Milanovic Hat-trick Downs The Jets

[StringerBellend]

I agree with him 

If you are going to sign a player like that then you play a system that works with him.

One good win against a totally terrible Jets doesn't change that Stajic is clueless.

What was the point to bring him on for 5 minutes at the end? 

Even in the press conference Stajic said he's still working out where people go, brilliant after the longest off season in world football a bunch of preseason games the Australia cup he still hasn't worked out how he wants to play.

 

Edited November 11, 2024 by StringerBellend

[Upthehill]

28 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

I agree with him 

If you are going to sign a player like that then you play a system that works with him.

One good win against a totally terrible Jets doesn't change that Stajic is clueless.

What was the point to bring him on for 5 minutes at the end? 

Even in the press conference Stajic said he's still working out where people go, brilliant after the longest off season in world football a bunch of preseason games the Australia cup he still hasn't worked out how he wants to play.

 

Yeah, I mean I called this issue out after the first two games. We are occasionally going to blow teams out ith score lines. Those teams are the ones that dont understand that a little high pressure completely kneecaps our entire game. 

I feel sorry for Stajic though, he's been forced to sign a player in Mata where he has absolutely no capability to look back at prior history and see how he's been successful in the past. Liek you can't look the guy up and study the systems he's pplayed under. Its not like theres any high profile Euros, World cups and UCLs he could review to understand this guy better. Jeez, even so much as 200 PL games of footage he could look at would be a life line. Such a shame, real tough position to be in....

Edited November 11, 2024 by Upthehill

[mack]

Stajcic is dealing with the exact same issue Farina had at the Smurfs with Del Piero except you can't just stick Mata up front because he's never been a frontline striker.

[sonar]

Firstly, I don't doubt Mata's ability and what he has achieved but lets be honest here. He is 36. He's now playing in a league where the kickoff temp will be closer to 30C t hen 20C and he's never going to play 90.

Why build a team around someone who won't ever play substantial minutes. ?

Secondly an older body means you become more injury prone. Say for instamce that he gets ruled for a month,who then do you base the team around.? Knowing this club it would most probably be Clisby....

 

 

Edited November 11, 2024 by sonar

[StringerBellend]

20 minutes ago, sonar said:

Firstly, I don't doubt Mata's ability and what he has achieved but lets be honest here. He is 36. He's now playing in a league where the kickoff temp will be closer to 30C t hen 20C and he's never going to play 90.

Why build a team around someone who won't ever play substantial minutes. ?

Secondly an older body means you become more injury prone. Say for instamce that he gets ruled for a month,who then do you base the team around.? Knowing this club it would most probably be Clisby....

 

 

If you aren't going to base the team around his style of play then don't sign him 

 

[Upthehill]

41 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

If you aren't going to base the team around his style of play then don't sign him 

 

A symptom of modern football. Names = attendance = money in the eyes of club execs.

What they seem to have a short memory for is that if those players dont perform, fans lose their patience even quicker.

9 years of dire results and the club decided on a shiny toy over outcomes... again



 

Edited November 11, 2024 by Upthehill

[pseudonym]

9 hours ago, StringerBellend said:

I agree with him 

If you are going to sign a player like that then you play a system that works with him.

One good win against a totally terrible Jets doesn't change that Stajic is clueless.

But the Wanderers' problems as a club are well documented

Surely some fault lies with Ben in signing Mata to a club that can't possibly play a system that works with him

I mean Melbourne City is right there 

(I'm not criticising Mata, I'm sure he would do well in other ALeague lineups)

[PedroPony]

Mata played a total of 10mins for his J league club. He would be at about 140mins for us already. This agent can STFU.

[Sithslayer1991]

Lmao was the Fahid Ben Khalfallah? I am just listening now on A-league off air this is hilarious. But its clear Mata is an elephant in the room because we play better without him, because the team isn't built for him. Honestly I am fine with him being dropped, I don't see the problem Mata needs to figure it out. Rumour was the Marquee wage was $350,000 so yes drop him if he doesn't fit in the team.

Its again on the club we needed a DM they went with the name.

[Sithslayer1991]

BTW listen to the podcast A-league off air. Khalfallah didn't just smash Wanderers over Mata. Bloke went after Jets for being crap, went after Victory for the treatment over Bruno Fornaroli and went crazy over Perth.

Like bloke is A+ entertainment on that podcast with his rants. Should here the ep he did on NSD and the rant he did then.

[PedroPony]

20 minutes ago, Sithslayer1991 said:

BTW listen to the podcast A-league off air. Khalfallah didn't just smash Wanderers over Mata. Bloke went after Jets for being crap, went after Victory for the treatment over Bruno Fornaroli and went crazy over Perth.

Like bloke is A+ entertainment on that podcast with his rants. Should here the ep he did on NSD and the rant he did then.

I listened on my way to work. You could tell him the sky is blue and he would find a way to argue with you. 

I don't agree with building the team around Mata. We could spend 10 games figuring out how to make it work and then he could do his ACL.

He seems like a good presence in the squad though and the young guys are probably learning off him in training. I see no issue with using him off and on through the season and keeping other teams guessing about if and how he will be deployed.

[BohemianDublin]

The Mata thing represents all that is wrong with the A-League in so many ways.
Too many people in charge of running it, don't understand football, but they think they do.
The general opinion seems to be be, that 'bling' is needed.
The standard of the A-League is underestimated.
Agents are the absolute dregs of the game.

Can people who are in charge of Wanderers.
And who want the crowds to come back.
Just stop at listen for one moment at the start of the next game.
"We're from the streets of Western Sydney".
That means something.
That's a brand sentiment. A statement.
We believed in this, when we were good.

Wanderers don't need bought in bling.
To try and do so is to miss the point.

I'd prefer to still have Nieuwenhof or Younis or Yengi (for the money we are spending on Mata).
I'd certainly prefer to be locking in the half dozen good younger players we have now.

Pretty much every season, (since the Popa years), we are forced to reset the team.
This doesn't work.

It'd be great if, we could have a team that stands for something, that we could all get behind, again.
That's fill the seats.

[SBW]

Vissel Kobe still won the J-League with Mata playing 10min for them and Iniesta playing maybe a handful of games before left mid season

[JustWandering]

1 hour ago, Sithslayer1991 said:

Its again on the club we needed a DM they went with the name.

I feel like we are the only team that signs square peg foreigners when we need to fill round holes. Mata was the last signing, if we wanted to build a team around him he should have been one of the first signings. What do we expect without a director of football, or anyone on the board with football knowledge. Rudan saw the problem when he came in and insisted that all signings would be determined by their qualities and how they fit his system. In 2022/23 he built the best squad we have ever had in my opinion, but he did not have the ability to win us a trophy with them. It seems he only got that one shot, and the board insisted that he focus on youth the following (last) season. So now we only have two foreigners that are certain starters.

[William]

 I think Fahid Ben Khalfallah needs to take a chill pill , nothing stands from what I have seen of Matta so far this season he is slow in the midfield and when he and Clisby came on last Friday we dropped a peg or 2 from there. 

I would not lose any sleep for Matta to leave and take Benny with him.

But if Matta and Stajic can find an effective way to fit into the team it would be great.  

[BoyFromTheWest]

I actually think Mata is not a bad signing. That is, providing we expect from him an influence in the team more than on the field. Everything above is right but the A League (and Australian Football) is renowned for low technical ability. We all groan over the basics that pro players still stuff up. Mata isn't fast on his feet, but he is with his brain and his skills. He can trap a ball and release it in less time than one of our players can think about what to do with it, after they've chased it a couple of metres because they can't trap.

I think we need to separate Ben... from Mata. It was great, in the replay of the game to see him and Borello walking around getting photos with kids, signing autographs... He seems like a really decent (humble?) bloke and that has got to rub off on our players. We don't need arrogant payers and our young blokes need good role models in training, gamesmanship, playing hard, skill... If he can improve the skill level, the intensity in training and professionalism of young players and show them how to trap the ball, hold the ball look up, see a run and get a pass away, it can only be good for us.  If people come o watch him and have their shirts signed by a legend, good on them - they may enjoy the football (perhaps?). I'm not really interested in a players agent's rants.

[Edinburgh]

2 hours ago, BoyFromTheWest said:

I actually think Mata is not a bad signing. That is, providing we expect from him an influence in the team more than on the field. Everything above is right but the A League (and Australian Football) is renowned for low technical ability. We all groan over the basics that pro players still stuff up. Mata isn't fast on his feet, but he is with his brain and his skills. He can trap a ball and release it in less time than one of our players can think about what to do with it, after they've chased it a couple of metres because they can't trap.

I think we need to separate Ben... from Mata. It was great, in the replay of the game to see him and Borello walking around getting photos with kids, signing autographs... He seems like a really decent (humble?) bloke and that has got to rub off on our players. We don't need arrogant payers and our young blokes need good role models in training, gamesmanship, playing hard, skill... If he can improve the skill level, the intensity in training and professionalism of young players and show them how to trap the ball, hold the ball look up, see a run and get a pass away, it can only be good for us.  If people come o watch him and have their shirts signed by a legend, good on them - they may enjoy the football (perhaps?). I'm not really interested in a players agent's rants.

This

[Upthehill]

On 12/11/2024 at 9:58 AM, BohemianDublin said:

The Mata thing represents all that is wrong with the A-League in so many ways.
Too many people in charge of running it, don't understand football, but they think they do.
The general opinion seems to be be, that 'bling' is needed.
The standard of the A-League is underestimated.
Agents are the absolute dregs of the game.

Can people who are in charge of Wanderers.
And who want the crowds to come back.
Just stop at listen for one moment at the start of the next game.
"We're from the streets of Western Sydney".
That means something.
That's a brand sentiment. A statement.
We believed in this, when we were good.

Wanderers don't need bought in bling.
To try and do so is to miss the point.

I'd prefer to still have Nieuwenhof or Younis or Yengi (for the money we are spending on Mata).
I'd certainly prefer to be locking in the half dozen good younger players we have now.

Pretty much every season, (since the Popa years), we are forced to reset the team.
This doesn't work.

It'd be great if, we could have a team that stands for something, that we could all get behind, again.
That's fill the seats.

Based on the formatting im going to assume this is a new chant for the RBB. Its a little wordy but I like the message. Can someone more musically gifted than I put this to a tune?  

Edited November 12, 2024 by Upthehill

[Davo]

The thing with Mata is he isn't some edge case player with a weird skillset we need to accommodate. He's the archetypal number 10. He's a creative playmaker who is comfortable on the ball, a goal threat in and around the area, and can play in others with a killer pass. It shouldn't be hard to build a team around that.

Play him at 10 with two midfielders behind him so he doesn't have to defend as much, Milanovic on the right, Kraev on the left, Borello up top. When he gets tired or is unavailable you play Kraev at 10 (like he played for the Nix behind Zawada), and either Sapsford or Hammond on the left.

[StringerBellend]

16 minutes ago, Davo said:

The thing with Mata is he isn't some edge case player with a weird skillset we need to accommodate. He's the archetypal number 10. He's a creative playmaker who is comfortable on the ball, a goal threat in and around the area, and can play in others with a killer pass. It shouldn't be hard to build a team around that.

Play him at 10 with two midfielders behind him so he doesn't have to defend as much, Milanovic on the right, Kraev on the left, Borello up top. When he gets tired or is unavailable you play Kraev at 10 (like he played for the Nix behind Zawada), and either Sapsford or Hammond on the left.

Exactly this 

We have the best #10 in the League 

[WHACKO]

1 hour ago, Davo said:

The thing with Mata is he isn't some edge case player with a weird skillset we need to accommodate. He's the archetypal number 10. He's a creative playmaker who is comfortable on the ball, a goal threat in and around the area, and can play in others with a killer pass. It shouldn't be hard to build a team around that.

Play him at 10 with two midfielders behind him so he doesn't have to defend as much, Milanovic on the right, Kraev on the left, Borello up top. When he gets tired or is unavailable you play Kraev at 10 (like he played for the Nix behind Zawada), and either Sapsford or Hammond on the left.

 

1 hour ago, StringerBellend said:

Exactly this 

We have the best #10 in the League 

If only someone could tell Staj...but I suppose that"s why he coaches teams that run last.

[William]

4 hours ago, Davo said:

The thing with Mata is he isn't some edge case player with a weird skillset we need to accommodate. He's the archetypal number 10. He's a creative playmaker who is comfortable on the ball, a goal threat in and around the area, and can play in others with a killer pass. It shouldn't be hard to build a team around that.

Play him at 10 with two midfielders behind him so he doesn't have to defend as much, Milanovic on the right, Kraev on the left, Borello up top. When he gets tired or is unavailable you play Kraev at 10 (like he played for the Nix behind Zawada), and either Sapsford or Hammond on the left.

All of the above for Matta would be correct 3 years ago , can we afford to play a player with great passing ability but no legs under him , I don't think so, that's why he has had hardly any game time for 2 years. I don't think Kobe Vissels coach was an idiot because he gave Matta no game time  

Kraev has the legs and the cutting pass's that can feed our forwards and he can defend .

But was his signing bad no way Mack got it right , what Matta brings to the playing group on the training park and else ware if Staj uses him correctly is enormous .    

[Davo]

13 hours ago, William said:

All of the above for Matta would be correct 3 years ago , can we afford to play a player with great passing ability but no legs under him , I don't think so, that's why he has had hardly any game time for 2 years. I don't think Kobe Vissels coach was an idiot because he gave Matta no game time  

Kraev has the legs and the cutting pass's that can feed our forwards and he can defend .

But was his signing bad no way Mack got it right , what Matta brings to the playing group on the training park and else ware if Staj uses him correctly is enormous .    

I don’t agree that Mata has no legs. He started against WU and played an hour before coming off. Worked hard in that game and wasn’t walking around, so he’s proved he can do it at this level.

He’s only 36, so a year older than Ono was when he played for us and three years younger than Del Piero when he played for Sydney.

I’d be fine if we managed him like Popa managed Ono. Play him for 60-70 mins each week, maybe start him on the bench in some away games, don’t send him all the way to Perth, etc.

[Sithslayer1991]

I am wandering if its better to have Mata at the 6. I want Mata on the ball is often as possible. And we have a big problem progressing forward. 

Would it be better to just experiment and see him next to Brillante/Priestmann/Scicluna? I feel lile Mata at 10 he won't get the ball often enough. 

[StringerBellend]

Exactly you want Mata on the ball as much as possible.

He's not going to get it sitting on the bench.

I think he should still be at 10 as you want him on the ball in attacking positions. but given our obsession to play out deeper position makes sense 

[andypk]

1 hour ago, Sithslayer1991 said:

I am wandering if its better to have Mata at the 6. I want Mata on the ball is often as possible. And we have a big problem progressing forward. 

Would it be better to just experiment and see him next to Brillante/Priestmann/Scicluna? I feel lile Mata at 10 he won't get the ball often enough. 

I'm with you 100% on this.  Mata isn't getting as much ball as he should.  If he's deeper, he'll see much more of the ball and have more time on it.  His legs wont be required to do as much work too, particularly on the press.  He'll boss it there.  He's smart enough and experienced enough to dominate, even though it's a position he's not renowned for playing.  Play Scicluna along side him because he deserves a crack too.  Would be a big call to make such a change for a derby though.

[BoyFromTheWest]

Staj said as much in his presser that they are trying this in training,  which is why he came on in that sort of role at the end of the game.

Edited November 16, 2024 by BoyFromTheWest