Official Sydney FC Thread III [R]

Adelaide Game News:

No Aloisi
Some McFlynn
No Timpano or Colosimo

It looks like

------------Ivan-------------
Middleby--Fyfe-Busch--Jurman
Brosque----Gan--Stu----Cole
------------Corica
------------Bridge

Bench: Bolton, Petta, McFlynn (******** yeah), Payne/Danning/Space Juninho

Adelaide are in form but Oggmonster and Cantstandya have transfer woes of their own, and they've elected to move it the game to the Oval, where we have form... ok it's scraping the barrel, I know. I can't see much happening in our favour - our defense is so fragile that if we conceed at any point we're like to collapse. We might get on the scoreboard again but I'd be amazed if we got any points out of this.

 

Re: Official Sydney FC Thread II [R]

Update: Kofi Danning from youth squad will be on the bench. Which is nice.*

I'd like to be more optimistic, I've got something telling me that I've sold us a little short, but on balance I just don't see us keeping our shit together for 90 minutes - we haven't done it since Newy away and Adelaide are far more potent.

*best thing about this season is our Youth Team, they're kicking the shit out of rest. Solid signs for the future. Forza YT

 

Re: Official Sydney FC Thread II [R]

He's pretty much universally reviled by this stage. A lot people weren't keen on him back in the 07 offseason when he was hassling us for a deal, and some thought his injuries made him too much of a risk but when we signed him most were willing to give him a shot.

13 rounds in with two goals and a galaxy of fluffed chances and petulant dives later it's fair to say that he's run out of fans and this sudden hamstring injury may be a signal he's on the way out with the club as well. Kossie gave him more chances than his form warranted but Traktovenko and Ramsay are likely to be less forgiving. With his salary demands and a two year contract he'd be pricy to buy off but we have deep pockets.

His marquee status is the only reason we have him - his salary demands are impossible within the cap. If we ******** him off I can't see any other team picking him up apart from GCU if their Culina fantasy falls through. Since leaving Alaves he hasn't found any interest in Europe, has a dicky knee and managed 7 goals in 14 apps for CCM only after they re-jigged their entire formation around him (and he was still useless in the finals). I can't see where he goes from here.

 

Re: Official Sydney FC Thread II [R]

That might be taking it a bit far - he has a solid o/seas curriculum and his involvement with the Socceroos goes a bit further than That Penalty. It made him a household name, but he'd've still been a marquee prospect had Viduka tapped his in.

 

Kossie Realises Season Over, Plays Kids

This is a good move, if Jurman wasn't a moron and suspended we could have ********ed off Fyfe and played a full yoof backline. As it is, you can do worse than:


-----------|Necevski|----------
Grant--Cairncross--Fyfe---Golec
-------McFlynn---Musialik-----
-Brosque------Gan--------Cole
--------------Bridge

Bench: Corica, Kofi, Biddle, Bolton

Bit wierded out by the pro-Biddle comments, he's looked crap for the few times he's appeared this season but eh, it's great to see Grant getting a start and at least now we are focusing on rebuilding. If we are playing 4-2-3-1 he'll be able to get forward and overlap Brosque when he cuts in, which could be useful. I hope Kossie doesn't start Corica, we need Gan's mobility to break down the Nux's lumbering agricultural backline

Herbert's got to be tempted to go and smash us with Bertos-Smeltz front line but we're so feeble defensively he can afford to play it safe and try and nail us on the counter.

Now that the weight of making the finals is off our shoulders and we're ********ing off the deadwood we might have an interesting game on our hands.

 

What core players?

Busch? Middleby? Timpano? Aloisi?

Fyfe I never rated, and he's been ********ing useless since he signed the papers for AU. Corica is a club legend but he's old and past it. Santalab's fluky goals weren't worth getting into a bidding war over.

It's time to move on. Next year Bolton and McFlynn will be the last of the inaugural squad. That's football.

 

Timpano and Middleby were never core players. Jake had a great year in first season, since then he's played five games and missed two whole seasons. He may make a full recovery at NQ but he's done all he can here.

Robbie's been a great servant of this club, he's given everything and never complained - none of this changes the fact that he's playing out of positon because we've got better wingers, on the wrong side of 30 and can't cross. He deserves a send off but the only time he was close to a core player was under Butcher.

 

It was nice to win but not the best of games.

-------------|Ivan|---------
--Grant---Fyfe---Cairncross----Cole
---------Musialik--McFlynn---------
---Biddle-------Gan------Brosque--
--------------Bridge

Nux pressed hard in the first 20 and should have had a brace. Then they slacked off and let us into the game. We didn't make much of it though, still very unco in attacks - Gan dropped too deep and Grant picked the wrong option a few times. Hearfield ripped Cole down the left a few times but Cairncross and Fyfe handled it well - former kept Smeltz reasonably quiet and didn't look like a rookie on debut.

Hearfield was lucky not to get sent off in the first half for elbowing Brosque to the head, that he went on to get pissy with him (sure, it was a clear-cut foul) and headbutt is astonishing - way to f88k your team over Troy.

The Nux's caution came back to bite them in the end - they could have killed us off early with a more attacking formation but we gradually built up our confidence. Kossie handled his subs well for once, Corica was much more effective running at tired Nux legs, Kofi was Kofi and Payne did alright.

There are some promising signs to take away from this: Brosque got his 8th assist of the season (no.1 in the league) and did a lot of grunt work picking up and distributing where Gan slacked off, Grant got ripped a few times but played with a lot of vigour and enterprise - with a bit of coaching we're looking at our first proper RB since Pac-man. Kofi's been dangerous all season with the yoof and it's great to see him repeat it at senior level - he actually - get this - runs at defenses

If we win our last two we can take 4th off the Sea bogans provided they lose to the Tards and Adelaide - however if they draw but once we're likely stuffed on goal difference. On the plus, Welly's GD is crap so they can't wreck us unless they win both their games against the morons down south and Adelaide.

Unfortunately, that won't happen as our next game is away to the Meow and Kofi and Grant have U18 stuff (that's right, our two standouts from last night are unable to enter licensed premises unescorted) - so we'll likely get smashed.

But next year's looking good.

 

Heh, he's got a bit of a way to go yet, good enough fullback for the NSWPL but has been found out this season - good to know people in Europe are watching though

 

Kofi and Surf-bogan have been excused from the Mickey Mouse Youth Olympics, as well Adam Casey is in the squad. Biddle's been dropped to the YT and Jurman is back in.

I'd guess:

------------Ivan-----------
Grant--Fyfe--Cairncross--Cole
-----Musialik---McFlynn------
-Brosque----Gan-------Kofi-
-----------Bridge

Bench: Corica, Casey, Jurman, Bolton

The **********cats have lost Tahj and DeVere, but will have Tiatto, Miller, Van Dijk and McClogs. They're still liable to to rip us but Minnecon's absence gives us a chance - there isn't anyone we can put at LB who he couldn't rip. With Gan, Musialik and McFlynn in the midfield we're competitive but Bridge hasn't been in goalscoring form since round 4.

the other thing is, if we to want to be in the finals we've got to will the Tards to win tonight