Prydzopolis

Performance: Interesting that the boss went for experience over youth. No Tass, no grozos & went for our experienced visa players. We joke that we played well in the first 10 minutes but was the only time in the game we moved the ball quickly, had intensity & held the ball well. It obviously helps that we scored during this period. We essentially then almost turn a switch. Momentum naturally changes as the opposition now have to score to get back into the game but we are very comfortable this season (1) Sitting deep to soak up pressure (2) playing on the counter but it changes our mindset in the way we approach the game. We have our team set up defensively well but have issues with our midfield as well as up front & with the current formation that allows us to get our best players on the park It is curious, our recruitment & preseason were focused on a 3 CB system but unable to find a type of striker to play similar to the way Mo Adam was used so successfully during preseason. We signed AM so late, wasn't the type of profile to fit the 3-5-2 system we were playing & then we lose pole. Changing to 2 CB system means we now have depth in the CB's when we need it in the CM positions. Is it odd that AMFG played a deeper role? Yes, especially considering his profile & hope we try another solution but it does make sense. You want Duke up front for two reasons, 1, he is a little under done fitness wise, 2, he is our inform goal scorer & we want him closer to goal. Mueller is under done, fitness wise he wouldn't last 45 minutes with all the defensive work he would be doing playing a deeper role. You also want AM on the field, playing him deeper is the trade off. All is not lost but we need to find a different solution to get the best out our players. We have a solid preseason, we have a good mix of youth & experience, we have 5 quality visa players but the question is how do we unlock it on the field. Pertinent questions: 1) If we play just Baccus & Primin in CM, we will continue to get dominated & still be a predominantly counter attack based side 2) Do we revert to a 3 CB system to find a better solution 3) What formation will get the best out of Mueller & AM? 4) Need to get the right mix of senior & youth players 5) Lots of pressure on Babbel to come up with a new plan but is he capable of finding a solution? Let's be honest, at least he isn't popa where we wouldn't change formation no matter the circumstance but he isn't that good to be able to change things on the go. If he was, he probably wouldn't be in Australia right now. I am willing to back him to get it right, there has been a substantial improvement in our side & there has been signs in the CCM & victory (don't forget preseason too) that our team can play at a much higher level. When you consider that both Duke & KY both had injuries late in preseason, both underdone. Plus AM & Mueller both came late & underdone both from a team cohesion & fitness perspective. This will be a welcome break for the team & manager to get things right. Smogster right of course, possibly the worst time to have a break from players and managers point of view, they probably would rather sort it out in a match than stewing over it for 2 weeks.

I would only compare an offside decision to offside decision. It's the same software developed by Hawkeye that they use in the EPL & Aleague.

Kubi needed to prove a point that he was still worth a contract at AL level, incredible that the last time he played was January 2018 & only got a last minute deal. In fact, the whole game he was dreadfully woeful & the amount of times he lost basic control of the ball was unbelievable. Perhaps it was fate that he scored in that manner, had the ball been passed or meant for him he'd have probably lost control of it, however the ball played in was a shanked shot & probably a situation where he didn't have to think & instinct took over. A goal they deserved & saved the game being decided by a blow up (well still been a blow up but not to the same degree) because of VAR.

For those wondering "wtf" with the VAR intervention, here is explanation on the post game show In short, the technology used to create the 3D lines do not have the sufficient cameras in order to determine "goal/no goal" only offside. It isn't able to properly place the (blue) line on the back end of the line. The second issue using your "eye" to guess a decision like the above is the camera angle can be very misleading, look at the decision made in the EPL Spurs vs Sheffield game last night to demonstrate this point.

I assume in the match vs eintracht Frankfurt in BL1 last weekend, helps when the co-com was Mark Schwarzer

The news on Primin has really changed my outlook for this match, he makes such a difference. Throw in (1) Primin back unexpectedly (2) Grozos with his second start after long injury layoff (3) Tass slotting in for Jurman is a solid replacement (4) The boys & boss acknowledged that we weren’t good last week & expecting a reaction = a decent showing against Western United. We cant afford to play like we did against Easts & Brisbane, but being an older team I’m expecting us to have a bit more time on the ball & having extended periods of possession to get us back where we were against Victory, hopefully play us back into form. We were very wasteful last week & sloppy, if we play like we did then I expect WU to win but am hoping for a reaction.

Tip: Make sure the bottles are “unopened” apparently this makes a difference

Paging @FCB, Bayern have a problem! Was hearing that Bayern May go after the Ajax manager, good move if they can make it happen but they’ll have to deal with what they’ve got the rest of the season! Reinforcements needed too!

The problem is that we have had a World Cup referee, one of the best referees in Asia take 2 out of our 4 games. There is such a big difference between him & the rest. It shows. Too late Perhaps just 3 years of SOP & horrible football has gotten to us

I think it’s importance to have balance, the first few weeks especially for periods in the MV game we were very good. Last week we got the points but didn’t show much offensively & then this week was a further extension of last week. Where does that leave us? Not great but not bad. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to buy into the hype of the first few weeks. I just hope we don’t go too far the other way now Important not to get too far ahead of ourselves, take the ladder position but lots of work to do in order to turn the foundations of the last 4 matches & preseason into something else. As a priority, need to sort out the midfield. Losing Primin will be a big blow, you just hope it’s not too long. Hopefully now our new number 10 might start, bringing Grozos back into 6/8 with Baccus or Tass (not both, too similar) will be the conundrum now about how to get the best out of them. That city FFA cup game was a good lesson about how important our visa players are to our season & the need for those senior players to complement the youth. We have been blessed with Reza having him 2/3 of our first 3 games. Back to reality. The best aspect to Reza’s game was his ability to let the game flow & how quickly the players learnt. The first time a player goes down easy & doesn’t get a soft free kick, the players learn very quick about how much they can get away with from the referee. The referee tonight was all too happy to blow for little bits of contact & players from both teams were more than happy to oblige. This just added another layer to a dire game.

Was that old mate pepper spray outside the stadium? (Back at old stadium at “that” incident”)

There was no “march” today, no reason for the riot squad or horses to be at our game at all. Of all opponents, Brisbane too who don’t really travel too!

Avoid any cans, metal or glass bottle type containers. Haven’t tried bringing in food myself but was okay with all the baby food, drink & etc

Not too far for some Plenty of parking, pizza, pork pun & pub grub food options, train close. Surprisingly pretty much quiet after the derby, expected more people to park in Westmead but no.

Have seen some photos of last Saturday, looked absolutely amazing seeing all of you there! Hope to make it down there one day to see you lovely people & hopefully on a early kick off so I can bring the little guy down!