Nix vs Victory, Sat 9.45pm SS2

Blah,blah,blah.This is a supporters forum so start supporting or jog on.Get real,suck it in - we can't do anything about it, anyway.

And the suggestion somewhere about boycotting the next home game is fucked in the head.Wtf?.Banstick

I we think things are bad at the Phoenix, we just need to remember that at least we are not Sydney FC supporters.

We all know Dad drinks too much, Mum nags day and night, Sis puts it about a bit much and it is only a matter of time before Younger Brother gets in trouble with the law.  We talk about this all the time. But they are family and we love them to bits.  Same here.

Think its time to forget all of this angst about how we can save this season and just accept that if we qualify for the playoffs, it will be a bonus. We need to look towards the future and make the best of what we've got. My strategy would be:

Try harder to play an attacking style that more suits our highly qualified and paid Belgian.

Use Fenton and Boyd, judiciously to bring along their development rather than hoping they will be our saviours this season.

Start using the likes of Lindsay and Boxhall more as I presume they have more years left in their careers than Siggy and Lochead and might be with us for longer.

Perhaps bring 1 or 2 of the Academy players into the squad rather than have them with TW and try to develop them in the A League rather than NZFC.

Problems solved.

I hope this debate does not turn into a slag off of Ricki because he has been a loyal servant of the club and hung in there during some tough times. However I do think we are entering a period of change and next season we need a fresh new perspective.

Ricki's strength, which is what he has based his Nix career, is putting out a team that stops the opposition from playing. We have traditionally been hard working, tough to break down etc. In the A-League we have got by with this style and for goals relied heavily on the brilliance of individual players...especially Paul Ifill.

However the A-League has evolved and we have been left behind. Sides know how to defend against us because we are so predictable. There are a group of our players who have outstayed their usefulness. Our talisman striker has been out of form/injured/become old. So now we are struggling to come up with ways of scoring that involve the team playing as a unit. How many Nix goals are tap ins?  How many headed goals?. 

For me there are two choices

1, End of season the Board says, thanks Ricki for all you have done, good luck with the WC, see you back later as FD to oversee the National youth Academy setup. We then immediately advertise and appoint a new coach who comes in ASAP. The new guy  can spend the whole winter 100% concentrating on the Phoenix....tactics, recruitment, assistants, preseason etc

or 2, 

Ricki gets another year as coach. He spends a large part of autumn/winter away with the AW's. Like the last few years things like recruitment get left to last minute.....journeymen get re-signed. A big part of preseason gets handed over to the novice assistant coach. We go into transition again.....fans are left trying to figure out which style we are trying to play. More angst on YF forums.

I hope we don't need to start Totori again and I hope we sign Hogg and stick him straight in at left back.

I wonder what the cumulative metres travelled by each time last night was?

Too elusive?

Good post - and if it's option 2, they may as well play at Alex Moore Park because no-one's going to watch that shite. Tony Popovic arrived at WSW with about 6 players only signed and built a squad that may win this thing. Certainly will beat us next week.  No transition years, no favourites, rotates his lineup depending on who they play, and maybe the smartest marquee signing off all. The A League's left Herbert and his style behind. He's constantly out coached, getting out of his depth, and his stocklines about fans having to be patient while we rebuild with kids. What a joke. Isn't helped by the soft ride football journos give him, and ex internationals can't say what they think really either because Herbert runs the FIFA gravy train as well, responsible for all levels. Think Morgan needs to get some independent football advice real fast.  

Some will disagree but I'd wish the following personnel well in their future endeavours (not with the Phoenix, just to be clear!) at the end of the season.

Paston

Bertos

Lochhead

Sigmund (perhaps he could be kept for cover at the back, I do not think he should be automatic first pick any more)

Lia

Smith

Downey

Ricki

Trani (his plans to win more away games is going well, isn't it?)

This is the contract situation situation atm. Don't expect a huge clear out, because it isn't going to happen.

CONTRACT EXPIRES END OF SEASON 2012/13:
#1) Mark Paston
#3) Tony Lochhead
#7) Leo Bertos
#9) Benjamin Totori (fgn)
#19) Jimmy Downey
#23) Lucas Pantelis
#21) Dani Sanchez (fgn)
#24) Alex Smith (fgn)

This season has really failed to deliever all round. Proper pre-season and finally got a bit of dosh and stability.
First game I thought shit we're looking pretty bloody good. Since then 14 games with 3 wins. Really not good enough. Signings have been piss poor as has our general play. Absolute worst finish has gotta be 6th anything less and heads have gotta roll.
Still half a season to go so here's hoping for a bloody big turn around.

 I blew out my disappointment reserves watching the roar game, this one was almost a bit like sitting down to watch a sitcom. Fully expected a hopeless performance. After 30, I thought we may find our way to frustrating Victory to lowering their standards to ours and sneak a 0-0, but then as expected Lochy forgot to mark up for the first goal. Ricki demonstrated an absolute lack of substance again. No half time impact from him. MV got the run of the green with a tackle turning into a cross, but again, Lochy forgot to hold the line. Some throw away subbing from Ricki added zero impact on the game and we managed to get to the final whistle without it being a complete whitewash. Which is a semi positive, but part of me now wishes a run of 3 x 5-0 defeats to bring this Ricki thing to a head quick and fast. I guess it's wishful thinking that'd result in any change either. I understand that the starting 11 should have some leve of consistency to it week in week out, but the ony changes we ever get in ours is when Ricki's hand is forced by an injury or suspension.... weird.

His point is that players can make the A League without coming from a youth team system. Fenton and Boyd were doing what last year? Granted not everybody will make it this way but then not everyone coming through a youth team/scheme is going to make it either.

There has been interesting points raised but the main theme is that as it stands, we kinda recognise that a few of our players are not good enough for the brand of football the owners want to see. Ain't nothing can be done about that this year unless we offload in the transfer window which is extremely unlikely cause a bottom of the table team selling players it does not want in a backwater competition ain't gonna find buyers... Fact

So what do we do for the rest of the year? Keep trying, revert to what Ricki does best or accept it and try to develop some of our younger players we have and accept the pain that comes with that.

Next year is next year as far as I am concerned and we need to finish this year. If we are talking about next year, then we have kinda written this one off...

 Dont worry guys seems we are on a 3/5 year plan to take us to domination.Bloody hell i could of saved some money had i known the last six years were for buggar all.

Yeah interesting article in DomPost this morning!  I may not notice a "blip" in my wallet either next year at this rate.  The transition to "Bar Nix" or some variation will be expensive....not sure if basing it on kiwis to grow the national team is going to be the answer tho judging by the diverse talent on show in other teams.  Needs more names ending in "...ic"!

Will be interesting to see effect on crowds now..probably needs owners to come out with more of the vision than coach Ricki.

Id "bring back" Bambam first..

C'mon guys - we have affordable membership prices.  

Boro4eva - despite your UK team being a bit sh!t  (out of three extremely shIt NE English teams at the moment, one of them being mine) you'd continue to support them and probably go to matches if you were there (leaving aside the outrageous ticket prices over there) wouldn't you?  Ballane you are a foundation member - surely you will stick with the club through thick and thin?

This is a disappointing season no doubt, but we've got a Wgtn team and it has some good long-term foundations in place.  We need to continue to support the team so that we have Wgtn footy in the A-League for many years to come.

Lads, lasses - turn those frowns upside down!

NE England = Geordieland, Mackem land and Boroville.

Toon is like the Nix - lots of promise but the owner is tight-fisted.

Absolutely....and thats why I grabbed the season ticket for the first time this year having supported at over half the matches each season since 07(my worn out Retro Ricki tee shirt attests to that)  but it was based on pre season hype for 12/13, more disposable income this year and more time.  Yes I have supported Boro for 40 plus years but hard core fans there are driven by results, entertainment and ticket prices and the club recognised that as well...so same themes as here.  Crowds have come back to Riverside this season..after a last season end of season let down...but only once we started winning and are challenging for promotion.

The core 3-4K will alwsys be here..but the 10k wlll only come with results and entertainment.

:>)

striped stripped and strapped

AJ & JV, where does NN mention a youth league/team?  I think you've missed his whole point which is to give the younger ones in the squad  some game-time and bring a couple from TW into the squad.

NN, I've got to agree re Huysegems.  Ricki appears to have been planning to stick with the high cross attack - yet bought an ex-winger who likes to play football so is totally unsuited to that style.  The possession style, which Welnix want, will suit him but, on the other hand, TW may be a better breeding ground than the WP squad - did you see the recent game between the two?