so Mark Birighitti is gone, im dissapointed but its probably for the best, probably will get some games up in newwy, and but the time izzo is say, 23, galekovic will be 36 a.k.a not long till retirment and izzo steps up, so in the end it might all work out well for everyone

I don't want to talk much about Birra going, mostly because he is moving to another HAL club at the end of his contract rather than to an overseas club netting us a transfer fee.

Re: Watson.

I actually really like him as a defender and think he is quite threatening with his positioning and movement on the RHS of our formation.

What pisses me off to no end is his inability to put a pass forward to our strikers along the ground when they are holding off a defender and his appalling shot. He still tends to move the ball forward and then as soon as he gets some pressure placed on him turn and pass back to our CBs rather than through into the midfield or up the line to a striker or wide midfielder.

Also he needs to have it drummed into his head that first touch crosses are fine on occasion but not every bloody time - try and take your man on as well, especially when they have angled themselves to make a cross more difficult! That leaves them ripe for the plunder, cut backs to the 6 yard box from the line are very effective with the types of strikers we have.

He looked much worse when he was being used as our forward out let and Golec was being ignored, it thankfully only took 1 game for that to be rectified. Now that our attacking forays are more balanced between the left and right midfield Watson has more opportunities to show us what he can do. I would still prefer to so Dilevski play at RB, though as the great man said: What can you do? ;)

That about sums in up :) Mullen is a better RB in attack, but I prefer him as a CB as he is just classy.

That's the whole point of the system Kossie has brought in. Crosses aren't necessarily required as much anymore. We have two big forwards in Bruce and Serg who can hold up the ball for any of the mids or other striker to latch onto and work their way into the box or even have a shot themselves.

Yes but if we have fullbacks that can cross and generally add to our attack then that just adds another string to our bow. We're heading into the ACL we may not be able to go through the middle and find the feet of our strikers every time, so we need to fully utilize the two bald heads up front.

The same argument arises, we need to fill Hindmarsh week in week out before lobbying for a new stadium. The club needs money, and the only way to do that is by getting more bums on seats.

Re: Watson.

I actually really like him as a defender and think he is quite threatening with his positioning and movement on the RHS of our formation.

What pisses me off to no end is his inability to put a pass forward to our strikers along the ground when they are holding off a defender and his appalling shot. He still tends to move the ball forward and then as soon as he gets some pressure placed on him turn and pass back to our CBs rather than through into the midfield or up the line to a striker or wide midfielder.

Also he needs to have it drummed into his head that first touch crosses are fine on occasion but not every bloody time - try and take your man on as well, especially when they have angled themselves to make a cross more difficult! That leaves them ripe for the plunder, cut backs to the 6 yard box from the line are very effective with the types of strikers we have.

He looked much worse when he was being used as our forward out let and Golec was being ignored, it thankfully only took 1 game for that to be rectified. Now that our attacking forays are more balanced between the left and right midfield Watson has more opportunities to show us what he can do. I would still prefer to so Dilevski play at RB, though as the great man said: What can you do? ;)

[size=7]Club Update[/size]

With over half of the season gone, get an insight into current matters at the club Adelaide United CEO Glenn Elliott.
17 January 2012 5:33 PM

With over half of the season gone, get an insight into current matters at the club Adelaide United CEO Glenn Elliott.

We would like to update Reds fans with information on a range of issues regards the Club. These include the strategic direction since the change of ownership, football matters and the challenges ahead.

Adelaide United FC is committed to operating a strong business model which will allow us to play football. It is fundamentally flawed to focus on the sport before the business of sport. The strategy for the current budget involved minimising most operating costs whilst quarantining football expenditure. The reason – successful on field results are pivotal to sponsorship and crowd attendances.

Across all major codes in Adelaide, crowds respond to teams winning and it is not different for the Reds. Win and crowds in excess of 11,000 can be expected, lose and that figure can quickly drop below 10,000. To date, we have simply not achieved the required outcomes. However, given the improved results of the last few weeks and if they are maintained, sponsorship and attendances will benefit.

January Transfer Window
This annual period of uncertainty is upon us again. In our case it has a further complication with the change of coach. John Kosmina is busy enough assessing our list, let alone looking at new players. It is an extremely busy period for player agents at this point in time, often negotiating behind the scenes with clubs unaware of developments.

It is also interesting to note the value of a contract. Players enter into contracts with clubs, but with few exceptions expect to be released if they get a better overseas offer. Likewise, players coming out of contract can sign with another Hyundai A-League club for next season. Under this scenario, a playing list can be disrupted with little or no influence by the club itself. If the Player has all these options, is it reasonable to consider that a club should be able to revisit a contract when the player is not performing to his negotiated level of payment or at the very minimum to have performance based contracts.

What about the club and its supporters?! Clubs plan for success and members join on that expectation, not expecting unforeseen changes. It may well be that upon signing a contract with Adelaide United FC, players will be made aware that they will be expected to honour the same for the agreed period after which they can consider their options.

Finally, a big thank you to all of the supporters that headed over for the match against Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park. The pocket of red at the stadium was magnificent and the atmosphere they created was exceptional. The players truly value the support they receive both at home and away.

The club’s next home game is on Sunday 29 January 2012 against Perth Glory (kick-off 4.30pm ACDT). Look forward to seeing you there.

RedeyeRob has been on this forum quite a number of times about Levchenko, and I know a few others have as well.
After 16 games of hoping and assessing I have to agree.
( I'm one of those soft ones that like to think everyone needs to be given time )

We have about 11 games to go til season's end. Levchenko still has a reported 4 weeks to recover from a groin strain, however with Usucar and Malik playing so well and Levchenko being the worst of the 3, and I reckon Kossie and Lev would mix like oil & water. I can't see the guy ever in a Red shirt again - another great signing by Rini.
So AU has yet another player that has spent more time on the recovery table than kicking a ball - it certainly looks like Giraldi, Agostino & now Lev knew something about our team that we didn't.

How long did we sign this dud for?

I actually think we are less reliant on crosses with the front trio of Super Dario/Bruuuce!/SVD - all three of them are actually much better with the ball played to their feet.

Watson is still playing his role in the mould of a 4-5-1 full back, his crosses are a reminder of this. In a 4-4-2 diamond, he needs to realise that as part of his duties is that he can act as a winger and run with the ball as well - Vidosic and Caravella will always pop up to provide options for passes forward.

It's true that we could probably find a better RB, but he's the best we have available at the moment. Mullen is better suited in the centre of defence at the moment, and his partnership with Boogaard has been pretty good so far.

I also favour Malik starting in place of Usucar, where he can drop back and form a 3 man central defence when we're desperate. And I agree with Kossie; his passing is also pretty damn good.

almost missed this one, Bruce good with the ball passed to his feet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your taking the piss a bit to far there! Both him and Serge are strong in the air, a quality FB getting forward and wipping in decent crosses would be deadly with both their noggins to aim at and splitting the defenders up.

Without looking them up i would hazard a guess that Bruce scored most of his goals from crosses from Burns before going to turkey in his first stint at AUFC.

I like malik to better passes but he does seem to get beaten more then what usucar does.

Don't get me wrong I am just as annoyed as the next guy with Lev's injuries, but you can't blame him or rini. His got osteitis pubis my guess probably because his not use to our pitches.

You're right. I can't blame injuries due to our pitches, but they must have equally hard pitch's in South America 'caus Usucar, Cassio, Romario, Cristiano didn't have any problem neither has Bosschat, Zwansdijk, Bas van den Brink etc.

:-k Yeah.....sorry my bad I forgot every person in the entire world has the same type of body and if one person doesn't get osteitus pubis then surely a person who does is a freak of nature:roll: