Phoenix vs Clogs - Match Fred

Angst

Apart from some racist nearby, I thought it was not bad?

I agree with you here.  Bertos had an off game compared to his performance in pre-season.  But having an off game on the first game of the season isn't too great.

Set pieces and passing in the last third were woeful.  Our midfield didn't seem to be doing its job. 

Dodd does not look good in midfield so either put him back in defence or on the transfer market.

Ferrante and Daniel are way overrated.  Daniel can do a couple of tricks now and again but as a team player he seems very ineffective.  We need someone to take leadership in the middle of the park but nobody stepped up to the task.

On the plus side.  A draw at home is reasonable and Roar looked like a decent team.  Smeltz was great yet again and McKain looks like a quality player.

I hope Herbert can get the midfield sorted out for the next game.

i thought the fever zone was a bit quite on the telly

Tegal2008-08-17 21:15:22

Fact.

I honestly don't get the criticisms of Ferrante and Daniel. Ferrante works his socks off, much of the work he does seems to go unnoticed by the casual eye but take a moment to stop following the ball and watch his movement. He rips around the pitch putting in tackles all over the place. He also has by far the best distribution of any of our midfielders and he is quite a clever player as well, creating space from situations where there is none.

As for Daniel, how can you call somebody who got the most assists out of all our players last season 'not a team player?' I don't know if I'd call him lazy, he's just quite slow, and therefore finds it hard to press as well as somebody like Ferrante does. To be fair, tonight wasn't really his type of game (very physical, quite a lot of long ball). It's pretty hard to get involved in a game when your center backs are just punting it up to Smeltz all the time. In that 20 minute period where we were on top once we had equalized and were pressing for the second he came into the game in a major way because we started playing the ball on the deck.

He is our most creative player, it was his skillfull pass that created the goal for Smeltz. Had he not been on the field we probably would have lost. I'd take him over a hard working 'trier' because all it takes to win a game of football is one moment of inspiration. That is why Daniel is so valuable to us, have a look at the stats last season, he scores goals and gets assists. The same has been true during preseason and tonight continued that trend. Also, pay attention at his work with Lochhead, they combine fantastically down the left hand side at times, and probably epitomize the teamwork aspect of a good 'nix performance.

Added to that is the fact that he is a delight to watch, I am paying money to watch good, skillfull football, I want to be entertained. When Daniel doesn't start I feel like I'm not getting the full 'Phoenix product' because I find the game more fun to watch when he is on.

KTBW2008-08-17 21:24:15

Moving back in amongst it all for next week?

As a DM the primary thing he should be judged on is winning the ball and stifling the opposition and he did that a lot better 2nd half than first - that said I think Johnson is a better all around option in that position PROAK2008-08-17 21:42:56

If we can sqeeze in...

Well, I was terribly disappointed tonight.  Maybe a case of raised expectations after signings and pre-season. 

But I�ve never seen us pass so poorly.  He hardly ever retained possession, wanted to immediately thump it aimlessly downfield and inevitably lost it.  Skills wise Qld were all over us.  The few times we varied from this pattern we looked useful, but they were the exceptions.  It gives me no pleasure to say this, but if we applaud when things go well we should call it as we see it when they don�t.

In the second half we seemed to attack purely down the left.  OK Lochhead got forward well, but it was unbalanced and one-dimensional.  Has the midfield never heard of switching play????  The last game I saw, pre-season vs Mariners, we were excellent with Daniel on one wing, Bertos on the other, lots of width, variation and precision.  Tonight some of the crossing was of El**ch proportions.  Nuff said.  I could add something about our freekicks.  Since inception we have had just two variations:  into the wall or high over the goal.  Tonight it was the former.  Variety pleeeeease.

Defence was mixed.  On the plus side McKain and esp Durante were excellent � could any other pairing have coped so well?  But at times it felt like last year, incessant pressure and needless anxious moments.  I suspect this just reflected possession � give a good opponent so much and they must have you under pressure. 

Positives:  Central defence, Moss and Lochhead sound as ever; nicely worked goal, Kwasnik had his best game yet; eventual scoreline vs a strong opponent.  Negatives:  mostly midfield, Daniel awol for most of game, Bertos in second half, passing mostly 3/10

Bottom line:  although Nix could have won if Kwasnik�s shot against the bar had gone in, it would have been undeserved.  We were fortunate to draw, and probably played the least attractive football I can remember.  However, we know Nix can play far, far better and we have a strong squad.  Lets hope for a big improvement vs Victory.

My ratings

Moss 8.  Much busier tonight, good under high balls, really nothing to criticise.

Lochhead 7.  Generally sound, maybe hit long too early (who didn�t)

Durante 9.  I thought he was immense.

McKain 7  Again really did little wrong.

Muscat 6 Busy on defence, but never got forward and passing was wayward.

Dodd 5.  First half passing shocking.  Ponderous

Ferrante 6.  Big work effort, passing not normal standard.

Daniel 4.  Never thought I see him play as badly, redeemed only by role in creating goal.

Kwasnik 6.5 Some nice touches but survived on scraps

Bertos 5  Looked sharp early on, was he actually present H2?

Smeltz 8.  Nicely taken goal, did all we could ask, looked confident.

Hearfield, not on long enough, looked OK.

 

bloody excellent summary pacwarior

Whitby boy2008-08-17 21:32:41

Pretty much all been covered.

I thought we were average and I expected better. Early days tho' and one point is better than nowt.

Don't know what was up with the Zone but, watching on telly, it was certainly the quietest I've heard it.

What's the deal with our super fitness coach? I thought we looked absolutely buggered in the last 5 - 10 minutes.

I agree, Daniel is our talisman.  When he is off form, like tonight, we struggle to create much.  Personally I prefer him mainly on the left, but he needs to be balanced by some penetration on the other side.  It was the same in PSC final, with him absent we lacked a playmaker.  Put Daniel on the left, as first "go to" man  with others supporting, actually try to hold possession and switch play, and we are a different team.

Dodd did have a bad game, and to be honest, i wasn't very impressed with Lochead - he had tons of space but didn't do much with it. I'm with KTBW, i thought Ferrante did alright. Durante was awesome. Daniel didn't get much ball, but let's face it, we'd be screwed without him, you can see defenders hanging back thinking "wtf is he gonna do?", even if his tricks only come off 50% of the time.

I really hate Queensland, they are such a physical side, they mark ultra-tight and push the hell out of players, they are a bitch to beat. We seemed to have more space/time against Melbourne. Their goal was soft, lack of concentration on our part. Thought we were lucky to come away with a point, but pretty happy considering Queensland seem to be our bogey side.

Dodd had a bad game????????   

Hate to say - I told you so, but at last some people are now doubting Dodd?
I watched him for years and have always thought that he was good as a RB., not central defender and no way in the midfield.To play in the middle you need to be able to pass. He cannot pass water.His brother in no better.

i like him better at CB

Geez, in professional football I'll take a point any day. I've seen Qld twice, they can deliver the goods when they are switched on.
What Smeltz showed was that Wgtn Phoenix are resiliant enough to counter attack & the defence can hold out, despite all the frustration.

they definitely showed some guts, skill was off tonight

OK maybe I have been a bit harsh on Daniel.  I just can't help thinking that every time I see him play he just seems to be trying to be a bit of a showman.  Its OK I you play for Manchester United or some Brazilian club team but when you play for the Phoenix you have to remember that the skill level is different.  Sometime I wish he would just take control of midfield and dictate the play a bit more. Do the simple thing and bring other players into the game.  Yeah I suppose he did get plenty of assists last season but I think Herbert is probably tearing his hair out cause I think Daniel has more potential.   As someone said earlier, perhaps he just wasnt getting the service in midfield.  I don't know, I think I need to watch the replay it's hard to concentrate when you have a cold and its freezing and kids are running up and down on the seats. Little sh1ts.

Ah...hang on a minute I need to make this clearer.  OK he does some great things to create goals and does bring people into the game.  But I think he is not fitting into the current midfield set-up.  He needs to have more of the ball, perhaps a bit more of a holding roll in midfield.  I am not sure.  Anyone else got any ideas?
lozenge2008-08-17 22:23:11

Dodd's definitely making an early bid for Scapegoat of the Season. He's probably not the right man for that role - quite clumsy and leaden-footed - but he did improve in the 2nd half. Not for the first time I thought Ricki's substitutions were a bit odd. If you aren't happy with Dodd's game why bring him off with only two minutes to go? It's not as though Johnson's a super sub who is going to dribble his way through the opposition and grab you a brilliant last minute winner. In fact, if anything it further upset the shape of the midfield when Dodd seemed to be holding his own.

yeah i thought it'd be a no-brainer to put Johnson on earlier

Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllll!!!

Funny thing was loads of us turned up much later than was "usual" last season. This is Bill taken about forty minutes before kickoff...

Game was pretty much as I  expected. Opening day not quite in the groove yet but we'll give it our best shot. I ENJOYED it!!  Sorry, that I can't think of anything negative to say or any player to give a roasting to...

dairyflat2008-08-17 22:22:55

People shouldn't be writing off Dodd just yet. He had a bad game, but there is a long time to go in the season.

The comments on the game on 442 are having a pop at us about crowd numbers - if you feel the need to contribute your thoughts .....

<again> Dodd had a bad game???

Yes

That is the general consensus

Moss 7.  Didn't do anything wrong

Lochhead 7.  Generally sound, got forward, disappointing crosses.

Durante 8.  Played well and looked solid.

McKain 7  As above.

Muscat 6 Shakey at the start but settled down largely in second half.

Dodd 5.  An off night - should have been subbed earlier than he was.

Ferrante 6. Possibly suffered from Dodd's performance but wasn't too bad.

Daniel 3.5.  Carried on where he left off at the end of last season. Needs to come of the bench.

Kwasnik 5.5  Reasonable but looks to have more in him.

Bertos 5  A bit off his usual game especially on crosses.

Smeltz 8.  Nice goal, did all we could ask, looked confident.

Herbert - why does he leave subs so late?

Next week, Gao for Daniel and Johnson for Dodd.

Positives = defense

Disappointing = support for Smeltz

Queensland look a strong side, Murdocca and McKay were good value.

Hopefully Phoenix go on from here.

Was a poor crowd? How so???

Ricki, why on earth was the game plan..... kick the ball as far down field as you can, and the striker can chase it???

I pointed out that at 10 x the sizeof Wellington they should be more concerned with 16k for the Melbourne match

12k? We had 14,421.