Wanderers Stay Top With Draw

This echoes a lot of what has been said here post match......

https://www.wswanderersfc.com.au/news/meier-wanderers-showed-great-spirit

18 minutes ago, sonar said:

I know he's only one player but if Schwegler is out we may struggle.  Baccus for all his talent is nowhere near as skillful in that role. Going to be interesting to see the line up we put on the pitch. WU in their present form will be no pushover.

The middle of the field is where Baccus struggles, lacking the smarts and tactical side of the game to make the right decisions. Perhaps Ziegler can have a go at dm.

22 minutes ago, ZachMercer said:

To quote Ron Burgundy. "Well, that escalated quickly."

Here's my leftfield slant on the performance. As background I've been doing research lately on a course I'm putting together per mindset training for sport. What I feel I saw from our game was what they call "The let-down" effect. It's a common condition that results from an adrenaline hangover.

Now you'd think that a week would be enough time to recover from the derby win/anxiety/stress, but there's some science out there that suggests it can take a significant amount of time for the body to withdraw from stress related hormones - even at elite athlete level. Think about how you sometimes get sick after a big event or work deadline, it happens all the time.

Slow and lethargic play, increased chance of injury or illness, lack of accuracy, forgetting plays or formations are all indicators.

Let's appreciate there's a lot of pressure on the team externally as well to turn around fan disappointment, and if you think these guys don't know it then you're mistaken.

I think with the resources that the club has at it's disposal, as well as MB's experience that the result of the game would have been expected, and they would not have seen the draw as a backward step.

Happy to gauge opinions.

Echoes exactly what the likes of Meier, Georgievski & Duke have said.

Quality post digger!

I don’t understand why we are suffering from a hangover, but the Smurfs manage to win 4-1, seemingly unaffected. 
 

whatever the issue is, I hope they get it sorted for the next game. This is meant to be the ‘no excuses’ season. 

29 minutes ago, MajorMelons said:

I don’t understand why we are suffering from a hangover, but the Smurfs manage to win 4-1, seemingly unaffected. 
 

whatever the issue is, I hope they get it sorted for the next game. This is meant to be the ‘no excuses’ season. 

Why? because Our derby record for the last three years has been abysmal, turning that round would have been a huge physical and emotional drain for us. 

also they have an established side that’s been doing well for 3 or 4 seasons, we are a totally new team 

we needed to win our first derby at new home 

in short it was a far bigger deal for us than them 

The moment Schwegler came off Brisbane begun running on top of us. Lots of passing around the back four literally because there was no one to pass to Brisbane had 10 men behind the ball every time and we just couldn't link up between DEF, MID and Foward lines. Our most effective attacking outlet was Georgevski pretty much tells you all you need to know how we played. Duke was basically playing at LB to get on the ball.

Meier became more effective when Muller was on the ball, and we produced one decent ball for for Meier in 94 minutes, it was the and only time we broke the Roar defensive line could have stolen it there. We were flat all round Mcgowan, Jurman, Lopar and Ziegler made up for our inability to keep the ball with their defensive efforts. A point is good were never gonna play 100% in every game but this is a game we would have lost last season something to build on and 10 points from 4 games. Yes I will take that.

Not sure defensive effort will be effective against the Rudan's dad army and Babbel has a big problem in DM. Tass is his plug in for Schwegler but its twice now he has him there and the midfield seems to lose its balance. Baccus is almost lost when Tass is there. 

As for Grozos I am willing to let the first game go first A-league start. Plus as a comparison Sullivan was almost as ineffective in the first game but improved against Victory and Smurfs. Grozos had a special moment so there is promise there plus the whole team played bad so I cannot judge properly. Babbel was right to lynch him when he did.

I thought Muller looked promising. He can play on the turn which is so hard to find at this level. To be able to take the ball and be already on the move creates a little more time to pick a pass and to be a step ahead of the opposition. Allows him to play between the lines which you see all the top players are able to do and therefore influence outcomes. Too many HAL level players are static when receiving the ball and so it is harder then to surprise and open up your opponent. With Pimmin behind him screening his forward movement then he should be either able to take advantage of space opening up ahead of him or feed our forwards. Pimmin would be a huge loss if he is out for any period of time. Muller will be a more than able replacement for Raddy. Even an upgrade.

Match high/low lights....lol

https://www.wswanderersfc.com.au/video/mini-match-western-sydney-wanderers-v-brisbane-roar-hyundai-a-league

On 03/11/2019 at 8:47 AM, wendybr said:

Ohhh you have my sympathy!!.

Don't snap.

Go find yourself a new seat.

There are thousands to choose from atm...and I can't see anyone objecting.

Someone like that, except foully abusive when asked to tone it down, spoilt game after game for me and  half a bay full of his neighbours for 2.5 seasons.

Either way...don't  put up with it, or it will spoil your experience.

But tread carefully if you are going to say something to him.

Good luck!

Honestly if they weren't such good seats LOL I would, at some point I will say something.

On 03/11/2019 at 9:41 AM, West13 said:

You dont happen to sit toward the back of 219, do you? 

In the one game i sat in my normal seats i was hearing similar stuff.... wifey was saying "deep breaths, babe.. deep breaths".

No 216, it is like that isn't. Just breath, happy place happy place ( seeing Covic walking around with that trophy was a happy place)

Hopefully the old guys at Western United suffer a 'derby victory hangover' next weekend !!

28 minutes ago, Posthoc said:

No 216, it is like that isn't. Just breath, happy place happy place ( seeing Covic walking around with that trophy was a happy place)

I'm in 216. Row 18. WSF scarf. Floppy hat. Say g'day. 

And if you're in row 17 - it wasn't me!

Well the smoke haze did one good thing, filtered the afternoon sun so did not get blinded!

Derby hangover hahaha Jesus Christ. 

These guys are professionals, and so too are the support staff including physios, psychiatrists, dieticians etc. 

It is quite literally their job to prevent this stuff from happening. Not that I believe it; I just thought we were lost after Shweggy came off.

7 minutes ago, Beer said:

Derby hangover hahaha Jesus Christ. 

These guys are professionals, and so too are the support staff including physios, psychiatrists, dieticians etc. 

It is quite literally their job to prevent this stuff from happening. Not that I believe it; I just thought we were lost after Shweggy came off.

We were struggling before he came off !!

3 hours ago, StringerBellend said:

Why? because Our derby record for the last three years has been abysmal, turning that round would have been a huge physical and emotional drain for us. 

also they have an established side that’s been doing well for 3 or 4 seasons, we are a totally new team 

we needed to win our first derby at new home 

in short it was a far bigger deal for us than them 

 

This. It raises a point that has made me think that the constant turnover of players....especially good players...........has been detrimental to WSW over the course of our short history.  If @ManfredSchaefer and his recent poll of the worst players is anything to go by we have rarely had a settled squad. We are a club that has churned over the players. Visa and local.

Now, salary cap aside.......the cleanout after our GF loss to Adelaide took at team that made a GF and we turned into a team that was mediocre at best. It got worse under Gombau and even worse in Babbels first season. We've had the annual cleanout at the end of last season but my question is this....how many of the quality players we have now will still be with us next season.? 

We rarely seem to have a core of quality players long term. Is it an effect of the salary cap.? ESFC and Victory seem to be more stable in that area but that may just be my perception. I would love for the club to be able to come out and say players like Lopar,Schwegler,Meier and Muller have agreed to terms for another season which may add a touch of stabilty to the squad. Our captain M Duke is contracted till the end of this season and based on how he is playing may head off overseas again at the end of the season.

I hope at seasons end we aren't having another cleanout and another 10 or eleven new players come in.

Hard to do when we sign 36 year old visa players. 

1 hour ago, Beer said:

Derby hangover hahaha Jesus Christ. 

These guys are professionals, and so too are the support staff including physios, psychiatrists, dieticians etc. 

It is quite literally their job to prevent this stuff from happening. Not that I believe it; I just thought we were lost after Shweggy came off.

I'm confused. In the first sentence you say all the guys and support staff are pro's, and in the second you say it all hinges on one professional.  

1 hour ago, MartinTyler said:

We were struggling before he came off !!

We were Struggling in our attack granted but the Roar were also struggling against us when Schwegler was still on. 

19 minutes ago, Beer said:

Hard to do when we sign 36 year old visa players. 

That's just one player and his goal against Victory was quality.

I'm talking a core of quality players that are here for more than one season. To quote @StringerBellend...."because Our derby record for the last three years has been abysmal, turning that round would have been a huge physical and emotional drain for us."........and the main reason for that I feel is the constant turnover of players.

".....

I get the Derby hangover stuff - interesting read on the science.  Hear Babbel, Meier etc and how tough it was but good to hold on, not concede a goal and get a tough draw.  Happy with that and that we are undefeated after 4 rounds - excellent start.  Like the guts displayed by the boys, even when having an off-day.

What I do struggle with is some of the very basic mistakes that these pros are making.  A few times through the game I thought to myself that they were making mistakes that you don't expect 14 year olds to make.  Passes that go nowhere.  First touched that bounce 1-2 metres away.  Rash and late attempts at tackles where the opposition simply runs around you.  The worst, for me, is that our players mostly stand still off the ball.  They don't always move to receive the ball or run off the ball into space.  This has been a constant frustration over several years.  I lost count of the number of times that Brisbane (and Sydney last week) ran through and took a simple intercept because our player stood still waiting for the ball to arrive.

I get that we may have been lethargic and feeling the let-down of a huge win but surely that would mean we focus on the simple things, the basics that ought to be automatic - we didn't.  I thought Tass was one of the better players on Saturday.  Even Schwegler looked slower before he went off.  We can't just blame the heat because Brisbane outran us and moved the ball quite well and fast throughout the game.  Our build up was tedious and often went nowhere.  There was no creativity just lots of sideways passes and a long hoof or an intercept from a soft or aimless pass.

I get the let down and it makes sense.  It explains the lethargy and I get that.  However, I don't understand why we still get lots of basics wrong.  Under this pressure and the lethargy, the basics that should be deeply instilled and should be what we fall back on - we didn't.  We had poor basic skills and poor structure in the middle of the park.  We have ridden our luck through toughing the hard days out and that is good - the mentality is there.  We need to add some good technique and better midfield structure and solidity.  Next week will certainly be a test with the squad they having playing well.  Hopefully we can have a few players leave the medical ward and get back on the ground.

11 minutes ago, BoyFromTheWest said:

I get the Derby hangover stuff - interesting read on the science.  Hear Babbel, Meier etc and how tough it was but good to hold on, not concede a goal and get a tough draw.  Happy with that and that we are undefeated after 4 rounds - excellent start.  Like the guts displayed by the boys, even when having an off-day.

What I do struggle with is some of the very basic mistakes that these pros are making.  A few times through the game I thought to myself that they were making mistakes that you don't expect 14 year olds to make.  Passes that go nowhere.  First touched that bounce 1-2 metres away.  Rash and late attempts at tackles where the opposition simply runs around you.  The worst, for me, is that our players mostly stand still off the ball.  They don't always move to receive the ball or run off the ball into space.  This has been a constant frustration over several years.  I lost count of the number of times that Brisbane (and Sydney last week) ran through and took a simple intercept because our player stood still waiting for the ball to arrive.

I get that we may have been lethargic and feeling the let-down of a huge win but surely that would mean we focus on the simple things, the basics that ought to be automatic - we didn't.  I thought Tass was one of the better players on Saturday.  Even Schwegler looked slower before he went off.  We can't just blame the heat because Brisbane outran us and moved the ball quite well and fast throughout the game.  Our build up was tedious and often went nowhere.  There was no creativity just lots of sideways passes and a long hoof or an intercept from a soft or aimless pass.

I get the let down and it makes sense.  It explains the lethargy and I get that.  However, I don't understand why we still get lots of basics wrong.  Under this pressure and the lethargy, the basics that should be deeply instilled and should be what we fall back on - we didn't.  We had poor basic skills and poor structure in the middle of the park.  We have ridden our luck through toughing the hard days out and that is good - the mentality is there.  We need to add some good technique and better midfield structure and solidity.  Next week will certainly be a test with the squad they having playing well.  Hopefully we can have a few players leave the medical ward and get back on the ground.

 

I agree. I do wonder though if MB's started listening to @Taurus with regard to "defences win you titles." The lack of forward creativity sometimes makes me feel it's not the priority, and a bit of an afterthought. Sure, it's still important to put goals in the back of the net, but if that was the strategy would we have an aging CF? Don't get me wrong our forward line can be lethal if given half a chance, and I do think our midfield is a bit paper thin and static. That being said, I think Primin is probably not only one of the best players to wear the red and black, but probably one of the best to have played in the league, but he's still human and as we saw emotionally invested in the team.

I think next week we'll bounce back with a force. 

21 minutes ago, ZachMercer said:

I agree. I do wonder though if MB's started listening to @Taurus with regard to "defences win you titles." The lack of forward creativity sometimes makes me feel it's not the priority, and a bit of an afterthought. Sure, it's still important to put goals in the back of the net, but if that was the strategy would we have an aging CF? Don't get me wrong our forward line can be lethal if given half a chance, and I do think our midfield is a bit paper thin and static. That being said, I think Primin is probably not only one of the best players to wear the red and black, but probably one of the best to have played in the league, but he's still human and as we saw emotionally invested in the team.

I think next week we'll bounce back with a force. 

We came through a bruising Derby with plenty of niggles.

Duke pulled up a tad sore in the knee which was operated on a couple of months ago, partly due the clash with Grant in 87th minute. He received treatment rather than train with the squad on Tuesday.

Pirmin & Yeboah completed approx 66% & 75% of the session respectively, before being rested.

18 minutes ago, Taurus said:

We came through a bruising Derby with plenty of niggles.

Duke pulled up a tad sore in the knee which was operated on a couple of months ago, partly due the clash with Grant in 87th minute. He received treatment rather than train with the squad on Tuesday.

Pirmin & Yeboah completed approx 66% & 75% of the session respectively, before being rested.

 

 

Bang goes your credentials mit Der Babbel.

Not revealing relevant & informed factual information until after the game also blows your cred on the forum too 

19 minutes ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

Bang goes your credentials mit Der Babbel.

Not revealing relevant & informed factual information until after the game also blows your cred on the forum too 

The last peeps that need to know about those dets are the media seagulls & opposition eyes can also view what is written in here. 

8 minutes ago, Taurus said:

The last peeps that need to know about those dets are the media seagulls & opposition eyes can also view what is written in here. 

I thought those of us who were at training the other day were supposed to spill the beans so no one would have exaggerated expectations.

Oh well, I’ll mark that up to experience.

There's speculation & then there is reality.

Reality is Wanderers effectively train in a public area and reality is any man and his dog can go to training and see what you see , did you see the man with binoculars standing beside his car at the far end pitch where the keepers where training, he is not there today , could have been a roar spy he was there at every training session last week, not likely cause you experts are standing at the gate to the training pitch annoying the crap out of those wanderers people trying to do their job.  Big Shots  

19 hours ago, Edinburgh said:

I'm in 216. Row 18. WSF scarf. Floppy hat. Say g'day. 

And if you're in row 17 - it wasn't me!

will do, and I will neither confirm not deny that i'm in 17............... nah I can deny I am in 17,16 or 15.

If anyone doubts what Meier brings to the team then I suggest you have a look at the video of Lopar's save of the round against the Roar. The ball is headed off the line first by none other than AM...then Lopar stops the second one.