Good! He should be pissed off. He is clear that one issue is that our "Not A" strikers aren't doing their job (with Burns marked out of contention).
It really does seem to be a mental problem with our lads. I don't like to use the buzzword of "being happy with mediocrity", but I think that might be the case for the people who've been at the Nix forever like Dura, Siggy, Manny etc. Too much pressure to actually reach for the prize. And Bonevacia - who some people here thought was Pele 2.0 the way they were talking about him - has lost it mentally, with both his corners and pennos.
So what can be done? Can Ernie pound some spine into them for the finals season and next year, or do we need a total clean-out?
I see the squad as a work in progress in what is only Ernie's second season in charge.
Good job in making the Finals as fourth team in the regular season after being in reach of first or second place in the last month.
But the squad isn't strong enough to seriously challenge for the title yet.
Ernie has done very well to achieve what he has with quite a limited group of players by getting some to play in positions they are not accustomed to etc.
We are quite deficient in some important areas:
- we only have one A-League quality fullback (Manny - who seems on the decline). Doyle and Fenton I see more as bench players going forward. Boxall will be better used as a centre back in future.
- the squad has only one out-and-out striker in the inconsistent Krishna (who isn't good enough to rely on as the sole starting striker). Burns is better playing deeper and had only a modest goal-scoring record before this season. Ernie has done wonders to get the goals out of him but maybe Burns finds it hard now to keep up the consistency. They signed Ryan Griffiths who is an out-and-out striker but he didn't last long. To complement Burns, McGlinchey etc. they need a Shane Smeltz or Besart Berisha type striker who is more direct and a reliable goal-scorer.
- they need to strengthen the midfield with a couple of creative players who can chip in with some goals. Bonavacia has been converted from a strictly defensive midfielder (sometimes even a centeback in his time in Holland) to a much more attacking player. However, he has said in interviews that getting forward and scoring goals doesn't come naturally to him. Maybe he'd do better to revert to his usual more defensive duties in tandem with some more creative midfielders. McGlinchey would do better out on the right as he was at the Mariners, rather than centrally as Ernie has him.
- sign anyone from Auckland City or Team Wellington (but not Ian Hogg) just on the basis that they are good penalty takers. Having seen the O-League Final last night, there are lots of good penalty takers in those two sides - except for Hogg whose effort was abysmal...Both sides also had players who could send in a decent corner...