MCY vs Glory holes 8th December Wednesday, 7:45

[KSK_47]

Finally mother fuckers!

[haz]

Finally!! 

Why isn't Atkinson starting? 

[kiko]

What a nice bit of play it was!!! God stuff!!

[Bannon]

yeah cunts

[jw1739]

4 minutes ago, haz said:

Finally!! 

Why isn't Atkinson starting? 

Just one of the questions that PK ought to be answering.

[kiko]

Needed those 3 points Well done City

[neio]

The most dominant 88th minute 1-0 win you will see 

[belaguttman]

First win at home against Glory for years

Positives:

We won

More intensity than the last game, good reaction

Negatives:

AAAAAARRRGGGGHHHH! That was painful to watch, dominated the game but it was almost like we didn't want to score, final shot often poor, too many touches, overcomplicating the game.

Have these guys played a pre-season? They look like they've watched a video of last season's team and are trying to play the same but have never met before the match. There's no fluency, play breaks down when we incrwease the pace, if we slow the game we are trying to break down packed defences.

Service to Maclaren has been poor but so has his positioning and finishing

Very few far post runs, of course we scored from one of the few.

[hakz7]

On 6/12/21 at 10:14 PM, hakz7 said:

Predicting a 1-0 win in front of 4,000 people. Exactly 9 years to the day since the last time that happened. 😉

Mebrahtu’s winner that day was in the 89th minute. Atkinson’s in the 88th

Told ya!

[kingofhearts]

29 minutes ago, haz said:

Finally!! 

Why isn't Atkinson starting? 

Because Leckie has a greater reputation then him. Definitely nothing based on recent form.

Still can't believe our BOG in the grand final can't now get into the starting 11 ( and I'm even some cases, not get on the pitch at all!!!). I don't care who has to make way, but Galloway or Leckie should be on the bench for him.

We look terribly disjointed at the moment but I believe two changes will fix everything;

1) Atkinson for Leckie

2) The Italian guy in the mid spot occupied tonight by tilio and in previous games by Frenchy.

Will take the win but we need to get our shit together before the next derby as they aren't as much of a rabble as they have been in previous seasons.

 

[citypool]

Not the most exciting game. Are we still doing the vote for mom?

[Nate]

14 minutes ago, citypool said:

Not the most exciting game. Are we still doing the vote for mom?

Good or Jamo, then daylight

[malloy]

26 minutes ago, Nate said:

Good or Jamo, then daylight

Oneill and Reis were solid too. That being said there was a fair bit of daylight between Good and anyone else.

[citypool]

Good is having a fantastic season 

[NewConvert]

That was so frustrating. City's defence was great. Mid field OK as I am not convinced by O'Neill, our forward line is completely disjointed. I felt that Nabbout had a good go, I didn't mind Jmac but Leckie reminds me of Craig Moore's final games barely able to run, poor passing, etc. Having said that there were quite a few low crosses across the face of goals and neither Jmac nor Leckie were in a position to capitalise. Not even trying.

And of course there was Galloway's shot hitting row z in the final minute of the game when he had an open goal.

For me PK has to answer why Atkinson is not starting ahead of Galloway, why is he persisting with Leckie who at times appeared disinterested, does Pucciarelli exist and if so when will the Germano Treatment Centre release him.

Oh, and that referee should give checkers a go because football is not his calling.

[Torn Asunder]

Cold and unpleasant evening at the stadium.  

Curtis Good monstered the defence and was the linchpin for most of our plays.  Tillio in the midfield gave us more confidence to play through the middle at times, and it seemed that we were almost ready to click in attack ... but not quite there and hard when a team parks the bus against us, and our front three are yet to gel.

PK really is not coaching well ... he has said that the front 3 will eventually click (which they may), and he has no expectation on them to play well - he rates their quality and he is happy for them to take their time to find their groove.

When a player (like Leckie) is struggling, by persisting with him for as long as PK did, you are literally draining him of any confidence ... both he, and JMac were forlorn towards the end of the game.  In fact Leckie seemed shattered by his poor game.

Perhaps PK would be better starting him on the bench, or switching him with JMAC, or playing a 4-4-2, rather than persisting with a plan that just isnt working.  I also find it inexcusable that he is yet to give Colakovski a go, even as sub ...  These kids have no fear and lots of potential - throw em on!  Look what Tillio, then Nathaniel gave us last night .... Instead we get stale tactics, and players being played into less form

Griffiths and Nathaniel into the team last year sparked a run of good form ... hoping the team turn it around soon 

[NewConvert]

3 hours ago, Torn Asunder said:

Cold and unpleasant evening at the stadium.  

Curtis Good monstered the defence and was the linchpin for most of our plays.  Tillio in the midfield gave us more confidence to play through the middle at times, and it seemed that we were almost ready to click in attack ... but not quite there and hard when a team parks the bus against us, and our front three are yet to gel.

PK really is not coaching well ... he has said that the front 3 will eventually click (which they may), and he has no expectation on them to play well - he rates their quality and he is happy for them to take their time to find their groove.

When a player (like Leckie) is struggling, by persisting with him for as long as PK did, you are literally draining him of any confidence ... both he, and JMac were forlorn towards the end of the game.  In fact Leckie seemed shattered by his poor game.

Perhaps PK would be better starting him on the bench, or switching him with JMAC, or playing a 4-4-2, rather than persisting with a plan that just isnt working.  I also find it inexcusable that he is yet to give Colakovski a go, even as sub ...  These kids have no fear and lots of potential - throw em on!  Look what Tillio, then Nathaniel gave us last night .... Instead we get stale tactics, and players being played into less form

Griffiths and Nathaniel into the team last year sparked a run of good form ... hoping the team turn it around soon 

And I fear he is frustrating other players such  as Metcalf and dragging JMac down.

[jw1739]

5 hours ago, Torn Asunder said:

Cold and unpleasant evening at the stadium.  

Curtis Good monstered the defence and was the linchpin for most of our plays.  Tillio in the midfield gave us more confidence to play through the middle at times, and it seemed that we were almost ready to click in attack ... but not quite there and hard when a team parks the bus against us, and our front three are yet to gel.

PK really is not coaching well ... he has said that the front 3 will eventually click (which they may), and he has no expectation on them to play well - he rates their quality and he is happy for them to take their time to find their groove.

When a player (like Leckie) is struggling, by persisting with him for as long as PK did, you are literally draining him of any confidence ... both he, and JMac were forlorn towards the end of the game.  In fact Leckie seemed shattered by his poor game.

Perhaps PK would be better starting him on the bench, or switching him with JMAC, or playing a 4-4-2, rather than persisting with a plan that just isnt working.  I also find it inexcusable that he is yet to give Colakovski a go, even as sub ...  These kids have no fear and lots of potential - throw em on!  Look what Tillio, then Nathaniel gave us last night .... Instead we get stale tactics, and players being played into less form

Griffiths and Nathaniel into the team last year sparked a run of good form ... hoping the team turn it around soon 

I agree that this is really, really poor team management. There are such high expectations on these two, especially Leckie coming in from the Bundesliga. In reality, according to Transfermarket, poor Leckie has had very little football over the past two seasons, and PK persisting with him is just heaping the pressure on him. Jmac is always very self-confident and I don't see the situation as affecting him to the same degree.

I see the absence of Des Buckingham here. With he and Neil Young having departed the club, I doubt that any of the new assistants is going to stand up to PK and tell him he's got it wrong.

[Jovan]

49 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

I agree that this is really, really poor team management. There are such high expectations on these two, especially Leckie coming in from the Bundesliga. In reality, according to Transfermarket, poor Leckie has had very little football over the past two seasons, and PK persisting with him is just heaping the pressure on him. Jmac is always very self-confident and I don't see the situation as affecting him to the same degree.

I see the absence of Des Buckingham here. With he and Neil Young having departed the club, I doubt that any of the new assistants is going to stand up to PK and tell him he's got it wrong.

I disagree he's got it wrong. 

They both need minutes. 

[fensaddler]

Interesting. We were definitely better than against WU, sharper to the tackle, much stronger in midfield and much tighter at the back. We deserved to win and we weren't lucky to do so. But going forward we're not clicking. The main culprit does appear to be Leckie. His passes are misplaced, he's not in the right place to receive passes and he just doesn't seem to be reading what team mates are about to do. And yes, it's clearly frustrating other players such as Metcalf. 

Tough one, since dropping him could go either way. He could find the space and time to sort things out, or it could further knock his confidence. Akka surely needs to come in, but if a direct swap for Leckie it means Nabbout moving to the left. Not ideal but possible.

Tilio did a serviceable job as a 10, but is probably not in his best spot. The absence of Pucciarelli is definitely a concern. Good had a fabulous game, strong in defence, a couple of great headers at corners, and of course the forward pass to Metcalf which ended in the goal.

Finally bloody 7.45 kick offs, especially midweek. Had to leave 20 minutes before the end to make a train at a reasonable time. There's FA good links back to Southern Cross at that time of night. So we were on a 40 minute route march back to the station when we got news of the goal. Bloody kick off earlier, and PTV, sort your shit out and don't assume people only want to get to Flinders...

[mattyh001]

47 minutes ago, fensaddler said:

Finally bloody 7.45 kick offs, especially midweek. Had to leave 20 minutes before the end to make a train at a reasonable time. There's FA good links back to Southern Cross at that time of night. So we were on a 40 minute route march back to the station when we got news of the goal. Bloody kick off earlier, and PTV, sort your shit out and don't assume people only want to get to Flinders...

feel your pain there mate.  the amount of times of I have gone back to flinders to only fuck around to get to Southern Cross!!!!  just don't get the need to cut out / restrict the City loop services.

in general, I am finding the PTV and metro stuff really shit atm.  it took me an hour and 40 on Saturday to get to the game when it normally takes 50 min.  it involved trips on three different train lines (Cranbourne, Pakenham and Belgrave) and a connecting bus trip.  fucking bullshit all round. 

[Mr MO]

2 hours ago, Jovan said:

I disagree he's got it wrong. 

They both need minutes. 

Whilst I agree that only game time can bring these two back in form on the other hand that’s also not really how it works in competitive football at the highest level - they aren’t teenagers in a development team either. Leckie clearly hasn’t played enough football and JMAC was always going to have a dry spell if you aren’t shooting on target and if you don’t have enough variation in your game or struggle with man marking.

One thing I don’t really understand is the lack of set ideas which can be trained on - so Nabbout comes into the box often from the right, how come JMAC and Leckie have no clue what he will do or where to stand, and the other way where Nabbout acts surprised when nobody walks against one of these semi shot/crosses hard pass the goals.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Mr MO

[Nate]

I thought we were really good last night and honestly a little unfortunate not to have already scored before Atkinson subsequently headed home to save the day. It definitely felt like a typical City home match of last season in the way we played, in that our tempo was quick and we used the width of the pitch to far better use than we've seen this season. Good was absolutely outstanding in defence and thwarted everything, and was also the catalyst for chaining some of our best moments going forward. Equally, I thought Jamo was terrific at nullifying Perth's attacks and was also instrumental in breaking forward - not to mention his white-line fevered spat with Bruno, loved it.

Leckie was still clearly the weakest link and some of his first touches were straight up sub-NPL level, which is really surprising given his output in the last couple of Socceroos qualifiers. Clearly, he's not in form and while I respect Kisnorbo wanting to give him minutes to improve his match fitness, I can't help but feel for guys like Atkinson and Colakovski who would probably be starting ahead of him if not for Leckie's reputation. Definitely a fine balancing act, made even trickier once Pucciarelli is fit.

 

[NewConvert]

2 hours ago, Jovan said:

I disagree he's got it wrong. 

They both need minutes. 

They don't have to be starting minutes.

[kingofhearts]

Something that has probably gone understated due to all the Leckie debate was how fucking good was that goal ey?

The ball didn't even touch the ground in our attacking half of the pitch until it went into the goal. Beautiful passes by good and Metcalfe with an even better finish by Atkinson to top it all off.

[jw1739]

11 minutes ago, kingofhearts said:

Something that has probably gone understated due to all the Leckie debate was how fucking good was that goal ey?

The ball didn't even touch the ground in our attacking half of the pitch until it went into the goal. Beautiful passes by good and Metcalfe with an even better finish by Atkinson to top it all off.

Is there a highlights package anywhere?

[n i k o]

I must be in the minority group here but I thought that game was mostly exactly what we were looking for from this team.  Minus some of the finishing, the intensity to win the ball back and ruthlessness to press forward was fantastic. This style and intensity is what made us so dangerous last season. Watching our start to the season I was starting to get very worried we had lost that but this game has given me a lot of confidence in the hunger of the team to win. Great signs and if we continue to perform in this way I have little doubt our front three will start banging them in.  

[belaguttman]

54 minutes ago, n i k o said:

I must be in the minority group here but I thought that game was mostly exactly what we were looking for from this team.  Minus some of the finishing, the intensity to win the ball back and ruthlessness to press forward was fantastic. This style and intensity is what made us so dangerous last season. Watching our start to the season I was starting to get very worried we had lost that but this game has given me a lot of confidence in the hunger of the team to win. Great signs and if we continue to perform in this way I have little doubt our front three will start banging them in.  

I agree it was an improved performance however one of the features last season was how clinical we were in front of goal, we were far from clinical in this game. The other change is that last season our first pass in attacking transition was almost always forward, it's now back, or if it is forward it's to a player facing our own goal so that the second pass is back. Sometimes we want to slow the game and build the play but this seems to almost always slow our transition and commit us to a slow build-up style of play. 

I agree that the intensity and desire made a welcome reappearance.

[n i k o]

10 hours ago, belaguttman said:

I agree it was an improved performance however one of the features last season was how clinical we were in front of goal, we were far from clinical in this game. The other change is that last season our first pass in attacking transition was almost always forward, it's now back, or if it is forward it's to a player facing our own goal so that the second pass is back. Sometimes we want to slow the game and build the play but this seems to almost always slow our transition and commit us to a slow build-up style of play. 

I agree that the intensity and desire made a welcome reappearance.

I mostly agree with your opinion. I do think the last two games the teams have parked their defence deeply into their own halves making it more difficult to move the ball forward everytime. But overall I'm very happy with the progress. The season is long. My point is many of the comments have dwelled on the negative here. After last season and the level of intensity this game, the team and our forwards deserve some opportunity and faith that they will come good. If we continue to progress from this game im confident our forwards will start scoring more and the team will continue to improve the style of play we are looking for. 

[Imtellingyou]

I'm not sure about our increased intensity. That's to be tested next week.  Poppa's teams are good in that respect.  It was very much expected that Glory wouldn't match their efforts shortly after playing them last week. In this regard the result is very skinny. 

[Torn Asunder]

21 hours ago, jw1739 said:

I agree that this is really, really poor team management. There are such high expectations on these two, especially Leckie coming in from the Bundesliga. In reality, according to Transfermarket, poor Leckie has had very little football over the past two seasons, and PK persisting with him is just heaping the pressure on him. Jmac is always very self-confident and I don't see the situation as affecting him to the same degree.

I see the absence of Des Buckingham here. With he and Neil Young having departed the club, I doubt that any of the new assistants is going to stand up to PK and tell him he's got it wrong.

I think Des was invaluable last year ... PK needs someone like that.  You see it even with the subs ... he is oblivious to them during the game.  They look disinteretsed when they are doing their warm ups, its like they know they are wasting their time and probably wont get a run

Also, the language and his attitude in the pressers is terrible - he is ultra defensive in his whole demeanor - like he is trying to intimidate the journos, but not in a a Jose Mourinho charismatic way, but more in a "Im gonna punch you in the throat if you ask me a bad question" way

[Mr MO]

1 hour ago, Torn Asunder said:

I think Des was invaluable last year ... PK needs someone like that.  You see it even with the subs ... he is oblivious to them during the game.  They look disinteretsed when they are doing their warm ups, its like they know they are wasting their time and probably wont get a run

That's because all subs made seem to be planned and we don't move away from the plan, been like that for seasons now - hence the subs might look disinterested, only warming up for a potential injury. As PK always says, ''stick to the plan and just work harder''.

[haz]

The dude won us the double last season and we're already turning on him after 4 rounds into the new season 

Edited December 10, 2021 by haz

[Mr MO]

6 hours ago, haz said:

The dude won us the double last season and we're already turning on him after 4 rounds into the new season 

You mean the team?

[malloy]

7 hours ago, haz said:

The dude won us the double last season and we're already turning on him after 4 rounds into the new season 

You must be new around here....

[jw1739]

8 hours ago, haz said:

The dude won us the double last season and we're already turning on him after 4 rounds into the new season 

IMO it's a fair discussion about his strategy and tactics, and also about a couple of players of whom we have high expectations. We have no trouble putting the boot into Bos or Stokes after a couple of mistakes, but somehow PK and a couple of senior players can't be discussed?

Edited December 11, 2021 by jw1739

[n i k o]

1 hour ago, jw1739 said:

IMO it's a fair discussion about his strategy and tactics, and also about a couple of players of whom we have high expectations. We have no trouble putting the boot into Bos or Stokes after a couple of mistakes, but somehow PK and a couple of senior players can't be discussed?

Of course they can be discussed but its about context. Using phrases like 'poor' team management when your team has completely obliterated and nullified the other team from having the ball and barely having a shot on goal and making the right subs who in the end win the game for you, sounds out of context.

Just on Leckie, he is a bloody Bundesliga player lol. Plays for the national team. He is still getting match fit, and we're only 4 games in, with 2 wins and 1 draw. I believe he has earned the right to have time to find his best performances. 

[NewConvert]

1 hour ago, n i k o said:

Of course they can be discussed but its about context. Using phrases like 'poor' team management when your team has completely obliterated and nullified the other team from having the ball and barely having a shot on goal and making the right subs who in the end win the game for you, sounds out of context.

Just on Leckie, he is a bloody Bundesliga player lol. Plays for the national team. He is still getting match fit, and we're only 4 games in, with 2 wins and 1 draw. I believe he has earned the right to have time to find his best performances. 

As noted earlier, he did not play as many minutes in the Bundesliga as you think. All up about 10 matches in 2019 pre-covid. Even less during covid. And I have a suspicion that he only plays for the national team because of reputation and for lack of an alternative.

[jw1739]

43 minutes ago, NewConvert said:

As noted earlier, he did not play as many minutes in the Bundesliga as you think. All up about 10 matches in 2019 pre-covid. Even less during covid. And I have a suspicion that he only plays for the national team because of reputation and for lack of an alternative.

According to transfermarkt a total of 497 minutes in 2020-21 (5 starts, 12 as a sub) and 188 minutes in 2019-20 (1 start, 6 as a sub). No goals, one assist. He actually missed quite a few of our WC qualifiers too.

[n i k o]

On 11/12/2021 at 2:34 PM, NewConvert said:

As noted earlier, he did not play as many minutes in the Bundesliga as you think. All up about 10 matches in 2019 pre-covid. Even less during covid. And I have a suspicion that he only plays for the national team because of reputation and for lack of an alternative.

I get the feeling that you don't rate him highly. I guess we will differ in our opinion of how he is managed during this stage if that's the case because both our opinions are subjective.

My stance is, regardless of the minutes he's played overseas, there is grounds that based on his international experience and national duties he deserves some perseverance after the team has won two of four league games and progressed through the ffa cup games, one in which he scored.