Adam Le Fondre and Milos Ninkovic, the two teammates that could become one of the greatest duos the A-League has ever seen.
In the Melbourne City game (in which Sydney won 3-0), Le Fondre and Ninkovic lit up the match, with Ninkovic’s delightful touches and beautiful footwork combining with Le Fondre’s pace and clinical finishing.
How can they take this partnership to the next level? Well, first I’ll analyse right at the end of the half, where Le Fondre and Ninkovic exchanged some beautiful passes in the box before Le Fondre’s left foot drive ended up straight in a thankful Eugene Galekovic’s hands.
I believe that if Ninkovic had taken the shot one pass earlier then it would have been a goal, as it would have been on his right (strong) foot compared to Le Fondre’s left (weak) foot, and we all know how good Ninkovic is at hitting the ball precisely into the top corners.
In the next game against Central Coast Mariners, I think that Steve Corica should try playing Ninkovic a bit more central to help him link up with Le Fondre.
I also think that Ninkovic should try playing a few more through balls to Le Fondre and also if he’s on the edge of the box he should try taking a shot instead of always passing it, as everyone has seen in the two previous games that he’s more than capable of pressuring the goalkeeper with shots from outside the box.
All in all, the main way that Sydney can get Ninkovic more into the game is by Steve Corica playing him a bit more centrally and playing him close to Le Fondre so they can form a partnership.
Next week after the Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney FC game I will be reviewing how I think Ninkovic and Le Fondre went and how they formed as a partnership.
Jack George
Roar Guru
I agree Melbourne Victory have got better quality, but if Ninkovic and le Fondre come out and shine then who knows what might happen. Who can't base what will happen this year over stats and just judging by the table and results so far. Remember, Melbourne Victory came from fourth to win the league last season.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
There is no way Sydney will win the league unless the other teams fail to shine and the points needed to win the competition is pretty low. Van Linden over Bujs is a terrible trade off, Bujs under pressure passed forward , Van Linden under pressure he passes back to Redmayne and then Redmayne kicks it into touch. Also Brilliante his mistake rate has increased and his energy levels have gone downhill. The other factor is Bobo remember scored a lot of headers so if the opposition parked the bus all they needed to do was cross the ball in. Perth Glory have got off to a great start and have got the players, but Popovic is already tinkering around and conceding 2 goals to CCm is a sign they could easily have their season go off on a tangent. Mv have got the best squad quality, again a good coach would win with this squad but Muscat is in charge. The other contenders are Brisbane have got the best performing players at the moment, question is how many gilt edged chances they need to create with Taggart there instead of a good striker. Adelaide they have a demanding coach and look more desperate they just need to find the goals.
Jack George
Roar Guru
Ninkovic comes back, collects the ball and tries to bring it up the field. If on a counter-attack then Ninkovic will not be the first one up, but if they have the ball in a good position then Ninkovic will cut inside and shoot. Ninkovic is the player on the Sydney team that always makes an option, but he's not a deep midfielder. As for Brillante and O'Neill, that is how they play, but off a corner or freekick when they're up they have a good chance, and maybe Sydney FC should change it and allow either Brillante or O'Neill to move up and take a shot.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Ninchovic comes back and then plays back . Do you think he is able to play in a deep midfielder role and direct traffic. I haven’t seen enough of him , but is that his game. Brilliante retre O’Neill are all a bit the same . You pinched de Silva from ccm , maybe try to nab another coast player
Jack George
Roar Guru
I agree. They need to bring Ninkovic back a bit because he has enough quality to come back and carry the ball up by himself. Also, Mierzejewski was amazing at free kicks and there isn't much Sydney can do to replace him at the moment, but Brillante and O'Neill are both capable of taking good shots from outside the box, and Ninkovic has proved capable as well.
Franko
Roar Rookie
I love Sydney
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Sydney seem to do a lot of circulation of passing without going forward. Missing the cutting edge of mierszchweke forward passing range and shooting from long distance
Jack George
Roar Guru
That's why it's so important that they get Ninkovic into the game because when he can get the ball in behind the Le Fondre Sydney have basically. But I agree; Sydney has been nowhere near as exciting as they were before with Siem De Jong. Maybe they could try playing Daniel De Silva next game, as he is an exciting young player who showed at the Mariners that he can create chances for both himself and others.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
With de Jong injured Sydney only have one reliably creative player - Ninkovic. Victory shut Sydney down by blocking O’Neill and Brillante’s passing to Ninkovic and pressing Ninkovic when he did have the ball. Until they get de Jong back to give more creative options (or buy someone else) Sydney will be pretty toothless and mundane to watch.