Arnold has always played his favourites and in the past has frozen out players that didn’t answer the call because of unfavourable domestic situations. Nobody but him knows why the squad is as he has picked it and I fear he is favouring players he is trying to mould into his family. He was sadly out coached against Japan and it is obvious the Frenchman employed tactics to nullify our strengths……. not a decent cross into the danger zone, actually can’t remember the last opportunity header Souttar had. Once our strengths were so obviously nullified Arnold had no plan b.

Wow !!!. So much criticism of what so called “experts” thought they saw and what they thought they knew of the Mariners and their owner. If you were to say they won’t win the league ….. I would agree with you……… they probably won’t. We here on the Central Coast are more positive that the club has a good handle on the season coming and couldn’t be happier with our owner’s selection of coaching staff. Even through the worst period of any club’s history the owner has hung in there ……… made some horrendous decisions with coaches but still hung in there. Couple of years ago when the new a-league idea was floated our owner declared his commitment to the new league and has honoured that commitment to 3rd place in the season ……… 2nd place if winning the last game hadn’t meant a commitment to asia that Stajcic wanted but couldn’t without the extra funding………. Reading between the lines here with Stajcic walking straight after supposedly inexplicably. Montgomery has hopefully added what what was missing last season……… I can see it and I don’t have any sought of coaching licence………. You don’t need a coaching certificate to see that a corner kick is a failure if it doesn’t clear the first defender, or if penetration into the final third is non existent or so rare that most forays ended in a backpass. The group of experts that I hang out with are all expecting a place in the finals. A lot of money has been spent on recruiting teams of champions. Not a lot needs to be spent plugging a few holes from last seasons well earned 3rd place.

Ok …… I’ll bite. In europe Mueller was impressive. In the a-league you say not so much. How he was used,liked, coached, accepted by the radical fan base etc all has to do with his performance. I am amazed at comments about Montgomery. People have not researched his coaching credentials or history. Mariners sold three players to europe from last season, monty’s boys from his academy. When tongyik went to olympics a monty boy came in and more than filled the gap. His personal coaching man management is outstanding, his history and scouting network is faultless. If he wanted and gave one of his import spots to Meuller I would not doubt that he will be a fit for the team. If recruiting is the sign of a coach lasting the season you can lock in Montgomery. Before a player can be recruited he would still be measured against what is coming out of the academy and that is a factor that doesn’t seem to get traction with the “experts”. The squad is deep and my only worry is getting a covering keeper.

Another option that might save the Mariners is everybody underestimating them like last season. Seriously aa your comments are so half full if it was water in your cup you would die of thirst.
If Smith is not a-league standard he did get starts …….. even if you blame him for goals conceded. Mariners were not the only team interested in him.
An assault charge does not diminish an olympians ability on a football field …….. oh wait!! ……. Mariners have two of them paired in central defence …….. for their second season …… somebody is seriously biased in their negativity.
Optimism is fuelled by knowledge. It is obvious that you don’t know the squad credentials or have followed the team being assembled. If the truth be known Montgomery should have gotten the major share of last season’s accolades not Stajcic but that is another story.
As to your comments about scheduling …… phfffttttt!!
Monty’s Mariners may not win the league but I prefer their prospects to most others……..

One telling factor as to the health of the coach and change room ……… is the attitude displayed on the bench and in the warm up. Substitute Players on the bench: joking and fiddling with their kit, not watching the game, leaning back leisurely and yawning ……… all evident on the Melbourne bench. Brebner never seen interacting with the assistants who are just staring into the stadium with his hand holding his chin ??.

Every game so far I feel he has been out coached at every level including his timing of substitutions. I agree with the info in the article as the has beens recruited are here on a holiday………… hence the need for his heavy conversations.

Nobody …….. and I mean every person and imaginary being ……….can predict the future. Anybody can make a wishful statement but to make a statement that is not backed by current fact and immediate history bares no creditability to my mind.
Waz …….. you need to read the cultural shift Stajcic has obtained, the confidence he has instilled in the players that were on the books last season, the tactical advantage he has employed using the players his diminutive budget allowed. Then look at the table and the coaches that his team has defeated …….. which includes the two bling brothers at sfc and city. So sorry.
My main worry is which cheque book is going to be wagged at him and when☹️

I hope the fox commentators read this. Not that slater impresses with his “off the cuff” putdowns.

I fear that the popularity of the a-league and football is in the hands of the fox commentators. They have grown complacent and lack enthusiasm for their work. Most commentaries today are not calling the game because the commenters are not interested in what’s happening on the field. Their spoken word mainly degenerates into pub speak while the action is ignored.
I watch nrl , not because I like the game, but because the commentators are switched on to ensure I am getting the best call of the action. They don’t wax lyrical from their memory banks about things nobody cares about except historians while there is action on the field.
I was involved in choosing a calling team for our local nbl then for win 4 in 1969. We took advice from a couple of nba experienced people and their main principle was to not talk about anything the viewer cannot see on his tv. That would reject all fox people including hill who I am glad is gone from employment in USA.
Hill stopped calling the game when he felt the result was imminent, even 10-15 minutes before full time.
Most serious football people turn the sound down but you have to live without explanation of referees calls.
Commentators need to realise we watch the game for the game. They are not the reason we turn on our sets. Even a game between two teams that cannot reach finals playoff positions can be made interesting with the right attitude.

Remember what Stuart ??? ………. a few years back??? ……… I’m not the fox commentator “ speedie” ……….who can remember every kick and fart from every player in every league in the world who’s brain must be bigger with all his said memories then his bald head……… let alone all the posts here.
Nemesis seems to confuse me with his knowing where to run and when ……… belying all the offsides he gets called for????.
Forgive me I’ve been following the spooners too long and getting cynical.

Are you a meerkat Stevo ???
I hope recognising the adv and comparing your post doesn’t say anything about my mentality ???.
But …….. if you are “focused” elsewhere but not on your own preparations …….. are you still not “focused” ??? ……. grasshopper.
( testing your age here Stevo).

Having followed the league since it’s inception …….. and recorded some nice multi’s many seasons ago ……. I have concluded that all is not what it seems in the a-league.

I have stopped recording results and point spreads, player strengths etc and coaching styles into an algorithm to try and predict a winner since the fox advertisers were betting agencies.

One thing that stood out was that when the tipping pundits were unanimous in a result …….. 9 out of ten times they were all wrong. The adelaide result for example. Then you have the sfc results …….. never bet against sfc when they need points to stay at the top and make a two horse race of the league.

But here’s a tip. Select your bets according to the most popular winners, and teams at the top of the table keep, bet against the bottom two and reverse the picks for the rest. Start with a bet to the value of doubling your money probably three or four dollars. If you win put the winnings on the next game etc……… if you lose double the bet on the next game.

I never win …….. but I never lose more than ten or twenty dollars.

Not really a relevant comment about Perth and their popularity. Gosford is in the midst of well known owner unpopularity and probably the only public turning up are members who have prepaid with their membership ticket.
That aside ……….. Who wants to watch Castro get splinters on the pine while popovic disrespects the game resting key players and playing hasbeens that haven’t been good enough to be on the team sheet for months.
I have no doubt that when the owner invests back into the ccm team quality the public will come back to previous years figures. There is no other option on the central coast ……. no nrl,afl blah blah blah, the football public are still there with record numbers of participation in local competitions.
I also fear for the outcome of a-league. There are just so many derbies that they are now no longer interesting and expansion looks like being based on creating more. In the a-league competition is spelt “cashgrab”……….. marketing has erased the tribal value of following your local team and the bored “pubtalk” commentary of simon hill at the weekend is testimony to and reflects the lack of interest in the game. Talk to any of the good commentators in any sport and they will tell you it is imperative to commentate on what is before the viewers eyes not smartarse funny quips and private jokes.
Even in high definition it is difficult to recognise players in the run of the game and viewers have to rely on the commentator to identify the action and players. Central coast actually put on some good attacking raids on sunday ……… I don’t know who ……..so many look alike when the camera is trying to track them and hill is talking about who else perth have to play and sfc’s chances blah blah blah. How to kill a game ……….. I turned the sound off. I wonder how many wouldbe sports followers don’t watch the game because of the boring commentators.

If I had a kicking technique as good as that photo shows I would welcome even the trolls comments. That photo is above any negative comment and I am sure that the people that matter ……….. would appreciate the skill being shown. Congratulations to Tayla for maintaining her dignity.

Nobody implied poor, insipid losing performances in sport with being female ……. oh wait ??? ….. you did nemesis. I would hope that stajic can lift the poor, insipid losing performances of the mariners to anywhere near his previously coached excellently performing women’s team.

Could that be ……”wazter”. : A waste of time in the opinion of a significant roar poster ??

Sfc have two exccm players ……… buhagier and de silva. Both first team regulars until trent did his knee. Melb city are also with Wales from last years team. Just sayin’ ……..

If by bare …….. you mean youth age group teams all top of their leagues. Npl one of top contenders and the four youth debutantes last weekend from their top youth team.
I think you mean BEAR ………… wsw pfhtttt!!.

Wow !!! ………… can’t do any worse. At least the toxic culture at the club has now been exposed with the boys in the naughty room training by themselves. I hope winning games is not on his agenda as there is just no cattle in the pen to do that. Put a gag on Simon and stack the defense 5-4-1………. blood the youth…….. that is aussie youths not english ones although mallon played his heart out.

No!!! …….. you have it wrong. Ccm can afford to spend only what charlesworth allows them to spend. He is the only financial controller and he says no to marquee’s because he doesn’t like the current ffa model and is just treading water until the change from ffa is made. It was charlesworth that tried to move the franchise not mielecamp the ceo. Sean is dedicated to charlesworth because charlesworth stepped in and saved the licence when it was gone………. sean did not support the moving of the licence away from gosford.

I don’t think the franchise licence is going anywhere. Mulvey’s sacking was the result of a meeting between charlesworth and two new investors who decided to start the new season a mite early.

Yes …….. all of the above. mulvey has been accused of losing the changeroom three weeks back it seems. From about the time Millar’s signing with the jets was announced.

If you think you could take the current squad to the finals I think you may be using something other than tobacco in your ciggys. At the beginning of the season if the recruited players were all fit and playing to their pre injury ability ……. maybe. The myriad circumstances that have happened to date this season do not support a conspiracy theory to my mind ……. simply a coach that bit off more than he could chew to get a gig back in the a-league and an owner that said what he wanted to happen before hearing the applicants dreams. Charlesworth’s plan for this season was probably acceptable (except for the bolt fiasco) and on target for his phase 2 improvement in spending for next season. The act that karma has kicked his butt for past seasons of inactivity is a wakeup call for him. He could give up his dream and sell which would be really good, he could take in some investors which would also be good if he also gave them a say at the table, or he could stay with his preseason edict to be finals bound next season and that would also be good. What is fair or should happen is not relevant in this millionaires playground if you were around when he tried to relocate the franchise away from the coast. The fans are still there if charlesworth shows he is also wanting the club to be successful.

Reality check ………… everybody crying for the mariners having to die.
The results ALL season would indicate that the ingrediants of a successful campaign were not far away. Mulvey was out coached mid game and ceded the lead seven times. Most of these games were with only one of the designated visa players on the field and five of his recruited senior players still injured. Charlesworth can have a competitive team instantly with spending some of his multi millions on a good coach and four quality uninjured visa players. He has stated that it was his intention to be competitive this year and build for next year. His effort this season has been disasterous caused by his horrendous recruitment and mulvey. What he does for the rest of the season is irrelevant …… it is what he does for next season is what will be the most interesting. The outflow of miserable talent already walking out will easily be filled by the youth and npl squads ………. all that is needed is a savvy coach that can stop the youth from being bled.

I assume you meant “on” the back of one individual ???. This throw away comment alone is indicative of your shallow understanding of what makes the nbl attractive to thousands of fans across the country……… but it is the ccm that interests me.
Charlesworth has come out and stated he is one of the rebels wanting an independant league from ffa. He openly stated that he had deliberately witheld funds to minimum levels until the new league was established. He said this year he would change his attitude as the new league was on the horizon and he employed mulvey to be in control of the new regime. Mulvey had more money to spend than all the other coaches from what we could see. His recruitment was misguided and woeful, many players still returning from major injury and his trainer actually leaving before preseason was over.
Mulvey was not up to a-league standards and continually out coached to losses despite leading in many games. Charlesworth similarly put his trust in yesterdays hero and has been burnt accordingly despite hiring mike phelan of manu fame to guide him in all football decisions …….. who has apparently disappeared from the scene since his reappointment to manu.
There are reports charlesworth has turned down offers of investment, although with his history of woeful football decisions I can’t imagine anybody would want to invest in his problems without control of the investment.
Would hate for the licence to be revoked. There are a lot of good people and players involved in strong youth and npl teams that would be effected.

Jamesb your prediction was correct ……. woke up this morning to the news that mulvey was gone.
Whoever was involved in making the decision to appoint him in the first place should also go.
The club and remaining supporters, there are still a few, are the people that are bringing through the youth and npl teams. To see the likes of the sheffield juniors come in and take the places of the locals is shameful.
Mulvey took a gamble on being able to turn the proverbial “pig’s ear into a silk purse” with signing the likes of oar, aspro, gameiro ( who still is not off the injured list ), mc cormack …….. all have failed miserably at re-achieving a-league standard. Peresevering with hoole on cnr kick duty adinfinitum …… yes the guy can score from a spot kick but that is the only skill that he shows on game day. I won’t even go near the mongrel and culture experiment he tried to implement with has beens simon and mcglinchy, both of whom are no longer a-league standard.
To my mind …….. to set out a team with simon and mcglinchy you are playing nine against eleven after 15 mins and with hoole on as well you are defending eight against eleven.
I am not close to the npl and youth teams but I feel their pain when watching graham from sheffield get a run over their youth league champion glassock ( I think that is the way it is spelt) and see the continued mistakes of the kid as he tries to hold back the tide of attackers with his rake like youthful ability.
There was a reason nobody hired mulvey after his disasterous roar fiasco and now the mariners charlesworth knows why.