I know there are lots of the positives about the Phoenix after 1/3
of the season gone but which area concerns you the most??
1 Conceding early goals -
Obvious, 5 out of 7 matches we conceded early...
2 Lack of consistency -
Some big results (4:1 vs Perth, 3:0 Sydney, 2:1 Sydney), and some very disappointed ones (0:3 Central Coast, 1:2 Queensland).
3 Rely too much on Daniel & Felipe -
We've seen it last week, Daniel out, Felipe down, we lost.
4 Injury & fitness problems
Brown, Felipe, Elrich, Lia, Paston.....
5 All Whites & Herbert
Obvious, just like this week...
Thoughts??
1 Conceding early goals -
Obvious, 5 out of 7 matches we conceded early...
2 Lack of consistency -
Some big results (4:1 vs Perth, 3:0 Sydney, 2:1 Sydney), and some very disappointed ones (0:3 Central Coast, 1:2 Queensland).
3 Rely too much on Daniel & Felipe -
We've seen it last week, Daniel out, Felipe down, we lost.
4 Injury & fitness problems
Brown, Felipe, Elrich, Lia, Paston.....
5 All Whites & Herbert
Obvious, just like this week...
Thoughts??
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other - the fact that people seem to expect miracles, and whilst
you might not be intending to be negative (and, of course, you do
have a right to be if you wish) your poll (even though it is
relatively well structured) turns the focus onto negative
aspects
if I wasn't so skeptical about polls, Id suggest one that focuses on what has impressed most about the Nix
eg.
quality of our star imports,
ability to come back into games
quality of the football
our goal scoring prowess
quality of Ricky's coaching (including the respect the players have for him
solid growth of the club (including some very canny marketing by Terry and Tony etc)
or simply the fact that Wellington has now become the absolute mecca for fans of great football in Australasia!!
CMON YOU NIX!!!
p.s. of those you suggest the early goals is the one i feel the club is in the best position to do something about in the short term
tigers2007-10-13 16:30:11
if I wasn't so skeptical about polls, Id suggest one that focuses on what has impressed most about the Nix
eg.
quality of our star imports,
ability to come back into games
quality of the football
our goal scoring prowess
quality of Ricky's coaching (including the respect the players have for him
solid growth of the club (including some very canny marketing by Terry and Tony etc)
or simply the fact that Wellington has now become the absolute mecca for fans of great football in Australasia!!
CMON YOU NIX!!!
p.s. of those you suggest the early goals is the one i feel the club is in the best position to do something about in the short term
tigers2007-10-13 16:30:11
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When i first saw this post i thought it was a little negative, but
upon seeing safire's disclaimer in his opening statement I altered
my point of view; "I know there are lots of the positives about the
Phoenix after 1/3 of the season gone but which area concerns you
the most??" It is a well structured poll and i think it's very
valid...
For me, conceding early goals is my only real concern. Yes we
rely heavily on daniel and felipe, but in saying that, they are key
players and i think this is the case with the majority of football
teams. The resolution for this is simple - the team needs to
continue to build their confidence and then when these players are
absent the rest of the team will come to the fore and actually
believe they can win any game no matter who is in the starting
eleven. Injuries and suspensions are part and parcel in
professional football - a sign of a class team is whether or not
they can deal with it. It is more about self belief than
anything, a case in point being Adelaide right now. To me, they are
looking like one of the better teams in the A-League - especially
after the game against sydney. They were missing their two
frontline strikers, but others (dodd etc) came to the forefront and
really performed, resulting in a comprehensive victory - this is
the performance we need to see from our boys when we are without
our stars. A performance full of heart - the opposite of what we
saw against queensland. This weekend will be a similar test without
our all whites and of course ricki himself....
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The early goals thing is of most concern. Every team has certain
players they rely on and build around. Felipe & Daniel are
ours.
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!
The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!
The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!
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I don't want us to just rely on two or three players to carry us
throughout the whole season. That's definately what worries me
most.
Three for me, and two for them.
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I don't want us to just rely on two or three players to carry us
throughout the whole season. That's definately what worries me
most.
Same here. Teams have players they rely on, obviously (e.g. Djite, Burns for Adelaide) but there should always be players who can step into their shoes (e.g. Pantelis for Adelaide) and do a decent job.
a.haak
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Adelaide did a good job of showing v Melb that teams can win w/o
their standout players (I thought they'd struggle without Burns and
Djite)
as was said above most teams do have players who add that spark of creativity or leadership and mental strength and as noted teams do have to find a way to adapt if they are absent, looks like Adelaide did that
as was said above most teams do have players who add that spark of creativity or leadership and mental strength and as noted teams do have to find a way to adapt if they are absent, looks like Adelaide did that
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Tigers, I'm not being negative here, I mean if you don't know your
weaknesses, and don't try to find your problems you will never
improve...especially after today's game...
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Arsing around in the box instead of having a shot.
Ref's hating us.
Oh and the letting in goals early thing.
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3 things annoyed me after this weeks performance.
1)the peformance of our two wing backs.I know they are out of
position and its tough to adapt but nothing was going right.we lack
depth there.
2)looking at vaughns foul when he was through on goal.definate
red for there centre back who was bull allen's twin.and that nasty
elbow to georgys face.poor form.the ref refused to send him for an
early shower.or should i say early steak and cheese.and was this
williams ref lad the guy who stitched us up earlier in the
season?
3)the 2 centre midfielders.i know nothing couldve happened
today but once again the two of them are far too similar.we are
lacking the tim brown we need to actually keep up with oncoming
attackers.theres too much space in there and on todays performance
i dont no which 1 to leave out.probably johnsen when I look at
it.
On the postives.
Elrich looked more than decent with some nice early
touches.May have lost some pace but definatly looks the
goods.
Vince Lia was arguebly our best today.Not bad on your
debut
2nd best today but im looking for a definate step up next
week.
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I think it's not a case that we play great second halves everytime. In fact, as we conceed so eary, we always trail and have to make an effort and equalize. Which often exposes as to get the second goal. Today we could have drawn 0-0 real easy. We could have. Or we could have won.
But after you conceed such goals, what do you expect. Plus Felipe wasn't there, Daniel and the others tried, but we only got one..and too late.Bad luck and bad refreeing. That's it.
But well done to Elrich and Lia. They played really well
VUW AFC - Victoria University Football for life
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I tossed up between Relying on our brazilians and The All
Whites/Herbet being away.
I had to say that All Whites Being away is a big loss loosing
Smeltz and the rest of them is a big blow.
Oh well next week we are back at home looking for a good win
against CCM
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Well i would have to say the constant tback passing and defensive
mindedness of many of the players is a huge concern, no other team
i have ever seen plays like that. Why do we constantly give up
potential chances by conceding and passing it back....it hasnt
worked.
Botafogo - Rio de Janeiro and Wellington Phoenix, my two teams til death do us part.
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Tigers, I'm not being negative here, I mean if you don't know your
weaknesses, and don't try to find your problems you will never
improve...especially after today's game...
fair enough Safire, but to be fair after i took my rose coloured specs off, I did acknowledge that early goals are a problem that we can/should deal with
i probably just have an irrational aversion to polls, yours is well structured in my view though
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I'm going with early goals. ALthough coming back and beating a side
after conceding some early on makes us look heroic, it sure
makes it hard for us to make the playoffs. Given that the season is
so close between so many teams, one or two games may make all the
difference in where we finish on the table.
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Can someone add the Frankie Mac option to this poll please.
Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.
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While I admire some of the pollyanna supporters, I think the person
who started this poll is on the mark in continuing to insert
some question marks.
If the emotion of winning (or even snatching a draw from the
jaws of defeat) is so euphoric, then so too can supporters feel
entitled to feel the bitter disappointment of a poor
performance. A post mortum is readily required, so that we can
sustain 48 hours of football talk, before we avert our attention to
the next game.
These are(semi?) professional footballers - so they need
to know we will be questioning their performances (the club is more
important than the player blah blah). God knows Ricki will
be!
I'm not suggesting we follow the Lampard boo boys example, but
healthy critique cannot be bad - can it?
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The biggest concern has to be our central defenders getting split
with precise passing too frequently, leading to goals. Its happened
tonight and I recall it happening in goals in the last couple of
games.
I think this is due to them being out of position. On defense, they use a combination of zone marking and man to man but when a striker goes into the zone of Dodd or O'dor, rather than checking him and letting the striker drift to another team mate (and telling him) they are following him man to man style, drift out of position and another striker simply waltzes into the gap the defender was just in. He gets a free look at Moss...... Goal
Its requires strong communication or a permanent man marking system. How its all fixed, I don't really know.
DrQuack322007-10-15 00:27:03
I think this is due to them being out of position. On defense, they use a combination of zone marking and man to man but when a striker goes into the zone of Dodd or O'dor, rather than checking him and letting the striker drift to another team mate (and telling him) they are following him man to man style, drift out of position and another striker simply waltzes into the gap the defender was just in. He gets a free look at Moss...... Goal
Its requires strong communication or a permanent man marking system. How its all fixed, I don't really know.
DrQuack322007-10-15 00:27:03
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The biggest concern has to be our central defenders getting split
with precise passing too frequently, leading to goals. Its happened
tonight and I recall it happening in goals in the last couple of
games.
I think this is due to them being out of position. On defense, they use a combination of zone marking and man to man but when a striker goes into the zone of Dodd or O'dor, rather than checking him and letting the striker drift to another team mate (and telling him) they are following him man to man style, drift out of position and another striker simply waltzes into the gap the defender was just in. He gets a free look at Moss...... Goal
Its requires strong communication or a permanent man marking system. How its all fixed, I don't really know.
Glad to see im not the only one who thinks this is a problem,it has
happened in more than a couple of games though.When you look at the
table its pretty clear where we need to work on our
game.Fortunately due to the closeness of the table it is
something that can be turned around.I think this is due to them being out of position. On defense, they use a combination of zone marking and man to man but when a striker goes into the zone of Dodd or O'dor, rather than checking him and letting the striker drift to another team mate (and telling him) they are following him man to man style, drift out of position and another striker simply waltzes into the gap the defender was just in. He gets a free look at Moss...... Goal
Its requires strong communication or a permanent man marking system. How its all fixed, I don't really know.
GET YOUR SHIRTS OFF FOR THE BOYS
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Communication at the back !
Cleberson was caught out playing far to far up the park and having to desperately track back ,also defenders being sucked out of position leaving opposition strikers with a clean unmarked view of goal ,who is controlling the defense ?is the language thing more of an issue than initially thought or is it just that no one is assertive enough at the back to take responsibility?We constantly leave ourselfs open to counter attack on the break because our defenders have gone to sleep especially in the earlier stages of the match we really have to crank things up at the back right from the start!
Cleberson was caught out playing far to far up the park and having to desperately track back ,also defenders being sucked out of position leaving opposition strikers with a clean unmarked view of goal ,who is controlling the defense ?is the language thing more of an issue than initially thought or is it just that no one is assertive enough at the back to take responsibility?We constantly leave ourselfs open to counter attack on the break because our defenders have gone to sleep especially in the earlier stages of the match we really have to crank things up at the back right from the start!
The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.
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Have to agree with Kiwi Jambo on communication. Our players were
all over the field. Also how bad we were to reacting to quick
counter attacks after corners/attacks on goals. And how little we
challange in midfield. Our defenders and midfield seem to camp on
the outside of the box and one or two players run around hassline
the oposition. It gives them to much time to set up for a cross.
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Maybe our formation is a problem.
We play with two holding midfielders but we continue to
concede a lot of goals. Yesterdays game was a good example, Holland
waltzed through the midfield and slotted the first goal from
Griffith's cut back. Surely a midfielder should have been tracking
him, but he had a ridiculous amount of time to pick his
spot. Playing with two holding midfielders and two
centre backs he should never have had that much space.
It also means one less midfielder gets forward, Coveny was
hugely isolated last night.
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Two things concern me with current form. Conceeding the early goals
- major worry in the defenisive side of the team. Secondly and this
isn't major just might need to be worked on - is Ferrante's lack of
a decent final touch, so many times he manages to beat the first
man then the second, but for he couldn't shoot or lay off a decent
final pass to save himself.
Queenslander 3x a year.
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i also think a lack of shooting is a big problem. daniel and felipe
are very important thats for sure, but Elrich has only had one game
and i expect he will come into his own as the season progresses.
early goals arn't doing us any favours, but the early one
queensland got was freakish! and the 1 conceeded against perth was
so againstthe run of play id call in a fluke!
a quick glance at the league table dosn't look to good for the
boys, but im confident they will come right!
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