LB

This probably isn’t fair at all (& it’s just an opinion) but I think it has a lot to do with the way he holds himself. Just comes across as an arrogant wanker & from all reports that assumptions not far off the mark. Opens himself up for criticism, a lot of the time probably unjustified. His distribution can be terrific at times but then at other times he’ll try something completely unnecessary just to show ‘technique’.

Fark me, clutching at straws a bit? Nothing wrong with the commentary.

Farken hell. Gutted but i think we were second best tonight. Unbelievable goal. Vidosic & Fornaroli were passengers for the most part. Cannot for the world of me understand why Fitz was not brought on around the 70 mark as per the last 3 months. He made an immediate impact having someone making runs behind the line. Opened up the midfield. Don’t think he could of done a hell of a lot more with that header, was pure reflex. Feel for Malik, horrible error but I thought he was excellent for the most part again. Well done to all the guys & gals that got up there to support!

Wasn’t a bad player on the pitch for us. Malik was solid, very underrated performance imo.

Agreed, professional display. Stoked with that! I think Joyce got it right all night with the set up, game plan & sub. Bart & Malik sensational.

This 100%. Looks like we’re going to have a significant turnover again this year, it does affect your connection to the club & also deminishes the reputation of the club IMO.

Not much that can be said that hasn’t already. Phenomenal performance.

I’ve had a man crush on him for a while. IMO probably our best (or close to) value for money signing in our history. The guy is on peanuts. Seems to be the flavour of the month to shit on the guy now Arzani has emerged, & while his form has dropped he was crucial for us for an 12 - 18 month period when he & Bart were the only 2 consistently performing. If it is true hopefully he gets himself a decent $$$ rise, although I find it strange Gombau would want both Fitz & Kamau?

Arzani’s got himself into some great positions tonight (or Fornas set him up) only to ruin it by either hitting the deck needlessy or trying to beat 4 men on his own. Frustrating.

We play wide? Who was the other winger with Kamau when Arzani went off? Vidosic? If he got within 10m of the touch line more the twice I’ll eat my hat. We had 4 guys, in between 5 of them, standing within an 5m of each other, passing in triangles. Maybe im in the minority, but give me effective football over ‘beautiful’ passing football every day of the week.

We get way to slow & narrow with Bozanic, Bratten, Budz, Fornaroli & Vidosic. When Arzani gets tired he doesn’t use the width either. Everyone wants to be a ball player, no one willing to move the ball quickly & hit space. We weren’t pretty the first half of the year but for the most part, every player played a role, at the moment 5 are trying to play the same. How Fitzy didn’t get at least 20 minutes tonight astounds me. Should of been a like for like swap with Arzani. When Arzani went off we were crying out for some directness & someone running behind into space. I thought Bruce was good tonight, worked hard & had some nice touches, just ran out of legs at the end. Him & Forna both should of been replaced around the 70min mark. Opportunity lost, I thought we were sure things at 1 - 1.

That was some really stupid shit from Bort. Any other player would of been hung and quartered on here. Can understand Joyce re: Arzani sub given the stage of the game & that Joyce was hoping to shut shop.

Sydney are just that much better then any other team in the Comp it’s not funny. Without doubt (IMO) the greatest ever A League team I’ve seen, eclipsing the Roar side from years ago. We were too slow in transition again but that very well could be down to Sydney’s organisation & shape.

Seems to be getting caught in two minds a lot lately. Probably a by-product of trying too hard to impress & win his spot back. Like others have said, he just needs to simplify his game again, lay the ball off & run to space or behind the line, that's when he/we look most dangerous. In fairness, he's still getting himself into the right position, he's just lacking confidence. A goal or a quality assist should get him back on track. I think people are very quick to forget that the kid would likely be the lowest paid player (minimum wage) in our entire squad & was our most consistent player the last half of last year & first half of this. He deserves some slack IMO. Having a lull in form/confidence/quality is the norm for most (non-elite) players, look at Mooy currently at Huddersfield (no, i'm not saying they're the same quality).

No spud for me. Fitzy just seems to be trying a bit too hard but he still set up two goals & looked relatively dangerous throughout. Can understand the criticism regarding his finishing but find it strange how quickly some turn on a player that loses a bit of a form/confidence, especially considering how dominant he was for us the first half of the season.

Both our subs had an immediate effect when they came on & swung momentum back in our favour. Apart from the goal I think Budz really got us ticking & moving forward, got my vote. Fitzy also had a pretty solid outing.

There’s at least another goal in this for us, possibly two. Fitzgerald / Atkinson v Roux is looking likely.

Gees I finally see why everyone raves about Arzani. What a game. He has a Cahill sized ego but tbh we may need a player like that. Good to see Waz use his subs but I think We looked most dangerous in the first 20 of the 2nd half & bringing Carrusca on for anyone other than Vidosic was a case of too many chefs etc. etc.

I think people overrate Carussca from (the little) we’ve seen from him in a City shirt. Took a lot of poor options in the couple of games he’s played for us. I’d definitely give him some time, but can’t see anyway he’s able to play 90 or even 45 for that matter.

Would be a terrific short term signing for us IMO.

Our movement is just too slow, I think it’s that simple. Kamau & Fitzgerald made a heap of decent runs last night only for Bratten / Mauk / Jacobsen to step on the ball & play back to where the ball just came from. Our wins early in the season came on the back of our wide men being able to isolate their fullbacks & being direct & positive with the ball. At the moment the only time They receive it is when we literally have no other option.

No doubt Ross hasn’t lived up to expectations as yet but he’s showing glimpses. Just looks a bit rusty & given his lack of football early this year, it’s understandable. I heard we are/were pretty close to making his deal permanent, so I assume it’ll all depend on the scans now. With him out, I’d play Fitzgerald up front with Arzani on the flank. For the brief spell against Sydney, I thought this is when we looked most threatening.

No spud. Solid performance across the park. Give the boys one week spudless. How? Atkinson was great, but how did he thoroughly outplay him? Thought Fitzy was good again.

VAR is a pain in the arse, but that’s a clear as day red card. I’m not going to criticise Joyce as I was glad To see him think outside the square & change things/formation up. Clearly didn’t work as it Nullified your most effective attacking player & weakened our backline, but id rather see that then a manager sit on his hands & Wait for our luck to change.

Is that the one Redmayne saved & we got a corner from? It was hitting the bottom corner, will probably get save on the round. Im a Fitzy fan boy so am probably biased, I think I just love a good underdog story. Probably one of our most underwhelming signings at the time (& lowest paid) & he’s arguably been our best player the last 18 months. Plus given my limited interaction with him he seems like a genuinely nice kid, far from some of the egos we’ve had in our squad in the past. I think if Brandan/import had been playing the way he has the last 18 months, they’d be getting heralded as one of the best players in the league, but because it’s a bloke who came from CCM & can’t do a step over, he seems to get overlooked. Shocked to not see him just behind Bart on top of our POTY points.