2014/15 Transfer Speculation

Pisses me off that we've got a squad needing a serious rebuild but our owners have been focused on a stadium that was never really likely to happen, and a general manager that's spent a year organising 2 friendlies.

Priorities are all wrong and owners having no fecking clue about football is going to hurt us in the long run.

I am worried about the whole thing from a football perspective - I still think there's a real lack of direction and no plan for how we're ever going to win the competition.

That is an outlandish claim on your part valeo. 
He looked decent going forward (apart from poor delivery with crosses).. but defensively he is very suspect and his positioning is awful. He is a still converted RB in progress though so his struggles are to be expected to an extent. Worth developing him in this area to provide cover at RB, but he's definitely not the answer as a first choice option. Have him playing further forward this year I say

I wonder if winning the competition is one of their immediate aims. Winning would certainly bring in extra money but not without significant outlay. I would guess that their major goal is to be profitable then take it from there.

Yes. All domey did for an entire year was organising friendlies....

It's not an either/or situation, as you try to paint it. 

Credibility lost

No. Isn't it obvious?

It's not an either/or situation Tegal but it's well documented that A LOT of time was spent on it.

Personally feel we should be focusing our attention elsewhere.

Actually if you go to the stadium thread it seems like the club may have spent very little time at all on the stadium idea, apart from stirring up shite in Petone...

I am talking about the Football United tour in my most recent post.

Wasn't a genuine comment. Just wondered how many people would jump on it when the guy didn't even play half a season. He only played 10 games, hardly enough to garner an absolute opinion on his ability at right back.

With a solid midfield that actually covers for our fullbacks when they push forward, we wouldn't see as many issues. The guy still has a lot to work on, sure, but the at the moment he's really our only option unless EM admits we need a specialist there.

Shaun Timmins playing for South Melbourne. 

Looks like our level of investment is Div 2 Ozzy?

Musa connection?

Well right now it's either that or regional NZ league.... Difficult to judge when they are not concurrent leagues

Probably pays better than us.

Yeh, maybe some reason to be concerned, but there are plenty of reasons not to paint it as black as all that.

We had a very good spell mid season with Riera on the park.  We often played our best with only ONE of Carlos and Stein on the pitch.  With Riera in behind, Lia in midfield providing some linkage (and not needing so much to play a defensive role), and with faster players around that central midfield grouping we looked definitely top four and had the best results in the league over around six games, including results against the top sides.

If we get a more mobile McGlinchey in for Carlos, with Gorrin alongside and Riera behind we are definitely better than we were for all but the purple part of last season, with only one caveat.  While you are worried about the defense, for me it comes down to Kenny, Burns, Boyd/Krishna/Brockie plus McGlinchey and Gorrin getting enough goals. And I am thinking they are likely to be more than the sum of the parts.  With three quick players in front of that midfield trio this might be a pretty dynamic handful for any opposition.    Maybe a bit vulnerable to McGlinchey going down and Gorrin having to step up (where last year we had the Carlos/Stein options at CM), but otherwise I can't see this as anything but a stronger side better suited to Ernie's game.  So long as they do finish.

And I'm not so sure the defense is "really" weak.  If nothing else we have Riera and Gorrin both able to screen better in front of Dura and Sig.  We leaked goals like a sieve with Lia having to drop back to DM with Riera's injury and we were weak there before Riera.  And with some-one like Hicks playing higher with Carlos in front of Lia we were an accident waiting to happen defensively.  We know for a fact we are much stronger with Riera doing that DM job.  And I cannot for the life of me imagine Gorrin being anything but a significant upgrade when required to defend from high or if he needed to sit back with Riera, or as a back-up at DM if Riera was injured.  Gorrin seems to me to be back-up at playmaker and DM, which is maybe a bit of a concern.

In the back four; sure we could do with more pace, but we'll be better for the improved midfield in front of us.  Plus Boxall now has a lot of playing time behind him and has the potential to come in as a faster CB.  And we have Fenton back in the mix.  There is enough there to say to me we will perform defensively significantly better and possibly a heck of a lot better. And Ernie still has options to strengthen the squad.

There is the risk some of these guys don't improve, or don't prove to be as good as we would like.  But I think there is no doubt we'll be better - apart from some uncertainty on proven goal production and vulnerability to who-ever is our McGlinchey/Carlos next season.  But we've got more depth than last year.  And we are more balanced to play the game Ernie wants to play.  Not saying we are going to win the League, but I think there is more reason to be positive than not - assuming McGlinchey or similar, and with a few more to sign still and guys like Caira and Hicks and co given the opportunity to develop with less pressure behind better starters.

I'd see us line up like this, based on what Ernie has had to say, and Gorrin dropping to 4-2-3-1 or the team pressing 4-1-4-1 as required.  And whichever mix of Brockie, Boyd, Krishna you like.  If you loose Riera, Gorrin is cover.  If you loose Gorrin, Lia can do a job, or Hicks.  The one that bothers me is if Gorrin is not yet good enough to step in at playmaker if the McGlinchey role went down.  And goal production.  But it looks potentially pretty potent.

                       Moss

   Fenton-Durante-Sigmund-Muscat

                       Riera

           McGlinchey - Gorrin

Krishna/Boyd -  Burns - Cunningham

Bench: Lia, Brockie/Boyd, Boxall, Spoon/Italy

Just remember that we are last choice got top young Ozzy's. 

They will hold out until their local area team's rosters are full then move attention to other Ozzy ALeague clubs. 

What empirical evidence to you base that on?

Turn up and ask the top man. 

I don't think we can have a team which doesn't have Brockie or Krishna as our main central striker. People are wanting Burns for that role but he hasn't really done it before. I think that Burns should slot in behind our main central striker.

Well Ernie talks about Burns as a wide striker and that makes me think of Kosta. I guess thats the role that Kenny would play this year too (if I listen to what gets reported from Ernie) It would suggest that Kenny and Burns are the wider guys of a front 3 and you would think Krishna would be the central striker.

Maybe I (+others?) are misinterpreting what Ernie means by a "high striker" when he talks about Burns?  And he talks about a high striker vs a stationary target man so it seems he is talking about the style of a front man?  I got the impression that he'll play two of Boyd/Brockie/Krishna/Kenny wider, with Burns roving in front?  

Just trying to fathom what Ernie is saying and how you use what you expect to be the strengths in the squad.  And remembering while we expect to have Weemac, Gorrin was also quoted as expecting the opportunity to be a key player for the Nix.  You'd therefore expect both Gorrin and Weemac starting and playing central.

If you presume you have Weemac, Gorrin and Riera as starters you end up with a 4-1-4-1, or 4-2-3-1.  It just seems with Riera holding, Kenny and one of Boyd/Krishna/Brockie wider and Gorrin and Weemac more central makes more sense. Burns up front given a pretty free ranging role.  

Ernie's said about Burns - "a high striker"

"He's exactly what we were after," Merrick said. "A high striker with pace, great dribbling, one-on-one qualities, can also play on the wing and play as a No 10. Pacy, flexible, mobile and not a stationary sort of target man. I like strikers to come from wide positions. This gives me great combinations in attack and midfield. Good depth, good quality and a lot of pace."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/10195283/Mer...

and

"[about Burns] Merrick said he  had been looking for a player who could play as a midfielder, winger or high striker.

"[Socceroos star] Robbie Kruse was a good example of that type of player," Merrick said.

"When he came to Victory as a winger I turned him into a high striker who would come in from wide and score goals. 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/10194000/For...

But having found that quote and read that again, he's also saying he sees Burns as capable of playing at no10.  So he should be a better back-up to (hopefully) McGlinchey, than my - just previously posted concern - that Gorrin might be the back-up in the no10 role.  

SST were saying tonight that it was Perth, WSW and us who were trying to sign Brendan Hamill but he chose WSW.

Brendan Hamill

 a defender?

This is why I think that Carlos had to go, regardless of how many assists and goals he provided. Unlike Ricki, Ernie seems to have a clear idea of how he wants the side to play and that is a solid defensive core and fluid, mobile, quick attackers who also press and harass their opponents and track back when needed. There's no way to fit Carlos into a system like that - in fact, part of the reason we needed to play an extra centre mid last season was to cover the lack of tracking back from Carlos. Brockie is also a bit of a square peg in a round hole in it too. 

If Ernie can get our whole team comfortable playing quick short passes, and if those attackers' lack of size doesn't mean they get monstered constantly (no faith in A League refs to protect them from hacks), then I think it could work nicely. However if our defenders panic and hoof long balls and our attackers get crunched it could get ugly for us. I have faith in Ernie to get it working though.

Yep, so I guess Ernie is actively looking for more defensive cover & to replace Siggy + Dura in the next couple seasons.

Brockie's "old form" in reality consists of not scoring many goals at all most seasons.

Two seasons ago for the Nix was really an anomaly (he had one decent season before that with Newcastle)

We remember him as scoring ZERO goals in 14 games for Canterbury United in 2004 - 5 in the NZ Football Championship.

He started as a one goal every two games player for Nelson Suburbs in the Mainland Premier 2003.

He hasn't rekindled that sort of form until signing for the Nix where his figures are 42 apps 21 goals  - not too bad  - although 16 of those came in one season.

His overall career record since leaving Nelson reads 169 games  42 goals or one goal every four games.

Looking at the WC and thinking about last year I think there was a problem with our 4-2-3-1 with Carlos in that at times it became almost a 4-2-4/4-4-2. There was such a big gap betw him and the midfield 2 that he left there really wasn't a midfield 3 at all and we had to cover using Cunningham deeper and Boyd deeper defending. It just didn't work defensively. The issue is replacing his attacking impact which we're underrating

Let's not forget his record for the AWs - is it 43 games and counting now? 

I actually just read Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathon Wilson and he was talking about the end of the traditional playmaker, because modern tactical systems don't fit them in. His specific example was Juan Roman Riquelme at Villareal, who was used as the playmaker in a 4-3-1-2 formation, but he may as well have been talking about Carlos. I think part of his point was that assists and goals in some games cannot make up for the lack of impact in others (due to the opposition shutting him down or the player just having an off day). With a classic playmaker like Carlos the team has to be setup to feed him the ball, so you sacrifice creativity and attacking thrust elsewhere on the pitch. 

Melbourne City are going be completely brilliant for a large part of next season but I wonder if they will be able to still do well in the playoffs once their big stars are gone.

Remember Ricky has usually played him out of position for the AW's otherwise he wouldn't have got into the team, he has been midfield, wing and even full back! 

The situation currently is that Brockie or Krishna will have to start. Hopefully Krishna does well but either way we are still going to be seeing plenty of Brockie (like it or not).

He was crap last season but was fantastic for the 2 seasons prior, so I don't think everyone should just write him off yet.

Cunningham/Burns/Boyd?

MCFC Priority one: the finals / Tick

Nix Priority one:  ???

Sustainability

Yeah, I don't know how true it is really for a pro athlete but Ernie said his form was a combination of exhaustion from playing so much football (going to the MLS on loan then back) and missing the preseason and therefore struggling to adapt to the new Nix.It sounds plausible that he came back, had issues, didn't fit in, and had a dip in form which cost him confidence.

See what he's like with a full pre season and a whole lot of confidence. Remember also that the TFC fans were giving him big ups not for his goal scoring (he got one?) but his assists and general work rate - which is a side of his game that we had never seen under Ricky.

When you look at Ernies blueprint for how he wants his front guys to attack then you you quickly see that Brockies skill set is the least suited.

. Brockie sits on the defenders shoulder and waits for something to bounce his way. He does not dribble around defenders, he does not make angled runs in behind. He has no pace. This does not mean he is a bad player. He is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in the A-League. However he is better in a long ball side where there will be deflections and tap downs. Unfortunately for Brockie defenders have figured out if you stay goal side of him you can easily block his shooting. He won't go around you or burn you with pace.

I would expect our front three to be Kenny, Burns and Weemac(if we get him)  next in line would be Krishna and Boyd. Brockie will struggle to get bench time. I think this could be Boyds season. He is still young but he is learning fast.....he developed really well under Ernie and if he continues to improve he will be a very good A-League player.....needs more goals though