Pre-season 2019-20

[mus-28]

I think we're gonna realize how unbelievably good Bart was this season, so we're gonna need our attacking players to contribute a considerable amount more goals than last season because I see us conceding on a regular basis. 

[n i k o]

8 minutes ago, mus-28 said:

I think we're gonna realize how unbelievably good Bart was this season, so we're gonna need our attacking players to contribute a considerable amount more goals than last season because I see us conceding on a regular basis. 

I have a suspicion we'll also find out how much delbridge performances relied on having bort next to him

[Jovan]

I have a suspicion that regardless of who the coach is, which 11 blokes walk out each game we are just going to be shit. 

[jw1739]

37 minutes ago, Jovan said:

I have a suspicion that regardless of who the coach is, which 11 blokes walk out each game we are just going to be shit. 

We will know on Wednesday evening. WSW are going to be one of the teams to beat this season. If we can't beat them at home in the Cup we won't make the top four.

[n i k o]

7 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

We will know on Wednesday evening. WSW are going to be one of the teams to beat this season. If we can't beat them at home in the Cup we won't make the top four.

This game will tell us where we are at 

[playmaker]

We are going to win everything, with an attacking and defensive masterclass all season.

Mombaerts will be the greatest manager in A-league  history.

[Mr MO]

The Wanderers have just opened their new training facilities, which is on par with what we have so we aren’t the only ones with excellent facilities!

[Afif Adam]

1 hour ago, Mr MO said:

The Wanderers have just opened their new training facilities, which is on par with what we have so we aren’t the only ones with excellent facilities!

ours is better

[jw1739]

11 hours ago, Mr MO said:

The Wanderers have just opened their new training facilities, which is on par with what we have so we aren’t the only ones with excellent facilities!

The reality is that WSW have received massive assistance from the NSW government.

[malloy]

21 hours ago, jw1739 said:

The reality is that WSW have received massive assistance from the NSW government.

And ours through massive (indirect) assistance from the UAE Government

[jw1739]

38 minutes ago, malloy said:

And ours through massive (indirect) assistance from the UAE Government

Pretty close to direct ownership isn't it? I thought Mansour is Deputy Prime Minister?

And all he could send us is a third-class marquee...

[Dylan]

22 hours ago, jw1739 said:

The reality is that WSW have received massive assistance from the NSW government.

Nothing wrong with getting money from the govn. Better than giving more to the fucken boomers imo

Edited September 17, 2019 by Dylan

[n i k o]

22 hours ago, jw1739 said:

The reality is that WSW have received massive assistance from the NSW government.

Much like their supporters?

[jw1739]

2 minutes ago, n i k o said:

Much like their supporters?

Probably hand-outs from the Feds more than the NSWG.

[JMSTEP123]

Someone mentioned somewhere that there is a behind doors friendly tomorrow? Anyone got the lowdown?

Find myself on holidays and wouldnt mind a game!

[fensaddler]

1 hour ago, JMSTEP123 said:

Someone mentioned somewhere that there is a behind doors friendly tomorrow? Anyone got the lowdown?

Find myself on holidays and wouldnt mind a game!

Mutterings that it was Adelaide. They had their full squad in Ballarat for a warm up on Saturday. Drab goalless draw. Both sides lack real flair but can defend. And McGree got sent off... 

[JMSTEP123]

1 hour ago, fensaddler said:

Mutterings that it was Adelaide. They had their full squad in Ballarat for a warm up on Saturday. Drab goalless draw. Both sides lack real flair but can defend. And McGree got sent off... 

Hmm 🤨

[Deluka]

Sounds like there’s definitely a match against Adelaide tomorrow 

[JMSTEP123]

14 minutes ago, Deluka said:

Sounds like there’s definitely a match against Adelaide tomorrow 

I wonder the details

[JMSTEP123]

Well the match has been confirmed and I am keen as shit to head down. Any idea on the time of kick off? Even an estimate from past experience?

[n i k o]

1 hour ago, JMSTEP123 said:

Well the match has been confirmed and I am keen as shit to head down. Any idea on the time of kick off? Even an estimate from past experience?

Just saw this. I'd be getting a move on if you haven't already. Usually start mid morning. 

[JMSTEP123]

25 minutes ago, n i k o said:

Just saw this. I'd be getting a move on if you haven't already. Usually start mid morning. 

Cheers!

[citypool]

We’re 2-1 down to Adelaide 

[haz]

1 hour ago, citypool said:

We’re 2-1 down to Adelaide 

Thats it. Membership in the bin

[fensaddler]

1 hour ago, citypool said:

We’re 2-1 down to Adelaide 

I don't think they can be arsed in friendlies. 

[JMSTEP123]

Pretty sloppy game. Had a few chances but Adelaide were clinical from 2 set pieces. Deano was furious that their 2nd goal was offside. Irrespective - a pretty poor showing.

[Mr MO]

1 hour ago, JMSTEP123 said:

Pretty sloppy game. Had a few chances but Adelaide were clinical from 2 set pieces. Deano was furious that their 2nd goal was offside. Irrespective - a pretty poor showing.

Line up, did we field the strongest team first?

[bt50]

10 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

Line up, did we field the strongest team first?

First game was the same XI as the cup game the other night. 5-3 win in the second game. Not sure who scored 2nd half but 3-1 up at HT with a Najjar brace and Wales with the other.

[Mr MO]

1 minute ago, bt50 said:

First game was the same XI as the cup game the other night. 5-3 win in the second game. Not sure who scored 2nd half but 3-1 up at HT with a Najjar brace and Wales with the other.

Ah I see, first game best 11 and second the reserves. Thanks.

[Mr MO]

Does anybody have a result overview of the games played so far cup and friendly? Besides beating a perhaps undermanned WSW for the cup we seamed to struggle against A- League opposition. I do remember beating some earlier in the offseason?

Frustration for Luna and Cabrera not being able to start games.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Mr MO

[jw1739]

1 minute ago, Mr MO said:

Does anybody have a result overview of the games played so far cup and friendly? Besides beating a perhaps undermanned WSW for the cup we seamed to struggle against A- League opposition. I do remember beating some earlier in the offseason?

It's just pre-season. No need to panic. If Momby is a good coach then he'll be seeing where the weaknesses are and addressing them if he can. My observations in the three matches I've seen live are that we're not yet making the most of our opportunities up front, and at times are vulnerable at the back from a cross to the back post or back of the box.

[Mr MO]

4 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

It's just pre-season. No need to panic. If Momby is a good coach then he'll be seeing where the weaknesses are and addressing them if he can. My observations in the three matches I've seen live are that we're not yet making the most of our opportunities up front, and at times are vulnerable at the back from a cross to the back post or back of the box.

He’s pretty consistent with his starting eleven the last couple of games, perhaps tactically making some changes.

[Afif Adam]

Mombaerts knows best, better than all of us on this forum...so it doesn't matter than our two imports aren't starting as long as we're winning

[JMSTEP123]

3 hours ago, Mr MO said:

He’s pretty consistent with his starting eleven the last couple of games, perhaps tactically making some changes.

Its all well and good... but Adelaide set up well. It was a 50/50 game and our midfield was pretty loose at times. Noons cheeky play was delightful but oppositions will just flood around him to stop his play as they did with Fornaroli. Flo was useless again - a wasted spot. His passing rate is acceptable but how often it leads to goal will be rarer than an uncooked steak.

[Imtellingyou]

All in all, our unbeatable run against Vic seems to coming to end. Lifting the Cup would be a nice consolation. It's more to CFG strategy than to coaches that we promote a couple youth players in the lineup.  Hence, there shouldn't be complaints in that regards. 

[Harrison]

Both goals conceded were from set pieces, which is an area that is somewhat easier to fix. We’re actually pretty short apart from Delbridge and Good. More training sessions needed there.

From the match report it seems like we created plenty of good chances. Izzo made quality saves and we couldn’t finish them, but as long as we’re creating those good chances then the goals will come. 

Three foreign players not making the XI is a concern. It’s really important to actually get those right and if Mombaerts isn’t able to select the types of players he wants then we can’t be surprised. Is Petrillo making the final call?

I like what I see from Luna and Windbichler. Cabrera has more question marks. Clearly the Uruguayans aren’t doing enough of the right things, and I think it’s the defensive side of their games. 

Early days yet and the signs are still positive so no need to panic. We’ve done what we needed to do in competitive matches so that’s what matters most. 

[jw1739]

39 minutes ago, Harrison said:

Both goals conceded were from set pieces, which is an area that is somewhat easier to fix. We’re actually pretty short apart from Delbridge and Good. More training sessions needed there.

From the match report it seems like we created plenty of good chances. Izzo made quality saves and we couldn’t finish them, but as long as we’re creating those good chances then the goals will come. 

Three foreign players not making the XI is a concern. It’s really important to actually get those right and if Mombaerts isn’t able to select the types of players he wants then we can’t be surprised. Is Petrillo making the final call?

I like what I see from Luna and Windbichler. Cabrera has more question marks. Clearly the Uruguayans aren’t doing enough of the right things, and I think it’s the defensive side of their games. 

Early days yet and the signs are still positive so no need to panic. We’ve done what we needed to do in competitive matches so that’s what matters most. 

IMO it's a management structure issue. Very hard to avoid this sort of thing in a big organization unless you have a really flat management structure. I suspect that we have at least one layer of management too many in player recruitment, particularly visa players, and that the Head Coach of Melbourne City does not have enough say in the process. I may be wrong of course, and there's always the question of timing - were commitments made to Luna, Windbichler, Noone and Cabrera before Mombaerts accepted the job? And he would not have had any input into the signing of Berenguer. We know that overseas recruiting is (at least partially) in the hands of a CFG team led by James Poole, former Manchester City player.

It seems it's only a few weeks since we were all lauding the fact that we had our list settled weeks earlier than in other seasons!

Do other clubs, not owned by by the likes of CFG,  rely on their coach's networking more than we do?

Edited September 25, 2019 by jw1739

[bt50]

10 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

IMO it's a management structure issue. Very hard to avoid this sort of thing in a big organization unless you have a really flat management structure. I suspect that we have at least one layer of management too many in player recruitment, particularly visa players, and that the Head Coach of Melbourne City does not have enough say in the process. I may be wrong of course, and there's always the question of timing - were commitments made to Luna, Windbichler, Noone and Cabrera before Mombaerts accepted the job? And he would not have had any input into the signing of Berenguer. We know that overseas recruiting is (at least partially) in the hands of a CFG team led by James Poole, former Manchester City player.

It seems it's only a few weeks since we were all lauding the fact that we had our list settled weeks earlier than in other seasons!

Do other clubs, not owned by by the likes of CFG,  rely on their coach's networking more than we do?

Another potential reason may be that Australians are becoming increasingly undervalued in the global football market and that you can get better 'bang for your buck' with Aussie players atm. Of course that is always more of a trend than a hard fast rule; obviously there are plenty of foreigners that have come here and done well.

Either way far too early to tell just yet i think.

[jw1739]

56 minutes ago, bt50 said:

Another potential reason may be that Australians are becoming increasingly undervalued in the global football market and that you can get better 'bang for your buck' with Aussie players atm. Of course that is always more of a trend than a hard fast rule; obviously there are plenty of foreigners that have come here and done well.

Either way far too early to tell just yet i think.

Yes, there's not single magic bullet solution. What we have is players such as Metcalfe and others who are good enough to keep visa players out of the side.

[Mr MO]

53 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

Yes, there's not single magic bullet solution. What we have is players such as Metcalfe and others who are good enough to keep visa players out of the side.

If our youth is picking up then next season perhaps reduce our visa players to 3 and make sure the imports are proven quality. 

Edited September 25, 2019 by Mr MO