That was it.

Last night was a show of how far the A-League needs to come. It was also a show of how our Fox Sports commentators need to be more critical. With two commentators calling every game on Fox Sports, there is obviously the capacity for one person to be the play-by-play announcer and the other to offer some critical analysis of the came in progress.

Last night Andy Harper and Mike Cockerill did their usual jobs of describing the play - well, kinda. There were times last night that they would describe some of the play - or make general comments on how much better Gamba Osaka were than Adelaide. But they offer nothing to those who watch the game and want to really learn something. The sad part was that everything was easily blamed on Adelaide's smaller budget and how young the A-League is compared to the J-League. It was almost as if it wasn't Adelaide or its players' faults that they were being played off the park last week and last night.

Finally, a shining beacon of truth came along at half time. Ross Aloisi typically has me rolling my eyes - how can I take such a thug seriously in a suit and with a microphone in his hand? Well, it turns out that the thug in a suit was the only one who could either see the lack of spirit in the Adelaide boys or had the balls to actually voice his opinion. Craig Foster is another face of TV who is known for his criticism - but he tends to criticise everything possible. A lack of proper acknowledgment has worked against him and I know that many fans of football tend to switch off once he opens his mouth.

Last week Robbie Cornthwaite was a disappointment, whenever he was beaten or needed to back-track, he'd just jog along behind the play. No desperation. No hunger. Did he really want to be there? Last night, the same thing happened. But it took the half-time break for someone to point it out. Aloisi also criticised the rest of the defence. Unfortunately being an ex-player does not mean that you are able to be a good critic or offer that extra piece of information to fans about the tactics that are working, or conversely not working. Andy Harper anyone?

If a team was "built from the back," as Harper would say of Adelaide (or something like that), you would expect a team that had a rock-solid defence that would play the ball out. Instead Adelaide have a brainless defence - any time there was trouble, they would play hoof-ball forward. That was how the poor Birighitti ended up being put under pressure due to Valkanis, and how Gamba scored their first goal due to Ognenovski.

Unfortunately, it's a style of play that is deeply embedded in our football psyche - perhaps an artefact of so many youngsters being saturated with AFL. So until our youngsters stop playing Route 1, perhaps more hoof-ball is what we should not be suprised at seeing. We need to ensure our coaches at all levels readily criticise the style - after all making contact, whacking the ball with some strength, getting it in the right direction AND getting it to a team-mate is a lot to muster in one move. It is a risky move. That is not to say that players should not play that way if they can - but in all seriousness, first touch is something that is lacking in many of our A-League players. If such a basic skill is missing, how could we possibly expect success in more difficult skills?

Last night was not about Adelaide "choking" as some have said. It was a reflection of Australian club football. To lose 5-0 on aggregate would not only be a disappointment to Adelaide fans, but it should be a disappointment to all Australian football fans - regardless of which team you follow in the A-League, if any.

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In other news, best wishes to Craig Moore and may he have a speedy recovery.

The Melbourne midfield

A completely selfish post...

Over on the Melbourne Victory Forum, Watt made a comment about how our midfield is too slow in moving the ball about, and made some un-comparisons to the Argentine play from Tuesday night.

Anyway, after a bit of discussion I thought about how I would play Melbourne - and I'm desperate for Merrick to play Caceres more, and to give Patafta and Hernandez a chance to play together. I think Patafta could cover the ground that Hernandez can't and Hernandez provide direction to the heart of the team. I also want Pantelidis in the starting eleven, so I had to drop Brebner. :( Quite upsetting, but I simply didn't have room for him!


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I'd go for this:

---------------------Theoklitos------------------------

Ryall-------------------Vargas--------------------Kemp

----------Pantelidis--------------Muscat---------------

Caceres---------------Hernandez---------------Keenan

---------------Patafta---------------------------------
----------------------------Allsopp--------------------


I thought Ryall had a solid game against Adelaide. So why not free up Keenan by putting Kemp on the left (he had a good game vs. Adelaide even though he hasn't impressed me in other matches). Caceres is starting to use his right a lot more these days, so I think he can do a good job on the right.

There's only room for 2 of the 3 hardmen. Sorry Brebs, I couldn't leave out the captain and I think Panta's awesome defensively and with ball distribution too.

I'm putting Hernandez in the middle to control the midfield, and I'd want him to be the heart of the team. He doesn't need to run about all over the place, but try to always be free to receive the ball from the defence, Panta/Musky or the wings, and then be able to distribute it to the wings, Patafta or Allsopp.

I'm not inclined to put Patafta on the wings, as I'd think we'd half-waste him there. I'd like to give him the space to run about in, but not in the engine room with Hernandez all the time - some freedom to move up, but letting Danny be the target man. Kaz a wee thing, and so try to play him like an annoying little mosquito.
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No Milicevic and no Thomspon either. Thoughts? Criticisms? Am I completely delusional?

How to read penalties.

Of course, if the player is experienced, it's not so easy.

The following figure is taken from Alex Walsh's The Soccer Goalkeeping Handbook (1998):

Hopefully it won't be an issue using it, but it's very useful in posing the following question: if the first taker of the penalties MUST score in order to reduce the confidence of the opposition goalkeeper, increase the pressure of the opposing team and generally set a good example for the rest of his team - why did Kewell kick to the obvious side (position C in the above figure)?

I suppose you could ask the same of Neill - but he was knackered... and not the first taker.

Letter to Newcastle United Jets FC.

Dear Newcastle,

May I bring to your attention a post of mine titled 'Muaha-haha-hahahaha.' It was quite apparent that your teams lacks the skill of time-wasting, especially once you were 2-0 up and needed to kill 20 minutes of game time. Start with those nine tips, and here I give you more.

Tip #1 in the original post was related to throw ins.
...he who takes the throw in should distract himself talking to his team-mates attempting to position them and avoiding the retrieval of the ball.
You could also avoid taking throw ins by turning your backs to the ball that has gone out. There is a better way to describe what I am saying, but I can't find it in English. And so, to Nick Carle and Milton Rodriguez, "Tenes que mudarse de ese lugar. ¡Ahora - afuera!" (Tip #10)

Tip #2 in the related to goalkeepers avoiding the collection of the ball for goal-kicks.
...the 'keeper should waste time by yelling at his defenders about whatever... Then the 'keeper can go get the ball.
Alternately, you can avoid getting the ball altogether. Hear what I said Ante Covic? Too many times the ball would be shot wide and you'd automatically turn in that direction! Slow down, back up and take a few steps the other way, and proceed go around the goal to collect the ball. (Tip #11) You could also grab a drink from your bottle under the goals as you go around, moisten your gloves a bit with the water, wipe them down if you *accidentally* put too much water on. (Tip #12)

I did, however, want to commend your ball-boys for having two balls on the pitch. Quite liked that one, and whether it was intentional or not, the ball-boys deserve a gold star. And some alcohol. In fact, if you really wanted to have fun, you could've had players return both balls to the sidelines, so there was no ball to play with. Ball-boys then become over eager and throw three balls onto the pitch (from seperate ball-boys of course), and the balls must not be directed at players. That way players can waste time collecting the balls and passing them back out to the sidelines (or for a cute touch, hand them over to the ball-boy and ruffle his hair). Or ball-girls. Or ball-kids. Whatever. (Tip #13)

My final timewasting tip is probably the only completely legal one, and perhaps does not fit with my 'timewasting tips.'

When the ball is in play, don't be wasteful. Don't attempt stupid shots that go directly (and quickly) to the oppostion. Don't shoot from range so that Bolton immediately has the ball. Play the ball to your Newcastle team-mates, I know you can as you have the most fluid game in the league. But don't play with Mickey Mouse passes so that the ball never reaches its target/your team-mate, and is consequently easily intercepted. You need to make the opposition win the ball on their own merits, and you need not directly pass the ball to them.

When you're putting in crosses, and they keep going to the 'keeper, change them a bit. The original approach is clearly not working if it happens two times in succession. Don't keep trying it another 50 times. It's still not going to work.

Best of luck next weekend.*

-Cecilia
Your biggest Melbourne-supporting and Queensland-following Newcastle fan.

*Luck is only given on the condition that Melbourne win on Sunday night.

Melbourne and the slow start

The length of time that it's taken Melbourne to click into gear the past three matches is beginning to slightly worry me. Against Sydney nothing ended up happening at all, but against the Kiwis and the Mariners, the other team has started the better, until about 15-20min when we finally wake up, and being to play our game.

It may have just been that the other teams came out all guns ablazing because they need the points or have something to prove - although all teams do, especially against Melbourne.

The most frustrating thing about this, is that while the other teams would play at a frenetic pace (as they would be in a rush to assert themselves and put a goal on the scoresheet for themselves), Melbourne would try to play at the same speed. I suppose this ties in with my time-wasting techniques, but aside from what to do when the ball is of the park, it's important to take your time when the ball is on the park too.

i.e. Win the ball, control it, and slow the play down. Look up, take your time deciding how to play the ball. Play high-percentage football so the other team cannot win the ball back. Play with the ball in the defence. Don't play the ball until you have been pressured to do so - make the other team come and get the ball. After all, they're in a rush, not you. They need the ball, not you.

Hope you all have a great 2007 - except for Adelaide and Sydney. :oP Well, at least when it comes to football. Happy New Year all!

Muaha-haha-hahahaha

Firstly, thanks to Shieldsy for giving Leijer (and Thompson) their required yellow cards. I hope you have a happy new year!

Secondly, Melbourne, you need to learn the art of time-wasting.

1. When the ball goes out for your throw in, he who takes the throw in should distract himself talking to his team-mates attempting to position them and avoiding the retrieval of the ball.
2. Similarly, when the ball goes out for a goal-kick, the 'keeper should waste time by yelling at his defenders about whatever - how poorly they were defending, demands on why they weren't marking, or arranging his players. Then the 'keeper can go get the ball.
3. This is a particular favorite of mine, and it works well when there are no ball-boys, such as at Blue Tongue (where there are minimal ball-boys due to the size of the stadium). Take your sweet time collecting the ball. I don't mean walking over to get it, I mean jog over. But that type of jog where you look like you're trying hard to get back, but it would've been faster to walk.
4. Another favorite of mine is a goal-kick related one. After establishing that your defender will start taking goal-kicks, the 'keeper should retrieve the ball as per tip #3, and hand it over to the hands of the defender. Tell the defender not to kick the ball until the 'keeper is back under the goals, and you may be able to get away with some random pointing before this, as if to suggest to the defender where he should deploy the ball to.
5. I am also a fan of finding unsavoury patches on the pitch, and trying to place the ball somewhere unstable before a free-kick/goal-kick. The ball will then roll off, and you have to replace it. Apologise to your team-mates, and when it happens again (as it will), you then pretend to act flustered, place it nearby and then kick it.
   
6. If you find yourself under pressure and in need of kicking the ball out, make sure you kick it high and far. I've had a lot of fun with this one, where my team was protecting a very slim lead, and we ended up making use of the high fence on one of the sides of the pitch. After kicking all three balls out, we wasted time by acting dumb and making the other team get the balls for us. We then continued to kick them over. Very funny indeed, however only applicable in the A-League if your fans are in on the 'joke' and hide the balls.
7. Boot laces. Enough said.
8. Another 'keeper one - fiddle with your gloves.
9. If you decide to feign an injury wait until a stretcher comes out, and leave the pitch on it.

Alright, I think that's enough time-wasting tips for the moment. Most of these I've used quite happily and I'm yet to get a yellow. But that's women's football and the naivety of the referees we tend to get. I do believe that they're applicable to football in general, although perhaps they cannot be flaunted as readily as I have been able to.

Also, related to the crowd at Blue Tongue, my dad pointed out the high numbers of women at the match. I agreed that the percentage of spectators that were women seemed high compared to other matches, so a bit of an applause for the Mariners.

Onto the goalkeeping at Melbourne Victory. Sure, Theo drives me insane with his lack of confidence, but Galekovic is very late, especially with high balls. I'm really not sure who's worse, but I'd be happy if we signed Necevski.