WPM R16 vs Macarthur FC | Sun 12th Feb | 7:00pm | SS1

theprof

YoungHeartHM

Dross.

Time to change something up Uffie. Same tactics, same setup and ultimately at the end of the day, the same result. 

Start by bringing Old, Sutton & Paulsen in the XI next time out.

That was an absolute wank performance.

a peformance worthy of your commentary from where I'm sitting.

Thanks. 

Maybe that is Sasse's last ever game for us. Old showed he is a better player when he came on, and is prepared to take responsibility for making things happen. Sadly Sasse has rarely tried to do that. Zawada's confidence took a big knock with the pen being saved. 
We blew a chance to win big time.

Old didn't do much, none of his crosses beat the first man almost. 
Sasse has not impressed me, but he does play a quick game, which I like. He just coughs up possession too much.
I thought Ball was not up to his usual standard.

I also think at times we played some lovely footy - we were the better team. We just didn't win. It happens, it doesn't mean we are shark.

Can someone please teach our lads how to hit a penalty. 0/4 is piss poor. 

Think the Sail criticism is harsh. Made mistakes, but also pulled off two brilliant saves (penalty save and that one with the very top of his hand). 

MetalLegNZ

Old didn't do much, none of his crosses beat the first man almost. 
Sasse has not impressed me, but he does play a quick game, which I like. He just coughs up possession too much.
I thought Ball was not up to his usual standard.

I also think at times we played some lovely footy - we were the better team. We just didn't win. It happens, it doesn't mean we are shark.

Can someone please teach our lads how to hit a penalty. 0/4 is piss poor. 

An import player should impress you though and he should impress you most games. They are paid to make a difference. Sasse has impressed me precisely once this season. 

I don't expect every import to be a guaranteed match winner but when he's not even as good as Kosta and Old (and Sasse isn't) then it's a problem. 

We should've been 2 or 3 nil up at half time, so it's hard to put too much blame on Uffie. Our shape wasn't the problem in that game, we created good chances and didn't finish them.
Biggest failing is not replacing Waine in my view, Ball's never learnt to shoot and OVH isn't ready for the A-league. But if the money's not there, not much you can do.
Wasn't always sure about starting Kosta over Sasse this season but this game has decided that one.

Huge pressure on the team now, as the season is on the brink of collapse despite being in a great position. Fortunately the league is tight, but 0/4 penalties is pathetic. None of those id have said we’re good saves, but poor kicks. Hard to be critical on the initial set up for Uffy, but that second half was woeful. Everyone needs to take a look at themselves and give themselves a shake. That’s two games we should have won, easily.

martinb

Old has been missing a bit of zip too, just playing normally, not the brilliance he had at times before. 

Old is a great young prospect but he has to learn some heads up play. He gets the ball, puts his head down and trys to trick his way past defenders. Loses the ball trying to beat the third man way too often.

I appreciate Balls effort but christ he's a hard watch. Unfortunately I'm not sure we have much else, people saying OVH and others are not ready so we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do we pick n stick with Ball or try our luck with a young newbie - comes down to where the coaches head is at. Personally ill go with OVH thought he brings same energy and looks to make good runs in behind, he seems more lively in around the box.

Boxall has to play - we've signed him so play him. Payne is not a CB and not even sure he could play there at local leagues let alone A-League. in his defence his become a victim of experiment throughout his career. 

I get the Sail frustration as he has the odd clanger in him but tell me a keeper in this league that doesnt? I would give Paulsen run end of season when we can no longer make top 6.

Rufer i cant watch it anymore...Ufuk has to bite the bullet. He made him captain and is playing him to justify his decisions. The guy can barely cover 10 yards. Has to be better options out there!!! We miss Lewis i know.

Its going to be close - i think we will struggle on the road but there are about 4-5 other hit n miss sides around us so i think we could still sneak into a play off spot. Biggest worry is coaches head space after All Whites dummy spit...he looks done.

Rufer is better than Pennington ShowTime - sorry but it is the truth.

His arrival saw an upswing in our results (when partnered with Lewis). He has a much better passing range than people give him credit for, off both feet and is happy to do the ugly stuff.

He got caught on the ball for their first goal, but 3 other players had to be beaten first and a keeper had to let it go underneath him, so... there's blame to be shared.

Showtime Nixie

I appreciate Balls effort but christ he's a hard watch. Unfortunately I'm not sure we have much else, people saying OVH and others are not ready so we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do we pick n stick with Ball or try our luck with a young newbie - comes down to where the coaches head is at. Personally ill go with OVH thought he brings same energy and looks to make good runs in behind, he seems more lively in around the box.

Boxall has to play - we've signed him so play him. Payne is not a CB and not even sure he could play there at local leagues let alone A-League. in his defence his become a victim of experiment throughout his career. 

I get the Sail frustration as he has the odd clanger in him but tell me a keeper in this league that doesnt? I would give Paulsen run end of season when we can no longer make top 6.

Rufer i cant watch it anymore...Ufuk has to bite the bullet. He made him captain and is playing him to justify his decisions. The guy can barely cover 10 yards. Has to be better options out there!!! We miss Lewis i know.

Its going to be close - i think we will struggle on the road but there are about 4-5 other hit n miss sides around us so i think we could still sneak into a play off spot. Biggest worry is coaches head space after All Whites dummy spit...he looks done.

I agree with you on pretty much all points there.

I love Ball and the effort puts in but he really seems to be lacking something this season. Perhaps giving him some earlier rest so he doesn't have to work so hard could do his playing good. He's not young any more, trying to play with the effort of a 20yo won't work forever.

Psychologically the team seems cooked, there really doesn't seem to be any other reason for it. We dominate some play, score a goal easy and then fudge it up. It's a loser mentality.

wow the doom and gloom merchants are out in force today.
Yes, last night wasnt great, yes the players could have done a lot better, yes I think leadership, or maybe lack thereof is an issue. 
Lets look at some things - I'll start with the negative won to keep Showtime and Monto et al happy.

* we've dropped 20 points from games where we've been leading - win all those games and we'd be top of the league.
* we have for the first season ever scored in every game (and more than onces in some games)
* we've had some pretty major injuries to contend with in key positions, Rufer, Lewis, Wootten.
* leadership on field appears to be an issue, we have senior pros who lead by example (Ball in particular); our captain (Rufer) appears to be working his way back into his game and isnt leading like he should be.
* our back up captain should never be captain (Sail) as it clearly takes the focus from keeping.
* our young guns are good, but not yet in the position to be replacing senior players - Old, OVH, Paulsen - all good players but still learning their trade. Like Elliot, Sutton, Waine they will get their game time and break into the first team eventually.
* We all know Uffie has a set tactic he prefers, he learned it Sydney and it worked and he is set on it.
* Sasse clearly has something that the manager and his teammates like, it it enough for an import? probably not, but then we all know that playing in another country and aclimatising is tough, especially when you don't speak the language.

There are plenty of other things that have lead to our position this season. Regardless, we are 6th on the table. The league is very tight and anyone can beat anyone - excluding City. Still 10 games to go, potential 30 points - which we wont get. If we can get 18+ points then we finish on 39 which will put us in the 6. I'm sure the club and Uffie want better than in the 6, they'd be targetting top 4 minimum, for that we'll need 8 wins (24pts).

CloneMM

We should've been 2 or 3 nil up at half time, so it's hard to put too much blame on Uffie. Our shape wasn't the problem in that game, we created good chances and didn't finish them.
Biggest failing is not replacing Waine in my view, Ball's never learnt to shoot and OVH isn't ready for the A-league. But if the money's not there, not much you can do.
Wasn't always sure about starting Kosta over Sasse this season but this game has decided that one.

weve been scoring for fun but can't hold leads, therefore we replaced an attacker with a defender. Makes sense.

theprof

wow the doom and gloom merchants are out in force today.
Yes, last night wasnt great, yes the players could have done a lot better, yes I think leadership, or maybe lack thereof is an issue. 
Lets look at some things - I'll start with the negative won to keep Showtime and Monto et al happy.

* we've dropped 20 points from games where we've been leading - win all those games and we'd be top of the league.
* we have for the first season ever scored in every game (and more than onces in some games)
* we've had some pretty major injuries to contend with in key positions, Rufer, Lewis, Wootten.
* leadership on field appears to be an issue, we have senior pros who lead by example (Ball in particular); our captain (Rufer) appears to be working his way back into his game and isnt leading like he should be.
* our back up captain should never be captain (Sail) as it clearly takes the focus from keeping.
* our young guns are good, but not yet in the position to be replacing senior players - Old, OVH, Paulsen - all good players but still learning their trade. Like Elliot, Sutton, Waine they will get their game time and break into the first team eventually.
* We all know Uffie has a set tactic he prefers, he learned it Sydney and it worked and he is set on it.
* Sasse clearly has something that the manager and his teammates like, it it enough for an import? probably not, but then we all know that playing in another country and aclimatising is tough, especially when you don't speak the language.

There are plenty of other things that have lead to our position this season. Regardless, we are 6th on the table. The league is very tight and anyone can beat anyone - excluding City. Still 10 games to go, potential 30 points - which we wont get. If we can get 18+ points then we finish on 39 which will put us in the 6. I'm sure the club and Uffie want better than in the 6, they'd be targetting top 4 minimum, for that we'll need 8 wins (24pts).

So you're saying if we won the games we lost we'd be doing better? Mind blowing stuff.

But honestly, I don't think anyone's being unfair on the team at all, most expensive squad we've ever had and all that. Top four for what will probably be Talays last season isn't an unreasonable expectation and the be frank we're not going to achieve that at all.

I've had my reservations abut the system we play for about a year and a half now so I'm personally not suprised by any of this. I don't think anyone's being too unfair on the team either, it's all pretty well reasoned criticism.

was aiming at mind blowing stuff, just stating the obvious stuff that some seem to be ignoring - focussing on the glaring negative of this season - ie we've lost games when in a leading position - which happens in football it's not justa nix thing. 
Also never said expecting top 4 is unreasonable, infact pretty sure I said it was lilely the club/talay's expectation.

theprof

was aiming at mind blowing stuff, just stating the obvious stuff that some seem to be ignoring - focussing on the glaring negative of this season - ie we've lost games when in a leading position - which happens in football it's not justa nix thing. 
Also never said expecting top 4 is unreasonable, infact pretty sure I said it was lilely the club/talay's expectation.

A loss is a loss, it means you weren't good enough to win usually. To lose while being up is even worse. There's no what ifs about it, we got no points from those games. Pretty much all the negativity is justified, people just want a Nix team that for once in its existence might actually win something.

you lost me at " we've dropped 20 points from games where we've been leading - win all those games and we'd be top of the league".. That is true, but we didnt win any of those games, and now we are 6th & not first 

theprof

wow the doom and gloom merchants are out in force today.
Yes, last night wasnt great, yes the players could have done a lot better, yes I think leadership, or maybe lack thereof is an issue. 
Lets look at some things - I'll start with the negative won to keep Showtime and Monto et al happy.

* we've dropped 20 points from games where we've been leading - win all those games and we'd be top of the league.
* we have for the first season ever scored in every game (and more than onces in some games)
* we've had some pretty major injuries to contend with in key positions, Rufer, Lewis, Wootten.
* leadership on field appears to be an issue, we have senior pros who lead by example (Ball in particular); our captain (Rufer) appears to be working his way back into his game and isnt leading like he should be.
* our back up captain should never be captain (Sail) as it clearly takes the focus from keeping.
* our young guns are good, but not yet in the position to be replacing senior players - Old, OVH, Paulsen - all good players but still learning their trade. Like Elliot, Sutton, Waine they will get their game time and break into the first team eventually.
* We all know Uffie has a set tactic he prefers, he learned it Sydney and it worked and he is set on it.
* Sasse clearly has something that the manager and his teammates like, it it enough for an import? probably not, but then we all know that playing in another country and aclimatising is tough, especially when you don't speak the language.

There are plenty of other things that have lead to our position this season. Regardless, we are 6th on the table. The league is very tight and anyone can beat anyone - excluding City. Still 10 games to go, potential 30 points - which we wont get. If we can get 18+ points then we finish on 39 which will put us in the 6. I'm sure the club and Uffie want better than in the 6, they'd be targetting top 4 minimum, for that we'll need 8 wins (24pts).

4-2-3-1 time?

Ryan

CloneMM

We should've been 2 or 3 nil up at half time, so it's hard to put too much blame on Uffie. Our shape wasn't the problem in that game, we created good chances and didn't finish them.
Biggest failing is not replacing Waine in my view, Ball's never learnt to shoot and OVH isn't ready for the A-league. But if the money's not there, not much you can do.
Wasn't always sure about starting Kosta over Sasse this season but this game has decided that one.

weve been scoring for fun but can't hold leads, therefore we replaced an attacker with a defender. Makes sense.

It depends, a different type of attacker can alter the way we play/opposition responds. A much quicker attacker might mean the opposition play deeper meaning they can't press us as effectively giving our midfield more time on the ball and less likely to turn over in dangerous situations (fairly common this game) which reduces the oppositions good chances.

Gotta agree. We no longer have the same energy coming off the bench that Waine used to bring.

NZPhoenixFan

Gotta agree. We no longer have the same energy coming off the bench that Waine used to bring.

Or Piscopo and Sotirio. Both of whom were goal threats. 

Recruitment hasn't been the best and we bizarrely never replaced Wayne. 

but is this also a recruitment issue in our Academy? are they selecting players all of the same type? 

We should be looking at covering all bases

If we really wanna take a gamble - start Karunaratne on Friday. 

Showtime Nixie

Recruitment hasn't been the best and we bizarrely never replaced Wayne. 

but is this also a recruitment issue in our Academy? are they selecting players all of the same type? 

We should be looking at covering all bases

why did we need to replace Waine? scoring goals hasnt really been the issue, stpopping them has been.

lthomas20

If we really wanna take a gamble - start Karunaratne on Friday. 

not sure now is the time to gamble. We sit in th middle of the bunch, it's a matter of ironing out some kinks in the armour and working to string a few wins together.

theprof

Showtime Nixie

Recruitment hasn't been the best and we bizarrely never replaced Wayne. 

but is this also a recruitment issue in our Academy? are they selecting players all of the same type? 

We should be looking at covering all bases

why did we need to replace Waine? scoring goals hasnt really been the issue, stpopping them has been.

I think the point of replacing Waine is someone energetic and able to score a goal running forward meaning opposition players have to defend deeper to the end, taking pressure off our defence and midfield near the end of the game as opposed to opposition being able to press forward more with the tired legs as a game progresses.

But to be fair we don't always wait till the end to give up our lead.

Bananas

theprof

Showtime Nixie

Recruitment hasn't been the best and we bizarrely never replaced Wayne. 

but is this also a recruitment issue in our Academy? are they selecting players all of the same type? 

We should be looking at covering all bases

why did we need to replace Waine? scoring goals hasnt really been the issue, stpopping them has been.

I think the point of replacing Waine is someone energetic and able to score a goal running forward meaning opposition players have to defend deeper to the end, taking pressure off our defence and midfield near the end of the game as opposed to opposition being able to press forward more with the tired legs as a game progresses.

But to be fair we don't always wait till the end to give up our lead.

isnt that what Old and OVH are there to do?

Showtime Nixie

Recruitment hasn't been the best and we bizarrely never replaced Wayne. 

but is this also a recruitment issue in our Academy? are they selecting players all of the same type? 

We should be looking at covering all bases

Replace Waine with what? Waine? Probably should have just kept Waine if that’s what you want. 
Waine was replaced before he left. that’s what the academy players are promoted for. People need to remember Waine brought nothing to the side in the beginning. Then he started getting some game time and learning. Same was said of Sutts when he started, then he had a run of games and suddenly he was ‘undroppable’
Seems to be a bit of “Uffie is really good at developing players…oh, but don’t play any developing players, just play developed ones” 
Personally I think if he played them a bit more they’d be more developed now. Bringing players on for injury time to wind down the clock doesn’t help them develop or integrate them into the team. And that goes for Sasse too.

As for Academy players being same type, you should maybe watch some of them. Paulsen, Surman. Oldie, OvH all the same are they? 
Elliot, Sutts, Rufer, Waine, Sarpreet Libby, before them.
GK, CB, LB, RB, CDM, CAM, wingers/strikers… exactly how many bases are not being covered here?

Bananas

theprof

Showtime Nixie

Recruitment hasn't been the best and we bizarrely never replaced Wayne. 

but is this also a recruitment issue in our Academy? are they selecting players all of the same type? 

We should be looking at covering all bases

why did we need to replace Waine? scoring goals hasnt really been the issue, stpopping them has been.

I think the point of replacing Waine is someone energetic and able to score a goal running forward meaning opposition players have to defend deeper to the end, taking pressure off our defence and midfield near the end of the game as opposed to opposition being able to press forward more with the tired legs as a game progresses.

But to be fair we don't always wait till the end to give up our lead.

Yeah, it's like when we defend leads by taking off an attacker and putting on a defender it just means there are less options for forward passes out of defence, less pressure with and without the ball in two thirds of the pitch for the opposition which results in us more likely to be under pressure.

We were losing leads when Waine was in the team though, so having an energetic striker to bring on late and run at players didn't help us then.

"A-LEAGUE ALL ACCESS" - ULISES DAVILA
This week's episode is devoted to the former Phoenix legend and current MacArthur player.
Bound to be very emotional.
It puts your own life into perspective when you see that kind of tragedy happen to someone (and the Turkish and Syrian earthquakes currently too).
Only two screenings that I can see scheduled on Sky:
Friday 17: 1 pm Sky Sport Two ch. 52
5.15 pm Sky Sport One ch. 51

MetalLegNZ

Rufer is better than Pennington ShowTime - sorry but it is the truth.

His arrival saw an upswing in our results (when partnered with Lewis). He has a much better passing range than people give him credit for, off both feet and is happy to do the ugly stuff.

He got caught on the ball for their first goal, but 3 other players had to be beaten first and a keeper had to let it go underneath him, so... there's blame to be shared.

Upswing in our results is almost guaranteed when any reasonable DM (Rufer, Pennington, Ugarkovic) is partnered with C. Lewis.  

ClubOranje

Showtime Nixie

Recruitment hasn't been the best and we bizarrely never replaced Wayne. 

but is this also a recruitment issue in our Academy? are they selecting players all of the same type? 

We should be looking at covering all bases

Replace Waine with what? Waine? Probably should have just kept Waine if that’s what you want. 
Waine was replaced before he left. that’s what the academy players are promoted for. People need to remember Waine brought nothing to the side in the beginning. Then he started getting some game time and learning. Same was said of Sutts when he started, then he had a run of games and suddenly he was ‘undroppable’
Seems to be a bit of “Uffie is really good at developing players…oh, but don’t play any developing players, just play developed ones” 
Personally I think if he played them a bit more they’d be more developed now. Bringing players on for injury time to wind down the clock doesn’t help them develop or integrate them into the team. And that goes for Sasse too.

As for Academy players being same type, you should maybe watch some of them. Paulsen, Surman. Oldie, OvH all the same are they? 
Elliot, Sutts, Rufer, Waine, Sarpreet Libby, before them.
GK, CB, LB, RB, CDM, CAM, wingers/strikers… exactly how many bases are not being covered here?

 No i didnt mean bases in terms of positions - what i meant was we should be recruiting players in the Academy of the same profile of the ones that kick on and do well like Wayne - Like Wayne was very similar to Calvin Harris when he move on to states (i know he didnt play a-league but shouldve). It seems all our academy does is sign 5ft 9/10 players in all positions who do the same things. Our youngsters are always of the same mold coming through. Its an area of concern for me. Farming 5 ft 19/10 standard players. Need some variety in our systems. Need a point of difference in squads.

Showtime Nixie

ClubOranje

Showtime Nixie

Recruitment hasn't been the best and we bizarrely never replaced Wayne. 

but is this also a recruitment issue in our Academy? are they selecting players all of the same type? 

We should be looking at covering all bases

Replace Waine with what? Waine? Probably should have just kept Waine if that’s what you want. 
Waine was replaced before he left. that’s what the academy players are promoted for. People need to remember Waine brought nothing to the side in the beginning. Then he started getting some game time and learning. Same was said of Sutts when he started, then he had a run of games and suddenly he was ‘undroppable’
Seems to be a bit of “Uffie is really good at developing players…oh, but don’t play any developing players, just play developed ones” 
Personally I think if he played them a bit more they’d be more developed now. Bringing players on for injury time to wind down the clock doesn’t help them develop or integrate them into the team. And that goes for Sasse too.

As for Academy players being same type, you should maybe watch some of them. Paulsen, Surman. Oldie, OvH all the same are they? 
Elliot, Sutts, Rufer, Waine, Sarpreet Libby, before them.
GK, CB, LB, RB, CDM, CAM, wingers/strikers… exactly how many bases are not being covered here?

 No i didnt mean bases in terms of positions - what i meant was we should be recruiting players in the Academy of the same profile of the ones that kick on and do well like Wayne - Like Wayne was very similar to Calvin Harris when he move on to states (i know he didnt play a-league but shouldve). It seems all our academy does is sign 5ft 9/10 players in all positions who do the same things. Our youngsters are always of the same mold coming through. Its an area of concern for me. Farming 5 ft 19/10 standard players. Need some variety in our systems. Need a point of difference in squads.

1. The Nix will always take the best players they can out of the academy, but they won't be the academy players only option, some like Calvin will choose a route which suits their goals/ambitions/abilities better.
2. We can't know how players will develop once they are into the professional environment, I seem to remember reading that Waine was a middling player at 17/18, but 2 years of hard graft/good coaching/weightlifting turned him into who he is today. On the flipside, Tim Payne was signed by a premier league side as a CAM/CF at 18 and now he's an average A-League defender
3. Not sure what you're on about with the height thing, Libby is 6"0, OVH is 6"0, Karunaratne is 6"1, Paulsen is 6"4, the players coming through the academy are on the same height normal curve as the rest of the NZ population so its not surprising that they are, on average, the same height as the average NZer. 
4. Who the fudge is Wayne? 

We should still have enough to beat 2nd bottom Western United they have basically given up their season from what I've seen recently. They are a state team at best. 

Give that Kuratanene kid a go - travels most weeks to carry and put out kit - if i was him id be putting Sasse's in the bin.

Boxall for Payne. Tighten it up if it doesn't work out at least we gave it a go.

Rufer faaaaaark no one else so have to play him.

We will win.

Is it time to drop Sail? The miscommunication the previous week and now the ball going through his legs for a pretty regulation save? I think Paulsen has never let the team down and could be his chance.

Ted Striker

Is it time to drop Sail? The miscommunication the previous week and now the ball going through his legs for a pretty regulation save? I think Paulsen has never let the team down and could be his chance.

Others might disagree, but for my money, Sail is the least of our problems. His mistakes are simply more visible than the mistakes of those who get dispossessed in our penalty box. 
Yes the mixup with Surman against Victory was not pretty, that is on Sail that he did not communicate clearly with the younger less experienced player, but it is easy for me to say that - there may not have been time to do so at that time in the game.  Shark happens.  It is not on Sail that we only scored once in that game, and it is not on Sail that we only scored once against the Bulls.

i think our tactical platform is decent and enables some nice football

i don't have a problem with our personnel. i think we have a good squad, which is capable ofdoing well at this level. there's nothing in this league we should be scared of.

i am concerned about our execution. it's so slow. watching the game, i assumed it was a scorcher, but by all acounts it wasn't. 

ball movement is slow, passes are not hit, they are rolled. the first touch tends to be followed by a pause, while we wait to make a decision, then wait for a player to run, then we follow that with another ponderous delivery. as a result of this, our attacking outlets produce little that is tangible. the direct ball to zawada seems to be our only effective avenue.

ball looks lost. it's all blind alleys for him at the moment. i think he's lost a lot of pace, but the above factors are not helping. is his head right? he spends a lot of time on the ground with his hands on his face.

i don't think it will take much to correct this. just a bit of positive energy and reassurance from the coach and perhaps a bit more energy up front.

The Phoenix can look really good when they play with urgency from the back, using a positive short passing game, then we can gain good ground downfield, as they have less time to organize their defence... unfortunately we tend to stuff around too much at the back on most occasions, making it pretty easy for them to shut us down.

Our defence is pathetic inside our box, we need to switch from zone defence to man-to-man defence, yeah, some times you don't have time to change your defensive pattern quickly enough if they make a fast break, but on most occasions there is plenty of time to adjust your defensive pattern... really annoys me that we give away so many easy goals because opposition strikers are given far too much space & time inside our box.