Squad Development 2024/25

[Upthehill]

12 minutes ago, Davo said:

I’m enjoying this reply that everyone's assuming is a Rudan burner account.

 

 

Just going to leave this here. The last alt account of Rudan USED to randomly CAPITALISE words in the MIDDLE of sentences.

[mack]

I think it's far more likely to be someone pretending to be a Rudan burner for a laugh.

[Upthehill]

5 minutes ago, mack said:

I think it's far more likely to be someone pretending to be a Rudan burner for a laugh.

Listen here FU/CK FACE! Don't spoil my fun!

[StringerBellend]

Seems reasonable to me. The manager is not reasonable for who leaves or stays or accountable for the atmosphere of the team. 

[WSWJACK]

Would anyone like to see Cancar back in the squad? He was ace when here last then went to Scotland, has he improved or regressed at Jets?

[Potkorok]

His diving has improved.....

[WSWJACK]

2 minutes ago, Potkorok said:

His diving has improved.....

Ha ha, but doubt he learned that on the icy grounds in Scotland 😏

[StringerBellend]

I'd prefer Natta he has improved 

[MathyouWSW]

Carluccio is permanently at Glory now.

[Upthehill]

5 hours ago, MathyouWSW said:

Carluccio is permanently at Glory now.

I genuinely hope he comes back one day. He's a decent all rounder but our depth is very strong right now (lacking genuine starters in certain areas). He's a real work horse and versatile

[MartinTyler]

17 hours ago, StringerBellend said:

I'd prefer Natta he has improved 

I'm not so sure

[StringerBellend]

3 hours ago, MartinTyler said:

I'm not so sure

And of course the 80s Scouse hair, I like that too

Edited May 1, 2024 by StringerBellend

[Upthehill]

3 hours ago, MartinTyler said:

I'm not so sure

He's apparently of to a Serie B club as well. He has an EU pass/italian citizenship so it should make it easier

[MartinTyler]

8 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

And of course the 80s Scouse hair, I like that too

lol...yeah...gets in the way of him being able to head the ball properly. 

[MartinTyler]

Just now, Upthehill said:

He's apparently of to a Serie B club as well. He has an EU pass/italian citizenship so it should make it easier

Probably get loaned out to a Sunday league club then

[iamwesternsydney]

From what Ive heard Yuel wasn't frozen out, he was signed as injury replacement for Borello, hence when he came back he Yuel dropped out.

Brillante still has a decent game in him however is a different dm to what match our tactics, he is no a possession or passing dm but a bulldog, which worked else but not with our play out game. I feel for Antonsenn as he is a class player but for a long while was lacking the ball, which then lead to mis opportunities when the ball came and spiralled.

I think the key difference to this year when we just missed the 6 compared to last year is consistency. The teams above us may not have had cbs as good as us but they were there together the whole season. Injuries and suspensions in this killed us. No matter whether it was Beadling or Boenitig with Marcelo, if it had of been 1 or the other I think it would have been better. We went 14 games conceding 14 goals before that all fell apart leaving confusing and lack of trust at the back. Whenever we do well we have had a solid back.

[StringerBellend]

2 hours ago, iamwesternsydney said:

From what Ive heard Yuel wasn't frozen out, he was signed as injury replacement for Borello, hence when he came back he Yuel dropped out.

Brillante still has a decent game in him however is a different dm to what match our tactics, he is no a possession or passing dm but a bulldog, which worked else but not with our play out game. I feel for Antonsenn as he is a class player but for a long while was lacking the ball, which then lead to mis opportunities when the ball came and spiralled.

I think the key difference to this year when we just missed the 6 compared to last year is consistency. The teams above us may not have had cbs as good as us but they were there together the whole season. Injuries and suspensions in this killed us. No matter whether it was Beadling or Boenitig with Marcelo, if it had of been 1 or the other I think it would have been better. We went 14 games conceding 14 goals before that all fell apart leaving confusing and lack of trust at the back. Whenever we do well we have had a solid back.

The centre back problem is on Rudan we never signed a decent centre back to play with Marcello 

It was either kids or average midfielder playing out of position

Neither of them were very good 

 

Edited May 1, 2024 by StringerBellend

[Upthehill]

4 hours ago, StringerBellend said:

The centre back problem is on Rudan we never signed a decent centre back to play with Marcello 

It was either kids or average midfielder playing out of position

 

This is a huge element. Goals win games, defence wins leagues.

Mrcela just got relegated with his Croatian side. I'd love to say we can tempt him back but there was clearly a reason he wanted out...

[mack]

According to Transfermarkt, we played the following central defensive combinations:

• Week 1 Bonetig & Marcelo.
• Week 2 Marcelo & Beadling with Bonetig out of the squad entirely with injury.
• Week 3 Marcelo and Pantazopoulous, with Beading & Bonetig out of the squad entirely & Grdic on the bench. Grdic came on at half-time for Panta.
• Week 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 it was Marcelo and Beadling, with Grdic on the bench until Week 6 where he was swapped for Scicluna. Week 8 Beadling came off in 15 minutes with injury.
• Week 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Bonetig & Marcelo. Cleur started getting into the squad again with Scicluna or Russell. Week 14 Bonetig had to come off in the first 10 minutes from injury.
• Week 15 Marcelo & Beadling, then Beadling got red carded, this was also the game Margush got his concussion and Thomas got back in goal at half-time.
• Week 16 Hendrix & Marcelo, this was the infamous double red card game vs Newcastle where Hendrix played central defender & got sent off in stoppage time.
• Week 17 Cleur made his debut as a central defender with Marcelo.
• Week 18, 19 and 20 Bonetig came back to pair Marcelo
• Week "12a/27" Marcelo was suspended so the back four was Beadling & Bonetig then Scicluna & Simmons at fullback. This was the 7-0 game. Nathan Barrie came on at half-time for his debut replacing Beadling.
• Week 21 Bonetig & Marcelo back together. Bonetig got hooked at half-time for Beadling.
• Week 22, 23, 24 Beadling & Marcelo.
• Week 25 Bonetig & Marcelo. Bonetig gets hooked at half-time again, this time for Barrie.
• Week 26 Marcelo & Cleur again.

If I have my sums right:

• Marcelo/Beadling - 13
• Marcelo/Bonetig - 12
• Marcelo/Cleur - 2
• Marcelo/Hendrix - 1
• Beadling/Bonetig - 1
• Marcelo/Panta - 1
• Barrie had 1 half-game with Bonetig and 1 half-game with Marcelo.
• Grdic had 1 half-game with Marcelo.

So from a review/narrative standpoint, Marcelo was the obvious starter at right central defence, Bonetig was given the first opportunity as the left footed central defender, but he got a broken foot in the first match.

Tom Beadling did something to either be hurt or piss off Rudan because he got dropped out of the squad after the 5-0 WU win in Round 2. I can only assume it was an injury or illness since he came straight back in. This let Pantazopoulous have a chance for a game, but he got hooked at half-time for letting Stamatelopoulous score two goals, then Grdic got his half-time and both of them were never seen again outside of the NPL and the Panta emergency goalkeeper situation with the Jack Gibson ACL.

So back to Beadling/Marcelo.

Bonetig came back from his injury and immediately retook his first choice left foot central defender position with Beadling out of the team, until Bonetig got hurt again in February, then Beadling got his three week red card suspension which is where it all fell apart & we start using emergency central defenders like Hendrix & Cleur.

Beadling wins the 2nd central defensive spot off Bonetig after the horror show run of the Derby 4-1, 3-1 loss to WU and 7-0 thrashing.. only for Beadling to pick himself up another injury late in the season. So we have Bonetig come back in for the 2nd last match vs City, get taken off at halftime for Barrie & dropped for the final match. But Rudan doesn't trust the very young Barrie yet so we get Cleur's 2nd go.

[andypk]

5 hours ago, StringerBellend said:

The centre back problem is on Rudan we never signed a decent centre back to play with Marcello 

It was either kids or average midfielder playing out of position

Neither of them were very good 

 

This.  Rudan was asked at the fan forum at the start of the season if he was going to replace Mrcela with a new signing and he said he had been offered cb's (who had later signed for other clubs) but didn't think they'd improve us and was happy with the players he had.

[Davo]

12 minutes ago, mack said:

According to Transfermarkt, we played the following central defensive combinations:

• Week 1 Bonetig & Marcelo.
• Week 2 Marcelo & Beadling with Bonetig out of the squad entirely.
• Week 3 Marcelo and Pantazopoulous, with Beading & Bonetig out of the squad entirely & Grdic on the bench. Grdic came on at half-time for Panta.
• Week 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 it was Marcelo and Beadling, with Grdic on the bench until Week 6 where he was swapped for Scicluna.
• Week 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Bonetig & Marcelo. Cleur started getting into the squad again with Scicluna or Russell. Week 14 Bonetig had to come off in the first 10 minutes from injury.
• Week 15 Marcelo & Beadling, then Beadling got red carded, this was also the game Margush got his concussion and Thomas got back in goal at half-time.
• Week 16 Hendrix & Marcelo, this was the infamous double red card game vs Newcastle where Hendrix played central defender & got sent off in stoppage time.
• Week 17 Cleur made his debut as a central defender with Marcelo.
• Week 18, 19 and 20 Bonetig came back to pair Marcelo
• Week "12a/27" Marcelo was suspended so the back four was Beadling & Bonetig then Scicluna & Simmons at fullback. This was the 7-0 game. Nathan Barrie came on at half-time for his debut replacing Beadling.
• Week 21 Bonetig & Marcelo back together. Bonetig got hooked at half-time for Beadling.
• Week 22, 23, 24 Beadling & Marcelo.
• Week 25 Bonetig & Marcelo. Bonetig gets hooked at half-time again, this time for Barrie.
• Week 26 Marcelo & Cleur again.

If I have my sums right:

• Marcelo/Beadling - 13
• Marcelo/Bonetig - 12
• Marcelo/Cleur - 2
• Marcelo/Hendrix - 1
• Beadling/Bonetig - 1
• Marcelo/Panta - 1
• Barrie had 1 half-game with Bonetig and 1 half-game with Marcelo.
• Grdic had 1 half-game with Marcelo.

For contrast, the Mariners just won the league and they had:

• Kaltak/Hall - 22
• Kaltak/Paull - 3
• Kaltak/Hall/Paull - 2

[apvz]

21 minutes ago, mack said:

According to Transfermarkt, we played the following central defensive combinations:

• Week 1 Bonetig & Marcelo.
• Week 2 Marcelo & Beadling with Bonetig out of the squad entirely.
• Week 3 Marcelo and Pantazopoulous, with Beading & Bonetig out of the squad entirely & Grdic on the bench. Grdic came on at half-time for Panta.
• Week 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 it was Marcelo and Beadling, with Grdic on the bench until Week 6 where he was swapped for Scicluna.
• Week 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Bonetig & Marcelo. Cleur started getting into the squad again with Scicluna or Russell. Week 14 Bonetig had to come off in the first 10 minutes from injury.
• Week 15 Marcelo & Beadling, then Beadling got red carded, this was also the game Margush got his concussion and Thomas got back in goal at half-time.
• Week 16 Hendrix & Marcelo, this was the infamous double red card game vs Newcastle where Hendrix played central defender & got sent off in stoppage time.
• Week 17 Cleur made his debut as a central defender with Marcelo.
• Week 18, 19 and 20 Bonetig came back to pair Marcelo
• Week "12a/27" Marcelo was suspended so the back four was Beadling & Bonetig then Scicluna & Simmons at fullback. This was the 7-0 game. Nathan Barrie came on at half-time for his debut replacing Beadling.
• Week 21 Bonetig & Marcelo back together. Bonetig got hooked at half-time for Beadling.
• Week 22, 23, 24 Beadling & Marcelo.
• Week 25 Bonetig & Marcelo. Bonetig gets hooked at half-time again, this time for Barrie.
• Week 26 Marcelo & Cleur again.

If I have my sums right:

• Marcelo/Beadling - 13
• Marcelo/Bonetig - 12
• Marcelo/Cleur - 2
• Marcelo/Hendrix - 1
• Beadling/Bonetig - 1
• Marcelo/Panta - 1
• Barrie had 1 half-game with Bonetig and 1 half-game with Marcelo.
• Grdic had 1 half-game with Marcelo.

In comparison:

Wellington: Wooton and Surman started all 27 games 

Consistency is key, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. I get the feeling that the club wanted to try and cash in by having Bonetig play next to Marcelo for a season and then ship him overseas. Probably saw what happened with Triantis and got jealous 

Edited May 1, 2024 by apvz

[THEWANDERERSPOST]

3 hours ago, Upthehill said:

This is a huge element. Goals win games, defence wins leagues.

Mrcela just got relegated with his Croatian side. I'd love to say we can tempt him back but there was clearly a reason he wanted out...

The rumoured reason was that he wanted a similar wage to Marcelo considering he was just as good as him last season.

I think there HAS to be something more to it than that, i'm not convinced the Uzbekistan and lowest team in Croatian league would be offering that?

[StringerBellend]

Have a look at some of the squads in the top 6

No way we should be finishing in the magnificent 7th

Edited May 1, 2024 by StringerBellend

[Bangaverage]

So now the season is over and it looks like we are stuck with Rudan, when does the club start announcing players that are leaving or resigning? I noticed most other clubs out of the semis (and some even in the semis) have already been announcing them?

Will be interesting to see how many stick around now both players and staff. I hear there has already been 2 casualties in regards to the staff

[SBW]

I wonder if Harrison Delbridge would be free to join us since he's not getting any game time with his Korean team

[MathyouWSW]

2 hours ago, Bangaverage said:

So now the season is over and it looks like we are stuck with Rudan, when does the club start announcing players that are leaving or resigning? I noticed most other clubs out of the semis (and some even in the semis) have already been announcing them?

Will be interesting to see how many stick around now both players and staff. I hear there has already been 2 casualties in regards to the staff

Awards night was Tuesday night. Sometimes, they usually do it after that.

However, if they don't mention anything about players departing the club, we probably won't hear it until the transfer window opens which is roughly around July. 

[William]

Kittel hopeful has caught the first plane out last Sunday to a destination unknown

[MathyouWSW]

1 hour ago, SBW said:

I wonder if Harrison Delbridge would be free to join us since he's not getting any game time with his Korean team

He's contracted at Incheon United until December 2024 as the K-League seasons usually run from Ferbuary to November. However, that means nothing these days as players can ask for a mutual agreement termination. 

[Hughesy]

First order of off season business should be evaluating the purpose and direction of the academy. As much as it’s become a source of humour, the construction of playing fields is its only output. 

There’s little alignment between the academy and first team recruitment. Young players are just plugging holes. The fact several young players made up the bulk of the side against vuck was a happy coincidence rather than a strategic decision. 

The club aren’t selling young players by the bucket load, nor are they breeding them in the first team in bulk. Then on the other side of the equation, we aren’t recruiting quality senior level players/foreigners. Most clubs prioritise one or the other, we seem to do neither.