R21 v ADL Thu 27 Feb 9:30pm SS3

He's our LVP!

is our team the slowest in the a-league? maybe it just looks that way

Lia is fine relative to the Nix, but what other a-league team would have him? DM is such a vital role. 

Troy Hearfield is available.

I actually wouldn't mind Hearfield back as a squad player though but I don't think he could slot in straight away. Basically I'd be very surprised if anyone other than Lia was given that DM role for our next match.

Its a shame that Ricki never used Troy in his best position, but then Ricki did that with most of the squads. I was disappointed when Troy moved on, had a good turn of pace and decent ball control.

Ps: And he had the hottest girlfriend you could wish for.

Brindel South. Don't ask me who plays Left Back though

I would. I think it would be a disaster

Any reason we couldn't ask Lochhead to come in for Caira? I know how it sounds .... but surely we could do worse.

Are we forgetting we still have Luke Adams in the squad? Not a player I would use but he is a fit option.

Ah, I forgot about that. My bad.

Ifill, Fenton, Riera, Bertos, Cunningham, Caira injured, Manny carded, Adams, Rufer, Krishna, Watson not really up to it... Who's left to play? Would have to be one of the thinnest squads in professional football anywhere. Why's that?

Why?

Tight arsed. Little $'s

Half arsed. She'll be right

Maybe its hard to find good players who want to live in Wellington.

Probably a combination of all three

Uh. Somebody start a thread for next weekend already .. 

Go for it

ATTN all Lia haters esp James Dean.

If he is so terrible how is it that he was at the heart of our midfield when we played our very best football this season.

Indeed our best football ever probably.

Are you that convinced of his badness that you think we effectively did that with ten men?

I think you guys took a position on Lia during the Ricki years and you're too hard headed to give him a fair go.

He is a good passer of the ball. A distributing midfielder. It's not a game of Dungeons & Dragons. He doesn't have to have Level 47 Speed like Cunningham or Level 68 Smash Cunts like Siggy to be making a valuable and capable contribution.

Well said, that man.

Well said Smithy. I've regularly been the first to criticise Lia but he's been great at times this season, particularly when we're running hot and when the team hasn't performed it has been individuals playing poorly across the park, not just him and one or two others.

A few trends of note as I have been compiling; Riera's ill discipline improved drastically and Lia when playing alongside Riera is better across most categories than when not alongside Riera

I'd like to see a stat which shows how much ground Riera and Lia cover in a game.  I am convinced Riera would cover MUCH more ground over an average 90 minutes.

I think against the slower possession based sides, Lia is fine.  But as soon as you put him up against a quick midfield he is left for dead.  If you guys are advocating that all Lia needs to be is a link between DM and AM then I would ask you this.  Are you seriously happy that he is not capable of tracking quickly to contribute to defense?   We already have a country for old men up front.  Stein and Carlos are not going to track back quickly.  Boyd is being asked to make the runs up front and can't be expected to track every opposition FB run.  Kenny is also primarily an attacking player, who we ask to get back as much as possible.  So you need that other midfielder to be the player primarily responsible for cover and tracking when the opposition get numbers forward.  And particularly if we have a FB who has got high.  Lia doesn't have the pace to do that.

Was Lia solely responsible for Thursday's loss?  No, absolutely no way.  Firstly Ernie is playing a style that is risks the sort of fast counters that Adelaide threw at us.  Secondly we have one FB who is our second option FB conversion, doing pretty well, but he's going to get attacked.  Third we had Manny filling in at DM.  He's played there regularly but we know he has his limitations.  And we know from history that the Manny/Lia midfield combo has always been vulnerable. Plus Caira is still a work in progress.  And we have less imports than any other side.  So we got licked by a better team.

BUT, if the squad is going to improve we need more pace in midfield.  If the squad is going to improve it is by replacing players coming off contract with better players.  If we are going to build the club's strength by developing young players and without marquees then our senior starters all need to be very very solid.  So, with Lia, Leo, Stein and Ifill coming off contract, tell me, are you really hoping to have the same starting midfield next year?  Which of our starting midfield coming off contract would you like to "upgrade"?  The answer seems pretty obvious to me.  Maybe there is another way of seeing it, but if so, I'm not seeing it.  No hating involved.  

The way I do see it we are just talking about whether Lia stays in the squad, with Leo and Ifill's contract money used to get an import level midfielder, with pace and a degree of versatility, or whether we are better to let Lia go and increase the funds we have to improve the squad.  Either way, I'd be aiming for Lia to not be in next year's starting midfield.

And Smithy - how is it that he was at the heart of our midfield when we played our very best football this season?  We've never had Carlos and Riera before.  THEY are what made it our very best midfield, imho.

Very similar - but one of them is supposed to have an attacking role and actually has a licence to get forward.  This section is illustrative 

I think also there are small differences which aren't picked up by those stats.  Riera is quicker and covers more ground so he's closer to the play defensively, he's more effective pressing the play.  He also moves the ball much more quickly.  Lia is definitely completing more passes this season, which is impressive, but it's very laboured so we don't look as good going forward.  

Secondly, Riera came from amateur football and had no pre-season.  Lia is a senior pro at the club.  That has to be taken into account when you compare the two players.

I want to see him drag us through a game like we need our senior players to do, especially right now when we're struggling with the loss of an influential midfielder.  I can't see that happening so I don't want to continue to rely on him next year, although this year obviously we need to get as much out of him as we can.  Every player in the A-League has limitations but with Lia, for me, there's not enough else to his game to make up for the things he's not so good at (which surely damningly seem to be simultaneously both attack and defence).

Anyway, enough (digital) ink spilt on this game.  Let's see how he (and we) go in the next match

Can we please immortalise the phrase 'Level 68 Smash Cunts' in some way? Please and thank you. That is all.

And +1023 for Smithy in letting slip just what a geek he is by mentioning D&D.

(I reckon he is NixWater in WoT)