Elimination Final v Melbourne City | Sunday 3rd May | 7:00pm

There is a huge objective reason: the other teams aren't idiots. They saw what we were doing. Melbourne City clearly decided that our biggest threat today was Nathan Burns. There has been some talk that some players didn't try hard enough. Well, it seemed to me that burns tried way too hard. He tried to skill everyone rather than playing the simple pass. Kisnorbo just marked Burns out of the game. Secondly, teams saw that Bonevacia was a hug threat when he could turn and get forward. Bonevacia has hardly been able to turn forwards for the whole second half of the season. 

The problem was that other players like McGlinchey didn't step up when teams focused on Burns. The other problem was that our plan B (Griffiths) was a complete no go. Also if you look at today's game City gave us no opportunity on the break and seemed to have about 5 back there. They deliberately avoided getting into one on one situations with our pacy players. 

Merrick got completely out coached today. As far as I can tell he has been out coached a lot recently. I don't think the solution to this is to sack Merrick at all. I think the solution to this is for Merrick to go away and see what he can come up with. He is a smart coach and I'm sure he can set us up somewhat differently next season.

Tiki-taka football was very innovative and it was played by one of the best Barcelona sides in the world. The reason Barcelona (and even Bayen) haven't done as well in the past few seasons is because coaches at Real, Mourinho at Inter in 2010 and other clubs have devised methods to counter it. Now this season, Barcelona look very good again because they line up very differently now. Suarez and Neymar are different players to what they have had before.

Right. 

Elementary is on and I think Lucy Liu is fudgeing hot!

Time for a wank and a cry!

The most awful show in history. But I agree on Lucy Liu.

Yet another dire performance at the stadium. Apart from the last 20 mins v CCM, we've been awful at Westpac for months! 

Also, 3 games in a row against an extremely mediocre Melbourne City team and we can't even score 1 goal?

Too many players either not good enough (Muscat, Lia, Fenton), woefully out of form (Burns, Krishna) and soft as shark (McGlinchey).

McGlinchey in particular has been DIRE for months now. Beginning to wonder if all that effort to sign him was worth it. Cunningham did more in 15 minutes than McGlinchey has done in about 10 games. 

Unsure why we are getting rid of players like Hicks and Cunningham and keeping the likes of Lia on.

Lastly, not a single left footed player in the team? That has to be addressed asap.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/68225666/phoenix-eliminated-from-aleague-playoffs-after-20-home-defeat-to-melbourne-city

Any idea why Kenny left the pitch immediately after the whistle and brushed aside a Nix official just before the tunnel?

Who said SNAGs were gone!

If he's smart, he will be on the first flight out of here.

Cos he doesnt have a contract for next season yet and he wants to stay?

Fudge fudge fudge fuuuuuuck fudge fudge.

Fudge

Pretty gutted to end the season a week earlier than expected. I don't know why, but like the Phoenix performances themselves, I have just felt flat in my interest in the team over the past six weeks. 

But plenty of positives for next season, lets just pray we can hold onto Burns and Bonevacia, and even Boxall. Kind of want the league to finish already so we can look ahead to the offseason signings.

Maybe he's just pissed we lost?

Just realised that with only 10k turning up we had 3 less passes than expected.  I think this was significant in the scheme of things.

Agreed, the last 6 or so weeks have left me feeling the same as years in the past.  Id be happy for Burns to go (for a price) with a good replacement, but we need to hang onto both Bonevacia and Boxall.

Thats an outrageous statement!

fourfourtwo said it about right -

Top of the league a month ago, Phoenix’s season ends with a whimper as they are bundled out in the first week of the finals. A disappointing end to a campaign that promised so much.

I wouldn't have minded Cunnningham and Krishna starting this one. Kenny has been one positive for us at this end of the season, finishing with a hiss and a roar. Louis has had his hand in a couple of decent attacks too. 

Again, could have slapped them silly. Didn't. Why the heck not?

grr a misread this...

Because he's one of the few who shows real fight but still can't get a game.

I didn't think he was great last season, but I think he's been treated badly this season. Has deserved more game time.

Hasn't Boxall already signed for that South African team or did I dream that?

You think that has anything to do with a) yachting commentators, b) yachting broadcasters c) yachting teams and d) politicians all being invested in money going into the rich man's plaything that is competitive yachting and no one calling bullshark on us pretending to have a national team in it? 

It's a good watch sometimes, but the technology seems to be the thing and quite clearly in that series a boat went from being faster to being slower. One hypothesis with that is that if you are going to cheat because you have, say, a demanding boss, but are still kind of moral, you might wait until the last possible moment and you feel forced to do it.

I don't think it has anything to do with our national character. Just waiting for someone to trot out the play for participation carnard of bs.

Think the players knew we were gone as a club weeks ago and are playing like it? 

Think the players knew we were gone as a club weeks ago and are playing like it? 

I hoped they would turn things around and play some better football in the finals, did not happened. The 10K small croud was pretty shark, too. Your could hear a single cough from the other side of the pitch after the first goal, everyone just gave up.

The Phoenix must be really pissed, they could had everything and the lost it in the final third of the season, not enough winning mentality. Very disappointing evening but there is always the next season. 

I wanted to 'this' this, but I thought about how I've felt messed around as a fan for the last couple of months and I can't quite bring myself to say that Ernie's wonders shouldn't be balanced out by our poor options, odd selections and poor individual and team performances.

I mean, if Ricki was still here and starting Lia in an elimination final, I imagine there would be a few choice words. That said, I feel I must rescind my post game anger and the suggestion he should pack his bags. Still it would have been interesting to see what Ricki would have got out of this squad, apart from a fair few more cards over the season, you'd think!

Nicely sums out my feelings.

So many Nix records broken and notable  firsts this season but just when we should have been building for a run at the title we lost our mojo and delivered croud killing performances.

Still a lot of great football played the first 20 rounds - really enjoyable to watch. 

I think the players who aren't at the skill level required or have passed their best by date are pretty obvious. Hopefully we can hang on to the 3 mentioned above recruit as well the coming off season as we did last year.

We have played like Ricki was in charge the last few weeks. The old tactics of getting it wide and hoping for the best have come to the fore. Burns playing the Ifill role, only not as well...

Ok so that makes over 450 mins of football watching from the zone, in which time I saw one goal/no wins... Anyway...

Gutted about how this season has ended, and learnt that some fans really can turn on their own pretty quickly. I know these performances are hard to watch and have been going on for the last handful of games, but how is constantly yelling "pass it you f*$%#@ di$%#@d" or similar supporting your team in any way. Onwards to next season, not bad considering 9th last year.

Fenton is not a striker and to play him there was costly given he had good opportunities fall his way.

Manny has been playing poorly so should have been left out with Fenton at left back. Kenny deserved a start after his  two goals against CCM.  Lia even when playing at his best only falls into the adequate category, not the player you want out there at finals time.

I am a big fan of  Ernie but in the last two weeks he tried to reinvent the wheel with his selections

I was annoyed from the beginning that we fronted with Fenton, much as I like the guy. McG and Fenton are never going to be a goal scoring threat so our attack was pretty tepid and not that difficult for City to contain. By refusing to start with a more potent goal scoring line up, eg Krishna or Kenny, we ceded some psychological and tactical advantage to them. Teams feared our attack not that long ago. Tonight, when we needed to make a bold front it felt like we went for the soft option.

That's bollocks. We've got our style, but it has seriously not been working...Someone said a few games back it seemed like the attacking players weren't in sync and there have certainly been few passes intuitively finding players making runs...

Again, missing that many pens. Ridiculous.

Next question- what the flip has happened to Doyle and A-Rod this season? Started so brightly pre-season against West Ham that everyone thought they'd be our good news stories. Instead A-Rod has been a bit player and Doyle has scarcely been seen.

No plan B.

Honestly - it was better when we were winning and you weren't posting so much bollox.

FYI Ricki got us to one game away from the Grand Final.

I don't see how what you said makes my comment bollocks?

Last few games tactics including tonight has appeared to be get the ball to Burns out wide and hope he does something. Unfortunately he's developed a penchant for running into defenders, blasting crosses/shots off defenders, or crossing to nobody.

McGlinchey is simply bereft of ideas altogether and has done nothing of note this calendar year.

Once in 6 years, well done Ricki. 

you're right it was better when we were winning though, I'll give you that.

Forgive me for being  disappointed at us throwing away a good chance of winning the league though, I forgot that nobody is bothered much around here as long as they can still chant "seagull" etc

Bollocks, cause Ifill had a shot 10% more powerful than Burns, and seemed to be 100% slower, up until this last month. Ifill was the complete "all 14 of you pass it to..." tactical package. Burns required something from the rest of the team in order to be devastating. It hasn't been there of late and neither has he...

If you are comparing the crossing of Leo/Lochhead/Disco to Burns then you have memory issues. And I think that McG is even shorter than Chris Greenacre...

I'm comparing Ifill and Burns' roles in the team, nothing more.