Good CCM reports

[nero]

Seeing this is a good report on CCM, I would just like to say how good it is to see constant updates on this forum. Maybe its our position or what but its really good to see.
A year or 2 ago it was like one comment once a week. Well done people!

Now lets work together to get more people to the games.

 

[Blackadder]

Bernie re-signs for Two years

BERNIE Ibini-Isei yesterday inked a new two-year deal to remain with the Central Coast Mariners - now he wants roommate Matt Ryan and coach Graham Arnold to follow suit and extend their own deals.

Despite a string of players coming off contract, the cash-strapped Mariners were delighted to announce teenage Ibini had put pen to paper.

Yet while Ibini was excited to continue his development with the A-League leaders, he was just as keen for Ryan and Arnold to remain in Gosford.

Ibini shares a house at Norah Head with Ryan - the classy goalkeeper who is away with the Olyroos and yesterday named the Young Footballer of the Year nominee for January - and knows too well how vital his good mate is for future success at the Mariners.

Arnold has worked closely with Ibini and given him his crack at senior football, but been heavily linked to replace Vitezslav Lavicka down the F3 at Sydney FC.

While Arnold has remained tightlipped about his future, Ibini said of his Mariners coach: "I definitely want Arnie to stay on."

 

[Blackadder]

The rise of the Mariners

Pre-Kogarah, it was all about Brisbane Roar; post-Kogarah, it's been the Central Coast Mariners show.

You can almost split the 2011-2012 A-League season into two halves: before and after Sydney FC ended Brisbane Roar’s 36-match streak on that windy day at Kogarah Oval in round nine.

This weekend, we’ll see the third instalment of the Roar's compelling rivalry with the Mariners as both sides try to land a key psychological blow before the finals.

What has changed since the Mariners stole the Roar’s mantle and went to to claim a 10-point lead at the top of the table, with a game in hand?

THE ROAR REVERSAL
The Roar were feted for their 90 per cent pass accuracy during their streak; surprisingly, they’re only 1 per cent off that benchmark post-streak.

The biggest concern for Roar fans has to be the team's use of the ball: despite having as much of the ball (65.9 per cent) and territory (53.8 per cent) per game as they did during their streak, the purpose, fluidity and incisiveness has diminished as they’ve struggled to two wins from nine starts.

"They just have to figure out their best options in the final third," Fox Sports football expert Robbie Slater told foxsports.com.au.

"They don’t like to cross the ball; they don’t shoot a hell of a lot outside the box.

"Maybe a few more players have to take responsibility here and there, but they are still a very good football side not to be underestimated."

Indeed, Fox Sports Stats reveal that the Roar have dropped off in terms of the number of balls they are getting into the box: they’re only getting 4.5 shots on target per game, compared with seven before the streak ended.

While Besart Berisha, with 11 goals this term, was scoring for fun at the start of the year, his supply line has dried up. Only Mitch Nichols features in the A-League’s top 10 goal-assist merchants, with five; and, as much as the Roar might publicly deny it, Thomas Broich and Henrique’s injury lay-offs cost the side dearly. Last season, Broich alone contributed five goals and 13 assists.

The thrust from midfield, as you would expect when you lose such quality, has not been as decisive post-streak. The Roar have remained loyal to their style of play without key personnel, but sides have figured out how to defend them.

Teams remain balanced and compact for 90 minutes, defending as a unit to cramp space (see the Fox Field analysis at the top of the page) rather than exhausting themselves with a high pressing game or sitting back exceedingly.

A great indication of the lack of the Roar's incisiveness is the fact that Brisbane players hold eight of the top 10 positions in the league for completed passes; the difference post-streak is that they’re not doing anything with those passes.

Passes are more lateral, less purposeful, and a lack of movement isn’t allowing them to be as penetrative.

The Roar, meanwhile, have developed a dismal recent first-half record, conceding early goals, which means they then face compact, calm and structured opponents who defend the lead.

The Roar have conceded the first goal in 10 of their past 11 matches, and they have failed to keep a clean sheet in 11 matches - a club record for consecutive games without keeping a clean sheet. They’ve conceded 14 goals, and scored just three, in the first half of their past 11 matches.

But the defending champions can’t be taken lightly so long as they remain in the mix.

"I don’t think they’re that far off," Slater said.

"They’re still a very good team."


THE RISE OF THE MARINERS

Central Coast have remained a juggernaut even since the departure of Matt Simon to Korea.

"I think it’s quite extraordinary what they’re doing, being so far ahead in this type of competition," Slater said.

The energy of Bernie Ibini-Isei and Mustafa Amini; the safety and consistency of Matt Ryan, Patrick Zwaanswijk and Alex Wilkinson; the width of Pedj Bojic and Josh Rose; and the control their midfield has enjoyed over matches have made them the benchmark side of 2011-2012.

The hallmarks of this side started to appear last term, and now they’ve gone to another level.

"They’re very strong mentally," Slater said.

"They’re a really close-knit group of players.

"They always think they’re the underdogs, and they don’t get the credit they deserve. They’ve got good disciplined players, and they’ve got the ability to grind out results when they’re not at their best."

Defensively, they’ve remained as organised and spirited as any Mariners side; and Ryan has earned the most clean sheets (seven) in the competition as the final line of a defence that has conceded only 13 goals in 18 games, allowing the least shots on target in the competition.

And they’re very different to the Roar with the ball. Indeed, they’re more ruthless at the moment.

They lead the league in shots on target, and they are the most accurate shooting side; they get more balls into the box than do the Roar, and they carve out more opportunities in the box than anyone.

While the Roar’s midfield is down on strike power, the Mariners are fashioning chances through both the guts of the field and from hard work out wide; with Michael McGlinchey and Pedj Bojic (and Matt Simon before his departure) all feature with a high number of goal assists.

Mariners fans won’t want to speak too soon, having seen their team lose three grand finals - including to the Roar in Brisbane, in such dramatic fashion last year.

But you just get the feeling that this might just be their year.

"It certainly looks like (being their year)," Slater said.

"It will be very difficult for anyone else to win the Premiers Plate, which is an important title in football. First past the post has always been important in football and it looks like being the Mariners' this season."

 

[MrCelery]

Victory, Mariners deliver hope, glory and entertainment

By Athas Zafiris, 11 Feb 2012 Athas Zafiris is a Roar Expert


Don’t you just love it when your modest expectations are exceeded. That was the feeling tens of thousands of A-League fans experienced when they tuned in to watch an under pressure Melbourne Victory take on the seemingly depleted Central Coast Mariners last night at AAMI Park.

Melbourne Victory supporters went into the match feeling underwhelmed and as a result only fourteen thousand turned up to watch after their team back up after last week’s mediocre performance in the Melbourne derby.

Fox Sports football presenter Adam Peacock captured the indifference zeitgeist when tweeting from a head wetting drinks session in Manly.

“Awesome that the karzi hole of a pub I’m in isnt showing the @aleague – lucky it seems like a boring game.”

At the end of the match I responded to Adam.

“You just missed one of the best games of the season. No bullshit.”

The game had everything. Two teams intent on playing positive attractive football, three spectacular goals, chances galore and the almost inevitable refereeing controversy with Peter Green harshly sending off the Mariner’s Trent Sainsbury in the second half.

I am going to focus on two important factors which helped turned the game into such a great showpiece for the A-League.

Young Tomas Rogic for the Mariners and the introduction of a brand spanking new midfield pairing for Victory of Mark Milligan and Jimmy Jeggo.

The elevated tone of the match was set as early as the ninth minute when 19 year old Rogic collected a pass from just beyond the half-way line, glided past the Victory debutant Ubay Luzardo and expertly found space outside the box to beat Victory’s stalwart keeper Ante Covic with precision.

Poor Luzardo, who just spent three years in Hong Kong, must have thought he was playing in La Liga and not the A-League as Rogic made a good fist of impersonating Zinedine Zidane with his precocious poise and brilliance.

And just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, Rogic went close to scoring what would arguably have been goal of the season later in the half when he hustled Jeggo off the ball, ran at a pace towards a retreating defence and audaciously chipped the ball just inches wide of the post.

The desperate necessity for results finally saw Victory manager Jim Magilton ring the changes in midfield. Out went the moribund midfield of Grant Brebner (suspension) and Leigh Broxham (form) and in came Jeggo from the youth team and Milligan who was pushed up from the last line.

And what a diferrence they made.

For the first time in Magilton’s reign we witnessed a midfield with the requisite dynamism and ability to try and play a passing game. Victory fans could not believe theirs eyes.

Jeggo’s meritorious performance was capped off when he beat Rogic for a header to set up Harry Kewell for his expertly taken winner in 51st minute.

Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention the tremendous thunderbolt from Carlos Hernandez which leveled the scores early in the first half. The recently out of favour Costa Rican was back to his old tricks and with his new supporting midfield cast he is pivotal to Victory’s hopes of belatedly resurrecting their season.

A few weeks ago I wrote on how difficult it was going to be for the Mariners sustain their form all the way to the Grand Final. They have now suffered two losses on the bounce.

However, all is not lost, if Rogic keeps improving, their replacement for Matt Simon, John Sutton, starts firing and their Olyroos, Ryan, Amini & Bozanic returning, it should give them the confidence to not only win the premiership, but also give the title a shake.

As for Melbourne Victory, their fans walked out of AAMI Park last night rejuvenated.

With a finals berth re-appearing on their radar, they could not escape the feeling that, maybe, just maybe, their season had all of a sudden just started again.

One thing I know for sure, most matches played in the EPL this weekend will not be as entertaining as the game we witnessed last night.

A sure sign that the A-League is heading in the right direction.

 

[yellowcake]

That was the game I watched too!

 

[elevated position]

+1

 

[MrCelery]

Here’s hoping Arnold lets Rogic and Amini loose


By Tony Tannous, 14 Feb 2012
Tony Tannous is a Roar Expert

It’s still a few weeks away, but hands up who else is licking their lips at the thought of watching youngsters Tomas Rogic and Mustafa Amini in the same Central Coast Mariners 11 in the run in to the finals and throughout the Asian Champions League?

With Amini and the rest of the Mariners’ Olyroos contingent not due back in Gosford until the end of next week, we won’t get to see them together this Saturday, against the Wellington Phoenix. But hopefully it won’t be too far away.

It’s a prospect that whets the appetite, two of the competition’s most exciting creative products, on the same pitch, at the same time.

Given that Amini will be off to German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund next season and that Rogic has initially only signed a five month contract, it’s a combination we might not get to see for too long.

So if they do come together, either in the A-League or Asia, here’s hoping it’s a blast.

But hang on, I hear you ask, don’t they both play in the same position, at the head of Graham Arnold’s midfield diamond?

Well, yes, but when you have players as prodigiously talented as these two, you find a way to integrate them both.

Good players, they say, can play anywhere, and when they’re on the same pitch as other equally gifted players, they are invariably on the same wavelength.
That’s what I suspect we’d get from Rogic and Amini, two game-smart footballers combining rather seamlessly.

If Arnold wanted to stick to his preferred diamond, he could comfortably use one at the head of his four-man midfield and the other as a second striker.

Looking at Rogic’s early work, both for the Mariners first and reserve teams, he looks a natural goal-getter and the type of player that can play as a second striker, where he can peel off into the wide areas and create from outside to in.

But for now, while Amini is away, Rogic is being used to un-lock the door from in behind the strikers.

Against the Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Friday night, the Canberra-born youngster looked at ease in the number 10 role, gliding around the midfield in the opening exchanges, picking up the ball, shaking off opponents and dribbling into space, all the while keeping his head up, surveying his options.

Even before his superb opening goal there were a couple of snippets that showed his quality.

Watching him balance and control the ball with the left foot, it was perhaps no surprise to learn that futsal played a role in Rogic’s development, with the youngster representing the Futsalroos as the AFC Futsal Championships in Tashkent in 2010.

There’s no doubt that Arnold and his team have missed Matt Simon since his emotional Big Wednesday farewell, and while on-loan Heart of Midlothian striker John Sutton has been brought in to add some physicality, it might take Arnold a few weeks yet to find a workable front third.

In recent weeks Bernie Ibini has looked rather lost without Simon, while the likes of Adam Kwasnik, Daniel McBreen and Troy Hearfield have all struggled to fill Simon’s void on a consistent basis.

In that sense, Rogic and Amini, working together, influencing the Mariners’ front third, might help solve Arnold’s puzzle.

It’s a tantalising prospect and the hope is it might be the start of something big for Australian football.

 

[neverwozza]

Never heard of Tony Tannous before last year but his anaylsis of CCM always seem to be right on the money. I don't really agree with starting the two youngsters though - I remember having a laugh when one of the foxpsorts pundits suggested he start Amini and Perez together and Arnold said thats why he's the coach and the pundit is in the commentary box ie. he coaches in the real world.

 

[scottmac]

I reckon he is spot on. Rogic looks as though he could play the second striker role well. He has a great touch on the ball a great shot and a good eye and is willing and able to dribble in traffic something that we have never had as a front man. He also is very deceptive in the pace department. He is by no means lightning but he loafs along at a rate faster than what it looks and can decieve defenders. I'd put him there before most of our strikers.

 

[Wombat]

Rogic is a posibility as a second striker but in the same mid as Musti....no chance.

Basically a silly article imho.

 

[MrCelery]

Central Coast Mariners are the spirit of the Hyundai A-League
Robbie Slater The Sunday Telegraph March 18, 2012 12:00AM

WITH modern sport, sometimes you get the feeling the only numbers that matter are the ones with dollar signs in front of them and the scoreboard is secondary.

As the A-League has become mired in Clive Palmer's tirades and what is happening with his club on the Gold Coast, another story has been playing out at the Mariners.

And it brings us back to what sport should be all about.

It's the story of a club that rose from the dying embers of the old Northern Spirit, a club that struggles so much for money they train on half a pitch, and yet continues to punch way above its weight.

The Mariners are battlers everywhere except for the one place that matters most - on the footy pitch. They are proof that money alone doesn't bring success.

You hear rumours that stars are about to be sold through financial necessity and their training facilities ... well, they don't come within a bull's roar of other clubs.

For all that, though, the Mariners stand on the brink of winning the Premiers' Plate for a second time.

They have played in three grand finals in six completed seasons of the A-League, and you wouldn't bet against them making it a fourth on April 22. The next challenge is winning one.

Mostly, they continue to exasperate Sydney FC fans, who have watched their big-city glamour team struggle for most of the season.

If the Mariners do win it all, it would be a victory not just for the team but for the community that has taken the club to their heart.

We all know Central Coast craves its own NRL team, yet the people have made it clear they want it run on similar lines to the Mariners. It's a powerful message.

Underpinning everything at the Mariners is that strong sense they are in this together - players and fans alike - and that will be their greatest asset when the finals kick off in a fortnight.

To understand the culture of the Mariners, you have to go back to 2004, Rat Park at Warringah, and those final days of the Northern Spirit. Lawrie McKinna was the coach and money was so tight he would be seen cleaning out the grandstand. Players were fighting to get paid. The situation got very tough.

It was Lawrie who spent a lot of time trying to get people involved to back the Mariners when the A-League was formed. As coach in that first year, he brought some of the old Spirit players with him. Captain Alex Wilkinson, John Hutchinson and Adam Kwasnik are still there.

The Mariners might not be a spin-off from the Spirit, but those difficult times have given the club a hard edge.

Graham Arnold, who also came through his own dark times at the Spirit, has built on that foundation, taking them to within one corner of winning last year's grand final against the Brisbane Roar. The pain from that loss is still there as they go into this season's finals and you can be certain the motivation is strong to finally climb the mountain.

There is also another reason to do well as the Mariners put themselves in the shop window, both in the Asian Champions League and in the finals series.

Russian investors have been courted to give the club a firm foothold for the future.

But no amount of money will change the legacy built by McKinna and Arnold.

The people's club could be about to become the people's champions. Clive Palmer should take note.

 

[MrCelery]

Cue - tear in the eye, heart swelling with pride.

 

[scottmac]

It puts into perspective all our bickering over the last few months. We may differ in opinions and arguments but we do so with one purpose.

 

[krusty]

that is so true is it ok for a grown man to shed a tear because i am come on mariners lets do it for all of us.

 

[midfielder]

Excellent Article....

 

[Roy Law]

An article that makes sense - has Robbie Slater had a brain transplant?

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Brilliant Mr Slater.

And thank you.

When he writes an article like this, I understand how he became the great player that he was. Robbie has heart in spades,
and so he knows it when he sees it elsewhere.

 

[MrCelery]

Fancy blue collar may keep Arnold on Mariner leash
March 19, 2012

SMH

Expected to stay at the Mariners ... Graham Arnold.

Sydney FC might want Graham Arnold, but Central Coast Mariners are confident they can keep him.

'''Arnie' and the Central Coast, it's a natural fit,'' Mariners chairman Peter Turnbull says. He's right. But, with Melbourne Victory also believed to be circling, the issue is whether Arnold is prepared to swap his blue-collar ethics for the white-collar culture of one of the A-League's two biggest clubs. It's line-ball, and the next fortnight could be decisive. But don't bet against Arnold surprising everyone and staying exactly where he is.

Arnold has another season on his contract with the Mariners. But contracts are made to be broken - especially if there have been breaches. But it won't come down to lawyers at 10 paces. If Arnold truly wants to go, the Mariners won't go to court to keep him. Turnbull's relationship with his coach is much too honest for that.

''Arnie loves being here, and we love having him,'' Turnbull says. ''We've already started discussions to upgrade and extend his contract. We believe we've got the best coach in the A-League. A lot of people thought we were taking a risk when we got him from the FFA. We knew we weren't, and it's proved to be a pretty good decision. We expect him to stay.''

There are compelling reasons for Arnold to do just that. The Mariners, beaten in excruciating circumstances in last season's grand final, are in pole position to claim this season's minor premiership with one game to go. And, thanks to Saturday night's gritty win over Adelaide United, at worst they'll have to settle for a play-off place for next year's Asian Champions League. They're already one game into this year's ACL and, after a gutsy draw in Tianjin in their opening game, they'll be back at Bluetongue Stadium on Wednesday night to welcome Japanese heavyweights Nagoya Grampus for matchday two. On the field, the Mariners continue to excel at home and abroad, which is always a persuasive environment for a coach. And with a crop of the country's best youngsters on the books, there's every reason to believe the Mariners can maintain their status as the A-League's great overachievers.

Off the field, things are also starting to move in the right direction. After a lot of talk, the Centre of Excellence at Tuggerah is taking shape. The impressive Soccer 5s complex was officially opened last week, and Arnold was among those who tested the state of the art artificial turf during an eight-team tournament. That's an all-weather training option should the first team need it. Today, the Mariners move into their new football headquarters in the complex - which includes a gymnasium, two dressing rooms, a coach's room, and ultimately will incorporate a hydrotherapy pool. Next week, the turf will be laid on a full-size pitch next to the building and, according to Turnbull, will be ready to train on before the grand final. ''By next season, Arnie will have the best training facilities of any club in Australia,'' Turnbull says. There have been plenty of doubters, but the proof is starting to emerge that Tuggerah will become a facility to be envied.

And finally, after drawn-out negotiations, it seems the Russian consortium with links to CSKA Moscow is ready to sign as the Mariners new major investor, possibly as early as next weekend. That's the money and the networks the club might have lacked. Arnold knows these people, and they know him. Keeping him at the Mariners is one of their priorities.

It's also a priority of Sydney FC to prise him away, and he can expect a firm offer any day. The Sky Blues have identified him as their first choice to replace Vitezslav Lavicka. Their offer of about $350,000 is likely to be matched by the Mariners, but what Turnbull can't match is the pull of a big city club with all that profile. Stay tuned.

 

[midfielder]

All sounds to ghood to be true...

 

[midfielder]

Mariners hold their own against Asian giants
Sebastian Hassett
March 22, 2012
Read later

Central Coast 1 Nagoya Grampus 1


THIS was meant to be the ultimate mismatch: the cashed-up Japanese contenders with ambitions of continental domination against a team from the sleepy central coast which struggles to pay its debts.

Nagoya Grampus certainly had more of the ball, as you might expect, but they didn't quite match the hype. By comparison, Central Coast gave their rivals plenty of respect. Too much, as a it turned out.

The Mariners defended Bluetongue Stadium like a fortress and coach Graham Arnold deserves praise for having his side so well drilled. Even he, however, will feel all three points were there for the taking.


The result leaves the Mariners placed well enough after two matches in their second Asian Champions League campaign to press on and make it to the knockout stage. The performance should give them belief that, despite the disparity in budgets – Nagoya reportedly spends $50 million on players, the Mariners $2.2 million – the gap may not as wide as feared.

"I cannot be prouder. We had four or five kids out there, 18- and 19-year-olds and they were superb," Arnold said after the match. "I thought our first half was good but our second half was really good. I felt we probably shaded it."

His opposite number, outspoken Serbian legend Dragan Stojkovic, said while the draw was "not bad" he felt the Mariners could have played "a little better".

"Let's be honest, they're the A-League leader, they won't be a bad team," he mused. "[But] they play the ball backwards too much."

Such was their caution, the Mariners fielded a new shape to counter the Japanese threat, with Troy Hearfield playing at the peak of a 4-3-2-1 "Christmas tree" formation with young Tom Rogic and Mustafa Amini in support. Nagoya played a 4-2-3-1 with Socceroos' top striker Josh Kennedy at the point.

Kennedy earned a yellow card soon after kickoff for throwing an elbow in the direction of Patrick Zwaanswijk in an off-the-ball incident spotted by the linesman, but he struggled to get otherwise involved, describing his own game as "average".

More controversy was to follow for the first goal, with Keiji Tamada earning a free kick after being barely clipped by Pedj Bojic close to the corner flag. The fans voiced their displeasure at the referee's decision but the boos only grew louder when Tamada's poorly-struck free kick bumbled into the box and veteran Japanese international Markus Tulio Tanaka poked home from close range.

However, the Mariners' reply couldn't have been better. Seven minutes after the visitors surged ahead, John Hutchinson played a pass out to Rogic and the youngster did well to spot the run of Zwaanswijk to the back post. Once there, the Dutchman leapt high into the night sky above Shohei Abe before powering a magnificent header into the top corner.

The referee and his assistants were given an angry reception from the crowd at half-time, following their lead from Arnold, who was rarely seated as he furiously protested a string of poor decisions from Hong Kong referee Kwok Man Liu. Stojkovic enquired to a nearby television crew: "Why is he always like this?" Arnold's fury, however, was entirely justified.

Emboldened at their response to Nagoya's opener, the Mariners lifted. Their eagerness to compete was demonstrated by the yellow card picked up by Rogic for a wild swing that could have seen him sent off on the hour mark, while Mike McGlinchey's searing effort had Seigo Narazaki at full stretch.

Having played with the conservative formation since the start, Arnold rang the offensive substitutions as the match wore on, bringing on Bernie Ibini and Daniel McBreen in search of a winner.

The crowd of 5130 found their voice – encouraging the hosts and admonishing the officials – and it seemed the Mariners were on the cusp on a well-deserved winner.

It didn't come but the Mariners must gain heart from earning something bigger. The knowledge, it would seem, that Asia holds no fears.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/mariners-hold-their-own-against-asian-giants-20120321-1vkj7.html#ixzz1pqUnpZmH