Great post BWTCF. Completely agree with everything you wrote. I will follow up with my own thoughts similar to yours.
I am absolutely amazed at everyone that jumped off the bandwagon after one game.
I looked at last nights games and thought to myself 'Perth were better than I gave them credit for'. I think Perth were better than any Phoenix fan gave the credit for which is why there is an overly negative position on just one game.
The overriding sense I got from last nights game as it started and built, is that we needed to settle and I don't think we did. We started rough as but after 15, we owned the game because some of the passes then started sticking. When they did, boy we looked like Melbourne from Friday night on the transition. I think the one thing I take from that is that our attacking build has improved as we move the ball a lot quicker. I'm not sure McGlinchey is a left sided man but I'm not the coach.
Once the goal came, we kind dropped our heads in a big way and it struck me that perhaps the Phoenix too had treated Perth with the same contempt as the fans. Opening game, best ever squad, good preseason, "lack of respect" against a team from the other side of the earth and not rated as a strong team, and now we are down 1-0 after just having a good 10 mins and pumping them. The goal itself was innocent enough and I doubt Perth could have scored that again if they had tried another 10 times. Not a fluke but almost a perfect storm (kinda like Louis header in his debut)
I admit I wrote Riera off as a crap signing when it was announced but he is the best footballer in the team. I think he has an uncanny sense of timing when to be in the right place and make some good passes. The tackle committed on him, I thought that was red when I saw it and in touching on that, I think the Phoenix did get some poor rub from the officials. Not a huge amount but there was certain cause for Durante being frustrated. I am not suggesting that the officials were to blame for this but it would be nice to have a game where Durante is not losing his rag at the ref because things are going our way. Oh and Roly, don't be a dick. You were hardly touched in the face, go live in Australia if you wanna do that shit. Cheating cunts are not tolerated.
I kinda lost focus a bit in the second half with visitors that turned up but we deserved the goal. It was a nice build and well taken. It was a simple execution and its nice to see that one go in. Last year, it would have hit the post, the keeper, missed, not had the 2nd runner, or gone wide. We slotted that one finally.
Overall I think there are some positives from the game. I think our attack does look better but that it was not given the chance the flourish as it should because we did not settle. Whether the credit goes to Perth for that, or thats the fault of the Phoenix, I am not sure. They did apply a good pressure line on us though so.... The amount of missed passes and lack of chemistry at times was crazy but I am not concerned too much after just 1 game. The worry I do have is the lack of chemistry in the back 4. For his debut, I thought Doyle did a good job and I think he should feel good about that. Hersi, as much as I think he is shit, did not show him up. The other 3 have played together for a while and it was like they were strangers together in a room meeting for the first time. Just some basic basic stuff where I thought they should have handled it better. Muscat was the better of the 3 but I thought that the line was a bit high still and Perth realised that Durante and Sigmund are not overly mobile (in terms of pace) and pressured them. If Sigmund and Durante have another game like that next week, well then one needs to be swapped out and its not usually your captain. The pass from Lia was to a defender whom should have been running onto it going forward and I don;t give Lia any angst for it..... Fenton has taken off so gives you heads up to where the play was going (forward)
Roly took a bit to settle but like what he brings. Burns had some nice touches but a striker would have finished that - still had a good game though. A-Rod and Brockie did nothing. For Brockie, its more of the same, for A-Rod, its the first time he has done that. Riera and McGlinchey stood up above their team mates.
I would throw the baby out with the bathwater if this was game 3 or 4 but its game 1 against a under rated opponent in competition environment. I'm inclinded to wait and see if this occurs next week or the week after before being doom and gloom over it.
The fans deserve a brick bat too. You can't sit there and throw stones if only 7700 turn up for the opening game of the season with all the hype that was put into it and a record season tickets sold. It really means the casual fan has switched off. I respect those fans wont be on this forum but that's pathetic.