R7 vs Perth Glory | Friday 21st Nov | 11:45pm | SS2

Squad flying straight there from Adelaide. All Whites players flying straight there on Wednesday.

Should have a full squad to choose from.

I'm confident Ernie will have learned a bit after that one, I'm feeling the three points.  Is Keogh playing?

the jinx is strong in this one...

I was actually gobsmacked at JDs early positivity for a change.

Should be. Although hasn't scored since R2 I think. So no doubt he'll score a hatrick.

Depending on his game time on Tuesday night, assume WeeMac will start from the bench

Am keen for some revenge after their win in Welly.

Can't we just give them the default and save on airfares?

The sweet taste of a hard-earned draw is a better value than that!

Our midgets will be monstered by their giants.

I know he wants the kiwi lads back in... but will they be able to contribute effectively having just played in hot temps overseas and then travelled?

Besides, im pretty sure NZF players travel coach as well : )

Last time they played in Perth our giants were monstered by their midgets (well, juniors, but I did not want to use that word)

Only 1hr time difference + flight to get over for the AW squad members. Do they fly business these days or cattle class? 

Still an 8 hour flight.

Business.

Are the all whites players flying straight in from Thailand? Because to be honest that's probably easier than flying to Perth from NZ anyway.

I thought it was just the euro based AW's that flew business?

Smith probably demands a private jet. 

Maybe like the Ghana national team: Ghana football boss and his family in the first class. Players with sore legs a few meters behind him in cattle class.

I see what you've done there. What a concise and polite way to tell a half-asleep moron that the answer to his question is clearly written directly above his post. Muppet Monday.

He was supposed to hitch a ride with Winston in a private jet a while back wasn't he?

YF elite class?

I am sure lasyt year I read about sMith tweeting that he was upgraded and flying J class on the way back to the UK, whilst Christoper Wood was flying economy. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

^^ If it does, is it worth it ?

Did he play well ?

#yfspendup

I still think he's class, good movement and a pretty decent finisher.

They seem to score mostly from set pieces and until last week our defending from them has been pretty good.  Something went wrong on Saturday and I think Shermy might have had something to do with it.  I've watched the first goal back a number of times and I can't see whether we are defending man to man or zonally - but Shermy just completely loses his man but also doesn't go to try and win the ball either.  Boogard has a free header just outside the 6 yard box!

I just can't see us playing as bad as we did in that second half 2 weeks in a row so I think we'll get something out of this.  And I don't think Perth will be able to dominate the ball like Adelaide did meaning we'll have more of an attacking threat

I think they were man to man marking. Looking at that goal again, Dura was picking Boogard up, Shermy had Carrusca. Carrusca formed a screen on Dura to free up space for Boogard. Shermy didnt react fast enough

Am I the only one hoping for an eventual return to a 4-3-3 with Lia making way for Brockie? Maybe not this game, but the next at least...

While I am all for optimism, we will definitely need fresh legs for the second half, as Perth youngsters have energy and pace to burn. Hopefully the Thailand game will not leave the AWs with any serious dents - I would not mind giving Boxall a go against Perth, at least off the bench.

On that corner which we conceded, I haven't seen too many replays, but my initial thoughts were man-to-man marking on their 'best' headers and zonal marking starting on the 6-yard box. 

I thought at the time that Sigmund's man moved near post which pulled Siggy with him & left a space that the zonal guys didn't close.  Quite possibly wrong on this though (having only seen it a couple of times).

Yes.

I feel like if this happens, A-Rod will be dropped instead of Lia.

I don't think Rod can be trusted with defensive duties at this point. (though Lia's version of 'defending' is just smashing into players)

I think that is harsh on both Lia and A-Rod. They have done assigned jobs and I think done them well. Brockies' assigned job is to score goals. How is that working out......

How is it harsh? Lia should've been sent off against Adelaide and is always one step behind when defending (though I agree he has largely done his job well). A-Rod is not trusted by Ernie to defend, hence why Lia is starting.

Bit 'harsh' on Brockie too, then - it's tough to score from the bench in China..Guy only had 3 games and he provided a couple of assists, not that bad. (and I'm a critic of him)

Fixed. 

Scoring goals isn't Brockie's only job though. Playing in the middle ofthe front 3 he's there to help build attacks, to draw defenders out of position, to hold up the ball while others make runs. I think he did all that well in the first few games. Also, it's about the balance of the side - it allows Roly to play deeper, where he looked more comfortable, and gets Burns and WeeMac able to link up with the rest of the team or drift wider if required, which then takes pressure off our fullbacks as well. I just think we looked like abetter team when we played that way.

I'd be happy to see Brockie start again as I thought we generally looked more dangerous with him on and Roly playing deeper.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2014/11/17/glory-not-guaranteed-lowe-lauds-phoenix-threat

Lowe has done his research.

"They have some super players and a lot of creativity in the final third, they are well organised and have a bit of steel at the back at the back in Reece Caira and Andrew Durante."

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2014/11/17/glory-not-guaranteed-lowe-lauds-phoenix-threat

My point exactly.