BoyFromTheWest

Not that it changed the result, but the linesman on the dugout side of the ground was not especially good in the 2nd half. We were seated near our goal end and he missed a few clear offsides, including in the play leading to the corner for their 3rd goal. He missed crosses that swerved out over the byline and curled back in and was not particularly useful on indicating infringements. The refereeing was not of a particularly high level for much of the game - the inconsistencies in decisions and the fact that Riera had someone constantly in his back of pulling him over and got not one free was pathetic. We don't need extra help to lose, we can manage it by ourselves quite nicely. It all adds to the frustration.

I don't really know much about the bids and their capacity to deliver etc. SW Sydney will have a city around the size of Adelaide dumped into over the next ten years, along with the aerotropolis (airport and city around it) it is (one of?) the biggest development in Oz. So the capacity in terms of population will be there and they will increasingly be a different culture and somewhat distinct from Western Sydney. Whether the incoming population will be NRL, AFL, Football or whatever else is probably unknown but would assume that a 1-2 million people should have some capacity for football uptake. AFL will be too far away but NRL might be a competitor although in the off-season. It will be interesting.

Riera and ABJ are working as ball carrying DM's and AM/Striker. Riera is everywhere and runs his guts out but because he and ABJ have to go back so far to get the ball, they aren't able to play in their proper places. They are also targeted and double-teamed because opposition don't really have to worry about anyone else. They were the only two who held the ball and had consistently good touches. There is little point in Riera being in the 6 yard box most of the game because the passing and crossing from wings was simply atrocious. The balls were either sailing over everyone's heads or crashing into the first defender. Kamau is good when he has space to run (both into clear space or at defenders) and improved later in the game when he started to tackle a little and want the ball. The 'boys' are soft and small. They are pushed off the ball or simply not in a contest - all good when they have space and possession (except for a wayward first touch and errant pass). In the first half the general passing was pretty bad from the defensive players and wingers (ie ABJ and Riera were about the only two consistently passing to players...). Having said that we grew into the game and the defense was pretty solid (compared to other weeks). Ziegler made a HUGE difference in the centre and was constantly in the way of their attack. That allowed Hammil, Risdon and Elrich to play better and more as a unit - but it was only CCM. Next week will be a real test! SFC have players back and we will be more than pushed.

At this point the second marquee would have to be Australian because until Ziggy is Australian we have 5 visa spots taken up. Is there anyone? Or should we wait until Ziggy's citizenship comes through or we release one we've got...?

Fornaroli reported as having played his last game for MC (Fox Sports). Kossie noted that Sydney FC want him (were after him in off season) and speculated that he might have left to move to Sydney in the transfer window - only a few weeks away. Would be typical of Sydney to get players to spit the dummy at their clubs and want out so they could come to Sydney - 1st Carney from Jets a couple of seasons ago; De Silva this season; Now potentially El Tuna. A joke if it comes off, although I don't know where they'd get the money to pay him???

Personally I think it better to wait, I reckon there will be several teething problems - always are. The dunnies will block or the ovens won't heat properly or seat will have something wrong or entry gates won't work... Anyway, I hope that the Eels enjoy dealing with all the problems and leave us a well-functioning stadium with all teething problems resolved, when the true tenants take up residence.

For about 20 min. Kamau was good for the first 20-30 min but isn't the full player - great at running at defences and makes great runs into space but easily pushed off the ball and struggles with the running back and forth to defend and attack. Fitz is okay - was good for a fair bit and maybe finding his way. Some good link ups and runs but not a great shooter and doesn't always take initiative. For me Roly is still ahead of Fitz. This year Roly has been solid and can shoot. He is fast and more solid. I would look at Roly on left and Kamau/Fitz on right - Fitz an impact player coming on about 55-60 min mark (ie instead of Soterio). As has been said, we still need more nous in the DM position, someone with experience and guile to steer us out of trouble - a no-nonsense enforcer. We need to free Riera up from doing so much link up/defensive work in midfield. We also needed more people making runs for ABJ who was often lost for someone to get the ball to. ABJ is looking to attack and break open defences but when we are tired or less confident sit back and want to go backwards - I don't think that's ABJ's game. Our crossing is quite awful and Riera gets nothing decent in the air.

ABJ had few really good passing options. He has the ball and others are standing still - he dribbles and gets hacked because there is little movement forward. When forward, Riera is in the middle marked by 2-3 defenders but ABJ has to dribble around whilst others decide to run. ABJ anticipated a few runs but players didn't follow through. Pass was there but the player wasn't. Once again Riera was working hard up and down the park. Kamau looked buggered in the 2nd half and sluggish. His first 20 min runs at the defence were great but they fizzled out later in the game and off-sides replaced them. Fitz did some good things but didn't impose himself on the game. I think Roly offers much more and lasts the whole game and is a shooting option. Brisbane were tighter in midfield than Nix and JOD and BB weren't as effective, didn't have as much space after 30 mins. ABJ needs to be in creative positions and Riera needs to be where he can score but both were dragged back to help get the ball after the initial 30 mins and became less effective in attack. The crossing is largely woeful - especially Llorente. High floating balls or out for goal kicks - useless.

The young boys did well at the outset but weren't wise or experienced enough to endure. Brisbane had far more experience in midfield/defence and eventually got the better of our youngsters. Unfortunately Babbel doesn't have much depth on the bench at the moment. We did really well in the first half hour and then Brisbane started reading things better. Our younger boys lack experience - it will come but that might not save us this season. Our bench was not filled with impact players or game-changers - they had the slippery fish who can change games, looked a bit threatening. We needed a Santa-type player to come on. ABJ and Riera, in particular, didn't have people around them to make it happen. Often ABJ was looking for the next pass, the runner moving through but wasn't there. Kamau was great for 30 minutes but then was tied down. The defenders worked him out and the Greek dude was stronger in the back of Roar. Too many off sides, a couple of unlucky shots off the post and a really good one from Sanchez (couldn't have gone either way). It is what it is and we didn't lose (if that is some consolation??!!).

Reported as a calf strain or tightness or whatever the technical phrase is so Fitz in for him.

Watching City v Smurfs - we put up a much better effort than city. They are pretty useless. A tired Smurf outfit are running rings around them and hardly any opportunities created by city. I think Nix at home will be a tough encounter. They and Perth should dominate home games as teams have to travel and deal with time zone differences. Neither have been unbeatable at home but I suspect this season it may change for both. A tough outing tomorrow.

At this point Babbel hasn't had any rope. Gumby had what 20+ games and made a shambles of them. It wasn't so much he lost it was how he lost and his attitude. Did you, as a supporter, feel passion and excitement at Gumby's approach and comments, his lack of passion and talk about philosophy...? I liked him at Adelaide when he had passion and enthusiasm. I was expecting that and there was nothing. It was like he had a personality transplant between Adelaide and taking up WSW. Babbel exudes some passion and engages us. As a fan that's the very least I want. He made a statement the other night and I liked that. The team on the park had a mixed night but they fought through the end and that's what I want to see more of - I didn't see it last in any of them really. So after two rounds and an FFA cup loss they aren't stunning but seem to be moving in a direction that is real not imagined around some fantasy philosophy that may or may not eventuate.

That still doesn't explain his incredibly stupid, naive or plain ignorant positional selections in the Syd Derby - playing people out of position, playing all the kids... That was plain embarrassing and shameful. He looked completely incompetent and we looked like we had no idea. If a manager can't get that right they don't instill confidence in me. I did not see passion in Gombau the whole season - it was all philosophy that will take time???!!! So far Babbel has been blunt and he has had to use Gombau's choice players and get the most out of them and Popa's - he is realistic and at least pushing them. We didn't lose 5-0 on Saturday and we didn't look completely like an NPL 2 team as we did last year under Gumby. If the VAR had intervened last year in the same manner as this year, we could have been down about 10-0. So for me, signs are much more positive. I like the passion from players and coach - they are all in this together and it looks like it rather than having players trying to second guess what the manager is doing, thinking and going to decide - and having players, coaches and whoever else walking out (whether we want to think good riddance or not).

Or in Sydney's first goal when le Fondre was offside from the free kick and was interfering with play in that players were drawn to him. Questionable whether he was also offside when he received the ball for his first shot in that piece. How wasn't VAR used there???

Mack Said:They have zero self awareness about the calls going their way and turn their wilful ignorance into a "everyone hates us" siege mentality. Smurf fans would rather have the A-League die than admit the bias that helps them. When we won the ACL final and had several fairly genuine penalty calls against us waved away, we accepted it with the acknowledgement we were lucky - got the good calls, even though 1 or more were probably wrong. We admitted we were lucky and have praised Japanese refs ever since. That's the difference - we celebrated with acknowledgement we got the rub of the green. They celebrate with entitlement and a lack of self awareness. I can't quite understand how Le Fondre's goal wasn't considered offside - there were 2 points at which he looked off-side - admittedly a difficult angle to judge but he was off side on the kick. The penalty call on ABJ was entirely missed - whether a free kick or penalty it was a clear infringement.. On the game itself, I thought we did reasonably well. There were moments we weren't good - the 2nd goal for example. There were also plenty of moments we dominated the play, especially near the end. It is easy to point fingers at our players but I'm struggling to think about who of theirs were so much better? Perhaps Ninkovic. Who else would I want in WSW? Not sure - and Grant should be red carded as soon as he steps onto the field for bringing the game into disrepute with his hair cut.