actually promised to me when I bought my season pass for no extra cost. I've been to every Phoenix game played in New Zealand for the past 3 seasons, which has cost me a fuckload of money in flights and accommodation, so I'm gobsmacked that the club has the nerve to ask me to pay $4 extra on top of everything else I spend. 

The way I read the two for one was ... It's not $4, it's $8.

It's not "half price", it's two for one. So you have to shell out the full $8 even if you only want one ticket. They will give you two tickets for the price of one, and _IF_ you can find someone who wants to pay $4 for the second ticket, THEN and only then is it $4.

Upon re-reading it, it COULD be that the two for one is that you get the House and Garden AND the game for the one price, and that is the Two for one aspect though