FFA Cup (Rd. of 32) v. Campbelltown City (SA) 31/7/19 (Away)

[Missing_Moy]

Just now, Dylan said:

Noone doing well is probably not surprising given he is pretty much at prime age and has come straight from the championship.

apparently Metcalf has seriously impressed Erik. How did he go?

Really well in the first half went missing a little in the 2nd and made some clumsy passes 

[jw1739]

Overall a good result for us - these away matches against good NPL opposition are always tricky. There's still plenty to work on, especially the second half "mental strength" aspect that Mombaerts mentioned after the Oakleigh match.

[HughJass]

For me something was missing from the midfield, like someone to break up the play 

[Imtellingyou]

That was far from the dominant display. It looks to be the current pattern as for the first game.  It would be much tougher if opponents had on pair goalkeeper. Was that Craig Noone or Connor Pain on our side.  They look and play similar on the field. What's the price tag of their Japanese import?

[XxCiTySeNxX]

Metcalf was shit

[fensaddler]

7 hours ago, moops said:

Did anyone else notice after Macca's first goal he told Jameison to fuck off, whilst he celebrated with everyone else?

Campbelltown actually played some pretty good football at times, credit to them.

It's a good win and hurdle to get over, we are still in pre-season mode, overall I thought we did well and Noone looks great.

Macca looked pissed off all night. Don't think all is well in the camp. 

[Afif Adam]

Berenguer is still getting game time 

[fensaddler]

Good was the pick of the defence, looks very sharp. Metcalfe was excellent in the first half but faded. Noone is a cracking player, and both Carbrera and Luna showed flashes of real talent. Campbelltown are a seriously good side on that showing, and that was just the work out we needed. 

[rass]

4 minutes ago, fensaddler said:

Macca looked pissed off all night. Don't think all is well in the camp. 

He was copping abuse from the CC fans all night apparently. Probably explains why.

[jw1739]

IMO the critics on here are expecting far too much. Mombaerts is clearly experimenting with the players he has at his disposal. The fact that after he played his "first team" for 80 minutes against Oakleigh, and then promoted players such as Good and Genreau into the match squad for Campbelltown is evidence of that. I expect him to continue experimenting with the match coming up against Bentleigh - for example I expect him to play Windbichler and Good as CBs, and probably give Genreau a run.

Also, please get off Metcalfe's back. He's a seriously good young footballer. Mombaerts can see that and that's why he's playing him - to give him every chance. Joyce only cared about how hard you ran on the training track - don't forget he had to have his arm twisted before he would give minutes to Arzani  - Mombaerts cares about the football a player can deliver. We will continue to see our promising younger players get a fair run.

[Harrison]

2 hours ago, HughJass said:

For me something was missing from the midfield, like someone to break up the play 

Like Brillante?

Lacking match fitness but will improve. 

[fensaddler]

54 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

IMO the critics on here are expecting far too much. Mombaerts is clearly experimenting with the players he has at his disposal. The fact that after he played his "first team" for 80 minutes against Oakleigh, and then promoted players such as Good and Genreau into the match squad for Campbelltown is evidence of that. I expect him to continue experimenting with the match coming up against Bentleigh - for example I expect him to play Windbichler and Good as CBs, and probably give Genreau a run.

Also, please get off Metcalfe's back. He's a seriously good young footballer. Mombaerts can see that and that's why he's playing him - to give him every chance. Joyce only cared about how hard you ran on the training track - don't forget he had to have his arm twisted before he would give minutes to Arzani  - Mombaerts cares about the football a player can deliver. We will continue to see our promising younger players get a fair run.

Agreed, especially about Metcalfe. Excellent first half last night. I'm very pleased with last night. We're weeks into pre-season, with many new players, a new manager and a new system. And we get to play the best team in the country outside the A League, at their gaff, in the middle of their season. Excellent workout, and we won. 

[playmaker]

I was optimistic after this game.

You can see a change in structure and tactics which is a breath of fresh air after the last 2 seasons of WazzBall.

Bouzanis: solid game 7/10

Galloway: no real impact but solid. 5/10

Good and Robocop.: Did enough but really not impressive. 5/10

Jamieson: don't know what to make of him but played poorly IMO 3/10

Brilliante: off the pace but did some good things. 5/10

Florin: Poor game and really has no excuses. He is playing his natural position and really expect a lot better against this level of opposition. He better get a move on or he needs to go in January transfers. 3/10

Metcalfe: Did enough, some good things and some very poor things. Didn't open up plays to feed Jamie which is his job. Deserves his spot on the bench during the season with Luna obviously taking a starting spot.   5/10

Noone: Impressive and obviously a level up. Creative and aggressive playing style. Very exciting and a good eye for goal. A pleasure to watch. 8/10

McLaren: There to score goals. Did his job with a brace. Quality player. 8/10

Cabrera: Bit off the pace but a beautiful assist. Good vision and skill to pick out Jamie at the far post. 6/10

Luna: Quality. On for 10 or so minutes and provided that pinpoint cross to Jamie who positioned himself perfectly. 7/10

Wales: No impact off the pine. Disappointing because with his pace he should be dominating tired opposition at this level 4/10

It's only preseason, work to do, we have recruited some high quality players, players still learning the Mombaerts style and midfield is struggling with the transition ATM.

Overall team performance for this stage of the preseason: 6/10 with optimism.

 

[HughJass]

54 minutes ago, Harrison said:

Like Brillante?

Lacking match fitness but will improve

Yeah maybe just felt like if they went up against a bigger bodied midfield they'd be bullied 

[Tommykins]

Given Mombaerts has shown no real interest in the FFA cup so far I'd say reading much more into it than a normal pre-season game is probably setting yourself up for failure. 

[moops]

I actually thought Wales was good when he came on, made Jamie's second goal easier by dragging a CD away.

[Imtellingyou]

The credits for 3rd goal go to Luna.

[Harrison]

2 hours ago, Tommykins said:

Given Mombaerts has shown no real interest in the FFA cup so far I'd say reading much more into it than a normal pre-season game is probably setting yourself up for failure. 

Not sure what gave you that impression. In his words...

"We don't know exactly what kind of game we will have on Wednesday, but it's clear you have to win. You have to win.

Yes, we're going to set up and we want to play with our style. But it's very important to win. So this is the first game in my mind.

I want first to focus on winning and willing to win and all manner of things to win but with our style, if possible."

Edited August 1, 2019 by Harrison

[Mr MO]

Haven’t watched the game only the highlights and read the report.

Jamieson and Bouzanis are still old hurt which needs to be removed if we have the opportunity. Bouzanis made some saves but it still a liability.

How did our marquee Florin do now that he played 10 meters to the right? Worked hard, tackles, assists? Anything worthy being one of the highest paid players. Perhaps, lay him off with Griffiths and make some cap space for a worthy marquee.

[Tommykins]

1 hour ago, Harrison said:

Not sure what gave you that impression. In his words...

"We don't know exactly what kind of game we will have on Wednesday, but it's clear you have to win. You have to win.

Yes, we're going to set up and we want to play with our style. But it's very important to win. So this is the first game in my mind.

I want first to focus on winning and willing to win and all manner of things to win but with our style, if possible."

"My first target is to be ready for the first game of the championship."

I'm sure they'd like to well in the cup, but the priority seems to be the League. 

Edited August 1, 2019 by Tommykins

[mattyh001]

7 hours ago, jw1739 said:

Overall a good result for us - these away matches against good NPL opposition are always tricky. There's still plenty to work on, especially the second half "mental strength" aspect that Mombaerts mentioned after the Oakleigh match.

Agreed. 9 of our players last night weren't with our club come our last game last season. Many of the issues in the Cup game looked like players still adjusting to each other. 

Windbichler is still to come into the defence too

Edited August 1, 2019 by mattyh001

[Harrison]

13 minutes ago, Tommykins said:

"My first target is to be ready for the first game of the championship."

I'm sure they'd like to well in the cup, but the priority seems to be the League. 

Agreed but that's a bit different from saying he had no real interest in the Cup.

I also don't think we need to worry about the latter stages of the Cup impacting our League performances. Those extra matches are good for conditioning, form and rotation.

Edited August 1, 2019 by Harrison

[AXIOM]

7 hours ago, rass said:

He was copping abuse from the CC fans all night apparently. Probably explains why.

After he scored his first goal he told Jamison to 'fuck off and don't touch me' lip read this. Did anyone else see this?

[fensaddler]

10 minutes ago, AXIOM said:

After he scored his first goal he told Jamison to 'fuck off and don't touch me' lip read this. Did anyone else see this?

Yes. Definitely a back story. 

[jw1739]

Erick on the match: https://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/video/ffacup-r32-erick-mombaerts

[kingofhearts]

Very impressed by noone and brilliante.

The best thing was seeing if the difference of intent already compared to last season. Looking to actually attack and play the ball forward instead of watching our cbs pass it between it each other than bomb it forward.

Onwards and upwards

[Mr MO]

On 01/08/2019 at 1:11 PM, playmaker said:

I was optimistic after this game.

You can see a change in structure and tactics which is a breath of fresh air after the last 2 seasons of WazzBall.

Bouzanis: solid game 7/10

Galloway: no real impact but solid. 5/10

Good and Robocop.: Did enough but really not impressive. 5/10

Jamieson: don't know what to make of him but played poorly IMO 3/10

Brilliante: off the pace but did some good things. 5/10

Florin: Poor game and really has no excuses. He is playing his natural position and really expect a lot better against this level of opposition. He better get a move on or he needs to go in January transfers. 3/10

Metcalfe: Did enough, some good things and some very poor things. Didn't open up plays to feed Jamie which is his job. Deserves his spot on the bench during the season with Luna obviously taking a starting spot.   5/10

Noone: Impressive and obviously a level up. Creative and aggressive playing style. Very exciting and a good eye for goal. A pleasure to watch. 8/10

McLaren: There to score goals. Did his job with a brace. Quality player. 8/10

Cabrera: Bit off the pace but a beautiful assist. Good vision and skill to pick out Jamie at the far post. 6/10

Luna: Quality. On for 10 or so minutes and provided that pinpoint cross to Jamie who positioned himself perfectly. 7/10

Wales: No impact off the pine. Disappointing because with his pace he should be dominating tired opposition at this level 4/10

It's only preseason, work to do, we have recruited some high quality players, players still learning the Mombaerts style and midfield is struggling with the transition ATM.

Overall team performance for this stage of the preseason: 6/10 with optimism.

 

Spot on Playmaker! Love that even you now come out with a little criticism about our number 10!

[Deluka]

Would rather see Najjarine get game time and loan Wales out to Mariners to be honest

[Missing_Moy]

11 minutes ago, Deluka said:

Would rather see Najjarine get game time and loan Wales out to Mariners to be honest

Least this season it'll be a fair contest about who gets to play between the 2 unlike Joyce loving Wales sick last season. 

[marn11]

Was a bit scrappy which is to be expected given we've been in training for a month, however it was very pleasing to see the positive intent in our play. 

 

Should be good to watch this season.

[Afif Adam]

have to say the inverted full backs are working a treat, don't know what the guys above me are talking about...new team new tactics no Wazza 

[playmaker]

58 minutes ago, Afif Adam said:

inverted full backs are working a treat

Really?

That's why Jamieson was one of our worst players on the night and Galloway had no real impact.

I think we need to wait and see if this will work or not as most of the good teams in our competition break fast and wide on the counter and if our full backs are dragged in too narrow then we will get slaughtered on the counter.

We will see what the future holds but it definitely didn't work in this game as our central midfield struggled IMO.

[Afif Adam]

31 minutes ago, playmaker said:

Really?

That's why Jamieson was one of our worst players on the night and Galloway had no real impact.

I think we need to wait and see if this will work or not as most of the good teams in our competition break fast and wide on the counter and if our full backs are dragged in too narrow then we will get slaughtered on the counter.

We will see what the future holds but it definitely didn't work in this game as our central midfield struggled IMO.

midfield struggled cos of our midfield not out fullbacks, as per my last post on needing a number 10.... Berenguer is certainly not it, butttt we'll wait and see

[Mr MO]

25 minutes ago, Afif Adam said:

midfield struggled cos of our midfield not out fullbacks, as per my last post on needing a number 10.... Berenguer is certainly not it, butttt we'll wait and see

Jamieson is often bad due to his poor football skills, poor ball control, passing and just clumpsy. Don’t think this is tactic related at all. Work rate is only aspect keeping him close to the first eleven. 

[playmaker]

35 minutes ago, Afif Adam said:

midfield struggled cos of our midfield not out fullbacks, as per my last post on needing a number 10.... Berenguer is certainly not it, butttt we'll wait and see

Umm, inverted fullbacks mean the fullbacks cut into a CM positions, so my point is that instead of having 1 crap CM we had 3, with no true L and R back positions being oçcupied as in an overlap tactic that most teams play.

Florin is not playing CAM he is playing CM.

Metcalfe is our CAM atm but hopefully Luna will play there soon.

But anyway regardless, I didn't see much of that tactic happening anyway tbh.

Hope this helps to clarify what I am saying.

 

 

[Heartman]

This discussion re inverted fullbacks is interesting, especially when you look at it with the balance of the team.

If,  and I still am not convinced totally it's how we are trying to play but if we are trying to play with inverted fullbacks that automatically then eliminates 2 holding midfielders. And therefore makes me think Brillante was brought into play that single #6 CDM role. As a result Berenguer must then become the more forward #8 or box to box type with either Metcalfe or Genreau partnering.

Playing inverted fullbacks you must have 2 out and out traditional fast wingers, the chalk on your boot types, and on paper that looks like what we potentially have. 

1 central mobile striker that is good in the air, can hold up play but most importantly can play on the shoulder of a defender and run into space and Maclaren is probably 100% this.

So with 2 extra players pushing into midfield and in turn allowing the 2 8s to play more forward it creates the freedom of a #10 AM to play high up.

Now all this is hugely reliant on the 2 inverted fullbacks being capable of firstly pushing into midfield, and more often than not with the ball, and secondly being able to play as essentially midfielders. Can Galloway and Jamieson do this?

I am skeptical, everything else makes sense and potentially could be amazing but for me Jamieson and Galloway are traditional bog standard fullbacks and unfortunately not suited to this type of role.

It will be interesting to see if what I have said eventuates and if so how long he will persist or if it evolves into something else. 

Fundamentally I like it, but think at the moment we are 2 inverted fullbacks short.

[jw1739]

IMO it's premature to be drawing too many conclusions from one competitive match. Like most clubs our squad isn't finalised yet. 

[playmaker]

5 hours ago, Heartman said:

It will be interesting to see if what I have said eventuates and if so how long he will persist or if it evolves into something else. 

What you are saying absolutely correct.

The other thing is that it relies on high possession in an overloaded midfield with tactical passing triangles being set up which I am cautious about at this level.

Anyway we will see.

Look forward to watching the game on Tuesday.

[jw1739]

12 minutes ago, playmaker said:

What you are saying absolutely correct.

The other thing is that it relies on high possession in an overloaded midfield with tactical passing triangles being set up which I am cautious about at this level.

Anyway we will see.

Look forward to watching the game on Tuesday.

Mombaerts has come here with a theory about the "City Way" and how he'd like to see us play. It is inevitable that the theory will be adjusted in practice to meet the limitations of the players he has at his disposal and a lot of other factors as well.

[Imtellingyou]

If we needed some rocket science strategy to beat NPL team, well it didn't work.  There is no significant difference in the local players level, apart from goalie position. Mac and visa players make the difference. Florin is the link between the coach and team at the moment.