5 subs are allowed at this comp. Which I think is a good call considering humidity and quick turn around of games.
Yes five subs is good that why I was surprised we only used 3, Australia used 4 and both Sweden and the USA used all 5.
USA and Sweden have more depth than us. And I thought we were doing ok with the team we had on at the end there. Could have bought on Longo, but for who? Longo might get a start next game, she has a bit more hustle about her than Chance. Chance generally has very good control and pass, but she didn't get involved in the game enough for me.
The difference between the two sides is huge. The score line could have been a cricket score if it wasn’t for some great saves and last minute desperate defence. I guess they will improve over time, as they play more. But the lack of any clear game plan was evident. Relaying on long balls, then trying to switch it to open up space, then trying to defend with 5 defenders.. it was all a bit weird.
does that beg the question 'what have the coaches been doing for the past year'?
The difference between the two sides is huge. The score line could have been a cricket score if it wasn’t for some great saves and last minute desperate defence. I guess they will improve over time, as they play more. But the lack of any clear game plan was evident. Relaying on long balls, then trying to switch it to open up space, then trying to defend with 5 defenders.. it was all a bit weird.
does that beg the question 'what have the coaches been doing for the past year'?
Folks make it sound like Sermanni had a myriad options with how it setup the team. He has 2 huge obstacles - almost a non existent buildup (so a very rusty team with some players not match fit), plus a basic lower level skill level of his players.
First obstacle will be negated with games together, 2nd he can basically do squat about since most of his first choice players are age 25+
Matildas managed often to work themselves free of Ferns high press with quick one touch passes, and players moving into space. They often found acres of freedom in midfield.
A Ferns player in contrast would most often trap the ball, take a touch and only then try to find a team mate. More often than not the only safe option came to be to hoof it forward. It was hard to watch most of the time.
It’s only when a younger female generation of far more technical players emerge that Ferns have much hope of competing and playing a better brand of football against the bigger teams.
The difference between the two sides is huge. The score line could have been a cricket score if it wasn’t for some great saves and last minute desperate defence. I guess they will improve over time, as they play more. But the lack of any clear game plan was evident. Relaying on long balls, then trying to switch it to open up space, then trying to defend with 5 defenders.. it was all a bit weird.
does that beg the question 'what have the coaches been doing for the past year'?
Realistically what could they have been doing?
you'd be content if nothing positive had been done by Sermanni or Bernie Righto. Maybe arriving at the game with the best formation and players on the park might have been a good start (it worked better at the end)? Having instructions that didn't have balls sprayed forward giving WIlkinson no chance? I don't even know what the formation was there. Nah all good - give the coaching team a free pass and Tom a tickertape parade on departure.
Just highlighting that a large number of the mens 2019 U20s & this U24 Olympic team came through Weenix & Ole.
I guess relationships like Ole setting up a base in Taranaki will help. But will unfortunately never be as good as being in Porrirua, where you will be just surrounded by more better class players every day at training, during those important development years. As opposed to be a big fish in a smaller, less talented pond like the Naki, ChCh or wherever.
I'm sure NZF are only too aware of this, and they certainly seem keen to work with the Nix to get a W League team off the ground. That will naturally draw some young talented girls to Wellington. Maybe NZF can help with school scholarships etc to help reduce costs.
I agree the Ole and Nix are the best academies as shown by age group representation. And it is good to see these academies spreading there wings to more regional areas. So hopefully the regional pathways continue to grow with the help of NZF. Just don't want to see NZ representation become something only attainable by the wealthy. We only have a small pool. Need to identify and nurture as much talent as we possibly can by building those pathways.
Re football for the wealthy: Unfortunately in NZ (and Austrarlya) it is. Development in the game is not so much for the wealthy, but at least for the middle class. The crime here is that a lot of the kids, with passion for the game, come from the wrong side of the tracks. It's a difficult thing to overcome given the current financial setup of the game on both sides of the ditch. In my view the semi-pro clubs are the biggest single culprits. The money goes up, from the kids to the first team players. There is some Govt funding but minimal sponsorship. In academies, good coaches want to be mildly rewarded and the only way is for their client's (kid's parents) to pay. Add into that the fact that there is little street football culture in either country, as in England or Brazil for instance, then it's hard for kids to develop when other codes dominate. Even if one has has the readies. one has to be very much an out of the box thinker to overcome all the issues to develop the potential.
Just highlighting that a large number of the mens 2019 U20s & this U24 Olympic team came through Weenix & Ole.
I guess relationships like Ole setting up a base in Taranaki will help. But will unfortunately never be as good as being in Porrirua, where you will be just surrounded by more better class players every day at training, during those important development years. As opposed to be a big fish in a smaller, less talented pond like the Naki, ChCh or wherever.
I'm sure NZF are only too aware of this, and they certainly seem keen to work with the Nix to get a W League team off the ground. That will naturally draw some young talented girls to Wellington. Maybe NZF can help with school scholarships etc to help reduce costs.
I agree the Ole and Nix are the best academies as shown by age group representation. And it is good to see these academies spreading there wings to more regional areas. So hopefully the regional pathways continue to grow with the help of NZF. Just don't want to see NZ representation become something only attainable by the wealthy. We only have a small pool. Need to identify and nurture as much talent as we possibly can by building those pathways.
Re football for the wealthy: Unfortunately in NZ (and Austrarlya) it is. Development in the game is not so much for the wealthy, but at least for the middle class. The crime here is that a lot of the kids, with passion for the game, come from the wrong side of the tracks. It's a difficult thing to overcome given the current financial setup of the game on both sides of the ditch. In my view the semi-pro clubs are the biggest single culprits. The money goes up, from the kids to the first team players. There is some Govt funding but minimal sponsorship. In academies, good coaches want to be mildly rewarded and the only way is for their client's (kid's parents) to pay. Add into that the fact that there is little street football culture in either country, as in England or Brazil for instance, then it's hard for kids to develop when other codes dominate. Even if one has has the readies. one has to be very much an out of the box thinker to overcome all the issues to develop the potential.
In my 14 years of UK life, I've yet to see a single game of Street footie played here. The 5/7 aside Goals pitches and the dream of being the next Becks, Rooney, Sterling, Kane etc. is what drives them on.
Football is the life blood of England and Brazil while for us it's rugby. England has the same issue with rugby and cricket that we have for football.
Just highlighting that a large number of the mens 2019 U20s & this U24 Olympic team came through Weenix & Ole.
I guess relationships like Ole setting up a base in Taranaki will help. But will unfortunately never be as good as being in Porrirua, where you will be just surrounded by more better class players every day at training, during those important development years. As opposed to be a big fish in a smaller, less talented pond like the Naki, ChCh or wherever.
I'm sure NZF are only too aware of this, and they certainly seem keen to work with the Nix to get a W League team off the ground. That will naturally draw some young talented girls to Wellington. Maybe NZF can help with school scholarships etc to help reduce costs.
I agree the Ole and Nix are the best academies as shown by age group representation. And it is good to see these academies spreading there wings to more regional areas. So hopefully the regional pathways continue to grow with the help of NZF. Just don't want to see NZ representation become something only attainable by the wealthy. We only have a small pool. Need to identify and nurture as much talent as we possibly can by building those pathways.
Re football for the wealthy: Unfortunately in NZ (and Austrarlya) it is. Development in the game is not so much for the wealthy, but at least for the middle class. The crime here is that a lot of the kids, with passion for the game, come from the wrong side of the tracks. It's a difficult thing to overcome given the current financial setup of the game on both sides of the ditch. In my view the semi-pro clubs are the biggest single culprits. The money goes up, from the kids to the first team players. There is some Govt funding but minimal sponsorship. In academies, good coaches want to be mildly rewarded and the only way is for their client's (kid's parents) to pay. Add into that the fact that there is little street football culture in either country, as in England or Brazil for instance, then it's hard for kids to develop when other codes dominate. Even if one has has the readies. one has to be very much an out of the box thinker to overcome all the issues to develop the potential.
In my 14 years of UK life, I've yet to see a single game of Street footie played here. The 5/7 aside Goals pitches and the dream of being the next Becks, Rooney, Sterling, Kane etc. is what drives them on.
Football is the life blood of England and Brazil while for us it's rugby. England has the same issue with rugby and cricket that we have for football.
Marto
COnst
Ranix
coochiee
Just highlighting that a large number of the mens 2019 U20s & this U24 Olympic team came through Weenix & Ole.
I guess relationships like Ole setting up a base in Taranaki will help. But will unfortunately never be as good as being in Porrirua, where you will be just surrounded by more better class players every day at training, during those important development years. As opposed to be a big fish in a smaller, less talented pond like the Naki, ChCh or wherever.
I'm sure NZF are only too aware of this, and they certainly seem keen to work with the Nix to get a W League team off the ground. That will naturally draw some young talented girls to Wellington. Maybe NZF can help with school scholarships etc to help reduce costs.
I agree the Ole and Nix are the best academies as shown by age group representation. And it is good to see these academies spreading there wings to more regional areas. So hopefully the regional pathways continue to grow with the help of NZF. Just don't want to see NZ representation become something only attainable by the wealthy. We only have a small pool. Need to identify and nurture as much talent as we possibly can by building those pathways.
Re football for the wealthy: Unfortunately in NZ (and Austrarlya) it is. Development in the game is not so much for the wealthy, but at least for the middle class. The crime here is that a lot of the kids, with passion for the game, come from the wrong side of the tracks. It's a difficult thing to overcome given the current financial setup of the game on both sides of the ditch. In my view the semi-pro clubs are the biggest single culprits. The money goes up, from the kids to the first team players. There is some Govt funding but minimal sponsorship. In academies, good coaches want to be mildly rewarded and the only way is for their client's (kid's parents) to pay. Add into that the fact that there is little street football culture in either country, as in England or Brazil for instance, then it's hard for kids to develop when other codes dominate. Even if one has has the readies. one has to be very much an out of the box thinker to overcome all the issues to develop the potential.
In my 14 years of UK life, I've yet to see a single game of Street footie played here. The 5/7 aside Goals pitches and the dream of being the next Becks, Rooney, Sterling, Kane etc. is what drives them on.
Football is the life blood of England and Brazil while for us it's rugby. England has the same issue with rugby and cricket that we have for football.
For men, England won the last cricket world cup & made final of rugby world cup after thrashing NZ in semi. Not sure our football issues are much of a comparison to these examples.
Just highlighting that a large number of the mens 2019 U20s & this U24 Olympic team came through Weenix & Ole.
I guess relationships like Ole setting up a base in Taranaki will help. But will unfortunately never be as good as being in Porrirua, where you will be just surrounded by more better class players every day at training, during those important development years. As opposed to be a big fish in a smaller, less talented pond like the Naki, ChCh or wherever.
I'm sure NZF are only too aware of this, and they certainly seem keen to work with the Nix to get a W League team off the ground. That will naturally draw some young talented girls to Wellington. Maybe NZF can help with school scholarships etc to help reduce costs.
I agree the Ole and Nix are the best academies as shown by age group representation. And it is good to see these academies spreading there wings to more regional areas. So hopefully the regional pathways continue to grow with the help of NZF. Just don't want to see NZ representation become something only attainable by the wealthy. We only have a small pool. Need to identify and nurture as much talent as we possibly can by building those pathways.
Re football for the wealthy: Unfortunately in NZ (and Austrarlya) it is. Development in the game is not so much for the wealthy, but at least for the middle class. The crime here is that a lot of the kids, with passion for the game, come from the wrong side of the tracks. It's a difficult thing to overcome given the current financial setup of the game on both sides of the ditch. In my view the semi-pro clubs are the biggest single culprits. The money goes up, from the kids to the first team players. There is some Govt funding but minimal sponsorship. In academies, good coaches want to be mildly rewarded and the only way is for their client's (kid's parents) to pay. Add into that the fact that there is little street football culture in either country, as in England or Brazil for instance, then it's hard for kids to develop when other codes dominate. Even if one has has the readies. one has to be very much an out of the box thinker to overcome all the issues to develop the potential.
Street football is not really our thing. But reckon we should be doing more to promote futsal in the off season. If it can be free/cheap and fun. I did a lot of out of season futsal for youth at the school gym. Nothing to serious, focus on fun. was popular with the kids and great for first touch ball control. Just need keen clubs/parents to drive it and a cheap venue and the kids will turn up.
In South America there is street football, but also little concrete football futsal pitches, in every neighbourhood, or small town. And they are played on from dawn to dusk. Heading the ball just doesn't happen, it's all on the ground. Basically all the social level football seems to be concrete 5 aside.
Full size grass pitches in Lima, Peru (a virtual desert), for example are actually pretty rare.
Yeah it's off topic, but in a circular QI way brings you back to the fact, the Ferns are a middling international side that can be hard to watch, mostly due to the poor technical ability of the players. They only really get to the Olympics because they have the easiest qualifying path in international football. Watching someone like Anna Green, in that first half was cringeworthy for an international footballer male or female.
Yeah sure Sermanni/Birnie can tinker. Bring on Rennie and/or Satchell earlier. Start one of them even maybe. Same Longo. Start with a back 4 - read they switched from 5 to 4 at the back sometime 2nd half, against Matildas. But it's a lazy agrument just to put blame on the coaches.
Only when you get some female Just, Stamenic, Singh, Bell like equivalents who can play on the deck with speed & movement, coming out the top 2 academies will there be any improvement. Shame Maya Hahn chucked in her lot with Germany.
While Hahn said the Under-17 World Cup was one of the best experiences of her life, she has made no secret of the fact she was becoming increasingly disillusioned by the women's game in New Zealand.
As a ball-playing midfielder from the Ole Football Academy, she said the long-ball tactics deployed by most New Zealand teams were diminishing her love for the sport.
"Going into camp, it wasn't like it was fun being there. I love football so much but when I go into that environment I don't really love football that much, and that's the important thing — that I'm having fun.
"I felt when I was in Germany, despite being with a completely new group of people and the different language I was having fun playing football and enjoying it, which is important.
Mention stuff that has been known for years that no coach has chosen to change - and then mention an average footballer as our could have been our salvation. Yawn.
Solely critcising Football Ferns coaches, who get to work with technically deficient players for what 2-3 weeks a year max if they are lucky - double yawn.
It's not for Sermanni and co to improve the technical ability of their players, that needs to begin years earlier. It's too late by the time they come into the Ferns environment.
Solely critcising Football Ferns coaches, who get to work with technically deficient players for what 2-3 weeks a year max if they are lucky - double yawn.
It's not for Sermanni and co to improve the technical ability of their players, that needs to begin years earlier. It's too late by the time they come into the Ferns environment.
I have to disagree to a certain extent. We have a couple of very talented ball players who unfortunately havent been given the right style of football to show what they can do. Des Buckingham with the mens u23s showed what some of our players are capable of if given the right platform. Annalie Longo, Betsy Hassett, Ali Riley, Katie Bowen, Ria Percival, Olivia Chance, Daisy Cleverley to name a few are players all capable of much more than long ball tactics asks of them.
Solely critcising Football Ferns coaches, who get to work with technically deficient players for what 2-3 weeks a year max if they are lucky - double yawn.
It's not for Sermanni and co to improve the technical ability of their players, that needs to begin years earlier. It's too late by the time they come into the Ferns environment.
I have to disagree to a certain extent. We have a couple of very talented ball players who unfortunately havent been given the right style of football to show what they can do. Des Buckingham with the mens u23s showed what some of our players are capable of if given the right platform. Annalie Longo, Betsy Hassett, Ali Riley, Katie Bowen, Ria Percival, Olivia Chance, Daisy Cleverley to name a few are players all capable of much more than long ball tactics asks of them.
Solely critcising Football Ferns coaches, who get to work with technically deficient players for what 2-3 weeks a year max if they are lucky - double yawn.
It's not for Sermanni and co to improve the technical ability of their players, that needs to begin years earlier. It's too late by the time they come into the Ferns environment.
I have to disagree to a certain extent. We have a couple of very talented ball players who unfortunately havent been given the right style of football to show what they can do. Des Buckingham with the mens u23s showed what some of our players are capable of if given the right platform. Annalie Longo, Betsy Hassett, Ali Riley, Katie Bowen, Ria Percival, Olivia Chance, Daisy Cleverley to name a few are players all capable of much more than long ball tactics asks of them.
And Emma Rolston
Her and Green were there during those prime development years say ages 12-17?
See Green is now age 30, so she was at Weenix 13-15 years ago? Fair enough if so, I just didn't think Weenix Academy had been taking in girls that long.
Solely critcising Football Ferns coaches, who get to work with technically deficient players for what 2-3 weeks a year max if they are lucky - double yawn.
It's not for Sermanni and co to improve the technical ability of their players, that needs to begin years earlier. It's too late by the time they come into the Ferns environment.
I have to disagree to a certain extent. We have a couple of very talented ball players who unfortunately havent been given the right style of football to show what they can do. Des Buckingham with the mens u23s showed what some of our players are capable of if given the right platform. Annalie Longo, Betsy Hassett, Ali Riley, Katie Bowen, Ria Percival, Olivia Chance, Daisy Cleverley to name a few are players all capable of much more than long ball tactics asks of them.
For sure Ferns have been hugely handicapped by limited time together, only one warmup game, and a number of players being out of season/lacking match fitrness. Riley seemed to come into the game more late on, and she's mid season in NWSL. Erceg easily Ferns MOM, also coming from the NWSL.
But the old trap the ball, take a touch and only then look to pass was just oh so common. Others will know far more than me but I can't think of a Ferns coach, who's tried to play a more possession based game. Is that just because they believe they don't have the players? Sermanni is vastly experienced in the women's game. He will be well aware of the expectations that now are on Hay his counterpart in the mens game, to rightly not play route one.
Why does it matter who I am. Why is that even important. But somewhere in your scribblings is a back handed compliment, wrapped around a backhand, so I'll grab tightly onto that, as I know you are dying to tell me you are a bit of a big deal, so I'm eternally grateful.
But anyway he's a question for ya. Apart from sacking the coaches, what would you do to improve the Football Ferns? Because at the end of the day that's what we all want to see.
My suggestion is this. The next coach is given instructions to play passing football. No long ball. Live with the losses, keep playing passing football. We do have players who are capable but they wont improve until such a time as they work through the learning process of pass and move. Give the coach 4 years of being made to play passing football. The team will get better, they will learn to pass and move more effectively. We havent tried this before, what can it hurt?coochiee
Why does it matter who I am. Why is that even important.
But anyway he's a question for ya. Apart from sacking the coaches, what would you do to improve the Football Ferns? Because at the end of the day that's what we all want to see.
My suggestion is this. The next coach is given instructions to play passing football. No long ball. Live with the losses, keep playing passing football. We do have players who are capable but they wont improve until such a time as they work through the learning process of pass and move. Give the coach 4 years of being made to play passing football. The team will get better, they will learn to pass and move more effectively. We havent tried this before, what can it hurt?coochiee
Why does it matter who I am. Why is that even important.
But anyway he's a question for ya. Apart from sacking the coaches, what would you do to improve the Football Ferns? Because at the end of the day that's what we all want to see.
I don't think anyone wants to see the Ferns continue to be a hard watch. Though I reckon they actually tried to play more football last night.
Will always be limitations on what a senior international coach can do, when getting his/her players together for only 2-3 weeks in a year. Would make a lot of sense if the new Ferns coach is also the head honcho, at Nix W League team when it finally launches. That way they can work day in day out, with lots of Ferns players current & future. 2 years before home WC 2023 to work on some badly needed changes.
