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.
Wait we've got Western next? Oh god! What should have been 3 wins in a row on paper is now a 'let's just get a point' scenario for mine 😭
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.
You'd drop one of the ebst stoppers in the league because of two errors? Couple of games ago he was listed as being the keeper with the second most stops in the league which says that he's been called into making save more often than he probably should have been. Uli's goal should have been blocked by one if not all of the players (3) who made an attempt befpre the shot was made, if they'd done their jobs then Sail isnt called on. The miscomms wtih Surman was bad and he'll beat himself up about it I'm sure, in interviews with him he is clearly very tough on himself - and since not having the captaincy he has been back to his old self. Defence is a unit - keeper and his back 3/4/5 - there are so many little things going wrong with the defensive unit at the moment and unfortunately fixing one doesnt stop the leaking of goals. Communication between the group seems off, it has to satrt at the keeper and Sail never seems quiet, then its on your CB's to be working with their wide players and talking to the defensive mid - at the moment that's Rufer. Somewhere there's a disconnect. Defence has to start form the top, and I think our forwards do a pretty decent effort with this, once agin it comes down to our midfield (centrally in particular) not doing their defensive duties well enough, often, not always, they dont slow a break away down and it leaves the backs facing an opponent on the move with heaps of space, it also means that our wide backs are out of position because they've been in the attacking end of the field and are madly trackign back but are behind the play. (This is on all the CM's Rufer, Lewis and Ugarkovic). It's hard to identify the one big fix, cos there isnt really one. If tghere was it would be easy to sort. I think Uffie is right, it's not the squad, it's not the tactics, it's a mentality thing. This group, for whatever reason gets a goal and relaxes, and then find it difficult to get back into a game or keep the foot down. We've seen it all season. The one game we managed to keep the foot down we scored four! (November against MacArthur). This has been the only game where we have lead and controlled a game. For mine this isnt something the manager can fix on his own, it's a leadership thing in the team, that has to sit with the senior leaders in the team. Rufer/Sail/Ball in particular. They have been here for years, Capt and Vice captain and the senior import in the team. I like that they are enjoying their footy and seem to have a good culture within the group, but the killer instict doenst seem to be there - during the game it's on these guys, Rufer in particular, to keep the team focussed and switched on - although it really shouldnt be that difficult.
This recent run of terrible form makes me wonder just how integral Wootton is to our defence and overall gameplay. His injury has coincided with some of the worst gameplay I've seen this season - I mean we lost to Victory 3-1 who then went and lost to the bloody jets who've been abysmal.
For me I think too many leaders have been lost from the team in general - Wootton, Kosta, and most importantly Lewis. The team is also clearly struggling from lack of belief and confidence which is massive in sport. All I can say is that I hope the sports psych works some wonders with them because they look lost out there at the moment.
This recent run of terrible form makes me wonder just how integral Wootton is to our defence and overall gameplay. His injury has coincided with some of the worst gameplay I've seen this season - I mean we lost to Victory 3-1 who then went and lost to the bloody jets who've been abysmal.
For me I think too many leaders have been lost from the team in general - Wootton, Kosta, and most importantly Lewis. The team is also clearly struggling from lack of belief and confidence which is massive in sport. All I can say is that I hope the sports psych works some wonders with them because they look lost out there at the moment.
I think Wootten is the key to the lack of leadership from the back and Lewis in the CM leader we are missing. Kosta not so much, he's barely had any consistency in the team to be a leader on the field, especially since this is his fist season back.
This recent run of terrible form makes me wonder just how integral Wootton is to our defence and overall gameplay. His injury has coincided with some of the worst gameplay I've seen this season - I mean we lost to Victory 3-1 who then went and lost to the bloody jets who've been abysmal.
For me I think too many leaders have been lost from the team in general - Wootton, Kosta, and most importantly Lewis. The team is also clearly struggling from lack of belief and confidence which is massive in sport. All I can say is that I hope the sports psych works some wonders with them because they look lost out there at the moment.
I think Wootten is the key to the lack of leadership from the back and Lewis in the CM leader we are missing. Kosta not so much, he's barely had any consistency in the team to be a leader on the field, especially since this is his fist season back.
Say what you will about Kosta's performances but I guarantee he is a leader of sorts even if a quiet one. He is an old head who has had a fantastic ALeague career (one of the best if you look at the stats). Not to mention the fact he is an all white which I would say a fair few of the younger boys look up to - Lewis definitely used to look up to him by the look of that photo they took together when Kosta was first in the Nix.
I think Lewis was the bigger hit, our uptick in form happened when he and Rufer were our midfield peer. They have complimentary skillsets and a good partnership that Rufer doesn't have with Ugarkovic or Pennington.
I think Lewis was the bigger hit, our uptick in form happened when he and Rufer were our midfield peer. They have complimentary skillsets and a good partnership that Rufer doesn't have with Ugarkovic or Pennington.
Totally agree with you in terms of who is a bigger hit on game day but in terms of leadership on and off the pitch I think Kosta would be an equal or greater hit. When Talay signed Kosta the club talked along the lines of his experience and winning mentality. They clearly didn't expect him to be a game breaker on the park but was more in the team for his experience and leadership for the attacking players since he has been there and done that in the ALeague.
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.
To be fair, Davila's goal last Sunday, despite our three (!) defenders right on him, was very good, and almost Messi-like in its quality.
And it went through Oil’s legs. Marinovic was one of the best shot stoppers in the league.
But if Oli’s a protected species I don’t think that helps his keeping tbh. We want competition for places across the park and consequences for mistakes.
I don’t know if I’d drop him, but some are acting like he can’t be dropped, which shouldn’t be allowed.
Davila’s shot was a tame one through his legs and it cost us our lead. It’s as big of an error as Sasse losing possession for their second goal and everyone is happy to part with him over that error.
If Oli wants to go further he’s got to tighten up his game. He came through as a fantastically prepared and focused keeper who simply didn’t allow the NZ number one back in because of his exacting performances. I’d be tempted to give Paulsen a start to keep him honest.
Yeh as others were saying it’s combinations and familiarity etc. which is true. And Oli has been much better since shedding the captaincy.
I’ll be honest, part of it is that I just want to see Paulsen play again. After the last few dreadful games it’d be something to watch for. There don’t seem to be any other young players really forcing their way through.
I genuinely thought Surman would be a better player than Payne by this point after his performances last season, but development isn’t always a straight line.
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.
To be fair, Davila's goal last Sunday, despite our three (!) defenders right on him, was very good, and almost Messi-like in its quality.
In general though the tighter we mark their strikers in our box, the more pressure we can apply on them... which takes away a fair bit of their time, so really reduces their opportunities to score goals.
Our peripheral vision etc needs to be better, we give away too much ball, pointless passing 50/50 passes along the deck into a lot of traffic... if the pass is not on to give, keep hold of possession until your team mate is in a much better position to receive the ball.
