Had a quick think on potential formation and acquisitions. Stuck with a 41212 for now because I like the idea of Ball in midfield. Going on the assumption that we’ll have to get an import CM rather than snagging Thurgate, De Silva, Gomulka or D’Arrigo. IMG_5038.jpeg438.64 KBLocal GK: Woud, Marinovic, Holmes, Tracey or Munford
RB: Try get both of Kalua and Kirwan, realistically just get one. Maybe Lorenz back up? Dylan Pierias an option too.
CB: Do everything you can to get Pijnaker or Kyle Adams.
LB: Francis De Vries the obvious choice.
CM back up 1: Promote Conchie
CM back up 2: Sounds like it’s Al-Taay
ST back up: Sign Oliver Colloty if he doesn’t get picked up in the UK
Starting ST: Patrick Wood, Al Hassan Toure of contract. Or switch to playing wingers and could grab Velupillay, Theoharous, Lofthouse or Borges Rodrigues.
Best case would be we pick up a high quality local CM and get a left footed import ST/Winger but ya know.
I see a lot of people particularly on social media losing their minds or being quite disparaging towards the club about this, which I don't get. Losing Elliot definitely hurts, as does Oli and Clayton but we knew those months ago. The others I'm completely fine with - Mauragis was a loan, Ugarkovic was always gonna be a one season thing, Boxall wasn't even allowed near pitch it seems, Laws was pretty inconsistent, and Sasse, as much as I wanted him to kick on, never properly did. People spend a whole season getting worked up about the club having average players, but then act like the club is folding when those players are let go
we've spent 3 seasons developing josh laws from not good enough to nearly good enough. so, i'm comfortable with this departure. it will be interesting to know whether it was us or him who ended the relationship
the others all make sense too
elliott was a keeper, but obviously has some good alternative options in front of him
sail and lewis: like elliott, good players will always have options
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
We need a clean out at the back. It just hasn't clicked the last few seasons with the players we had. I see they are targeting an import CB. I go along with that. Needs to happen.
How is Francis De Vries going at Esatern Suburbs? Hopefully well. He could be a very good pick up for the Nix, and shine in the ALM. He's got a bit of height, so may even go alright as a left sided CB.
But interesting that Nix are targeting another import CB. Happy with that, if a bit of a slight on Wootton??
And also happy some of the Weenix kids will likely get promoted. It's all there to play for at the U20 WC for them.
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
Personally after that Elimination Final I'm happy for all of them to go. Elliot was woeful. Granted, he was targeted by Adelaide all night, but I think we've made the right call with everyone.
Now's the fun part of the season: seeing whether we upgrade or not.
Apologies for the triple post, but Shaun Gill is saying we're targeting a visa player for centre back, so I'd say very much a Steven Taylor style player.
We also put forward a 3 year deal for Elliot, but could not agree on terms, as per: https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/132000314/wellington-phoenix-men-targeting-centre-back-with-their-one-free-visa-player-spot
Callan Eliot was actively told to fudge off by the club, if we are to believe Iffy
Loved his time at the club and was looking to stay and was in negotiations when the offer was taken off the table he has nothing sorted and will now seek a new club! https://t.co/TS2XBhEAz4
All the negativity about the Elimination Final with Adelaide seems somewhat unjustified. We really socked it too them and played well enough to win the game but what separates close games is often split seconds of small mistakes/bad luck/good luck. Agree about Sasse, he seems a lightweight but could shine given another season of regular game time. Imports are always hit and miss (as is local player development) but local should always be prioritised first IMO. Which Scottish club(s) are interested in Elliot?
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
You're believing a poster with 16 posts?
You're right that it's not really a reliable source in and of itself; but it's an opinion that I didn't need that guy's input to come to. The club didn't even try to keep Callan Elliot. This is not a club which intends to make anything happen next season.
We need a clean out at the back. It just hasn't clicked the last few seasons with the players we had. I see they are targeting an import CB. I go along with that. Needs to happen.
you're probably right, but i think a lot can be achieved by changing the way we play. we were a nightmare at defensive transition time; best example is what adelaide did to us in the 1-5 loss at hindmarsh.
under uffie, we set up with our full backs high and our 2 DMs would box out the middle in front of the centre backs. this is fine, but we usually had at least one slow centre back and at least one slow DM on the field at any one time. the high full backs, and the lack of defensive mobility to cover their vacated spaces, often left us exposed down the channels.
i really grew to hate the 4-2-2-2. the deep double pivot did feck all for us going forward and the personnel were not mobile enough to defend wide spaces on transition. in addition, once we stopped playing in to the feet of our wide midfielders, i think when reno left, we stopped trying to penetrate the penalty area and resorted to early crosses. the wide midfielders effectly became dummy runners to allow the full backs space to cross. i prefered it when we played in to the area outside the pen box to feet, or at least varied between the tactics. 4-2-2-2 grrrrrr.
4-4-2 is probably the best structure to defend with as you get even coverage around the ball. playing high full backs kills this. plus having slow CDs and DMs is bound to render it a disaster.
the answer is faster defenders, which are frikkin rare at this level, and/or a single pivot, although you would still want him to have good acceleration, and/or one fullback holding his position and playing narrow, like payne did one day in auckland. this was one of the few times i can recall uffie playing with an a-symmetrical formation, with the right side width (in theory, not in practice as sasse drifted) coming from the right sided midfielder.
anyway, i'm babbling.
cruyff said effective defending comes from proximity and i guess that what i'm echoing. if we did so, we may get a defensive tune out of who we have.
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
You're believing a poster with 16 posts?
So the more you post the more you know......interesting observation!
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
You're believing a poster with 16 posts?
You're right that it's not really a reliable source in and of itself; but it's an opinion that I didn't need that guy's input to come to. The club didn't even try to keep Callan Elliot. This is not a club which intends to make anything happen next season.
Shaun Gill "We were talking to cal, we put an improved offer to him on what he was on this season we put a 3 year deal to him"
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
You're believing a poster with 16 posts?
So the more you post the more you know......interesting observation!
Oh trust me, that's definitely not always the case around here. But it's good to see a track record before believing just anyone here. (Welcome, by the way!)
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
You're believing a poster with 16 posts?
So the more you post the more you know......interesting observation!
Oh trust me, that's definitely not always the case around here. But it's good to see a track record before believing just anyone here. (Welcome, by the way!)
Re this. Both scenarios can happen at the same time. They have been in negotiations since at least March when Sail was announced as leaving. In reality it's probably been longer than that. It has dragged on. Elliot rejected the last offer (or at least sat on it for a while) and so the Phoenix decided to move on instead.
Re this. Both scenarios can happen at the same time. They have been in negotiations since at least March when Sail was announced as leaving. In reality it's probably been longer than that. It has dragged on. Elliot rejected the last offer (or at least sat on it for a while) and so the Phoenix decided to move on instead.
Also might have been in negotiations until the new coach was confirmed and Chief said he'd rather have Payne out right and invest in other positions so they pulled the negotiations.
So: everyone was bitterly disappointed with the failure of this season; and next season we're just going to play the kids. Wooden spoon beckons. It sucks following this club.
You're believing a poster with 16 posts?
You're right that it's not really a reliable source in and of itself; but it's an opinion that I didn't need that guy's input to come to. The club didn't even try to keep Callan Elliot. This is not a club which intends to make anything happen next season.
I do wonder which terms the Phoenix are stubborn with. If they are unwilling to re-sign a player like Elliot or Sail on terms that could let them leave the club if a Europe offer came in (for example). Sail eluded to this when signing for Glory and Gill talks about "its not money, there are terms that were not acceptable to Elliot". It's hard to build a squad base on this, especially when the depth is thin. If players want a free transfer option in the contract I'm Ok with the club saying no given it is also a reasonable source of income.
All the negativity about the Elimination Final with Adelaide seems somewhat unjustified. We really socked it too them and played well enough to win the game but what separates close games is often split seconds of small mistakes/bad luck/good luck. Agree about Sasse, he seems a lightweight but could shine given another season of regular game time. Imports are always hit and miss (as is local player development) but local should always be prioritised first IMO. Which Scottish club(s) are interested in Elliot?
Re: "We really socked it too them and played well enough to win the game but what separates close games is often split seconds of small mistakes/bad luck/good luck." I do not think it was a close game. We lost because Adelaide created more chances, dominated field play for longer periods, had more possession in the opposition half, and transitioned play faster. While it was only a 2:0 loss, it was one of the few games when Zawada did not score and had preciously few chances. Yes it's true that bad luck / good luck can be a decisive factor sometimes, but in this case Adelaide won a game of "higher percentage" football. We were in the finals on the strength of our performance earlier in season, not on the strength of our performance late in the season. As such, I can understand the club's view that if we cannot sustain a good run with an allegedly expensive squad, a re-think of who to replace was on order. Elliott would have been welcome but obviously wanted a better deal and that is fair - it is an open market. I am sure the same principle applies to Lewis - if he gets a better deal at a club low in the table, it is not a slight on his footballing reputation He may help to turn the Bulls' fortunes around and get paid better money.
Ryan Thomas off contract in June, Surely worth a go?
He's now more homebody Dutch boy, than a Kiwi. He'll soon sign an extension with Zwolle, and he'll likely play out his whole pro career in the Low Countries.
Ryan Thomas off contract in June, Surely worth a go?
He's now more homebody Dutch boy, than a Kiwi. He'll soon sign an extension with Zwolle, and he'll likely play out his whole pro career in the Low Countries.
Probably more chance of signing Singh than Thomas. But doubt we will see either.
Obviously, the only player we for sure wanted to keep was Elliot but I don't think its a huge loss, probs a bit of recent bias helps soften the blow but he was always a better attacker than a defender and it looks like we wanna sort that out for next season. Will be interesting who we target up front and midfield locally as we've got some holes to fill there. I think a MacArthur raid could fill those spots nicely take Toure (ST), De Silva (CM), and Millar (RB)
Had a quick think on potential formation and acquisitions. Stuck with a 41212 for now because I like the idea of Ball in midfield. Going on the assumption that we’ll have to get an import CM rather than snagging Thurgate, De Silva, Gomulka or D’Arrigo. IMG_5038.jpeg438.64 KBLocal GK: Woud, Marinovic, Holmes, Tracey or Munford
RB: Try get both of Kalua and Kirwan, realistically just get one. Maybe Lorenz back up? Dylan Pierias an option too.
CB: Do everything you can to get Pijnaker or Kyle Adams.
LB: Francis De Vries the obvious choice.
CM back up 1: Promote Conchie
CM back up 2: Sounds like it’s Al-Taay
ST back up: Sign Oliver Colloty if he doesn’t get picked up in the UK
Starting ST: Patrick Wood, Al Hassan Toure of contract. Or switch to playing wingers and could grab Velupillay, Theoharous, Lofthouse or Borges Rodrigues.
Best case would be we pick up a high quality local CM and get a left footed import ST/Winger but ya know.
I know things ended on poor terms with the club but Logan Rogerson as an option for once of those forward spots? Not a starter IMO but ticks the Kiwi box and has shown himself too good for domestic footy (while not quite kicking on professionally).
