Mark Bridge

[sydneycroatia58]

In the end Popa has done Bridgey a favour imo. I mean did he really need to be embarrassed anymore by that glorious beard Topor had.

[Davo]

I said get rid of those sideburns!

[Neverbloom]

I said get rid of those sideburns!

lol i still think its weird that he really cared about their beards, i guess the less beard they have the less they weigh and the more aerodynamic they are, Topor's beard looks like it added about 10 kg of extra weight

[Kizza]

 

I said get rid of those sideburns!

lol i still think its weird that he really cared about their beards, i guess the less beard they have the less they weigh and the more aerodynamic they are, Topor's beard looks like it added about 10 kg of extra weight

 

 

He probably just had enough of Bridge looking like ****.

[sydneycroatia58]

 

I said get rid of those sideburns!

lol i still think its weird that he really cared about their beards, i guess the less beard they have the less they weigh and the more aerodynamic they are, Topor's beard looks like it added about 10 kg of extra weight

 

I can understand where he's coming from in a way. I mean neither looked like budging, don't even want to imagine what they would have looked like if it went on for another 3-4 months lol

[Erebus]

It was probably about discipline too. It may have been taking up too much focus in camp.

 

So Popa nipped it in the bud and said "get rid of it, both of you. We have more important things to worry about"

 

nekminnit: clean sheet and Bridge with a brace

[Burgerman]

So it's a draw then and all that hard work out the window.Popa knows best and Bridge might have a blinder this week.

[Kizza]

To commemorate this day, I shaved my beard also.

[GD07]

Shaved my head, beard and bollocks.

[dmixtaaa]

Shaved my head, beard and bollocks.

Now if we can teach you to walk backwards you can join the Cove.

[theguyyouwishyouwere]

after watching the replay of the derby i'm not too worried about bridgey, he is getting better week after week. much like the start of last season.

 

just hope he kicks on.

[HungHuynh]

after watching the replay of the derby i'm not too worried about bridgey, he is getting better week after week. much like the start of last season.

 

just hope he kicks on.

He needs to stop looking for foul. There are few moments where he could have scoring opportunity but choose to the alternative.

[theguyyouwishyouwere]

 

after watching the replay of the derby i'm not too worried about bridgey, he is getting better week after week. much like the start of last season.

 

just hope he kicks on.

He needs to stop looking for foul. There are few moments where he could have scoring opportunity but choose to the alternative.

 

 

i agree. let tomi draw the foul and the big physical stuff up front.

 

i did see a few times in the match where bridgey was a viable option, but the ball was never played to him and the lesser option was taken.

 

maybe his team mates aren't feeling confident in him either. who knows, but he impressed me enough to warrant a start for the next game.

[ManfredSchaefer]

The beard is gone and Bridgey starts to play more like our golden boot from last season (still a ways to go but he's on the way). So...Popa, mandatory Brazilians for our guys?

[West13]

My concern is bridgey looks off the pace. Nowhere near as dangerous or involved as he was last year and not scoring nor setting up.. long term contract comfort?

[Guest ZipGunBop]

My concern is bridgey looks off the pace. Nowhere near as dangerous or involved as he was last year and not scoring nor setting up.. long term contract comfort?

He came good in the 2nd half tho. Lifted his game defensively. Couple of good passes and scuffed that shot 1 v 1 with Galekovic. Difficult 1st time strike tho to be fair.

 

He'll come good. Popa won't let him drag on with bad form.

[TehSmileyBandit]

 

My concern is bridgey looks off the pace. Nowhere near as dangerous or involved as he was last year and not scoring nor setting up.. long term contract comfort?

He came good in the 2nd half tho. Lifted his game defensively. Couple of good passes and scuffed that shot 1 v 1 with Galekovic. Difficult 1st time strike tho to be fair.

He'll come good. Popa won't let him drag on with bad form.

Keep in mind that Hersi, Santa and co are going to keep the pressure on in terms of selection. I certainly wouldn't consider his performances lazy, but he is still slightly underdone compared with the rest of the squad. Last night was a marked improvement in terms of physical contribution, he will get there. It's a long season and Adam Watterson is doing an amazing job again this year.

[zola]

Really struggling. Goes missing for long patches of the game; looks like he doesn't want to be there.

[ManfredSchaefer]

Really struggling. Goes missing for long patches of the game; looks like he doesn't want to be there.

A tad harsh but he was worse last night than during the derby. There was the trademark 'how did I shoot it there when I was aiming for the goal' moment and he actually got on the end of a nice switch from JP, but as I said in the D'Apuzzo thread he's not combining well enough. I wonder if with Juric now a real gun striker there he has eased off in terms of commitment in attack. He tracked back well last night in defence but never really seemed to be able to replicate his last season flair in attack.

 

What I guess we should all remember is same point last season we only had 1 win and 1 goal. We're now at 6 goals & undefeated in 2013/14 with so much improvement to come from guys like Mark. It ain't great but it ain't bad either.

[Burgerman]

Needs be benched for a next week bring him on 2nd half against Heart, he just might need a little kick up the bumb like that to get him going but he will find form and if he lifts and links up Juric well be hard to stop.

[Malone]

Even though he isn't in form at the moment, whats really good to see is it's not because he is lazy, its clear he is still busting his ass out there. 

[Montalbano]

Needs be benched for a next week bring him on 2nd half against Heart, he just might need a little kick up the bumb like that to get him going but he will find form and if he lifts and links up Juric well be hard to stop.

I don't think benching him will help. I honestly just think he's had a little bit of bad luck. The little breaks that he got last year don't seem to be going his way this year. He has had a couple of chances, but to me he just needs that one goal to kick start him off. To me he still always looks dangerous. He is always capable of doing something. The last thing we need from him is for his attitude to change. We saw at SFC what he was like when that happened. He is the kind of player who needs encouragement.

[Kizza]

I'd like to see how he plays with a different LB behind him. He seems to exhaust himself on occasion by having to sprint back to cover after D'Apuzzo's ventured forward meaninglessly. Needs to back himself more going forward too, no harm in having a shot if you find a bit of space.

[stavup]

I'd like to see how he plays with a different LB behind him. He seems to exhaust himself on occasion by having to sprint back to cover after D'Apuzzo's ventured forward meaninglessly. Needs to back himself more going forward too, no harm in having a shot if you find a bit of space.

I agree, he does a lot of mileage at pace..he is improving each game though, and without all that hair to slow him down, he will do much better.

[Malone]

I agree with the above i'm not sure if benching Bridge would get the desired results.

[stavup]

I agree with the above i'm not sure if benching Bridge would get the desired results.

In saying that I think that Santalab did much better on that left side cutting back in..so perhaps Bridge can get a rest after 65mins

[zola]

Bridge is too one dimensional in his outlook. I would like to see Haliti given a shot on the lift; he's perfectly capable of cutting in and having a go.

[Montalbano]

Bridge is too one dimensional in his outlook. I would like to see Haliti given a shot on the lift; he's perfectly capable of cutting in and having a go.

I wouldn't say Bridge is one dimensional. A lot of his general play involves short sharp passing and combining with players around him. Don't forget that he started the move for Juric's first goal. As much as I think Haliti can be effective at times, I would say he is far more one dimensional than Bridge.

[theguyyouwishyouwere]

 

Bridge is too one dimensional in his outlook. I would like to see Haliti given a shot on the lift; he's perfectly capable of cutting in and having a go.

I wouldn't say Bridge is one dimensional. A lot of his general play involves short sharp passing and combining with players around him. Don't forget that he started the move for Juric's first goal. As much as I think Haliti can be effective at times, I would say he is far more one dimensional than Bridge.

 

 

agreed re haliti, has offered us little when starting, but much when he comes on as a sub.

[WhoDoWeSingFor]

I reckon benching him would be the wrong move.

 

To me he seemed to start the season a yard or so off the pace.

 

It looked like a fitness issue to be honest but he's not shirking the workload and I see him improving every match.