Phoenix v Mariners - July 20 Westpac Stad

660 replies · 11,939 views

over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

Did anyone else think Dodd was completely lost in Midfield? His distribution was poor, but the Dompost seem to think he had an impressive performance...

Yep, I'm with you. I was quite surprise to see him still in the squad to be honest. He was easily the worst in the leaky backline last season, and I would have thought the new defensive replacements would have seen him back playing in the local leagues where he should be. But hey, Ricky knows what he's doing, so I guess he sees something in him that we don't.

Clebo, Old, O'dor, Christie (at times)... To be fair I thought that he was one of the most solid in d last year (besides Lochy).

I'm probably not a massive fan of him playing defensive mid- but think he was solid enough- just some average distribution. See how he goes in the season though. But definitely disagree with him being the weak link last year.

We? How can you talk for others? Most I would assume see the great side of having Karl. As a defensive midfielder - superb! If you ask Durante how easy it probably seemed having Dodd snuff out the majority of attacks by CCM before it got to the last four, he'd probably tell you it was like having an early Xmas. He also gave the excellent ball to Bertos who in turn got in the cross for Daniel to score.

To have the luxury of having a great back 4 now that Mulligan is here and Dodd in front is what most coaches would dream of. Roll on a striker now to help Smeltz and all is complete

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

I used 'we' because I'm not the only one to not see the benefits. But hey, we're all entitled to our opinion and I'm happy to let everyone else have their say. If at the end of the season he turns out to be one of the most consistent players in the group, then I'll put my hand up and say I got it wrong. Until then, I stand by what I say.

I will add this though... he is looking a helluva lot fitter this season than last.

Marknz2008-07-22 21:34:15

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

Doddy is a legend. End of

Founder

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

Dodd did alright - he may need a few games to get used to the pace of the game in midfield, but his tackling was excellent, his distribution needs some work. It will be interesting to see if he keeps Brown and Johnson on the sidelines for a while. Brown is probably a more 'complete' player in midfield, but Dodd did what Ricky wanted on Sunday - he won the ball!

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

Well if Brown is 'more complete' than Dodd, I'd say Johnno is a bloody superstar then.

Oi Oi Edgecumbe... lets have a clean sheet

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

Just been chatting to a mate about the footy on Sunday. Hes a brit and was a massive fan of heading along to the game, and thinks he'll rock along to many more. Thought it was a real family atmosphere compared to matches back home. He wasn't sure about the standard of the game (which is fair considering he is used to going to spurs matches...). Reckoned it was about English div 2/3- again fair considering its preseason.

Anyway, he though most of the players were pretty similar, but thought that Daniel was well well above the quality of anyone else out there, and that Leiliei was the next best. From an unbiased point of view he also thought we were well above the mariners, which was good to hear (I think and we could all see!). Always good to get some perspective from a first-timer i think!

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

we managd to get an extra two to the game, and they both reakon they'll be back for more. It's a great chance to get more people involved, especially when the tickets are so cheap.

was definitly hard to undersad the new chants and I thought it a shame that it took so long to do "stand up for the phoenix" as thats a good one for peope in further round aisles to join in on.

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

how did troy hearfield go?

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

a bit hard for us to tell from in the zone, as he was at the end diagonally opposite from us

he didn't let himself down as a makeshift right back, i expect he was concentrating on doing the basics and minimising any errors

i seem to remember a bit of confusion between him and one of centre backs - but that's hardly surprising under the circs

he also showed some good control when he did venture up in attack

(i don't suppose he was expecting to debut at right back)

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

whoever played the song Swing after the game gets an uppercut

Founder

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over 17 years ago · edited over 13 years ago

I got the feeling that when Hearfield came on there was a reluctance (understandably I'd say) by the Phoenix players to attack down the right hand flank and therefore expose themselves defensively should Hearfield have gotten caught out of position. To be honest I felt for him, it was a pretty big shout by Ricki to bring him on in that position. I would have brought on Johnson and moved Dodd into right back to play things safe, but I guess Ricki felt that CCM weren't doing much going forward and throwing on another attacker might help us get the winner! He did okay though, but I can hardly remember him getting the ball, it was a little hard to see what was happening on his side of the pitch, particularly when we were defending.

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