Round 22 - City vs Sydney FC - 6/04/22

I haven’t seen the highlights or mini match or any of that. Is there any point me watching?

Standing next to Tilio for the cut back? The people in the 6 yard box are Leckie and Berenguer who had run in from 35 yards out to get on the end of the cross with Amini jogging behind him. @Hybrid made that point on the run during the match. Talbot doesn’t deal with Leckie but he’s also hedging his bets because he can see Berenguer charging through.

Again, he’s past his best, the team needs rejuvenating, but it’s not fair that he’s a scapegoat for last night. Lots more players (and coaches) with questions to answer.

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A bit depressing to watch… like watching men against boys. Every team that has energy to press us and transition quickly can dominate us.

We are too slow in everything we do, and because of our safety first attitude, it means we are rarely ready to take advantage of a quick attacking pass to take advantage of any runs from our strikers).

Corica has done well in his time, but I don’t understand why he is so fixed in some things like the formation, but then does random things like putting a centre back at striker when we are chasing a game…

We have a glut of #10s in the side, some of which could play wide in a 4231 formation or even 433 (eg. Kosta, Kamsoba, Narsingh, even Trent), but he is reluctant to even consider it…

Maybe it is time to get mutual, as I just don’t know what he would do to change next year - does he just buy replacements for that formation, or will he try something different? He seems too safe to do it if he hasn’t done it in the last two years

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If you’re a masochist you’ll love it, if not I’d be giving it a miss!

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Looking at the final second or two of a play is a strange way to decide who is out of position.

Screenshot 2022-04-07 071122

It’s pretty clear from this shot what Wilkinson was doing and what the actual issue with that goal was (i.e., exactly what @In_Like_Mcflynn said). I’m trying to bend my mind around what you think he should have done in that situation.

Wilkinson is slower now, no doubt. But the idea that he’s (often?) out of position and that is what’s causing Donachie / Warland to look bad is not something that has ever crossed my mind when watching our defence this season. I’ll be sure to watch for it from now on though.

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Positioning looks good there to me. If it’s cut to Tilio he can step out and he is still between the ball and the goal. If O’toole gets skinned he can step across and get between Nabbout and the goal.

The problems for me here are firstly, obviously Amini. Talbot has to try and worry about both players in the 6 yard box because Amini hasn’t kept up with Berenguer. Caceras could also possibly get a bit closer to Nabbout and help O’toole out. He should never have been allowed to get a cross off in that situation.

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Having so many players off contract at the end of this season is a godsend to us right now. It’s almost like it was planned that way by someone realising what would need to happen whether we were successful this season or not. Someone like, I dunno……the manager!! The season didn’t pan out the way we’d hoped. I think it would have been better with regular style scheduling. I dare say Corica thinks the same. It’s a transition year, our player contract situation shows that. We would have been pretty competitive for a transition year with regular scheduling. We’ve been less so given the shit show of the schedule.

Fortunately we have a lot of players off contract at the end of the season and heaps of cap space. What a coincidence!!

Amini is a CM/ACM being asked to play as a DM.

He spends a lot of time way more advanced in general play than O’Neill, Brillante or Bratten ever did.

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Yeah I think its a case of taking the best player on the market who wasnt a complete fit for what we needed by close enough (and kept that visa for Narsingh who looked a great signing). If we keep Amini, him playing 8 and Brattan playing 6 will be a superb midfield.

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If we persist with this formation I think we still need two 6s.

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That was never going to be a fair contest in the air and fair play, City knew it. Leckie might be massively overrated as a footballer (naturally his two best goals all season have been against us), but he’s become Cahill-esque with his head. Not a coincidence they looked to stand crosses up to the far post a few times for him to attack.

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Yep, which is why Amini being so far behind is the real problem for me. (Apart from the cross coming over in the first place… )

Talbot won’t win the contest but if he’s able to at least contest the header, put a body on Leckie in the air, be in his space etc it at least stops the free header. He ends up having to stand off him in case he needs to step towards Berenguer and then can’t recover in time to get any real pressure on him.

It’s just another in the long line of examples in football of defenders being sold out by lazy midfielders.

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Amini is not a natural defensive midfielder.

Its another example of Corica shoehorning players into his pet formation.

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My comment was not about Amini specifically, although true, but mostly a slight against all midfielders in any form, a position that only exists to make the lives of defenders harder than it needs to be. They ruin football almost as much as Strikers.

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Yeah, it wasnt strikers that invented cattenacio sir.

As a left back I’d just like to endorse these comments. We defenders who shun the glamour and limelight and just get on with it, should stick together.

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Left back.

They’ll let anyone play there.

Apart from Micheal Zullo of course.

Michael who now?

You may not recognise him without his full name

Michael Zullo - one week

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