Wellington Woes For Wanderering ACL Champs

Mullen was in dozy land again. Popa must be having nightmares about him... I know I am!  I was hoping he would't even make the bench in Riyadh. If only we had Polenz behind Castalen.  I liked the look Adeleke... big time!  But fundamentally I'm thinking what was wrong? Not having Ono and Mooy level midfielders alongside La Rocca? (who was probably stuffed mentally and physically). Juric is an enigma... can be sensational or just look like some big raw lad learning his trade.... made a lot of wrong decisions.

 

Hopefully we'll get it together and start grinding out some results in places like that... starting next week. Who knows, maybe we'll do another first this season... first team to become champions from 6th position?  

I must've been seeing a different Adeleke because I didn't find him all that crash hot.

I understand he probably isn't fully match fit, and he did have some good moments but I found him sitting too far in at times giving space on the outside. He looked good at chasing down and tackling but that space should not have been given in first place.

I'll put his earlier than expected fatigue down to not being match fit yet which is understandable. I think the good moments showed great promise, but I think Popa needs to work on him a bit more.

Castalen however, he's really impressed me. He's gonna be a gun player.

Just remember when the ball is on the other side of the field (right side) the left back tucks in until the ball is switched over to his own wing forcing the attacker out wide. You want them being out wide trying to cross into the box especially with Spira and NTS absolute beast in the air because if you move out wide too early it leaves open a channel for the midfielders to make a run in between CB and LB.

 

Agree with you on the fitness though, I think he played 45mins last week so this is his first 90mins

Gap between Number 10 and the two DM's is much too big. No movement in the middle whatsoever, with the end result that we end up lobbing it out wide in the hope something happens. 

RB is our weak spot. Alessi needs to mature a lot this year. No ball control in midfield without Saba and Bridge. In the last 20 minutes we've run out of steam, and the seemingly inevitable happened.

Our tactics were too negative. The 4 defenders and 2 DMs stayed too deep which meant the wingers and Juric were isolated up front. Our only tactic when in possession was to boot it down the flanks and hope Tha Castelan or Ruka can beat a player and create something. The only times we looked good attacking were when the players got closer together and made runs for each other.

Did we even press.

I think the problem was that Trifiro wasn't distributing that well, he just couldn't find his range and the other problem was that Fofanah wasn't really getting on the ball in between the lines and when he tried he would just get dominated physically. This led to the situation you have raised plus I don't think the front 4 really linked well together so I think it will be some time before we build these connections!

RB is our weak spot. Alessi needs to mature a lot this year. No ball control in midfield without Saba and Bridge. In the last 20 minutes we've run out of steam, and the seemingly inevitable happened.

I don't think we conceeded because we ran out of steam, but the lack of chances or attacking play could probably be put down to the lack of steam

Does anyone else feel like everytime we get the ball we are being suffocated by the other team?

In what way? First half they pressed just beyond the half way and gave very few gaps to attack through the middle. In the second half, they lifted there intensity and pushed us much higher up the pitch. Really struggled to play out from the back or even use Juric as a target man to get out of our half at times.

Also Spira really needs to stop the jigging with the ball for so long. Nothing forward and no space to run go back or to topor straight away.

Thing I like about Spira is that he looks forward and looks to distribute but we didn't have any outlets through the middle of the park today and forced to use our pacy wingers!

Some positive signs in the game for sure. Castelan and Adeleke look very capable in those roles. Both seem very calm on the ball and with good football brains. The first goal was always likely to win the game.

 

Before the start of the season I would have put us down for 2 away draws and a loss from these 3 opening away games. So we are only 2 points off that position and with the crazy (& wonderful....) past couple of weeks it's hardly panic stations yet.

Adeleke!

 

 

Running circles!

https://vine.co/v/OeHVxjD3uwB

My only problem with this game is that there were so many positives to take away.

 

I thought we were going to get done like 3-0 or something silly like that. Then at times during the match I thought we were going to win the damn thing.

 

Ahh well. I went in expecting to lose and then got a better than expected performance. We'll see what happens in Perth. And yes, I'm expecting to lose there too! LOL

#seasonstartsnextweek

 

Our first season, we didn't get into gear until round 6.

 

Poor result but have faith. The players we have can do the job imo. What I saw from Adeleke and Ruka are promising.

Adeleke!

 

 

Running circles!

https://vine.co/v/OeHVxjD3uwB

I remember that, it was like in the first 3 minutes of the game.

 

When he did that i thought, has that ebola gotten to his head or something? wtf??

In season one at this stage we had one point and were in the exact same position 10th.... cold stone last.  Maybe we're just gearing up for another 10 game winning run!

Im not sure if I was watching the same Adeleke as you guys but I thought he looked uncomfortable at times when marking mcglinchy.

 

And that Harry Krishna guy, is he really from Fiji?

Looked good first half and creative at times, not sure what Popa will do with Mullen as he certainly isn't a natural RB and preferred position is CB. Romeo is beast and Adeleke looked decent same with Ruka with good signs in attack and with time will get better.

 

Bloody boo-urns.

Im not sure if I was watching the same Adeleke as you guys but I thought he looked uncomfortable at times when marking mcglinchy.

 

And that Harry Krishna guy, is he really from Fiji?

If you're referring the times he made those slide tackles in the first half (was thinking here comes Syd Derby all over again) and apart from the penalty I don't think he looked out of sorts at left back. Was hoping he was going to provide a bit more going forward, though I assume this will come with fitness. Maybe one game is not enough to make a comment.

 

I must've been seeing a different Adeleke because I didn't find him all that crash hot.

I understand he probably isn't fully match fit, and he did have some good moments but I found him sitting too far in at times giving space on the outside. He looked good at chasing down and tackling but that space should not have been given in first place.

I'll put his earlier than expected fatigue down to not being match fit yet which is understandable. I think the good moments showed great promise, but I think Popa needs to work on him a bit more.

Castalen however, he's really impressed me. He's gonna be a gun player.

Just remember when the ball is on the other side of the field (right side) the left back tucks in until the ball is switched over to his own wing forcing the attacker out wide. You want them being out wide trying to cross into the box especially with Spira and NTS absolute beast in the air because if you move out wide too early it leaves open a channel for the midfielders to make a run in between CB and LB.

Agree with you on the fitness though, I think he played 45mins last week so this is his first 90mins

Good points. However, it's not like he was tucking in and then got caught on the back foot on the switchover. He just didn't have the focus on the outside wing until there was pressure. Then he picked up his speed and made great tackles. That made him look like a great player and rightfully so of course. My point is though he should have used his pace as a pressured defence. In a way not doing it displayed more of his pace and defensive skill.

This happened about twice in the opening 20. At least that's how I saw it.

RB is our weak spot. Alessi needs to mature a lot this year. No ball control in midfield without Saba and Bridge. In the last 20 minutes we've run out of steam, and the seemingly inevitable happened.

Yeah we were bound to run out of steam without a good midfield presence.

Adeleke!

 

 

Running circles!

https://vine.co/v/OeHVxjD3uwB

Oh yeah I forgot about that. Dafuq was goin' on there?? Like he forgot where he was going.

I don't know Jocosmic, they purposely targeted his wing in the first half and defensively he did his job on every occasion. if he let his man through every time then I think we should be worried but the way that Wellington play with the wingers that was what they wanted. They wanted to isolate Adeleke with the overlapping runs, trying to draw him out wide and exploit the space behind him that was created. As long as he makes his tackles then I don't know that we can criticise him too much, let's see how he goes next week

Bottom of the ladder....World Champions

 

We could lose every A-league game this season and I would still be a happy man.

 

We are playing ok but lots of scheduling challenges, physical fatigue issues, mental fatigue, jet lag. Just sit back and relax.... We are Asian Champions

I don't know Jocosmic, they purposely targeted his wing in the first half and defensively he did his job on every occasion. if he let his man through every time then I think we should be worried but the way that Wellington play with the wingers that was what they wanted. They wanted to isolate Adeleke with the overlapping runs, trying to draw him out wide and exploit the space behind him that was created. As long as he makes his tackles then I don't know that we can criticise him too much, let's see how he goes next week

Next week he'll be marking Hersi....

 

Adeleke!

Running circles!https://vine.co/v/OeHVxjD3uwB

Oh yeah I forgot about that. Dafuq was goin' on there?? Like he forgot where he was going.

Reminded me of 100 touch Mooy who liked to go around in circles

Just listened to Popa's interview, to summarize, he said he was impressed with the team, especially with the debutants.

 

He said that we controlled a great portion of the game and thought we played well enough to come up with a result

He mentioned fatigue was a factor in the end, and we had a lot of players from tonights game who haven't played the full 90min in such as long time.... Ruka, Spira, Adeleke, Trifiro, etc.

Edited November 7, 2014 by wanderersfanatic

 

I don't know Jocosmic, they purposely targeted his wing in the first half and defensively he did his job on every occasion. if he let his man through every time then I think we should be worried but the way that Wellington play with the wingers that was what they wanted. They wanted to isolate Adeleke with the overlapping runs, trying to draw him out wide and exploit the space behind him that was created. As long as he makes his tackles then I don't know that we can criticise him too much, let's see how he goes next week

Next week he'll be marking Hersi....

Hersi is a bit off colour at the moment, I think Adeleke or Golec will be able to keep him quiet

I don't know Jocosmic, they purposely targeted his wing in the first half and defensively he did his job on every occasion. if he let his man through every time then I think we should be worried but the way that Wellington play with the wingers that was what they wanted. They wanted to isolate Adeleke with the overlapping runs, trying to draw him out wide and exploit the space behind him that was created. As long as he makes his tackles then I don't know that we can criticise him too much, let's see how he goes next week

Agreed. To early to be making judgements. Will see how he goes over the next few games.

IDK, I felt we played okay. Not brilliant, but certainly not dire. We lacked finish and stamina at the end, but I thought our possession was miles better than it has been. Our lack of possession is something that makes me shout at the tv. Losing the ball from carelessness is just something we can't afford to do and I think its been a real achilles heel for us. If you give it away carelessly then you have to defend like a mutherfudger and then you're riding your luck   . So better possession has got to be a basic aim (iMO, and I don't pretend to be an expert tactician). 

 

I liked what I saw from Ruka, Castellen and Adeleke. Two of these guys haven't played an A League match before and Romeo just had his 1st full 90mins so I think we need to manage our expectations on what they can deliver right now. Looking forward, I felt there were some good passes and definitely great potential. The trick will be for Popa to harness all that skill and enthusiasm and channel it into putting the ball into the back of the oppositions net. 

 

Whilst I'm disappointed we didn't come away with at least a point, I don't think we need to be clutching our pearls quite yet.

Im not concerned about the losses yet...

 

We will eventually come good once our players are back and fully fit

On a more serious matter: when the kiwis took their jerseys off to celebrate the goal, and stood there like a group of white pointers:

 

Did anyone else notice that there was at least one woman joining in the fun, braless? Or was I watching that scene through fapman glasses (the ones that distort reality)?

Im not concerned about the losses yet...

 

We will eventually come good once our players are back and fully fit

 

tell you what though, every single fan of other teams are lining up to add their $0.02

 

We must have really gotten under their skin for them to be like this

Im not concerned about the losses yet...

 

We will eventually come good once our players are back and fully fit

In reality that wont be until the end of December...We are a team that scores few goals ..and now we are only putting it in the net every couple of games..thats not enough...Popa would not be happy with that..Just seems we are lacking badly in the middle..