Fair to say that was ugly.

That first half was not an ability thing to my eye - the game plan can’t have been followed (those first three goals were all rinse n repeats of previous Sydney moves which RF would have analysed). 

This suggests Fowler has a problem between him and his players. Too many are getting subbed off at or before half time because they’re not doing as told. 

Surely Powell needs to get a start next week 

Still not sure about the team? 

Probs won’t drop gilesphy even though he has been at fault for most of the goals conceded this year 
should play A back 4 of JH TA JCP COT 
middle 3 of GM AON SM 
Front 3 IP DWH JOS 

This would mean dropping Inman , ROD Neville and Gillesphey
will it happen , probs not , Robbie got his favourites and let’s not forget the “big boot of Gillisphey” lol

It must be particularly hard for Robbie to consider dropping a youngish player (Gillesphey) that he has played a big part in relocating from overseas.

As a manager, we know that is just part of the job and should not be a factor - and he will know that too - but as a first time coach that must be a really hard thing to come to terms with.

Just so glad the CEO got a couple of good overseas coaches, it's really made the difference with recruitment this year.

People can theorise and speculate on players and formations to make the team play better.But we are eight games into the season after starting training in June.
Really this has a feel of futility about it.The more games we see,the more confusing everything becomes.
The coach is changing formations and players and the players staying in the team are there more by default than anything else.
Against MC and SFC we have literally been carved up.We beat MC by a miracle.But that papered over the cracks.
if we  turnover possession in the front third ,we are no better than a JA side trying to defend the turnover.
Goals conceded in the last four games have been...3,2,0,5....We are back where we started with JA..

Our backs are Neville(not good enough for PG)...Aldred(aggressive but average in ability)....Gillesphey(League 2 youngster with little experience and struggling big time).....CP(17 yrs old)......Bowles(average)......Powell....O'Toole...both very young...McGing.....average..
You cant expect these guys to handle the attacks of the top teams.It's not their fault.You could maybe slot one of them into a team of pros and they would do okay.But in this team,Aldred is supposed to be the pro and against the good teams he aint good enough.

This team can only stay competitive if they have a deep defensive five it appears.If they depart from that ,its a matter of time before they concede a goal or three.

Then there is the midfield and attacking problems,which are obvious ,so enough said.

I noticed someone mentioning a stat, from roars last 63 games they have only won 16 :crazy:

The really worrying thing is that an thud team is pretty much locked in for next season. 

Fuck SwiftKey 

JA then Fowler. Bloody hell. 

WU just beat Victory pretty easy , next week very important , another loss could be the straw.

Three coaches on thin ice or through it - Fowler, Babel and Kurtz.

Frankly all 3 fully deserve their marching orders.

Agree , however Kurtz and Babel have had plenty of money to spend not sure about our lad.

From my perspective there were three ways the season could have gone:

1/ We continued our pre-season form into the season proper and been comfortably sitting in the top 4 now. Obviously did not happen.

2/ We need tweaking from pre-season, get off to a sluggish start then click. We would have to markedly improve next week against Western United for this to look possible. I would not put money on that happening, but I do hope for it still.

3/ We are a work in progress, will stuff up a lot of games, but by seasons end we are working together as a team and competitive into the finals (that we will make it to).

I can still say I have seen enough when we do get it right to believe that the team will come right at some point. In the meantime my expectations remain - hope we play well every game and look for the improvements that I believe will come.

I would rather look forward to each game for a chance to get it right, and focus on the good parts of our play, than bemoan the losses and only see the bad parts of our play. SFC we got wiped - acknowledged and moved on. Totally happy within myself if I am in the minority.

Talk about being in denial. This a truly awful bunch of recruits. The only thing to be decided is whether this talentless rabble and their clueless coach finish last or second last. 

WU home 
bye 
jets ,away 
WSW , away 
city , home 
nix , home 

xmas period not easy but we do have 3 home games.

I am not expecting any games to be easy - but ever hopeful of a return on every one until the fat lady sings each week.

3 home games is good. Can see more of the team in action than on the limited screen.

The points difference between 10th place and 4th is only 5 points so the likes of Victory and Roar need not panic and WU not get complacent. 

Fowlers got a bit of explaining to do following Saturday’s mess because his side were badly exposed and he either got his tactics wrong or the team simply didn’t follow them - listening to his media comments it sounds like he believes it was the latter. 

And thats the theme of recent games with substitutions bring made either in the first half itself or at half time and what should be a rarity (early subs) is worryingly becoming the norm. 

WU becomes a must win game otherwise his critics, who aren’t very vocal outside of fan sites like this, will start to emerge publicly. And a win on  Friday would at least give him three consecutive home wins which hasn’t been achieved for a while. 

How he fixes things I’m not sure, there seems to be something systemically wrong with the squad - either he’s got someone who’s too strong a personality, or no one with a strong personality, or they’re over trained, or under trained, or one of a dozen other “either or” things that can afflict a squad ... it’s something he needs to figure out today when they return to training. But I’m guessing he’s clueless as to what it is though. 

I dont buy its a quality thing either. I said preseason this squad looked 2-3 (quality) players off being able to challenge above third place and that’s how it’s proving this season. 

But he needs to make some significant changes and here’s what I’d be thinking: 

DWH has an awful first touch and he’s no winger, it looks good when he beats players out side but he lacks the ability to get effective crosses in regularly and lacks the vision to see where to put the ball. He has to be played to his strengths which is his pace, enthusiasm and shooting ability - so he needs to be pulled in to a central position alongside ROD or in place of ROD. 

The Defence looked shambolic in the first half vs Sydney. I’m neutral on whether he plays a back 3 or back 4 but he has to lift Gillesphey out of there and put Courtney-Perkins alongside Aldred in a back 3, or add in Powell at LB in a traditional back four. 

Theres two easy fixes to the front front and back of this team. 

But then you come to the real problem child of what’s not working - the midfield. 

O’Shea is creating enough chances to suggest he’s worth sticking with, if he has a front two there’s a greater chance his assist rate will go up. 

But Mauk and O’Neill should be performing way better than they are but on Saturday night, as in a few other games this season, they were totally ineffective but there are no real bench options for either of them (Pepper? He has the engine for it but not the talent) and when you throw Inman in to that midfield mix the midfield is totally dysfunctional.

So assuming no departures/arrivals in January and working with what he’s got I would restructure around a 3-2-3-2 or a 4-1-4-1 formation which plays better to the players he has. 3-5-2 just isn’t working for him. 

In the first option:

Neville, Aldred, Courtney-Perkins;
Mauk, O’Neill;
O’Shea, Holloway, Inman;
ROD, DWH

In 4-1-4–1:

Neville, Aldred, Courtney-Perkins, Powell;
O’Neill;
Ingham, O’Shea, Holloway, Inman;
ROD;

The fly in the ointment in both of those set ups is Holloway who is incapable of playing a full game, much as I like him that’s unacceptable but he could be replaced by Akbari in either formation 

If I were Fowler I’d play 3-2-3-2 at home and 4-1-4–1 away. I’d also be strong arming the Bakries for a couple of January signings. 

https://twitter.com/mirrorfootball/status/1203629084623937538

nice 

Twitters on fire today 😂

https://twitter.com/conor993/status/1203628987856982016?s=21

I am a broken record on Holloway I am afraid - I see his strength as an AM collecting the ball in the middle of the pitch and bringing it through to the front third. What he does then is up to him - he could pass or shoot in pre-season and it worked. Robbie has been playing him high and he brings more than that to the game. His lack of staying power is not a problem for me if he can play the above role for 60 minutes. A sub replacing him then is not a wasted substitution as it allows either a simple midfield replacement by Mauk or a more violent restructure if the game requires it.

I like your 4-1-4-1.

In my ignorance of structure I would make your 4-1-4-1 a 4-1-3-2 with Ingham out, DWH up front with ROD, and Holloway sitting right in the middle of the field behind O'Shea and Inman. That may actually be a 4-4-2 but it makes a deliberate attacking midfield of 3 in between O'Neill and the two forwards.

I prefer our creativity when Mauk is not a starter, and whether they can break down a tough defence or not Holloway, Inman and O'Shea combine well when they are our midfield.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head with the personality thing. There are a few in the squad that have not bought into what RF is trying to do.  There are also quite a few in the squad that i really question the mentality of. Players like DWH, Mauk and Hingert clearly have drive and a love of the game, it is clear from everything they do that they has passion for the game and want to get better and win. Compare that to players like AAH or Inman who dont seem to care who they are playing for or if they win or if they are getting better. that sort of mentality can kill a squad. Even one player just doing his own thing when everyone else is trying to implement what the coach is doing can kill a team.

of course you dont have to live and breath the game, but you have to have the drive to do everything 100% and really want to do exactly what the coach is trying to do. broich was probably the best example of that, he loved a lot of stuff outside of football but he always wanted to do everything at his best and even with dud coaches like Franz and JA he was the on field coach making sure that everyone was doing what the gaffer set them out to do. 

Ange showed that a champion team will beat a team of champions, his recruiting was of average a-league players (plus one or two absolute gems) but they all gave 100% and all were pulling in the same direction. i just dont see that with this group. I really wonder how many of those players on the weekend were pissed off that they got towled 5-1? 

Where was Akbari? He played very well in the FFA Cup game against Sydney FC but wasn't even on the bench this weekend...another young talent who has been under utilised at an a-league club.

There’s two 17 year olds and a 21 year old featuring prominently in this side so let’s not over-react. Akbari’s time is probably coming but that midfield needs fixing before dropping him in like a deer in headlights. 

They need more quality especially in midfield, it's worth considering.

There was not one shot at goal that even a 12 year old keeper couldn't have made with relative ease.

(in case someone has or will try to use shots on goals as a great stat).

imo it’s the midfield that’s misfired so far. It exposes the defence and creates lower quality chances. 

I’s be happy for Akbari to get more time but not over O’Shea, it’s Mauk and O’Neill that are the major disappointments and I’m not sure that Akbari can replace either of those. 

O’Shea on Saturday was not good , his set pieces were woeful, generally didn’t look interested imo

Defence was terrible. The left side was exposed over and over again. Courtney-Perkins and Powell are too young and inexperienced. OToole and Reardon are better options