The Melbourne City Thread

[eth-dog]

I know but I reckon if we release a few players and if they could accept maybe a pay drop we could afford them. It's a long shot I know but still something worth looking into.

There's these things called contracts as well.

 

[Sammoll]

There's these things called contracts as well.

Haha ok mate, I get it, it's not going to happen but wouldn't it be amazing if it did. I'm just getting carried away by wishful thinking. Also btw I agree with ur idea of getting covic, better than our current keepers imo.

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

And are you allowed more than one current Socceroo?

 

[pantskyle]

And are you allowed more than one current Socceroo?

Yeah.

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

Yeah.

I get the feeling I should have known that years ago. : facepalm :

Thanks.

 

[Sammoll]

We got Franjic!

 

[eth-dog]

Makes our defence a lot better.

 

[treegreen]

We got Franjic!

Little compensation for Archibald leaving.

 

[Sammoll]

I think we'll probably be sticking with Velaphi next season, which I'm okay with as he had a good season [second most clean sheets with 8 in 19 apps] He's also been given the number 1 which backs this up.
Source http://www.ultimatealeague.com/club_detail.php?club_id=12&info=players

 

[Sammoll]

Just signed 18 year old youngster Steve Kuzmanovski from WSW, don't know much about him tbh but looks promising

 

[eth-dog]

So, let's talk about our new striker and Australian marquee. Do we give it to Mooy? Who do we bring in?

 

[pantskyle]

Very happy Kennedy is gone, just doesn't fit our style of play and made us slower. Poor signing to begin with.

 

[eth-dog]

Still leaves us short of a striker though. Williams has shown he's better used on a wing, and I'm not 100% on Gameiro or Marino yet. Probably need another 2-3 defenders too.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Still leaves us short of a striker though. Williams has shown he's better used on a wing, and I'm not 100% on Gameiro or Marino yet. Probably need another 2-3 defenders too.

A bit of buzz about Georgios Samaras (who I believe would qualify as a non-visa for us). And this is coming from a UK newspaper.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/spo...news/georgios-samaras-among-west-brom-9578011

Samaras’ return to the club has caused one unnecessary headache for the boss.

The 30-year-old is due around £1.5 million on his contract and has been told to find a new club.

That led to his agent teasing at a return to Celtic on social media.

Now Melbourne City have come forward with an offer that may just force the striker’s arm.

Samaras’ father Ioannis was born in Melbourne and moved to Greece at the age of 13.

Samaras was treated like a rock star on his previous trips to the country with Greece ahead of the 2006 World Cup and with Celtic in July 2011.

There's been a bit around Safuwan Baharudin as well. Kisnorbo came out and said Baharudin would walk into any A-League club and Baharudin has essentially said if Melbourne City makes an offer, he will be listening.

Those two moves would make a pretty ho-hum offseason into a very promising one, I reckon. As it stands, it's a couple of handy pick-ups and clearing out a lot of dead weight.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Confirmed. He'd qualify as a dinky di Aussie.

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/transfer-rumours-samaras-city-maclaren-demand

Scott McDonald and even Tomi Juric are in the frame but the player for whom MCFC are prepared to break the bank is former Celtic and Greece international Georgios Samaras, who qualifies as an Aussie courtesy of his Melbourne-born father.

This would at least soften the blow of the Mel City v Man City on the Gold Coast fiasco.

 

[eth-dog]

A bit of buzz about Georgios Samaras (who I believe would qualify as a non-visa for us). And this is coming from a UK newspaper.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/spo...news/georgios-samaras-among-west-brom-9578011



There's been a bit around Safuwan Baharudin as well. Kisnorbo came out and said Baharudin would walk into any A-League club and Baharudin has essentially said if Melbourne City makes an offer, he will be listening.

Those two moves would make a pretty ho-hum offseason into a very promising one, I reckon. As it stands, it's a couple of handy pick-ups and clearing out a lot of dead weight.

If we managed to land those two we'd be laughing, is there any talk over guest player stints? Maybe a certain former Chelsea captain? If so, this line-up excites me a little bit:

Velaphi
Franjic - Chapman - Kisnorbo - Safuwan
Mooy - Paartalu - Lampard
Williams - Samaras - Novillo​

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

If we managed to land those two we'd be laughing, is there any talk over guest player stints? Maybe a certain former Chelsea captain? If so, this line-up excites me a little bit:

Velaphi
Franjic - Chapman - Kisnorbo - Safuwan
Mooy - Paartalu - Lampard
Williams - Samaras - Novillo​

Wouldn't be surprised, but haven't seen anything about anyone in particular. And what the Villa debacle last year demonstrated to me was that those publicity signings can't be taken at face value and even if we do sign someone like Lampard, it would probably be best for the supporters to just act like he's not even there, so it's not as infuriating when he inevitably 'does a Villa'. If Lampard, or someone of his ilk signs for a guest stint, I'll look at it as being good to sell a few memberships and that's about it.

With Safuwan, the only thing I can think of is that they've got a bigger fish in mind, because I thought he was very good last year and he can bolster several 'iffy' areas for us on the park, due to his versatility. In terms of signed/fit players right now, we've barely got enough to field a squad against Manchester City and Edgeworth, without dipping into our youth squad to make up the numbers.

 

[pantskyle]

Novillo extending is good as well.

 

[eth-dog]

Of course I would love to sign one of those sorts of players permanently (who's better than Koren) as our international marquee.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Of course I would love to sign one of those sorts of players permanently (who's better than Koren) as our international marquee.

Stuck with Koren for now, unless he walks away from his contract, Kennedy-style. We can only hope a bit of professional pride kicks in for him, as he has copped a bit in the press over the offseason.

Our owners have big money, but in a salary capped (and visa capped) league, the only place where that is a huge advantage is the Australian marquee and international marquee positions. And, all things being considered, I'd say Engelaar on his own for half a season was twice as good a marquee as Koren and Kennedy combined, before even factoring in that David Williams (somewhat laughably) was our Aus marquee in our last season as Melbourne Heart and, for all his faults, Williams was our POY and finished runner-up in the golden boot.

It's lucky that practically every other recruit we brought in was good, because we're still not getting the marquees right, by the look of it. There should be no excuses this season...so many plodders are now off the books.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Announced today that City has signed defender, Aaron Hughes, who played over 450 games for Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Fulham and is a current member (and second most capped player ever) of Northern Ireland's international squad (it's not like he's playing for Germany, but not bad for a basic visa signing). He's old, but he doesn't seem to have had the same injury history as Duff and City is confident that he can play anywhere across the back four, which would be very handy.

So, I believe our new players this season are: Ivan Franjic, Corey Gameiro, Aaron Hughes (v) and Steve Kuzmanovski. Bruno Fornaroli (v) also seems like a foregone conclusion, though it hasn't been officially announced by the club (another one of those endearing players that can't resist blabbing news on Twitter). Kisnorbo, Novillo (v), Retre and Velaphi have been retained. Gone are Kennedy (Aus marquee), Dugandzic, Murdocca, Ramsay, Redmayne, Duff (v), Jaliens (v) and Wielaert (v).

As I understand it, Safuwan Baharudin and Jonatan Germano are currently in limbo, officially. From the reports that we've been getting, it would seem highly likely that Baharudin is gone, which I'm a bit disappointed about. If Germano is retained, that's it for our visa signings, despite a few whispers that we were making a play at veteran Stoke City/Denmark goalkeeper, Thomas Sorensen.

The next question is what of the Australian marquee position? Traditionally it's not as great as it sounds, as it's generally used for a washed up Socceroo, but with a few rumours that we could make a play at Georgios Samaras with that slot, I'm genuinely excited. Only 30, a regular in the Greek national squad, 192cm, can play as a winger or a striker, one of Celtic's most recognisable players in recent years, strong ties to Manchester City and Melbourne. Samaras would hopefully be the aerial threat that Kennedy was supposed to be, with the bonus that he is actually very quick and mobile.

The other spot to consider is a guest stint for one of New York's signings, possibly Pirlo or Lampard. We need a backup goalkeeper, as, with the way things have panned out, it looks like we're going with Tando as our #1. Michael Zullo could possibly also become available in the coming weeks and he would be a very handy acquisition.

All in all, I'd say it's been a very solid offseason, almost as much for clearing out so much dead wood as for the pick ups we've made. One or two more killer signings would absolutely top it off though.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Well, that was fun while it lasted...

http://www.foxsports.com.au/footbal...-for-europe-move/story-e6frf423-1227440649219

MELBOURNE City has found a new defensive marshal with former Fulham and Newcastle United mainstay Aaron Hughes signed on a one-year deal.

But City star Aaron Mooy could be on the way out, however, with the midfielder set to receive at least one European offer within the next 48 hours.

Mooy, who has another year to run on his contract, is attracting interest from the English Premier League, German Bundesliga and Dutch Eredivisie.

City has offered Mooy a lucrative long-term contract extension, which would make him the club’s new Australian marquee.

However, Mooy, who turns 25 in September, is eager to cement his spot in Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos side and views a move abroad as his best avenue to do so.

At the end of the day, I look at supporting an A-League club a bit like supporting a Sheffield Shield side. I don't want to see players of Mooy's calibre kicking around at Melbourne City for ten years, unless the standard of the league improves significantly. But...it would be nice to have him for one more year...

 

[pantskyle]

I think he was always leaving.

 

[eth-dog]

I'm half glad that he's leaving because he's a great player and deserves to play in Europe. It will be a gigantic hole to fill however.

 

[Smokin]

smells a bit like a bid to be the Aussie marquee. We could do worse & free up a spot for another Aussie.