Any clues about Rufers injury?
R9 v Western Sydney | Sat 7th Dec | 7:00pm | Eden Park/SS7
Great night. Thanks Nix. Such an in incredible tight league. Anyone can beat anyone.
We're building a lot of cred..
Agree but we need to remember that when we give one
We did give one. Fenton said some naughty words.
Agreed that it was a harsh call against WSW, but as others have noted, that's how they're ruling this stuff this year (crap as it is). Not really comparable to the Fenton one, as that one never actually hit his hand - tonight's one definitely did, which can't be argued.
VAR ruling has been pretty clear from the start of the season. We've had our fair share of calls go 'against' us, the ledger is just being squared up.
also that Krishna and Singh (with David Williams in the wings) were the kind of players people get out of bed and drive through the night to see. Krishna had a big Auckland following already and had been a club legend for a while and was at the peak of his powers. Singh, well, we can see where he's been since. As Rudan said it was a chance to enjoy watching him while he was here.
The current boys are great- if McCowatt is at the club in 3 years and performing heroics perhaps he'd be approaching that status.
Like the movies, stars sell tickets and Roy was a much bigger deal in Auckland last year than Hooper or Taylor (as awesome as they are) this year
Spot on.
Any clues about Rufers injury?
Still think one of the best things from the YF zone was 20 or so people trying to get Dave's attention, yelling DAVE and him not hearing out ?
Looked to me like WSW set out with a game plan specifically to disrupt us and the quite often had multiple people marking Cacace and Devila which led to frustrating games for those two. Hopefully victory and sydney will focus on their own games rather than ours and life will be a bit easier.
Looked to me like WSW set out with a game plan specifically to disrupt us and the quite often had multiple people marking Cacace and Devila which led to frustrating games for those two. Hopefully victory and sydney will focus on their own games rather than ours and life will be a bit easier.
Noticed that Davila was triple teamed on multiple occasions, while they were happy to give others more space - credit to them, but Davila managed to make them look stupid more often than not. Georgievski was great at shutting down Cacace in the first half, not the best game from him
Georgievski new favourite villain?
Can we also note that the experiment of putting the Zone near halfway seems to have been successful? Of course it was necessary with them closing half the ground.
Yeah, positive there seemed to be that at least he was walking off. Suspect he got some nasty bruising as he went over on his knee pretty awkwardly - makes it bloody difficult to run, but you'd hope at his age and with the right attention he'll come back pretty quickly. If he'd done his ACL or something, he'd never have got up after the first knock.
No, I'm not a doctor. ?
Yeah, positive there seemed to be that at least he was walking off. Suspect he got some nasty bruising as he went over on his knee pretty awkwardly - makes it bloody difficult to run, but you'd hope at his age and with the right attention he'll come back pretty quickly. If he'd done his ACL or something, he'd never have got up after the first knock.
No, I'm not a doctor. ?
Was a great game and atmosphere to fly in to straight from the UK. Felt just like being at Loftus Road, Elland Road, the Emirates etc. Well worth the jet lag!!!!
There were a lot of positives for me in this game, for example the obvious improvement in Sotirio's game (except his final touches, not counting his goal of course), and the overall good performance from Devlin who came on for Rufer in the period of WSW domination. Others mentioned Marinovic and Davila, and there is no need for me to repeat it. These blokes are excellent in every game now.
I was however disappointed in seeing Ball not getting service from Piscopo on several occasions when the obvious movement would be for the ball to be fed into the right hand side channel (and Ball was actually looking for it). Piscopo opting out to go through the middle and losing the ball made me want to throw empty beer cans at my TV.
Cacace was shut out very effectively by WSW and their raids in the first half showed up his limitation when crowded out by several players as he was often unable to play out. Their plan of targeting just a few key Nix players was well planned and should have seen them sew up a 2:0 or 3:0 result in the first 30 minutes.
My question to those better at reading the game than me is - what did Babbel do to screw up the second half? Was it the apparent change to three at the back? Or was it something Talay did at half time? What happened in that crucial period of twenty five minutes between Sotirio's goal and the substitution with McCowatt coming on? Because although WSW equalised during that period, it was also clear that we were playing way better during that period?
Agree regarding Piscopo - he does some good things, and offers something different; but every time he has the ball he holds onto it for too long. If he offloaded it quicker he would contribute a lot more.
Watching it back, we really got away with it in the first half. Steinmann has the propensity to forget how to pass completely (often in our defneisve 1/3rd) - it's happened in multiple games so far. The weird thing is he looked like a different player 2nd half and on a few occassions dribbled through 2-3. Perhaps the secret for him is to not pass, and just run? :)
My theory was just that WSW ran out of puff in the second half. Davila finally emerged from being marked out of the game, for example. Near the end of the game with McCowatt and Hooper on we could have easily got 1 or 2 more. WSW twitter is complaining about how this has been the pattern of Babbel's tenure - "teams figure us out by half-time".
also that Krishna and Singh (with David Williams in the wings) were the kind of players people get out of bed and drive through the night to see. Krishna had a big Auckland following already and had been a club legend for a while and was at the peak of his powers. Singh, well, we can see where he's been since. As Rudan said it was a chance to enjoy watching him while he was here.
The current boys are great- if McCowatt is at the club in 3 years and performing heroics perhaps he'd be approaching that status.
Like the movies, stars sell tickets and Roy was a much bigger deal in Auckland last year than Hooper or Taylor (as awesome as they are) this year
This + the Nix's form (they'd had three months of good buzz last year v two this year) + the time of year.
David Dome probably shouldn't have chucked 15,000 out as a number on Tuesday when they were nowhere close to that. I believe they were more realistically after 10,000, so will still be bummed not to get that.
Provided they don't fall apart (and given their January fixture list, I think the opposite is more likely) they should get mid-teens, if not 20s, in February.
It was still the seventh-largest crowd (out of 46 matches) they've had since the start of 2016-17 (Merrick's final season) and the 20th-largest crowd (out of 87 matches) they've had since 2013-14 (Merrick's first season).
Will be interesting to see what they can get for a 4.45pm Saturday kickoff in two weeks in Wellington.
looking forward to a 4.45pm kickoff means us out of towners will be able to get home early after a game instead of midnight or later
My question to those better at reading the game than me is - what did Babbel do to screw up the second half? Was it the apparent change to three at the back? Or was it something Talay did at half time? What happened in that crucial period of twenty five minutes between Sotirio's goal and the substitution with McCowatt coming on? Because although WSW equalised during that period, it was also clear that we were playing way better during that period?
Ball and Sotirio stood further up on the defensive line in the second. Sotirio i think was the biggest change, he went inside a bit more in the first where he'd confuse the defenders and run them ragged (Piscopo was also a lot more central as well, noticed a lot of congestion with him and Davila - although I think Piscopo was good, the McCowatt change did rectify this).
Seems as if in the 1st, Ball was playing in the role of a mobile striker like Hooper, where his movement into channels would impact the game more than him being on the ball. This doesn't really suit him, he wants guys to feed. Davila also came very deep to recieve on some occasions in the 1st, whereas he hung forward in the second between the inexperienced midfield pairing and the slow centrebacks and caused havoc.
Not Guardiola by any means (did shave my head a while back though) but this is what I noticed!
My question to those better at reading the game than me is - what did Babbel do to screw up the second half? Was it the apparent change to three at the back? Or was it something Talay did at half time? What happened in that crucial period of twenty five minutes between Sotirio's goal and the substitution with McCowatt coming on? Because although WSW equalised during that period, it was also clear that we were playing way better during that period?
The transcript of Talay's presser may help, courtesy of Andrew Voerman
I went to the game - a few thoughts:
- Fever zone seemed to work well in the more central position. The chants could be heard across the whole crowd.
- The pitch could have been laid a bit closer to the north stand where everyone was sitting. It's a rectangular stadium, so you should feel closer to the action than at Westpac stadium, and it didn't feel that way.
- December games are not a good idea in Auckland - many people I was trying to organise were too busy with pre-Xmas things. Maybe move it back to November?
- Great to see how partisan the crowd were
- There was scheduled to be a signing session after the game. Only 3-4 players came over to sign things, and because the stand was so high above the pitch, the kids couldn't get photos with the players. This could have been organised better.
My theory was just that WSW ran out of puff in the second half. Davila finally emerged from being marked out of the game, for example. Near the end of the game with McCowatt and Hooper on we could have easily got 1 or 2 more. WSW twitter is complaining about how this has been the pattern of Babbel's tenure - "teams figure us out by half-time".
Thanks Doloras. I thought about this, but Georgievski was by then pressing more forward and pairing up with Duke near our box, so I did not think it was a stamina thing. My own thoughts were that they've just left their wide areas more exposed to our counter as they sought an equaliser. The quote from Talay posted by RR made sense - it was more about how static our defence and midfield were in the first half.
I doubled checked the new handball rules, they are actually simple:
The IFAB now states that a handball is awarded if a player makes his body bigger with his arm, and it is automatically an offence if the arm is above shoulder height. It is now also clear that there is no handball offence if the ball deflects onto the arm, or if the ball hits a player who is using his arm for support.
And after reading this, it was a clear cut pen. His arms where not close to the body, so he made him self bigger, the ball hit the inside of his arm and even redirects the ball to force a massive save. The support part is for when you need the arm to get up from the ground or need to arm to support a fall.
The old rules said:
Previously, the handball law centred around the offence being a deliberate act.
After the old rule, he had no chance to move it arms, no handball, or least no real and obvious error by the Referee not giving a pen.
I doubled checked the new handball rules, they are actually simple:
The IFAB now states that a handball is awarded if a player makes his body bigger with his arm, and it is automatically an offence if the arm is above shoulder height. It is now also clear that there is no handball offence if the ball deflects onto the arm, or if the ball hits a player who is using his arm for support.
And after reading this, it was a clear cut pen. His arms where not close to the body, so he made him self bigger, the ball hit the inside of his arm and even redirects the ball to force a massive save. The support part is for when you need the arm to get up from the ground or need to arm to support a fall.
The old rules said:
Previously, the handball law centred around the offence being a deliberate act.
After the old rule, he had no chance to move it arms, no handball, or least no real and obvious error by the Referee not giving a pen.
Not sure it's that clear cut. The making body bigger part of the new law is really just expanding on the previous 'unnatural movement' interpretation. You're not making yourself bigger if you're running, you're just running. Different story if the player is stationary, but that wasn't the case here.
Louis Fenton out for the season, must be close to retiring if any more injuries happen.
Bugger
Assume we'll get an injury replacement player - any RB's around..?
Payne/Elliot is enough cover imo, can't think of too many Kiwi RBs who would fit better than either of them.
Jack-Henry Sinclair probably the frontrunner if they do look at signing a replacement from within New Zealand. Another option is signing James Musa as a midfielder and keeping Tim Payne at right-back.
Jack-Henry Sinclair probably the frontrunner if they do look at signing a replacement from within New Zealand. Another option is signing James Musa as a midfielder and keeping Tim Payne at right-back.
JHS is really a wing-back rather than fullback. But would still love to see him given a chance to trial at least.
I doubled checked the new handball rules, they are actually simple:
The IFAB now states that a handball is awarded if a player makes his body bigger with his arm, and it is automatically an offence if the arm is above shoulder height. It is now also clear that there is no handball offence if the ball deflects onto the arm, or if the ball hits a player who is using his arm for support.
And after reading this, it was a clear cut pen. His arms where not close to the body, so he made him self bigger, the ball hit the inside of his arm and even redirects the ball to force a massive save. The support part is for when you need the arm to get up from the ground or need to arm to support a fall.
The old rules said:
Previously, the handball law centred around the offence being a deliberate act.
After the old rule, he had no chance to move it arms, no handball, or least no real and obvious error by the Referee not giving a pen.
Not sure it's that clear cut. The making body bigger part of the new law is really just expanding on the previous 'unnatural movement' interpretation. You're not making yourself bigger if you're running, you're just running. Different story if the player is stationary, but that wasn't the case here.
I guees it has nothing to with jumping, running, I guess they do not count the arm as part the body. But I could be simplifying it. Random quote (no source ;-)
Of course, if the arm or hand is away from the body, it will be considered to be making the body ‘unnaturally bigger’ and a handball will be given.
The only exception is when a player puts their hand on the floor to support themselves when making a sliding challenge or falling. If the ball hits an arm or hand in that situation, it won’t be given as handball.
I guess straight dangling arms, in the second they point like 4 clock, it is considered bigger. Yeah maybe it's not as simple. But on the weekend it was clear cut ;-)
Louis Fenton out for the season, must be close to retiring if any more injuries happen.
Very sad indeed. Poor Louis, he's had rotten luck with injuries in his career
I doubled checked the new handball rules, they are actually simple:
The IFAB now states that a handball is awarded if a player makes his body bigger with his arm, and it is automatically an offence if the arm is above shoulder height. It is now also clear that there is no handball offence if the ball deflects onto the arm, or if the ball hits a player who is using his arm for support.
And after reading this, it was a clear cut pen. His arms where not close to the body, so he made him self bigger, the ball hit the inside of his arm and even redirects the ball to force a massive save. The support part is for when you need the arm to get up from the ground or need to arm to support a fall.
The old rules said:
Previously, the handball law centred around the offence being a deliberate act.
After the old rule, he had no chance to move it arms, no handball, or least no real and obvious error by the Referee not giving a pen.
Not sure it's that clear cut. The making body bigger part of the new law is really just expanding on the previous 'unnatural movement' interpretation. You're not making yourself bigger if you're running, you're just running. Different story if the player is stationary, but that wasn't the case here.
I guees it has nothing to with jumping, running, I guess they do not count the arm as part the body. But I could be simplifying it. Random quote (no source ;-)
Of course, if the arm or hand is away from the body, it will be considered to be making the body ‘unnaturally bigger’ and a handball will be given.
The only exception is when a player puts their hand on the floor to support themselves when making a sliding challenge or falling. If the ball hits an arm or hand in that situation, it won’t be given as handball.
I guess straight dangling arms, in the second they point like 4 clock, it is considered bigger. Yeah maybe it's not as simple. But on the weekend it was clear cut ;-)
That first quote doesn't really reflect the law as it is now, which is reasonably (as far as IFAB goes at least) specific on this:
the ball touches a player’s hand/arm which has made their body unnaturally bigger (this is a handball offence)
the ball touches a player’s hand/arm which is close to their body and has not made their body unnaturally bigger (not a handball offence)
Like I said, it's pretty much impossible to run without arm movement, so there is nothing unnatural about that.
If this is a "natural arm position" - his arm is at 45 degrees below horizontal and his wrist is actually bent downwards as if he's making a traditional homophobic gesture - then I don't know what the term means anymore.
Louis Fenton out for the season, must be close to retiring if any more injuries happen.
that is a real shame...….just as well Payne has been doing ok in the role so far.
For all it's worth I think, given the rules, it was a penalty, but I got the strong impression that he tried to get his arm by his body as the shot was being taken, which was very unfortunate as that move culminated in his hand touching the ball.
Can't shake the feeling that, had his arm remained upright and further away from the body, the ball wouldn't have actually gone near his arm/hand! Pretty unlucky.
love to see McCowatt and Hooper pile on goals and 17k plus in February. Feel sorry for Louis, he had a decent season last year and made a good start this year
It would help if the NZ sports reporters did not call it a "controversial penalty".
It would help if the NZ sports reporters did not call it a "controversial penalty".
controversial
adjective
definition: giving rise or likely to give rise to controversy or public disagreement.
It would help if the NZ sports reporters did not call it a "controversial penalty".
controversial
adjective
definition: giving rise or likely to give rise to controversy or public disagreement.
