Phoenix Transfer Speculation 2013/14

Did Hogg and Rowe ACTUALLY trial for the Phoenix..........I mean .......invited, watched and talked to by Ernie??????

If they did trial.....what were there short comings and reason they were let go as Caira turns up for a couple of days and gets a TWO year contract = must be VERY good? So what of and where are Hogg and Rowe now?

World Cup next year and a very big game looming in Wellington before hand. Lockhead 32 (best years far behind him) is our only professional left back in the country who'll be playing second fiddle to Caira = not playing.

Very underwhelming signing.........looks like a 'deal' to me.

I'm backing Ernie all the way with this and glad he signed Reece Caira. I just want us to win the A League and we'll never do that if the priority is to treat the Nix first team squad as some sort of development outfit. If the Kiwi kids work hard and are good enough, then they'll get their chance. The benchmark to reach top 4 is way higher than it used to be. Defensive midfield's now the worry. Until we can transition from the back third away from home (as an option to hoofing it) then our progress will be limited. The Muscat and Lia of last year weren't technically capable of doing that.

I'm backing Ernie all the way with this and glad he signed Reece Caira. I just want us to win the A League and we'll never do that if the priority is to treat the Nix first team squad as some sort of development outfit. If the Kiwi kids work hard and are good enough, then they'll get their chance. The benchmark to reach top 4 is way higher than it used to be. Defensive midfield's now the worry. Until we can transition from the back third away from home (as an option to hoofing it) then our progress will be limited. The Muscat and Lia of last year weren't technically capable of doing that.

At least we have a chance, compared to the vast majority of football clubs in the world where they will never win the league. The salary cap has given us as good a chance as any team in the league to win the competition. If we were in Europe where there is no salary cap restrictions, we would probably never win the league. It would be Sydney and Melbourne every year as they have by far the most income..

I'm backing Ernie all the way with this and glad he signed Reece Caira. I just want us to win the A League and we'll never do that if the priority is to treat the Nix first team squad as some sort of development outfit. If the Kiwi kids work hard and are good enough, then they'll get their chance. The benchmark to reach top 4 is way higher than it used to be. Defensive midfield's now the worry. Until we can transition from the back third away from home (as an option to hoofing it) then our progress will be limited. The Muscat and Lia of last year weren't technically capable of doing that.

Did Hogg and Rowe ACTUALLY trial for the Phoenix..........I mean .......invited, watched and talked to by Ernie??????

"My only concern with this theory is we have given him a two year contract."  EXACTLY .... one of the points I'm obviously poorly pointing out.

I definitely don't wish for the Phoenix to be a development squad for 'whatever'......but I do wish to support a team I can identify with......

Yes.

It's very important that we start to measure the team on performance not potential - but this year is about trying to improve on last year because that was a disaster that cannot be repeated

Think some people need to remember we are still some way off from playing our first A league game.

Basically I think if we can sign a mobile defensive centre midfielder who can drop into the back 4 this will all make a lot more sense.  2 young whippets playing high up the pitch and wide, basically attackers, with 2 centre backs plus a third payer (nominally a midfielder) who drops in between them defensively + another more defensive midfielder (probably Muscat).  If you look at average touch positions in most European leagues that's how it ends up - full backs generally play higher up the pitch than central midfielders.  So a bit depends on signing that player, but I think it's clear what he's trying to do and why he's signing the players he is

Did Hogg and Rowe ACTUALLY trial for the Phoenix..........I mean .......invited, watched and talked to by Ernie??????

Can someone in the know please answer this earlier post and why Caira is a better LB than Hogg/Rowe or anyone else in the country?

Caira better be the goods 'cause Lockheads days are well past their use by date. 

Basically I think if we can sign a mobile defensive centre midfielder who can drop into the back 4 this will all make a lot more sense.  2 young whippets playing high up the pitch and wide, basically attackers, with 2 centre backs plus a third payer (nominally a midfielder) who drops in between them defensively + another more defensive midfielder (probably Muscat).  If you look at average touch positions in most European leagues that's how it ends up - full backs generally play higher up the pitch than central midfielders.  So a bit depends on signing that player, but I think it's clear what he's trying to do and why he's signing the players he is

Rowe: Yes has been with the nix since day 1 of Ernie's preseason. Was given multiple weeks to perform. Ernie rated him initially but obviously after a few weeks realised he was not the right player for the role he wanted and made the hard call.

Hogg: Signed in Jan til end of season, was invited to trial with Nix under Ernie the same as Rowe but turned him down to try european clubs. Ernie can't sign him unsighted - so unless he is willing to come back, then he's out of the equation.

Lochhead: According to Gordy, he is well past his use by date. Most people agree that he was still a step above Rowe & Hogg so therefore by these standards, they are unlikely to be up to scratch yet.

Caira: Definitely quicker than Rowe and a lot more mobile which is clearly what Ernie wants from his fullbacks. Which is why in Ernie's eyes, he is a better option than Rowe. 
Ironically Iain Hogg possesses similar mobility but is currently out of the country so essentially unavailable to Ernie.

Club Identity: We have recently signed Luke Adams - young kiwi CB who fans can identify themselves to. I think we probbly have the least number of australians in the squad than ever? Ernie has directly expressed his wish to develop young kiwis and thinks we have the talent and is giving a lot of them a chance.

I would even go a step further and say that it's possible Adams could jump Siggy. He just seems to fit Ernies style so much better. He's very good on the ball, composed, and distributes from the back calmly and effectively. Siggy on the other hand tends to lack the skill and composure to play the possession based philosophy that Ernie wants to play imo. On the other hand, we might even see Boxall jump Siggy this season. I wonder if the Dura-Siggy monopoly of central defence may be coming to a close under Ernie.. on the other hand, Ernie may not think Adams is up to A-league level yet and the same could apply to Boxall, who knows..

Just a thought, the pre-season reports all seem to allude to Moss spilling the ball under pressure or making other mistakes that have lead to goals. Those that have witnessed them is he up to it this season? I like the guy, but if central league teams are forcing him into errors that are costing us goals do we need to be looking for a genuine first team keeper?

Rowe: Yes has been with the nix since day 1 of Ernie's preseason. Was given multiple weeks to perform. Ernie rated him initially but obviously after a few weeks realised he was not the right player for the role he wanted and made the hard call.

Hogg: Signed in Jan til end of season, was invited to trial with Nix under Ernie the same as Rowe but turned him down to try european clubs. Ernie can't sign him unsighted - so unless he is willing to come back, then he's out of the equation.

Lochhead: According to Gordy, he is well past his use by date. Most people agree that he was still a step above Rowe & Hogg so therefore by these standards, they are unlikely to be up to scratch yet.

Caira: Definitely quicker than Rowe and a lot more mobile which is clearly what Ernie wants from his fullbacks. Which is why in Ernie's eyes, he is a better option than Rowe. 
Ironically Iain Hogg possesses similar mobility but is currently out of the country so essentially unavailable to Ernie.

Club Identity: We have recently signed Luke Adams - young kiwi CB who fans can identify themselves to. I think we probbly have the least number of australians in the squad than ever? Ernie has directly expressed his wish to develop young kiwis and thinks we have the talent and is giving a lot of them a chance.

This

I think the key signing of the import DM will happen late in the piece. Probably after the European transfer window closes at the end of August???  At this stage there will be quite a few pro's who will have missed out on being picked up and may be approachable to coming to the Nix. I would hope Ernies search net is a bit wider than Rickies. Cunningham was a good pick up. As JD said Ernie has a plan...and he is recruiting players who will fit his plan.....without any sentiments, which is how it should be.

From what we have seen from the warmup matches there appears to be an issue with the accurate transition of the ball from defensive to attack, especially under pressure....which has been an on going problem at the Nix. You can bet that Ernie won't put up with this situation for long as this is a key area of his new strategy. It could be that neither Lia or Muscat will start and that we might look at a new DM pairing, one import as playmaker and a stopper from Oz or NZ(if he can find one). 

Ernie is much more media savvy than Rick. He communicates his ideas quit well. The players must be super stoked to play that style of football, specially after winning the wooden spoon. I'm really looking forward to see how fast they can implement that on the pitch. 73 days to kick-off.

He is more media savvy but the style of football he described was a carbon copy of what we had for the last three or four years.

When did we ever see L******d play like a LW ? 

NEVER.

Lochead got a lot of balls into the penalty area. They may not have beat the first man, but they did get into the area. He wasn't quick, but he was very fit. He got forward a lot, much of how a wing back can play depends on who is in front of him, when it was Daniel I would hazard a guess and say he probably led the league in terms of wing backs crossing into the box.

enough said.