Following on from my good colleague Mike Bovell’s post about the Glory’s horrific run of recent performances, it’s time to have a look at some of the culprits and see what can be done about this agonising slump in form. Let’s not bother with the coach, because I think it obvious to most of Australia’s football fans that David Mitchell simply isn’t up to the job of placing the Glory in the top tier of teams in this country. Rather, we’ll go through the problem areas (and the problem children) and see what possible replacements we have for each.
Central Defence
What’s this? The Glory, a team who had one of the best defensive pairings in the league last season, has problems in central defence? Well, in short - yes. Andy Todd, now that he has recovered from injury, is his normal solid self once more - and while he is not a long-term prospect, he at least will do for this season. But Jamie Harnwell, that legend of the club, looks to be out of steam right now. Injury has now struck him down once more, and our normal walk-up starter Chris Coyne is still holidaying in China on his loan deal. This means that players like Jamie Coyne and Josh Mitchell have had spells in central defence, but their performances have been poor to middling at best.
There are potential solutions here - even if you discount the obvious “get Coyne the hell out of China” scenario. First up is Scott Neville, who continues his rapid rise into a very competent young defender. He’ll still make mistakes now and then, but showed maturity beyond his years to slot into central defence as cover for the injured Harnwell on the weekend. Another option that springs to mind is young Brent Griffiths, who like his brother Rostyn was on the youth books at Blackburn Rovers. He’s over six foot tall, can play in the middle or on the left, and has been around for a while at the club without getting a look-in. I think now might just be his chance - if someone can convince Mitchell to give him a go.
Right Back
Whilst I am comfortable with Scott Neville at right back, for some reason it is Jamie Coyne whose name appears on the team sheet first each and every week. This is somewhat of an aberration considering that Coyne deserves to be dropped for poor form just like anybody else in the team. If Steven McGarry can be dropped, why not Jamie?
Should this miracle happen (or should Nev be employed as a central defender next week) then a right back replacement is ready to go in the form of Ryan Pearson or Josh Risdon. Pearson impressed on debut against Brisbane, and looks to have a real attacking instinct to him; on many occasions he seemed to almost be playing a central midfield role, dribbling and passing through the middle of the park. Even the Fox commentary team remarked how other clubs would be raising some eyebrows that this defender was still on a youth contract. Risdon had already been given a (very brief) crack at the big stage, and certainly didn’t seem overawed. Both are young players who could possibly develop into first team regulars - as long as they are given the opportunity!
Central Midfield
The biggest problem with the Glory’s midfield at the moment is that we lack any sense of creativity whatsoever. Jacob Burns has been below par this season - so much so that even his normally excellent defensive work is getting overshadowed by poor passing and wasted set pieces. Steve McGarry has been doing a solid job, but he was surprisingly benched by David Mitchell for the last game. When played in the centre of midfield Adriano Pellegrino has also been poor, doing that stupid little “look like I’m doing a lot then give the ball away” trick he practised so hard last year.
I don’t know why fans keep bothering to scream this, but here we go again - give the youth a go! Young players are creative and attacking by nature, and there’s many suitable replacements sitting in the Glory youth team. Andrija Jukic is the obvious choice - he’s played some A-League games, he has scored, he likes through balls and long range shots, and that’s precisely what we’ve been lacking. Also in the youth team and on a full-time contract is Howard Fondyke, forgotten man of Perth Glory FC. He’s actually been on a senior contract for some time, but didn’t get a chance at all last year. A little more defensive-minded than Jukic, Howard can perform more all-round duties in the middle of the park and should at least be considered when people like Burns and Pellegrino are candidates for being dropped. But don’t stop there - what about Cameron Edwards? The youngster scored a brace for the Glory youth against Adelaide quite recently, so we know there are goals in the lad. A senior debut could be a just reward for regular good performances for the junior side.
Right Midfield
I’m not sure what’s happening with the Glory’s right midfield position. On one hand, Mile Sterjovski and Adriano Pellegrino should both have the quality to put opposition fullbacks to the sword - yet both have been underperforming this year. Unfortunately the solution seems to have been to switch between the two of them, which only serves to replace one poorly-performing player with another. Victor Sikora would normally be an option, but unfortunately he’s currently sidelined with a seemingly never-ending injury.
A fresher approach would be to have a look at moving Scott Neville further up the park, should our defensive stocks be satisfyingly sound (unlikely, on present form). The finals game in Wellington last year demonstrated just how deadly Nev can be down the right flank, with his tireless runs and the tenacity he shows when not in possession. Another alternative would be young Tommy Amphlett, who has pace to burn and a real attacking mentality. Like Neville, he’s a tenacious youngster who I’ve personally seen contest headers against men twice his size and age whilst playing as a striker for ECU Joondalup. Alternatively, you could dive into the youth ranks once more and have a look for talent there - although looking through the Glory’s site, they seem to be stocked well with central talent rather than wingers.
Strikers
God, how is it possible that with names like Sterjovski, Fowler and Jelic that we’re struggling to score goals? Easy - Sterjovski is performing below expectations, Fowler is getting no service bar stupidly high long balls, and Branko Jelic finds himself making the bench (if he’s lucky) in favour of a donkey known as Michael Baird. It’s time for David Mitchell - himself a striker in his own golden days - to wake up and smell the coffee; his current forward line is about as agile as a dead elephant, as quick off the mark as a slug, and is generally about as effective as using a teapot to put out a forest fire.
This is the easiest problem to solve tactically - PLAY IT ALONG THE GROUND, YOU NONGS! - but one that is made somewhat more difficult when you consider Mitchell is unlikely (or unable to) change the style of the team’s play. I would like to keep Fowler in the first eleven simply because of his class, but he’s useless when long balls are all the rage. Thus you need to look at Branko Jelic for his poaching ability and greater acceleration when compared to Robbie, and then some even quicker options to play alongside him. Let’s face it - the only way the Glory will succeed with long balls in the absence of Daniel McBreen is through sheer pace; running onto the cleared ball before defenders can do so. We don’t have height or strength, so pace is where it’s at. Enter Anthony Skorich, who apart from being a handy 6’1 tall is a 20 year old striker with a decent amount of speed. Other candidates include the aforementioned Tommy Amphlett, or youth team players Sahr Musa and Sebit Oset. Of course, Mitchell first needs to be convinced that Baird will not just eventually “come good” and start banging in hat-tricks every other game.
If you put all the above together, you still retain the problems of David Mitchell’s gameday deficiencies in the areas of tactics and strategy. However, using a lineup like the example below would at least resolve the issues of:
- Glory’s static playing style, with players rarely showing the speed or agility needed to get in the right positions.
- The sense of complacency and lack of motivation that seems to permeate the starting lineup when you know you can play poorly for weeks and still have a spot reserved for you on the park.
Let’s see then; how would Glory fans feel about this lineup, using the 4-1-3-2 employed at times by David Mitchell this year:
Velaphi
Pearson --- Griffiths --- Todd --- Sekulovski
McGarry
Neville ------- Jukic ------- Howarth
Skorich --- Jelic
Subs: Vrteski, Fowler, Burns, Sterjovski
Now that’s a bench!
The logic behind such a young side is simple. A lot of established names need a proverbial rocket shoved up their behind, a lot of junior names simply aren’t getting the exposure they deserve, and the team needs to be a hell of a lot more dynamic than what we’ve seen so far this year. If a defender goes down, Neville can drop back to cover, and it’s obvious from looking at the bench that we’ve plenty of backup for the midfield and attack. What’s not to like? Well, apart from the impossibility of it all...
As the mob starts to become restless back in Perth, and axes begin to be sharpened, it seems like fate that Perth have two weeks until their next match. This is a fortnight for the coaching staff to sit down and think about what they’ve done in the past four weeks - and what needs to be done to stop the rot. Now is not the time to be complacent and think “well, we just need a good rest”. You don’t need a good rest. You don’t deserve one - you need to return with fresh ideas, motivated players, and a team who wants to give it their all for the purple shirt.
Mike tells us all to abandon hope - I’m not sure about that, but I sure would like it if we’d abandon some of the dead weight we have sitting around the park.
