Matchday 14: v Brisbane - Saturday 11th January 5 pm at Suncorp Stadium

[Afif Adam]

Refereeing was all over the place 

[haz]

Still amazes me how and why Florian is a marquee.

[Mr MO]

1 minute ago, Dylan said:

happy with that considering...

See there’s our issue. Top 3 teams should beat the weaker teams in this league home and away. I’m disappointed, because dropping points against good teams okay but we can’t beat a Brisbane team on both occasions. We had a boat load of chances!!!!!

1 minute ago, haz said:

Still amazes me how and why Florian is a marquee.

Give him time.

[Dylan]

3 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

See there’s our issue. Top 3 teams should beat the weaker teams in this league home and away. I’m disappointed, because dropping points against good teams okay but we can’t beat a Brisbane team on both occasions. We had a boat load of chances!!!!!

Give him time.

4 starting XI players out, only one CB and a shitty defence anyway in terrible conditions, ill take the point

[Harrison]

Put Rojas in for Wales and we win that. No doubt in my mind. 

[NewConvert]

Wales' contract finishes on May 31. I have seen enough of him. He can run but that is just about it. He is not good enough for the A-League so perhaps he needs to drop back into the lower leagues or try Nepal instead. He should have done athletics. That game was there for the taking in the first 20 minutes and he squandered the lot.

[Tangerine]

 

7 minutes ago, Dylan said:

4 starting XI players out, only one CB and a shitty defence anyway in terrible conditions, ill take the point

Sydney wouldn’t have.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Tangerine

[Dylan]

1 minute ago, Tangerine said:

Sydney wouldn’t.

Sydney wouldn’t have.

Ask them next time they play us

[Mr MO]

1 minute ago, Harrison said:

Put Rojas in for Wales and we win that. No doubt in my mind. 

Aren’t we getting carried away a little with this Rojas? If he’s that good why isn’t getting offers out of any other parts in the world?

[Shahanga]

16 minutes ago, fensaddler said:

Winnable, but a bench full of kids, hot conditions, and another bad injury. Could have been better, could have been worse. 

Agree with this. Remember we had 7 players unavailable including 2 right wingers.

would have loved to win but will take the point after finishing with 10.

Just now, Mr MO said:

Aren’t we getting carried away a little with this Rojas? If he’s that good why isn’t getting offers out of any other parts in the world?

Swap you for wales and we still win

[Mr MO]

4 minutes ago, NewConvert said:

Wales' contract finishes on May 31. I have seen enough of him. He can run but that is just about it. He is not good enough for the A-League so perhaps he needs to drop back into the lower leagues or try Nepal instead. He should have done athletics. That game was there for the taking in the first 20 minutes and he squandered the lot.

Our senior midfield players didn’t show anything for 70min that’s why we lost points. Yes Wales is average but to blame him whilst we have players on better money walking around like a training session (Luna and Berenguer). 

[playmaker]

12 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

Our senior midfield players didn’t show anything for 70min that’s why we lost points. Yes Wales is average but to blame him whilst we have players on better money walking around like a training session (Luna and Berenguer). 

They created at least 4 opportunities that unfortunately went to Wales.

That's more than enough.

Any other player receiving those balls would have at least scored twice.

Sorry to say but the loss is on Wales not the midfield.

[fensaddler]

Right now we have Windbichler definitely out injured, and his obvious replacement Delbridge suspended (apparently unjustly). Cabrera is packing his bags, and three of the four away with the Olyroos are regular first picks for the eleven, including our only decent keeper. Galloway is likely now out, and possibly Berenguer. I wouldn't be surprised if Wales is also carrying an injury from last week's late crocking. Given that, and the inevitability that a couple of players in each match will be unimpressive, it's going to be hard work at the moment. 

[Mr MO]

Just now, playmaker said:

They created at least 4 opportunities that unfortunately went to Wales.

That's more than enough.

Any other player receiving those balls would have at least scored twice.

Sorry to say but the loss is on Wales not the midfield.

Sure and then we just do nothing for 70min? I need to watch the replay again but I doubt that Florin and Luna were actually heavily involved in those opening chances and the build up play.

To blame misses in the first 10minutes of the game is ridiculous. Still much love Berenguer I see.

Its a collective game, we had plenty to play for after those misses.

[neio]

2 minutes ago, fensaddler said:

Right now we have Windbichler definitely out injured, and his obvious replacement Delbridge suspended (apparently unjustly). Cabrera is packing his bags, and three of the four away with the Olyroos are regular first picks for the eleven, including our only decent keeper. Galloway is likely now out, and possibly Berenguer. I wouldn't be surprised if Wales is also carrying an injury from last week's late crocking. Given that, and the inevitability that a couple of players in each match will be unimpressive, it's going to be hard work at the moment. 

We still have the quality in our first 11, it's the bench that's full of kids that's an issue. It's not their fault at all, and they try hard, but it's not often you get a 16 or 17 year old tear a game open off the bench. 

I know it's not the thing to hope for, but the quicker the under 23s lose and get kicked out of the comp they are in, the better for us

[Shahanga]

3 red hot chances to Wales.

Cabrera plays he probably scores at least 2. Most even half decent footballers get at least 1. A top winger walks away with a hat trick.

[playmaker]

3 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

Sure and then we just do nothing for 70min

What?

He missed 4 chances in the first half and Luna didn't even want to pass to him anymore.

Wales is crap end of story.

9 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

Still much love Berenguer I see.

Florin is JUST good enough to hold his position on the pitch, but in no way should he be there in the place of a proper marquee CM. Am I happy that he is on our list? No, but he needs to be on the pitch atm because he offers more that any other players on our list in that position.

If I had my way I would get rid of both players in this transfer window.

[CityBoyz]

With the amount of chances Wales had, if we had like a Rojas they would have been goals. That’s the difference in quality and why we need this winger as wales is a sub player atm 

[neio]

I don't want to break the theory that if we had Rojas instead of Wales, we would have scored 10 today

But Rojas plays on right side, so all those chances that fell to Wales wouldn't have been falling to Rojas, they would been going to Noone and on evidence so far, I'm not confident he would have scored any either 

[Mr MO]

I don’t understand most of you. We missed heaps of chances in the first 20 odd minutes correct, and that’s the sole reason for the draw?

Completely ignoring we showed nothing for remainder of the game, we created barely anything decent in the second half? That’s also Wales his fault?

What about half our squad can’t hit the target?

21 minutes ago, neio said:

I don't want to break the theory that if we had Rojas instead of Wales, we would have scored 10 today

But Rojas plays on right side, so all those chances that fell to Wales wouldn't have been falling to Rojas, they would been going to Noone and on evidence so far, I'm not confident he would have scored any either 

I agree, we should stop creating some kind saviour of out him. 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Mr MO

[HEARTinator]

1 hour ago, fensaddler said:

Winnable, but a bench full of kids, hot conditions, and another bad injury. Could have been better, could have been worse. 

NO

1 hour ago, Mr MO said:

We don’t deserve a top 2 spot, we are there by luck but not for long.

YES

[Harrison]

50 minutes ago, neio said:

I don't want to break the theory that if we had Rojas instead of Wales, we would have scored 10 today

But Rojas plays on right side, so all those chances that fell to Wales wouldn't have been falling to Rojas, they would been going to Noone and on evidence so far, I'm not confident he would have scored any either 

Good players tend to get the ball. Rojas would instantly improve our team and our ability to finish. Players pick out good players. 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Harrison

[Harrison]

47 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

I don’t understand most of you. We missed heaps of chances in the first 20 odd minutes correct, and that’s the sole reason for the draw?

Completely ignoring we showed nothing for remainder of the game, we created barely anything decent in the second half? That’s also Wales his fault?

What about half our squad can’t hit the target?

I agree, we should stop creating some kind saviour of out him. 

Not really a saviour. I am confident Rojas would’ve converted one of the chances Wales had. That would’ve been enough.

Our second half performances have been a problem all season. Part of it is to do with the ability of the team to continue pressing past 60-70 minutes. One of the things that all good teams do is capitalise on the chances they create early and then transition to a more solid, defensive approach to manage out games. 

When you can’t actually make hay when the sun is shining, finding a winner when you’ve lost your dynamic play is very difficult. We’ve simply got to be better when we’re dominant. 

[Mr MO]

4 minutes ago, Harrison said:

Not really a saviour. I am confident Rojas would’ve converted one of the chances Wales had. That would’ve been enough.

Our second half performances have been a problem all season. Part of it is to do with the ability of the team to continue pressing past 60-70 minutes. One of the things that all good teams do is capitalise on the chances they create early and then transition to a more solid, defensive approach to manage out games. 

When you can’t actually make hay when the sun is shining, finding a winner when you’ve lost your dynamic play is very difficult. We’ve simply got to be better when we’re dominant. 

Then it comes down to intelligence and strategy. 

You think the coach send them out in 30degrees and 80% humidity with our normal high press game? Not very smart against a team who’s used to it.

[Harrison]

3 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

Then it comes down to intelligence and strategy. 

You think the coach send them out in 30degrees and 80% humidity with our normal high press game? Not very smart against a team who’s used to it.

Absolutely. Need to be smarter with how we manage our games at different times. But we obviously need to have the lead, and it’s not necessarily an issue to play a high counterpress in the conditions we have. It more comes down to changing our approach when the time is right and being smarter, like you said. 

[NewConvert]

2 hours ago, Mr MO said:

Sure and then we just do nothing for 70min? I need to watch the replay again but I doubt that Florin and Luna were actually heavily involved in those opening chances and the build up play.

To blame misses in the first 10minutes of the game is ridiculous. Still much love Berenguer I see.

Its a collective game, we had plenty to play for after those misses.

I think that you fail to consider the effect that those misses have on the team morale. Hell, I know, I was crap at football so players would never pass the ball to me, and that is what happens in the midfield. Players stopped passing the ball to Wales - have a look at the stats for the second half.

My suspicions are that the game plan for both teams was to score early and then run down the clock. This was because of the conditions. And late in the second half players stopped running if they didn't have to.

As far as Berenguer is concerned, I have never expressed any opinion on him before. Which ever scout thought that he was worth coin got it wrong. Injury prone, inconsistent and if he was an Aussie he would be a journey man in the A-League.

 

[n i k o]

The game was there to be won in the first 30 min. We had chances and didn't take them. And we gave away the ball too easily and copped goals. The second half most of our players slowed down, probably due to humidity.

We take 2 of our chances early on it's a different ball game. We control the tempo of the gane better and Brisbane has to press and work harder. Instead of cruising and conserving some energy in the last 30 min we have to press for the win. 

[HEARTinator]

10 hours ago, NewConvert said:

As far as Berenguer is concerned, I have never expressed any opinion on him before. Which ever scout thought that he was worth coin got it wrong. Injury prone, inconsistent and if he was an Aussie he would be a journey man in the A-League.

 

And this is the core of our recruiting problem ATM. Simply observing our games as a casual watcher it would be hard to identify who are our visa/marquee players and who are our locals. If you watch Sydney you would quickly see that Ninks commands the midfield and that le Fondre is a force in the front. Castro for Glory would easily catch the eye and Toivonen for the Tards likewise. These guys can influence a game. I don’t quite see the same with our squad.

[Imtellingyou]

Florin and Luna were key players when we dominated the game.

More bad news for their critics, Inman sold schoolyard dummy to Brilliante. 

[Mr MO]

36 minutes ago, Imtellingyou said:

Florin and Luna were key players when we dominated the game.

Ah yes, by how much did we win again? Heartinator means that the visa players he mentioned are winners.

[jw1739]

There are so many sensible comments made above that I don't know why our recruitment team continues to get it wrong and our coaching team never seem to have a Plan B, or if they do, never seem to know when to use it.

Seems to me the very fact that successful teams like Sydney and Perth are half-full of former City players shows that it is the management side of our club that get's it wrong. It's not the players.

[Shahanga]

1 hour ago, Imtellingyou said:

Florin and Luna were key players when we dominated the game.

More bad news for their critics, Inman sold schoolyard dummy to Brilliante. 

In general agreement with you.

i still don’t think Luna had his best game, but he worked hard. Just too many not quite good enough touches at critical moments.

[Deluka]

Sounds like a replacement announced next this coming week.

Just now, Deluka said:

Sounds like a replacement announced next this coming week.

Woops, wrong thread! 

[moops]

15 hours ago, Mr MO said:

I don’t understand most of you. We missed heaps of chances in the first 20 odd minutes correct, and that’s the sole reason for the draw?

Completely ignoring we showed nothing for remainder of the game, we created barely anything decent in the second half? That’s also Wales his fault?

What about half our squad can’t hit the target?

I agree, we should stop creating some kind saviour of out him. 

Agree, you can't win if you can't score That's the difference with Sydney, they don't really have many chances, but they put them away when they do.

Wales and Najjarine are meant to be forwards, Berengeur a forward mid, they are there to create and score and they are all seriously lacking in that department, I always think it's going to miss when they have a shot.

Compared to Sydney they have Le Fondra (we have Macca and they are on par with each other, the best strikers in the league), Barbarouses, Ninkovic and Baumjohan, all who can hit a target.

I would like to see Colocovski given more game time. good enough=old enough.

13 hours ago, NewConvert said:

I think that you fail to consider the effect that those misses have on the team morale. Hell, I know, I was crap at football so players would never pass the ball to me, and that is what happens in the midfield. Players stopped passing the ball to Wales - have a look at the stats for the second half.

My suspicions are that the game plan for both teams was to score early and then run down the clock. This was because of the conditions. And late in the second half players stopped running if they didn't have to.

As far as Berenguer is concerned, I have never expressed any opinion on him before. Which ever scout thought that he was worth coin got it wrong. Injury prone, inconsistent and if he was an Aussie he would be a journey man in the A-League.

 

Spot on

[Imtellingyou]

Popular opinion is that we didn't win against the Roar because we only scored  (away!) three and two goals. It's not about players. Our former players are in the championship winning team. We have good defenders, we had the best defender in the league and defensively oriented coach. We have modern training grounds. What we never have had is championship winning capable coach. 

[Colombo]

What we have never had is a board that understands football and us supporters and recruiters and coaches that have been useless in selecting local players and overseas players. On this forum between us all the knowledge we have we would have assembled a championship winning squad and had thousands more attending games sack all the useless pricks running the show in suits 

[rass]

25 minutes ago, Colombo said:

What we have never had is a board that understands football and us supporters and recruiters and coaches that have been useless in selecting local players and overseas players. On this forum between us all the knowledge we have we would have assembled a championship winning squad and had thousands more attending games sack all the useless pricks running the show in suits 

Yes, because all of us on the forum here - with our powers of persuasion and international connections - would have been able to convince every single player we wanted, to come down to Australia and play for nothing in a salary capped league.

[n i k o]

31 minutes ago, Colombo said:

What we have never had is a board that understands football and us supporters and recruiters and coaches that have been useless in selecting local players and overseas players. On this forum between us all the knowledge we have we would have assembled a championship winning squad and had thousands more attending games sack all the useless pricks running the show in suits 

On the flip side the board hasn't had a group of supporters that understand football or about the selection of local and overseas players. Furthermore between us all we have not one person that has the knowledge of assembling a championship winning squad. 

 

Please don't get upset. I'm just being devil's advocate. There have been questionable things done by the club that should be discussed, without doubt. 

Edited January 13, 2020 by n i k o

[Colombo]

Sydney fc seem to have no problems in attracting overseas players of quality put a list together and compare and see the difference 

[Mr MO]

4 minutes ago, n i k o said:

On the flip side the board hasn't had a group of supporters that understand football or about the selection of local and overseas players. Furthermore between us all we have not one person that has the knowledge of assembling a championship winning squad. 

 

Please don't get upset. I'm just being devil's advocate. There have been questionable things done by the club that should be discussed, without doubt. 

Let’s start the forum football manager with $3mil to spend!