vs Sydney FC, 7.30pm Sat

It's not about sprinting everywhere and showing 'effort'. It's about positioning. There are many slow DM's and defenders in world football that jog around just fine. Unfortunately, neither Smith or Lia have good positioning either. Smith especially - he is a nothing player. Lia can at least distribute decently at times and tackle alright.

I also think that Leo being at right back might've played a part in all this - I think he's done very well this season, but there is no doubt he gets caught out of position a lot still and half the time it seems like he's still playing as a winger. This means that Lia needs to cover for him and that leaves a huge hole in the middle + Lia is usually spent by half time.

I'm almost beyond caring at this point. It's a bit of a joke. I actually applauded Del Piero off tonight.

Seriously considering not renewing the season pass unless something else is shown in the rest of the season

I LOL'd.

Infact I'd like to thank everyone for the laughs tonight...sitting here with ice cold bourbon and coke on top floor apartment on the Sunshine Coast. Listening to the waves crashing on the beach. Reading about the match on Yellow Fever forum.

If you want to pick a real problem tonight, pick on our finishing. We should have been right in that game if we grabbed the goals, never mind the woeful effort in the middle and defence.

                     Syd                                   Nix

9         Saves                   5

12       Shots on target     11

3         Shots off target     11

59%    Possesion            41%

2         Corners                10

2         Offside                  2

11       Fouls                     12

Our finishing was poor, no doubt, but the stats don't mention things like "leaving ADP unmarked in the box may lead to a goal" as was the case for his first (I think?). Lack of pressure on the ball when they were streaming forward isn't a finishing problem, just made it easier for a clean shot. We botched some beauts though.

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/15882596/stick-with-me-says-under-pressure-herbert/ 

well he's not resigning :(

Haha quite a nothing article !

 I STILL BELIEVE

 On another note.... How about we shut the forum down for a few days that way we can all take a big deep breath AND remember,

PHOENIX TILL I DIE. ( through the rough times and the good times )

Don't just sit there, DO something......

Is an apology too much to ask for?

Except this captain obvious statement (with some vagueness thrown in)

"The league's growing and you've kind of got to grow with it," he said.

Yet still doing nothing about it.

RH picks the players, RH 'coaches' the players and still he thinks its all the players fault.

He strikes me as a bit narcissistic and delusional and would never be honest enough with himself to step down

After the game, we (jokingly) asked Nik to shut the forums down. Sadly he chose to drink the night away instead.

 I think a lot of us did the same thing. If I was home after the game, I probably would have been banned for the shit I would like to say.

With the help of alchol and some time out I am not calm

Last season we conceded 32 goals. We have conceded 31 already this season, and we aren't even two thirds through. 

What he's really admitting is that the league has outgrown him and this group of players

I walked into the 4kings thinking we were 2 down, turned out to be 5, was just hysterical..

are the players still maintaining an 'us against everyone else' mentality? Is that really all they got left?

Even the Black Caps are gutsier than the Phoenix these days...

Hard to fathom how we've got to here isn't it? This season looked so promising.

I agree with someone above: the club's leaders should apologise to fans (especially travelling ones) for a 7-1 loss. 

Putting that aside, it's hard to see any easy fix to this season, and I guess that means we fans are going to have to ride it out.

Or I guess we could pick up our ball and go home, but that's not really what we do around here is it? 

It's going to be a tough Q1 to 2013 I fear.

Fixed. Lia , MAnny and Locky have for the most part been awful this season.Any  , if not all go them , could have earned a spell on the bench to wake them up a bit. One problem though is who the hell do you replace them with? Prior to Hogg signing , we had no left back option- oh wait , we did- take Locky off , Leo to LB and Lindsay to RB. HArdly an arrangement to inspire confidence. And whatever you do in midfield , sad fact is that most of our options are not of A league quality.Been able to hide that in previous seasons by an indomitable team spirit but  now that seems to have gone , we are now left with a paper thin squad of players who are now no longer good enough for the A league as it develops ;worse , some of them don't appear to give a shit anymore.

I've not ever commented on Ricki  previously. But there is a shelf life of some leaders in many organizations; ideas become stale , same old messages are said and inspiration dries up. CLearly there are exceptions ( Fergusson, Shanks etc) But Herbert is not one of those  exceptions. His lack of reaction during the game spoke volumes- he may not know what to do anymore. it may be time to reconsider his position as well.

Feels even worse this morning and going to really struggle to get excited about this weeks game,but im a buggar for punishment so i will be there in the hope that the Jets will still be our bunnies.

Being a glass half fill type of guy part of me wonders what would have happened had we been able to put away a couple of those early chances,things may have been so different.No im not smoking crack.LOL

Feel.so.totally.gutted.

This bashing was in the wind for a while. If it was my money, I'd have to move on from Herbert. There is no other option, as there's no way the 5 to 10 thousand who used to go to Nix games, are going to ever turnup again, until Herbert goes. It is time for change now, as the season is gone.

I would also pray there's some technically capable midfield player somewhere in the world who could come in, and spend that money asap. Otherwise this is going to get really messy. Smith and Lia just aren't good enough, and that's where the on field problems start. However clearly there are major off field issues. I mean just giving up is not part of this club's culture. Herbert's post match comments are dillusional. He has lost the dressing room.

Tony Veitch saying Phoenix refused to speak to nz news rooms.  Can't blame them but still they need to front up. 

I reckon Mirjan Pavlovic has put a massive curse on us.

It is not much comfort but it is better to lose one game 7-1 than it is to lose six games 1-0 and draw a game 1-1.

Are you sure we are only going to lose one game 7-1? Have to play some better teams than Sydney.

You can't get tough if the owners won't give you any money for new players - just as you can't successfully change styles in those circumstances.

Half an Ifill was good last nite..

Refusing to talk to NZ media is same as refusing to talk to NZ fans. Do we really deserve that after watching that disgrace last night. Answers please Phoenix.

I really felt sad for you guys watching that debacle. The funny thing is if Stein or Brockie had shown a bit of accuracy in their finishing you could have scored three or four too.

A comfortable untouchable coach who keeps playing ageing favourite players has been shown up. The rest of the A League seems to have improved and the Phoenix have gone backwards. What most struck me was the disarray, particularly in midfield which cruely exposed Siggy and Durante in defence. I don't think Herbert knows what to do any more.

You need a complete new broom through the club, and that can only come from a new manager/coach. My fear is Morgan will lose interest in his toy and pull the plug because he's not a die-hard football supporter. We've been through it twice in Auckland. He's clearly not prepared to spend big to make the Phoenix competitive in an improving league.

Danny Hay, who has played at the highest level, could well be an option to replace Herbert IMO. Southampton drew 2-2 with Chelsea and their manager was sacked. Herbert must be the luckiest coach in the game.