Tommykins Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 Sydney have Wellington, Victory and Us over the next 3 games. There's every chance we'll be above them by the time we play them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 IMO people are indeed being unduly negative. You can only play against the team the opposition puts on to the field. By the end of the match we also had plenty of youth on the field - Atkinson (best game from him for quite a while - loved the way he outmuscled Kamau), McGree, Wales and Najjar. Thought the latter gave a nice little cameo - moved around well and pulled the defenders with him - just what we need in the front line. Double yellow cards are a feature of football - every club gets one at some time or other - and you have to take advantage of them and that's what we did. We could so easily have given up last night, but we kept going and ultimately prevailed. We needed the points and we got them. Also I think for the first time this season we were properly entertained with some spanking goals and plenty of near misses. TBH I thought with 7 minutes to go we were done for, but what a finish it was. What a pity that only 5,159 were there to see it - our lowest crowd since the takeover. Seagull Index: Low. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 8 minutes ago, jw1739 said: IMO people are indeed being unduly negative. You can only play against the team the opposition puts on to the field. By the end of the match we also had plenty of youth on the field - Atkinson (best game from him for quite a while - loved the way he outmuscled Kamau), McGree, Wales and Najjar. Thought the latter gave a nice little cameo - moved around well and pulled the defenders with him - just what we need in the front line. Double yellow cards are a feature of football - every club gets one at some time or other - and you have to take advantage of them and that's what we did. We could so easily have given up last night, but we kept going and ultimately prevailed. We needed the points and we got them. Also I think for the first time this season we were properly entertained with some spanking goals and plenty of near misses. TBH I thought with 7 minutes to go we were done for, but what a finish it was. What a pity that only 5,159 were there to see it - our lowest crowd since the takeover. Seagull Index: Low. You're getting there JW. Slowly but surely 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rass Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 23 minutes ago, jw1739 said: IMO people are indeed being unduly negative. You can only play against the team the opposition puts on to the field. By the end of the match we also had plenty of youth on the field - Atkinson (best game from him for quite a while - loved the way he outmuscled Kamau), McGree, Wales and Najjar. Thought the latter gave a nice little cameo - moved around well and pulled the defenders with him - just what we need in the front line. Double yellow cards are a feature of football - every club gets one at some time or other - and you have to take advantage of them and that's what we did. We could so easily have given up last night, but we kept going and ultimately prevailed. We needed the points and we got them. Also I think for the first time this season we were properly entertained with some spanking goals and plenty of near misses. TBH I thought with 7 minutes to go we were done for, but what a finish it was. What a pity that only 5,159 were there to see it - our lowest crowd since the takeover. Seagull Index: Low. Indeed. Such an important night. We were only minutes away from probably the lowest ebb in our WJ era at least. Yet the team came through and hopefully they can take that fightback spirit into the backend of this season. I found the brawl very interesting. It was as much about the frustrations around the internal bullshit coming out as it was over falling behind to WSW. Clearly there is passion and spirit in this team, so the result last night and the manner in which it was obtained was oh so important to hopefully harness it moving forward. Sure, there were many errors last night but hey, at least we were entertained and my lot left the ground feeling quite exhilarated. I get the whole defending the game when we are in front mantra, but we have shown this season that we can attack hard - it only seems to happen when we go behind though. See CCm x 2, Victory, WSW matches... Hopefully tweaks can be made from the coaching structure that will allow us to play in a more balanced attack/defence style instead of the 'either one or the other' 'method we seem to have at the moment. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayv36 Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 Best City game of the season, id love for us to play more like that even if we do end up losing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrison Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 36 minutes ago, jw1739 said: IMO people are indeed being unduly negative. Who are you and what have you down with JW? Look I've been quite positive recently. I like defensive solidity and grinding out results. I wasn't as disappointed with the Perth result because a draw against the top team is respectable no matter the league. That we were at home doesn't change the equation much for me. But last night was a perfect opportunity to win the game by a few goals and keep a clean sheet. On paper they had a weak team. There's no getting around that. Their defence was very young and probably the worst put out by a team in this league in a while. Scoring the early goal should've given us a lot of confidence to really get after them but it didn't and it's frustrating. We do need to improve and we do need to shift focus pretty quickly because we've got massive games coming up. I hope that this win galvanises the team and gives the players belief that they can win matches of football no matter the scoreline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) 48 minutes ago, jw1739 said: By the end of the match we also had plenty of youth on the field - Atkinson (best game from him for quite a while - loved the way he outmuscled Kamau), McGree, Wales and Najjar. Credit where it's due. It had got to the point in recent games where I'd just look away whenever he got the ball (how many crosses into the hip of a defender on the edge of the box?) and he didn't exactly start like a house on fire when he came on, but he settled into the game well and had some nice moments. If there's sufficient depth, I think that's his role for the next few weeks, a spark of the bench. He has talent, just needs to regain a bit of confidence. Oh and speaking of crosses, funny how that game ended. I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking 'Good, Delbridge and Schekenveld on the ground and we're not even remotely threatening with all these corners.' Edited January 22, 2019 by SF33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, rass said: No, Bart apparently is only the 41st best player in the league according to the Herald Sun's assessment at the start of the season. Lol what dickheads. Unlike Mooy and Fornaroli at their best, he doesn't play a role where once a month he'll practically win the game off his own boot. But I don't know how you play his position at this level any better than he does, week in/week out. If he's willing to sign on for 2-3 years as a marquee, I say do it in a heartbeat, before he changes his mind. At his age, his level of consistency and his overall performance, it's incredibly rare to actually want to stay with this team in this league. Edited January 22, 2019 by SF33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rass Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 Just now, SF33 said: Unlike Mooy and Fornaroli at their best, he doesn't play a role where once a month he'll practically win the game off his own boot. But I don't know how you play his position any better than he does, week in/week out. If he's willing to sign on for 2-3 years as a marquee, I say do it in a heartbeat, before he changes his mind. At his age, his level of consistency and his overall performance, it's incredibly rare to actually want to stay with this team in this league. The bloke is phenomenal. The combination of age, skill, strength and speed is remarkable for this league. I'd easily have him in the top 5 players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted January 22, 2019 Report Share Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) 8 minutes ago, rass said: The bloke is phenomenal. The combination of age, skill, strength and speed is remarkable for this league. I'd easily have him in the top 5 players. And then the emotion after the goal and after the game. The rage/joy of winning the game and then pretty much instantly putting the lid back on. No laughing, no carrying on: "We were terrible, the goals we gave up were so cheap, we've got to be better." Precisely what I wanted to hear from a player after that. There's a bloke who's in tune with how the supporters are feeling. Edited January 22, 2019 by SF33 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) 25 minutes ago, SF33 said: Credit where it's due. It had got to the point in recent games where I'd just look away whenever he got the ball (how many crosses into the hip of a defender on the edge of the box?) and he didn't exactly start like a house on fire when he came on, but he settled into the game well and had some nice moments. If there's sufficient depth, I think that's his role for the next few weeks, a spark of the bench. He has talent, just needs to regain a bit of confidence. Oh and speaking of crosses, funny how that game ended. I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking 'Good, Delbridge and Schekenveld on the ground and we're not even remotely threatening with all these corners.' IMO he was much better, largely cos he played as a RB that didnt have to defend due to the red card. Enabled him to only worry about attack, but with the benefit of coming from deeper and wider which suits him far better. But yeh full marks to him in the context, you can only do whats in front of you. Edited January 23, 2019 by bt50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrison Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 22 minutes ago, rass said: The bloke is phenomenal. The combination of age, skill, strength and speed is remarkable for this league. I'd easily have him in the top 5 players. You could honestly be talking about RDL too. I think we're blessed to have a bloke, at the peak of his powers, who has his combination of power, speed and skill. To be able to shift from RB to CF and still be lethal is a huge credit to him. Plus he plays for the shirt and backs his team mates. A terrific signing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 7 minutes ago, bt50 said: IMO he was much better, largely cos he played as a RB that didnt have to defend due to the red card. Enabled him to only worry about attack, but with the benefit of coming from deeper and wider which suits him far better. But yeh full marks to him in the context, you can only do whats in front of you. Agreed. His versatility makes him a perfect candidate for a bench role, I think, at least until he does something to demonstrate that he'd more deserving of a starting spot than any other option. He can be an attacking or a defensive change, depending on who comes off for him and where/how he's deployed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rass Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 3 minutes ago, Harrison said: You could honestly be talking about RDL too. I think we're blessed to have a bloke, at the peak of his powers, who has his combination of power, speed and skill. To be able to shift from RB to CF and still be lethal is a huge credit to him. Plus he plays for the shirt and backs his team mates. A terrific signing. Wasn't the first time last night I said 'he's just all class - the difference between our A-League players and a proper international'. Totally agree, a privilege to have him play for us. Imagine if he was a 100% fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 30 minutes ago, rass said: Wasn't the first time last night I said 'he's just all class - the difference between our A-League players and a proper international'. Totally agree, a privilege to have him play for us. Imagine if he was a 100% fit. And/or if we had a full complement of even 'solid' visas (i.e. good starting XI players) playing alongside him and Bart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torn Asunder Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 It just don't understand why members don't turn up, cos they cant be bothered ... cracking game, crowd was buzzing at the end. My view is that most teams are happy to let us have the ball, and then try to get us on the counter. Last night WSW pressed us all over the pitch, and our guys were not used that type of pressure, which meant the game had lots of turn overs and was very open and attacking at times. It goes to show that in an open attacking game, we can absolutely score goals, but in a tight defensive game, where a team is trying to hit us on the counter, and they park the bus, we really struggle to make the goal. McGree made some very skillful moves last night, it would be good if we could get him on the books permanently; he's a very exciting talent. Najjar also looks like he has something about him ... need to see some more cameos, for sure. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rass Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 14 minutes ago, Torn Asunder said: It just don't understand why members don't turn up, cos they cant be bothered ... cracking game, crowd was buzzing at the end. Totally agree. Can understand if people had other commitments or it was just genuinely too hard to make it last night, but for those who didn't come just to make a statement about the team/club or just couldn't be bothered, well you missed a cracker and there's zero sympathy here. Especially as most of those people are the same ones that complain about our lack of excitement, etc.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 23 minutes ago, Torn Asunder said: It just don't understand why members don't turn up, cos they cant be bothered ... cracking game, crowd was buzzing at the end. My view is that most teams are happy to let us have the ball, and then try to get us on the counter. Last night WSW pressed us all over the pitch, and our guys were not used that type of pressure, which meant the game had lots of turn overs and was very open and attacking at times. It goes to show that in an open attacking game, we can absolutely score goals, but in a tight defensive game, where a team is trying to hit us on the counter, and they park the bus, we really struggle to make the goal. McGree made some very skillful moves last night, it would be good if we could get him on the books permanently; he's a very exciting talent. Najjar also looks like he has something about him ... need to see some more cameos, for sure. You're spot on in terms of people setting up like that against us; it's happened ever since we played Perth at home the week after we belted the Mongs at Etihad 2 years ago. And tbf, it's not an easy thing to break because teams are practically giving you the ball. Joyce has almost said at times nah stuff that you have it, and it has resulted in some thoroughly ugly football. Ultimately when you are playing against teams that semi park the bus against you, you need to both be thoroughly efficient in front of goals, and be able to create something from nothing. Having Bruno as an only credible threat for a few seasons made us fairly easy to defend against because teams would put more focus on him, knowing that the leeway they were giving at least one of our other wingers wasnt likely to hurt them. Hence why imo a player in the mould of Novillo or George would have alleviated the pressure on Bruno and made it difficult to defend us effectively. I know some will mention Arzani, but he was not really a goal threat in my opinion, but a player that made things happen. We've found that really difficult for a long time as we have lacked the quality up front. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXIOM Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 A win is a win and from an entertainment point of view one f the best games in a long time. But a lot of credit has to go to WSW. With 4 players 19 or younger a couple not much older, there best players out, 10 men from the 65th min, we really need to take a step back and be realistic. On paper our starting 11 should bosh that game hands down. We just scraped it in with a 94th min goal (El Barto...gun). Ill take that win and hope that the players can gain the confidence we will need for the rest of the season. Interesting comments from Bort..."the gaffer told me to say back, i said no" goes up and scores the winner. Hopefully WJ can learn from this and become a winning coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CityWildcat Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 I felt like, despite all the positives mentioned above (mostly, agreed), if we cannot stuff WSW on their 2018-19 form when they are a man down, we're not Toilet Seat material. WHY was it so different from last Saturday night's bore draw? We never looked like hitting the net then - last night we could have score 7 and we have no striker! I can never figure out this club/team. Maybe these years of infuriating unpredictability are what keep me showing up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haz Posted January 23, 2019 Report Share Posted January 23, 2019 https://mobile.twitter.com/foxfootball/status/1087890766494461952?s=12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imtellingyou Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 Great win! Even though the feeling is that Baccus (red card) and Sotirio (two one on one) gifted us a chance to win. Wanderers back line is weak and short. It made our strikerless team look so potent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n i k o Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 6 minutes ago, Imtellingyou said: Great win! Even though the feeling is that Baccus (red card) and Sotirio (two one on one) gifted us a chance to win. Wanderers back line is weak and short. It made our strikerless team look so potent. Your grammar is improving 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 1 minute ago, n i k o said: Your grammar is improving He/she does it deliberately. In reality probably has a degree in English Literature from Oxford, worked part-time in the Bodleian Library, plays the sackbut, plays off -1 at Royal Melbourne, and can decipher Mayan writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSK_47 Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 Was nice to actually enjoy watching us play for a change. My only complaint is (once again) the inconsistency from this club is staggering. In a few games we have gone from possibly one of the most boring games in the history of this league to one that will probably be remembered fondly for years to come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEARTinator Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/city-hunt-two-strikers-as-malik-departure-frees-up-squad-cash-20190125-p50tk2.html I thought Wazza was on the money here with his comment regarding Najjar: "However youngsters Moudi Najjar and Ramy Najjarine were in the party. Joyce was pleased with the way the former fitted in during his debut in the helter-skelter 4-3 win over Western Sydney on Tuesday night. ''I thought he was first class, he added a great deal of energy, he was fearless, he tried to affect the game, that's what you want. There are several young players at the club, who are good, who are knocking at the door, they have to be ready for that opportunity and show they are up to it mentally, physically and tactically ... and he did all those things.''" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fensaddler Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 1 hour ago, HEARTinator said: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/city-hunt-two-strikers-as-malik-departure-frees-up-squad-cash-20190125-p50tk2.html I thought Wazza was on the money here with his comment regarding Najjar: "However youngsters Moudi Najjar and Ramy Najjarine were in the party. Joyce was pleased with the way the former fitted in during his debut in the helter-skelter 4-3 win over Western Sydney on Tuesday night. ''I thought he was first class, he added a great deal of energy, he was fearless, he tried to affect the game, that's what you want. There are several young players at the club, who are good, who are knocking at the door, they have to be ready for that opportunity and show they are up to it mentally, physically and tactically ... and he did all those things.''" Fascinated that we are looking seriously for two additions, not just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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