fensaddler

There's always a few contrarians Inchy!

Duke, apologies if tagging my comment onto yours seemed like I was having a specific crack at you. Not the case, your comment was just a suitable starting point to run with an idea. And I agree with you, to win things there has to be some balance in this - and we do need to win things. But I'm inclined to be optimistic about the opportunities in being a go to place for domestic talent. We're already beginning to see it with Riley, Lachlan and Harrison. Pity we couldn't have hung on to Daniel for another season...

Biggest no brainer of the century though wasn't it? I've rarely seen a more obvious man of the match!

The point of the scouting network will still be to find useful visa players, but it will also be to locate and evaluate overseas Aussie talent - for example the likes of Boyle, or youngsters who have gone abroad but then not prospered, or who want to return. I'm not sure I buy into this negative view of a "more Aussies" policy anyway. For a start we were looking for a credible identity. If we're seen as the go to place for (young) Aussie talent, if we're seen as the domestic nursery for the Socceroos, and as the place where Aussie talent can play in a decent professional environment as an alternative to a second or third rate overseas club, isn't that quite attractive, and distinctive? It will actually be great to see local talent develop, and then go on to bigger things if its good enough. And if that identity is strong enough, the Arzanis of this world might stay for two or three years, not just one. We're always going to be relative minnows in world football, but let's try and see some positives in this, rather than defaulting to whinge mode?

Quite. Had the ball skills to play out from the back. Pity if he didn't have the attitude for someone to really work with him and find his strengths.

Re Najjarine, I'd agree. Not yet living up to the hype. But on this I would trust Wazza. Delbridge looked a donkey at first but now looks the business, and Wales is increasingly looking like a shrewd investment, given his finish on Tuesday night. I suspect he might come good as well, and this time next year we'll be wondering why we didn't see it.

I think we've got two matches out of round order later this month as well.

If that's the case, then doubly frustrating. The number of young players over the years that I've seen with talent but not application or attitude... For fans like me, particularly galling, since I'd kill for a fraction of that talent, and even once to have the chance to run out for my team...

Can't help feeling that's a shame. Seemed to have talent, but never quite realised. Frustrating, but I hope he can progress somewhere, even if he has to go abroad or drop into NPL.

Yeah, nah. I'm personally over the whole argument. We'll never know. Let's just move on. Ship him out, get someone else in, or else kiss and make up. We've got a grumpy sergeant major as manager, that's his style. Some will thrive, some won't. But the high ups clearly think some spine needed to be inserted and Wazza is the mechanism for insertion. It's not pretty but right now we're winning matches we'd previously have lost. Of the next five matches, only Perth should be considered anything less than three points. Grind those out and we'll be well placed.

Indeed, if he goes (and I'd really rather he didn't) I doubt he'd struggle for offers in Scotland or England.

No, I don't want to see him go either, but he doesn't appear to be favoured. Griffiths won't have helped his cause getting sent off, and always looked surplus once Baccus arrived and established a starting spot.

La Rocca would also appear to be surplus to requirements. Could also see Griffiths and O'Halloran going too. I guess we're all assuming that Bruno will go. Incoming, we need a striker and a winger, maybe even a genuine creative 10. Otherwise the squad looks OK.

Can't really argue with that. Controlled the game. Scored two clinical goals, and tight at the back when needed. This is *potentially* a fabulous side. Imagine this mob with an in form specialist striker...

And another. Easy when you get it forward quickly. We've got the players, just need to get it forward...

Where the hell did that come from? Shot.

If Ross is fit I'd take him in a heartbeat.

Apologies if this sounds too optimistic, but if the master plan is to develop a team of exciting young talent, I'll be quite happy. But I do want to see some exciting football and have a crack at winning the toilet seat...

Indeed. I'd feel better if they tried to explain their plans to us...

What that actually says is: We know what we're doing It'll all be brilliant in five years We're not telling you what we're doing, why we're doing it, what we're trying to achieve, or how we'll get there You're all bloody peasants If you continue to disagree with us you're definitely a peasant like the peasants from Salford And shut up

Minnie the Moocher.

Would certainly be a shame not to build on the fantastic efforts last night. The trick will be to netralize the them and us thinking, and to unite two different terrace cultures - what we might term 'Anglo spontaneous' and 'Mediterranean capo'. Neither is more or less worthy, and we need both to unite the terrace.

On this capo/no capo thing. My soccer culture is British, and I've seen the racket a spontaneous terrace can make (including the one at the City Ground in Nottingham). So certainly a terrace can work without formal leadership. But let's accept that's not everyone's football culture. So if there's a capo fine, if not also fine. If spontaneous chants start even with a capo, also fine. It's not us and them. It's just us.

You see, this is the problem. I was stood on the edge of active for the whole match, and my take was firstly that it was great to see so many people, and secondly it was great that they made noise. I didn't give a toss what they sang about, who led it, why, or where the chants started. Because all that matters is that they were there, and they made a racket to support the team. For me, just good to have some atmosphere.

Brattan's hair.