R24 vs Newcastle | Sun 26th March | 7:00pm | RoF

Talking about dropping Roy is absurd. He is our best player.

.

was one of the best for the AWs!

The team do seem to perform better when our internationals are away. That would indicate that something is there that needs looking into closely to get the best out of the team. I don't know what that might be but some possibilities are: The is a sense of 'underdog' or 'I'll show them' from the second string players that are promoted, that some of the internationals are an unstable influence on the play and/or culture of the side, we have been playing sub par competition on those occasions, the other team takes us lightly because of our missing players, we have to change our style and player-player dynamic because of the missing players and that works better for the team.

Worth talking about?

Our 7th clean sheet of the season

What an odd season it h as been

I don't think he's looked good since SMeltz came into the team, playing wider doesn't suit him.  FIrst half of the season I agree 100%

Either Krishna, or probably Smeltz.  Watson is just not an A-League quality footballer.  Also Tratt back at right back, so maybe Lowry to left back in place of Parkhouse.  He might be ok on the wing, but he terrifies me as a fullback.

And Moss for Italiano.

Agree on Watson, he's just too limited.  Parkhouse was put under no pressure defensively so he looked pretty good...

I agree that Rogerson should have got more time, I was asking why we didn't sub him on with 20 minutes to go. Give the kid a good run.

Singh showed some nice vision on a few passes, just Kosta was a bit too tired to get onto the end of them. I think Rogerson owes him a beer for that pass at the end there.

If Moss is going, play Italiano. Had a good game and is more dominant in the air.

Happy with Tratt to come back in. 

Replace Watson with Smeltz and leave Krishna on the bench - keep the shape and formation we had. 

The only other maybe change is McG for Finkler, yes he's 3 goals in his last 3 games, but I still  feel we need more from him.

I dunno about that.....Kosta looked pretty sour when he scored.

I think Kosta maybe had a point to prove to Hudson.

Unable to sleep last night was up at 2.00am and watched full replay.

You can only play whats in front of you but shark the Jets were mud. Absolute mud. 

Watson is a battering ram. Nothing more and there may be occasions this is a good thing, but he is not an A league striker. I often wonder when watching him if he actually understands the game. He has a policy of shoot on sight when anywhere near the 18 yard area regardless of what else is around him.

Vinny was very good last night. Not just in what he physically did, but vocally driving the team around the park. Lovely ball to Kosta which led to his goal. Won the prize for the filthy look competetion after Fox sconed him in the back of the head.

Italiano generally solid. not a lot to do but did it fairly well. The save he made from Hoffman was one you would expect a Keeper to make.

Lowry made a pretty good fist of Right Back. The Jets left hand side was their most effective going forward and he coped reasonably well

Rossi. Accomplished and polished as usual but not a hell of a lot to do to tell the truth.

Fox. Unlucky not to score. Very Solid and did what he had too well.

Parkhouse. Looked good going forward and did what he needed to defensively, which was not a hell of a lot.

Roly. One of his better games over the last couple of years.  Was given and made plenty of space for himself. Nice goal.

A Rod. Gave what is now expected of him. He has an immense work rate and had Watson been capable of passing a ball into the Penalty Area was in good position on a number of occasions. I really rate him, I like his simple approach to the game. He has a very good touch and is probably our best at receiving the ball under some pressure and quickly moving it on and at only 23 he still has improvement in him and I for one think he is worthy of an extension. I think he enjoys not having Moss screaming at him.

Gui. Again one of his better matches (particularly first half) created lots of opportunities and that was a very good effort.

Kosta . On the whole a good game from Kosta. Well taken goal and nice assist for Gui. He is a bit of an enigma though. Often reminds me of that good nine year old in a team who just runs with the ball, beating a few players until he gets tackled. Had a couple of very nearly moments with Singh.

Ridenton. Went well . Nicely taken goal with his 2nd touch. Had very little to do defensively only just 21 so still learning the craft. Has obviously progressed up the ranks of the Junior Pros.

Singh. Some lovely touches and it was good to see him get a good run on not brought on when we are behind and need a miracle. Football committee needs to get Pen on Paper with this kid.

Rogerson Would have liked to see him get more time. Nice ball for Singh at the end, very nearly resulting in an assist. Made the Jets Left back look a goose sending him the wrong way early on.

Overall good perfomrmance giving Des and Greenie some nice headaches for next weekend, but thoughts are tempered by just how bad the Jets were

Next year, would we rather see Watson or Logerson leading the line? quite different players, but both going for the same spot.

Rogerson has far more potential upside.  I don't think Watson has really showed enough at all, for a guy with his physical strength he is not willing to really "put himself about".  I think he's got some potential but it's getting late in the day to show it

I think Rogerson has some pretty obvious flaws too - but like you said, more potential upside. I think Watto has done his dash, sadly. He's just not good enough for this level.

Newcastle pretty poor - and our shots went in and a cross found a head. 

Still think Tratt, Dura, Rossi, Doyle and Moss are our best back 5. Fitting Roly out wide worked because quite often he plays like I play 'be a pro' on FIFA and there is less risk losing the ball when things go wrong in those areas and ball speed is not as crucial than when he plays deeper and more centrally. With the internationals back it would be a toss up between Smeltz and Roy (no way that Watson is in our best XI), and between Roly and WeeMac for that wider AM.

hmm, let me think about it a bit....

really good poor game. i was hoping the weetbix would come out keen as mustard and prove their porridge. lots of passing ,some off target but more teamwork. the greed of scoring hogging the ball, watson and roly no change there but mambo had a good game,clean sheet he could fill a gap if we have one. if roly goes parkhouse could be moved up i think once settled he will do the job. the talk of bickering in the camp 

seemed to leave with the AWs. all up it put a smile on our dials .....5-0 gotta love it....

                               i forgot about fox underated plays commited can be abit to keen but good to watch.........keep it up

I think some of the comments on Watson are a little harsh. He does draw fouls and holds the ball well.

Have a look at his movement - he is hardly immobile and for a big guy makes a lot of runs which opens space for people like Kosta. He is a lot like Matt Simon.

I'm also happy for him to shoot from outside, its a weakness of the team as we tend to over play. If they know we are willing to shoot they will apply pressure creating space in behind for our pacy attackers to exploit.

Also, in the games he has started our win / loss ratio is a lot higher

C, None of the above?

So...expect nothing from the Phoenix and they deliver.

Expect good results from them and they're appalling...

I expect absolutely nothing from them the rest of the season....

Nor next season...

I don't expect them to ever succeed in any season, ever....

Yes, Jets are poor, we still to managed to score 5 goals, this is a very good result. If we had a similar efficiency in other games, this would have been a different season.

Anyway don't think we will have a good chance to move on 6th place, the WSW game killed it, but if we have one or two games like this, I'll buy another season pass.

Makes a change from conceding 5.

It's really important to finish well, I agree

even though the jets were poor, they were still in the same boat as us needing a win to keep their play off hopes alive.  They looked dangerous on attack and could have scored with a bit more luck.

he who expects nothing gets nothing. it would be nice to be like sydney 'prems' not australian. i dont think they will be a top 2 but if they gel who knows. i cant wait for next season

I thought I should comment on another aspect of the game last night.  I was worried the Jets would be more physical and try to roll our alleged "second string" team by sheer physicality.  So in the end I was totally surprised how clean the whole game was, with an unfortunate yellow for Singh the only blemish. For a game that was a must-win for both teams it could have been ugly.

I thought the ref controlled things well overall.  It was a game you could show replays of for years to come..

Nabbout could have players for another 20 weeks and still not got one on target. 'luck'

If Ridenton was properly fit - Watson was going to be dropped to the bench, Roly pushing forward alongside Kosta and Ridenton in behind into Roly's place. 

Imagine how many we would have scored if Watson wasn't on there ruining chances all night.

Or if Smeltz played last night instead of Watson. Hudson only gave Shane a cameo appearance in Fiji which maybe fitness related?

Would love to see Italiano, Rogerson and Singh have more chances before the end of the season. I really hope we try out Jack Henry Sinclair as he is a proper full back unlike Ridenton or Parkhouse.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/90885510/wellington-phoenix-skipper-welcomes-competition-for-spots-after-depleted-squad-thrash-newcastle

Football: Phoenix blinder flummoxes absentee skipper Andrew Durante

Well done to TV1 sport news tonight, covered the All Whites, Phoenix and Team Wellington matches.

Let's be honest: with a team featuring Kosta, Finkler, Roly and Rossi this result was what we would have assumed would happen if we'd thought about it pre-season.

It's only after the very average season we have had that we would think that those players might have trouble blowing away the Jets.

Add Roy and WeeMac into the mix. Smeltz later on in the season. The team is stacked, it is hard to understand how the season ended up so average we were worried about being beaten by the Jets. You can argue the squad makeup isn't the best, but the quality individuals, the depth like the Nix have never had before. A-Rod has had a break-out season (with general consensus going from waste of import to sign him up), and Lia has been pretty damn solid. They even found a RB in Tratt. How did things end up so bad?

Absolute rubbish. What game were you at? See earlier comment about Watson/Mat Simon. Watson did a good job last night.