Thoughts on the match (Game 1 - 2007)

 

shouting out "this is fkin magic" to anyone who looked in our direction

 

can't be to many better feelings in  public

Another Burnley fan!  The day keeps getting better.

 

I thought Cleberson a different player in the second half.  He was awesome and looks like he could really intimidate forwards

 

yeh, i asked him if he was turfmoor, coz i figured there couldn't be 2 of your lot in nz

 

good lad he was, got fired up!!!

 

yeah, he came on like a man inspired in that 2nd half,

 

he's got be a crowd favourite - a throw back to the old style centre halves !! 

 

he's a right character  (i reckon this wide smile emoticon was modelled off clebo's smile)

 

the smilin assassin! -he'll sort those aussie mongrels out!!

 

My brother flew down from Auckland for the match, and my flatmates and a couple of their mates went to the Stadium at 3pm and didn't get into the ground until 4.25pm!

 

If it wasn't for me, they would have flagged and gone to the pub. I ordered my season ticket in June and still haven't got it.

 

Ticketek need a bullet - that is complete bullsh*t!

 

One very pissed off Phoenix fan...

 

Back 4 looked dodgy early on but tightened up as game went on. Thought Lochhead was solid but could have done better when going forward.

 

Went to Jets game couple of weeks ago and thought Brownlie was MOTM, with what he showed again in limited time today I think he should start with Smeltz...great to have Coveny as back up but Brownlie for me.

Felipe was the spark in Jets game and again today, good off the bench or start ahead of Christie?

 

Stoked to be there with 14,000+, lets hope the nix can keep this going and we see the 'ring of fire' sold out!

 

 

Felipes impact was massive. Not just cos he's a bl**dy dynamo but also cos after he came on Daniel seemed to concentrate more on getting down the flank and stretching the defence (combined well with Lochhead when he did) and was much better as a result. Before that he was a bit all over the place. We needed to spread the ball a bit more, at times (especially FH) the MF got the ball and had no one out wide to hit. Last 20 showed how much spec there was, especially down the left.

 

Clebo was into everything that moved, made me bl**dy nervous the way he dives into tackles, especially when he already had a card. Got forward a bit alter on.

 

Magic night, shame that people left cos they couldn't get in, crowd could (should) have been even bigger.

 

Loved Aloisis reaction when the second goal went in, good to see how much it meant to the players as well.

 

No voice, still grinning (and will be for some time)

 

 

Felt that Daniel seemed unfit as halfway into the 2nd half he looked lumpish and wouldnt make runs out and wide where all the space was, he would rather recieve the ball at feet and try and backheel it. When his head straight hes all class, but today he seemed below par.

 

Lockhead to me was solid along with Cleberson, amazing defender he is.

 

Old is...well...done!!! Hes horrible, does the nix no favours.

 

The only thing ricky could of done better was told the men to play wider and make more runs down the sides. other than that it was a great game and i think we can look foward to alot more!!!!

Truely regretted not getting a ticket in advance. Lined up for 30 minutes, and only just caught the kick off.

 

Worst player on the pitch? Ferrante. Gave the ball away at every opportunity, poor passing and looked woeful.

 

Best? Whoever it is they will have spent plenty of time sitting on the beach in Rio. The 3 Brazillians were outstanding. Cleberson clearly wanted to make amends for a slow start and looks like the sort of player to marshall the defence all season. Daniel looked very sharp, and Felipe also looks the business at the sharp end of the pitch.

 

Looks like a good season ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

1st half we looked good until the front third then seemed to run out of ideas and failed to get the ball into the box - ya can't score from out by the corner flag! Coveny and Smeltz were ok when they came deep to show for the ball but there wasn't much in the way of sharp movement, crossovers etc at the top of the box. Looked much better in the 2nd half - when we finally managed to get the ball into the box we looked like scoring. Felipe needs to start next week I feel! 

 

All in all tho a positive start to the season - a few things to work on but at least the boys were able to measure themselves against one of the best teams in the league in a match situation not a pre-season kickabout - they should be well pleased with themselves!!

 

Brought the family down from Hawkes Bay for the game - along with about 50 others from Dannevirke - well worth the ticket price!

 

Despite getting that card which i thought was fairly harsh after seeing the replays of the incident or incidents which lead to it i thought Daniel was class i mean scored a goal and always looked fairly dangerous, as did Felipe i thought he added so much when he came on.

 

Defence was ok i mean they only really had 2 or 3 good chances and 2 of those ended up in the back of the net unlike ourselves who created a number of great chances towards the end of the match but were unlucky not to put them away.

 

I'm starting to agree with Wolfben when he says Smeltz will be class this season, because he just looks like such a natural striker. Good head, good finishing, good turn on the ball and he seems to make good decisions too which is vital. I don't wanna count any chickens before they hatch but yeah i have a good feeling about Smeltz this season.

 

Overall you have to say a great result considering we were 2 down with 15 to go against the reigning champions.

Old played like he normally does - sh*te!

Cleberson was impressive but is prone to get drawn out of position and go on crazy tackling runs where he proceeds to attempt to tackle everyone in their side. (Not necessarily a bad thing)

Dodd was impressive, consistent too.

Lochead was awesome for me, was great going forward and linking with Daniel.

Ferrante did OK for me - he will get better.

Christie was anonymous for most of the game.

Aloisi controlled the midfield and his shot was awesome. Showed experience.

Daniel blew hot/cold but was mostly hot and linked with Lochead well. Needs to stay on his feet more and man the f**k up. I boo'd when the ref didnt call it but inside I knew it wasnt a free kick/penalty, he goes down hopelessly easily and will learn that he wont get anything over here.

Coveny wasnt that impressive but I guess he held up the ball well

Smeltz was a rocket, deserved a goal for all his efforts.

Felipe also did really well, small fella but gets about.

One complaint of the performance - Lacking a Felipe before he came on, passed around aimlessly when they were on the backfoot and noone took the initiative. Felipe to start!

Syd - you coming down next time?

 

Hope so. Oh how good it would of been to of been there yesterday.

 

Any of the Bloc planning on going? I know TR was but I think hes gone on holiday

We bussed it overnight there and back. On the way there it was sweet we had 9 chairs between the 2 of us and just slept the whole way down. On the way back though I had to sit next to someone from the Taliban who made constant calls at 3am in the morning, and Peter next to a convict who just got out of prison (his first action being to catch the bus )

We figured on sunday games, we'll bus there and fly back. Be sweet if we could get about 10 + people going

 

the team only came to life when felipe came on and added some spark and daniel palyed wide left.

 

but very positive start great comeback and cant wait to watch them away enxt week at the mariners.

 

I'm sure if the Backbencher and Thistle and any other bar in a 1km radius from the Cake Tin (sorry, RoF) are packed to the gunnels we can do our best to replicate the atmosphere

 

Cited Mr G, didn't cite the other two. Cited you at one point too, but the guy i saw most on tv was some dude with light brown hair and glasses. Always showed him is he the new ultra???