It's funny how people are saying "Smeltz is going to have a man on him this season." So teams didn't play with center backs against us last year then? He always had people marking him last season, it won't be any different this year, except perhaps that sides might be a little bit more afraid of him, if anything that's a good thing as it will open up space for our other attacking players. It would be foolish of teams to pay too much attention to him, and as he showed last year, all he needs is one or two chances a game because he is absolutely deadly inside the box. The standard of defending in the A-League just isn't high enough to prevent him from getting a few chances each match, especially with that wonderful midfield we are going to line up behind him.
As for Kwasnik, if it's true that he's signed I'm definitely happy about it, probably about as good as we could expect given the circumstances. I'd have loved to have had Porter (now he probably would have been worth trying up front in a 442). Who knows, maybe Ricki will give Kwasnik a shot starting up front with Smeltz. Certainly wouldn't hurt to see how they go preseason. My gut just tells me that we don't need another starting striker, I'd rather watch the trifecta of Gao, Bertos and Daniel all operating behind Smeltz.
KTBW2008-06-22 00:52:29
It's funny how people are saying "Smeltz is going to have a man on him this season." So teams didn't play with center backs against us last year then? He always had people marking him last season, it won't be any different this year, except perhaps that sides might be a little bit more afraid of him, if anything that's a good thing as it will open up space for our other attacking players. It would be foolish of teams to pay too much attention to him, and as he showed last year, all he needs is one or two chances a game because he is absolutely deadly inside the box. The standard of defending in the A-League just isn't high enough to prevent him from getting a few chances each match, especially with that wonderful midfield we are going to line up behind him.
As for Kwasnik, if it's true that he's signed I'm definitely happy about it, probably about as good as we could expect given the circumstances. I'd have loved to have had Porter (now he probably would have been worth trying up front in a 442). Who knows, maybe Ricki will give Kwasnik a shot starting up front with Smeltz. Certainly wouldn't hurt to see how they go preseason. My gut just tells me that we don't need another starting striker, I'd rather watch the trifecta of Gao, Bertos and Daniel all operating behind Smeltz.
KTBW2008-06-22 00:52:29