Mariners Team of the Decade:

[bradley]

We’re giving our fans the opportunity to be featured in the Club’s free matchday handout, The Loose Cannon, letting other fans know about their all time Central Coast Mariners team.
From Ryan to Zwaanswijk, Vukovic to Wilkinson, Sainsbury to Simon, we’re looking for fans to give us their first eleven plus five substitutes (four outfield and one goalkeeper), and their pick as who would mentor the star-studded line-up.

Want to participate? Pick your team, substitutes and coach and send an e-mail to us describing why each man has made your all time Mariners team. Alternatively, you can post your team in this Facebook statusto be in with the chance to be featured.

Thought this could be a bit of fun for fans to reflect and reminisce about the last 10 years of the A-League. Pick your best starting XI, and have 5 subs + coach. Feel free to disagree with me!

My all-time XI

-------------------------------------------------------------Ryan-------------------------------------------------------
Bojic-----------------------------------Wilkinson-------------------Zwaanswijk-------------------Rose

------------------------------------ Jedinak-------------------------------Hutchinson


McGlinchey--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bozanic

------------------------------------------ Rogic-----------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------McBreen (2012-2013 form)----------------------------------

Subs:
Vukovic
Sainsbury
Gumprecht
Ibini
Pondeljak

Coach: Graham Arnold

 

[dibo]

I wanted to pick people who were at their own time and in their own ways emblematic of a Mariners culture.

This is as much about the players I couldn't leave out as the players who had to be in.

--------------------------Ryan-------------------------------
----Clark-----Wilkinson-----Zwaanswijk-----Rose---
------------------------Jedinak-----------------------------
-----Gumprecht------------------Hutchinson----------
----------------------Pondeljak-----------------------------
---------------Simon-----------McBreen----------------

Hutch. The mortar that binds.
Simon. Local plasterer, rocky start, shot to glory.
Clark. Journeyman who comes home to finish off in style.
Jedinak. Commutes for months without pay for a sniff of a contract, winds up captaining a side in the EPL.
McBreen. 100 years old and wins a golden boot.
Gumprecht. Fan favourite, nutter, great player.
Pondeljak. Somehow found time to put his cigarette down and play sublime attacking football. Scored the winner in our first prelim away to Adelaide and some other beauties as well.
Ryan. Lived in a caravan and devoted himself to training harder than anyone else. How Mariners is that?
Rose. Comes back from overseas, settles the family down and quietly goes about his business as the most underrated left back in the league.
Zwaanswijk. Brought the best out in players around him while excelling himself.
Wilkinson. Comes in as a gangly kid, now a full international and well respected in a big league.

Subs:
Crawley - a little sneaky here, but he's the reason why our other keepers (Vukovic, Ryan, Reddy) have excelled. Played a handful of games before he had to give it away, but has worked wonders.
Sainsbury - really unlucky to not get a start, another who starts off as a kid, has a rocky start and turned into a superstar. Best and cleanest tackler I've ever seen in this league.
Bozanic - another who is unlucky to not get a start. Could play a range of roles and local kid to boot. Quietly built a reputation, should have started more in his last year with us (the Championship year) but injuries took their toll.
Kwasnik - is there *anyone* who doesn't love Kwas?
Petrie - inaugural golden boot, typified the early Mariners - unfashionable but pretty effective

Coach:
Arnie - instilled a tactical discipline that was second to none, built sides that could compete with the bigger clubs on smaller budgets, maintained our club culture through it all that demonstrated he understood he works for the club rather than the other way around. We'll forgive a couple of dodgy signings and I'll forgive his signing for Sydney; even if he wanted to come back after the Japanese adventure, we had to give Mossy a fair crack at it.

 

[Yoda]

Only changes to Dibo's team I would make would be to find a place for Spencer on the bench, probably for Kwasnik and give consideration to the Heff as left back. Vuka for Crawley as well, with JC on the list underneath Arnie.

 

[Gratis]

if I know sydmariner he'll be keen to replace Simon with Mrdja in that starting lineup

wait for it...

 

[Gratis]

Montgomery has also made it in for me, the man is a damm legend. I'll ponder out the full lineup and post when I get a chance

 

[pjennings]

Incredibly difficult task

The people I left out would form a good team

Bozza,Viddy, Megsy, Sonic, Rostyn, Perez, Rogic, Musti, Aloisi, Mori, Sterjovski

I think I took a leaf out of Dibo's book and used their 'Marinerness' as the deciding factor for some.

--------------------------Ryan-------------------------------
-Wilkinson---Sainsbury----------Zwaanswijk-----Rose---
--------------------Jedinak-----------------------------
-----Gumprecht------------------Hutchinson----------
------------------------Tommy-----------------------------
---------------McBreen---------Stewie------------------

Subs: No defensive cover because Hutch or Jedi can drop back and Trent can cover either FB.

Danny
Monty
Ollie
Kwas
Matty S

Patron-----------Lawrie
Manager----------Arnie
GK Coach---------Creepy
Sports Science-- Clarky

 

[eenfish]

Dibo's XI gets my vote.

 

[Roy Law]

Ryan
Sainsbury, Beauchamp. Wilkinson, Heffernan
Jedinak Bozanic
Duke, Rogic, Ibini
Simon

All represented the Socceroos for the first time as Mariners or subsequent to being Mariners...

 

[bikinigirl]

Ryan
Sainsbury, Beauchamp. Wilkinson, Heffernan
Jedinak Bozanic
Duke, Rogic, Ibini
Simon

All represented the Socceroos for the first time as Mariners or subsequent to being Mariners...

. clever

 

[MagpieMariner]

if I know sydmariner he'll be keen to replace Simon with Mrdja in that starting lineup

wait for it...

Before his first "injury", Mrdja left Mattie for dead - ability-wise I mean.

 

[Gratis]

I liked him and was quite excited by the sasho/mrdja potential which was unfortunately unrealised

 

[Paolo]

Mrdja, the highest paid fisherman on the Coast thanks to at home fluid injections into his knee to avoid playing...what a guy

 

[dibo]

Pisstaking surely?

 

[Wombat]

Ryan
Sainsbury, Beauchamp. Wilkinson, Heffernan
Jedinak Bozanic
Duke, Rogic, Ibini
Simon

All represented the Socceroos for the first time as Mariners or subsequent to being Mariners...

interesting team but Heff playing for Austraia was a joke and Rose was the better LB.
Question mark over a Duke were you have him and Perez was a better AM than Rogic for mine.

I'll post mine tomorrow...feel free to disagree.

 

[Roy Law]

interesting team but Heff playing for Austraia was a joke and Rose was the better LB.
Question mark over a Duke were you have him and Perez was a better AM than Rogic for mine.

I'll post mine tomorrow...feel free to disagree.

Perez? A Socceroo?

 

[Paolo]

Pisstaking surely?

Yeah i guessed as to whether he was the highest paid fisherman...the rest is factual though

 

[Wombat]

Perez? A Socceroo?

He would have been if he had stayed here

 

[dibo]

No, he couldn't. He wasn't that great. Never worthy of the hype.

Amini, on the other hand...

 

[Wombat]

It's a worry that you never rated him Dibo. And yet you rated Brad Porter, Heff and Hutcho.

Something is wrong with this picture!

 

[dibo]

Where have I said I rated Heff or Porter? I certainly rate Hutch, and don't see anything wrong with that.