Embee

Personally I think it'd be nice to maybe do that in person with Connor during the pre-season, if yourself or anyone on here is keen to present on behalf of the forum. EDIT: I see @neio has run this, perhaps he'd like to present it

Leckie - Maclaren - Nabbout. All locked in for the next 3 years. Has anybody else in the league ever had a front three of that ability locked in for that period of time?

Youtube video of the above if anyone missed it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vREEM5og31M

How fucking good was that

Nobody said he was responsible for our current performances or that anybody would want him back, you were straw manning.

I'm far from a Joyce apologist, I had a number of pretty significant issues with him during his time in charge, but it is notable that almost everybody I've spoken to who works at the club or was adjacent to the club during his time in charge speaks glowingly of some of the culture changes he assisted in embedding during his time there. The guy was clearly a 'my way or the highway' type man manager who had most of his experience taking that stance with younger players and seemingly struggled to find common ground with some of the more experienced guys in the squad. It's no coincidence that it was mostly outspoken veterans who he fell out with IMO. This isn't me attempting to canonize Joyce in any way, his tenure dealt a certain amount of damage to other aspects of the club, in particular fan engagement and attendances. However, from what I've heard/been told, he was pretty crucial in the beginnings of the mentality change at this club. Something which was then improved upon and potentially perfected by the Erick and Paddy duo. I think this point is probably relatively close to the truth tbh.

As TPF says, none taken haha He's incredible value. Not to mention that he came on after we reached out to him the night before, so to make time on such short notice was very generous of him. Excellent character and our club is lucky to have him around.

I'm hoping that Arnold has some sympathy for the plight of the A-League managers and might avoid taking someone who he doesn't deem as an essential pick. Obviously it'd be great for Curtis to go, and he deserves it IMO, but to take him out of our finals campaign to go and warm the bench for the Roos would be incredibly frustrating from a City perspective. We'll see I guess.

Pretty much where I sit tbh. It hasn't garnered much coverage because of the struggles of Brebner and Robinson, but Garcia has absolutely tanked a quality (but old) list. Not sure he was the right choice to take over a dressing room full of such strong and combustible personalities, wouldn't be surprised if he's lost them already.

Jamieson or Noone?

Lid is well and truly off. I'll accept my green line in advance, thank you.

Break out the fine china, the plate's coming home.

I believe this to be the case. I would expect he's here as insurance. As the schedule gets busier towards the end of the season, if Galloway/Jamo/Gooch go down or need rotation here's there to fill in.

Whilst I think we've definitely got a good crop of VISAs down here at the moment (Victory and Newcastle excluded), I honestly think the 5 sub rule has made as much of a difference as anything else tbh. More fresh players on the park and coaches having more opportunities to adjust and react during games. Agree wholeheartedly that it's the best A-League season we've seen for some time though, possibly the best ever. Another incredible finish having just gone by in Wollongong too!

Alright guys, we've got our second pod of the week uploaded. THIS one contains considerably more derby chat... https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/talkingcity

Haha knew there was something fishy! For those that missed it, we've uploaded tonight's SEN episode to Spotify/the apps etc already. It's basically entirely dedicated to the news surrounding the super league, with some callers making predictable comparisons to the A-League etc. Here's a direct link: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/talkingcity

Send it to my PO Box at Bundoora

https://www.espn.com.au/football/melbourne-city-women/story/4344261/melbourne-citys-rhali-dobson-set-to-retire-early-this-is-bigger-than-the-sport Really good article from Joey Lynch here, too.

Looking forward to seeing Mark Natta attempt to stop Nabbout/Jmac/Noone again

I wouldn't tbh

Ground announcer here, lol. Not a con job, at that point in time the intent was to play in red and have a proper 'retro round' akin to last season's 10 year anniversary. Unfortunately there was an issue getting the third kit organized (I don't know the details) and the retro game has been delayed to another home game later in the year, I've been advised it will still take place. For those who enjoyed (or didn't) The Living End winning song I'd advise you let the club know, as they're interested to see what the response to it was. Definitely went with a Melbourne based band on purpose.

Still can't believe we wasted a squad spot on this spud.... He's been absolutely fantastic more or less since leaving the Victory the first time around. Even last year his struggles were heavily overplayed IMO. He was still relatively productive despite being out of shape (seems like the Victory should wear some blame for this based on Andrew's comments) and being surrounded by a squad full of absolute spuds. He's a rarity for this league in that he's absolutely sensational on both sides of the ball. Would be more than happy to place a 3 year marquee deal at his feet sooner rather than later.