2015/16 Transfer Speculation

Not sure if Bonevacia should ever be considered a striker ever again. We seem to have upped our game since Ernie shifted him back. Should not stop him scoring his screamers..... from a distance where he belongs.

we can drop Wee Mac out of the striker category as well.

we have played better with Roly further back as he is very prone to over-playing in the front third and we look so much better with quick diagonal balls in behind the defence than we do knocking a hundred passes in and around the box. He is not a number 10 but a good number 8. 

I wasn't calling Bonevacia or McGlinchey strikers. I was simply saying that they were fighting for four spots with the other players. You are only going to pick four of Powell, Krishna, Bonevacia, McGlinchey, Barbarouses and a foreign striker. Bonevacia and McGlinchey have traditionally played as part of our attacking four regardless of the fact that they are not strikers. You could drop Bonevacia back but I don't think his defence is good enough to justify it. That would be leaving Reira with a lot of work to do.

It's nice for them to be able to chip in a winner now and then, and not have the goal scoring saddle on their shoulders entirely.

I think it's time to move on from Lia.  Muscat is versatile but really we should be able to do better than both of those guys.

I agree - Manny and Lia have done this club proud, but it's time to look at replacing them, Fresh blood

I would also say no. 1 target for the club would be a starting centre back - an import if necessary.  We go on and on about needing a striker but our defence has been just as bad this season.  If we do get Kosta we would have Roy, Kosta, McGlinchey with Powell off the bench.  Our defence is much more of an issue

If you listen to the interviews post games Ernie thinks our defense is fine, even when we go down by three goals he thinks the defense has done a good job and he's complained about the pointy end, so I doubt we're getting a starting CB unless it's because Fox isn't quite ready.

Yes, he always seems to identify that the problem when we lose 3-1 is with the 1 not the 3, which I find odd.

Manny suprised me a few times this season going forward, he had a good little pass to striker someone up front in the last game. Maybe need more of this? Our central defenders looks pretty clumpsy on the ball when they try to go one on one. I think Manny and Lia are solid no frills players, would prefer them over youth, potential.

Well I guess if you go down early then you start pushing players forwards and taking chances which exposes you.

But we shipped three goals the other night after going in front first, so that argument doesn't work either.

Speed might be becoming an issue by now for Lia, and especially for Manny with his slow tracking back. 

On fullbacks, I can see Doyle and Danaskos being good long-term assets, but I am no longer as confident in Fenton being #1 option on his side of the pitch, at least not since his injury and slow recovery, as it seems to have affected his playing.

Yeah it's a shame he didn't kick on, last season I thought this would be his year and he'd cement himself as one of the best fullbacks in the league. At the very least he's a good utility player and can play most positions.

A 'keeper that can receive and pass the ball.

I think the defense has a lot of potential with the current group of players. If we could get the same starting back four for a few games in a row they would probably look a lot more organised.

I find it hard to understand how a professional footballer (and I am talking about many goalkeepers in General) can be so terribly shark with the ball at their feet. 

#againstmodernfootball ?

Fenton is still getting somewhat hurt by being a utility. He's not an automatic selection anywhere but can cover 3 or 4 places easily and has been an injury liability. 

He was a makeshift defender. Should he get a chance again further up the park?

Need an import striker, another midfielder and a starting centreback. Kosta would be a top signing obviously, but won't solve our goal scoring probs alone. Look at the quality around Kosta at MV.   

have to say I don't really understand all the emphasis on our lack of goal scoring. I see defence as a much bigger weakness. We've scored more goals than 3 teams, and are only a few behind a couple of other teams. We're about middle of the pack, getting Kosta would really help push us toward the top. 

Whereas we have conceded the 2nd most goals, with only CCM being worse. And we aren't even really close to other teams in that regard. We've conceded nearly 2 goals a game on average. We also routinely have kids filling in at these positions, or players playing out of position. 

Also depth and development wise, we have some promising attacking talent in the weenix, they score a lot of goals at ASBP level. What they also do is concede a lot of goals. 

We need to improve defensively as a club. 

I don't get why people would turf Manny and Vinnie.

Manny has been solid in all the positions he has played, perhaps not spectacular but is still a valuable squad member. His covering of CD and DM this season surprised me and reminded me how competent he is as a player.

Vinnie has been good when he has played and bossed the midfield in some games before getting injured. He was been accurate with his passing and support play earlier in the season. But I guess the Vinnie haters don't easily forgive.

I would suggest that both of them recognise that they are squaddies these days and if they are happy to be such I would keep them. Neither are going to walk in to other teams as first teamers so either they are backup here or elsewhere. I would prefer with us. They are both still very solid and able players at this level. Vinnie has had a few injury issues this season but it doesn't seem like he's on the permanent knack list.

I'd sign them both on 2+1 deals if they were keen.

This 'bin them' talk kind of smacks of when the Siggy haters wanted to get rid of him once he ticked over 30 years of age. Siggy got a 3 year deal at 31 and was well worth that. I don't know why Vinnie and Manny wouldn't be worthy of similar deals.

I think it just boils down to dollar and cents. I like them both but In the ideal world I would want them as squad players so when Riera or Roly goes down, then LIa comes in and the same applys to Manny with Dura.

If they are starting players next year, I don't think we would have a strong starting 11.

I would imagine that both are probably on some decent coin and maybe we could get a similar level player for less cash, freeing up money  else where.

If I was to keep one it likely would be Manny as he covers more posi's

yeah if they're happy to be on squad player wages then keep them. A squad player who can competently cover several positions is great value. 

Yep, tough to be a sportsman, one of the few professions that your value goes down rapidly after you peak and gain in age and experience. Hard to accept I'm guessing.

Sentiment aside, squad players on lesser wages, Time to bring in players of an age where in 4 years time we are getting bigger crowds because the team is doing well and at a decent age.

Yep Moss just hates the ball at his feet.

I am not a Muscat or Lia hater,quite the contrary. However we have to recognise that they will play within their ability and neither is a game winner. However, they are local (= non-visa) and experienced enough to cover when necessary. I agree with Lia being an excellent squaddie now, and not many clubs would have him anyway, but on a reduced deal he is value for money. Muscat offers a bit more, but needs to recognise he is getting slow  - even Bertos in his playing twilight was faster than Manny today.

I personally wouldn't resign Fenton.

He doesn't command a starting spot anywhere in the field and is still prone to making the same mistakes like mis hitting nearly every cross he makes. Also, he seem incapable of beating a player on the outside which is essential for a attacking fullback or winger.

His lack of game awareness (he is always looking at his feet) is also a liability and one of the reasons he gets caught in possession so much.

I think Gulley has looked a better option this year, and probably comes with a smaller wage demand.

Fenton also hasn't scored in over 3 years... yes a lot of games have seen him play in the back line but he has also had time further up the field.

Going back to our defence, I decided to look back at back 4 combos (personal rather than positional) this year. Numbers are crazy. For starting back 4 only.

• In 20 rounds, we have had 15 different back fours. 11 in the last 13 games.
• The most common back 4 has been Muscat/Siggy/Dura/Gulley. It's happened 3 times. 3!
  
• Remember in 2013/14 when defenders were dropping like flies? We only had 11 combinations in 27 games. Already at 15.
  

I know people will say this is an excuse. But defending as a group is important. When you have that much changing, admittedly not all of it is injuries and suspension, it's not wonder we've leaked goals.

Wow. Different positions, different types of players. I usually don't mind your analysis on things but I think you've lost it on this one. Bertos at RB was a not-so-successful Ricki experiment.

Perhaps we should bin Mossy because of his inability to make runs into the opposition box and hit the target?

I remember watching his first ever game and thinking this young guy is class and eventually will be too good for this league.

Unfortunately he has never kicked on and if anything has regressed this year.

It was a great run and then a perfectly timed header... a case of burning too bright at the start and whimpering out??

Still, a much better player than me and 99 percent of the NZ football population!

Manny has been a starter for every game he's been proper fit...

That certainly doesn't help, especially when young guys are playing in those positions, stability helps a lot there. 

But I still think when you look at the players in our side, we are weaker at the back than we are up front. 

It could well be a philosophy of Ernies that he spends more $ on attacking players than defensive so we have to train up a bunch of young players to eventually replace dura and Siggy. Maybe he figured we'd do well enough with those 2 mentoring and teaching the younger guys this year but lucked out with injuries, then having to chop and change the back line a lot. I can understand all of that. I just find the focus on our lack of goals strange, when it's defensively where we have really been struggling. 

Also re Lia, there is something to be said keeping our only foundation player on board until he retires, as an aside the pod should get Lia back on to talk about the beginnings of the Phoenix in more detail to celebrate the ten years.

Harsh words on Fenton. Also not had a settled run, much mucked around.