Glory vs LOLington - Match Thread

"its just like watching the oly-whites"

I think we should really persist with the 4-2-3-1 we used pre-season. Sure it might have been good against teams before they found form but we will find form and continuity too if we play with some consistency and develop some combinations.

Nah, I reckon we play for a 1-0 loss and hope other results go our way...

Surely we can't lose to Perth??

We'll give it a good nudge if recent performances are to go by.

Hopefully the lads pick themselves up for it, they should feel confident with their record against them.

You just watch us.

harsh, very harsh

If we lose against that rabble the sh*t will hit the fan

Assuming we are playing 4-4-2 the big question is are we playing the long ball game seen in last couple of outings? Let's hope not.

But if we are then (after 5 red bulls to stay awake through it) it might be worth giving Costa a run alongside Smeltz and use his pace to run off Smeltz or into space behind their back four.

The pairing of Smeltz and Coveny did not work last week and I cannot remember it being that great last year either. Coveny on the bench as cover for Smeltz.

Why do people constantly go on about Costa? granted i have only seen him play once but he is not better than the options we have currently. Why not Draper who has performed much better in the times i have seen him play for NZ. Just because some teams have used youth doesn't mean we have to

I thought I had. If you're playing 4-4-2 and hitting the ball long then you need pace alongside Smeltz to either run off him or run in behind the back four if the ball is played over the top.

As far as I can see Costa has the pace and fits the bill for a 4-4-2 formation playing the long ball.

Would Costa in that role work better than Coveny, well won't know till we try it but Smeltz and Coveny do not appear to gel as a front two, so what is the logic in continuing with something that isn't and hasn't worked?. Pace is unsettling and something we are short of.

Having seen Covs and Costa in training in the last few months, I wouldn't put money on Costa being significantly quicker than Coveny, and his scoring record isn't even close.

and he's short

That's a good point, if we were playing some attractive ball on the deck football, Costa would be more viable but at the moment we're playing some of the worst football in the A-League and I doubt it would suit Costa.

Then with your logic why not play Bertos up front with Smeltz, isn't he quick?

Agree we playing some ugly football at the moment and that is why if we are going to persist with hitting it long I think we need someone with pace playing alongside the target man. Doesn't matter if he's short only that he has pace.

Must admit my starting assumption is that Costa has pace but if that not the case well bang goes my argument.

Perth wont be easy-beats. They are playing much better attacking football than us at the moment and are only let down by pathetic defence. I like the look of Dadi - he's a very dangerous player. For our sake hopefully Amaral doesn't recover from his injury because he's been excellent too from what I've seen.

Well nearly everyone else has had crack and it hasnt worked so far so why not give the young guys a shot,you never no it just might work.I seem to recall the last time he was given a shot he preformed bloody well.

Amaral looks to be gone for 4 weeks.

You sure I read somewhere this afternoon it was 6 weeks.

Yeah, Dom Post said 6 weeks.

Its okay got my players mixed up.

Looks like not as bad as first thought for Amaral.

"Perth Glory received a timely boost this afternoon with key midfielder Amaral cleared of a hamstring tear.

Scans today revealed Amaral strained his right hamstring late in Sunday�s match and is now only expected to be sidelined between two or three weeks. It was feared that the Brazilian playmaker could be out of action for six weeks after being carried off in the 73rd minute".

Yeh I'd go with that line-up Feverish, except if Leo is avail, I'd plump for him not Hearfield

Hearfield's been a disappointment. His workrate is good but he doesn't seem to have the ability to bust a defence open with that special bit of skill that an attacking player needs. Maybe he just needs some more time, but if Bertos is fit I'd have him in the starting line up any day of the week.

Hearfield has been good but for some reason I think we go back to the Magic 3 with 2 defensive Midfielders behind. I would like to see a Ferrante-Brown combination. Then Smeltz up front. I'm basing this on the 1st pre-season game against Ccm which in my mind was the best attacking performance so far.

                             Moss
Mulligan---Durante--Mckain---Lochead
                 Ferrante--Brown
    Bertos-------Gao-------Daniel
                     Smeltz

it's the linking between players that's the real problem, so i'd like to see 3 creative mids on, whether it be Gao, Daniel, Bertos or Hearfield - like a lot of youse
Cosimo2008-09-17 07:30:41

Agree with 5 at the back, one clean sheet doesn't mean our defensive issues are solved. In the past 3 games, Dodd's passing has been no worse then our other midfielders (granted they have all been crap). Stick Dodd on Dadi so the the two lumbering giants can go at it. Dodd may not have the pace, but his commitment is second to none. He is one of the few players in our team who tracks down players when beaten (which unfortunately happens too often). If we use attacking mids, they need to make better runs, it's no good having them all take off at the opposition's goal at the same time as it's too predictable that a long ball is going over the top.

Can someone please enlighten me as to what exactly these three creative mids have created in four matches up until now?

Where is it falling down? Formation or personnel?

Both.