R2 vs Sydney FC | Sun 15 Oct | 9:00pm | SS1

So just like last season, not having Rossi there means we concede 2 more goals than when he is there ;)

Overall I am happy with where we are at though. Kind of immune to outrage at A League refs now, just resigned to them costing us points. But considering we still haven't put out a full strength team; we had less decent preseason games than other sides; we have an 18yo keeper; and that Sydney team's record over the last 18 months, I'm feeling really positive about what this season might bring.

I feel like we just seem like we have a squad that makes sense now, in a way which we haven't since Griffiths blew his ACL.  

Also when was the last time a Nix player scored from headers in consecutive matches? Vidosic could be our backup target man!

Good table..still notastriker tho.  Would be fantastic if we had a striker like Smeltz again to complement Roy and his work rate..

I get what Conan is saying about the 4-1-3-2  however if we tried it how Klopp did a few years ago with Dortmund where the Fullbacks dont press quite as high as usual today, and the left and right wings track back when required, it would provide defensive cover - i think its worth the coach having as 2nd or third option at least in his tool bag with the players we have.

what also made it hard was Watson standing miles offside where he was.  Linos thinking if he plays it now offside, if he plays it now offside.  If Watson is onside, more chance of call re Abbas being correct.

Like..uh..that striker we signed that scored?

Thanks for the update. Good to hear. Here's hoping he continues improving on a game by game basis.

Two goals in two games......

McGlinchey has 21??!?!?!?!

Watson continually running offside is unforgiveable

Got to remember this is his 9th season in the A-league, so he is averaging 2.33 goals a season.

I am impressed with Darije's reaction, recognizing our own weaknesses and strengths and filing the Smurfs' weaknesses away for future use.

He looked a lot better, but will almost certainly at some point lose the ball or misplace a pass that will cost us. 

I was watching the EPL highlights this week Huddersfield v Swansea and at one point the GK was playing the ball backward and forwards to his defenders and then passed it straight to an opposition player who then scored.

The comments guys was going mental, saying this new 'fad' of insisting on passing the ball EVERY time was doing his head in and at times it didn't seem the right thing to do but was so drummed into the GK that he was scared to hoof it.

I kinda agree with this, passing from the back is great, but there are times when a lump down the field is the better option.

I was thinking the same thing, him and Rado seem to approach things in a systematic and well thought out way that we haven't seen before. You could see it in the recruitment when they first started and it's continued throughout..

Having possession is the best way to score goals and also to stop the other team scoring. It can get hairy but it makes sense.

i too saw that game when the commentator was losing the plot - i think it was typical english thinking - not weighing up the positives of playing out the of back because of the chance of an error.  

In the nix game there were plenty of times when Keegan went long - i think the key is to mix it up and I think he did that quite well.

Isn't it interesting that all of our best strikers were foreign raised, apart from Smeltz, Brockie and Kosta.  We seem to have produced decent goalies, midfielders and defenders, but few recent home-grown strikers of quality.  I am not counting Wynton Rufer here who was clearly an exception as he performed for the Kingz even in his "advanced" (for a striker) years.

Paracki & Vidosic in the A-League TOTW.

The decent players like Wood bypass us and go straight overseas.

Out of sheer curiosity, have Winston Reid, Tommy Smith, Chris Wood, ever played at a club level in New Zealand?

If I recall, for Reid the answer would be no, because he is a product of Danish football. Not sure about Smith, or for that matter even Smeltz.

Smith and Smeltz came through the UK and Australian systems respectively.

Smeltz used to play for Napier City Rovers I think

Got to play against Chris Wood when I was younger, I can remember him beating the goalie and had a open goal before I came in and stopped the ball from going in!!!

The other impressive thing was when he went "long" he didn't just try and boot it as far as possible, he actually tried to find a player.  He needs to move the ball more quickly but aside from that his distribution was really good.  I think he also needs to bulk up a bit! 

Correct, remember him as the Napier star in a great cup final, Miramar v Napier at a packed Newtown Park

If you're not careful you'll have Peruvian scouts knocking on your door making you an offer

Does anyone else see a physical resemblence between Keegan-Smith and Winston Reid??

Soooo refreshing to see your team not going for a 50/50 long ball almost every time it's in the keepers hands.  

Plus I get a much better adrenaline hit, every time it looks like we might screw up playing out from the back.  lols

Yes i fully agree, and yes he did at times go 'longer', just gives me the sharks sometimes, but he's young and will learn with experience. On a related note, this from Piney today...

Considering some of the howlers by keepers in the league this week, I think our boy did quite well comparatively.

I said that for ages about Moss (every kick was long and straight up the middle) and got pelters 

I was pretty impressed after being a harsh critic last week. To improve that much away from home against the best team in the league - can't ask much more. Obviously he will make some howlers this season - it is inevitable - but he has now shown why he was picked.

The first time he was at the Nix, instead of straight up the middle, they used to go straight out over the sideline. Great shot stopper and penalty saver but that was it. His distribution & choices was really bad.

Damn, I'd love to play for a team good enough that they wanted the ball to feet or even throws, rather than demanding hoofball up the middle ;)

And it always takes 30seconds for the team to gather in 20x20m part of the pitch, boring.