R1 vs Perth Glory | Sunday 12th Oct | 5pm | RoF

I thought the 2 Perth goals were exceedingly well taken. Burns should of buried at least 1 of his chances. We lost just by the rub of the green this time and I am not overly pessimistic but thought we should of done better - I had expected we would. Didn't understand why Krishna only got 5 or so mintes, Brockie didn't really do much to score and deserves some time on the bench I reckon.

Doyle fucked up. Big time. Then a shambles. A crappy glancing header which Moss should have saved. Their second was surely Lia's fault. A crappy pass then a shambles to stop the 1v1 but he took it well. A great strike. I would also have a go at Burns who should have scored his 1v1.

Thoughts on a very disappointing game after what seemed to be a solid pre-season. 
- pre-season formations, structure, confidence disappeared against moderate A-League opposition 
- our goal was scored on the one occasion a player went down the wing, delivered a good cross to players in the box
- Sigmund should not take the blame for conceding the winning goal after being exposed after a bad pass.
- if we lose to Perth at home, we're in for a tough season
- we are better than today's game and can make the play-offs unless we repeat last seasons opening 10 games 

Just so dissapointed in the manner in which we conceeded thaat last goal such a shame to throw away points like that when players like mclinchey and roly had played there hearts out for that team. Dunno why we conceded like that the way we did i suspect their must be some serious deep lying nervousness in this phoenix bunch with a lack of confidence and gut. We threw away points way to much last year like we did today and i hope it stops so things dont turn bad fast.

So, to sum up: Ernie doesn't have the sense God gave a goose, or even a bunch of drunks on a forum who could have told him that we needed a better backline and a non-Brockie striker.

He does talk a great game, but as I kept TELLING people two years ago, this ain't 2005 no more and I think he's out of tricks.

Have to admit I never expected us to be so slow out of the blocks. First 10 mins we were half a yard behind in pace, with warning signs  all over the place. Message for our 2 new Euros in midfield. You may have skillsets that are way above A League level, but you will get absolutely buried by 'A League midfield journeymen' if you don't match their enthusiasm, pace and desire to win at all costs over 90 mins. These guys will hunt you down in packs, and ask questions every minute of the game.

 I thought Perth were really good today. Shouldn't be a major surprise. They generally play well here, even if they haven't won that often. (we also tend to play well over there). Lots of slack important moments which you could pin on quite a few players, but for the first time (from me) just thought Merrick got out coached today. Opening game, everything to play for, and they were so flat -  we started like we just needed to turnup to win. Attitude was so average from minute one. 

That attendance will concern the owners - surprised me - but a win away next week will take care of that.

Crowds are never going to increase if casuals continually look at results and see us losing or having low scoring draws.

Not like you to bag Ernie.

Ernie can't be immune to criticism now, he's had a long time to sort this out and there are a couple of areas in the team that are very weak - i.e. that defence.

Frustrating result and especially a disappointing second goal to concede after trying for so long to get an equaliser. That's exactly why one of the basic rules of junior football is to never pass the ball across your own goal. A point would probably have been fair. 

Unfortunately it's always going to be tough to win games without a goalscorer. McGlinchey was clearly our best player. Rodriguez was mostly anonymous. From the stands Roly didn't look much good to me. Slow, poor touch and too many silly and needless fouls. But I guess there's a reason why a guy who is 24 and at Ajax with his peak years ahead of him ends up in the A League instead of one of the big European leagues. 

Good atmosphere and perfect weather for it. I've been to loads of games before but something felt a bit special about it being my first as a member. Might be silly but I kept looking around and seeing people with the lanyards and cards around their necks and felt a bit of excitement about being able to wear mine at the next home game assuming it arrives before then. Thought the crowd was a bit disappointing as I'd hoped 10,000 might turn up being the first game and beautiful weather and all that but I guess in NZ you really need to have a winning team to get anyone other than the dedicated fans in. This result won't help the crowds for the 26th either.

I thought that Roly was the most 'enthusiastic' (sometimes a bit too much, even) player on the pitch, to be fair. That first 10-15 he was poor but after that I thought he really got around.

A-Rod, not so much.

If you watch the replay, it comes down to Doyle not clearing properly at the first attempt. He then didn't track Nichols properly to stop the cross. Tough lesson for him.

Brindle south and Caira not so bad now 

Summary....can't score and can't defend.

So whats changed from last year? I must admit I never bought in to the "best team ever" hype. What has changed from last year? Look at who we ditched and whom we replaced them with? 

Last year we had Stein, Hernandez and Cunningham....all of them were current or ex internationals with bag loads of experiance in big games. OK they had some glaring faults but they did manage to bang in 24 goals between them and a number of assists. Now two of them have gone an the other seems to be out of favour. We never directly replaced Stein and it appears A-Rod is Carlos's replacement. A-Rod might have potential but we did not replace like with like.....he is a 21 yo who has played reserve grade in the UK. I think the Perth game was his senior pro debut. Not surprising he disappeared in this match. 

As for the defense.....as someone pointed out....50+ goals in each of the last two seasons and we only strengthen it with a debutant from the ASB Prem. You don't have to be an expert to see our defenders are too old and too slow. There were too old and too slow last year. This defense will be cut to ribbons by many of the top A-League sides.

Why did anyone expect anything different this year? No strikers and no reinforcement in defense. This is really going to be a test of Ernies coaching ability. 

If I was him I would ditch the 433 and go for something like a 4231. Move Weemac centrally and play Roly and Riera in front of the back four. Sorry Siggy.....but your time starting for the Nix is up. Time for some youth and a bit more pace......Boxall has to come in sooner or later.

I would start

                              Moss

Fenton/Muscat    Dura  Boxall    Doyle/Muscat

     

                      Roly      Riera

Boyd/Fenton       Weemac      Burns

                          ???????? 

pretty sure keogh was actually dura's man to start with, and then siggy picked him up late

This

Not sure when Ernie is going to run out of patience with Brockie......but for me Boyd is more a natural winger. krishna is the probably the only option for a change up front.

Can't we play Burns centrally? Am I crazy for suggesting that? 

I mean sure he missed a few he should have scored but missing is more than Brockie did, at least Burns got in a position to score.

Some of those opportunities came down the central channel too.

He'd make a good false nine.

Fuck we're one game in.

We saw a solid glimpse of our potential.

No point sacking Ernie when the alternate is what, Rickie?

Relax!

Meh. One game. Chill out.

Well ....your both right , I suppose...

Shit i hate Mondays after a loss all im going to get is same old phoenix always losing.FK it had hoped i wouldnt be facing that so early in the season.

I'm pretty sure if you looked back at Ernie Merricks record in the first 5 matches of any season he had at the Tards it wouldnt make for very good reading but we all know how those seasons generally ended.

indeed it is, but it's week one after a "successful preseason" or so we've been told!

I was stunned to see Brockie and burns playing statues just after half time - the look knackered. Boniceva seemed to struggle with his first touch and even Rodriguez wasn't as effective as he should have been. The usual woes at the back too, we are too slow centrally (both Dura and Siggy we beaten easily). Muscat was ok and doyle did well in patches - however both Perth's goals came from defensive errors!

As some c*nt often says, "im very relaxed" about that.  I do reckon tho, bench roly and let reira DM on his own, it works so much better for us, and drop another body in the midfield higher up like cunnie and fenton....

Doyle couoldve done better defending the cross though. He just turned his back on the ball. Never turn your back on the ball. Take a full on cross to the face or nads if it means you can see it the whole way. As soon as you try to use your back to block something you're relying on nothing more than hope

Not that we should hang our hats on this, but the studs up into the knee of Riera in the first half (seen the photo, definitely studs into the knee), followed by the kick-out should have been a red.   The kick-out alone should have been a red.  Dissapointing display by the ref.

Thought Hersi schooled Doyle.  Perth attacked that flank a lot, and had success.  Not at all surprised when Doyle came off.  Shame, cause I rate him.  He will only improve from today.

The only Phoenix striker who has a better goals to game ratio than Brockie was Smeltz.  Brockie will be the man and will score plenty this season.

The Phoenix have only won their first match of the season once in their history.  And that year they finished last.  One game doesn't make a season.  Lessons will be learnt and we will get better for it.

Disclaimer: I am still fuming after yesterday. Maybe this is going to come out wrong...

Steve-O, respectfully, you're talking out of a hole in your arse there. If you have paid ANY attention to what Merrick has been saying over the last two or three weeks is CRYSTAL clear that he is completely the opposite to oblivious to the sources of angst.

Did you watch Ernie's full interview with Simon Hampton the other day? If not, watch it here.

Do you follow Ernie on Twitter? If not, you should.

Ernie is VERY VERY aware of the sources of angst you are talking about. He is also very honest and forthright. He knows we need to win, and he knows we need to score goals.

Next subject:People angsting about the goals. I get it. I am too. Brockie had a quiet game - not his best performance. I accept that.

BUT... Nathan Burns and Michael McGlinchey were outstanding. They were at the heart of so much of our front 1/3 creativity and most of our chances. Try and look past the fact we lost, and reflect on the quality of those two.

Rewatch the highlights. Even if it is not the full highlights, watch this. McGlinchey put Nathan through for his one on one where he was denied by Vuko. Nathan laid on the cross the Michael scored from. Nathan's left footer was extremely close to being a complete screamer. I spoke to him at Bethel Woods and said I thought it was in as soon as he hit it. He said "Yeah, when you hit them right you can feel it. I thought it was in for sure as it left my boot..."

I was astounded that Djinksta wrote (the Burns/Cunningham part of):

I would start

Moss

Fenton/Muscat Dura Boxall Doyle/Muscat

Roly Riera

Fenton/Cunningham Weemac Burns/Cunningham (2 of those 3)

Boyd

For me, Burns had a blinder. I am all for Kenny as well, but not at the expense of McGlinchey or Burns.

Next subject: At the back. I was close to physically ill when the second goal went in. You can see in the replay how gutted Siggy was, and he was cut up about it at the after match. To be fair to him it was a very ordinary ball to him.

I was pretty happy with Tom Doyle's game. Remember it's his A League debut and he is stepping up from basically nowheresville. He's going to be okay I think.

We need the back four to solidify. I don't have a magic wand. But as 2nd Best said - chill, it's only game 1.

Mossy had a good game, a couple of stellar saves, and while he did sort of half come and then not for the first goal, it WAS a really really good ball in. Close to perfect.

Next subject: Roly may have been nervous in the first ten minutes. He wasn't alone in that though. He may have had some heavy touches. On the up side he ran and ran and ran and ran and ran. I thought he was good going forwards too. Not the write off that some people seem to making out. Alex Rodrigues has looked better. He had a quiet game. But I was still surprised to see him hooked for Vinnie. Albert was good, but there was a lack of crumbing support around him. He'd break up Perth's possession but the ball would spill loose and they would mop it up. We need to be there mopping those balls up and taking possession.

Last Subject: Leeches.

If you want to stand in the fever zone and bag players constantly, or worse still bag chants that people start up! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. At least they are joining in and starting a chant. If you want to stand in the fever zone and not join in the chants and just suck up the atmosphere...

...please don't. Go somewhere else.

Kiwi sports fans have a high "get over their own embarrassment" threshold. They are not the same people you find on the terraces of British football grounds. Singing does not come naturally to them. Their embarrassment inertia is high.

So what?

Soooo... if the person next to them is not singing, there is a very high chance they will not join in and sing. So if you stand there not singing you actually suck the passion out of those around you. And it is contagious... as the people around you don't sing, the people around them don't sing... and so on.

Passion is contagious. So is apathy.

Leeches - people who stand in the fever zone not singing - are the very worst creatures.

No, that's not true. The extra special type of leeches, the ones up near the right hand side of row M and N - who not only leech but also criticise the chants... THEY are the very worst kind of creatures. I had to move at half time because I was going to explode.

PLEASE - join in the chants. If you don't like a chant, join in anyway. We are stronger together. Don't be a leech. And then, when that chant has finished, start one you do like. And if it doesn't catch on, start it again. And again. And again until the leeches around you join in and support you. We are stronger together.

Incredible Stamina.

No Shame.

Yellow Fever.

Agree.

Not sure if sarcastic, but... I was saying when he was first hired that Ernie was past his prime and would be unlikely to work the same magic as he did with the Tards back in the day. I like him better than I ended up liking Ricki, but...

Personally I was most disappointed with Roly and Alex, mainly because of the high hopes I had for them which didn't really eventuate yesterday. I do think they will get better though. Perhaps I just didn't take into account enough that despite the pedigree they have, they are still young, and it is a bit of a step up to playing senior competitive football (and yes I know that some of you have been saying it). They certainly seemed to be taken by surprise a little bit (maybe they thought that the preseason games were an indicator of the level they needed to get to which they excelled in). The players that really stood out yesterday were the ones who've had plenty of experience in the A-league and knew what to expect (Burns, WeeMac, Riera).

But... I do believe that they will get there. Just like Riera last year, who took 5-6 games to settle in but then bossed it, I think they'll get there after a few games of acclimatisation. And then we'll be cranking. Hopefully it's after 2-3 games though, not 10 like last year.

Didnt you go down with the Terry Ship...

Is all the angst about the defending really that warranted? Perth's first goal was off an absolutely perfect ball, pretty tough to defend against and doesn't happen too often in the A-league. Second goal was a shambles but was just one mistake that was finished expertly. One mistake doesn't make a whole season - the rest of the game the defense had kept Perth safely out in wide positions away from the goal and restricted them to long (but technically brilliant) shots from Nichols.

Bit pedantic maybe but is it not possible for the stadium to keep the clock going for injury time so you don't have to time it yourself? It kept going for 30 seconds yesterday then stopped and went back to 90.00.

Loving the angst here and on twitter. At least it shows people give a shit. 

I hoped for more yesterday, from the team and the fans. Cross fingers we can all improve over the season.

For a whole lot of lols check out twitter where we've been compared to the RBB and called Mafia for trying (sometimes abusively...) to get people in the Zone to join in chanting.

It is unrealistic to expect defenders to stop all crosses intot he box..... the same as it is unrealistic to expect players to stop others from passing. Some people should chill out, sure the 2nd goal was obviously a result of a poor pass, but that is football. Both Perth goals were very well taken. The head flick was sublime and that netbreaker for the second was fabulous. They weren't soft goals and I'm not losing any sleep over this result at this early stage of the season.

Heaps?! - 1/2 a season?

He also came from "Nowheresville" (bfwtf) i.e. The ASB Premiership.

Please find that quote and post here. You flip flop so much its hard to remember what your original view was on anything.

It always does stop. It's referee's time and the extra time advertised is a guide. The ref can add more for further delays.