Soccer Super Thread

[TCL]

The possession game is rubbish. You need plenty of movement and the ability to hold the ball before you can be effective. the idea is to draw the opposition out and create space however we don't have skill set to play that game. japan sat back waited for us to lose the ball or hit us on the counter attack.

With my limited knowledge of soccer i think we should have played a direct game and used our height and strength to scrap for the ball in and around the 18yard box. Cahill is skillfull in the air and we couldn't put one decent cross in. the game was 2 - 0 and we were still passing backwards.

 

[barra]

If that is our best 11 soccer players we are in real trouble.

To be fair we had a few of our better players out.

We had two strikers, they were on the bench unfortunately.

And getting one impact player on the field with 20 to go being down 0-1 was too little, too late.

japan sat back waited for us to lose the ball or hit us on the counter attack.

With my limited knowledge of soccer i think we should have played a direct game and used our height and strength

True, interesting thing is that when Ange first came into the coach role we did play a direct, attacking style, pressed hard and played to the strike we had. That seems to have almost disappeared, we just don't seem to be playing smart.

We were both out-played and out-coached last night.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

The possession game worked OK in the first half, didn't help that Troisi murdered nearly every passage of play he was involved in and Smith must have thought he was playing NFL at times. We gave the Japanese a few scares and frustrated them but they absorbed the pressure very well and blew us off the park from about 40 minutes in and we never recovered. Cahill should have started the second half and really given the Japanese something to worry about, they were well in control by the time he got out there. Juric should have started as well, Kruse is handy to have in the squad but he's not a starter IMO.

I thought Rogic was fairly ordinary as well. But Luongo, wow… His feet must glow he has some stellar footwork.

Rogic is the star at Celtic … with a performance like last night you realise the Scottish game is just not up there. Spiranovic and Smith were a real worry all night. Our midfield without Mooy is rather poor and where was Troisi? Did we have a striker? Overall a poor performance.

We had two strikers, they were on the bench unfortunately.

Contrary to popular opinion, I think our players are rather good individually but the problem lays with the fact that unlike most of the heavyweights in world football, we don't have the bulk of our team playing in one league with and against each other. We're picking players from all corners of the globe to come back and trying to unify them under one style. Maybe that's Ange's MO, play possession and have an X-factor or two in the team who can play what's in front of them.

No, many countries have the same issue. Our problem is that our players are mostly either not playing (Smith, Milligan, Sainsbury, Spira, Troisi, and most of our bench players) or are playing at a fairly poor level.

Look at Japan they have lots of players playing regularly in the top leagues of Spain, Germany, France, Italy and England. Whereas we have 1 player in the Bundesliga, 2 in the EPL and the rest are in second or third divisions around the globe. And Japan's local players play in the J-League which is vastly superior to the A-League.

This is the weakest Socceroos squad for about 25 years. And they're struggling accordingly. We also have a coach who is trying to play the most advanced and difficult formation in world football, every game, at all costs. A clever coach might try this against some opponents, but realise in certain situations that playing with a back 4 or a more standard formation wouldn't expose our mistakes as badly.

We haven't won in 5 games now and have to smash Thailand to have a chance.

Fair enough that's your opinion.

Japan isn't a football heavyweight, they're an Asian football heavyweight. Spain, Germany, Italy, the bulk of their squads play in their respective leagues, with the rest playing in Europe, generally in premier teams which they'd regularly play against each other in Champions League tournaments. There's a reason why they regularly compete at the business end of the world cup. Of all the top tier nations Brazil is the only real aberration there.

I don't agree with Ange's tactics or some of his squad selections either, I don't think there's cohesion or the right squad to execute that. We'll probably dominate Thailand which will paper over the cracks and get humiliated at the WC.

I suppose it will all come out in the wash soon enough.

 

[balmain boy]

Rogic is the star at Celtic … with a performance like last night you realise the Scottish game is just not up there. Spiranovic and Smith were a real worry all night. Our midfield without Mooy is rather poor and where was Troisi? Did we have a striker? Overall a poor performance.

We had two strikers, they were on the bench unfortunately.

Contrary to popular opinion, I think our players are rather good individually but the problem lays with the fact that unlike most of the heavyweights in world football, we don't have the bulk of our team playing in one league with and against each other. We're picking players from all corners of the globe to come back and trying to unify them under one style. Maybe that's Ange's MO, play possession and have an X-factor or two in the team who can play what's in front of them.

No, many countries have the same issue. Our problem is that our players are mostly either not playing (Smith, Milligan, Sainsbury, Spira, Troisi, and most of our bench players) or are playing at a fairly poor level.

Look at Japan they have lots of players playing regularly in the top leagues of Spain, Germany, France, Italy and England. Whereas we have 1 player in the Bundesliga, 2 in the EPL and the rest are in second or third divisions around the globe. And Japan's local players play in the J-League which is vastly superior to the A-League.

This is the weakest Socceroos squad for about 25 years. And they're struggling accordingly. We also have a coach who is trying to play the most advanced and difficult formation in world football, every game, at all costs. A clever coach might try this against some opponents, but realise in certain situations that playing with a back 4 or a more standard formation wouldn't expose our mistakes as badly.

We haven't won in 5 games now and have to smash Thailand to have a chance.

Fair enough that's your opinion.

Japan isn't a football heavyweight, they're an Asian football heavyweight. Spain, Germany, Italy, the bulk of their squads play in their respective leagues, with the rest playing in Europe, generally in premier teams which they'd regularly play against each other in Champions League tournaments. There's a reason why they regularly compete at the business end of the world cup. Of all the top tier nations Brazil is the only real aberration there.

I don't agree with Ange's tactics or some of his squad selections either, I don't think there's cohesion or the right squad to execute that. We'll probably dominate Thailand which will paper over the cracks and get humiliated at the WC.

I suppose it will all come out in the wash soon enough.

I can't see any of the Asian teams which qualify for the WC getting out of their groups, or maybe not even winning any games. We are the weakest confederation in football and yes even the Asian 'powerhouses' are weak compared to the rest of the world.

Playing in a top league doesn't always help the national team though. How many English players are there in the EPL (yes a lot of imports these days but still a couple of hundred to choose from in total). We're happy to have 1-2\. Yet the English national team has struggled for a long time despite having a lot of players playing at a high level, and some superstars of the sport.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

I don't consider the English to be football heavyweights, they just happen to have the best marketed league in the world. I do take your point though. It's not always a sure thing, but it does help. No coincidence that the year Spain won the WC that three quarters of their midfield were playing for Barcelona, that sort of quality cohesion helps.

I do agree about the Asian teams not making a dent in the WC, even Japan aren't as good as they used to be. They were well off the boil last night, despite easily accounting for us.

 

[TCL]

I don't consider the English to be football heavyweights, they just happen to have the best marketed league in the world. I do take your point though. It's not always a sure thing, but it does help. No coincidence that the year Spain won the WC that three quarters of their midfield were playing for Barcelona, that sort of quality cohesion helps.

I do agree about the Asian teams not making a dent in the WC, even Japan aren't as good as they used to be. They were well off the boil last night, despite easily accounting for us.

I agree, part the reason why Qld have been successful in the SOO is the club cohesion that smith, cronk and slater transferring into SOO and international games for that matter as well.

 

[FreddyK]

These boys have played well in the past and the recent game against Chile is testament. Ange's desire to play a possession game regardless of situation is a little pig-headed. Recent coaches played for the points in the Qualifiers ie points at any cost regardless of style. Ange is style at any cost. It was annoying that there was no Plan B. It was clear from the start that we had lost the midfield and yet Ange persisted. As said earlier we should have played direct and use our clear advantage ie the strength of our lads but alas this was not meant to be. Japan made our boys look like they were not up to the standard.

It was embarrassing and an indictment on our squad that Japan's plan was to sit and wait for an error then hit hard. That's what they did and we made plenty and we lost.

 

[tiger_one]

Just a heads-up:

No EPL this weekend.

It all gets back to normal next week, when all the dust settles at the end of Transfer Window chaos.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Ange really botched this one. Terrible squad selection, terrible formation & the tactics were dire. At the point where Japan were pressing us high and forcing a few errors surely he should have told Ryan to start pumping it long. It takes one scare and they'd suddenly think twice about pressing high. Sadly there is a stigma about long balls and most coaches have too much pride to play that game.

The three at the back does not work for us, we do not have the defenders for it. Sainsbury & Spira are both good, but the rest, not so much, play a back 4, I know back threes are the in thing at the moment, but we don't have the squad.

Kruse up front in a one? The bloke was a good player about 4 ACL ops ago, but he doesn't have the legs anymore and is not a striker. If we have to play one striker then we need someone who gives defenders something to think about, Cahill. He's scored plenty against Japan and just his presence would worry them, and open up some space for others.

Brad Smith….wow, I generally rate the bloke but he can't crack the Bournemouth bench at the moment, and was absolutely dire against Japan, has to be replaced for Thailand.

Ultimately the bulk of this squad are championship players, and they looked second rate against a very good (although under strength) Japan team. If we do make it through (which I think we will) we need to pray for an easy group, because we will be cannon fodder for the big boys. If we miss the auto qualifying spot the play off spots are currently occupied by Syria & Honduras, the only teams who we would struggle against that are in contention for play off spots are above the current positions (South Korea & America).

 

[diedpretty]

I'm sick and tired of us trying to play like top European sides - hold and pass, hold and pass , hold and pass - build up from the back through midfield - we are not technical enough to play this style. We play our best football when we attack and defend with aggression. At the moment everyone is too scared to have a shot at goal. You are never going to win games if you don't go for goal. Pick some genuine strikers and have a go.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Well that was dire, fell over the line against Thailand. Imagine if we'd been playing Germany.

 

[Geo]

I actually watched the second half….500 shots at goal..

And can someone explain if you are trying to score goals you kick it back in the opposite direction so often back into your own half...seems counter productive..

 

[FreddyK]

And the pundits will say how unlucky we were. We are simply just not good enough. 46 shots on goal against a team ranked 131 and we scrape over the line.

Frankly, I think that there is a message coming out of this game and it is loud and clear: our opinion of our game is well ahead of our ability.

 

[jadtiger]

Mediocre at best

 

[TCL]

We had 7982 shots on goal and managed 2 goals. Thailand had 3 and got 1.

We don't know how to counter attack and we sure as shiv can't put a cross in that would threaten any real opposition and Ange could turn Brazil into a bog average team with his tactics.

Saudis beat Japan so we now have to play Syria and then a North American side to qualify for Russia.

 

[swag_tiger]

We had 7982 shots on goal and managed 2 goals. Thailand had 3 and got 1.

We don't know how to counter attack and we sure as shiv can't put a cross in that would threaten any real opposition and Ange could turn Brazil into a bog average team with his tactics.

Saudis beat Japan so we now have to play Syria and then a North American side to qualify for Russia.

2 goals from 40 shots and a South American team.

 

[swag_tiger]

Looks like it will be the USA.

 

[TCL]

We had 7982 shots on goal and managed 2 goals. Thailand had 3 and got 1.

We don't know how to counter attack and we sure as shiv can't put a cross in that would threaten any real opposition and Ange could turn Brazil into a bog average team with his tactics.

Saudis beat Japan so we now have to play Syria and then a North American side to qualify for Russia.

2 goals from 40 shots and a South American team.

lets not let the facts get in the way of my rant! :smiley:

 

[swag_tiger]

We had 7982 shots on goal and managed 2 goals. Thailand had 3 and got 1.

We don't know how to counter attack and we sure as shiv can't put a cross in that would threaten any real opposition and Ange could turn Brazil into a bog average team with his tactics.

Saudis beat Japan so we now have to play Syria and then a North American side to qualify for Russia.

2 goals from 40 shots and a South American team.

lets not let the facts get in the way of my rant! :smiley:

Ok :smiley:

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Disappointing result. The football gods weren't smiling on us unfortunately. Can't believe we had so many hit the woodwork.

Boggles the mind why Cahill started deep. He should have been sat in the box. Juric and Rogic must have shanked three quarters of their efforts on goal, must have been a few concussions among the poor punters behind the nets.

Still in it though.