Nix vs Victory, Sat 9.45pm SS2

WTF is this Facebook? Way too many memes tonight.

I'm a bit surprised at the angst to be honest. A below strength team and a wacky formation. What was expected? To all those that wanted it, well you got it. So can you please stop asking for it now? Same old same old unclechopchop? Completely different formation and threw caution to the wind starting Totori (which a few have called for) so you can have a dunce card for your first post. Run out of ideas? He tried something completely different tonight so what the hell do you want???

Tonight I think we were poor in a few areas. However we were holding our own until about the 35th when the tide started to swing. Then the goal came and that sealed it. I took 2 things from it. 1: Mental, we concede a lot of goals late in the 1st half so this is definitely mental, switching off thinking that the half time has arrived 2: We are very much a confidence team and right now we have none. Only once have we fought back (in a rubbish game against the Heart and I flagged the issues then too) but the instant the goal came, we just stopped functioning.
Tonight Sigmund was caught out of position a lot in leaving the line. He has done this a hell of a lot this year and got caught (it was even highlighted in the pre-match by Bozo and Rudan) In some respects, with our a 2 man midfield, this was going to happen and he was going to do this. I did say prior to the game that the middle of the field would cause issues because of not enough defensive work rate from the pointy end and thats what happened. Totori was good for 30 but did run out of gas. He is an impact player only and like Tyler Boyd ALWAYS goes right. This is easy to shut down. I thought Brockie did very little. I thought Sanchez and Stein were our best and put themselves about. In the case of Stein, he has the talent no doubt but I think more than anything, he plays different to our system (and in some respects, our system is poor and we should be rising to meet his ability). The middle of the field was too light. It was thin and left the back line exposed and thats been our issue all season and again, was red flagged prior to the game. The front 3rd is the responsibility of Greenacre and we are looking bereft of ideas. This is not a positive for Greenie. No crossing tonight but thats because we did not have the players for it which is what our game is built on.

Its easy to point the finger at Ricki however he is mandated to play 'total football' and its obvious we do not have the players for this and his hands are tied up tight. This and also the formation. He gave the owners what they wanted and in some respects the people of this forum what they wanted in terms of formation and it did not come off. If he did the same old, they still would be whinging so I really do look at it that Ricki was fucked in the eyes of the fans regardless what he did tonight. His players did not perform. Now with a thin squad, he can't exactly make changes because the Welnix don't want to bring in players so the reality is, its going to be like this for a while because there is no one else.

Next week, I believe Totori should make way for Smith/Lindsay for a better defensive screen and to add beef in the middle. We can't play that formation again. We really can not. The reality is, we are a 2 DM team and cannot play just 2 in the middle of the field if 1 is an AM. Melbourne were off their game but they exposed us quite easily. An extra body in the middle would have helped. Otherwise, we are picking the bones of a carcas really.
I'm surprised at the stupidity posted and the short short memories to be honest.

unclechopchop, your massive signature is going to get really annoying really quickly.

We have been CRAP. for 95% of this pitiful season, it's not all about tonight. Tonight was another gutless and clueless performance so very short on any quality at all, and surely the manager takes some blame for this? Regardless of injuries, he signed ALL the players in this squad, a number of whom are just not up to it. A clear out is needed, starting with Ricki and he can take his favourites like Paston, Lia, and Lochhead with him.

For what it's worth, I also agree Welnix are being very short-sighted with their 'change the way we play but we won't buy any new players' attitude. We are crying out for some new signings of good quality but these guys are expecting miracles with the dross which currently inhabits the squad.

The problem for me is that we aren't focusing on getting our defensive solidarity back but are instead being forced into attempting to play an 'attacking brand' of football that we quite obviously aren't suited for (yet). We need to get that defensive structure back - which was the entire reason for our decent run of form last season - or we could very well find ourselves on the bottom of the table come the end of the season.

There is seems to be nothing which can be done to make us a team worthy of the championship.

Everyone is out of ideas, no one has a clue, no one knows what to do.

But I'm still going to watch us rain or shine, Phoenix till I die.

 Agree with most of what you said JV but like many others you seem to have this thing against Totori.Dam sure i didnt see him ALWAYS go right tonite.Still think he is well worth putting some time into he seems to cause panic when he runs at the defence.

Still very disapointed,i just cant see where the improvement is going to come from for us to be a genuine threat at the toilet seat.

We used to be strong at home,we used to have a good defence,we used to seem to operate as a team.

Sick of hearing this is a transition year, Ricki has been in charge for 6 bloody years and transition is well and truely over.While what Welnix has put into the club is appreciated they do seem to be very naive as to what it is going to take to be succesful  moving forward.

JV - a thoughtful post and you make many good points.  We were poor in the final third and I didn't see the understanding between players that could really bring out the best qualities in players like Brockie and Waffles. Too disjointed in my view.  As you know I have favoured Totori starting and I thought he played pretty well actually.  He was energetic and threatening at times.  And he tracks back well.

However I don't think it is fair to call out  some of us by saying, in effect, "see, you got what you wanted, and look at the result, now be quiet".  Our away record is poor and has been for some time.  We have many quality players, and some not so much (just like any other team) but we are not jelling as a team. We have more talent than for many years and with a settled back office/ownership we should be doing better. At times we play very good football, but not consistently enough.  Basically that comes down to the manager and that is where further review is warranted. That is the source of the angst you see on this forum.  

I guess another way I look at it is if Ange had been here from day 1 to play with his style, would he have signed these players? No. Yes Ricki is responsible but I don't think he is as responsible as it seems. He's playing a system he wasn't going to with players that don't fit it because he has been mandated to. I think where he does get a boot is poor fundamentals or the actual 'coaching' on field. How often is Sigmund going to keep leaving the line? How often are free balls going to roam through our box unchecked? Those are basic fundamentals that can be easily fixed by coaching and I think he gets more a kick up the ass for that, than trying to make this team fit into a playing style that they are simply are not going be able to do.

I think when you look at it like that, the season is probably lost. Not doom and gloom and kick the cat but a resigned 'well ok, this is it I guess'

As an import, two teenagers plucked from ASB Premiership after 1 year are offering more than him with his OFC and international experience. Not what I would be raving about regarding my imports...

 JV - I agree with all of your sentiments, all season I've been bemoaning Siggy's adventurous jaunts up the field, especially when we are defending - him being out of position has cost us goals and yet he is not benched - he is one of our most passionate players which is good, but so too was Daniel and he saw little game time in the last seasons. I for one would be ok with Boxall coming in for siggy for at least one game - he at least would hold his central position. Siggy at DM is daft - his distribution is not up to it. We need manny back and to keep his elbows to himself. Totori - as already mentioned is a bench 'impact' player - which is not what yopu need an import for. Though that Sanchez and Stein look good but they get no support from anyone. To play total footbal as Welnix want we need some serious investment in players and to get rid of lazy players that cannot pass or hold onto the ball - Lia, Siggy, Lochhead, Totori, etc

The simple answer is Alex Smith!

Is he really simple or just a little bit?

www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/8147544/Phoenixs-youth-movement-could-take-time 

looks like Ricky has indicated this season is over and time to try some youngsters. Also said midfield is dire. Indicates probably going to sign a midfielder

 I did warn this would happen after the lucky comeback against our main wooden spoon rival melbourne heart. Anybody expecting 3points on the road last night was dreaming. personally i think 2-0 was better than expected.

Ricki may not believe in marquees  - and yes he's been givin the salary cap to spend as he chooses, but anyone who has listend to Gareth knows he too is totally against spending anymore than the allotted cap. Whilst the wlnix crowd are around we will never have a marquee player which will been that our "star" player will be nothing more than an aging lower league player from abroad. We will never get a Heskey, DP type player with the current management.

This leaves us with a bunch of workhorse players who are unlikely to achieve the "total football" that is being demanded across the park. Unless we, as fans, are prepared to wait 3-5 years for the youth academy to work. I also have doubts as to whether Gareth and co will hang around that long if they don't get some results - we'll be the NZ Nix first of course.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/8147544/Phoenixs-youth-movement-could-take-time

So why do we turn up again?

Bloody hell. That makes it sound like we're turning in to what GCU ended up as. 

Can you show me this

We still have a few contracts from the terry era mind you. 

I would expect that Dura and Siggy command a wedge, Leo and Tony would have been signed a while back and still on a wedge. Brockie would probably have not come as cheap considering his performance last year. Moss being a quality keeper and Paston still a starting international keeper. Manny would have had to have been bought considering the interest from the 2 Melbourne teams interested.

I dont think the wages are as low as you predict.

Are we on the cusp of a new era @ the Phoenix - "MoneyBall" football style???

Guys, you're just talking. Talking, "la-la-la-la", like this is business as usual. It's not.

The problem we're trying to solve is that there are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then there's fifty feet of crap, and then there's us. It's an unfair game. And now we've been gutted. We're like organ donors for the rich. Boston's taken our kidneys, Yankees have taken our heart. And you guys just sit around talking the same old "good body" nonsense like we're selling jeans. Like we're looking for Fabio. We've got to think differently.
- Billy Beane

Dura on about 200-250k iirc

Daniel was on the same, but now he has been replaced by Stein... so no change...

hmmmm.......

Also have to question all this emphasis being put on the youth side of the club,while its a great concept surely its going to hurt when some of this supposed talent decides that they dont want to spend all there time playing in the A league.Seems we are being asked to accept mediocrity in the supposed short term,that seems like a great way to pull the crowds in.

I have always been under the spell that for a player like Stein we need another player like say... "Carlos Valderama". Now of course his hair would need a separate contract (fap), but the way he moves the ball to front is godly. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7A5smuVFs8

Thoughts?

(I can't embed to save our midfield, help)

Thoughtful post JV. I do think if you hire an experienced striker like Huysegems then you play to his strength, which is balls to his feet rather than high balls into the box. The offense should be designed around him.

I didn't think it was useful having Tortori tracking back so much, his main use is to run at defenders thus freeing up Huysegems to run into space. The problem is then getting Torori to look up and find him.

Bertos is still not a back player to me, and I feel he's sort of stranded in no-man's land. His instincts are to push forward which is why he gets exposed. I would much prefer Boxall was developed at the back and the fading Bertos brought on as an impact winger.

Anyone with pace quickly gets the measure of Lochhead and Siggy keeps straying off line. You really need someone to anchor the defence like Ivan Vicelich does at ACFC.

I think there is a fundamental problem now at the heart of this Nix team and it rests with Ricki. He has grown comfortable and stale. Six years without a trophy is starting to tell. The Nix once could at least rely on stout defence, but not even that anymore. There doesn't seem to be a hunger, other than with the new young recruits like Fenton and Boyd. That's why the club is crying out for change. I don't think trying to get Ricki to play a different style with the same players is the answer.

Bring in a new coach and look to develop a team of exciting young NZ talent with some good imports. There needs to be a clearout. Ifill, Lochhead, Paston, Bertos have had their day. Likewise Ricki.