Here's a tip or few:

Colosimo, Kisel, Ramsay, Bridge, Payne, Casey, Aloisi, Corica, Bolton...

See, Sydney didn't just get rid of youth players, they got rid of a whole bunch of players from across the age range. They made a really fatal error, thinking that their value existed only in the core squad they've kept, when in reality the whole was greater than the sum of their parts.

Sydney's failure is a strategic error, rather than a series of tactical ones. The loss of Corica was, of course, unavoidable, but Sydney really failed to capitalise on one of the strongest squads the A League had last season. Now they have a few quality players held together by a bunch of stringy, average shit that no pricking about with formation can make up for. Occasionally they can get a good, forced win, but in general they've been a mess. Now toward the arse end of the season it's finally starting to congeal, but it's too little, too late - too many away games against determined opposition to come, and not enough decent players left.

Restructure and concentrate on next season.

Some interesting points raised in this article. True about the departure of the older players, but now some of the the younger ones, Petratos and Jurman are stepping up filling the gap, maybe more faith should have been shown in them and other young ones earlier.

The big difference is that Sydney are now drawing or losing the tight games that they won last season.

The biggest factors IMO are that Colosimo & Kisel were not replaced, causing massive holes in defense & midfield. And in a salary capped league like the A-League, you cant just go out & get another player once you've realised you've recruited wrong.

For all his experience, Hayden Foxe is simply not the player that he was a few years back, and the Foxe of 2010/2011 is sadly nowhere near good enough to replace Colosimo.

It must also be said that with the departure of Corica, Kisel, Colosimo, Bolton & Aloisi, Sydney lost more than 1,500 games worth of experience from the dressing room. Surely experience like that would have been invaluable when the team was going through its slump.

Edited by dirty sanchez: 17/1/2011 01:55:05 AM

i don't know if Hiro is one of our stand outs... he's been really good in games and other games he's about as useful as Stu Musalik... which doesn't help much

I've waited all season to enjoy a win as much as I enjoyed the one against GCU. If we beat Melbourne Victory tomorrow, I will reflect on poor season that somehow ended up feeling alright. I think you're right about the recruiting to an extent. Whilst Reddy may have been decent at wellington though, I still can't figure out why Bolton was pushed out. I can think of around 6 points we have lost this season due to goalkeeping errors! Add those points on and suddenly we're right on the cusp of the 6.

"Yes, the season has been poor and Sydney have hardly been convincing. However, I don't think they have played that badly at times. Sydney have dominated large chunks of games and still managed to lose, missing simple chances and conceding some schoolboy goals."

This sums up my view of Sydneys season. They haven't been great but I'd love to work out how many points have been lost by simple skill errors by the goalkeepers/defenders - there's been some shockers.

Interesting, the mental factor is a largely undervalued aspect of the game especially by us fans because we need something we can point a finger at.
Whether Sydney have turned a corner is questionable but for the sake of their ACL I hope they ahve.


What do you think about the FourFourTwo blog Where Have Sydney Gone Wrong??
Two wins on the trot for Sydney FC, is it a revival or a false dawn?   Against Gold Coast United they played with more energy and aggression and it was all hands to the pump. Sydney pressed ...

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