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Socceroos vs Canada/USA Oct 25

The ref "lost handle of the game" - but the refs yellow card prevented him from escalating it.

Sounds like he was measured, judged and handled very appropriately by the ref on an individual level.

I thought the ref was consistently lenient on a lot of things in the game - more in favour of the US than us on balance.

What I don't understand is if refs have a mindset that says "It is a friendly so I will allow more professional fouls and niggles to pass unchecked". That does not make sense to me. I would expect them to step in sooner since they aren't playing for sheep stations so the bad stuff is less necessary than in a full competitive match.
 
The ref "lost handle of the game" - but the refs yellow card prevented him from escalating it.

Sounds like he was measured, judged and handled very appropriately by the ref on an individual level.

I thought the ref was consistently lenient on a lot of things in the game - more in favour of the US than us on balance.

What I don't understand is if refs have a mindset that says "It is a friendly so I will allow more professional fouls and niggles to pass unchecked". That does not make sense to me. I would expect them to step in sooner since they aren't playing for sheep stations so the bad stuff is less necessary than in a full competitive match.

Great minds think alike. Was just about to quote that.
 
I was more talking about his clubs have never seemed to have much confidence in him.

I don't want to out him down, it's just frustrating when people act like he is the messiah for us and his position is concrete.

I reckon during the game I copped messages from 2 or 3 different people saying 'why tehe fuck is Ryan always rooted to the spot watching the ball go in'.

The team feels shaky with him. I think a lot share that sentiment.
He is definitely not the messiah but He is streets ahead of anyone else. Most of the clubs that 'never seemed to have much confidence in him quickly found out that a good keeper is not the answer for a poor defence and subsequently found they needed to strengthen their defence.

I have heard plenty of commentators lauding Izzo and say he should replace Ryan after 3 friendlies against teams ranked below us. But I have not heard one commentator that is a keeper say that. Djite a striker was all for izzo, as was Niav Owens and the excitable sideline chap. Alex Brosque was less enthusiastic, probably realizing that Izzo really hasn't performed against any outstanding teams nationally and is performing less well in a lower league this season as has been the case for all their careers.

TBH - form wise Gauci is performing better than Izzo who has conceded 16 goals in 7 games at Randers - but in a lower standard league
 
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You've never properly watched him, have you.

Nizz has been pre-judged (and dismissed) on his height his whole career. He's proved the doubters wrong forever and will do so again.

The handful of minutes he played under Arnie... he was just about the best on the park.
I liked him in the A league, but he failed miserably at Ross County.
 
He is definitely not the messiah but He is streets ahead of anyone else. Most of the clubs that 'never seemed to have much confidence in him quickly found out that a good keeper is not the answer for a poor defence and subsequently found they needed to strengthen their defence.

I have heard plenty of commentators lauding Izzo and say he should replace Ryan after 3 friendlies against teams ranked below us. But I have not heard one commentator that is a keeper say that. Djite a striker was all for izzo, as was Niav Owens and the excitable sideline chap. Alex Brosque was less enthusiastic, probably realizing that Izzo really hasn't performed against any outstanding teams nationally and is performing less well in a lower league this season as has been the case for all their careers.

TBH - form wise Gauci is performing better than Izzo who has conceded 16 goals in 7 games at Randers - but in a lower standard league
Personally I think Izzo inspired more confidence. Respect your answer though and understand your angle. You definitely know more about keeping than I do.

At the end of it all, our stocks are quite thin in this area.

On a side note, why are all our keepers so small?
 
Personally I think Izzo inspired more confidence. Respect your answer though and understand your angle. You definitely know more about keeping than I do.

At the end of it all, our stocks are quite thin in this area.

On a side note, why are all our keepers so small?
Gauci is supposedly 1.94 m, so he isn't small. Izzo (all these are according to Wikipedia) is 1.85 m , so not huge but not that small. Ryan is 1.84 m, a number I never have believed, I suspect he is no more than 1.80 m. That is on the small side these days. But David Raya (Aresnal/Spain) is supposedly only 1.83 m, Yann Sommer (Inter and Switzerland) is only 1.83 m.

Tom Glover is supposedly 1.96 m, and I never want to see him anywhere near the Socceroos.
 
Personally I think Izzo inspired more confidence. Respect your answer though and understand your angle. You definitely know more about keeping than I do.

At the end of it all, our stocks are quite thin in this area.

On a side note, why are all our keepers so small?

This

As for height - Gauci is a decent height - as is Dylan Periac-Cullen.

One of our best was Ron Corry at 172cm

OS the scorpion kick keeper René Higuita was only 175rcm. Iker Casillas was only 185 cm, and Fabien Barthez was 181cm. However, many clubs still only accept keepers over 193cm into their academies
 
He is definitely not the messiah but He is streets ahead of anyone else. Most of the clubs that 'never seemed to have much confidence in him quickly found out that a good keeper is not the answer for a poor defence and subsequently found they needed to strengthen their defence.

I have heard plenty of commentators lauding Izzo and say he should replace Ryan after 3 friendlies against teams ranked below us. But I have not heard one commentator that is a keeper say that. Djite a striker was all for izzo, as was Niav Owens and the excitable sideline chap. Alex Brosque was less enthusiastic, probably realizing that Izzo really hasn't performed against any outstanding teams nationally and is performing less well in a lower league this season as has been the case for all their careers.

TBH - form wise Gauci is performing better than Izzo who has conceded 16 goals in 7 games at Randers - but in a lower standard league
Ryan is ahead of Izzo with respect to using his feet, Izzo is relatively poor in this area and I think it is a significant issue. Particularly against NZ it caused us a lot of problems, although some of the balls he received from his defenders did make it difficult for him. Not so much against Canada, maybe because the rest of the team had worked out by then that they were better off clearing it themselves than relying on Izzo's foot skills.

While Ryan is an adequate shot stopper, he does seem to have more issues with wider and higher shots compared to others. It has been a feature of his career where he seems to get caught rooted to the ground every now and then, certainly more so than other keepers. Izzo I think has shown himself to have developed into a better shot stopper. I think Izzo is probably better dealing with crosses as well now.

I have always backed Ryan as a keeper, I have always thought he was the best choice even at the times when many people were screaming for Langerak. But I think if Izzo can show good consistency in club form and any internationals he plays in the next 6 months, he may be the better first choice for the world cup, notwithstanding his ability with his feet. Either way, Popovic has a big decision to make here.
 
He is definitely not the messiah but He is streets ahead of anyone else. Most of the clubs that 'never seemed to have much confidence in him quickly found out that a good keeper is not the answer for a poor defence and subsequently found they needed to strengthen their defence.

I have heard plenty of commentators lauding Izzo and say he should replace Ryan after 3 friendlies against teams ranked below us. But I have not heard one commentator that is a keeper say that. Djite a striker was all for izzo, as was Niav Owens and the excitable sideline chap. Alex Brosque was less enthusiastic, probably realizing that Izzo really hasn't performed against any outstanding teams nationally and is performing less well in a lower league this season as has been the case for all their careers.

TBH - form wise Gauci is performing better than Izzo who has conceded 16 goals in 7 games at Randers - but in a lower standard league

Denmark (1) is a better standard than England (3). You're entitled to your opinion but you mark Izzo pretty harshly. I wouldn't have him over Ryan but I'm glad we have him in reserve.
 
This

As for height - Gauci is a decent height - as is Dylan Periac-Cullen.

One of our best was Ron Corry at 172cm

OS the scorpion kick keeper René Higuita was only 175rcm. Iker Casillas was only 185 cm, and Fabien Barthez was 181cm. However, many clubs still only accept keepers over 193cm into their academies
Forty years ago 6 ft (183 cm) was considered a good height for a keeper, although of course there were exceptions. Now, as you say, it is 193 cm, which corresponds with the average height of footballers overall increasing over that period. In yesterdays game the commentator said that only 2 of the 11 starting USA players were under 6 feet.
 
Denmark (1) is a better standard than England (3). You're entitled to your opinion but you mark Izzo pretty harshly. I wouldn't have him over Ryan but I'm glad we have him in reserve.
I was saying that Denmark Superliga is better than League 1. But letting in 16 over 7 games for Randers is not stellar form. I'm not rating Izzo harshly just saying the fapping over him is unwarranted and calling for Ryan's replacement is way premature until he can perform consistently at a level above Ryan in a similar level league. So far he has performed worse at lower leagues than Ryan every season.

And yes I'm glad he has improved in the last few seasons and is in the mix - but he isn't there yet.
 
Richards is absolute clown. Palace are doing well but he always looks a bit dodgy there too. Shows how massive Guehi is and Laxcroix is solid.
 
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Gauci unlike izzo is beating his xgot faced. Not much in it tho

Izzo made himself undroppable after some really good performances so credit to him. Sometimes players lift when they out that shirt on
 
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I liked him in the A league, but he failed miserably at Ross County.
Maybe because they played hoofball.As you know RC are a tiny club who have over achieved by making it into the SPL 1 on several occasions.Nisbet was often rated amongst their best players but in reality it was not a good career choice going there and likewise going to a Dutch 2nd Division club has dented his chances in Popa's eyes.However with McGree always injured a clever AM like Nisbet would be an asset in the NT.
 
Lets not get so riled up about the abilities of Ryan and Izzo.Both are excellent keepers and who ever gets the No 1 possie in the finals will do a good job as long as the defenders in front do theirs.Writing off a player who has played more than 100 games is premature but if Izzo can supplant him so be it.
 
Lets not get so riled up about the abilities of Ryan and Izzo.Both are excellent keepers and who ever gets the No 1 possie in the finals will do a good job as long as the defenders in front do theirs.Writing off a player who has played more than 100 games is premature but if Izzo can supplant him so be it.
Agree, it's good to have a couple good options, plus hopefully Gauci can keep developing.
 
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