The Christmas season is upon us and for the last couple of weeks, the Reds have been handing out the presents. The second half against Wellington was just a disaster waiting to happen as the Phoenix attacked at will until they wrapped up the points late on.
Even last week's match against the Fury was full of missed opportunities and ultimately handed North Queensland the gift of not being belted like they should have been. They did not turn up to play and the Reds seemed to take pity on them after the first fifteen minutes.
Then, the ultimate humiliation was bestowed upon the team. Losing at home to two goals in the final minutes was just crushing for the team and the fans. I can honestly tell you that last Friday night I left Hindmarsh Stadium with an empty feeling I haven't felt since the return leg against Gamba Osaka. Gutted.
And with the glut of matches coming up over the next two weeks, it could become very ugly should this lacklustre run of form continue for too much longer. They need to arrest this mini-slump quick smart, hopefully starting on Wednesday against Perth and get back to the form that saw them at the top of the league at the beginning of the season.
One thing they do have to look forward to, or two to be precise, is the new arrivals beginning their playing careers with Adelaide United after the January transfer window opens. Uruguayan midfielder Francisco Usúcar and Dutch attacking midfielder Adwele Slory.
Usucar is a 24 year old defensive midfielder who has attacking instincts and is used to a more robust style of play than a lot of South American imports to have come here. He will revel in the argy bargy of the A-League.
Slory has played for Feyenoord in his home country and also a brief stint with West Brom in the EPL. Originally from Suriname, he apparently is an explosive winger who will bring much needed quality out wide but also an ability to cut in and provide goal front support.
As good as these acquisitions sound, the one area of need right at this moment is definitely in defence. We have many midfielders and adding to this area seems fairly unnecessary when there is a current alarming need for shoring up our defensive stocks. Over the last month or so, Rini Coolen has been using midfielders like Barbiero, Watson and Hughes as makeshift defenders due to injuries and suspensions to our regular backs.
I would have thought that at least one target for transfer would have been a central defender who could fill in at left or right back if required. But that's just me. What about up front? Van Dijk is pretty much going it alone up there due to Matthew Leckie's continued absence with his knee injury. I understand that Slory is an attacking midfielder and able to help in this area, but how about another striker?
What if, God forbid SVD gets injured. What do we do then? Our other experienced forward, Lloyd Owusu said goodbye last weekend. Frankie Monterosso is not quite ready to run out there by himself with any great effect. Put Dodd in the middle? Release Cornthwaite as a striker again?
As great as bolstering the middle of the park is, there are other needs that are just not being addressed and I just hope this doesn't come and bite the team on the butt in the finals when we need the resources the most.
But, let's see how these new guys go first before I start to get too high on my soap box. Maybe it will all work out for the best. However, with Daniel Mullen going down again with a knee injury, we are now without a recognised right back in the entire squad.
That can't be good.
