Our lack of depth killed us in extra time. Victory have such a strong bench and that just allowed them to maintain the status quo the whole game. It's going to be even worse for us next season where it looks like we are losing a couple of players and not gaining anymore. The bench will just be kids that we are hoping come right.
Waking up the morning after feeling much better. What an atmosphere last night! Lets do it all again in a few months time - hopefully next season can be just as exciting 🤞
Our lack of depth killed us in extra time. Victory have such a strong bench and that just allowed them to maintain the status quo the whole game. It's going to be even worse for us next season where it looks like we are losing a couple of players and not gaining anymore. The bench will just be kids that we are hoping come right.
That's pretty much what we did this season though isn't it?
Unheralded kids coming in, and doing well. There is no reason we can't go and do this again - The lads that came in this season will also be better for the experience.
Could also be a financially more level playing field around the league next term, given the poor financial state of the league and the rumoured 80% cut in broadcast distributions.
Our lack of depth killed us in extra time. Victory have such a strong bench and that just allowed them to maintain the status quo the whole game. It's going to be even worse for us next season where it looks like we are losing a couple of players and not gaining anymore. The bench will just be kids that we are hoping come right.
That's pretty much what we did this season though isn't it?
Unheralded kids coming in, and doing well. There is no reason we can't go and do this again - The lads that came in this season will also be better for the experience.
Could also be a financially more level playing field around the league next term, given the poor financial state of the league and the rumoured 80% cut in broadcast distributions.
I love your optimism by not thinking that we over delivered this season and we not gonna fight for 6th spot like in most of the years before.
I genuinely think we've fudgeed our last chance to win something for quite a while. We have massively benefitted from under performing big clubs this season and there is zero guarantee that they continue that trend next season.
We had an xG of 1.06 with an GF of 1.48, an xGA of 1.77 with a GA of 0.97. All this points to the fact that we have massively overperformed our underlying numbers this season. This tracks with what we have seen on the pitch, especiall defensively.
Now I love a good goal line clearance as much as the next fella, be it from our red hot in form keeper, Surman, Wootton or mad tackles from Rufer, but the reality is that it is concerning that we give the opposition those chances in the first place. We've seen ourselves saved by the post quite a few times this year too and that's risky business when you usually only score one at the other end. All this is to say, as fantastic as it has been, that we have relied heavily on players being in form and doing things that they will statistically be unlikely to continue doing forever. Paulsen has saved our arses far too many times this season to be comfortable.
At the pointy end we lack goals overall. We need to score more going foward if we are going to continue to concede chances the way we do. 1-0 leads are dangerous as we know.
This is not to say I think the seasons been bad at all, its been amazing, but I think there are some stats that give me great concern and I really hope these issues will get fixed in the off season. We need to if we want another title run.
Kosta invisible after he messed up that chance early on. Just hit it low and hard ffs.
I honestly thought we lacked any urgency after going a goal down and into extra time. Pissing about along the back line is so boring and we didn’t create a lot. Nothing changed.
I hope Chiefy learns from this.
Agreed. Our plan B doesnt amount to much, even if it exists. It seems we feel we can only form an attack when our centre half has the ball, and all 11 opposition players are behind the ball.
Five at the back when you're down a goal in extra time is diabolical. All that possession along your backline while you lack any real incisive ability to move the ball into more dangerous areas did nothing to help us in that match. I don't think it's a good formation at all unless you have genuinely league beating wing backs.
I don't often think Chief has it wrong but I really disagree with the tactics he employed today. We didn't set up in a way that let us create chances well at all.
As an aside I wonder how many goals this season we've scored from counter attacks vs possession build up? I think our inability to do much with the ball when we have it for long periods of time has been one of the main reasons we've come up short.
And we still remain the only team with no silverware, very disappointing. Second doesn't mean shark in your trophy cabinet.
Yep, and the way we scored that equaliser emphasised that. We actually had three players up front, and the full back plays a decent long ball that the defence cant deal with .
Its not that hard , is it? Positive things happen when you are positive. The current style of football is so negative.
Well, thats how we have played all season, and its been relatively successful.
Result aside that was quite a night. A full stadium and bags of atmosphere. The noise when we equalised was staggering. It was quite emotional whilst applauding the players off...a complete stranger hugged me.
I think the club is well poised to go forward personally.
Many of the other clubs are going to learn to exist in a model we are already using and we know we have dependable players to bring in like Hughes and Lucas Kelly Heald.
I see very little difference between us and the Mariners who have shown it is possible.
I genuinely think we've fudgeed our last chance to win something for quite a while. We have massively benefitted from under performing big clubs this season and there is zero guarantee that they continue that trend next season.
We had an xG of 1.06 with an GF of 1.48, an xGA of 1.77 with a GA of 0.97. All this points to the fact that we have massively overperformed our underlying numbers this season. This tracks with what we have seen on the pitch, especiall defensively.
Now I love a good goal line clearance as much as the next fella, be it from our red hot in form keeper, Surman, Wootton or mad tackles from Rufer, but the reality is that it is concerning that we give the opposition those chances in the first place. We've seen ourselves saved by the post quite a few times this year too and that's risky business when you usually only score one at the other end. All this is to say, as fantastic as it has been, that we have relied heavily on players being in form and doing things that they will statistically be unlikely to continue doing forever. Paulsen has saved our arses far too many times this season to be comfortable.
At the pointy end we lack goals overall. We need to score more going foward if we are going to continue to concede chances the way we do. 1-0 leads are dangerous as we know.
This is not to say I think the seasons been bad at all, its been amazing, but I think there are some stats that give me great concern and I really hope these issues will get fixed in the off season. We need to if we want another title run.
I'd say the post cost us more than saved us this season personally.
It was mostly a good game (the occasion aside) with a surprising number of really flat uninspiring patches on both sides; probably to be expected from two teams with good defences. I thought we marked Fornaroli out of the game really well. Kosta was similarly given a lot of attention, while Ben Old enjoyed a lot of freedom (or created it). To my eye we had more scoring chances than Victory, but they converted those they had. That to me was the overall difference, and I do not really agree with the chorus of criticism towards the team that was built effectively from scratch this season by a rookie coach. I think we overperformed overall. If Victory lost to us in the semifinals, their club could ask Poppa to resign. As it turned out we lost, but I would much rather that Italiano and Griffiths stayed on. I would give them both a medal. It was a good season.
While this season has given us some worries there are still some positives. Our rookie coach brought us our greatest season thus far so I'll love seeing what he doesn with us next season. We also have a lot of young players with promise such as Paulson, Surman and Old to name a few.
Yes it's concerning that we're losing some important attacking players in Zawad, Kraev and Kosta but I think there's still enough to keep us somewhat optimistic.
Look, Chief is still learning too. He's trying to work with the team at his disposal. This offseason I reckon he'll try to experiment more, now that he has a ful season under his belt and see what else he can get out of our team.
I genuinely think we've fudgeed our last chance to win something for quite a while. We have massively benefitted from under performing big clubs this season and there is zero guarantee that they continue that trend next season.
We had an xG of 1.06 with an GF of 1.48, an xGA of 1.77 with a GA of 0.97. All this points to the fact that we have massively overperformed our underlying numbers this season. This tracks with what we have seen on the pitch, especiall defensively.
Now I love a good goal line clearance as much as the next fella, be it from our red hot in form keeper, Surman, Wootton or mad tackles from Rufer, but the reality is that it is concerning that we give the opposition those chances in the first place. We've seen ourselves saved by the post quite a few times this year too and that's risky business when you usually only score one at the other end. All this is to say, as fantastic as it has been, that we have relied heavily on players being in form and doing things that they will statistically be unlikely to continue doing forever. Paulsen has saved our arses far too many times this season to be comfortable.
At the pointy end we lack goals overall. We need to score more going foward if we are going to continue to concede chances the way we do. 1-0 leads are dangerous as we know.
This is not to say I think the seasons been bad at all, its been amazing, but I think there are some stats that give me great concern and I really hope these issues will get fixed in the off season. We need to if we want another title run.
I always feel we have a good chance at the Australia Cup if we take it seriously - Most of the other A-League clubs don't so I don't see why we can't get some silverware there
It was mostly a good good game (occasion aside) with surprising number of really flat uninspiring patches on both sides; probably to be expected from two teams with good defences. I thought we marked Fornaroli out of the game really well. Kosta was similarly given a lot of attention, while Ben Old enjoyed a lot of freedom (or created it). To my eye we had more scoring chances than Victory, but they converted those they had. That to me was the overall difference, and I do not really agree with the chorus of criticism towards the team that was built effectively from scratch this season by a rookie coach. I think we overperformed overall. If Victory lost to us in the semifinals, their club could ask Poppa to resign. As it turned out we lost, but I would much rather that Italiano and Griffiths stayed on. I would give them both a medal. It was a good season.
Not sure I’ve seen a chorus of criticism?
Omg- Kosta and Kraev are gone too? Sauce? If true that’s our top 3 goal scorers gone and 25 goals with them.
upthenixforever obviously is hearing something different than Chiefy who sounds extremely confident that we will see Kosta in a nix shirt next season, listen to Chiefy's post match press conference
upthenixforever obviously is hearing something different than Chiefy who sounds extremely confident that we will see Kosta in a nix shirt next season, listen to Chiefy's post match press conference
Ta, I’d heard Kosta wanted to stay at least next season.
I genuinely think we've fudgeed our last chance to win something for quite a while. We have massively benefitted from under performing big clubs this season and there is zero guarantee that they continue that trend next season.
We had an xG of 1.06 with an GF of 1.48, an xGA of 1.77 with a GA of 0.97. All this points to the fact that we have massively overperformed our underlying numbers this season. This tracks with what we have seen on the pitch, especiall defensively.
Now I love a good goal line clearance as much as the next fella, be it from our red hot in form keeper, Surman, Wootton or mad tackles from Rufer, but the reality is that it is concerning that we give the opposition those chances in the first place. We've seen ourselves saved by the post quite a few times this year too and that's risky business when you usually only score one at the other end. All this is to say, as fantastic as it has been, that we have relied heavily on players being in form and doing things that they will statistically be unlikely to continue doing forever. Paulsen has saved our arses far too many times this season to be comfortable.
At the pointy end we lack goals overall. We need to score more going foward if we are going to continue to concede chances the way we do. 1-0 leads are dangerous as we know.
This is not to say I think the seasons been bad at all, its been amazing, but I think there are some stats that give me great concern and I really hope these issues will get fixed in the off season. We need to if we want another title run.
I always feel we have a good chance at the Australia Cup if we take it seriously - Most of the other A-League clubs don't so I don't see why we can't get some silverware there
You make a fair point there. That might be the easiest one for us to target (and it would piss off the aussies something awful).
Lols - said with a sense of humor and understanding: Everybody despondent (and somewhat complaining) about the failure to deliver the silverware this season needs to relive the last 17 years. Where were you when we were shark? It has been an amazing season packed with seven routine starting kiwis, at least three more regular kiwi playing subs, a second place finish and the biggest game the club has ever hosted. All achieved with our arguably most important import (and only natural penalty taker) out for half the season, including most of the pointy end. Yep, it might have been. But, as they say, that's football. We got mighty close. Welnix has steadily improved the footing of this side. We can hope (but not be guaranteed) better things to come. I admire your desire and even demands for more. But, enjoy this one. It's been good. And years of work have gone into building the club up to what we've achieved this year and so far. I'll be back. Hoping to see even better. But there nevertheless.
I genuinely think we've fudgeed our last chance to win something for quite a while. We have massively benefitted from under performing big clubs this season and there is zero guarantee that they continue that trend next season.
We had an xG of 1.06 with an GF of 1.48, an xGA of 1.77 with a GA of 0.97. All this points to the fact that we have massively overperformed our underlying numbers this season. This tracks with what we have seen on the pitch, especiall defensively.
Now I love a good goal line clearance as much as the next fella, be it from our red hot in form keeper, Surman, Wootton or mad tackles from Rufer, but the reality is that it is concerning that we give the opposition those chances in the first place. We've seen ourselves saved by the post quite a few times this year too and that's risky business when you usually only score one at the other end. All this is to say, as fantastic as it has been, that we have relied heavily on players being in form and doing things that they will statistically be unlikely to continue doing forever. Paulsen has saved our arses far too many times this season to be comfortable.
At the pointy end we lack goals overall. We need to score more going foward if we are going to continue to concede chances the way we do. 1-0 leads are dangerous as we know.
This is not to say I think the seasons been bad at all, its been amazing, but I think there are some stats that give me great concern and I really hope these issues will get fixed in the off season. We need to if we want another title run.
"We have massively benefitted from underperforming big clubs" - what does that even mean? It's like saying the only reason we were successful was because the glamour clubs just happened to be crap this season, which is absolute nonsense. If anything it's proof positive our tactical set up was so well thought out and executed that we finished well clear of all the other clubs bar one.
Surely that's the very nature of a football league: over the course of a whole season the team with the best overall combination of defence, attack, tactics, player quality, coaching, etc etc will rise to the top. It's simply impossible to argue that finishing with the best defence in the league after a whole season is down to freakish xg anomalies or the ball hitting the woodwork.
Could you say we overperformed this season? Absolutely, everyone would agree, but that's to be celebrated, not diminished by quibbling over statistics. It's certainly not going to ruin my fantastic memories of this season that Traore finally managed to get his thousandth pot shot in the back of the net after ten years of trying.
I genuinely think we've fudgeed our last chance to win something for quite a while. We have massively benefitted from under performing big clubs this season and there is zero guarantee that they continue that trend next season.
We had an xG of 1.06 with an GF of 1.48, an xGA of 1.77 with a GA of 0.97. All this points to the fact that we have massively overperformed our underlying numbers this season. This tracks with what we have seen on the pitch, especiall defensively.
Now I love a good goal line clearance as much as the next fella, be it from our red hot in form keeper, Surman, Wootton or mad tackles from Rufer, but the reality is that it is concerning that we give the opposition those chances in the first place. We've seen ourselves saved by the post quite a few times this year too and that's risky business when you usually only score one at the other end. All this is to say, as fantastic as it has been, that we have relied heavily on players being in form and doing things that they will statistically be unlikely to continue doing forever. Paulsen has saved our arses far too many times this season to be comfortable.
At the pointy end we lack goals overall. We need to score more going foward if we are going to continue to concede chances the way we do. 1-0 leads are dangerous as we know.
This is not to say I think the seasons been bad at all, its been amazing, but I think there are some stats that give me great concern and I really hope these issues will get fixed in the off season. We need to if we want another title run.
"We have massively benefitted from underperforming big clubs" - what does that even mean? It's like saying the only reason we were successful was because the glamour clubs just happened to be crap this season, which is absolute nonsense. If anything it's proof positive our tactical set up was so well thought out and executed that we finished well clear of all the other clubs bar one.
Surely that's the very nature of a football league: over the course of a whole season the team with the best overall combination of defence, attack, tactics, player quality, coaching, etc etc will rise to the top. It's simply impossible to argue that finishing with the best defence in the league after a whole season is down to freakish xg anomalies or the ball hitting the woodwork.
Could you say we overperformed this season? Absolutely, everyone would agree, but that's to be celebrated, not diminished by quibbling over statistics. It's certainly not going to ruin my fantastic memories of this season that Traore finally managed to get his thousandth pot shot in the back of the net after ten years of trying.
I'm with Outpost on this one. Sydney FC, the Melbourne teams have been weaker this season and it opened the door for other clubs to step up - us included. Chiefy made the most out of a young team by playing defensively on the counter. It's worked for the most part but when it mattered (Final game against CCM where we lost the premiership and last night our chance of making the GF) our lack of ability to control games and score goals other than from a counter attack showed.
Having said that we have produced some really really good young talent (Old, Paulsen, Surman, Sutton etc) and that, along with some good imports have got us to a historic season. We just lacked that last bit of firepower up front. Maybe a fully fit Zawada would have won us silverware this year who knows?
Looking forward to next season, a lot depends on who stays and who goes. Kosta has been absolutely massive this year for us. If he leaves we might have a problem next year.
Lols - said with a sense of humor and understanding: Everybody despondent (and somewhat complaining) about the failure to deliver the silverware this season needs to relive the last 17 years. Where were you when we were shark? It has been an amazing season packed with seven routine starting kiwis, at least three more regular kiwi playing subs, a second place finish and the biggest game the club has ever hosted. All achieved with our arguably most important import (and only natural penalty taker) out for half the season, including most of the pointy end. Yep, it might have been. But, as they say, that's football. We got mighty close. Welnix has steadily improved the footing of this side. We can hope (but not be guaranteed) better things to come. I admire your desire and even demands for more. But, enjoy this one. It's been good. And years of work have gone into building the club up to what we've achieved this year and so far. I'll be back. Hoping to see even better. But there nevertheless.
I mean I've been at the stadium watching the team since day one, I think its ok for me to want more from the club. I've done my part. We're still the only club to never win anything.
I genuinely think we've fudgeed our last chance to win something for quite a while. We have massively benefitted from under performing big clubs this season and there is zero guarantee that they continue that trend next season.
We had an xG of 1.06 with an GF of 1.48, an xGA of 1.77 with a GA of 0.97. All this points to the fact that we have massively overperformed our underlying numbers this season. This tracks with what we have seen on the pitch, especiall defensively.
Now I love a good goal line clearance as much as the next fella, be it from our red hot in form keeper, Surman, Wootton or mad tackles from Rufer, but the reality is that it is concerning that we give the opposition those chances in the first place. We've seen ourselves saved by the post quite a few times this year too and that's risky business when you usually only score one at the other end. All this is to say, as fantastic as it has been, that we have relied heavily on players being in form and doing things that they will statistically be unlikely to continue doing forever. Paulsen has saved our arses far too many times this season to be comfortable.
At the pointy end we lack goals overall. We need to score more going foward if we are going to continue to concede chances the way we do. 1-0 leads are dangerous as we know.
This is not to say I think the seasons been bad at all, its been amazing, but I think there are some stats that give me great concern and I really hope these issues will get fixed in the off season. We need to if we want another title run.
"We have massively benefitted from underperforming big clubs" - what does that even mean? It's like saying the only reason we were successful was because the glamour clubs just happened to be crap this season, which is absolute nonsense. If anything it's proof positive our tactical set up was so well thought out and executed that we finished well clear of all the other clubs bar one.
Surely that's the very nature of a football league: over the course of a whole season the team with the best overall combination of defence, attack, tactics, player quality, coaching, etc etc will rise to the top. It's simply impossible to argue that finishing with the best defence in the league after a whole season is down to freakish xg anomalies or the ball hitting the woodwork.
Could you say we overperformed this season? Absolutely, everyone would agree, but that's to be celebrated, not diminished by quibbling over statistics. It's certainly not going to ruin my fantastic memories of this season that Traore finally managed to get his thousandth pot shot in the back of the net after ten years of trying.
Yes we benefitted because the big clubs underperformed, you can even argue with that the stats and table agree with it.
Any yes it is possible that our defense went so well because of freakish overperfomance by a lot of our team. I'd argue that a better defense wouldn't conceed the chances we do.
We can simultaneously have had a great season in actuality and a poor season statistically at the same time, it's not either or.
The question is do we continue to drastically overperform next season. Statistically it's unlikely. We'll need tactical changes to solidify things.
I genuinely think we've fudgeed our last chance to win something for quite a while. We have massively benefitted from under performing big clubs this season and there is zero guarantee that they continue that trend next season.
We had an xG of 1.06 with an GF of 1.48, an xGA of 1.77 with a GA of 0.97. All this points to the fact that we have massively overperformed our underlying numbers this season. This tracks with what we have seen on the pitch, especiall defensively.
Now I love a good goal line clearance as much as the next fella, be it from our red hot in form keeper, Surman, Wootton or mad tackles from Rufer, but the reality is that it is concerning that we give the opposition those chances in the first place. We've seen ourselves saved by the post quite a few times this year too and that's risky business when you usually only score one at the other end. All this is to say, as fantastic as it has been, that we have relied heavily on players being in form and doing things that they will statistically be unlikely to continue doing forever. Paulsen has saved our arses far too many times this season to be comfortable.
At the pointy end we lack goals overall. We need to score more going foward if we are going to continue to concede chances the way we do. 1-0 leads are dangerous as we know.
This is not to say I think the seasons been bad at all, its been amazing, but I think there are some stats that give me great concern and I really hope these issues will get fixed in the off season. We need to if we want another title run.
"We have massively benefitted from underperforming big clubs" - what does that even mean? It's like saying the only reason we were successful was because the glamour clubs just happened to be crap this season, which is absolute nonsense. If anything it's proof positive our tactical set up was so well thought out and executed that we finished well clear of all the other clubs bar one.
Surely that's the very nature of a football league: over the course of a whole season the team with the best overall combination of defence, attack, tactics, player quality, coaching, etc etc will rise to the top. It's simply impossible to argue that finishing with the best defence in the league after a whole season is down to freakish xg anomalies or the ball hitting the woodwork.
Could you say we overperformed this season? Absolutely, everyone would agree, but that's to be celebrated, not diminished by quibbling over statistics. It's certainly not going to ruin my fantastic memories of this season that Traore finally managed to get his thousandth pot shot in the back of the net after ten years of trying.
I'm with Outpost on this one. Sydney FC, the Melbourne teams have been weaker this season and it opened the door for other clubs to step up - us included. Chiefy made the most out of a young team by playing defensively on the counter. It's worked for the most part but when it mattered (Final game against CCM where we lost the premiership and last night our chance of making the GF) our lack of ability to control games and score goals other than from a counter attack showed.
Having said that we have produced some really really good young talent (Old, Paulsen, Surman, Sutton etc) and that, along with some good imports have got us to a historic season. We just lacked that last bit of firepower up front. Maybe a fully fit Zawada would have won us silverware this year who knows?
Looking forward to next season, a lot depends on who stays and who goes. Kosta has been absolutely massive this year for us. If he leaves we might have a problem next year.
So you agree that the big clubs have underperformed? That's literally my entire point.
Do you think we can rely on them to do that next season?
Can someone remind me how long this feeling of sadness and disappointment takes to go? So that's 3-2 now with home play offs, horrible it happened with a crowd of 33,295 as well. Not sure how many of those will be back.
The big clubs (VUC, Melb City, SFC & WSW), didn't hugely under perform though.
VUC finished 3rd, and were tough to beat all season obviously for the Nix. Into the Grand Final. Not sure I see them getting much stronger next season. It's rumoured they want Poppa to take a $300K paycut for starters. And they still have a sizeable loan with the APL the fudgeers should be made to repay.
Uffy similar with SFC (4th, only a pt behind VUC). Again tough to beat all season for us, and very unlucky not to take their 2nd leg game in Gosford to ET. The Mariners had the rub of the green last night.
But in the new pauper ALM environment VUC, SFC & Melb City (6th), may not be that much richer than the smaller clubs. MC yes did under perform, but Maclaren if in decline is still a big loss. He still got 10 goals this campaign. Many of their big names like Leckie & Nabbout barely played. That previously dominant team is aging & being unwound
MAC (5th) are likely to start next season a bit of a mess. WSW (7th) a bigger club, and sans the half crazy Rudan - could finally get themselves back up the table.
The Mariners boosted by their $2M plus AFC Cup winnings, will be right up there again. But they will also like us be selling a few players. Farrell, Nisbet etc. Torres & his 13 goals are already gone.
Yipe it will be very hard to repeat this season, but there is a reason that other clubs are looking at the model of Mariners and Nix. And fans should be proud of that. Imitation the sincerest form of flattery.
Oh & should mention AFC I guess. They will likely be a playoff a contender from the get go. Be very interesting to see what marquees they sign. Would rather Zawada went to them than across the ditch. If they are consistently winning and taking points off the Aussie teams I'll be happy. Two NZ teams in the playoffs would be great.
They underperformed in part because we and CCM outplayed them. It’s simply defeatist to say otherwise.
Over the course of the years in the salary capped league ALL the clubs have had turns at being the big club.
CC had a golden generation before, as did Newcastle. We had Roly, Burns, Krishna, McG and top of the table, which was brief, but we were the best.
Look at Manchester United. They’re playing a King Canute game. Hold back the sea. They want to be a great club all the time, rather than the natural ebb and flow. After the 60s they were even relegated. This naturally causes a clear out. As it is they’re a kind of zombie club, not able to renew themselves.
I think the biggest question is did we over perform, or did we just over perform based on initial expectations.
If our youngsters did over perform then next year might be rough, a la the Wahs current season.
If we over performed because our youngsters were underrated then next year could be another banger.
At the end of the day, only 1 team can win and 11 teams worth of fans will be disappointed in their team not being better.
I had a fudgeing great time watching the Nix this season and am eternally grateful for the hard yards our team put in. Crossed fingers next year is another banger.
“The available money we have doesn’t allow us to retain every player that we want.
“Because we’ve done well, the market has pushed the value of those players up and I want to reinvest some of that money into the younger players longer-term.
“Every club is in a different position,” Italiano said.
“There are still some clubs spending a lot of money next year and some that unfortunately that have to make some cuts. I think that’s a reality for a couple of clubs.
“We have a very good owner and a very good football committee who have put a lot of investment into the club and they want to be competitive again, but again with a re-emphasis on youth and building on what we’ve done.”
I’m still digesting the loss and I’m sure it’ll take some time to come to terms with. But to tell the truth, it doesn’t hurt as badly as I thought it might.
I’ve seen some people deriding the club and players, saying this was our last chance at silverware etc etc, but to me this really feels like the beginning of a new era.
Silverware or not, this has been our best ever season by every single measure. Chief is at the helm, the academy is firing on all cylinders and we’ve just had a season that we’ve been waiting 17 years for.
There’s something special about this club. Seeing 33k fans out there cheering on the boys as they gave their all for 120 minutes straight reinforced for me what this club is all about.
The Fever march, the non-stop chants, the passion and energy on the field, the huge number of homegrown players and the respect shown to and by the players at the end. We’re not just a group of mercenaries representing the city, we’re a real hometown club that genuinely represents the city and the fans.
These two pictures sum up everything that this club is about. We’re paving the way forward for NZ football, and we’re doing it together.
Roll on October, we’ll do it all again and we’ll smash Auckland on the way.
Lols - said with a sense of humor and understanding: Everybody despondent (and somewhat complaining) about the failure to deliver the silverware this season needs to relive the last 17 years. Where were you when we were shark? It has been an amazing season packed with seven routine starting kiwis, at least three more regular kiwi playing subs, a second place finish and the biggest game the club has ever hosted. All achieved with our arguably most important import (and only natural penalty taker) out for half the season, including most of the pointy end. Yep, it might have been. But, as they say, that's football. We got mighty close. Welnix has steadily improved the footing of this side. We can hope (but not be guaranteed) better things to come. I admire your desire and even demands for more. But, enjoy this one. It's been good. And years of work have gone into building the club up to what we've achieved this year and so far. I'll be back. Hoping to see even better. But there nevertheless.
I mean I've been at the stadium watching the team since day one, I think its ok for me to want more from the club. I've done my part. We're still the only club to never win anything.
Just to repeat: " I admire your desire and even demands for more. But enjoy this one. It's been good."
Well what a rollercoaster. Can not fault the intent and 90% of our play but it just didn't quite happen in front of goal when it needed to. Never a pen for the handball but we blew it anyway. Feel like Kraev and Salas absolutely must hit the target with those two headed chances from perfect balls in from Old. But oh my jesus the zawada goal I almost shark my pants.
Just seen highlights off the match. That was very weak defending by Payne, for the first, and Surman for number two. Very good headers from van Hattum and Kosta leading to the Phoenix goal. Kraev definitely should have scored with his head earlier on, but seemed to shy away from the challenge...Old should have scored, too. Lack of composure under pressure?
