RD 15 City travel to the Glory Hole

[Dylan]

Just now, playmaker said:

Its the ancient football argument.

Strikers blame the mids for bad passing, the mids blame the defenders for bad positioning, the defenders blame the keeper for not saving, then the keeper blame the defenders for not marking, and the defenders blame the mids for not holding possession and the mids blame the strikers for not offering a target.

Sounds like the whole team is to blame to me.

Nah just Koren

[haz]

4 minutes ago, Dylan said:

Nah just Koren

I blame Koren for Western Sydney's first goal 

[playmaker]

10 minutes ago, Dylan said:

Nah just Koren

So predictable 

[ecguymer]

....So......is anything interesting happening with the match in Perth?

[playmaker]

20 minutes ago, ecguymer said:

....So......is anything interesting happening with the match in Perth?

Koren will be starting CF

Edited January 13, 2016 by playmaker

[belaguttman]

1 hour ago, playmaker said:

Its the ancient football argument.

Strikers blame the mids for bad passing, the mids blame the defenders for bad positioning, the defenders blame the keeper for not saving, then the keeper blame the defenders for not marking, and the defenders blame the mids for not holding possession and the mids blame the strikers for not offering a target.

Sounds like the whole team is to blame to me.

Yep, you've got it

6 hours ago, Luke said:

You better fall into line with the rest of the Epl plastics and wax lyrical about Sorrenson  

The team is only as strong as the weakest link, Sorensen isn't the weakest link

[Shahanga]

4 hours ago, Jovan said:

Exactly if anyone can be blamed its the player on the halfway line that didn't win the ball or last resort make a foul and i think it was our Marquee who should remain nameless. No difference in 2 or 3 to 1 loss. 

Wasn't the marquee (well it was on halfway, but the problem started earlier) Some dude who I couldn't make out lost the ball. Koren maybe could have gone for the yellow/red card lunge, but I blame the other guy more.  

Edited January 13, 2016 by Shahanga

[Shahanga]

Kuzi & Eyigun into the extended squad.

In glad to see Kuzi around the squad. Hopefully he's been working extra hard on his weak points (particularly his passing) & the club is rewarding him. 

His pace is a threat, so I wouldn't freak if he made the bench, could be useful if we are chasing the game.

 

[SF33]

Sorensen passes the eye test for me...goals conceded can sometimes be a dubious stat. I'm confident he'd go ok in a 'goalkeeper tested: pass/fail' stat. And he's a leader. He demands respect and he intimidates. If some young punk like Kuzi dared to look at Sorensen cross eyed, his headless body would be found floating in the Yarra a few days later.

I think we should remember the very exciting defence that we were looking forward to unveiling during the offseason and wondering how Zullo, Kisnorbo, Chapman, Hughes and Franjic would fit into four spots. As we're all aware, we yet to have four of them healthy at the same time and we've rarely even had three available.

I'm worried about this game. The usual 'high flying Melbourne CIty' stories are getting around this week, after we've managed four points in the past three games. Conditions are perfect for a 'getting ahead of themselves' loss. I'm nowhere near the point with this team where I'm confident that we'll can cross the Nullarbor, waltz into NIB stadium and breeze to the three points.

 

[jeffplz]

1 hour ago, SF33 said:

Sorensen passes the eye test for me...goals conceded can sometimes be a dubious stat. I'm confident he'd go ok in a 'goalkeeper tested: pass/fail' stat. And he's a leader. He demands respect and he intimidates. If some young punk like Kuzi dared to look at Sorensen cross eyed, his headless body would be found floating in the Yarra a few days later.

I think we should remember the very exciting defence that we were looking forward to unveiling during the offseason and wondering how Zullo, Kisnorbo, Chapman, Hughes and Franjic would fit into four spots. As we're all aware, we yet to have four of them healthy at the same time and we've rarely even had three available.

I'm worried about this game. The usual 'high flying Melbourne CIty' stories are getting around this week, after we've managed four points in the past three games. Conditions are perfect for a 'getting ahead of themselves' loss. I'm nowhere near the point with this team where I'm confident that we'll can cross the Nullarbor, waltz into NIB stadium and breeze to the three points.

 

i have no idea how you guys were overly confident about winning a game against in-form 2nd on the table Wanderers but afraid of a game against a lowly Perth

[KSK_47]

12 minutes ago, jeffplz said:

i have no idea how you guys were overly confident about winning a game against in-form 2nd on the table Wanderers but afraid of a game against a lowly Perth

Exactly! If the game against the wanderers was a "must win if we are serious title contenders" then this game has already been won and we are currently preparing for our game against the nix

Edited January 14, 2016 by KSK_47

[illeatyourheart]

Hope Tuna can bang in a hattrick and put some more distance between himself and Besart "Penalty-taker" Berisha

[belaguttman]

10 hours ago, jeffplz said:

i have no idea how you guys were overly confident about winning a game against in-form 2nd on the table Wanderers but afraid of a game against a lowly Perth

Just because 5 years of painful repeated experience has shown us that these are exactly the games and situations where we lose. Lack of intensity, lack of focus, poor concentration, disorganisation, panic - we've seen it over and over and over, painful season after painful season.

Edited January 14, 2016 by belaguttman

[Kinnibari]

Also quite a few of our wins have been in games where we were seriously under the pump for long periods.

But mostly due to repeated disappointment.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Kinnibari

[Shahanga]

7 hours ago, belaguttman said:

Just because 5 years of painful repeated experience has shown us that these are exactly the games and situations where we lose. Lack of intensity, lan of focus, poor concentration, disorganisation, panic - we've seen it over and over and over, painful season after painful season.

Don't disagree but you have posted pretty much the exact thing before every game for the last 6 weeks or so, only one of which we  lost (& went down swinging in that one).

Any chance of optimism creeping in to your scared psych?

8 hours ago, KSK_47 said:

Exactly! If the game against the wanderers was a "must win if we are serious title contenders" then this game has already been won and we are currently preparing for our game against the nix

Overly optimistic?

Dont confuse must win with will win!

Anyway we are red hot favourites in this one. 1-5 to the city.

[Dylan]

8 hours ago, illeatyourheart said:

Hope Tuna can bang in a hattrick and put some more distance between himself and Besart "Penalty-taker" Berisha

Pentisha

[bt50]

I remember the early days when belaguttman used to get on the world game and spruik optimism at even the worst news and results.

Now hes a bitter old prune.

I know theirs some light side of the force left in him somewhere...

[SF33]

9 hours ago, jeffplz said:

i have no idea how you guys were overly confident about winning a game against in-form 2nd on the table Wanderers but afraid of a game against a lowly Perth

Probably because I wasn't overly confident about winning against the Wanderers, I guess.

[belaguttman]

2 hours ago, Shahanga said:

Don't disagree but you have posted pretty much the exact thing before every game for the last 6 weeks or so, only one of which we  lost (& went down swinging in that one).

Any chance of optimism creeping in to your scared psych?

Overly optimistic?

Dont confuse must win with will win!

Anyway we are red hot favourites in this one. 1-5 to the city.

The difference between an optimist and a pessimist is that a pessimist is an optimist who knows what is really going on

[haz]

3 minutes ago, belaguttman said:

The difference between an optimist and a pessimist is that a pessimist is an optimist who knows what is really going on

I think you're just a Realist Bela 

[belaguttman]

2 hours ago, bt50 said:

I remember the early days when belaguttman used to get on the world game and spruik optimism at even the worst news and results.

Now hes a bitter old prune.

I know theirs some light side of the force left in him somewhere...

Explanation 1:5 seasons of bitter experience have seared a strong neural pathway into my frontal lobes. Neuroplasticity exists but will take time and repeated pleasant surprises to refashion an alternative pathway

Explanation 2: I'm dead and buried 2m underground in Vienna Cemetery. No wonder I get dark and gloomy from time to time

[Murfy1]

Great stat in this article:

 

Melbourne City aim to improve on poor record in Perth against Glory

 

14 January 2016

Matt Windley

 

PERTH is a place where good form goes to die for Melbourne’s A-League clubs.

In 26 trips west to face the Glory — including in the FFA Cup — Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City have combined for 16 losses and five draws, only coming away from nib Stadium with five wins.

But on Friday night a City side that continues to run hot could be the one to start turning the tide, especially given that its away woes appear to be a thing of the past.

There was a time, in the Melbourne Heart days, when the club went 22 games without winning on the road, a streak that stretched from October 2012 to January 2014.

But this season John van’t Schip’s men have become road warriors, compiling the A-League’s best away record with three wins and two draws from seven games.

Van’t Schip will continue to do without Socceroos right back Ivan Franjic, who will miss a third consecutive game with a corked thigh.

Steve Kuzmanovski returned to the extended squad named on Thursday, but international marquee Robert Koren did not as question marks continue to surround the Slovenian’s future at the club.

City has suffered some notable losses at nib Stadium, a ground at which it has only won once, way back in December 2011.

There was the club’s first ever final, back in 2012, an elimination final it lost 3-0.

Then in October there was the FFA Cup semi-final — a game City was expected to win and one that would have set up a Melbourne derby final against Victory — but lost 3-1.

Friday night’s game is yet another opportunity for City to show the progress it has made by just getting the job done on what is typically a difficult road trip.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/teams/melbourne-city/melbourne-city-aim-to-improve-on-poor-record-in-perth-against-glory/news-story/79c50fe374706f8179f716645b4a4609

 

 

An massively welcome change from the club's old away game issues. Long may it continue.

[silva10]

I wonder if we will go 3-5-2 again

Will have to tape the game because of the late kick off. Have to be in the pub before my game lol

 

[MHFCRC]

Not confident about this one.. Think it stems from our dismal record over there, and all the positive talk about us. 

With the defenders they have out and their general squad quality p, we should give them a touch up.. But going in cautiously. 

[illeatyourheart]

With Brisbane getting smashed tonight, we've got a good shot of moving up to second place with a win in this game. Of course, we'd need the Wanderers to lose as well, but even if they don't, the top 4 gets very interesting. Worst case scenario for us in the Sydney derby is SFC to get a win.

[n i k o]

1 hour ago, illeatyourheart said:

With Brisbane getting smashed tonight, we've got a good shot of moving up to second place with a win in this game. Of course, we'd need the Wanderers to lose as well, but even if they don't, the top 4 gets very interesting. Worst case scenario for us in the Sydney derby is SFC to get a win.

If we're trying to sit in third position then SFC winning is the worst case scenario. If however were trying to be on top of the ladder then surely WSW winning is worst case scenario one would think. 

[illeatyourheart]

5 minutes ago, n i k o said:

If we're trying to sit in third position then SFC winning is the worst case scenario. If however were trying to be on top of the ladder then surely WSW winning is worst case scenario one would think. 

Sorry yeah, that's what I meant. What I wrote above is a contradiction. Let's go SFC!

Edited January 15, 2016 by illeatyourheart
Got it wrong again

[n i k o]

Lol. Personally in this case where we're trying to catch a team above us but trying to to keep a team below us a draw would be the best compromise. First we need to make sure we pick up maximum points and then id be happy to stay in third a point behind WSW and two points ahead of SFC. 

Edited January 15, 2016 by n i k o

[NewConvert]

7 hours ago, n i k o said:

Lol. Personally in this case where we're trying to catch a team above us but trying to to keep a team below us a draw would be the best compromise. First we need to make sure we pick up maximum points and then id be happy to stay in third a point behind WSW and two points ahead of SFC. 

I'm hoping for 0-0 draw.

[playmaker]

5-2

25 degrees and low humidity

We have it in the bag

[strider]

Novillo to score 5 goals 

1 for each limb 

[Pete Heartspur]

11 minutes ago, strider said:

Novillo to score 5 goals 

1 for each limb 

 

[Dylan]

Holy crap we play today

[Shahanga]

11 minutes ago, Dylan said:

Holy crap we play today

Well I for one hope the team is more aware of the match schedule than your good self.

[Dylan]

1 minute ago, Shahanga said:

Well I for one hope the team is more aware of the match schedule than your good self.

Lets hope they dont do what they did in brisbane again 

[Andrew Edmonds]

[Dylan]

Going the 3-5-2 again and why not, worked so far

Edited January 16, 2016 by Dylan

[icantthinkofacoolname]

Williams still making the bench

[possiblygeorge]

If Sydney wins and the news filters through to the players i reckon we'll end up dropping points. Danger game for us, not sure why, but it feels like it.

[n i k o]

1 minute ago, possiblygeorge said:

If Sydney wins and the news filters through to the players i reckon we'll end up dropping points. Danger game for us, not sure why, but it feels like it.

Yes its possible, but I think there's enough experienced players that have played bigger games than this that will, hopefully, have no problems performing.