@Waz,
Hahhaha savage.
I just feel we havent adressed the major problem last year.Last year if the forwards had received better service and didnt have to rush back to cover for the midfield we might have done better.
Mauk for Holman is what we have at the moment and TK and McKay both good players of the past,but brutally exposed last year amd forcing JA to defend deeper to stop the rot.Neither of those guys can play box to box.So i dont see a majical formula to get the ball forwrd without longballing or risky forward runs from those two.Which of course leaves the backs exposed on counter attacks because neither will be fast enough to turn and cover.
If Mauk is AM he wont be running back either.Hence a Desperate need for a good DM for defence and someone to make the passes forward to start attacks.
I'm interested to know how people see things unfolding.
Where Roar finish this coming season will depend on other teams ,as well as what formation we play.We could play deep again and hit on the counter .That would make us competitive,but not much different to last year.Whether fans want to watch that style,who knows?

@ crimsoncrusoe

My only concern Is the DM. Roar need to spend big there and not bottle it thinking a Mackay/Caletti combo will do because it won’t.

Formation wise everything points to JA returning to 4-2-3-1 which I’m very happy with. The boy knows how to run that formation and with Mauk in the middle and Taggart up front we’ll go well.

Eric out left will be better than last year which just leaves the right wing which will be either Mikkelsen or Ricky. I day “or” because Ricky looks to be fit, motivated and in form so wouldn’t rule him out of a starting position.

Defence is all good.

TK is for me as the holding 6, he’s an outstanding player and I’m happy he’s there. He’s good enough/fit enough for a 30 game season.

Mackay is just wrong for me though. In Ange-ball he was brilliant but otherwise, nah ...

But where we finish won’t be then to other sides, it’ll be down to JAs tactics ... that’s the worry

The problem with Henrique starting is he offers nothing helping/getting back in defense. This was arguably Borellos biggest strength and when we get width from our fullbacks we need it. Quality fullbacks will run rampage with Ricky on duty.

@ BrissyRoo

All that’s possible, but it’s not a given either.

Ricky’s weakness was always fitness, let’s see what he can do this year - Im hoping a tour in Iran May have frightened the bloke.

Then we have Ricky playing in a 433 before, in a 4231 his defensive duties are less onourous especially if Mauk is playing.

So yeah, hear ya and there’s a long preseason to go but I like what (little) I’ve seen of Ricky so far

As much as I love what Matty has given this club, he is the player that unbalances the squad. He’s neither creative or defensive, he can’t be the replacement for TK because if Matt plays then Calletti can’t - so it means Matty and Pepper or another defender. In which case I’d rather Pepper and Calletti.

@ clockwork

That pretty much sums it up.

“Unbalanced” ... unless the old dog can learn new tricks, but that’s unlikely

There are reports the Mariners are after Aiden O'neill from Burnley .It's a shame we aren't chasing him.He would fill that midfield gap.

Not experienced enough. We need someone that can command midfield and dictate a game..

Although he did come out of my local junior club 👍

Holman quoted today on the FFA Cup :

““We’re not going there for a bit of fun like we’ve done in the past where the results haven’t been that great, we really want to have a good crack at this.

Looking forwarded to this match, how is the pitch at the venue?

Also how would Roar supporters feel if City defeat Girona? (The 6-0 agaisnt the Indian side is nothing special)

I wonder when they're flying home? I would've liked to play at least one stronger team (A League level or better) before we face them rather than just a couple of NPL teams.
Do we expect TK/Tagz/Mauk to play?

Roar are playing Nix next Tuesday at Robina

Hope we smash em

Well, the next two weeks (Nix and more likely City) will give us a clue as to how much Roar have improved over last season (or not). There’s no “interrupted” excuses this year ...

I have to be honest, i am worried that Taggart will not be able to replace Maccaroni.  I am sure he will be, but it would be nice if Maccaroni had another 3-6 months for Taggart to learn off him.  Still, Taggart is the better long term prospect, and i do think he will more than do the job. It is just not guaranteed, that is all.

the other problem is that i think that we were weakened quite a bit with Franjic.  He was a classy player who added a lot to the side and instantly turned around what was otherwise heading for a completely disastrous season, when he arrived. 

All that being said, i do think that we still have a side capable of competing with anyone.  AS bad as last season was, once the bad start was righted, the Roar went as well as any side outside of Sydney.

I disagree with the line of thinking that we need a defensive midfielder.  I think the squad is well balanced as it is, and we need classy players  more than anything else. If the young players step up and the whole team is in good form, i can see a title winning side here. it is form performance and attitude that i smore important than adding personnel.  Hopefully form will see the following
Gk: Young - Arguably the best keeper in the comp
LB: O Toole - Did not let anyone down last year hopefully he keeps him improving
CB: Devere - was poor last year but if he hits form he will be the best CB in the comp.
CB: Papadopolous - As good as any CB in the comp.
RB: Hingert - Was up and down last year, but when in form is as good as almost any other RB in the comp
DM: Calleti - Was injured last year but has great distributing skills.  hopefully he improves a lot this year
DM: Kristiansen - He does seem to be aging but if can maintain his form, he is as good as most DMs in the comp.
RW: Michaelson (is that the danes name?) - I can only assume he is a similar player to Bautheac.  If he is, it will create a great midfield.
LW: Bautheac - Seemed to be settling and improving as the season went on.  AS good as any winger in the comp if he continues to do so.
AM: Mauk - Tough call for me because i havent seen enough of him, but he is said to have potential and be quality, by quite a few.
CF: Taggart - I do think he is as good a goal scorer as any in the comp.  Hopefully he improves and becomes the best CF in the comp.

Res
Holman - Can turn a game and produce brilliance off the bench.
Mackay - Aging but is still a great central midfield option when in form.  Also, a capable left back who would not let the side down.
Henrique - Aging also but is still a great gamebreaker to bring on late in the game.
Bowles/Pepper/Nigro - Not bad options as backup players.
Dagostino/Brady/Akbari - It isnt impossible for these guys to step up and improve enough to cement starting spots.

All in all, if anything, i think the side is short on an attacking midfield/second centre forward (Though Mauk, Holman, Caletti or Henrique could possibly fill this role).  I think this is where the second import is most needed.  Still, i would be happy to leave the import spot open for a move in the January transfer window (where we could see where the side is or isnt deficient depending on injuries).  I feel confiident that this will be a good season and that Roar will be a top 3 team. 

@ bender Parma

All good.

Players aside though, the main thing is JA gets the balance right this season otherwise it’s another year of ifs, buts and maybe’s

@crimsoncrusoe the stats dont agree with you. it took 13 rounds for TK and Mckay to play together last season (and that only lasted 45 mins) and then it was round 17 by the time they came together again. by round 17 we had 4 wins and 4 draws. in the last 10 rounds, when TK and Mckay played every game (and also almost every minute)  we had 6 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses. In the last 10 rounds we took 19 point bettered only by SFC (24points). 

this was also majorly hampered by Holmans absence throughout the season, Daggers unfortunately did not step up. I see the real problem from last season being that Mckay and Calettei can not play together (they are too similar players). i think calettie is a very good option replacing Mckay but should not have been paired with him. Oxborrow was also relied upon much too heavily as he simply was not up to a-league standard.

this season in Nigro i think we have a much better TK replacement. I am comfortable with if TK and Mckay play to the same standard as the end of last season i am comfortable with them being our starting 2 CM with Mauk in front of them. I dont think Nigro should be relied upon to play 17 rounds as a tk replacement but happy for him to play for a week or two here and there. the various combinations TK-McKay-Mauk, Mckay-Mauk-Holeman, TK-callettie-Mauk, Nigro-Mckay-mauk, are all better than the various options we saw last season. i dont think we will see a midfield as weak as Oxborrow-Pepper-Daggers this season. 

@sirhcdobo,
The stats dont tell the whole picture.
As you may recall after the disasterous start JA changed his structure to a deep defence .Earlier in the season he tried to play three at the back and some other formation,with midfielders getting forward.However getting skinned on turnovers changed all that.
With the players we have ,there is no doubt we can play deep defence again.But if you remember it was some of the most diabloic football Roar have played for long time.Totally the opposite of possession football.
It worked to keep us competitive,but we never really looked classy enough to create opportunities when we went a goal behind.Hence being knocked out with barely a shot on goal.
Thats the real issue .We can play scramble and longball forward.But it's a hope and a prayer football.
If we want to get back to possession football we need a commanding midfield who can play through a press and cover in defence.......We dont have that.So barring a surprise player performance .We are going to be a poor man's SFC.

@ crimsoncrusoe

“If we want to get back to possession football...” well we don’t nevessarily. Football has moved on and the last three Plate winners (Adelaide, SFC and SFC) have all played counter attacking football. In Adelaide’s case it was beautiful, less so in Sydney’s.

So imo we don’t want to “get back” to anything we need to pick the style most likely to win games. That’s no longer possession based football.

I agree with you last season was a dogs breakfast of styles and we were truly awful to watch, especially at home. But that wasn’t a style issue that was a combination of factors (mainly imo having the wrong players for the chosen style)

@waz,
Style of play is one of those interesting questions.Of course everyone want's a style that wins games.But there is no one style that does that.
Manchester City and Barcelona are possession based .Real Madrid more balanced.Teams under the special one counterattacking.
France won the World Cup essentially playing counter attack.
Mixed in with the style of play is the press and chages of formation to suit opposition.

Maybe the issue is for a coach to have strong conviction in a plan to win games and a track record of success.I doubt there are many teams that have won anything with a wishy washy system or self belief.
JA hasn't won anything and so far looks to be struggling to know what he should do.Last year many of of us thought he picked players to solve problems on the pitch ,but didnt seem to have much in the way of solutions himself when it came to getting the ball forward and creating chances in the front third.
Ange had his pressing plan and winning possession after a turnover.He also had his possession and side to side ball movement in the front third.
At HAL level Ange's system worked.Arnold went close to beating him with counterattack,but still never did.
We wait with baited breath to see what JA has in store.However with the players he has i am expecting an SFC approach but with less possesssion and more long balls,purely based on our midfield.

By the way,I dont remember AU winning playing purely counterattack.They were pretty slick and played from the back as I remember under Amor.
SFC pressed for mistakes and with a front four were lethal winning the ball high up the pitch.

@ Crimsoncrusoe

AU were the very definition of counter attacking football, often winning games under Amor with 30-35% possession.

But your point is valid - there’s no style that guarantees wins and the coach has to pick his system and players and put plans in place to get the best out of them.

As for next season; I think we’re going back to the Maclaren days only without old man Broich on the left wing. Two wingers in Bautheac and Mikkelsen will provide a balanced attack unlike Broich/Borello

@Waz,

With Mickkelsen and Bautheac on the wings, Taggart should get pretty close to Golden Boot for the year. That should ensure a reasonable position on the table in itself. What are your thoughts?

@ footballkingz

I think that’s precisely JAs thinking, plus Mauk is a bloody good AM as well

They key for me is JA has to get DeVere and Bowles back to peak form, Avraam back from injury, and improve Pepper by the same amount again.

We should score lots of goals this season, but we need to keep the back door shut too.

I think we will be relying on Taggart heavily for our goal haul, so I am very much hoping he plays against the Nix tomorrow. Obviously you would expect Mauk, Mikkelson and Eric to chip in, but i'd say we would need Taggart to be scoring close to 20 if we want to be in the mix come the end of the season. 

I'm with @crimsoncrusoe - I think Mckay is a legend but I also think he should have been a bench player for the last two, maybe three seasons.  He and Caletti are very similar players however I think Caletti's distribution is a lot more positive and inteliigent and in a perfect injury free world, he and TK would be a dream together.
When TK is fit and on-song, we look fantastic.  Prior to TK we had the masterful Corona pulling the strings, what I'd give for a player of TK or Corona's like in their prime.
I fear that we will ship many goals this season if TK isn't fot and we rely on an aging mckay in DM.  Nigro and Caletti are better options but McKay is the captain and you're dreaming if you think he's not going to be starting.

I'm dreaming. If we bring in a marquee CDM - which they have been saying for ages they are - McKay loses his spot. Reminds me of when Jedinak was 'club captain' at Palace but wasn't actually starting games.

Considering we have Holman,Mikkelsen,Beautheac , Mauk ,McKay and TK to fit into 5 positions,who is dropping out if everyone is fit?It could be Mauk.
It certainly is hard to believe JA will bench McKay or Holman.But Holman is unlikely to displace Mikkelsen.So he is more likely back at AM .
Personally I believe TK,Holman and McKay will succumb to injury a lot.They have been struggling for two years.So now they are a year older and slower ,there is no way they will stay fitter than before.
So a midfield of Mauk,Nigro and Caletti is most likely the default option.

I had been saying that after the season than my biggest fear is Holman and McKay coming back as starters because they're clearly past it. Watching them constantly give the ball away and fumble about the pitch is embarrassing.
On the injury front, unless the player is truly transformative to the team (peak Brooch in our history, guys like Marco Reus for Germany) then you shouldn't have them in your starting XI because constantly being in and out of the lineup fucks with team chemistry and consistency.
Mauk wouldn't have signed without assurances he starts.
McKay is behind TK and would be behind a marquee DM if we signed one. He could come off the bench but Id honestly prefer that to be Caletti.

Wasn't Holman injured last pre-season, so never really got fit? Could be the reason he struggled during the season. I think he will be fine if he is playing as an impact sub, but I would be happy for us to have Wenzell-Hall on the bench instead of him. 
When was the last time McKay was injured? He played and started 26 games last season, averaging 88 minutes a game. I don't think he should start, but he doesn't seem that injury prone. Would prefer Nigro/Caletti on the bench over McKay. 
TK obviously had issues last season, but you would hope they have been resolved. If not, Nigro is a good back up option and shows a lot of potential. 
While I think we could start Caletti with TK, I think it would be wise if we brought in another player, simply because we should be able to get a marquee visa player who is better than both. 

Mckay missed 4 consecutive rounds towards the end of the season before last and last season i think he had a niggle the week after he got sent off and missed an extra week (but that could just be my mind playing tricks). Mckay has definitely not been injury prone. I really think a lot of the calls for him to retire were based on the early season form where we were playing him as the DM (TK's Role) not the Box to box link role that he played towards the end of the season (and is his best position). I still think that (going on the late last season form) Mckay can more than hold his own as a starter. if he has not dropped then i am ok with him being a starter in the Box to box link role. I do think though that he should not be played in TK's role. If TK is out then Nigro should play there, i think he is a much better option than what we had last season in Pepper or Oxborrow.
Obviously i think TK should be playing the majority of the games this season and we should not rely on Nigro, that will be dependant on how TK is travelling with his injury. the staff should definitely be assessing him and if he looks like spending significant time out then another DM should probably be looked at. if he is looking good then there are other more worrying positions IE wingers. i dont think we have any where near the required depth in the wings