Adelaide vs Phoenix Sunday December 16 7pm

Optimist is a supporter who thinks we have the talent to make the Top six

Pessimist is a supporter who doesn't think we can make the Grand Final

After six years of building a team we really should not be happy with just  making the Top six.....its a fairly low bar. Isn't it the whole point of stability in managment that someone is given the time to build a team that will challenge for the ultimate prize eventually. A whole bunch of our guys were recruited in year one and two.....lots of them have had +75 A-League games.This year they were joined by some exciting new recruits who were meant to add speed to our play. Despite this IMO our play this year has gone backwards. Both tactically and in execution. If you look at A-League stats we are almost everyweek on the bottom of the pile when it comes to simple things like pass completion rates.....against Perth our pass completetion rate was just over 60%. That is terrible....it shows a complete lack of technique and or poor tactics(longballing where its 50/50 chance you will turn over possesion). You are never going to consistently win football matches with these sort of figures.

I,m sure the guys will be up for the Adelaide game.....they will dig in and tough it out. We might not get any points but you would hope for some signs of passion. But as a fan I am tired of us just being a battling team. When people looked at our roster at the start of the season it was generally agreed it was the best we have had. IMO on paper we are easily better than more than half the other sides....time to ferkin get out there at just take it to other teams. Maybe what this team  needs is a change of attitude!

I just don't think our team has the talent to expect more than top 6 though, and I think that is a problem of the cash the owners were willing to spend.  We have no marquee, other teams can have 3 (Int, Aus, Youth), and when you look at the quality of our imports, some aren't up to the level that an import should be, which is far superior to an equivalently available Aus/NZ player..

 i think six years of team building is hardly what ricki has had

first year was short notice, then started to get up a head of steam over the next two years before Serepisos dropped the free lunch.  This year is first year back at "normal" recruitment and he has a legacy of some players he had to sign under Terry when the cash was short, plus is having his first year with significant injury concerns.

I am wondering if our abysmal performance last week had something to do with three midfielders who knew their future at the 'Nix was being questioned.  The comment was made that Welnix had a discussion with Ricki on attacking footy and that Ricki agrees with their intentions regarding football style.  There is clearly some focus on the midfield regarding that.  Perhaps they knew about this before the game.

Regardless, they sure as heck didn't look like they were playing for their places, Smith excepted, who always at least works hard.  

Hopefully they are over it for this weekend and the diving payback is more motivation.

Clone Dura.

All we want is a team of Durante's

Sounds like Brockie isn't going to Adelaide.

[Edit: confirmed it on Twitter]

There goes the wonder goals, oh well time for our midfield to step up and knock a few goals in (fingers crossed)

Totori's turn

 Yep.  We'll be much better without the 2nd top scorer in the league.  Much better.

Paston

Bertos, Sigmund, Durante, Lochy

Smith, Muscat, Lia, Fenton

Huysegems, Ifill

I thought we were going to play 4-3-3 ?

I still agree with GVE about Brockie. He takes himself out of games, doesn't work for the ball enough. He's good but I always feel like he could do more.

Nix retirement fund investment options:

Nix win $4.50 (high risk high return)

Draw $3.40 (balanced portfolio)

Will need to visit my broker today...

I hope the Phoenix pull off an upset today. Give Totori a decent run up front, particularily if Ifill fades. Hopefully Sanchez will provide some good service for the strikers. Remember Huysegems needs defence splitting deliveries to his feet not hopeful balls pumped high into the box.

I think the Welnix boys need to learn to keep their personal comments behind closed doors and not air them in the media.

Delete

Yours truly,

Mr perfect

 ?

Adelaide are paying $1.80 on bet365 so if you want 80 bucks for free I suggest you sign up and place 100 on Adelaide to win.

Ha ha, I stand corrected. My weekend tends to merge into one day of football.

i'm picking ricki to line up with a big "fuck you gareth" 5-3-2 tonight

You're not the first to do that today strangely. 

In all seriousness,

I think we might be surprised by our boys tomorrow ! 1-0 win methinks.....

 Well I have gone for broke- $100 on the Nix to win, paying $4.50

Don't stop believin' Leggy!

I have a sneaky feeling that after all the crap this week we might do to Adelaide what Sydney did to us.

Fly in with late tackles and play better hoof ball?

So we are looking at

Leo, Siggy, Dura, Tony

Manny

Smith, Sanchez/Lia

Ifill, Stein, Boyd/Fenton

Game day!

Fire Up!

I really am surprised at how many people here are talking about getting rid of Alex Smith, rather than Lia, from the starting XI considering Smith wins a freakish number of balls in the air, and quite often is the player competing for headers from goal kicks, and (correct me if I am wrong) has been voted for quite a lot in the MoM polls so far this season. 

If anything, we need to put Lia on the bench, and bring Sanchez in front of Smith and Manny.

I'd also bench Ifill, but I am not 100% sure if his recent conversion to right-back is a tactic imposed on him or just poor form. I think Fenton is worth a starting spot in his place.