Halloran Lifts The Lid On Secrets Of Roar's Success

[Roary]

EXCLUSIVE: New Brisbane Roar signing Ben Halloran is relishing the step up in professionalism he has experienced since switching from the now defunct Gold Coast United.

Halloran's impressive breakthrough was a glowing highlight amid a chaotic final year for Gold Coast and back-to-back Champions Brisbane fended off strong competition to attract the talented 20-year-old.

Former Roar coach Ange Postecoglou might have left for Melbourne Victory but the winning practices he helped put in place live on with former assistant and new top man Rado Vidosic, and Halloran is impressed with what he has experienced in pre-season with his new club.

?I find with the Roar they're a lot more systematic and measured about their training,? Halloran told au.fourfourtwo.com. ?It's nice to be in a set up where they are really professional and specific with that they do.

?It's not just football, we have dieticians and physios and they try to drill into us that it's not just about winning games, it's about trying to set up a professional team that's going to survive in the future as well as now.

?It's the mentality of the club, they work harder than any other team I've been involved with. They're a step up in professionalism and the way they go about it is very thorough and systematic. The way they train is very specific to how we want to perform in games.?

Brisbane's ball-focused and match-specific sessions are still there as Vidosic seeks to continue Roar's now famous passing game but Halloran revealed the coach is applying some significant tactical tweaks to Postecoglou's gameplan.

?They want us to win games in the first ten or 15 minutes of a game, whereas Roar are renowned for winning games in the last 15 minutes,? he said.

?They want to keep the mentality of keeping the ball at all costs and keeping the ball on the deck which they've shown over the last couple of years.

"But Rado wants to penetrate a bit more and be a bit more attacking when we have the ball instead of just keeping it all the time.?

With the new more direct strategy comes a likely switch in formation as German superstar Thomas Broich moves to a central playmaker role in a 4-2-3-1, allowing Halloran and new signing Do Dong-Hyun to use their pace down the wings.

Halloran's individual dribbling was a real feature in Gold Coast's wooden spoon campaign and in a pleasing sign for fans, Vidosic has shown no signs of putting the starlet on a tighter leash.

?He's been really encouraging,? Halloran said. ?In that system there's obviously a strong emphasis on that passing game and structures and rotations but he still encourages me to run at players and play my natural game and try to get in behind.

?With players like Broich and (Mitch) Nichols they can feed me balls in behind and I can hopefully set up (Golden Boot Besart) Berisha for a few more goals.?

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/246960,lifting-the-lid-on-secrets-of-roars-success.aspx

[aussiemoviemaker]

Loving it!!! Especially the part about winning it in the first 10-15 minutes. That'll be a very welcomed change to my stress levels on match day

[Shand]

It's nice to be in a set up where they are really professional and specific with that they do.

I remember when Miron left the Roar, the players said that they never practised set pieces when he was around. No wonder the professionalism at Brisbane is a step up!!

[My.2cents]

I like this a lot

[Steve]

So far I've been impressed with the Roar under Rado, be that only 3 games with one of them a pre season. But you definately can see that his trying to take Brisbane to that next level which is quite exciting

[mattt]

I love the idea of reverting to a 4231 with TB as the number 10. you could also play nichols here.

can only assume the '2' will be paartalu and nichols/murdocca/brattan

the main striker obviously being berisha

and the two wingers being dong/halloran on the left and ricky/meyer etc down the right.

[sublimity.codes]

I love the idea of reverting to a 4231 with TB as the number 10. you could also play nichols here.

can only assume the '2' will be paartalu and nichols/murdocca/brattan

the main striker obviously being berisha

and the two wingers being dong/halloran on the left and ricky/meyer etc down the right.

Broich would probably do a better job in the "2" pairing than Nichols.  Better work rate, better in the tackle, better touch, better passing, better positioning.  Nichols is suited to the role further up the pitch where he can do what makes him worth playing, combinations on the edge of the area and runs into the box.

I guess it also depends what form Ricky is in and how efficient Halloran and Do are at beating their man.  Making that extra yard on the flanks or in a congested final third is so important these days with people happy to get a point from us.  Thomas certainly offers that if no one else can.

I honestly sometimes think Nichols would be better playing in a front 2 pairing.

[priyank]

THIS!

.................. ....theo.......................
franjic .....smith..... jurman..... stef
               murdo..... parta
  henrique ..... broich..... nichols
                       bes

Do for Henrique and Halloran for Nichols.
We'll see lot more rotation in those 3 players behind bes.

[Raychen]

THIS!

.................. ....theo.......................
franjic .....smith..... jurman..... stef
               murdo..... parta
  henrique ..... broich..... nichols
                       bes

Do for Henrique and Halloran for Nichols.
We'll see lot more rotation in those 3 players behind bes.

i agree, except swap brattan for murdocca, and do on left and halloran on right.

broich would not work at all as DM. needs to be in the attacking third beating players.

[suspectandy]

From what I've seen at training, and in the first pre/season game, I think
a  DM partnership of Paartalu Broich may be on the cards. In front will probably be Do, Henrique, Halloran (from left to right) with Bes up front. Killer lineup IMO. Broich will push forward more than Paartalu though.

[priyank]

don't think henrique would really work behind bes if we're to play 4-2-3-1 formation.... he's better off as a winger or on the bench when both halloran and do are playing....

we need broich to be upfront, he's not the kind of player who can hold centre half with parta.... (maybe he could, but he'll work better upfront)....

we'll have amazing pace on the right side with franjic and do/halloran combination.... and not to forget danning and fitzy....

[Raychen]

From what I've seen at training, and in the first pre/season game, I think
a  DM partnership of Paartalu Broich may be on the cards. In front will probably be Do, Henrique, Halloran (from left to right) with Bes up front. Killer lineup IMO. Broich will push forward more than Paartalu though.

if that's so then fair enough, in rado i trust. just seems like we would be wasting his best attributes there. he also is fairly light weight in the tackle.

[mattt]

Broich as a holding mid? Seriously? Well if its been working in training then who am I to argue but that seems to be a massive waste of his talents.. kinda like buying a ferrari and using it just to drive the kids to school.

he has got to be in and around the final third of the park IMO. I'd much rather see the good ball players and hard tacklers - erik, bratts, massimo in those roles.

personally I would love to see broich play the 10.

4231 is fairly different to a 433.

maybe its not really a 4231, which is kind of a counter attacking model, they are thinking of. maybe its more along the lines of the second FCT game where we played 433 but reversed the triangle.

[Finsta]

IMO the only benefit of Broich sitting deeper is so he'll have the ball more and therefore distribute more.. That being said, Paartalu's been doing that job very successfully over the last 2 seasons so I don't understand to need to crowd Erik's space in front of the 2 CB's..

EDIT:

Maybe the plan is for Broich to float in the guts between Erik and Berisha with the full backs working forward more and the wingers doing more cut ins and probing for holes..

[mattt]

IMO the only benefit of Broich sitting deeper is so he'll have the ball more and therefore distribute more.. That being said, Paartalu's been doing that job very successfully over the last 2 seasons so I don't understand to need to crowd Erik's space in front of the 2 CB's..

EDIT:

Maybe the plan is for Broich to float in the guts between Erik and Berisha with the full backs working forward more and the wingers doing more cut ins and probing for holes..

so basically just a messi-esque "get out there son and do what you please just make it magic"?

I like it!

[Roon]

It's nice to be in a set up where they are really professional and specific with that they do.

I remember when Miron left the Roar, the players said that they never practised set pieces when he was around. No wonder the professionalism at Brisbane is a step up!!

Ouch!
Miron will be burning up on hearing about this - he was sitting just behind us at the Olympic FC trial match, holding court with his entourage around him; chirping away all game. A lot of Benny this and Benny that coming forth when Radio used  Halloran. he might have a new prefix for 'Benny' coming out of this!
 

[darotor]

4231 is fairly different to a 433.

maybe its not really a 4231, which is kind of a counter attacking model, they are thinking of. maybe its more along the lines of the second FCT game where we played 433 but reversed the triangle.

4231 is a formation, not a method of play. It is not inherently reactive or proactive. It depends on who play in what roles and how they told to play.

I think a 4231 with Broich & Erik at 6's is a lot more attacking than last years 433. Depending on who plays in the 10 (Nichols or Henrique), Broich could operate as vertically moving false 10 or a diagonally moving centre mid.

In any case, formation doesn't dictate your style. Players on the pitch and how they are employed is much more instructive.

[viiking]

IMO the only benefit of Broich sitting deeper is so he'll have the ball more and therefore distribute more.. That being said, Paartalu's been doing that job very successfully over the last 2 seasons so I don't understand to need to crowd Erik's space in front of the 2 CB's..

EDIT:

Maybe the plan is for Broich to float in the guts between Erik and Berisha with the full backs working forward more and the wingers doing more cut ins and probing for holes..

Maybe Partaalu can score more goals if he pushes up further. At present he is unable to push forward in case we get exposed at the back. This happened a few times in the season when we got caught on the counter attack after he pushed up.

[Chak]

4231 is fairly different to a 433.

maybe its not really a 4231, which is kind of a counter attacking model, they are thinking of. maybe its more along the lines of the second FCT game where we played 433 but reversed the triangle.

4231 is a formation, not a method of play. It is not inherently reactive or proactive. It depends on who play in what roles and how they told to play.

I think a 4231 with Broich & Erik at 6's is a lot more attacking than last years 433. Depending on who plays in the 10 (Nichols or Henrique), Broich could operate as vertically moving false 10 or a diagonally moving centre mid.

In any case, formation doesn't dictate your style. Players on the pitch and how they are employed is much more instructive.

Agreed

[mattt]

4231 is fairly different to a 433.

maybe its not really a 4231, which is kind of a counter attacking model, they are thinking of. maybe its more along the lines of the second FCT game where we played 433 but reversed the triangle.

4231 is a formation, not a method of play. It is not inherently reactive or proactive. It depends on who play in what roles and how they told to play.

I think a 4231 with Broich & Erik at 6's is a lot more attacking than last years 433. Depending on who plays in the 10 (Nichols or Henrique), Broich could operate as vertically moving false 10 or a diagonally moving centre mid.

In any case, formation doesn't dictate your style. Players on the pitch and how they are employed is much more instructive.

Agreed

bu if Broich moves too far forward in front of Erik, we'd end up playing a 442 (with one striker sitting in behind the top striker, Cahill style) with a diamond midfield.

I think it will be interesting to see how the wide midfielders are asked to play. obviously in the 433 its alot more central, but we could see the Roar going wider in the midfield.