R5 vs Adelaide United | Sat 24th Nov | 7:35pm | Westpac Stadium

So frustrating given we played a good first half, should've gone to half-time ahead if not for the Doyle shocker. Who knows what could have transpired from there. 

So the zone is now a place for students and yo pros to throw beers around, bit shark

Welnix sure know how to run a football club. 

You've been outspokenly against pretty much everything associated with Female Football Round, so I don't believe you one bit that you would've got more into it if they framed it in a different way.

Being read a few facts/statistics won't hurt you, even if you feel they were out of context. 

Neither the Phoenix or the A-League have 'treated male customers with contempt'. I know it somehow hurt you that females got free tickets, but as far as I'm concerned, good luck to them. No men are harmed by women getting free tickets, and in fact many guys said they benefited from it when bringing partners etc

Not representative of all women but my partner hated that half time skit. It was negative and embarrassing to do for entertainment. It did have good intentions but half time entertainment is not a school to educate privilage. Wrong place and wrong time, not the only own goal from the Nix this evening.

So you've been watching the football the Nix've doled out to us year after year and you think this is treating the football public with contempt?

Still a curtain raiser or some such might have been a better option. 

We had some good moments. Williams and Kurto did ok I thought. Perhaps Krishna is more of a threat picking the ball up a little wider? Eh. Mandi is getting into some fitness perhaps?

We are so screwed! Bring on the Jan transfer window plz.

you reckon we'll be able to find a big name striker when we're rooted to the bottom of the table, and assuming Roy gets citizenship?

Thought the skit was dumb. and also felt sorry for the ladies out front trying to get rid of 1000 tickets, would love to know how many got used.And the girl who travelled over from Masterton to take part, they could at least have let her have a shot with a proper ball even from there I would back her to score, instead they gave her a Barbie ball, if this was meant to gain respect for women, then back fired  i just feel sorry for them.

and to top it all to celebrate woman's rights they gave $1,200 to a boy HAHA

Well, that was entertainment at it's best. Any idea on the attendence number? I'm picking 4,500. Where to start?

1] It's amazing how many people show up to the mascot booth looking for free tickets, especially the ones dressed in clothes that only a lawyer could afford and have probably come from some flash resturant.  Thanks for freeloading, it helps the club no end.

2] Sounds like whilst out at the halftime break getting micki his donuts, I missed out on an embarrassing spectacle. Phew!

3] Felt for Bex, trying to use the air gun that fired 2 1/2 times. Good on you Miss, you gave it a good try and your efforts in trying to be positive and make things happen is noticed.

4] The $1,200 giveaway. Who won that so to speak? All i got off the "Bose" sound system was muffle, muffle and muffle.

5] Stick Dance Cam firmly up the DJ's arse!

6] Welcome to "The Thorndon Terrace." I don't care who is in it but if they can get that side of the field involved in the singing and chanting, it is long overdue.

7] Spare the expense, 4 smoke bombs. 2 at kickoff, 1 when we scored. 1 at the start of the second half. I left in the 84th minute to beat the traffic. 3-1 down and not looking threatening. A very disappointing evening. 

8] No one has mentioned Williams. He was my pick for motm for the Nix. He attacked, he tried things that might not have worked but at least he tried. He also defended quite well, tracking back and getting in a few tackles. I like the guy and hopefully, he and Krishna will figure it out.

9] I only just twigged as to why the Nix gave a female volunteer a 5 minute rap about having never missed a Nix game here in NZ before kickoff. Congratulations and welcome to the club. 151. It took an agenda based idea to get acknowledged. Must remember that for game 175 or 200, should we still be there.

10] I'd like to thank the Westpac Stadium Trust. They identified key problems/complaints made by many at that first game. Their solution to open up more terminals solved every issue - not. The food and drink are still far too expensive - that was a prime complaint of many people, if you read the comments in the press...oh and the expensive car parking. Congratulations Westpac Trust for listening and acting. NOT.

Sorry for sounding so negative, perhaps it is the run of poor results just like last season and the season before and the........ Or perhaps it is just a reflection on events that did actually happen. I wonder if the hardcore season ticket holders regardless of where they sit, are having the piss taken out of them. It feels like it sometimes. One the field is disappointing but it is a work in progress. I know one lesson Mark Rudan has learned. That the Phoenix are on the rough end of many match officials decisions for no reason. Why no Adelaide players got booked is a miracle, just like in every other game but if a Nix player sneezes, he gets a card.

At least if we were in a European league we would have a relegation battle and we would maybe even get relegated until we played teams of equivalent suckiness. Instead we just have year after year of clearly not being good enough to make the playoffs let alone getting near the top sides. It's very hard to feel enthusiasm for the team or games when there's so clearly nothing to play for, other than #avoidthespoon vs CCM year after year.

Rudan hasn't helped but the issue is with the club as a whole. Suckiness has just become part of our organisational culture. 

Agree on tickets  i know people who turn up every , week and get in for free my daughter and  i have bought season tickets for last four years as a junior it was $20 for her good value, but this season they wanted over $150 WTF shes still at school,how about student rate for yellow fever $45 and you can sit anywhere you like.

2. I went to toilet before half time thankfully missed Dolyes header but then had to endure the other crap

3. to far away to witness air gun disaster

4. some 6 year old boy shown on big screen

5. and put both on a logging boat across the road

6. Not sure we need rivals to Fever seems a bit self indulgent

7. agree use  saving to cut cost of 10

8 Williams work rate was awesome, maybe if Roy stopped trying to be a superstar and worked harder he might stay on the field longer ,and can we please have a left back for Christmas, not saying Doyle is total crap but hes not a left back.

9. Whole idea was stupid. few years back young girl won a truck load of SONY gear in a crossbar challenge, this week she is in Uruguay with U17s still hitting the wood work from what I hear. that gets my respect.

10. see 7

See you all next Sunday don't be late

9. Great little story. Possible season highlight.

Very disappointed with the game. williams probably man of the match for me, midfield allowing adelaide to run straight through them. I hate this five at the back and everytime the opposition get the ball everybody drops back and lets them run at our goal!!!

We showed definite improvement in the first 44 mins to indicate that this side is developing, and clearly they worked hard during the international break. So where the defensive switch-offs either side of halftime came from is totally baffling. 

Adelaide's delivery into the box is well above A League average - but all of a sudden you'd think they were throwing in live ammunition - and pretty quickly the game was all over. Defensively we were shot.

David Williams was outstanding. They had Krishna well and truly sorted - so not surprised he was removed. We still created a few opps in the second half, but generallyoffensively, it looked like our marquee No 9 was missing from the lineup. That is a New Year must have.

Rudan will be spitting because there was real improvement there in the first half. 

Attendance was 4,831

Will be lower this week.

Rufer looks ok in the Middle - but we need more from our imports... Mandi gives the ball away far too much for him to be an effective DM. Constantly over and under hitting passes.

That would include the 1000 free tickets?

Ive been to every home game since day one and cannot recall anyone invading the pitch. However yesterday when I heard that Twit on the mike threatening us once again that in such a circumstance we face serious questioning and a ban on attending in the future, I Very nearly hopped over the fence. I can’t much more of this rubbish. And when  the football is crap the garbage that the stadium people churn out on entering the stadium, during the game and at the end just makes me want to chuck in the towel. And for ffs, at half time I don’t need to be 4kn told it’s half time. You can shove your mike where the sun don’t shine.

After the dross that was served out last night here are my observations:

Positives

1. Kurto may well be the best keeper we have ever had and is arguably currently the best keeper in the comp at the moment in my opinion. He is going to get a lot of practice this season to prove me right!

2. Williams tried hard all night but doesn't seem to be able to link with Krishna.

3. I was actually quite impressed with Burgess once he got on.

Negatives

Where do we start:.

From the beginning I thought Rudan would be the best coach for the Nix. Now, I'm really not sure. Always playing a defensive set-up and seems devoid of ideas when it doesn't work. Looking at his body language on the bench last night, it seemed about the time he substituted Krishna, he was literally giving up. Also, no Singh!

Why do Durante and Doyle keep getting a free pass? Over the last few years our defence has been atrocious and they are the two consistents.  Durante will always be a club legend but his days off being a starting eleven player in the A-League are over. Every game Doyle seems to do something that makes you think he is the best left back in the comp and then does something that makes you wonder why he isn't playing in the Handy (or below!). That OG last night was the worst I've ever seen and took the energy out of the crowd and the Phoenix.

Burns is washed!

Where do we go from here. I don't know but if we are going to lose can we play some more attacking football at least. I would play some variation of a four / four / two with Kurto, Lowry, Taylor, Fox, Doyle (Only real LB option we have), Mandi, Rufer, Singh, Burgess, Williams, Krishna.

If we are going to celebrate women's football, let's do it properly and positively. Not like the woe is me bullshark that was presented around yesterday's event.

Bloody well done! 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/108844359/new-zealand-into-semifinals-of-under17-world-cup-with-penalty-shootout-win

I don't blame Rudan completely - we were very late in confirming his signing which didn't help and the squad he inherited simply wasn't that good, mentally or technically.

I think he has done the right thing, trying to make us hard to break down etc, but it isn't gelling at the moment. We need a decent signing come January.

I know this will get laughed at, but I'd almost bring back Watson for a short stint to play up top - we need someone who can hold up the ball and he is the best NZ currently going at it.

Two defensive lapses in three minutes spoiled what was a good effort for nearly all the first half. A couple of good chances in the second half too. It wasn't all bad.

i enjoyed our football for most of the first half

2 of the goals came from poor defensive work by forwards tracking back but not closing down properly. krishna for one and burns the other. both seemed to think they had done enough by being nearby and proceeded to allow the adelaide wide player a free cross

krishna has been driving me nuts ever since he started sulking last season. his link play is just awful and he is so slow on the ball. it's frustrating because he could be so good for us

unfortunately there there is so little quality in this squad. Kurto, Taylor and Singh if he keeps developng along the current trajectory are exceptions. Lots of effort from the rest, Williams in particular, but theres really no-one seemingly capable of providing something special. There's been very little to get excited about since Paul Ifill had to call it a day. And Ljujic offered more creativity than the current lot. Have yet to see a decent ball delivered into the box this season. Its a nightmare at the moment.

I couldn't agree more.  Have they got morons in charge of security.  What a turn off.

Will someone tell them to just shut up.

As a team we've underperformed for three or so years now. We solved the GK problem because it's just one player, but bringing Taylor in doesn't solve the fact the rest of the defence have been below average for ages now - we've become so accustomed to it which means that while Doyle occasionally does a good thing, he's actually only doing what a defender is meant to be doing. Same for the rest of them.

Our midfield lacks creativity beyond Sarpreet, and he's a young player who's going to get kicked to crap this season - Mandi's tidy, Kopa'll do and Rufer as well - but it's a lot of water carriers and no bloody destination for the water to go.

Up front Williams is an asset, Burns has burned out and Roy's dying from a lack of service. We need that big number nine, but we're also missing a decisively creative midfielder who can actually link the midfield and attack up - which'll take the pressure off the defence.

I wanted to quote this with previous entry re security morons, but it didn't work.

Yep agree in general, though a goal keeper is the most important single person out there, and can prevent games being lost.  Kirto has been brilliant.

The defence is pretty woeful.  It's not a case, as one commentor said of there 'just being a couple of mistakes'.  In my view, there were many mistakes and two of them led to goals.  The lack of cover they have from midfield is a major issue.

I agree with the water carriers being abundant in midfield, but don't think Kopa will do.  He looks a lost soul out there and was even more ordinary in the reserves games.  For me, Max Burgess has got what it takes.  He is athletic, hungry and pretty good technically, as well as being 3 sizes bigger than the tiny tots in the rest of the team - perhaps is a candidate for being further up (as a 9).  

There could be some help on the way in the midfield, I'm reliably informed.

Up front... (sigh)  Three poachers, all about 70 kg, getting pushed about by defenders.... hello... who recruited such an unbalanced lineup?  Williams runs a lot but to what effect?  Don't start me on the others.

Really do think we have failed to solve any of the problems from last season apart from in goal, still defensively suspect and lacking goals.  Major quality issues across the park

At least last season we were playing fairly attractive football and scoring goals.

Now we've reverted to boring hoofball and we're still shark. 

Rudan mentioned about the mentality of the team and how we looked like we'd given up once we conceded. The players know we're not really a goal threat at the moment so I'm not surprised they're finding it hard to see a way back from conceding. 

Want to tell us a bit more? Even a few rumours would suffice at this stage if they help lift our flagging spirits. 

Got to be a free agent, so let's put this into perspective.

Please don't say Robert Pires, Paulo Roberto Falcao, Zico - it's gotta be realistic!

Dropping Singh to the reserves when guys like Burns are playing terribly is almost the last straw for me.

dropping singh is just absurd! If we wanted to play both Kopy and Mandi and Rufer surely it makes sense to play Singh as well in a midfield diamond with Kopy as the DM, Mandi and Rufer in the Middle and Singh higher up. Drop Burns, he clearly isn't up to it.

I don't think 'Kopy' has shown that he can match up to his facebook hype.  He played a hand in all three goals against us on Saturday.  A mile away from defending one, and two pretences of defensive heading in both the others.  When he was given the task of dropping back between the CD's, the game was already lost.

Keep an eye on the reserves.

Agreed. It wasn't pretty, but it was decent and effective. What annoys me the most about the game was Rudan going on and on about changing the mentality but the biggest issue with the Nix for the last few years is still the same - getting in front, then the opposition pegging a goal back around half time and everyone just mentally giving up at that exact point. It's a fudgeing epidemic. The team is alright on paper, the coach is probably good enough but turning the team into a winners rather than a sad bunch of losers seems to be the biggest fudgeing hurdle no one can get across.