WPM R18 vs Perth Glory | Sat 24th Feb | 11:45pm | Sky Sports 7

Gdog

Early start this morning to watch the recorded match.

Not only did 4 points come home from this trip but the way the squad is developing over the season is worth commenting on.

This is in spite of certain TV commentators barely recognising the team’s existence. I thought last night their faint praise was appalling. 

With the spate of injuries amongst the seasoned players more of the younger guys are being given their chances to shine, which is adding to their confidence. This is beginning to show. The buildup of minutes for them will be critical in the last grinding weeks of the league and the playoffs.

I can’t praise enough the management skills that Chiefy and team have brought to the squad this year. If nothing else this could be his legacy and the success that it will bring the team now, and in the future, for the players as well. 

But we aren’t there yet.

If there is any criticism, it’s still the inconsistency in the accuracy of passing in the final third amongst the front half of the side. (The younger players are excludes as they will need time to get used to the pace in those positions.) 

I’m guessing on what the numbers might reveal. By now, all regular players should be hitting 90 plus % and it doesn’t seem to be happening.

I haven’t seen the stats but and would like to be proven wrong. If they are available online please let me know where I can analyse them. I know Roofs was 90 % in last night’s game. Good.

The other issue referred to by several on the forum has been the lack of goals from set pieces, including corners this season.

Why can’t they surprise us with something different or innovative, instead of the same old?

There are always two players over the ball at freekick time. One does nothing so why doesn’t he run off the taker into clear space around the wall? Or someone break off the defending wall? We are so predictable at the moment.

That’s my tuppance worth. 

 Yeah, the lack of goals from set pieces is surprising considering we can probably field the tallest team in the league but I think its because we're missing a set piece specialist so many players have taken corners/free kicks but no one is really putting in quality balls like a Davila or O'Shea.

It isn't Perth that bothers me. It's City, CCM, Victory, Sydney.

I thought the Sydney v City game was quality. Watching a replay of CCM v Vic now.

We'll need to be good to finish well.  The D is good. Just need the attackers to score a few.

Wonder if Salas is any good at setpiece delivery? Different but he played a peach of a chip to put Zawada through against Perth.

Edit - Zawada, LK-H, Surman & Wootton are all large humans yet it's a potential scoring avenue the Nix are being basically denied. Like someone else said this wasn't Payne's best game, not great crossing.

I don't want to attach too much importance to Salas yet. We were top of the league when he came here. His transfermarkt algorithm gives him a value of €275k. That's after participating in a world cup which would normally significantly increase a players value. Without that, he maybe less than €100k on TM. The algorithm is pretty refined.
If he was in Europe, in league two in the UK or in Serie C in Italy,  his status right now would be that of a trial player. I wish him the best. Let's see how he goes.

Bananas

Just watched a replay on a big screen (as opposed to on my phone in my car at a Scouts camp) and my god that Oli save from Zawadas header looks more amazing (and stings more) on the big screen.

I'm glad Oli has gotten back in the first team.  Had no animosity to the guy and want him to succeed.  Just want Paulsen to succeed more.

That was the best shot and save of the match. 

I was worried that Williams as an ex Nixer would steal the show but instead it was Sail. Glad to see him back inform for the AWs but kinda wished he was injured etc for this match. Oli robbed us of two points!

kungfu panda

I don't want to attach too much importance to Salas yet. We were top of the league when he came here. His transfermarkt algorithm gives him a value of €275k. That's after participating in a world cup which would normally significantly increase a players value. Without that, he maybe less than €100k on TM. The algorithm is pretty refined.
If he was in Europe, in league two in the UK or in Serie C in Italy,  his status right now would be that of a trial player. I wish him the best. Let's see how he goes.

Watching L2, L1 and Cham most weekends in the flesh I'd say he's lower Championship. From what I've seen he'll push Pennington or Al-Taay onto the bench when fit.

TM isn't always that accurate. Value is often based on his contract, so maybe he's not on much in CR or contract is nearly up.

I don't put a lot of stock in Transfermarkt market rate estimates, more importantly is his attitude (which seems good) and how he compliments the system / how can Chief accentuate his good attributes and limit his bad.

His two performances off the bench have been positive.

Marto

kungfu panda

I don't want to attach too much importance to Salas yet. We were top of the league when he came here. His transfermarkt algorithm gives him a value of €275k. That's after participating in a world cup which would normally significantly increase a players value. Without that, he maybe less than €100k on TM. The algorithm is pretty refined.
If he was in Europe, in league two in the UK or in Serie C in Italy,  his status right now would be that of a trial player. I wish him the best. Let's see how he goes.

Watching L2, L1 and Cham most weekends in the flesh I'd say he's lower Championship. From what I've seen he'll push Pennington or Al-Taay onto the bench when fit.

TM isn't always that accurate. Value is often based on his contract, so maybe he's not on much in CR or contract is nearly up.

Costa Rica Average Salary is $2400/Month and unemployment is rate 8.2% (2022). I guess he is not on a massive coin over there. People trash a lot of Wellington Weather because it is not perfect, but I rather have the occasional windy day than a 8.2% unemployment rate.

Didn't he say he got a pay rise coming over here?

Ryan

I don't put a lot of stock in Transfermarkt market rate estimates, more importantly is his attitude (which seems good) and how he compliments the system / how can Chief accentuate his good attributes and limit his bad.

His two performances off the bench have been positive.

It's really the point though, we've got nothing to go on except transfermarkt.  To me at the moment he's an enthusiastic trialist (I've seen many before). To be fair, he's not looking bad.
Marto said bottom half of the Championship. He's a full International, that buys you a work permit in any country in Europe. If other clubs saw him at Championship level (top 10 World league), I don't think that he'd be here.
Like I said. Good luck to him. I want to win the league more than anything right now. If he's the spice that makes that happen then that's marvellous 😀.

If there is one thing that we were missing so far was a guy who can suddenly (without others anticipating it) suddenly unleash a stinging shot on goal. Apart from a goal by Rufer and a goal by Payne we do not do that, especially that Italiano does not encourage it.
In the game against Perth Salas fired a shot in anger that reminded me very much of what Carlos Hernandez could do - suddenly shoot with a tremendous force instead of an expected pass or a dribble.

In a perfect world we'd all be able to pull his stats out from his last 10 full matches, look at the level of competition then how many Duels he won, how many interceptions he made, how many km's ran etc etc. Then we'd have a reasonable idea. 
Chiefy can do those things and much more because WP will obviously have full access to his stats. So best just to listen to Chiefy for now.

Mainland FC

If there is one thing that we were missing so far was a guy who can suddenly (without others anticipating it) suddenly unleash a stinging shot on goal. Apart from a goal by Rufer and a goal by Payne we do not do that, especially that Italiano does not encourage it.
In the game against Perth Salas fired a shot in anger that reminded me very much of what Carlos Hernandez could do - suddenly shoot with a tremendous force instead of an expected pass or a dribble.

Our lack of long range shots is pretty deliberate, I think, given Chief's philosophy of creating high % chances - which pot shots from outside the box generally aren't. 

But you're right, with the right player in the side, the % of scoring from distance increases, though one off target long ranger doesn't mean Salas is that guy. Which is fine, he looks the business in other areas as it is.

Judging by Chiefy's press conference today. Reading between the lines. He seems to see  Kraev as the most important player followed by Zawada.... Stating the obvious aren't I?

kungfu panda

Judging by Chiefy's press conference today. Reading between the lines. He seems to see  Kraev as the most important player followed by Zawada.... Stating the obvious aren't I?

Yes I noticed that, and thought that was very interesting. He might see Kraev as fitting into different tactical formations on the field regardless who is otherwise available. There is a formation with Barbarouses, and there is a formation with Zawada, and Kraev can do wonders in either.  But Zawada can probably only play one type of tactical formation (my own observation).  With both Zawada and Kosta on the park things get complicated.

Mainland FC

kungfu panda

Judging by Chiefy's press conference today. Reading between the lines. He seems to see  Kraev as the most important player followed by Zawada.... Stating the obvious aren't I?

Yes I noticed that, and thought that was very interesting. He might see Kraev as fitting into different tactical formations on the field regardless who is otherwise available. There is a formation with Barbarouses, and there is a formation with Zawada, and Kraev can do wonders in either.  But Zawada can probably only play one type of tactical formation (my own observation).  With both Zawada and Kosta on the park things get complicated.

I think Kraev is the more versatile player, can be the creator but also play up fron if needed, he and Ball work really well together. Kraev plays as the link between the midfield and the front men really well. He and Kosta would be my must haves for next season, with Salas next on that list, assuming the rest of his season goes well.

Nelfoos

Mainland FC

If there is one thing that we were missing so far was a guy who can suddenly (without others anticipating it) suddenly unleash a stinging shot on goal. Apart from a goal by Rufer and a goal by Payne we do not do that, especially that Italiano does not encourage it.
In the game against Perth Salas fired a shot in anger that reminded me very much of what Carlos Hernandez could do - suddenly shoot with a tremendous force instead of an expected pass or a dribble.

Our lack of long range shots is pretty deliberate, I think, given Chief's philosophy of creating high % chances - which pot shots from outside the box generally aren't. 

But you're right, with the right player in the side, the % of scoring from distance increases, though one off target long ranger doesn't mean Salas is that guy. Which is fine, he looks the business in other areas as it is.

even if they're low % shots it's good to keep the opposition defence on their toes. Not your main strategy to score goals, but an option if there's space.

theprof

Mainland FC

kungfu panda

Judging by Chiefy's press conference today. Reading between the lines. He seems to see  Kraev as the most important player followed by Zawada.... Stating the obvious aren't I?

Yes I noticed that, and thought that was very interesting. He might see Kraev as fitting into different tactical formations on the field regardless who is otherwise available. There is a formation with Barbarouses, and there is a formation with Zawada, and Kraev can do wonders in either.  But Zawada can probably only play one type of tactical formation (my own observation).  With both Zawada and Kosta on the park things get complicated.

I think Kraev is the more versatile player, can be the creator but also play up fron if needed, he and Ball work really well together. Kraev plays as the link between the midfield and the front men really well. He and Kosta would be my must haves for next season, with Salas next on that list, assuming the rest of his season goes well.

  Kraev is very solid for the A-League. Vs CCM at home he was the best player for us easily.  So yes I'd agree, he's our most important player alongside Rufer for me! 

I've also bagged Ball a bit in the past.. but despite not scoring he runs his heart out! He's much better in our system this year... 

Nelfoos

Mainland FC

If there is one thing that we were missing so far was a guy who can suddenly (without others anticipating it) suddenly unleash a stinging shot on goal. Apart from a goal by Rufer and a goal by Payne we do not do that, especially that Italiano does not encourage it.
In the game against Perth Salas fired a shot in anger that reminded me very much of what Carlos Hernandez could do - suddenly shoot with a tremendous force instead of an expected pass or a dribble.

Our lack of long range shots is pretty deliberate, I think, given Chief's philosophy of creating high % chances - which pot shots from outside the box generally aren't. 

But you're right, with the right player in the side, the % of scoring from distance increases, though one off target long ranger doesn't mean Salas is that guy. Which is fine, he looks the business in other areas as it is.

I really liked Sutton for his long range shooting, he has a thunderous foot. He often sat outside the penalty area on corners ready to mop up any poor clearances - he has scored a few this way. Too bad has been injured so much and also doesn't get forward often enough to see those shots from him. 

Salas does look like a good shot taker too, fingers crossed he bags a worldie or two for us.

anaveragestem

Nelfoos

Mainland FC

If there is one thing that we were missing so far was a guy who can suddenly (without others anticipating it) suddenly unleash a stinging shot on goal. Apart from a goal by Rufer and a goal by Payne we do not do that, especially that Italiano does not encourage it.
In the game against Perth Salas fired a shot in anger that reminded me very much of what Carlos Hernandez could do - suddenly shoot with a tremendous force instead of an expected pass or a dribble.

Our lack of long range shots is pretty deliberate, I think, given Chief's philosophy of creating high % chances - which pot shots from outside the box generally aren't. 

But you're right, with the right player in the side, the % of scoring from distance increases, though one off target long ranger doesn't mean Salas is that guy. Which is fine, he looks the business in other areas as it is.

I really liked Sutton for his long range shooting, he has a thunderous foot. He often sat outside the penalty area on corners ready to mop up any poor clearances - he has scored a few this way. Too bad has been injured so much and also doesn't get forward often enough to see those shots from him. 

Salas does look like a good shot taker too, fingers crossed he bags a worldie or two for us.

And based on the Perth game, I can see how different LKH is to Sutton, and to what degree Sutton can be a valuable left winger for us even if LKH seems to be a better defender than Sutton already.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350185387/wellington-phoenix-coach-very-happy-four-league-men-points-road

He (Italiano) said “the momentum shifted significantly” when that pair entered the contest at the hour mark, shortly after new signing Youstin Salas came on for his second Phoenix appearance.

“I thought BK was excellent in the pocket, drawing the fullback in and then making more space for Payney.

“Then I thought Youstin as well gave us a lot of energy in the six. He was also supposed to step in the 10, but I was a little bit more liberal with him, because he's just come … into the team.

“Even at the end where he (Salas) lost the ball, and he hunted a player down and chased him all the way back down to the 18 yard box, I was really happy with that.

“Oz, I think on a better day with a little bit more feel a little bit more match conditioning, I think he finishes maybe one of those chances.”

While it’s hard to quibble with a point on the road, that did mean there was a sense the Phoenix might have been able to push more earlier, even with their injury woes, and one selection in particular stood out as curious – that of Fin Conchie over Oskar van Hattum on the right of a front three.

Italiano acknowledged afterwards that using Conchie – “more of a six (a holding midfielder)” – there “limited us to one side” in transition – the side where Ben Old again shone, though he lacked team-mates to create for before hitting the post himself midway through the second half.

Italiano said the deployment of Conchie there in his second league start was driven by Perth’s defensive approach.

“Sometimes they track with a winger coming down into a five, so in actual fact, I needed someone that was good off the (Perth defensive) line to pull that player in, in order for forward runs from (right wingback Tim Payne) or (centre forward David Ball).

If Salas scored a "Worldie" that got us into a Home Grand Final, it won't be the players carrying him off the pitch on their shoulders, It will be fans who'd have given him full legendary status.

So that was Sails first clean sheet of the season 'Typical'. But to his credit looks like he's pulled his head in after spending 10 matches on the bench as number 2 for Perth. Showing good focus.

To be fair he's a great goal keeper.  He just had a terrible start of the season.

It was tough, I want to see him succeed so it was good seeing him make some great saves.  Just sucks because I wanted him to miss one so the Nix could win haha

Bananas

To be fair he's a great goal keeper.  He just had a terrible start of the season.

It was tough, I want to see him succeed so it was good seeing him make some great saves.  Just sucks because I wanted him to miss one so the Nix could win haha

He has always been quality, his time with us was soured by the end of last season's performances which were clearly impacted by his decision to leave for Perth, it clearly took him a while to settle.

theprof

Bananas

To be fair he's a great goal keeper.  He just had a terrible start of the season.

It was tough, I want to see him succeed so it was good seeing him make some great saves.  Just sucks because I wanted him to miss one so the Nix could win haha

He has always been quality, his time with us was soured by the end of last season's performances which were clearly impacted by his decision to leave for Perth, it clearly took him a while to settle.

He just turned into an angry man last season and started fighting with people! 

Elemenop

theprof

Bananas

To be fair he's a great goal keeper.  He just had a terrible start of the season.

It was tough, I want to see him succeed so it was good seeing him make some great saves.  Just sucks because I wanted him to miss one so the Nix could win haha

He has always been quality, his time with us was soured by the end of last season's performances which were clearly impacted by his decision to leave for Perth, it clearly took him a while to settle.

He just turned into an angry man last season and started fighting with people! 

Right about the time he was made captain I believe

Walsall Boy

Elemenop

theprof

Bananas

To be fair he's a great goal keeper.  He just had a terrible start of the season.

It was tough, I want to see him succeed so it was good seeing him make some great saves.  Just sucks because I wanted him to miss one so the Nix could win haha

He has always been quality, his time with us was soured by the end of last season's performances which were clearly impacted by his decision to leave for Perth, it clearly took him a while to settle.

He just turned into an angry man last season and started fighting with people! 

Right about the time he was made captain I believe

And Triantis going through his knee after the whistle with no punishment.