The Melbourne City Thread

[Mr_Bojangles]

Sorry to intrude but really happy for Tando tonight. Deserved win.

 

[GreekLunatic]

in two games without spudmayne in goals we have kept a clean sheet. Well done tando

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I read somewhere that Redmayne has eight clean sheets in his entire career. Velaphi didn't have to do much at all in the Brisbane game, but he was outstanding last night.

I was so pumped that Melling didn't cop a red. As far as I'm concerned, it's a Scott Thompson/Barry Hall (or <insert tagger that's not even pretending to be interested about the ball here>) situation: if one guy (Broxham) is holding the man that's trying to make a play for an extended period (even after the whistle has gone), he ****ing deserves whatever he cops. And it's the height of comedy to hear all these 'hard arse' Victory supporters squealing like stuck pigs about it. They would have lost the game last week, had it not been for Milligan's unprovoked and unpunished (on the night) elbow on Antonis. You win some, you lose some. And Berisha might want to read The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Some solid coaching advice in there for him.

Must get a result against Perth. We can't afford to again have a disappointing performance as soon as we look to be picking up some momentum.

 

[dascman03]

I have to say, I think people are getting a little bit carried away with Velaphi. Had the disallowed goal been allowed, and I reckon it was pretty borderline, everyone would have (rightly) criticised him for fumbling the initial shot that led to the scramble. In a 1-0 loss or 1-1 draw, it would've been a costly error in a game we dominated for large periods.

There's no doubt he did well otherwise - some of the saves from Victory's set pieces in particular were terrific - and I've wanted him to get an extended run in the side for over 12 months... but I reckon we should temper our expectations at least a little bit.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I have to say, I think people are getting a little bit carried away with Velaphi. Had the disallowed goal been allowed, and I reckon it was pretty borderline, everyone would have (rightly) criticised him for fumbling the initial shot that led to the scramble. In a 1-0 loss or 1-1 draw, it would've been a costly error in a game we dominated for large periods.

There's no doubt he did well otherwise - some of the saves from Victory's set pieces in particular were terrific - and I've wanted him to get an extended run in the side for over 12 months... but I reckon we should temper our expectations at least a little bit.

Redmayne's last clean sheet was in February.

 

[dascman03]

Like I said, I've been wanting Velaphi to have his chance for more than a year - he definitely should have been our number one going into this season, IMO. I don't particularly rate either Velaphi or Redmayne, and I get that it's nice to see at least semi-competent play at the position for the first time in a while (!), but the clean sheets obviously aren't always exclusively on the goalkeeper.

Chapman is getting a lot of the plaudits (rightly, he'll be a star), but we should also be praising Garuccio IMO. Despite not being a natural defender like Ramsay, he has far greater positional sense than Ramsay and looks far more composed. He really should've be our first-choice left-back from the opening game after showing at least some competence late last year. A natural full-back would be nice, but Garuccio looks a clear upgrade on Ramsay, who played with more freedom and put in a positive display at his natural position against Victory.

 

[kangaspurs]

Like I said, I've been wanting Velaphi to have his chance for more than a year - he definitely should have been our number one going into this season, IMO. I don't particularly rate either Velaphi or Redmayne, and I get that it's nice to see at least semi-competent play at the position for the first time in a while (!), but the clean sheets obviously aren't always exclusively on the goalkeeper.

Chapman is getting a lot of the plaudits (rightly, he'll be a star), but we should also be praising Garuccio IMO. Despite not being a natural defender like Ramsay, he has far greater positional sense than Ramsay and looks far more composed. He really should've be our first-choice left-back from the opening game after showing at least some competence late last year. A natural full-back would be nice, but Garuccio looks a clear upgrade on Ramsay, who played with more freedom and put in a positive display at his natural position against Victory.

Agree with you on Garuccio. He actually LOOKED like a full-back and all but shut Barbarouses, who absolutely killed us in the first derby, out of the game

I read on Fox Sports Football, I think, that JVS has been given the authority to clear out a lot of players in January to clear up some room in the cap to get more players in. I really hope we get a fullback or two and a GK as a result of this. I'm pretty sure we still have a Visa spot open as well so hopefully we'll see someone foreign come in and fill that.
It also means that JVS has been backed, in the short-term at least, as the man for the job if he's been allowed to bring in more of his own players. I don't mind it if he has becasue I rate him as a manager and if he can fill a few obvious holes we could end up with a really strong squad for the second half of the season.

 

[Vdubs]

Agree with you on Garuccio. He actually LOOKED like a full-back and all but shut Barbarouses, who absolutely killed us in the first derby, out of the game

I read on Fox Sports Football, I think, that JVS has been given the authority to clear out a lot of players in January to clear up some room in the cap to get more players in. I really hope we get a fullback or two and a GK as a result of this. I'm pretty sure we still have a Visa spot open as well so hopefully we'll see someone foreign come in and fill that.
It also means that JVS has been backed, in the short-term at least, as the man for the job if he's been allowed to bring in more of his own players. I don't mind it if he has becasue I rate him as a manager and if he can fill a few obvious holes we could end up with a really strong squad for the second half of the season.

Good points.
Watched the Youth team beat Perth, who are the top team- MC now only 1 point or so below?
What is it about Perth this year?
Will Nick Kalmar be one of the first cut? The forgotten NK. He and Hoffman are the only 2 originals left. Not sure what has gone on there- always thought NK showed a lot when given a few games.
I really like JVS too. Makes complete sense, and is a pretty dignified character, no rubbish in his pressers.

 

[kangaspurs]

Good points.
Watched the Youth team beat Perth, who are the top team- MC now only 1 point or so below?
What is it about Perth this year?
Will Nick Kalmar be one of the first cut? The forgotten NK. He and Hoffman are the only 2 originals left. Not sure what has gone on there- always thought NK showed a lot when given a few games.
I really like JVS too. Makes complete sense, and is a pretty dignified character, no rubbish in his pressers.

Couldn't tell you about the Youth League mate, I don't really keep up to date with it apart from a quick look here or there. But Perth are unbelievable this year, I think their Women's side lost in the Grand Final as well. I think the rise of their 1st team can just about be put down to Kenny Lowe, he seems a fantastic manager and a really good guy. A long way removed from the rampant nepotism and discord they experienced under Allistair Edwards last season. It's more than fair to say that Andy Keogh's been a handy pick up as well, but I also think that Rostyn Griffiths was a good get for them, he's been really good shielding the back 4 for them this season. Add that to the natural improvement of guys like Danny de Silva and Josh Risdon and the quality of Marinkovic and it males for a good side. In saying all that we'll still knock them off on boxing day though.

Yeah, the word is that Kalmar and Wielart will be the first couple to go and considering the form of especially Wielart earlier in the season and the emergence of Chapman I'm not too bothered by that. Also, when you've got guys like Mooy, Paartalu, Koren and Murdocca in our midfield I'm not sure Kalmar would get too much of a look in anyway.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Players like Wielaert and Kalmar are contracted until the end of the year, so we'd have to find them another club, otherwise their contracts will be on our books anyway. The word with Kalmar is that Newcastle was interested and he's refused to go...it might not be that simple to just cut him loose.

As for Wielaert, well, he's been poor value for a visa player this season (and now looks like he'll struggle to get a look in), but unless we've got another centre back in mind (preferably an Aussie), I'd hang on to him. What are we going to do if Kisnorbo or Chapman gets injured? We're not exactly loaded with options there. Beyond that, if we somehow did find a player that was of a comparable talent to Wielaert, would he be happy to be strictly a depth player, behind our captain and a young player that is looking like the next big thing at this early stage? And if he is good enough to earn the starting spot, would Chapman be happy to go back to the bench, after such a promising start as a senior player? With Wielaert still in the squad, we have the option to give Kisnorbo a rest at some point over these next three games (it will have been four games in fifteen days by the time we hit the break).

We have a senior core of the eleven players that started for us on Saturday, with Koren, Kennedy and Duff to come in, Brown, Redmayne and Wielaert as decent bench options, Murdocca to fill a role somewhere, presumably Germano/Miller/a new visa player thereabouts and hopefully Mauk, Retre, Archibald and Marino keeping the pressure on the incumbents. I think we should definitely chop Miller and certainly Kalmar if he will accept it and see if we can find a left back with that money (and we would have a spare visa slot, if we wanted to look overseas). I would also not be against saying goodbye to Germano, but it looks like he's timing his latest injury recovery pretty well to stay safe in the January transfer period. He's a good (and - importantly - versatile) player and a good club man, but he simply can't get on the park and stay there. And that's one thing for an Australian player, but it's too costly to use a visa slot on a player that is just constantly injured. A potential spanner in the works though is that I believe Germano can become an Australian citizen after this season and if he does that, I would be wiling to keep him.

Miller and Kalmar out, a quality, natural left back in, Kennedy up front, Duff on a wing, Koren into the midfield. All of a sudden, guys like Murdocca have gone from automatic starters to being in danger of missing out on even a bench spot.

 

[pantskyle]

Not sure how Mooy didn't make the Australian side for the Asian Cup. Good for us I guess.

 

[Vdubs]

Not sure how Mooy didn't make the Australian side for the Asian Cup. Good for us I guess.

Agree. Looks to be the best player in our team by a mile, and close to the best performed in A-League week after week.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Cassio has been cut from Adelaide United, after a falling out with Gombau (I think he was left out of the Cup squad and then cracked the sads and didn't bother to celebrate with his teammates or even congratulate them). If his head is screwed on right, I reckon we could do a lot worse as a (natural) left back option for the rest of the season. He's not a visa player anymore either. I'd be reluctant to immediately start him ahead of Garuccio, but it would be great to have an experienced full back option, who is actually a natural full back. It would remain to be seen how he would respond if he wasn't able to push into the starting lineup, but if he can't get a start for Melbourne City as a left back, that probably says more about where he's at as a player.

 

[Vdubs]

Cassio has been cut from Adelaide United, after a falling out with Gombau (I think he was left out of the Cup squad and then cracked the sads and didn't bother to celebrate with his teammates or even congratulate them). If his head is screwed on right, I reckon we could do a lot worse as a (natural) left back option for the rest of the season. He's not a visa player anymore either. I'd be reluctant to immediately start him ahead of Garuccio, but it would be great to have an experienced full back option, who is actually a natural full back. It would remain to be seen how he would respond if he wasn't able to push into the starting lineup, but if he can't get a start for Melbourne City as a left back, that probably says more about where he's at as a player.

Great points there.
Garuccio is going to be a beauty.
Serious question MC, how do you rate the atmosphere of the Derby games cf a Geelong Hawks H & A game?
These A-League games are really growing on me, and am finding MORE enjoyment than AFL games, to some extent, and not related to Geelong's recent finals, as MCFC has not exactly been overly successful.

 

[Tripleginger]

Great points there.
Garuccio is going to be a beauty.
Serious question MC, how do you rate the atmosphere of the Derby games cf a Geelong Hawks H & A game?
These A-League games are really growing on me, and am finding MORE enjoyment than AFL games, to some extent, and not related to Geelong's recent finals, as MCFC has not exactly been overly successful.

Victory is the only reason the Derbys rate, MC gets 10k max to a game. That said,the derbys are amazing.
Victory would be a brilliant side to support, bit like hawthorn

 

[eth-dog]

Good result tonight, 4 points against arguably the 2 best teams in the comp back-to-back is excellent for the club. Only 4 points off Sydney FC with a game in hand.

 

[sverik25]

Good result tonight, 4 points against arguably the 2 best teams in the comp back-to-back is excellent for the club. Only 4 points off Sydney FC with a game in hand.

I thought if either side deserved to win it it was City as well. The draw was probably a fair result though.

 

[The Coup]

Melling, Mooy and Paartalu > Villa, Koren, Duff

 

[eth-dog]

I'm hoping we line up vs Newcastle like:

Velaphi
Hoffman - Chapman - Kisnorbo - Garrucio
Melling - Paartalu
Koren - Mooy - Duff
Williams​

 

[Vdubs]

Melling, Mooy and Paartalu > Villa, Koren, Duff

Body weights? Agree.

Unfair comparisons really. Villa gave us our only scores weeks 1 & 2, when we did not look like scoring, he was underdone, and then had NY responsibilities.
Koren is returning from a long term serious oldies calf injury.
Duff was great until his recent ? calf injury.

That said, the 3 you first mentioned have been brilliant for us. Mooy is Manchester City capable. Paartalu is our top goalscorer, Melling is the tenacity and physicality we have been desperately in need of.

Side issue- we remain the ONLY team to have scored a goal in each and every game this year . Great record.

 

[The Coup]

I'm hoping we line up vs Newcastle like:

Velaphi
Hoffman - Chapman - Kisnorbo - Garrucio
Melling - Paartalu
Koren - Mooy - Duff
Williams​

Perfect. And then Williams out, Kennedy in. Dugandzic first off the bench.

 

[eth-dog]

Perfect. And then Williams out, Kennedy in. Dugandzic first off the bench.

Yep, slide Dugandzic in for Koren, then Melling off for somebody else (Mooy back to midfield) and Brown on for Duff to finish.

 

[dascman03]

Disappointing not to get the 3 points. We definitely had the better of the game, although as usual, we allowed the opposition some glorious chances on the break. Velaphi's save from Djulbic off the set piece after they equalised was equal parts great and lucky.

Kisnorbo had a truly dreadful game, I thought. The PK non-decision on Garcia was 50:50, Paddy was probably lucky. Then he lost Garcia for the goal, and lost Djulbic for the other chance 5 minutes later. Just a bad day. Chapman impressed again though.

Vukovic's save from Mooy after our insane spell of pressure (5-6 corners in succession) was top, top shelf. To save that with all those bodies in front of him was superb. Was probably our last genuine chance to win it as well.

Definitely more positive signs in recent games.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Great points there.
Garuccio is going to be a beauty.
Serious question MC, how do you rate the atmosphere of the Derby games cf a Geelong Hawks H & A game?
These A-League games are really growing on me, and am finding MORE enjoyment than AFL games, to some extent, and not related to Geelong's recent finals, as MCFC has not exactly been overly successful.

It's pretty much impossible for me to compare, to be honest. For a start, I'm an MCC member, so for every Geelong v Hawthorn game, I'm in an area that would be at least 60% Hawthorn. I'm a Premium B City member, so if it's a City home game, there's just a sprinkling of Victory people around and I'm about five metres from the sideline, compared to usually level two at the MCG. I also have far more genuine dislike for Hawthorn than I do for Victory. I'm hungry for City to start to consistently be the best Melbourne team and bridge the gap in attendances and members over time, but in general, I don't have anything against Victory (besides some of the tossers that come in here). I went to the game last night on a Victory supporter's membership, sat with a bunch of Victory-supporting mates and cheered Finkler's goal. Unless I've got money on the result, I always want Hawthorn to lose and even though I have plenty of good mates that are Hawthorn supporters, I can't imagine ever going to a Hawthorn game against anyone other than Geelong.

The game day experience is also far different, as I'm sure most of the people on Big Footy (especially Victorians) grew up alongside friends that supported all of the Victorian clubs and it was never a big deal, a bit of good-natured banter aside. I've resented the times when I've been told that I need to exit AAMI Park at a different gate to where I would choose. With City/Victory, there's far too much monkey see/monkey do with our excitable European friends and I just have never understood all this firm/ultra BS.

A classic example of this would be walking to the Christmas derby up Swan Street, with a mate who wasn't going (but is, incidentally, a Victory member). We were walking past the Post Office Hotel (the nearest pub to the rail bridge on the eastern end) and there was maybe 15-20 Victory supporters milling about out the front. I would have been to dozens of Geelong games at the MCG walking the same route and seen a similar-sized group of Hawthorn/Collingwood/Carlton etc. supporters, so didn't even give it a second thought. But once I got to the middle of the group, they formed a circle and started chanting 'YOU'VE GOT NO FANS...YOU'VE GOT NO FANS...etc...' I just laughed at them and started clapping as I walked on, but they probably did the same thing to every MC supporter that walked past. And I don't care what anyone here says about A-League supporters being persecuted in the media and by police: if I had walked past the same spot six months from now in a Geelong polo shirt and Joffa and 20 Collingwood cheer squad members had been sitting there, I'd be surprised if they even looked up. There is a bit of mob mentality and a lot less respect generally between the opposition supporters, as far as I'm concerned. Heart/City is hardly blameless in this regard either: way too preoccupied with what Victory is doing and the anti-Muscat, anti-Thompson, anti-Victory chants are bad enough at a derby; they're absolutely pathetic, when they pull them out when we're playing another team. Small town mentality and it's symptomatic of what's been wrong with this club historically (starting with the CEO).

It's a different experience between the sports and I think anyone that doesn't acknowledge that is kidding themself, frankly.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Disappointing not to get the 3 points. We definitely had the better of the game, although as usual, we allowed the opposition some glorious chances on the break. Velaphi's save from Djulbic off the set piece after they equalised was equal parts great and lucky.

Kisnorbo had a truly dreadful game, I thought. The PK non-decision on Garcia was 50:50, Paddy was probably lucky. Then he lost Garcia for the goal, and lost Djulbic for the other chance 5 minutes later. Just a bad day. Chapman impressed again though.

Vukovic's save from Mooy after our insane spell of pressure (5-6 corners in succession) was top, top shelf. To save that with all those bodies in front of him was superb. Was probably our last genuine chance to win it as well.

Definitely more positive signs in recent games.

Content with the point, but we're still behind overall this season and we probably even should be looking at it retrospectively, because a draw is excellent if we get 4/6 points from the next two games, but it's not good enough if we get 0-2.

I suppose the points you make also highlight why Wielaert is still going to be an important player for us for the rest of the season. Yeah, we're probably paying overs for him and he's a bit of a waste of a visa spot, but we need him, with the squad as it stands.

Interesting that Kalmar has agreed to depart to WSW. I assume Miller is on the way out too and hopefully that means we have the ability to get a genuine starting-calibre left back.