Harrison Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Biggest match of the season against the best team. If we lose this, Sydney have a 9-point lead over us. A win puts us right back in the hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haz Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 After watching Sydney penetrate WSW, I'm scared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japiedog Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 1 minute ago, haz said: After watching Sydney penetrate WSW, I'm scared. WSW were as bad as I've seen an A League team, even Heart in it's "unlucky days" Doesn't mean that if we don't front up fully focused we won't get spanked either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 4 minutes ago, japiedog said: WSW were as bad as I've seen an A League team, even Heart in it's "unlucky days" Doesn't mean that if we don't front up fully focused we won't get spanked either Focus will be our biggest problem. We can't afford to come out of the tunnel and look as though we've taken a collective lethargy pill that doesn't wear off for 15 minutes. Nor can we go into our shells at the end and give Sydney opportunities for shots on goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Thrillhouse Posted December 11, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 prepare to get VAR'D 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaguttman Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Our biggest problem is our very poor scoring efficiency. Sydney won't give us many shots, nor will they require many shots. Predicting a routine 3-1 win for the smurfs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahanga Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 4 hours ago, Harrison said: Biggest match of the season against the best team. If we lose this, Sydney have a 9-point lead over us. A win puts us right back in the hunt. Yep. Huge Game. I think we lose this, we are done as far as winning the “real” title goes. A draw and we are in there by our finger nails. A win and they’ll also be cheering in Newcastle as it’ll now be a 3 horse race. Going to be tough. I reckon Sydney are the better side right now, so we’ll need to lift to get over them up there (or umm play our best players, sorry couldn’t help myself on that one). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haz Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Just now, Shahanga said: Yep. Huge Game. I think we lose this, we are done as far as winning the “real” title goes. A draw and we are in there by our finger nails. A win and they’ll also be cheering in Newcastle as it’ll now be a 3 horse race. Going to be tough. I reckon Sydney are the better side right now, so we’ll need to lift to get over them up there (or umm play our best players, sorry couldn’t help myself on that one). Yea will accept a 1 goal loss if we play well (Heart Mentality ) but a win would do wonders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missing_Moy Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 The last Sydney game we had our chance and then gave up a goal we weren’t that far off the mark! sydneys form is completely different now so hopefully we’re up to it and make a good game of it !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neio Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Sydney were absolutely stunning on Saturday night, the 25 minutes in between their 2ND goal and the disallowed goal was some of the best stuff I've seen in the Aleague Without trying to be negative a draw is the best we can hope for I honestly think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missing_Moy Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Remember the worldie goal Fernando scored in this corresponding game last season 😍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 We have a habit of pulling wins out of our ass. Wouldn’t be surprised if we won tbh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Redmayne going for his third consecutive clean sheet against us. Surely we can't let that happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playmaker Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 We are much improved from when we met last time and yet I think most of their wins have been fumbly. Last match WSW were a no show so not much can he taken out of that. They will play the same way as usual and our mids and defence are very capable of shutting then down. Our vulnerable area will be Kamau/ Zullo match up as Zullo beat Kamau last time and he was their midfield outlet when they wanted to open up play. This is a big problem for Wazza and it will be interesting how he deals with it. On the positive side, we are creating a lot more opportunities on goal and I don't really think much of their defence. This is going to be an epic strategic and tactical battle, these are games where a big manager and a big striker will usually step up. 1-2 win with Budzinski subbed on at the 65th minute and blasts a rocket from outside the box with 5 mins to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rass Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 (edited) Everyone pulls their dicks over Ninkovic and this polish Adrian dude at Sydney, but whenever I've watched them, it's the workrate and continual contest making of both Brillante and O'Neill that is at the heart of their performances. That's why I think this is Mauk's most important game to date. His defensive pressure in attack will be key to how this game unfolds. If he can nullify at least one of those guys, we'll go a long way to winning this. Tbh, he'll probably be our most important player this weekend because of this. Edited December 12, 2017 by rass 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 7 minutes ago, rass said: Everyone pulls their dicks over Ninkovic and this polish Adrian dude at Sydney, but whenever I've watched them, it's the workrate and continual contest making of both Brillante and O'Neill that is at the heart of their performances. That's why I think this is Mauk's most important game to date. His defensive pressure in attack will be key to how this game unfolds. If he can nullify at least one of those guys, we'll go a long way to winning this. Tbh, he'll probably be our most important player this weekend because of this. Good call. His finishing in front of goal has been frustrating (to say the least), but otherwise, he's been superb for us this year. This game will tell us about about our team and I'm looking forward to it. It feels like we have a habit of putting in at least a solid performance when we're a clear underdog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n i k o Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 1 hour ago, playmaker said: I don't really think much of their defence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 3 minutes ago, n i k o said: Statistically the best ever last season wasnt it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofhearts Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 22 minutes ago, SF33 said: Good call. His finishing in front of goal has been frustrating (to say the least), but otherwise, he's been superb for us this year. This game will tell us about about our team and I'm looking forward to it. It feels like we have a habit of putting in at least a solid performance when we're a clear underdog. Disagree strongly with this. I honestly think Mauk has been average for a while and should be benched. Outside of the amazing stop he did last game he did jack shit #unpopularopinion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torn Asunder Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 It’s the type of game that could very well end 0 - 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n i k o Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 11 minutes ago, bt50 said: Statistically the best ever last season wasnt it? Sounds about right to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 9 minutes ago, kingofhearts said: Disagree strongly with this. I honestly think Mauk has been average for a while and should be benched. Outside of the amazing stop he did last game he did jack shit #unpopularopinion I think his grunt work has been extremely important and since it's probably an area where the rest of our attacking players aren't great, I think it makes him vital to the team's balance. It's just that bit of polish that he's lacking and if he'd bagged 3-5 goals this season like he should have, instead of 1, he'd be one of the recruits of the year. Granted, that statement is a bit 'If my aunt had bollocks, she'd be my uncle', but I think he's shown enough in his career that he should be able to snap out of this funk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaguttman Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 44 minutes ago, rass said: Everyone pulls their dicks over Ninkovic and this polish Adrian dude at Sydney, but whenever I've watched them, it's the workrate and continual contest making of both Brillante and O'Neill that is at the heart of their performances. That's why I think this is Mauk's most important game to date. His defensive pressure in attack will be key to how this game unfolds. If he can nullify at least one of those guys, we'll go a long way to winning this. Tbh, he'll probably be our most important player this weekend because of this. The team will only perform as well as the weakest link. Sydney only has one weak link but the rest of the team does a good job of protecting ReddersAs you've pointed out the role of each player protects and compliments the role of others in the team, it's no good having us just create 'scoring opportunities', we need lots of balls into the box and shots on target 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 1 minute ago, belaguttman said: The team will only perform as well as the weakest link. Sydney only has one weak link but the rest of the team does a good job of protecting ReddersAs you've pointed out the role of each player protects and compliments the role of others in the team, it's no good having us just create 'scoring opportunities', we need lots of balls into the box and shots on target It was interesting hearing Redmayne talk on Fox Sports when asked about the pressure of performing for the best team and having to remain switched on for the full 90 minutes, because you might only be called into action on one or two occasions and you have to be ready, as opposed to being constantly under threat. If his Heart/City career is anything to go by, it seems like that situation really suits him, as he generally seemed capable of making 2-3 miraculous saves, then flubbing a routine one. Unless he's a completely different player now (he didn't seem any different as far as I saw at WSW), it seems to be a case of getting a heap of shots on goal (easier said than done) and he'll inevitably let one through. Or get heaps of corners into that corridor of uncertainty and he'll invariably make the wrong choice of whether to go or stay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 6 minutes ago, SF33 said: I think his grunt work has been extremely important and since it's probably an area where the rest of our attacking players aren't great, I think it makes him vital to the team's balance. It's just that bit of polish that he's lacking and if he'd bagged 3-5 goals this season like he should have, instead of 1, he'd be one of the recruits of the year. Granted, that statement is a bit 'If my aunt had bollocks, she'd be my uncle', but I think he's shown enough in his career that he should be able to snap out of this funk. 100% agree. Its a thankless role to many sets of eyes, but one that is absolutely essential in creating a successful side imo. O'Neill is identical in this role at Sydney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrison Posted December 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 Already been touched on above but O'Neill and Brillante are the best midfield pairing in the league. They work very well together and make it difficult for opponents to break down the last line of defence, mainly because they chop out a lot of passes/runs to the forward third. We need to separate and isolate them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartFc Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 Looking forward to seeing Malik deal with Bobo, Mierzejewski and Ninkovic. I smell a miss timed giraffe tackle and red card in the 35th minute. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playmaker Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 27 minutes ago, Harrison said: Already been touched on above but O'Neill and Brillante are the best midfield pairing in the league. They work very well together and make it difficult for opponents to break down the last line of defence, mainly because they chop out a lot of passes/runs to the forward third. We need to separate and isolate them. Agree, we have seen adelaide and CCM deal with them and break them down, something that we have the quality to do based on our last effort when we were no where near as good going forward yet allowed them no real open chances on goal. If it wasn't for their opposition's poor conversions from inside the box and a bit of luck, Sydney should be below us on the table. It has all to do with our conversions, as Mauk and Ross can not miss easy goals like they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neio Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 I think the one area we can possibly exploit them is down their right hand side, as they don't really play a right winger. Mierzejewski starts there but drifts around the pitch like a 10 and wilkshire overlaps. If we can get quick ball movement out to that side, Jamieson and fitzy can exploit wilkshire if he doesn't get back quick enough 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imtellingyou Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 We'll play them in the grand finale. This is how the season is folding out for all clubs. I'm going to reserve the important match phrase until then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bt50 Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 (edited) Manny and Killa into the squad, Bruce sidelined for another week. Unchanged for mine, with Manny to replace Ruon on the bench. Tight and tough 1-1 imo, Ross from the spot for us. Edited December 14, 2017 by bt50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 Melbourne City FC Squad: 1.Dean Bouzanis, 2.Manny Muscat, 3. Scott Jamieson, 5. Bart Schenkeveld, 6.Osama Malik, 7. Nick Fitzgerald, 8. Neil Kilkenny, 12. Braedyn Crowley, 13. Stefan Mauk, 14.Daniel Arzani, 18. Eugene Galekovic, 21.Ruon Tongyik, 22. Michael Jakobsen, 25. Iacopo La Rocca, 26. Luke Brattan, 27. Marcin Budzinski, 37.Nathaniel Atkinson, 44. Ross McCormack Ins: 2.Manny Muscat (returns from suspension), 8.Neil Kilkenny (promoted) Outs: nil Unavailable: 23. Bruno Fornaroli (ankle), 9.Marcelo Carrusca (calf), 11.Bruce Kamau (knee) Bruno Fornaroli and Fernando Brandan are training at a limited capacity as they continue their recovery from their respective injuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrison Posted December 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 When did Bruce injure his knee? I cannot remember any incident. Carrusca's situation is not filling me with hope either. 'Battling a calf injury in recent weeks'. At 34. Atkinson should keep his spot but does Malik stay at RB? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n i k o Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 7 minutes ago, Harrison said: When did Bruce injure his knee? I cannot remember any incident. Seeing as game time is only a small fraction of time they spend on the pitch it's not suprising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imtellingyou Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 Kamau had a strap above knee when played last time. They do train and injury can happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japiedog Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 SHEESH Carrusca is definitely out for a Germano 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 30 minutes ago, japiedog said: SHEESH Carrusca is definitely out for a Germano Late signing, only made after Caceres signed for Al-Wasl. Probably on minimum salary and probably not important to Joyce's plans. I'm going to guess he won't play for us again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofhearts Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 1 hour ago, japiedog said: SHEESH Carrusca is definitely out for a Germano He's our for 2 Germanos at this rate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXCiTyZeNXx Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 Idk if wazza should just park the bus and accept a draw or try to attack but could possibly concede. Sydney are a good side with good players and Graham Arnold has been successful at 2 clubs atm. If we want to beat sydney away we need to man mark players like Ninkovic, Bobo, Brosque and that Polish guy...the way we can do that is playing Brattan as Defensive mid with Jakobsen and have Mauk track back and man mark Ninkovic. Also Scott needs to man mark Wilkshear and have Fitzgerald tracking back and helping Scott mark Wilkshear. Muscat to man mark Zullo and Atkinson tracking back for support. If we havent scored by 65th minute, sub on Kamau as impact sub and Arzani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 (edited) 7 minutes ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said: Idk if wazza should just park the bus and accept a draw or try to attack but could possibly concede. Sydney are a good side with good players and Graham Arnold has been successful at 2 clubs atm. If we want to beat sydney away we need to man mark players like Ninkovic, Bobo, Brosque and that Polish guy...the way we can do that is playing Brattan as Defensive mid with Jakobsen and have Mauk track back and man mark Ninkovic. Also Scott needs to man mark Wilkshear and have Fitzgerald tracking back and helping Scott mark Wilkshear. Muscat to man mark Zullo and Atkinson tracking back for support. If we havent scored by 65th minute, sub on Kamau as impact sub and Arzani I like people who take the trouble to read the team sheet... Kamau is injured and not in the squad. Edited December 14, 2017 by jw1739 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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