Round 6 vs Adelaide

[bikinigirl]

. in summary, i think we did well but seemed to be missing in the midfield too often (in terms of attack at least) - the detail:

. danny had a super game (ironic really considering no clean sheet) and seemed back to his best

. clarky has never enjoyed being RB so i am not surprised to see him out of position a few times. boogs was fantastic again as was viddie and both were unlucky with their yellows, viddie's second was unfortunate but again he probably did what he had to do (but it will make it harder next week). heff i feel is taking to much responsibility (and risk) at the back and seems a bit inconsistent

. i thought brownie had a good game (especially in defence) but in front of goal let himself down. jedi was strong as usual and seems to be getting forward a bit more. hutch is playing well in the middle and is one of the few mariners holding onto the ball atm but is not really creating a lot as you would expect from a central mid and seems to sit deeper than you would expect considering jedi's role. kwasi i thought was pretty quiet too and dare i say it got a bit gun shy

. sash & mori are both very attack minded but haven't really gelled, when it all comes together next week there should be plenty of goals

. subs are being made too late, i have said it before the likes of tommy & gumps need to get a feel for the game which is impossible in the last fifteen minutes (or less). brownie had worked his arse off and was getting tired but there was no creative spark in midfield

. if they don't start, one of these guys should be coming on 'de vanna style' probably just after half time - this i believe will change the game

[bikinigirl]

. oh yeah & the ref was crap as usual

. the disallowed goal was probably the correct decision as i think offside would have been the call, but he must have blown his whistle to stop play which would have meant our boys slowed down (they seemd to have no conviction)

. i 'had' a lot of respect for djite as a big strong kid, but he has two legs and two feet - why the hell can't he stand on them. that sort of crap is really frustrating for spectators and i would be equally frustrated if it was us buggering around like that getting soft penalties all the time

[roylaw]

No disgrace in losing away to Adelaide, I thought they shaded the win. Burns and Djite were superb but so were Boogard and Vidmar which made for a great contest. Good to see Vukovic back; I thought Jedinak was the best for us. Heffernan needs to realise being a Bundesliga reserve doesn't make him God. Its not Clark's fault that injuries have put him back into the first team but clearly he struggles - why on earth did he turn away from Djite for the first goal - we'll just have to battle through with him for now. Brown's enthusiasm is great(what a goal line clearance!) but his composure in the attacking third is dreadful. A beautifully worked corner came to nothing when he got the ball. Kwasnik is much more effective on the left so it is time for Gumprecht to come back or Pondeljak or Owens to start on the right. Has Mori finally lost it? He passed instead of shooting!!

[barron]

My Summary;

- Clarkie has reached his use by date and is merely an emergency back-up
- Brownie is the same. he had 2 absolutely easy opps in front of goal and just froze, plus runsd around pretty aimlessly
- Mile's scrapping is fantastic, but his distribution puts the team under the hammer
- Danny was superb
- Hutch is a revelation
- Saso keeps scoring
- Mori is too old and has lost the spark. Desprately need Mrdja
- Viddie is a legand and the first card was not a yellow or if it was then Adelaide should have got 20 cards
- Either Tommy or Gumps are required on the field at all times to help Htuch create something. Start with Tommy/Gumps and then sub the other

Having seen all the opposiiton, WE CAN WIN THIS COMP! Just need a few subtle (but urgent) changes

[mustapha_beer]

Well, here's my two bobs worth:

Fair play to those of you who made it down there - could see all the colours behind the goals.

Played really well in the first half - had just as many chances as Adelaide, and the score could have been 2-2 or 3-3.

Got completely swamped in the 2nd half. Not sure what Aurelio put in his team's half time cuppa, but they were superb - first time passing, great movement etc... Our boys didn't seem to know how to respond, and couldn't put many attacking moves together.

As for individual performances, I thought Boogs did well overall. Vidmar & Clark won't look back on this one with much pride. They got their wires crossed completely for Djite's first goal, and Viddy getting himself sent off AGAIN left Boogs with too much to do for the 2nd.

Just one other thought - am I being a bit harsh in saying Danny could have done better for Djite's winner? He had a very good game overall, but when I looked at the replay, it seemed the header went pretty close to him - maybe it had too much power??

Anyway, won't dwell too much - got a massive game to lift for next week.

[tez]

wasnt a great game for us, we did ok but as much as i hate to say it Adelaide were a better team. We gave the ball away too much, more than an acceptable number of passes went astray (usually to the feet of an Adelaide player). had a few good chances tho (in the first half)..

i still cant see the logic of not starting Gumps and Tommy P only being subd on Heaps late in the game they are 2 of our best players! WTF>?
They should both be seing alot more of the game - hopefully Lawrie comes to his senses and puts Gumps back in the starting line up and gives Tommy more game time - otherwise we goina lose him after this season and he is one of our best - would HATE to see us lose him!

Looking Fwd to the Derby Nxt Weekend - Going to be a MASSIVE Game! CANT WAIT!!!! ;D
SCUM R GOING DOWN!!!

[Bearinator]

I f***ing hate djite

He always looks so excited when he scores, and I would to if I was that average and scoring lucky goals

He played SHIT HOUSE last year, and parts of this year IMO. Now, 1 minute touch like an elephant, the next slotting the winner

He is way over rated, and will struggle when he leaves these shores

He is no Nathan Burns

[marinerbhoy]

as has been said, no shame in the result. it was a fair one. players were just outclassed on the day. burns, djite, diego, cassio and alagich were just better. a few players were quiet, but not through lack of effort. again ball retention has come back to haunt the team. has been a major a fault over time.

[bikinigirl]

mustaphabeer said:

Just one other thought - am I being a bit harsh in saying Danny could have done better for Djite's winner? He had a very good game overall, but when I looked at the replay, it seemed the header went pretty close to him - maybe it had too much power??

Anyway, won't dwell too much - got a massive game to lift for next week.

. personally i think he did all he could and i often think danny gets more praise than he deserves

. close range and a full goalmouth to protect (no angle) he did well to get a hand on it and he so nearly got it around the post

. but agree the boys definitely have another reason to lift next week - bring on the 3-4-3

[brett]

This is what happens in the A-League when you start to get understrength.

We won our games when we had all our players on deck - as you have to. But with no Wilko, Ossie, and Mrdja and a chop-and-change defence we were the second best team.

I worry about next week simply because we don't really get those players coming back and now Viddie is out too.

Adelaide have an irresistable attacking force and good on them, they deserved to win. Burns and Djite are both outgrowing the A-League imo.

Our boys played well and tried very hard but we didn't play winning football. We need to be much more clever and keep the ball a lot more, particularly when Adelaide is smashing us and we need to release some pressure. The experience of Tommy and Gumps in our midfield would go a long way to achieving this I reckon.

If we want to be the Melbourne team and run away with the league we need to grab these games by the scruff of the neck and play smart. If we continue playing our usual thing we will probably still come top two because we have the best players but there will be more hiccups along the way.

[greenpoleffc]

Shit-eh is the 2nd most over rated player in the comp behind Griffiths....3rd place is Allsopp.

[Bearinator]

greenpoleffc said:

Shit-eh is the 2nd most over rated player in the comp behind Griffiths....3rd place is Allsopp.

AGREE

[wombat]

The midfield is the problem and has been for the last 3 weeks. The lack of creativity puts too much pressure on the defence.

Gumpey needs to start alongside Jedi. Hutcho on either flank and either Kwassie or Tommy (my preference) on the other wing.

Mori didn't have his best game! Looking forward to Nik getting over whatever is wrong with him.

These late substitutions are not the smartest when you can see blokes are out on their feet and creating nothing.

Here's hoping we stuff Scum next week .

[Ursus]

We are currently lacking:

1) Creativity in midfield.
2) Pace (with the exception of Kwassy and Heff.
3) Retention of the football.

Browny has been playing his best football, but most of it has been defensive.
Play him as a back.
Hutch has been a revelation as a central midfielder, holds the ball well, wins his share of the 50:50s, distributes well but is not a brilliant playmaker.
We need a Tommy, Gumps or Owens to add some creativity. This has become apparent with the loss of Nick.
Nick and Sash were beginning to form an understanding that was causing opposition defenses grief which allowed Heff and Kwass to create havoc.
Maybe we should be playing 4 3 3.
Sash up front, Kwass inside left, Tommy inside right.
Gumps, Mile and Hutch across the middle.
Browny, Clarky, Boogs and Heff across the back. Can Brown play RB?
I Think with Heff at the back you cannot play a back three.

It is probably not advisable to make such drastic changes just yet. But if we lose more players it could be necessary.

[tysfly]

Hey all!! Im only new to this site.(Have read a few times before, it's just that I can type very well!!! )
Anyway, IMO but it would be crazy to move hutch to the sides cause he is a stabalizing midfeilder which does more organizing than anything else plus hutch and jedi compliment each others style!!
The problem im seeing is that since kwas moved from the left to the right, he's gone lazy cause the attacking speed from behind inst the same!! Its more controlled passing moves on the right side,were as with Heff on the left running flat out all the time,means kwas has to run more or Heffs going past.
But as I said IMO!!
Please make me understand why Tommy came on for Sasho,when from what I could see Mori was struggling to run!!

Did you know that Hutch covered approx 15-17 kms in the first game!!!!

[Foriegnmariner]

tysfly said:

Please make me understand why Tommy came on for Sasho,when from what I could see Mori was struggling to run!!

I'll take a punt and say that while mori may have been tiring, mori plays the target man striker alot better than sasho and tommy would have been employed as an attacking midfielder who pushes up quickly to feed of the flick ons form mori.
A tactic which most teams with 10 men employ.

[Andy]

For the last couple of weeks, i've wondered whether or not the midfield combo of Jedinak and Hutcho were attack-minded enough. I think the answer to this question is no.

Both of these players have been extraordinary players so far this season and played a pivotal role in putting us top of the league, but IMO, both of them sit very deep and fail to offer a whole lot going forward.Hutcho's passing game in the centre of midfield has been the best it has ever been and Mile's defensive work has been brilliant.

It would be extremely harsh to remove any of these players based on their form so far this season, so it is crucial that either Tommy, Owens or Gumprecht take that other spot on the flank, while Kwassy is on the other side. We need to have more options in the final third, and if Hutch and Jedi continue to sit so deep, we only have Kwassy and the two strikers attacking.

[~Floss~]

greenpoleffc said:

Shit-eh is the 2nd most over rated player in the comp behind Griffiths....3rd place is Allsopp.

The first goal was a tap-in handed to him on a platter, a fortunate (for him) result of some sort of defensive misunderstanding. Not exactly what I would describe as "VIDUKA-ESQUE" - another gem from andy harper. That's terrible that he can get away with insulting Dukes like that.

[serious14]

floss said:

That's terrible that he can get away with insulting Dukes like that.

Because Viduka was never a lazy c*nt infront of goal either, was he??

[brett]

Great posts by Ursus, tysfly and Andy here.

The players are playing very well individually but nothing is happening in attack. When Kwas gets out of the game like Sunday there is nothing to link defence to attack.

We did one thing at the start of the game where Heff ran into a dead end, passed backwards, we switched the play, passed to Kwasaldinho's feet and he ran at Cassio. It resulted in that clever backwards roll with the ball! This was great but we need to see more.

For next week I would go

Browny Clark Boogs Heff

Kwas Hutch Jedi Tommy P

- - -- Mori - Sasho

So basically sticking to the same formula but cranking the creativity up one notch.

Browny is very good with his right foot and could do the job on that side of the defence well.