Panic Switch

In the immediate aftermath of the loss, social media and football websites burst to life with the reactions of Perth fans and critics alike. There was heavy criticism of Perth's defence, of Alistair Edwards' decision to play his son Ryan, and of the performances of the midfield. Some were saying Glory fans were in for a long, hard season. Others questioned the wisdom of having Edwards as coach. More still wondered if veteran players Burns, McGarry, and Pantelidis had not seen their best days. I meanwhile scratched my head and wondered at what exactly fans wanted from their team's first official game in more than six months.

 

I'd like you all to cast your minds back to February 2nd of this year. Eden Park in Auckland was the scene of a scrappy dirge of an encounter that saw Jeremy Brockie and Wellington Phoenix beat Perth Glory 1-0 and send the West Australians to the bottom rung of the A-League ladder. A week later, a massive crowd of 6,000 people packed AAMI Park to watch Melbourne Heart beat Glory 2-0 and finally call time on Ian Ferguson's time in charge. Glory were bottom of the league, without a win in eight rounds, and had just lost to a team containing ex-captain Jamie Coyne. In the next eight games under interim coach Alistair Edwards, the team lost just twice, picked themselves off the floor of the table to qualify for the finals, and narrowly lost out to Melbourne Victory in an eliminator at Etihad Stadium. It was also a period of time which saw the debut of Glory starlet Daniel De Silva, the most talented looking 15 year old Glory had seen since the NSL. In short, results showed the decision to install Edwards permanently was a sound one - not to mention all the restructuring, recruiting, and PR he's given the club since.

 

Now back to the game; first A-League fixture of the season for the club, and preperation hasn't been ideal. Not to make excuses for the team, but frankly two weeks ago Steve Pantelidis and Brandon O'Neill were the second-string centre back pairing behind Ljubo The Lost and Michael Thwaite. Fast forward to game day and Thwaite isn't being risked due to a muscle strain and Ljubo is... well, somewhere else. I thought the Glory would struggle to get anything from the game, and this gut instinct was proved correct in the end. There were a few interesting talking points, though.

 

Fragility At The Back

Before the match, Alistair Edwards had shrugged off suggestions that his side was going to struggle defensively without Thwaite and Miličević. After this first game, he might be revisiting that statement. Whilst O'Neill is young and will mature into the role with time (he was originally being played as a central midfielder) Steve Pantelidis will want to ensure he is capable of being a settling influence in central defence. Despite his disciplinary record, Pantelidis has worked hard to try and restore his reputation at Perth - and often with good results. Unfortunately he has also had the odd brain snap in important games, and could quite easily have been sent off on another day for his high kick on his Adelaide counterpart.  If Thwaite goes down for a longer period of time, a lot will fall on the shoulders of 'Pants' to help younger heads like O'Neill and Clisby at the back. The defence as a whole had an off day against Adelaide to be honest - the first goal might have been unlucky, but the next two were preventable, and I'm sure the team will be drilling themselves before a trip to Newcaslte. Edwards meanwhile may be tinkering some more with the idea of whether to replace Ljubo or not.

 

The Right Mix In Midfield

The starting midfield five today had a familiar look about it for anyone who has watched Perth's final few preseason games; Burns and McGarry sitting deeper, with Ryan Edwards behind the striker and Sidnei and Nagai patrolling the wings. While many might feel uncomfortable with the idea of the coach's son having a starting XI position, the fact is multiple players were tried in that position preseason and he appears to be the most suited at present; especially given De Silva's tender years and Edwards' tendency to use the youngster as an impact sub in away games. Sidnei and Nagai had great first halves, though they did fade somewhat in the second, but the triumvirate of McGarry/Burns/R.Edwards didn't make the impact Perth fans would have liked. Conversely though, once the red cards came for Adelaide, we could have done with McGarry's experienced head on the field as young attacking midfielders flung themselves at Adelaide's goal haphazardly instead of calmly finding an opening. Whether Jacob Burns wasn't providing enough leadership, or the younger blokes just weren't listening, this is another area Glory will need to work on - if you can't score against nine men trying to defend, it will be hard to take on a team like Western Sydney or Central Coast who try to get every man involved in breaking down attacks.

 

Options On The Bench

Before the game I'd made mention to a friend on twitter that Glory didn't seem to have a backup striker sitting on the pine for the game. Whilst Sidnei and Nagai could have re-positioned themselves in a pinch, it became obvious that the bench combination of C.Edwards, Zahra, De Silva, and Clisby didn't have enough attacking impetus to make a difference late on. Zahra, in the games I've seen him play, appears to be better utilised in more of a supporting role rather than as an out-and-out attacker. De Silva obviously has talent but doesn't yet have the body capable of holding up a ball or consistently bursting past defenders. The addition of Ndumba Makeche would have provided at least another option going forward, although an additional option would be to look at a short term deal for Gustavo Giron-Maralunda, the top scorer from the Football West Premier Division and a local favourite for a Glory gig for some time. Perth have been looking at this option, but as of yet no move seems to be forthcoming. When Glory go to Newcastle, another team that appears to be in the midst of growing pains, it would be useful to have another option ready to go up front.

 

As we see then, there are a number of areas Glory can improve in coming away from the Adelaide match. But to predict a long and tough season for the club, or question the appointment of the coach or quality of certain players, on the basis of one solitary game - that smacks to me of a complete overreaction. Perhaps in the cold light of day (or a game or three) some observers will back away from their previous statements. After all, is this not the same club that has been described as not having much hope of playing finals football by many eastern stated pundits? Not to mention having our title chances played down by the owner and coaching staff, for this season at least.

 

There's a lot to like in the meantime, too - we're finally seeing some young talent on the field given a red hot go, some of it local to boot. Sidnei looks like he could be an absolute livewire if he coninues at his current pace, and he combined well with the returning Ryo Nagai. We've also got internationals like Thwaite and Smeltz to step back into the first team, not to mention the continuing development of young Daniel De Silva (was that his first A-League card today?). Reviving the club isn't an overnight job, and there will be blips along the way - let's see how the team responds next week in Newcastle.

 

Much like Glory in attack against the nine men of Adelaide, it's too often tempting to hit the panic switch and go a little nuts without thinking things through. Perhaps the wiser thing then is to keep a cool head, sit back, and wait for a clearer picture of the season to emerge before writing off Perth Glory FC.