Nah we were in contention in 15/16, until the fucking clown dropped an in form Young for a past it & underdone Theo. :crazy:

DeVere out for ten weeks

I am undecided on the Aloisi question.  He does seem to have worked wonders with some of the younger players like Borello, Maclaren, Calletti, Petratos, Brown and the players do seem to improve under him, but this is balanced by the fact that he seems to underate the same players and select ordinary or out of form players ahead of these players.

I think he has actually built a title winning side here, but they just dont seem to be playing well.  Incidentally, if they win the next two games, against currently the two worst ranked sides they are able to come accross (Victory and Central Coast) then they should be back in the top 6.  

Looking at the side he picks, i do think that he needs to make some tough decisions now, but i also think that there is a lot of improvement left in the side.  Kristiansen and Gameiro will both make huge differences, particularly Kristiansen and i think that the depth the roar has really is still quite astonishing. 

Despite the poor start, i still think that this side is potentially a good (young even) side when at full strength and with an astonishing depth. 

Young needs to replace Theo.  Theo isnt bad and in some ways is better than Young, but Young when he is confident and hits form is better than Theo has been recently.  Plus, if he doesnt make the change soon, Young is likely to leave, which would see Theo retire (probably next year) and mean that the club wont have a decent keeper.  I think the change must be made. 

North/Papadopolous in the centre.  North seems to organise well from the centre and with Devere hurt it is a no brainer, although an out of position North has been dreadful, and with his age his form must be monitored and if he isnt playing out of his skin, i think there is a spot for a younger player to oust him.  

Hingert/Brown.  I think these two are as good at fulback as any pairing in the A League.  Ingham has a long way to go, but hopefully he will still get the back up spot most of the time.  Mackay is another who shouldnt be overlooked in this position for the bigger games if their are injuries to Brown and if Ingham isnt in great form. 

Kristensen/Calletti.  Kristansen must be close to coming back.  He must command a spot.  Calletti is in as good a form as Mackay and should be around a lot longer.  I think it is important for Calletti who has more improvement in him and can play much better than he currently is given the chance.  Mackay is out of form and needs to be at the top of his game, if he is to put calletti back to the bench. 

Skapetis/Bartheau.  Barthaeu  seems to be getting with each game and looks to have improvement in him.  Skapetis hasnt hit the preseason highs but he has still been very solid. I know Kalfallah and Holman have shown glimpses, but i think Skapetis has the inside running and the ability to improve and lift his game, based on what i have seen so far.

Holman/Maccarone. Maccarone is the best finisher in the league, from what i have seen.  If Roar create the same number of chances as they did last year, they will win the league.  Holman is out of form, but he has the knack still of providing assists or dangerous balls.  If he can improve his form a little bit, he has the ability to be devastating.

Bench - If Aloisi picks a side like the one above it would leave him with a bench of: Kalfallah (who should be devastating in the last 20 mins), Gameiro who has tons of potential if he hits top form, Mackay who would be the best bench midfielder in the game, North/Devere who would be the best defender in the Aleage (unable to command a starting spot) and Theo who would be the best back up keeper.  .

@Bender

Well written. Can’t disagree with anything you’ve written.

If Muscat or Arnie had this same squad what could they do with it? I’d say win the title, there’s been some brave recruiting this season but Maccarone looks total class and will score if they create chances, FBK who I had my doubts about looks classier game by game, Skapetis is on the edge of something big and if JA can do with him what he did with Maclaren he’ll be dynamite, same Gameiro. And Bautheac just looks really good and a very, very intelligent footballer.

It’s all on Aloisi though - is he the right coach? Has he got the right assistant? Has he got the right support around him?? .... I’d say yes, no and no again to those three.

If BRFC do not do well the focus is on John Aloisi and the "mates club" he has created. I think the Bakeries may regret putting him on a THREE year contract

Now back to reality.
We are conceding more than two goals a game with no suggestion of a plan to tighten up defence.
We have lost DeVere and Brown for an extended period.Which means Ingham and Hingert as Fullbacks.
Bowles will be lucky to play this season.I would say he should concentrate on next season.
Kristensen with a hamstring problem.A huge risk when he comes back.
Gameiro no game time for two years and still injured
The midfield is still rubbish.
While we have quality up front in attack,they are not fast and need to get the ball in good positions.
Our pressing game has gone.Probably no longer realistic with a plus 30front line.

The next two games will determine if we are gone for the season.or are in with a chance of making sixth.
We play a good CCM at home next and then away to MV where we havent won for ages and an angry Albanian will be waiting.
After that MC,SFC and WSW.That's nine games.

IF we dont beat CCM ,then JA could be waiting a long time for a win.

So were the Den upset at Ross or the club? What/who were they going to protest? Ross being a big mouthed idiot or the club "lying" about something?

@crimsoncrusoe

JA just got lucky; DeVere our forces him to a back four. That’s the first step to giving the defence. Roar have conceded 9 goals from 12 shots on target, I’d change the keeper out but he probably won’t.

Oxborrow first then TK back next week will help screen the defence. The issue up front is a simple one, put Skapetis over Holman and he’ll have a balance attack.

@waz
We will see if a back 4 improves our defence.Those shots statistics don't paint a true picture or how bad our defence has been.There have been numerous times opponents have missed scoring from crosses.In the Jets game ,within five minutes Vargus missed an open goal chance from a cross.
I think there is zero chance Holman will be replaced,but his style of play is a problem.He has a roving style,looking for opportunities and creating opportunities with his runs.JA needs to structure the team so that Holman can do his roving without upsetting the structure of the team.
The problem is he is playing in front of the DM's but is not the type of player to stay central and present himself for the ball and distribute it to players in front.So if he continues to Roam,noone knows where he is going and how does the ball get from the backs to the forwards?
The answer is with longer riskier passes and McKay or Caletti getting further forward into riskier positions where they can't recover in defence.
Out of the four front players it's unlikely any will be dropped,but one of them like BKF will have to move centrally to allow Holman to do his thing and stop disrupting the sync of the team.
If you had one good DM,((Kristensen)you could solve the problem with two AM,one being Holman and the other say McKay.But it weakens an already weak defence and would require the wide forwards to track back a lot.(BKF & Bauteac-not their strenghts)

This is a situation that seperates the good coaches from the rest.JA by bad luck or bad design has ended up with players that don't fit 433,424 or 343.Players that don't fit and aren't fit.

I think your probably near the truth, however football is often about confidence and momentum not tactics and logic, coming back from 3 down has provided the dressing room with a massive lift that NFI could never have given them. Big win coming at the weekend. Possibly, maybe.

100% agree with that clivesundies ... the question is simply one of, can the coaching team harness that momentum or will they suck the life out of it on the training paddock this week?

Gameiro declared fit:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/football/a-league/brisbane-roar-signing-corey-gameiro-set-for-first-aleague-appearance-in-almost-two-years/news-story/bb3615b6e856a96cd292922dc783ee5e

Can’t see him getting a look in while Skapetis remains on the bench though.

Skepitis was pretty ornery last week of the bench , Corey got speed to burn and whip crosses in to Big Mac

Harsh jonsnow, harsh ... Skapetis was only on the pitch for 6 minutes last week

8,281 on members

Theo out with an injured finger on Sunday. Young in.

“VETERAN Roar goalkeeper Michael Theo will miss Brisbane’s battle with Central Coast Mariners at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday after succumbing to a finger injury.

Theo has battled the finger problem since the pre-season, which perhaps has been part of the reason for his tentativeness and patchy form in the opening four weeks of Brisbane’s thus far ordinary 2017-18 A-League campaign.

Jamie Young, who since joining the Roar in 2014 has often profited from Theo’s injury woes, gets yet another chance at the expense of the 36-year-old gloveman.

The Roar’s third-choice goalkeeper Brendan White, who recently joined the club on a mature-age rookie contract after Tom Bilic was shown the door, will sit on the bench.

It’s understood Theo was keen to play but coach John Aloisi ruled him out and demanded he have a cortisone injection and rest the finger.

Theo has picked the ball out of the net nine times in just four games this season, with the five-time A-League championship winner having struggled to deal with long-distance strikes as well as failing to have commanded his penalty area“

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/football/brisbane-roar-goalkeeper-michael-theo-ruled-out-of-clash-with-central-coast-mariners/news-story/adfb64c1b0d9649959ab4043954f98dc

One shot, One goal Theo = Constant Fail

His days are clearly numbered except JA can't see it.

Given the position on the table and 9-fingers Theo could be culpable for at least half of them it is alarming that JA thinks so little of Young that he persisted with an injured Theo for the first 4 rounds. Half the fans think Young is the better keeper anyway so it’s hardly a controversial pick ffs

I just don't get it with JA and Theo. Last year after the first 6 rounds we had 10 shots on target against us for 7 goals. This year its 12 shots on target for 9 goals after 4 rounds. Time for an extended run for Jamie!!!!!!

Footballkingz55

That sums up the reservations over JA - it’s as if he’s so unsure of his own coaching ability he sends out his most senior people every week, irrespective of form, in the hope they’ll figure it out.

When I read Theo had a 'hand problem' I thought they were just talking about his inability to put his hand anywhere near a moving football.

Well he practically did that. It's odd to think why you play him with that sort of injury.

In normal-land you never play a goalkeeper with a hand injury, especially when there’s an able (arguably better) replacement sat on the bench. However in John-Ross land, bizarre selections are the norm ...

What's our longest winless streak? If we don't get a win against bottom 4 clubs CCM or Victory in the next week surely Aloisi is gone.

@ clockwork

Apparently this is our longest ever winless streak. That presumably doesn’t count the penalties win over WSW though.

I said I'll give Aloisi 5 rounds. 2 from 15 points. He has to go. I said all that Wellington result was two bottom team taking points off each other today proved it. We are not going to make the 6.

Not just Johnny though, his whole entourage as well, let the clean out begin, that includes some players as well.

Was anybody else embarrassed watching that? Like really embarrassed :laugh:

Oh yeah. Can't see many staff I would keep. Do we even have a fitness coach? 

Moore and co please to.

Yeah. Im glad I'm currently in a resort somewhere........ Well Tassie. So I didn't have subject myself let be to the shit.

On paper I feel we could be killing it. But that doesn't mean anything.