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Time for some stats https://www.transfermarkt.com/marcin-budzinski/leistungsdaten/spieler/82173/saison/2017/plus/1#AUS1 Marcin Budzinski: 638 mins - 5 goals - 1 assist --> 106 mins per contribution In comparison....... Andrew Nabbout: 1654 mins - 8 goals - 6 assists --> 118 mins per contribution Milos Ninkovic: 1317 mins - 3 goals - 2 assists --> 263 mins per contribution Dimi Petratos: 1607 mins - 7 goals - 6 assists --> 123 mins per contribution Adrian Mierzejewski: 1229 mins - 9 goals - 6 assists --> 81 mins per contribution Of course this does not take into account work-rate, defensive stats or chances created. But agaisnt the leagues top performing midfielders Budzik arguably contributes more to goals then most. (Also I thought Budzik had more then 1 assist?) EDIT: My math was wrong

I'd be astounded if he was on minimum wage tbh. IMO he'd be on 100k give or take a little. Tbh i think the stuff he's copping is a direct response to those that thought he was amongst our best in the middle rounds regardless of of performance. I'm not sure why but for some reason some people seem to think he's amazing when he's clearly not. That's not to say an in-form Fitzy isnt a good player, i really love his attitude and work ethic, but he's clearly quite limited in some aspects. At worst he's an excellent A League sub, at his best he's a solid if not spectacular starting winger imo and that's likely to be his level throughout his career from what i can see. Absolutely agree that a good goal could really kick start his season again and add a crucial element to our push for the title.

I wouldn't play him. 2 reasons. Firstly best case scenario for him is 30 minutes tops against Sydney. Our next game will be two weeks later he would be even more ready. So no need to have him and risk anything. Secondly if and its a big if, we get a result against Sydney and we do it without Bruno that would create extra pressure when we play them again possibly in a big finals game. Or alternatively if we lose we can fall back on the "we didn't have our best striker" line. But having him involved would give the players a boost not to mention the fans but I reackon the first points outweigh the third. So for me keep the powder dry. And have him warm up pre match but not involved at all just leave him an unused sub.

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@Jovan For Strikers (Top 5 that haven't been compared yet) Marcin Budzinski: 638 mins - 5 goals - 1 assist --> 106 mins per contribution In comparison....... Bobo: 1571 mins - 18 goals - 5 assists --> 68 mins per contribution Ross McCormack: 1206 mins - 14 goals - 0 assists --> 86 mins per contribution Besart Berisha: 1523 mins - 8 goals - 2 assists --> 152 mins per contribution Massimo Maccarone: 1692 mins - 8 goals - 2 assists --> 169 mins per contribution Andrija Kaludjerovic: 1458 mins - 8 goals - 0 assists --> 182 mins per contribution Of course this does not take into account work-rate, defensive stats or chances created. But agaisnt the leagues top performing midfielders Budzik arguably contributes more to goals then most.

I love your work on this forum Haz, but you need to get out more mate

If this doesn't give you a full-blown erection nothing in this world ever will.

When you say ready what is it exactly are you say he is ready for? A start and maybe 70mins like recently or a 20 to 30 off the bench. I can't see him playing 90mins until March. All I'm saying is both scenarios are both risky if he breaks down and why not sacrifice 70mins or 30 mins to give him another 14 days and the likelihood of playing out the season and hitting peak form come finals time. This is entirely a physios/medical decision and the way they handled Ross gives me confidence they will make the right decision. But never hurts to speculate regardless of the facts.

Exactly this. The team is immediately better the moment this bloke steps on the pitch for us, I don't care what anyone says. If he's ready play him.

Seems to be getting caught in two minds a lot lately. Probably a by-product of trying too hard to impress & win his spot back. Like others have said, he just needs to simplify his game again, lay the ball off & run to space or behind the line, that's when he/we look most dangerous. In fairness, he's still getting himself into the right position, he's just lacking confidence. A goal or a quality assist should get him back on track. I think people are very quick to forget that the kid would likely be the lowest paid player (minimum wage) in our entire squad & was our most consistent player the last half of last year & first half of this. He deserves some slack IMO. Having a lull in form/confidence/quality is the norm for most (non-elite) players, look at Mooy currently at Huddersfield (no, i'm not saying they're the same quality).

If you listen to the podcast Jamo touches on Dean and his development

TTIM the afl telling the carlton aflw team they need to play more expansive football. Fuck off I'm no carlton or aflw fan, but its sport if they have worked out a tactical advantage then why the fuck should they be stopped? The afl is an absolute joke of an organisation, shame most average footy fans are knuckle daggers who don't show dissatisfaction in the right ways and let them get away with this shit.

Late bloomer? Leckie had outgrown the A League by the age 20 when he left for Germany. Also, Leckie is only 1 year older than Fitzy (and has 49 caps).

I agree completely. There's a world of difference between two 70-minute sessions at CFA in matches that don't matter and putting him out there against Sydney where he could be cut down again before he even gets going. Budzinski, Vidosic, Mauk and Arzani have shown that they work nicely together, so it's not critical to bring Bruno back if he's not 100% ready.

Bouzanis Atkinson - Schenkeveld - Jakobsen - Jamieson Brattan - Malik Budzinski/Vidosic Arzani - Bruno - Eddahri Galekovic, Budzinski/Vidosic, Mauk, Fitzgerald, Delbridge, Kamau Najaarine, Pierias, Tongyik, Cavallo, Metcalfe, Genreau, Delianov Pretty bloody strong. No visible weakness and virtually a replacement for each position of some quality.

It takes weeks and weeks to get properly match sharp out there. If he's fit and ready to go we need him getting as much game time as soon as possible. Needs to play this week without doubt.

I too like to lock myself in the coolroom at work

Guys, please, it's "We go wild, wild wild"

Id let Mooy penetrate me anytime

Bad haircuts?

any more of these coming soon?

Mid April I'll be back in Australia.... not Melbourne though. I apologise in advance for our first round elimination

Even if Bruno is an unused sub on the bench, it will boost his confidence being back out on the pitch

Best thing from it, is confirmation of what most Aleague supporters think, Fox Sports commentary and punditry is just utter garbage

https://www.a-league.com.au/news/what-it-takes-finish-hyundai-a-leagues-top-two 16-18 points from last 24 will prob be required to nab 2nd. 12 should pretty much guarantee us 3rd.

Haven't listened to it yet but great podcast boys

Really enjoyed that one.

Jamo mentioned to us (off-air I think) that Atkinson was already running again so it seems he's recovering well

Harry Kewell is up for Manager of the month in League Two. He has Crawley Town 6 points outside the playoffs.

If we start defensively then we're likely to fall behind and be chasing the game, a scenario that plays to the smurf's strengths

Maybe change their name, their crest and the colours of their sporting teams but as a compromise let them play in their original colours when they are playing away from home.

I think having lost his starting spot to Dario and Arzani is making him try to hard to do something special, I think you're right Aardvark.

I really like him but I agree that he isn't the gun he has been made out to be at times. He has some excellent attributes that make him likeable; he has a great workrate, plays direct and in the past hasn't been afraid to pull the trigger, something the rest of our team has been reluctant to do. Atm all his play seems so forced and desperate. Instead of doing the simple things well he is almost always either getting tunnel vision going for a speculative shot or alternatively when he does look to pass they are all backheel flicks or other low percentage plays. Usually if someone is struggling you get them to focus on the basics and build up from there, but to me it seems that he is going for the fancy stuff and hoping that if he pulls it off the rest of his game will flow on from that one moment of glory. In form he is comfortably a good A-League player, unfortunately he has been stuck in a rut for about 2 months now though.

It's a reflection of all this "gender" crap that has taken over the media since the gay marriage debate.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-05/greeks-rally-in-athens-to-protest-use-of-the-name-macedonia/9395502 @Tesla thoughts?

The part that I find anmoying is that I don't think he had fully hit his stride and that all parties would have benifitted from extending the loan.

Looks like what I suspected. The club did all the gymnastics to sort out the A League rules (presumably this was creating space to bring Bud under the cap, thus Ross could be the #2nd marquee), but couldn’t get Villa to agree on an acceptable price. In part Ross’s form may have been part of the problem, it reinstated his value seemingly moving him out of City’s price range. Anyway I’ll join everyone in thanking Ross for his contribution. I think it was a success for both parties, as when he arrived he was covered in rust, but by the time he left he looked sharp.

Really disappointing outcome for us and for McCormack. It now seems certain that Villa wanted a loan fee such that we were going to breach the salary cap thanks to FFA's "Lampard Rule." I wouldn't mind if Villa had an alternative future for him other than giving him a holiday. He's their player, but it just seems bloody-minded on their part not to let him finish the season with us. Thanks Ross for everything you did for City and us, the fans, and all the best for the future.

Reminiscing usually involves a bit of gap. Melbourne heart still feels like a few months ago. If you squint your eyes really hard you can still see the same shitness on any given gameday.