Round 18 - CCM v Roar @ Gosford

[Coastalraider]

The biggest issue I see moving forward from this is that there are very very few attractive things about this club to entice new players/staff. While I totally understand why Mike has had to pinch pennies to get us back in the green, i can't see how 'more of the same' will ever Improve our situation.

It's easy to say 'get a striker', but why would you?? Giannou just chose Cyprus over us and was quoted as saying he went there to win competitions. He won't get that here, nor would he get the same money.

It's easy to say Okon has lost the dressing room and let's get Popa, but half the squad is only here BECAUSE of Okon. Why would a top flight coach come here, knowing we don't pay well, but also knowing that we spend HALF what competitive squads pay on player wages?? Popa left because he was fairly successful and well regarded, why would he come back to coach with one arm tied behind his back???

The Club itself has done so much great work this year, record membership, awesome game day incentives etc, but it will come to nothing unless we show some form of competitiveness. There really is some promise to this squad, and on paper it only needs strengthening in a few key spots and we should be playing regular finals, but you can't say there is a great sense of 'team', when our players are fighting on the field. You can't say there is 'belief' in the systems when we continually lose/draw matches that we should be winning.

We are at a very, very difficult crossroads - only 5000 people came last night to watch what should hava been a win. How many will turn up next week? Confidence in the coach will be waning, as we are underperforming most weeks. Confidence in team mates is already dropping.

Some of our recruitment this year was very very good, but if we don't spend in the right areas it will come to nothing.

 

[Psycho Chicken]

Good post Coastalraider. Just over 5000 people witnessed a woeful performance and you have to wonder just how many people will be prepared to come back for more misery. WSW supporters don't travel up in the same numbers anymore and after that our next home game is against Wellington. I'd be astonished if we get more than 5000 there. These kind of numbers are scary..

 

[ballantyne]

I believe we're on the same points as last year at R18, despite recruiting Kennedy, Baró, Golec, Brama, Hiariej, Asdrúbal, De Silva, J.Rose and Hoole, all first team players, and despite playing in a less competitive league. That's down to the manager pure and simple.

 

[Pirate Pete]

I believe we're on the same points as last year at R18, despite recruiting Kennedy, Baró, Golec, Brama, Hiariej, Asdrúbal, De Silva, J.Rose and Hoole, all first team players, and despite playing in a less competitive league. That's down to the manager pure and simple.

Yes, with a better goal difference.

I think in the Sydney game the other night they said VAR couldn't rule on yellow cards.
I presume they are able to upgrade them though?

Regarding dragging that Hyundai sign out at half time. Can't someone at the club see how other teams roll it up and carry it on like a big snake?
Our club can't even do that properly.

 

[Insertnamehere]

sorry...if you get Popa then you've lost me.

Yeah probably an over reach. I don't think need another erratic coach after Walmsley. Defs time to put together the shortlist for next season and it MUST be an experienced coach.

 

[Insertnamehere]

The biggest issue I see moving forward from this is that there are very very few attractive things about this club to entice new players/staff. While I totally understand why Mike has had to pinch pennies to get us back in the green, i can't see how 'more of the same' will ever Improve our situation.

It's easy to say 'get a striker', but why would you?? Giannou just chose Cyprus over us and was quoted as saying he went there to win competitions. He won't get that here, nor would he get the same money.

It's easy to say Okon has lost the dressing room and let's get Popa, but half the squad is only here BECAUSE of Okon. Why would a top flight coach come here, knowing we don't pay well, but also knowing that we spend HALF what competitive squads pay on player wages?? Popa left because he was fairly successful and well regarded, why would he come back to coach with one arm tied behind his back???

The Club itself has done so much great work this year, record membership, awesome game day incentives etc, but it will come to nothing unless we show some form of competitiveness. There really is some promise to this squad, and on paper it only needs strengthening in a few key spots and we should be playing regular finals, but you can't say there is a great sense of 'team', when our players are fighting on the field. You can't say there is 'belief' in the systems when we continually lose/draw matches that we should be winning.

We are at a very, very difficult crossroads - only 5000 people came last night to watch what should hava been a win. How many will turn up next week? Confidence in the coach will be waning, as we are underperforming most weeks. Confidence in team mates is already dropping.

Some of our recruitment this year was very very good, but if we don't spend in the right areas it will come to nothing.

So which way do you want to go, left or right because you've made no case either way?
Final third of the season, decisions need to start being made now for next season.

 

[mick]

That was horrible to watch. No heart no desire. It's not entertaining it was a boring slow game full of basic frustrating errors. I simply can't understand how we go from playing well against Sydney to last night's complete crap.

 

[midfielder]

The backs and keeper made beyond poor decisions ... however if Apa is selected for the next home game in the run on squad I am not going...

 

[Insertnamehere]

This is where roar supporters are at after mid week loss. Surely we are at and beyond this level of rage?
Now 6 pts adrift of roar. Looking at barrel of a spoon...

 

[Coastalraider]

So which way do you want to go, left or right because you've made no case either way?
Final third of the season, decisions need to start being made now for next season.

I honestly dont know. I want a competitive team, but not at the cost of the team going bankrupt. The m just dissolusioned with it all today.

 

[LFCMariners]

The essence of this club isn't what it was even a few years back. Sure, there were poor seasons under Laurie (leading to his stepping aside in 2010), but soon we'd get some good signings/ develop players with real talent beyond HAL level and along would come another legitimate shot at winning the league.

It was a great opening decade for this club, who were consistently better than most of the other teams in the League. The pundits wouldn't have CCM figuring in their predictions for league/ GF winners but time and again this team would prove the doubters wrong. Last night, I said to my mate "Remember when we could be trailing 2-0 and you'd have full confidence we'd fight our way back?"

When an animal gets put down, you can't pinpoint the exact moment its' life cuts out. All you know is that at some point it goes from being a living, breathing creature to lying there, completely still and glassy-eyed. Likewise, I can't pick a moment when this club went from defining that 'No One Rates Us- We Don't Care' ethos to what we see now. Was it when Lawrie moved on after the part he played in building this club up from scratch? When Arnie left after the close-knit, competitive squads he managed? When Hutcho- the last of the originals- retired?

Watching the squad play, they lack purpose and confidence. They show hints of being easily better than 4 other teams in this 10-team comp, but then they fail to deliver. It's not just about the talent (or lack of) in the current side. Put this squad out on the field every week with our coaching staff and club set-up between 2005-2008 and I'd almost guarantee they'd convert a lot more "should have's" into points. There was a determination and tight-knit community spirit amongst the playing staff and the fans that used to define this team- and without being able to point to a significant moment as the day the music died, I do know that what made this club great is absent now. There was a sense after the win against SFC at home that it may be on its' way back, but I've seen almost nothing of the sort since then. It's like watching new episodes of The Simpsons vs the earlier seasons- on the surface level it appears to be the same thing, but you soon realise it bears only a superficial resemblance to what you grew to love.

Whether it comes down to Paulo or the owners, I don't know...

 

[Insertnamehere]

The essence of this club isn't what it was even a few years back. Sure, there were poor seasons under Laurie (leading to his stepping aside in 2010), but soon we'd get some good signings/ develop players with real talent beyond HAL level and along would come another legitimate shot at winning the league.

It was a great opening decade for this club, who were consistently better than most of the other teams in the League. The pundits wouldn't have CCM figuring in their predictions for league/ GF winners but time and again this team would prove the doubters wrong. Last night, I said to my mate "Remember when we could be trailing 2-0 and you'd have full confidence we'd fight our way back?"

When an animal gets put down, you can't pinpoint the exact moment its' life cuts out. All you know is that at some point it goes from being a living, breathing creature to lying there, completely still and glassy-eyed. Likewise, I can't pick a moment when this club went from defining that 'No One Rates Us- We Don't Care' ethos to what we see now. Was it when Lawrie moved on after the part he played in building this club up from scratch? When Arnie left after the close-knit, competitive squads he managed? When Hutcho- the last of the originals- retired?

Watching the squad play, they lack purpose and confidence. They show hints of being easily better than 4 other teams in this 10-team comp, but then they fail to deliver. It's not just about the talent (or lack of) in the current side. Put this squad out on the field every week with our coaching staff and club set-up between 2005-2008 and I'd almost guarantee they'd convert a lot more "should have's" into points. There was a determination and tight-knit community spirit amongst the playing staff and the fans that used to define this team- and without being able to point to a significant moment as the day the music died, I do know that what made this club great is absent. It's like watching new episodes of The Simpsons vs the earlier seasons- on the surface level it appears to be the same thing, but you soon realise it bears only a superficial resemblance to what you grew to love.

Whether it comes down to Paulo or the owners, I don't know...

Culture is obviously different. I remember seeing heff when he broke his leg and having a chat with him like he was a mate, he was warm and welcoming of the attention. The club just doesn't feel like that anymore, in fact I wouldn't even know where you'd bump into players. Do any even live on the coast? Not that I'm local anymore either. But I live near where I'm paid to work...

 

[Big Al]

and after over 10 years we couldn`t even get the Hyundai sign out on time...

Or did Hyundai try and pull it. Didn’t want to be seen associated with that crap

 

[Big Al]

The a league is f**ken lucky that Australia’s Timezone is way off the rest of the world. If we were in Europe everyone would just tune in to watch another countries league. The whole thing is a farce. Between Foxtel being shit and f**ken up numbers, ffa in general being useless, and the way the mariners are playing.

f**k.

Really tho. Anyone got suggestions on a nice foreign team/league to get behind. We could move our whole forum over to theirs and just forget it all. A fresh start.

Although our forum is probably better set up and managed.

I know a Philippines side that scores goals

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

The biggest issue I see moving forward....

Cracker of a post. Our club is in a real crisis point right now.

I also feel for everybody at the club who has worked their arses off to rebuild the community connection and memberships. There's been a lot of amazing work been done, and it most be beyond frustrating to see the players spit in the face of that but not presenting as a HAL-capable side.

We keep talking about our final third, and I think when we put in what we're capable of it's easy to forget how bad we usually are.

Looking at those games without Tom H, for instance. It seems those performances weren't aberrations - and I still don't think they could be attributable to losing a single player.

Mariners are in crisis.

And I'm starting to really fear for the future existence of this club. Another year or two of this and we may be in some very serious trouble.

 

[Big Al]

We gifted them two goals and so should not expect to win. Brama's red card should have been a red - though I thought they said the VAR cannot upgrade a card after the Brama/ McGing fiasco last time. Our whole effort looked lethargic

That said I found the refereeing to be almost as bad as our performance. Why do we always get the worst refs for our games? Jade North took out Lachie from behind (Speed calls it as a slip) and seconds later Corey Brown stepped in front of Appiah making no effort to play at the ball (clear obstruction anywhere else on the field). Both looked to be penalties. The result is within a minute the Roar go up the other end and score.

Appiah is through on goal in the 65th minute and taken down by Brown who got a yellow. Speed says Brown had to take him or he would have been through on goal, sounds like a red to me. Harper of course says there was plenty of work to do with the wind behind the ball totalling ignoring the fact that two slower Brisbane players quickly rounded up the ball with Appiah left on the ground.

Later Powell was taken out waiting for a high ball with the Brisbane player making no attempt at the ball. The high angle of the replay on Fox is inconclusive on this one but it was a clear foul from ground level.

I have not mentioned the Tommy foul when all he touched was the ball, Maccarone's dives or the 3 or 4 yard Holman offside (that surely would have been called back)

I'm not saying we deserved to win - we didn't - if you gift two goals to the opposition you can't pretend to claim that you do. But that refereeing performance was as substandard as our performance.

The ref was more annoying than terrible. Not his fault we passed it to the other team for goals. Think we just looked to him to take out our frustration. There were no penalties for us imo snd the brown yellow was just smart

 

[BrisRecky]

SO, thats f**kin twice this year, we give the Smurfs a real good scare and the week after Okon (or Ivan) make a shitload of bizarre team selections and 90% of those selections play like shit...we got no one to blame about last night but ourselves, the Roar were shit, we should of cleaned them up, but NUP...Young wales needs to come on with 20 to go from now on, i dont care if it crushes his hopes and dreams ....Kwabi , well ive said enough about this techinique free zone ....Wout..new name WTF Brama, that was horrendous , millimetres of pressure away from a snapped leg, heres to an extended holiday...Melling was good for about 12 minutes then switched off ...Rose the Elder, same deal as Lachie from now on, even BK had me worried, mind you Tom Gloveman wont get his job cause that would make sense.....
DDS, Golec and Baro were decent ...MOM was Tommy....So, I have to ask is Okon just a stubborn nitiwit?, sure managers have final say but if the results of that final say are the same week after week after week, doesnt that make him insane cuase he keeps doing the sme thing expecting a different result......OH and im fairly sure that Okon and Ante milliwhatsit did the same coaching course cause the young socceroos were very mariner like ....i think its fair to say that this year is done and dusted, its obvious to everyone with a lanyard and a season ticket that we needed a striker well before now but the powers that be just aint on the same page as us ....que the #OkonOut tweets

I was at home with a halfa migraine (watching tele with sunnies on is weird, thanks neck)...was the crowd as shit as it looked ?

 

[Big Al]

what happened to the VAR not being able to upgrade a yellow to a red?
So, once again, we got screwed over by the VAR blatantly doing the wrong thing?
Don't get me wrong, it should have been a red the first place, but that doesn't justify the VAR doing the wrong thing either.

Blame the ref or the AR. VAR wasn’t the issue

 

[Big Al]

I believe we're on the same points as last year at R18, despite recruiting Kennedy, Baró, Golec, Brama, Hiariej, Asdrúbal, De Silva, J.Rose and Hoole, all first team players, and despite playing in a less competitive league. That's down to the manager pure and simple.

Yes but
Our goals conceded are probably half and we’ve lost or drawn games we were winning and should have won.
Last season we never looked like winning each week. This year we do we just can’t score.
We need 3 more players. 2 starting wingers and a striker and we are top 4 material.
The attack is making the rest of the team look bad. Although it was defence who made those horrible mistakes tonight but that really was a one off but because we are loosing it feels worse

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

How did Skapetis go?

Blame the ref or the AR. VAR wasn’t the issue

I sort of agree and sort of don't. When the ref shows blatant incompetence like this, well that sort of tackle is EXACTLY what the VAR should be there for.
I can't blame the AR, because the AR can't have an input unless the ref wants it. We don't know what conversation was had. For all we know the AR may have wanted a red.
But I don't like that the VAR red was in direct contravention of how we were told the VAR was going to operate.
The tackle was f***** though. Really disappointed to see somebody in yellow and navy come in with something that savage. Should see 3-4 weeks