Woke up this morning ... still depressed. Farking day after a loss is sharke!
Elimination Final v Melbourne City | Sunday 3rd May | 7:00pm
A really enjoyable season tinged with disappointment. We really crumbled at the end of the season after getting ourselves into a great position particularly when all we needed to do to finish in the top 2 was to win one more game at home.
I do think we'll look back on this season as a missed opportunity as it's not often that we'll have the best player in the league playing for us, and win that many games away from home.
And if you're going to emphasise "making the finals" as your team goal, it has to be classed as a failure if you lose to a lower placed team.
I think we got our mid season recruitment badly wrong. After letting Brockie and Boyd (effectively) go mid-season Appiah- Kwubi did nothing and meant we had to go back to Cunningham who wasn't much good. No-one really emerged later on to power us over the line (although we go unlucky with Griffiths)
It's a little bit worrying that we've finished both seasons under Ernie pretty much playing our worst football of the year. But when it's good it's oh so good under him!
positives
- Goals. It's not stated often enough but watching your team score goals is the best part of football and we did that a lot.
- beating the big teams. Nothing more enjoyable than knocking off Melbourne this year.
- Hutt Wreck. Results weren't great but that was a really clever way to keep games in Wellington.
- Crouds were up by quite a chunk, give us decent time slots and we will get 10k crouds easily.
- Stability. That was the first year I felt everything was stable and the club is here for the long haul. The Welnix plan is starting to take effect.
- Moss. I thought he looked a bit dodgy last year but he was one of our best in 14/15
disappointment
- imports. Overall our imports weren't great. Roly was a big plus but he did fade, A - Rod was just a pass given he finished the season on the bench. Kenny, we're not re-signing so enough said. Krishna was good but maybe got figured out
- home form. Obvious, but in a great season there weren't that many great performances at home.
- crumbled under pressure. I do think the pressure got to us, yes we lost to good teams but we just fell apart really when it really counted. We reverse peaked.
- defence. there was an improvement from last year but in the big games we still conceded too cheaply.
- kiwis. Didn't feel like any of our Kiwis apart from Moss had a top season. And what happened to McGlinchey??
Nice summary.
I'd add, Boxall aside, we lack physical presence - it really showed against the bigger teams like Wanderers and City. We need a big (tall) centre back or striker. It's ridiculous we have to take short corners because we don't have anyone who is a genuine consistent aerial threat.
Biggest positives for me: winning away against Victory, Adelaide and Perth and a lot of the best football ever played at the club.
Biggest Negatives: fading badly in the home straight, particularly failing to turn up at home in front of our biggest crouds of the seas0n and for a few years - just burns off potential new supporters.
OK here's my thoughts on last night, which mirror the last part of the season.
It wasn't mental, lack of effort generally, or losing our 'mojo' - quite simply a few of the other teams did their homework on us during the ACL break, and worked out how to shut our attack down. And we started losing because we couldn't score goals (e.g. we didn't score a goal against City in 3 games after the break), and then got caught at the back trying to force something.
Basically, I think that revolved around:
- Shutting down our CAM/False 9 - initially WeeMac then later Roly. If you watched the game last night and for the last few weeks you'll notice that every time Roly gets the ball he has at least one, if not two players marking him very tightly, leaving him no time or space at all to turn or do anything meaningful. He didn't suddenly become a bad player, he was just marked out of the game.
- Keeping a close watch on Burns (our main other threat) and not allowing him to come in centrally e.g. Kisnorbo last night
Without the WeeMac/Roly player in the middle being able to do anything our plan of going through the middle, with Burns/Krishna making diagonal runs into the box breaks down. This forces all our play wide, with Krisha/Burns/WeeMac trying to run from wide positions into a wall of defenders (no point trying to cross with 0 height in our squad). Our answer is to send our fullbacks up, to give these players options, but if this breaks down we then get caught short on the break. Our other midfielders either looked a bit lost what to do (Fenton), too slow to get up and back regularly (Lia), or were too defensive (Rod).
There you go. My $0.02.
this season offered so much but in reality delivered very little for me. i know the team created many firsts and we played better than any other season got more points let in less goals and probably scored more goals. our home form though dipped so badly towards the end of the season that it was a struggle just travelling to wellington for games and even more so driving home from the stadium with 2.5 hours worth of what happened where did it all go wrong.
it is lucky i did not post when i got home about midnight as it may of been not as nice as this post, was not a happy camper all the way home and then had to get to work by 6am so now i have finished work and am tired and very grumpy probably lucky no one else is at home.
but hey a new season too look forward to hopefully, and i will be back to do it all over again the joys of supporting a football club.
Season Wars 7 - A new hope, This last season gave us some. Definately at the start, perhaps not as much in the latter part.
Season Wars 8 -The Empire Strikes Back, Next season the FFA wont have the Asian Cup or internationals to upset our what was awesome form. These are dark times for the Nix. No one knows where we are going and Kevin Muscat finds out that Andy Harper is really his father.
Season Wars 9 - Return of the Phoenix, The Nix have signed a 6'4" large center forward who has the power of the force and we take the title.
So... thought I'd dip a toe into the murky waters of this thread... going backwards, only got to page 28, and my oh my, the amazingness, the craziness, it was astonishing, the level of angst really was of super massive black hole proportions.
Man I love this forum. Just love it.
Never change guys.
It's not the offseason, right?
That's my two cents worth....oh and catching up with C-Diddy was also a highlight.
This is some absolute yarns spoken on here, but this takes the cake.
My sincerest apologies Lonegunmen
It's not the offseason, right?
Yays so we can look forward to a load of people giving extremely ill-informed and quite rubbish opinions about nothing in particular for the next 6 months?
I dont know what you did to get that comment from Dale but we have a section in the off topic section and it is the off season now, so we have plenty of time to find out. (Insert winking smiley and lol smiley). But it was good to see you up in the heights of the Temp Zone at the Wreck.
I dont know what you did to get that comment from Dale but we have a section in the off topic section and it is the off season now, so we have plenty of time to find out. (Insert winking smiley and lol smiley). But it was good to see you up in the heights of the Temp Zone at the Wreck.
I must say I did enjoy my one match I attended this season and I put it down to the great boys and girls of the Yellow Fever!
(and it was also great to catch up with you too Mr Gunmen!)
Get a room.
Yea, I just threw up a little bit.....
It's not the offseason, right?
Really?
Great.
Everyone go get fudgeed you cods.
Something that I thought interesting was the likes of Roly, McGlinchey, A Rod who had quite a good pedigree at youth level and into their late teens, perhaps showed why they are playing in the A League and not in a top league somewhere else. Whereas you have a guy like Riera who probably didn't have a youth pedigree, ends up being one of the best at a late age. I haven't done any research on some of the other imports in the league but wonder if there is some kind of pattern?
Lia ...
Why Lia . Why .
Something that I thought interesting was the likes of Roly, McGlinchey, A Rod who had quite a good pedigree at youth level and into their late teens, perhaps showed why they are playing in the A League and not in a top league somewhere else. Whereas you have a guy like Riera who probably didn't have a youth pedigree, ends up being one of the best at a late age. I haven't done any research on some of the other imports in the league but wonder if there is some kind of pattern?
I just think its a combination of maturity and life experience that makes Riera good. He would have known that this was his last shot at professional football. He would also have an understanding of being a small fish in a big pond.
I getbthe feeling that even though both A-Rod and Wee Mac both showed glimpses of their capabilities, they have struggled to adapt as they likely still see themselves as the big fish in the small pond.
Think thats bit harsh on A Rod,and given i think its his first full season of senior football.I think he has done mostly okay and will be a lot better after his first taste of A league.
Lia ...
Why Lia . Why .
Think thats bit harsh on A Rod,and given i think its his first full season of senior football.I think he has done mostly okay and will be a lot better after his first taste of A league.
Dont think I was being overly harsh but I do agree that we could see his full potential next season
I remain defiantly grumpy
Couple of articles worth reading
http://www.australiascout.com/2015/a-league-finals-melbourne-city-wellington-phoenix-analysis/
Will be interesting seeing how Ernie approaches next season considering the end to the current season. I would like to see how we use our central attacking players, where do they start and the space the move into (false nine or more normal 10), and our use of our DM and CDs, IMHO we need our FBs higher to give us width (either create overloads with our forwards or allow our forwards to play narrower) but at the same time not compromising our defence too much and depending on how the play unfolds could see our DM staying/dropping deeper to almost to a back 3. That is based on our current squad but could change depending on who comes in - could have a more traditional striker.
Glad I was on holiday with no TV, Internet or mobile coverage. I saw the result on my return to Wellington and just laughed.
Glad I was on holiday with no TV, Internet or mobile coverage. I saw the result on my return to Wellington and just laughed.
piss off you lazy fair-weather fan.
Glad I was on holiday with no TV, Internet or mobile coverage. I saw the result on my return to Wellington and just laughed.
If you thought this was coming, I think that makes you full of it. If you took glee from it, well that makes you even more full of it.
Glad I was on holiday with no TV, Internet or mobile coverage. I saw the result on my return to Wellington and just laughed.
If you thought this was coming, I think that makes you full of it. If you took glee from it, well that makes you even more full of it.
He can laugh if he wants, bud. It's easier to laugh than cry.
Couple of articles worth reading
http://www.australiascout.com/2015/a-league-finals-melbourne-city-wellington-phoenix-analysis/
Will be interesting seeing how Ernie approaches next season considering the end to the current season. I would like to see how we use our central attacking players, where do they start and the space the move into (false nine or more normal 10), and our use of our DM and CDs, IMHO we need our FBs higher to give us width (either create overloads with our forwards or allow our forwards to play narrower) but at the same time not compromising our defence too much and depending on how the play unfolds could see our DM staying/dropping deeper to almost to a back 3. That is based on our current squad but could change depending on who comes in - could have a more traditional striker.
Watched the replay last night and studied our attacking moves quite a bit.
It seems that the tactic is that when we have the ball in midfield, our not a strikers or anyone close enough, start running fast straight towards the goal, cutting in if necessary.
This often ended up with around 4 of our players concentrated on an area not far from the penalty spot, whether the ball was likely to come in or not.
In particular there were some headless chicken type runs from Boxall Fenton Krishna and Muscat which just ended up crouding everything up and leaving us totally devoid of any wide option.
And when we subsequently lost the ball (we gave it away time and time again) , we were often not in a good position torecover.
Not having anyone wide means the defenders can close up, and despite this we often continued to try and run the ball straight through the middle of the pitch.
Think thats bit harsh on A Rod,and given i think its his first full season of senior football.I think he has done mostly okay and will be a lot better after his first taste of A league.
Dont think I was being overly harsh but I do agree that we could see his full potential next season
Glad I was on holiday with no TV, Internet or mobile coverage. I saw the result on my return to Wellington and just laughed.
If you thought this was coming, I think that makes you full of it. If you took glee from it, well that makes you even more full of it.
He can laugh if he wants, bud. It's easier to laugh than cry.
Something that I thought interesting was the likes of Roly, McGlinchey, A Rod who had quite a good pedigree at youth level and into their late teens, perhaps showed why they are playing in the A League and not in a top league somewhere else. Whereas you have a guy like Riera who probably didn't have a youth pedigree, ends up being one of the best at a late age. I haven't done any research on some of the other imports in the league but wonder if there is some kind of pattern?
Something that I thought interesting was the likes of Roly, McGlinchey, A Rod who had quite a good pedigree at youth level and into their late teens, perhaps showed why they are playing in the A League and not in a top league somewhere else. Whereas you have a guy like Riera who probably didn't have a youth pedigree, ends up being one of the best at a late age. I haven't done any research on some of the other imports in the league but wonder if there is some kind of pattern?
http://www.theguardian.com/football/these-football...
Though Riera is more of a tough tackling, ground covering DM than a pure Pirlo-esque playmaker?
Lia, with his switches of play, is about the closest we've come to Pirlo with our regular players right? We tried Simon Elliot, but didn't really know how to use him.
Totally disagree. Riera is very similar to Carrick in my opinion. Positions himself well, usually avoids having to put in a tough challenge and keeps the ball moving, including getting attacks started. Lia has good lateral passing but is no where near as incisive as Riera. In terms of passing ability I think Smith, Hernandez, Sanchez, Bonevacia and Ifill are all examples of players we've had more like Pirlo than Lia.
Totally disagree. Riera is very similar to Carrick in my opinion. Positions himself well, usually avoids having to put in a tough challenge and keeps the ball moving, including getting attacks started. Lia has good lateral passing but is no where near as incisive as Riera. In terms of passing ability I think Smith, Hernandez, Sanchez, Bonevacia and Ifill are all examples of players we've had more like Pirlo than Lia.
Tim Brown?
Totally disagree. Riera is very similar to Carrick in my opinion. Positions himself well, usually avoids having to put in a tough challenge and keeps the ball moving, including getting attacks started. Lia has good lateral passing but is no where near as incisive as Riera. In terms of passing ability I think Smith, Hernandez, Sanchez, Bonevacia and Ifill are all examples of players we've had more like Pirlo than Lia.
Don't watch Carrick or Pirlo enough I guess. Or Xabi Alonso. I'll watch the last few games of the EPL closely.
I agree all the players you mention have a greater range of passing- however not many of them have played a deep lying playmaker role, they mostly played advanced roles.
Does Pirlo/Carrick buzz around as much as Riera does?
Comparing A league midfielders to Andrea Pirlo is pointless. No one in the A League plays a style which uses a regista and Pirlo is the ultimate regista. It makes more sense to compare A League DMs to the more standard disrupt-and-distribute-short type of player - like Busquets for instance. Those players still peak later because they rely on reading the game and being in the right place at the right time.
Also, Pirlo is awesome.
Totally disagree. Riera is very similar to Carrick in my opinion. Positions himself well, usually avoids having to put in a tough challenge and keeps the ball moving, including getting attacks started. Lia has good lateral passing but is no where near as incisive as Riera. In terms of passing ability I think Smith, Hernandez, Sanchez, Bonevacia and Ifill are all examples of players we've had more like Pirlo than Lia.
Don't watch Carrick or Pirlo enough I guess. Or Xabi Alonso. I'll watch the last few games of the EPL closely.
I agree all the players you mention have a greater range of passing- however not many of them have played a deep lying playmaker role, they mostly played advanced roles.
Does Pirlo/Carrick buzz around as much as Riera does?
Totally disagree. Riera is very similar to Carrick in my opinion. Positions himself well, usually avoids having to put in a tough challenge and keeps the ball moving, including getting attacks started. Lia has good lateral passing but is no where near as incisive as Riera. In terms of passing ability I think Smith, Hernandez, Sanchez, Bonevacia and Ifill are all examples of players we've had more like Pirlo than Lia.
Don't watch Carrick or Pirlo enough I guess. Or Xabi Alonso. I'll watch the last few games of the EPL closely.
I agree all the players you mention have a greater range of passing- however not many of them have played a deep lying playmaker role, they mostly played advanced roles.
Does Pirlo/Carrick buzz around as much as Riera does?
Isaias is maybe the closest. Lia was at times under Ricki forced into trying to be one but struggled when pressed, though when Lia is in a good bit of form his long passes and switches are great.
Glad I was on holiday with no TV, Internet or mobile coverage. I saw the result on my return to Wellington and just laughed.
If you thought this was coming, I think that makes you full of it. If you took glee from it, well that makes you even more full of it.
He can laugh if he wants, bud. It's easier to laugh than cry.
Pretty much.
Ive sit through plenty of horror Knights/Nix results in my time, and the last few home games were among the most disheartening of them all. What should I do? Cry and sulk? Jump on the forums like all the rest of you heroes and post about who shouldve played and what Ernie shouldve done better? Nah.