A League Round 2 vs Wellington

[bakery5]

shipwreck said:

Wasnt Tommy our marquee signing in Version 1?
Where the hell is he on the field, havent seen him have a start in ages!

no we didnt have a marquee in v1.

[Mermaid]

Hey Yellow boys & Girls, Only 2 days to go

[northernspirit]

Fire up farken!!

[serious14]

That's not nearly fired up enough......

[alicia]

[marinermick]

man, that article really does fire you up

brilliant stuff jeff

also, how good is the photo - not just for sasho's celebration but for the interaction between has-been-yo and fyfe (priceless expression on his face)

[serious14]

"Join our Yellow Army and have a blast at the game"??

Come on Lou, you promised me a headline more like "Join our Yellow Army and FIRE THE F*CK UP!!!"

;D

[brett]

Nice one JH, good to see the mighty Ursus get a quote in there.

We're on fire!

[Bearinator]

HAHAHAHAHA Only just noticed Fyfe. Looks like he has just come back from shopping and realised his car is gone, dopey looking prick "dude, where's my car" ;D ;D ;D

[serious14]

Wednesday just don't go......

[kevrenor]

Phoenix aim to pick up where they left off
By PETER MARTINEZ - NZPA | Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Having emerged from the hype and hoopla of their A-League soccer debut with a meritorious 2-2 draw with Melbourne Victory on Sunday, the Wellington Phoenix are aiming to pick up where they left off when they take on the Central Coast Mariners on Friday.

The Phoenix came back from the dead with two late goals from Brazilian midfielder Daniel and striker Shane Smeltz to snatch a point off the defending champions.

Coach Ricki Herbert has given a strong signal he may keep faith with Sunday's squad who took them to the brink of victory.

Goalkeeper Glen Moss, central defender Cleberson, particularly in the second half, midfielder Ross Aloisi, Daniel and Smeltz all had outstanding games.

Brazilian substitute Felipe, who sparked numerous attacks from midfield when he came on for Jeremy Christie with about 20 minutes to go, might get a start on the strength of his performance.

"Playing away from home might shape our thinking a little bit but the players used on the weekend did a great job for us," Herbert said.

"Mistakes too, which we'll work hard to rectify, (but) the group that we used did extremely well – we might play a little differently (against the Mariners) that's all."

How differently Herbert would not say, but he indicated that being defensive would be the last thing on the team's minds.

"We showed at the back end of the Melbourne game we can be a good attacking side this year.

"The belief and confidence started to come (in the final quarter) and it'll be nice to see it over 90 minutes.

"Whilst in defending we can do better, we'll take a very positive approach into every game."

He did not think the players had raised expectations unrealistically with their impressive debut.

"We are very focused, the boys are back on the park (in training) and look very buoyant which is to be expected.

"They are a good group and they will carry us a long way."

Securing their first win of the season was the next target but the closeness of the competition is reflected in the fact only the Mariners came away with a win in the first round, 1-0 over Sydney.

All the other matches ended in draws leaving the Phoenix sharing second place in the table with three other teams.

Having lost 0-2 to the Mariners in Pre-Season Cup play, Herbert noted they had a powerful striking duo in Sasho Petrovski, who scored in the 1-0 win over Sydney, and Nik Mrdja.

" The Mariners ar e a hard working team who'll keep coming at us.

"They won't be doing us any favours and we'll have to be right on the night to get something out of it."

The Phoenix left Wellington today to prepare for the match to be played in Gosford".

[kevrenor]

Minimal Phoenix changes expected
By FRED WOODCOCK - The Dominion Post | Wednesday, 29 August 2007

The samba drums are beating for Felipe, but Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert remains coy on the Brazilian's prospects of starting the round two A-League match against early leaders the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on Friday.

The fleet-footed midfielder, who struggled to get up to fitness during the pre-season campaign, made an eye-catching A-League debut in the 2-2 draw with the Melbourne Victory on Sunday, sparking the Phoenix into life after coming off the bench in the 64th minute.

His potential partnership with countryman Daniel, who will also have plenty of youngsters trying to emulate his skill, is an enticing prospect and would complement Shane Smeltz and Vaughan Coveny on attack.

Yesterday, Herbert gave little away as to his thoughts on Friday's starting XI, though he hinted that Felipe, who joined the Phoenix from Croatian club giants Hajduk Split on a one-season deal, may be used as an impact player again.

"I'm not sure we'll change too much."

Playing both Daniel and Felipe in midfield would mean dropping one of the holding midfielders, Jeremy Christie or Michael Ferrante, which Herbert would not want to do, or either Coveny or Smeltz.

The other option could be all-out attack in playing three up front.

"I wouldn't dismiss that because I think we've got the potential to do that, and that maybe an option for us on Friday," Herbert said. "We have got options, and that's going to be important, and I guess there are decisions that will need to be made."

The coach said he was impressed by the progress the three late-arriving Brazilians had made fitness-wise, with defender Cleberson a regular starter, Felipe up to speed and striker George not far away.

There will be at least one change to the starting XI, however, with right back Steven Old not travelling to Gosford today after coming down with the flu.

He will join vice-captain Tim Brown and midfielder Vince Lia in New Zealand, though Australian Olympic team defender Steven O'Dor has been added to the squad.

First-choice goalkeeper Mark Paston will miss another match after being concussed in the final minute of training on Saturday, but said he hoped to be available for the next home match, against the Newcastle Jets on September 9.

All Whites teammate Glen Moss will retain the custodial duties with under-20s keeper Jacob Spoonley his back-up.

Queensland Roar's Danny Tiatto and Sydney FC's Terry McFlynn face disciplinary hearings after being cited yesterday for "serious" incidents from the first round.

Former Socceroo Tiatto was charged with serious foul play for an infringement that "escaped the referee's attention" in the 7th minute of his team's 2-2 draw with Adelaide at Suncorp Stadium, while McFlynn was charged with violent conduct in another incident that escaped the referee's attention in the 71st minute of Central Coast's 1-0 victory against Sydney FC last Friday.

[jazasydneyfc]

WIth Old out you'd expect Christie to slot in at right-back. That leaves their right-midfield slot open...

[northernspirit]

jazasydneyfc said:

WIth Old out you'd expect Christie to slot in at right-back. That leaves their right-midfield slot open...

thats where Wellington are shite, who the fk is Jeremy Christie ;D

[serious14]

Thursday goes too slow.....

[brett]

This week has gone quick, I can't believe we play tomorrow.

[serious14]

I can. ;D

FIRE UP!!!!

[marinermick]

things are going to plan

i scheduled a meeting at 2pm at north sydney tomorrow

no way i can get back to the office ;D and should be heading home by 3pm

[serious14]

My plan consists of either:

i). A particularly nasty bout of "gastro" around 3.30pm
ii). A blinding "headache" around the same time
iii). Hoping that the bosses do their normal Friday caper and are out of here by 2 or so (they're Uni lecturers, so they're busy most Fridays)
iv). The truth

It remains to be seen which one will work best - I'm hoping for 3, but if I have to employ either 1 or 2 then so be it...... there's more important things in life than being stuck in a shitty office on a Friday afternoon when your team is playing that very night.

Any "leaving the office early" tips??

[brett]

serious14 said:

My plan consists of either:

i). A particularly nasty bout of "gastro" around 3.30pm
ii). A blinding "headache" around the same time
iii). Hoping that the bosses do their normal Friday caper and are out of here by 2 or so (they're Uni lecturers, so they're busy most Fridays)
iv). The truth

It remains to be seen which one will work best - I'm hoping for 3, but if I have to employ either 1 or 2 then so be it...... there's more important things in life than being stuck in a shitty office on a Friday afternoon when your team is playing that very night.

Any "leaving the office early" tips??

I sense a www.marinators.net feature article coming up James, if you put something together I'll post it up for you.