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A-League Mens 25/26 - Round 11

AUFC_Fan said:
I don’t particularly rate him but he’s young and cheap. Chris Lomg on the other hand is a complete dud and has done nothing to justify his visa spot.
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We are not playing a style of football that uses Long's skills.

He is not a longball retriever (although the one time he scored off a long ball it was his quality that allowed it) but we continue to use him like Mitch Duke. Run around for an hour chasing opposition players in a one man press and speculative and misguided long balls then sub him off.

I think played centrally and receiving crosses in traffic would show his worth (or not).
 
RIMB said:
Ruhs looks to me like the player most able to create something from nothing. He has strength and speed to go with his ability to bring the ball forward and he does show decent vision.

I see Ruhs and Vidic with similar bullish methods but very different players. Vidic can pick a moment to launch into an attack and score off a good cross. Ruhs to pick up the ball in traffic and make his way through to either pass or shoot.

Long is entirely different to me. He is capable of receiving under pressure but uses intelligence and guile more than strength to create space or a chance. He does not have the pace to break away so we should be using him centrally and aiming to bring the ball up the wings to involve him. He does have the skill and experience to come out of the central channel when opportunity presents but we do not make any use of those skills at all - using him as a chaser most of the time then bombing it long past him from Bouzanis.

I think Ruhs and Vidic complement each other on the field and having them both out there improves our level of threat. Only playing them one at a time limits us badly.

I agree on Lauton as a forward but as a winger/central midfielder I have liked what I see. When you see him out there like last night he has such a slight frame that he can almost be ignored in a challenge with a sturdy opponent. That may change if he builds up at some stage. He does have some speed and he will run it as long as he is out there. A good player when we are a goal up I think.

Valkanis was a good pairing for Herrington. He is not a patch on Herrington though so Valkanis and Ludwik is a long way short of what we had for defensive resilience. Conceding weak and stupid goals is once again my fear, and I will be back to watching the first 20 minutes expecting us to concede early for sometime.

Edit: Halloran still had a knee injury Nov/Dec last year. Can't say if that is still an issue or he is just not favoured. Brazete just seems to be out of favour with Valkanis and definitely behind MacNicol in coaches eyes. Might see him looking elsewhere in this transfer window since he is getting no game time.
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I agree about Ruhs. I think we lack pace in the forward areas for the football Valkanis wants to play. Been grinding out results mostly on solid defence.
 
I’m not an expert but doesn’t seem that we are utilising Long’s strengths as has been previously said. Seems to be a smarter footballer with a good finish as opposed to Ruhs and Vidic who are definitely more Duke type players, especially Vidic.

Some tweaks to our game plan + a good CB, a winger, and a midfielder will help us go far this season.
 
Roar92_ said:
I’m not an expert but doesn’t seem that we are utilising Long’s strengths as has been previously said. Seems to be a smarter footballer with a good finish as opposed to Ruhs and Vidic who are definitely more Duke type players, especially Vidic.

Some tweaks to our game plan + a good CB, a winger, and a midfielder will help us go far this season.
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And a replacement DM for the injured Stajic.

I am an expert at watching and forming opinions. Doesn't make me an expert either ;).

For midfielders I think we are actually pretty good (subject to any injuries).

O'Shea, Klein, and Hore with McGarry and Salas outside them is a strong combination if they can trust the defensive group behind them.
 
One strength I see in Wellington's play, just in passing, is that they sort of have 10 players attacking when they go forward and 10 players defending when they are not in possession.

Most teams defend by holding a backline of 3, 4, or 5 and having them drop back as the play advances to form the two defensive rows under consistent pressure.

When those team attack, they often keep at least three players back and usually have 3 to 5 players in midfield (including wingers).

To me, Nix effectively move their entire team up and down the pitch - which always gives them more players than their opponents are used to facing in the third of the field where the ball is.

As long as they have focussed, intelligent, fast defenders/fullbacks to go with a runner they are not badly exposed by playing the team high.

No small advantage in my head to always have numbers around the ball - whether in possession or not.
 
RIMB said:
And a replacement DM for the injured Stajic.

I am an expert at watching and forming opinions. Doesn't make me an expert either ;).

For midfielders I think we are actually pretty good (subject to any injuries).

O'Shea, Klein, and Hore with McGarry and Salas outside them is a strong combination if they can trust the defensive group behind them.
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McGarry is a good player but he had some shockers vs City.
 

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Sydney FC vs Melbourne City FC
🗓️ Tuesday 17th Mar 2026
⚽ 19:00(Eastcoast Time)
🏟️ Allianz Stadium
📺 Paramount+
​

Bumping thread as a reminder of this Rd 11 game tonight.
Must win for SFC to have any hopes of being Premiers.
Must win for MC to have any hopes of making finals.
 
It will be Rhyan Grant's 400th game for SFC tonight.
Although I do applaud the loyalty, I've always wondered how he would have gone overseas. At his peak he was definitely good enough to at least have a crack. The guy is also rarely injured so he would have definitely had the durability to cope with the higher overseas workload.
 
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