Starting 11 season 3?

Who would take Lockheads place?

WellingtonPFC2009-07-27 22:42:10

Why? Cos Lochy was out of position?

Maybe Muscat at left and Vinnie at right?

Not sure if Manny would do a better job than Lochhead though

No, because Mulligan is shit.

So what would the team of ex -phoenix players read like? Do we have 11 of them yet?

                        Moss Oska2009-07-27 23:09:15

I think we actually have the luxury of selecting based on form this season. We have enough depth in a number of positions so that if someone has an off game or two they will be replaced.

Paston and Crowther should be a good battle if Crowther can cut out his handling mistakes from China. Vinnie Lia should be able to provide good cover for Muscat and Lochead while Durante and Sigmund will know that McKain can take their place if they underperform because Brown can step into the holding midfield role.

On the wings we can choose from Bertos, Daniel, Hearfield and Rojas (who I think may play more of a part than some expect - if he gets a chance and takes it as he has done in pre-season, he could establish himself) so that gives plenty of options to keep the pressure to perform on them.

In the other central midfield slot there is the opportunity to go more attacking with Diego, Daniel, Ferrante or even one of Bertos, Hearfield etc. or we can consolidate with adding Brown into a holding role alongside McKain but giving him plenty of license to get forward. I think away games especially Ricki will opt for caution but would really like to see him go for it a bit more at the RoF.

Up front obviously Greenacre and Ifill will be our main men when fit, but Ifill will take some getting up to speed and I think Costa will start the first game, maybe the first couple. He's had a promising pre-season and I think Ricki now considers him a realistic first team contender which gives us some cover there too, as well as the possibility of Jiang Chen, or another striker to make the squad numbers up to the required 20. Obviously we can also switch to more of a 4-2-3-1 with more of the mids helping out either Greeny or Ifill.

It's been a really long pre-season but towards the end things have really come together. I was very worried when Moss, Smeltz and Dodd left last season, especially when no replacements were brought in very early. However, going through the side above, all positions have cover and so unless we suffer really badly from injuries (or a certain international fixture window) we should be able to maintain good strength in depth.

Arguably our weakest area would be CB, and I'd like to see another player signed there, but our defence was pretty strong last season and hopefully will continue in that vein. There should be more risks taken in front of them, but I'm confident they can stand up to most of the attackers they'll be facing.

My strongest XI, with all fully fit would be:

                  Paston
Lia - Sigmund - Durante - Lochead
                  McKain
   Hearfield - Diego - Bertos
          Greenacre - Ifill

But I'm really happy that Muscat, Brown, Costa, Daniel and Rojas will provide, in my opinion, really good cover. So good that not picking them makes me feel bad. It's going to be hard for Ricki to know his best XI but as they say, that's a problem that every manager wants. I'm quietly optmistic about this season, and really can't wait for the kick off.

How do ya think a team of our x -players would go in the A- leauge?

Moss - Yes

I agree with lots of People but not too sure about if Ferrante will be a start?
Herbert loves brown so will be hard to see him dropped, but maybe:

                      Paston
        Muscat Siggy Dura  Lochy
                      McKain
Hearfield      Daniel/Diego      Bertos
                Ifill     Greenacre


Crowther
Lia
Rojas
Costa
          

Or I was thinking if Herbert really wants Brown then he could play something like:

                 Paston
Muscat  Sigmund  Durante  Lochhead
          McKain      Brown
Hearfield                    Bertos
                 Ifill
              Greenacre

I can see this being the best also, but it shows our lack of a decent ball distributor in the centre mid. Ifill may have to play deeper and rely on him getting forward to meet those blinding crosses Leo's going to pump in.

I thought relying on Diego to front up and if he plays, to be a match winner would be hopeful. His potential absence makes me even more nervous now.

Just thinking aloud here but

would like to see herbert adopt a more attacking formation at home: something like

No McKain? Can't see it somehow.

Wheres the midfield? Our most cmish player is diego. Its just 4 defenders, 4 attacking midfielders and 2 forwards. How can we achieve anything going forward and defending with no midfield?

surely we need to have a more attcking mindset this year than the usual boring pedestrian attacking displays that have been served up in the last two years... opinions r opinions after all

yeah but McKain is an Auto start. No matter what. he really breaks down attacks before they become too dangerous. I've never been a massive Diego fan but was hoping he could be a hit.. dont know now

surely diego's role was gonna be a split striker as cant see him making a tackle, and now ifill is in in that role then diego should be on the bench. either that or out wide in a mid 4 with brown mckain and bertos the other 3 in midfield

I dont want to see us go in with two dm's this year especially when arguebly we now have the strongest strike pairing in the competition. We need atleast on creative / attacking cm do get the best out of them.

I was far from a Hearfield supporter at the start of last season but he really came into his own until that silly red card against Sydney. He was very, very good (imo) against Guangzhou so I reckon he will be an important part of our team this season. I reckon most of the crosses will come from him and Leo.
valeo2009-07-28 19:49:26

Diego was signed as an attacking player so cant see him playing as a def mid as brown and mckain have that dominated. therefore i dont see him starting as i think herbert will play brown and mckain and the wide players being bertos and hearfield. I disagree that playing 2 spoilers in the centre is negative, u need the ball to attack and then you can concentrate down the flanks. With only mckain in there and then diego/daniel bertos hearfield etc. the phoenix will be out passed and out muscled by the better teams even at home, and i dont see the phoenix midfield with the ball retention skills to be able to play with 3 attacking mids and not loose the ball. they need 2 bulldogs in there.

im not convinced that brown should be a guaranteed starter..lacks any skill and more often than not gets beaten for pace and ends up either giving a free kick away or getting booked...or both!!

i agree he's not any good but herbert loves him and he the best option there. i think hes a nailed on starter. WellingtonPFC2009-07-28 21:32:32

Millwall I think.

no i thought he was training / trialling with them too

Was training with Millwall, and was due to have a trial with Brighton.

Thats the one...

For me McKain and Brown did a great job steadying the midfield last year after a shakey start to the season. However as a combination in the centre of the midfield they lack the passing range and vision to set up play from the midfield. Of the two I rate McKain as having a more complete game and he would be first choice as DM, if Diego is fit then he would be a better choice to partner McKain and if he is not I'd prefer to see Ferrante given a go.

With Greenacre and Ifill our front two are much better equipped to retain possession than Smeltz, who was largely unsupported up front last season, and the need for two primarily defensive centre midfielders should be a hell of a lot less. The service from the midfield to the strikers last year was uninspiring and in my view there is only room for McKain or Brown at DM but not both, the only exception to this would be some away trips such as Adelaide and Melb where you might set out to be a bit more defensively sound at the outset.

imo we just need to merge McKain and Brown into one player



He's one of the hardest workers in the team and he pops up with a few goals a season at least which I don't think McKain has the ability to do. In all other areas (especially skill on the ball) I prefer McKain though
valeo2009-07-28 23:45:43

He has great technique when under pressure usually and it often takes him past one or two players. He isn't fast while doing it though. Saying Dodd was the only dribbler worse than him is just wrong.
valeo2009-07-29 01:59:48

Why combine McKain and Brown into one player? Just use McKain.

Mckain > Brown

McKain can't score, but is more more defensive and stronger than Brown. McKain does have skill, can break down attacks and then retain the ball and carry it up and run through some players

hows vinnie been goin at RB, has he been tried there? - it was planned that he would play there last season to charge down the flanks like lochhead wasnt it?

He was playing there, don't know how impressive he was. Think that if Manny can play on the left, then give Lia a shot and put some pressure on Lochhead. This season is important for all our kiwi players to be hitting form, so some pressure could do Tony some good