Matchday 26: vs Adelaide United @ Coopers Stadium, Friday 4th of April, 7:30pm (8:30am GMT)

[K-aram92]

Just finished watching that game taped. Could definitely see the goal coming but that doesn't make it any easier to tolerate. 

 

It's just sickening to see how poor we become when the opposition goes down to 10 men. As opposed to some others opinions, I quite liked how JVS kept us pressing for a third once the red card was brought out, as it would have been too early to try and slow the game down (from my experience watching heart, defending a lead is not our strong suit), however the last substitution baffled me. That late in the game it becomes just stupid to bring on an attacking player (that being Ramsey although he was once again ineffective). Gerhardt should have come on and we should have had our whole team in defence. Way too much space in the box when that goal was scored. 

 

Much like most of you guys, I just want the season to end. I can't take this disappointment anymore. 

[silva10]

Didn't realise you were playing today so haven't recorded it.

 

It does sound like once again the Heart have lost 2 points rather than gained one.

 

From the games i have seen you should have more points on the board.

 

Unfortunately, it seems to be for whatever reason you are failing to finish teams off when going in front and your errors seem to result in a goal for the opposition.

 

Hopefully with a more professional training regime next season you can convert your superiority to points.

[NewConvert]

I think most post-match commentary is reasonable. Saw the stats on Hoffman and yeah, so what? the stat missed the pass back to Tando but that is minor. The problem with Hoff is that the passes can be a meaningless or mis-timed. The comment about needing a general on the field is right which is why I am of the belief that the captain should be a midfielder rather than a defender or winger - sadly we don't have anyone capable in the mid-field to be captain (Engelaar could do it but he is not on the field for 90 minutes). Mauk was definitely causing problems and I was disappointed to see him come off. Kalmar is no Engelaar and once again that was painfully obvious. If JVS is planning to have Garrucio as next season's left back then the both of them have a lot of work to do beginning 10 days from now.

Now a special word about Mabil - I always like what he brings to the game. Early on the season I realised that he had two major flaws: first he was too light and easily shoved off the ball, secondly he only has one foot. Last night, he showed that he is gaining strength and could not be shoved off the ball. He also has improved his skills on his non-preferred foot. BUT most importantly he showed a ferocious tenacity that the defense failed to contain. Ramsay and Williams should have a look at  Mabil's 15 minute game to see what is required of them.

Finally, what I find baffling, is that when the team went on its winning streak, the team came from behind to win a few games. What happened to those players? What happened to the team that kept its cool and played out a game? What happened to the tactical moves by JVS when things weren't working out?

[Red or Dead]

 

Yes Murdocca fucked up which eventuated to them equalising, but the Hoffman criticism is deserved!

 

Hoffman is shit at defending and he is shit at going forward!

 

Allow me to elaborate, when he defends, he jogs sideways backwards pretty much opening the door for them to go around him (or straight passed him)....other than that he panics so even by some chance he pulls off a tackle to win the ball he boots anywhere, which usually just comes straight back!

Now, let's talk about him going forward. Yes, he's quick, but that's about it! He's the Ramsay of the right wing! His delivery into the box (or lack there of) is just as shit as his defending! His can't read the play and he can't envisage a pass or passing the ball into space! Mate was caught offside a couple of times because Hoffman didn't have the nous to pass the ball early enough for Duga to run onto!

 

Hoffman is below A-League standard and should not be playing ahead young guns of which Heart will benefit more out of. I'm not necessarily talking about Walker; I'm talking about grooming a youth player into a gun right back who we can eventually sell-on...no team would look at Hoffman and think "hrmmm...this kids awesome, let's get him over for a trial"!

 

Hoffman OUT! Heart will achieve nothing as long as this guy is a starting player!

More than happy to have a healthy debate about it. Here's some stats about Hoffman tonight:

89% converted passes

8 passes to dugandzic (indicating he was pushing forward and linking up well)

3 passes each to engelaar murdocca (again indicating he looked to play the ball to our midfielders)

2 passes to Williams and Behich

1 pass to kalmar, germano and mauk

1 offside pass (not sure where you saw this happen a couple of times)

Only pass to a defender was to wielaert 3 times. So all up 17 passes were to midfielders or forwards and only three back to weialert.

Defensively

4/5 tackles successful. The tackle he lost was further up near the half way line.

5/5 successful clearances

3/3 headed clearances

2/2 arial Dulles won

Errors leading to a shot on goal....0

Errors leading to a goal....0

Your turn..... :-)

 

You can look at stats, but stats don't tell the whole story! For example, he got 8/8 clearances (inc. 3 headers) - a clearance is measured by clearing the ball from the defense...however watching the match yesterday, his clearances were a boot up the ground to the opposition. He doesn't have the composure to look up and clear the ball effectively...and by effectively I'm talking about a meaningful clearance out of defense to one of our own players.

 

Watching the player and seeing what he does and when he does it also tells part of the story! Frankly, he just doesn't look like a comfortable right back! He doesn't seem to know what he's doing half the time, his first touch is poor, his vision is terrible and his execution is bad! Yes he can follow directions from the coach, i.e. push up when this happens, pass back when that happens and I congratulate him on his professionalism, but that does not make him a competent right back!

 

If we want to push on with Hoffman at right back we're going to continue to have stupid clearances where he'll continue to clear (hoof) the ball out of defense only  for the opposition to come right back at us which puts him and the rest of our defensive unit under unnecessary pressure! I'm not saying he is the only player guilty of this, but taking his position in mind, how the coach wants us to play and how he actually executes that game plan I reckon he's the biggest culprit.

[Kiro Kompiro]

Really pissed off but it was always coming-the game was never ours from the time Williams missed  the pen.

 

My take is that once Engelaar went off we became a rabble, like last week.  Used to be no Fred no Heart, now its no Engelaar no Heart.  

 

Interestingly, this was with pretty much the same group of player as was available to Aloisi.   So much for JVS being the saviour. 

 

I'll probably cop it for this but there are several players in vital roles who time and time again do not perform when the defining moments in a match come up:  Williams, Dugandzic, Behich, Kalmar, Murdocca.  I would not have cried in my beer if they were all de-listed.

 

Mate said :" It keeps happening".  Mate, mate YOU keep happening.

[Ando]

I daresay most of the squad are in need of some decent technical training, our first touch is terrible and consistently leads to bad body shape and poor passes.

Watch the Japanese sides in the ACL, one touch to control/direct, second touch to pass = faster play. Our lads take three, maybe four touches before they're ready to pass, and it's not really good enough.

That being said, we shouldn't be too fussed about this result, Adelaide are a good unit. We just need to be mentally tougher, and hopefully that'll come in the off season.

Also can recommend the Blue Galah hostel. Free jam and rice!

I hope you requested the jungle theme dorm again.

Nope, Room #2 crack den

[mus-28]

Marrone confirmed as having a broken leg. Poor bastard.

[Kiro Kompiro]

Didn't realise you were playing today so haven't recorded it.

 

It does sound like once again the Heart have lost 2 points rather than gained one.

 

From the games i have seen you should have more points on the board.

 

Unfortunately, it seems to be for whatever reason you are failing to finish teams off when going in front and your errors seem to result in a goal for the opposition.

 

Hopefully with a more professional training regime next season you can convert your superiority to points.

 

 

Football is a game decided by key moments.

 

We have a history of players-and its the same ones time and time again- who simply do not perform at those key moments.

 

Going forward, the two marquee players are critical.

 

IMO the international marquee needs to be a creative midfielder, the Australian needs to be one of Cahill Kennedy or MacDonald.  No Bresciano please.

[ontheball]

Can believe the stick the Hoff and Williams get on here. Admittedly Williams can be frustrating however he is in the running to win the golden boot whilst Jez Walker has been released so isn't replacing Hoff amy time soon.

If u were watching the game Mauk took a knock so that is why he came off.

Finally you support a team because they are your team not because they are winning.

Rant over maybe time to hang up the tea leaves

[HEARTinator]

Really pissed off but it was always coming-the game was never ours from the time Williams missed  the pen.

 

My take is that once Engelaar went off we became a rabble, like last week.  Used to be no Fred no Heart, now its no Engelaar no Heart.  

 

Interestingly, this was with pretty much the same group of player as was available to Aloisi.   So much for JVS being the saviour. 

 

I'll probably cop it for this but there are several players in vital roles who time and time again do not perform when the defining moments in a match come up:  Williams, Dugandzic, Behich, Kalmar, Murdocca.  I would not have cried in my beer if they were all de-listed.

 

Mate said :" It keeps happening".  Mate, mate YOU keep happening.

Could not agree more. Big moments, defining moments in a game, when it needs to be won - the players you mention haven't stepped up to the plate enough times. Consistency again. Willo blast a few goals this season and yes happy for that. But when he isn't firing on all eight cyclinders he's chugging along like a Trabant, all smoke and farts. Class players like Engelaar have the ability to put their mark on the game more often than not. Was great to see Mauk have a very good game. Could be a turning point for him.

[Kiro Kompiro]

Can believe the stick the Hoff and Williams get on here. Admittedly Williams can be frustrating however he is in the running to win the golden boot whilst Jez Walker has been released so isn't replacing Hoff amy time soon.

If u were watching the game Mauk took a knock so that is why he came off.

Finally you support a team because they are your team not because they are winning.

Rant over maybe time to hang up the tea leaves

 

 

Williams cops it because he is a key player playing  a key role where the deciding moments in a game fall to him, and he doesn't take them. 

 

Hoffman cops it because after all these years he is at best a squaddie.

 

Its not about the winning or losing, its the about the mental weakness of several players who consistently throw away 3 points, and they're not getting better.

[jw1739]

Statistics certainly do not tell the story. You can break down the statistics and work them out for each player and find that for most if not all of the players their individual statistics are quite OK. 5/5 tackles looks fine except that the tackle count does not show how many times the player was completely out of position and couldn't make a tackle in the first place. Completed passes might be 8/8 but that says nothing about the effectiveness of those passes or whether there were far better ones that were not taken. And so on.

 

Over-analysis of individual players can lead to completely erroneous conclusions. The facts are that our results and the league table show that we have completely under-performed this season, as a playing unit. Full stop. Unless changes are made the results next season are likely to be similar - what was that definition of madness again - "Keep repeating the same things over and over again and expecting the result to be different"?

 

2 points out of the last 15. 3 out of those 5 matches we were up against 10 men. We should have reached the finals with a match to spare.

 

Not good enough for our loyal fans.

Edited April 4, 2014 by jw1739

[Bannon]

depressing match really wish we won that came close now twice at beating these fuckers in shitilaide, still find there general fans tacting like we where on top of the ladder or something.

[Koerner4]

Only real criticism I have off the Hoff last night is his body shape when defending. Mabil burnt him outside when they were inside the box. His body shape was all wrong and his momentum was actually going the other way, so he just got clean past, no resistance, into a very dangerous area. I noticed this even happened last week against Broich who definitely isn't the quickest player.

[Tommykins]

Can believe the stick the Hoff and Williams get on here. Admittedly Williams can be frustrating however he is in the running to win the golden boot whilst Jez Walker has been released so isn't replacing Hoff amy time soon.

If u were watching the game Mauk took a knock so that is why he came off.

Finally you support a team because they are your team not because they are winning.

Rant over maybe time to hang up the tea leaves

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

 

Williams is frustrating because he's just so hot and cold, there are times when he looks like he's about to break a game open and then goes missing for a while. As for the Hoff, it's been a year of him at right back, would you say he's improved markedly? He still has errors in concentration which boggle the mind.

[Red or Dead]

We've been up against Adelaide this season in every game and they have equalised in the 77th, 89th and 92nd minute! That's 6 points we lost because of our lack of composure and the ability to see out a full 90mins! We could've won all three games and be on 32 points instead of the disappointing 26!

[n i k o]

Yes Murdocca fucked up which eventuated to them equalising, but the Hoffman criticism is deserved!

 

Hoffman is shit at defending and he is shit at going forward!

 

Allow me to elaborate, when he defends, he jogs sideways backwards pretty much opening the door for them to go around him (or straight passed him)....other than that he panics so even by some chance he pulls off a tackle to win the ball he boots anywhere, which usually just comes straight back!

Now, let's talk about him going forward. Yes, he's quick, but that's about it! He's the Ramsay of the right wing! His delivery into the box (or lack there of) is just as shit as his defending! His can't read the play and he can't envisage a pass or passing the ball into space! Mate was caught offside a couple of times because Hoffman didn't have the nous to pass the ball early enough for Duga to run onto!

 

Hoffman is below A-League standard and should not be playing ahead young guns of which Heart will benefit more out of. I'm not necessarily talking about Walker; I'm talking about grooming a youth player into a gun right back who we can eventually sell-on...no team would look at Hoffman and think "hrmmm...this kids awesome, let's get him over for a trial"!

 

Hoffman OUT! Heart will achieve nothing as long as this guy is a starting player!

More than happy to have a healthy debate about it. Here's some stats about Hoffman tonight:

89% converted passes

8 passes to dugandzic (indicating he was pushing forward and linking up well)

3 passes each to engelaar murdocca (again indicating he looked to play the ball to our midfielders)

2 passes to Williams and Behich

1 pass to kalmar, germano and mauk

1 offside pass (not sure where you saw this happen a couple of times)

Only pass to a defender was to wielaert 3 times. So all up 17 passes were to midfielders or forwards and only three back to weialert.

Defensively

4/5 tackles successful. The tackle he lost was further up near the half way line.

5/5 successful clearances

3/3 headed clearances

2/2 arial Dulles won

Errors leading to a shot on goal....0

Errors leading to a goal....0

Your turn..... :-)

You can look at stats, but stats don't tell the whole story! For example, he got 8/8 clearances (inc. 3 headers) - a clearance is measured by clearing the ball from the defense...however watching the match yesterday, his clearances were a boot up the ground to the opposition. He doesn't have the composure to look up and clear the ball effectively...and by effectively I'm talking about a meaningful clearance out of defense to one of our own players.

 

Watching the player and seeing what he does and when he does it also tells part of the story! Frankly, he just doesn't look like a comfortable right back! He doesn't seem to know what he's doing half the time, his first touch is poor, his vision is terrible and his execution is bad! Yes he can follow directions from the coach, i.e. push up when this happens, pass back when that happens and I congratulate him on his professionalism, but that does not make him a competent right back!

 

If we want to push on with Hoffman at right back we're going to continue to have stupid clearances where he'll continue to clear (hoof) the ball out of defense only  for the opposition to come right back at us which puts him and the rest of our defensive unit under unnecessary pressure! I'm not saying he is the only player guilty of this, but taking his position in mind, how the coach wants us to play and how he actually executes that game plan I reckon he's the biggest culprit.

Of course stats are just a small part and not often the telling part of a players game. Regarding his clearances sometimes the ball needs to be cleared, simple as that. Kisnorbo cleared the ball 10 times weialert cleared the ball a bunch of times, does that mean we now get on their back as well? How many of those clearances hit their mark?

Now if there was reason to say that Hoffman is costing us games I too would be on his case, but he is not. He's not going to win us any games but he so far has not lost us any games. Not every player can be a creative player that's going to dazzle the crowds, and he is not that type of player. Our key positions are the ones that are costing us. Murdocca for one was terrible yesterday. I don't care how intense he is and how much he tries he basically cost us the game and it's not the first time he has done something like lost possession in a part of the pitch that's dangerous and allowed the other team to counter us. Out of everyone you should be getting on his case. Williams taking two of the poorest penalties, with the first one being closer to the centre of the goals than the second one he missed. Yet the player that is attacked is Hoffman.

Again I can't stress it enough that he is no world beater and he's not going to be the most creative right back in the league. But you can't deny that he is reliable in his defensive roles.

Yesterday Hoffman made the right plays and he passed the ball with almost perfect consistency to our most influential players on the pitch. It's not his job to be a game changing player, simple as that.

[Alexxandro]

up a man and a goal, only we can fuck this up now

True dat. 

[Alexxandro]

I'm struggling to think of seeing a more consistently gutless team in any sport.

 

All the good work from January-February has been comprehensively undone. Every last bit of it. They've got one more game to redeem themselves.

Beat WSW 5 - 0 and there's no redemption for the two and half seasons with one away win. 

 

I remember this time two years saying that I don't care about home games until we start winning away. I'm still waiting. 

[HeartinHobart]

My fault

[Shahanga]

Honestly whilst i admire Mass Murdocca for his professional approach, can we* win the league with him as an ever present?

 

They way he gave the ball away at the death was simply terrible.  We are a goal up with an extra man and a minute or so to go- all we have to do is hang on to the ball- it shouldn't be difficult - not (try to) boot it away down field.  

 

If we want to put together a starting XI that is the best in the league, we need a better first choice midfield. 

 

* assuming there even is a "we" but that is the subject of another thread.

[Tony999]

I think I have calmed down after last nights games. My dad and I were almost swearing everything under the sun once that goal fell. But like most, we saw it coming. After 4 seasons for frustration I guess there is light at the end of the tunnel. The new owners would bring a lot of spark into this squad. Yes, they re-signed Hoffman but in all seriousness he is an OK utility player and most likely on piss poor wages. Look what they did to Man City. I understand that there is no salary cap in the Premier League but a massive turnaround for City fans and their club. But they have to get it right before season starts. Get in a top marquee, inject decent players and win preseason games. I will no doubt re-sign but people will jump on board if the 3 points I mentioned are executed properly.

[Shahanga]

Can believe the stick the Hoff and Williams get on here. Admittedly Williams can be frustrating however he is in the running to win the golden boot whilst Jez Walker has been released so isn't replacing Hoff amy time soon.

If u were watching the game Mauk took a knock so that is why he came off.

Finally you support a team because they are your team not because they are winning.

Rant over maybe time to hang up the tea leaves

Well agree with you, but the whole point of this forum is to allow people to discuss their different views.  Life being surrounded by yes men would simply be boring.

 

In regards to Willo I found myself in the weird position of being constantly frustrated with him, but having to defend him on here because of what i consider to be the massive overreaction of a number of guys who simply cannot see the positives that he also brings.  In regards to Hoff, now that he is pulling his weight in the side the debate seems to be more about "can we do better", a discussion I normally don't see a lot of point in joining (of course there are better right backs in the world, but who am I to know if we can afford/manage to sign them?).  

 

I am more concerned by Redmayne, Kalmar, Behich, Ramsay and Murdocca (in that order). 

[SF33]

 

I'm struggling to think of seeing a more consistently gutless team in any sport.

 

All the good work from January-February has been comprehensively undone. Every last bit of it. They've got one more game to redeem themselves.

Beat WSW 5 - 0 and there's no redemption for the two and half seasons with one away win. 

 

I remember this time two years saying that I don't care about home games until we start winning away. I'm still waiting. 

 

 

I agree to an extent. But personally, I'm just begging the team to throw me a bone and not finish this season as pathetically as they finished the last one. I mean, if they'd been able to hang on last night, some people would have discounted it because of the 'against 10 men' factor. I just want them to show some pride and give us something.

[belaguttman]

 

I agree to an extent. But personally, I'm just begging the team to throw me a bone and not finish this season as pathetically as they finished the last one. 

 

.... and the one before that, and the one before that.

[Defibrillator]

Honestly whilst i admire Mass Murdocca for his professional approach, can we* win the league with him as an ever present?

 

They way he gave the ball away at the death was simply terrible.  We are a goal up with an extra man and a minute or so to go- all we have to do is hang on to the ball- it shouldn't be difficult - not (try to) boot it away down field.  

 

If we want to put together a starting XI that is the best in the league, we need a better first choice midfield. 

 

* assuming there even is a "we" but that is the subject of another thread.

I think it runs deeper than this Shahanga. I've just watched the replay and, whilst I'm far from doom and gloom re last night, the DM position is a huge area of concern. The screening of the back four, even in the first half, was appalling. We really need a DM who is strong and reliable on the ball, dictating play, cutting out any danger immediately and (like I've said above) a general of the team. DM is the perfect position to have a leader and we are miles off it and Engelaar isn't fit or quick enough at the moment to do this (and really is too creative - I think better further up the park). Germano is the closest we have to this and we all know his injury record (amazed he didn't start in front of Murdocca really). Murdocca is just not DM material:unreliable, impulsive, pushed off the ball, and certainly not physically imposing. Just look at both Adelaide goals. The only role I can see for him is working as an impact sub in tandem with a strong DM when we need to lock down a game by harrying off a strong finishing team, and even then I have my doubts.

It wasn't all doom and gloom last night. Mauk was great and showed plenty and I'd hate to say it he needed to be subbed - he needs a strong preseason to learn to get the fitness to run out games. He's only young and hasn't quite got the motor, but look out when he does. Hoffman was clearly instructed to push up the park - part of his evolution I suspect in the eyes of JVS. And I think people are forgetting how far we have improved in the last 3 months. We played some very nice football last night (could you imagine a decent DM and a striker who can nail opportunities - we would have destroyed the possession based form team of the league by half time), we have a coach who is prepared to experiment with youth and structure (ok, some mistakes last night - but since finals are gone, I want to see this - better now when it doesn't matter at all - I'm not into the playing for pride attitude - I'm more into playing for next year attitude by experimenting now), and it's not a pipe dream to think if MCFC drop 4 or 5 very good players into this team it will create huge fear in the A League. I don't think we're as far off the pace as people think. With up to nine spots available in the squad and Mooy coming (my sources tell me it's a done deal), we are in for a great ride.

[MUTD/MLBHRT/ESSNDON]

First things first, unless you want to cop heaps on this forum don't by any means bring up that Murdocca is the weakest link in our midfield! He is an endangerd species to half these guys!

Mate your spot on, if the guy was any good he'd still be playing up north. Look honestly next season he will be playing off the bench at best.

[moops]

I don't understand why people are so angry, it was a great entertaining game that had it all.

The differences between the first half and second half were our subs and noteably how we pressed. In the second half we pressed very high, affording Adelaide more space in midfield. I think JVS changed it becuase we had the extra man and thought we could close the game down.

If tando can work on his shot stopping, he would be better than Redders, he is much more comfortable with the ball at his feet.

The Hoff, Mauk, Engalaar and Behich had a good game. Though Kalmar, Williams and Murdocca dissapointed for me.

It's dissapoiting not getting the win, but I was highly entertained, game of the season for me.

[Jovan]

Agree with you Moops. JVS should have shut down Malik and Isaiss. Anger is from yet another game we pissed against the wall. No one has mentioned penalty miss. But last 5 minutes we looked like a bunch of bunnies staring into a headlight. Good teams don't lose these games. Proof were not a good team. YET.

[n i k o]

The thing is if you add some real quality to the positions that are most important...defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder and a striker all the other players then link in with them. Yesterday we were a little underdone on the left wing because garuccio, while he's has done well most of the time, is definitely a winger not a fullback. Other than that it's up to those three positions to link up and make the whole team gel. Murdocca has obvious limitations, Williams is hot and cold and engelaar is basically still not 100%. It's not up to fullbacks to control games and be game changers.

[jw1739]

Honestly whilst i admire Mass Murdocca for his professional approach, can we* win the league with him as an ever present?

 

They way he gave the ball away at the death was simply terrible.  We are a goal up with an extra man and a minute or so to go- all we have to do is hang on to the ball- it shouldn't be difficult - not (try to) boot it away down field.  

 

If we want to put together a starting XI that is the best in the league, we need a better first choice midfield. 

 

* assuming there even is a "we" but that is the subject of another thread.

IMO these sorts of mistakes - and this is not an isolated case - are primarily because we don't have a strong on-field captain in the right position in the team. JvS can't do it all from the sideline. It might make the difference of only a few points a season, but in a salary-capped league that can be the difference between success and failure.

 

We've never had the right captain IMO. HK is OK but he's not on the field enough. Fred was a poor choice, and so was Colosimo.

 

The captains and vice-captains are important roles. It's not just about calling the toss of a coin and wearing an armband.

 

Another aspect we have to do a lot better in going forward.

Edited April 5, 2014 by jw1739

[moops]

The thing is if you add some real quality to the positions that are most important...defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder and a striker all the other players then link in with them. Yesterday we were a little underdone on the left wing because garuccio, while he's has done well most of the time, is definitely a winger not a fullback. Other than that it's up to those three positions to link up and make the whole team gel. Murdocca has obvious limitations, Williams is hot and cold and engelaar is basically still not 100%. It's not up to fullbacks to control games and be game changers.

All positions are important, imho we need to identify the weakest links and progress from there. That being GK, DM, ST, LB. JVS has aluded that the team playing now will be there next year, so I expect Behich to be there.

We do need a good DM who can also distribute and start attacks, a propper LB, Engalaar and Mauk in CM/AM, a quality striker (though I would love O'Dea or Shroen given a go for the last game) and a good keeper, though I like Tando more than Redders after his two games.

[HEARTinator]

Honestly whilst i admire Mass Murdocca for his professional approach, can we* win the league with him as an ever present?

 

They way he gave the ball away at the death was simply terrible.  We are a goal up with an extra man and a minute or so to go- all we have to do is hang on to the ball- it shouldn't be difficult - not (try to) boot it away down field.  

 

If we want to put together a starting XI that is the best in the league, we need a better first choice midfield. 

 

* assuming there even is a "we" but that is the subject of another thread.

IMO these sorts of mistakes - and this is not an isolated case - are primarily because we don't have a strong on-field captain in the right position in the team. JvS can't do it all from the sideline. It might make the difference of only a few points a season, but in a salary-capped league that can be the difference between success and failure.

 

We've never had the right captain IMO. HK is OK but he's not on the field enough. Fred was a poor choice, and so was Colosimo.

 

The captains and vice-captains are important roles. It's not just about calling the toss of a coin and wearing an armband.

 

Another aspect we have to do a lot better in going forward. Kind of like having a Rubin Zadkovich as captain but someone with a little more finesse.

[mus-28]

A big problem in the past few weeks was the lack of a genuine attacking threat off the bench. With Mifsud & DMac gone and Kewell injured we should've at least looked at someone like Milos Lujic who could offer something off the bench when Williams is doing his invisible act up forward. We were essentially playing with 10 with Williams unable to hold onto the ball. 

[Shahanga]

Letting Mifsud go was about trialling people for next year, however it really hurt us in terms of bench fire power

[malloy]

Letting Mifsud go was about trialling people for next year, however it really hurt us in terms of bench fire power

What....? Thats like going to war and saying my rifle isn't working I wish I didnt throw out that BB gun......

[ontheball]

Letting Mifsud go was about trialling people for next year, however it really hurt us in terms of bench fire power[/quote

Trialling who ?!

Mifsud asked to be released so the club obliged.

Some rubbish spouted on here at times.

[Harrison]

I've had my doubts about Murdocca for a while now. Safe to say they are no longer doubts.

 

A few months ago, me and another bloke said that Germano is a MUCH better and more effective player and that we would play him over Murdocca. We were then pretty much ridiculed.

 

I'd love to know whether the bloke who used the BT 'Oh boy wowee' meme (in response to the Germano > Murdocca assertion) would still use it now.

 

His turnover this match was almost unforgivable. And you couldn't even blame it on a lapse of concentration. He just flat-out lost the ball due to an horrendous touch. 

 

Please start Germano over him.

[Murfy1]

First time travelling to an away game, and it was a great experience, despite the result.

 

I'm in the don't-get-all-the-doom-and-gloom camp. The vast majority of pundits and observers wrote Heart off going into the game, expecting Adelaide, who are widely judged to be the favourites or second-favourites to win the championship (i.e. grand final), to cruise to victory at home. And after Adelaide scored inside the first minute, many Heart supporters could be excused for expecting that to happen (I'll admit I was fearful that I was going to see Heart capitulate and get thrashed). But instead Heart rallied after conceding and was much the better side in the first half, scoring twice to take the lead.

 

And for all those saying "same old Heart", lets be clear that if Aloisi was still at the helm, Heart would most likely have capitulated and have been thrashed, like we saw earlier this season against Brisbane (3-0 loss), Sydney (2-0 loss), Newcastle (3-1 loss) and Sydney again (2-1 loss), among other painful point dropping losses (remember, Aloisi never won after falling behind, and only drew once at home to Adelaide early this season [who were a much different proposition then]). It's been forgotten that Heart can now get back into games, and even win, after conceding, and that didn't start happening until JVS replaced JA, so due credit for that.

 

The first half had numerous real positives. Heart not only got back in the game and took the lead, but also had 55% possession against Adelaide (who's first priority is to dominate possession) in Adelaide, passed fairly well, attacked well done the flanks, had the better chances and limited Adelaide chances.

 

Things went awry in the second half for multiple reasons that have been touched on in this thread. I think Engelaar being subbed off at HT (after he said he wasn't fit enough to play) was a key reason why things went awry. Both his quality and the psychological lift he gives to the team are crucially important, and this match was another clear reminder that Heart needs big players in the team like Engelaar and Kewell, and the team is noticeably worse without such players. So hopefully Man City secures some big players that can lift and lead the team (and also be better than Engelaar and Kewell).

 

I agree with others who have said that the team is psychologically fragile. Perhaps it is somewhat understandable (although of course not excusable), as this season and last season has given players like Williams, Dugandzic, Hoffman, Behich, Ramsay and others few comebacks and even wins to give them experience and resilience to draw upon. Hopefully a good pre-season, a strengthened team and a strong start to next season gives many Heart players a real psychological boost, and removes any psychological weaknesses that players might have (and I think that players like Williams, Dugandzic, Ramsay and maybe others could be much better and effectively different players if they approached matches in a better mental state).

 

Mauk was a real bright spot. You could expect young players like him to be a bit quiet after being at Heart for this season and last season, but instead Mauk's (and Garuccio's) quality has been frequently shown, with Mauk's positivity winning the first penalty and bringing about the second goal. His passing was also good, with Mauk playing an impressive pass to set Dugandzic away 1-1 with the keeper at the start of the second half. 

 

I think the negatives were just that this squad in its current state is limited. Heart wasn't too defensively strong in the fullback positions, and in this game both goals came down Hoffman's flank (the first after he was caught out badly out of position up field, the second during a complicated moment when he ended up filling in at LB leaving RB free, and didn't defend Ferreira or clear the cut-back/cross). Williams really went missing this match, and seemed to always be away from the action in this game (another reminder that he shouldn't be a 1st choice no. 9). Behich did fairly well at LW, but he simply doesn't play regularly as a LW, so Heart simply should have a good left winger in his place. And Heart simply didn't have enough talent on the bench, meaning the team weakened when Kalmar replaced Engelaar and Germano replaced Mauk. And because Heart has literally got rid of all its strikers (Mifsud, Dmac, Golgol), Heart had no firepower to bring off the bench to improve on the motley front 3 of Behich, Williams, Dugandzic.

 

So overall the takeaway for me from this match is that this squad's ability, in the context of this season, has maxed out. It is now known clearly what players can and can't do, and how much and in what ways Heart needs to have the squad strengthened. And some learning has happened, for instance with regards to Garuccio's quality as LB (who knows, he might have replicated his terrific derby form at LB, and if he did he might well have been worthy of becoming next season's LB. But unfortunately he hasn't) and Tando's ability in goal (whilst he hasn't been spectacular, he's managed to meet the low level that Redmayne has reached this season. So Redders will have to lift his game to secure the no 1 GK position for next season). And Mauk and Garuccio have really put their hands up to be heavily involved in next season. So whilst the ending and the result of this match sucked, there were a number of things to take out of this game, and unbridled doom and gloom is unjustified.

[LR9]

Just noticed this game had 12 bookings, the most bookings in a HAL fixture, ever!

 

18' J.Neumann

32' T.Elrich

35' T.Elrich

36' E.Galekovic

37' M.Zullo

45' T.Velaphi

49' M.Carrusca

49' D.Williams

61' N.Kalmar

70' I.Sanchez

80' A.Behich

80' J.Elsey