Murfy1

MELBOURNE CITY AIMING FOR 3RD NYL CHAMPIONSHIP By Con Stamocostas Feb 1 2018 Ahead of Saturday’s National Youth League Grand Final against Western Sydney Wanderers, Melbourne City are aiming to defend their title and win their third championship in four years. The country’s best young players will get a chance to showcase their skills at Newcastle Jets' McDonald Jones Stadium this Saturday at 2pm, with the NYL decider being shown live on Fox Sports. After taking out the 2016-17 Grand Final against Sydney FC, City coach Joe Palatsides says City is looking for a repeat against the Wanderers, but added the development aspect is more important. “It’s a great reward for the players whose hard work means they have the Grand Final to look forward to this week,” he said speaking to FourFourTwo. “We want the boys to win, we want them to achieve a winning mentality because it’s an important part of their development. “But we keep saying our main objective is to get all our boys ready and capable to play A-League football and give them an opportunity to get to the top level in Australia and possible national team selection.” Over the past two seasons several Melbourne City youngsters have broken through to the senior ranks, with current A-League wonderkid Daniel Arzani the most notable of City youth team’s rising stars. Palatsides said having so many players rise through the youth ranks to the senior team has been a joy to watch. “We feel very blessed to have so many talented young players at the club,” he said. “Braedyn Crowley now has a senior contract after playing a lot of youth football last year and this year. We’ve had Daniel Atkisnon and Ruon Tongyik. Daniel Arzani who even though he is a senior contracted player has spent quite a bit of time with us. “Conor Metcalfe has made his debut two weeks ago, Dylan Pierias and Denis Genrea are in the national team set up as well and made both made debuts last year. “Even young Ramy Najjarine who is a very talented young player and he is also in and around the senior team as are many young players. “We are very proud that there is a lot of young players coming through.” While there have been several players who have made senior team debuts, Palatsides said the production line continues to funnel more youngsters. “We’ve got six scholarship players in the NYL but we have others,” he said. “Joshua Carvalo and James Delianov both have scholarships but we have other players that not many people may have heard of like Lucas Derrick, who is a very, very good player. “There is also Lucas Porterlli who is coming through and he is considered the next centre back at the football club. “Young Gianluca Iannucci and Zachary Bates have also performed really well in the course of the year and have come a really long way. “So much so that senior coach Warren Joyce comes and takes sessions for our youth team because he thinks so much of these good young players coming through. “So, we have seven players who could well be in line for senior team selection by the end of the year and we are also fortunate to have a really good coaching staff at the academy.” https://www.fourfourtwo.com.au/news/melbourne-city-aiming-for-3rd-nyl-championship-484227

ARZANI: YOUNG PLAYERS OFTEN GET OVERLOOKED By Clement Tito Feb 1 2018 Teenage Melbourne City sensation Daniel Arzani believes young players don’t get enough of a chance in Australia. Arzani has played seven games for City this season and netted his first goal last week against Newcastle Jets from a penalty. The 19-year-old was recently nominated for Young Footballer of the Year and has developed in City’s youth academy. Along with Arzani, youngsters Dylan Pierias, Denis Genreau and Braedyn Crowley have all had a sniff of senior football with City in the past two seasons. Arzani believes more Australian teenagers should be getting a chance at senior level. “I think there’s a lot of untouched talent in Australia, I think young Australian players often get overlooked for older foreign players,” Arzani said on Thursday. “I think given the chance, a lot of them will actually do really well. This season, we’ve got a couple of young players around the league doing well. “We’ve got (Christian) Theoharous, (Jacob) Italiano and I think we’ve got a lot of talent who can do well also.” With the amount of hype surrounding Arzani, he said the connections the City Football Group had were exciting, but was not thinking about a stint in Europe just yet. “You see so many Australian players, they go to Europe, they come back early and sometimes they go too early,” he said. “They should spend another year in the league, work on their game, their fitness, physicality and that’s what I’ve got to do. “I’ve got to get fitter, but I also think I’ve got to get stronger. I’ve got to be able to really dominate bigger defenders and I think that’s what you see from the little guys in the big leagues. “I’m just seeing what happens here. I think you’ve got to achieve something first in the A-League if you want to have a chance achieving something anywhere else in the world, so it’s just whenever that comes about.” Arzani also said he was confident his experience in the seniors will give his peers the confidence they would get a crack in the first-team. The 19-year-old took things into his own hands when he scored the penalty last week. “It was very exciting, I just grabbed the ball to be honest and I went up to (Michael) Jakobsen asking ‘can I take it?’ and he said ‘yeah, no worries’,” Arzani joked. “He wasn’t too keen on letting me take it, because I missed a couple in training the day before, but I said ‘nah, nah, I got this’ and he said ‘yeah, alright’. “Of course I was nervous, if I missed? Imagine… I was just happy to get the goal. “I wanted it, but credit goes to the boys, because we have a lot of experienced goal scorers and they said this was the chance for you to take it. “I think the other young boys knew that when the new gaffer came in, they saw that if you’re doing well, the gaffer will give you a chance. “They’re doing well now, but they just need to wait for that chance and when it comes I’m sure they’ll take it, so it’s very exciting. “Ramy Najjarine - he’s a gun. Pierias, Connor Metcalfe and Denis… I think you’ll see them all in the coming years.” Arzani has experience with the junior Australian national teams but is still yet to be capped at senior level. Many reports have touted him as a potential smoky for the Socceroos’ World Cup squad this year. Newly appointed Socceroos boss Bert van Marwijk will be addressing the media for the first time on Thursday and will be keeping a close eye on the games down under this weekend. Arzani’s parents are from Iran which makes him eligible to play for them, however is unsure about which country he would pick. He added: “It’s any kid’s dream, growing up, you want to play in a World Cup, you want to play in the A-League and all the top league’s everywhere and I’m just happy to be getting my opportunity.” https://www.fourfourtwo.com.au/news/arzani-young-players-often-get-overlooked-484226

Differing reports suggest both that A) we couldn't agree on a loan fee (or we didn't ultimately put forward a high enough figure to please Villa) and B.) Villa decided they might as well keep Ross for now

Davutovic's latest report on Melbourne City's transfer activity (posted January 31st): https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/teams/melbourne-city/daniel-arzani-could-be-australian-soccers-next-1-million-man/news-story/56f7fc83b950796ac216e400d27cff58

Davutovic's latest info on Arzani's contract situation (posted on Jan 31st): https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/teams/melbourne-city/daniel-arzani-could-be-australian-soccers-next-1-million-man/news-story/56f7fc83b950796ac216e400d27cff58

Ross McCormack’s time at Melbourne City appears over after Aston Villa block loan deal DAVID DAVUTOVIC, Herald Sun January 31, 2018 MELBOURNE City hopes of prolific striker Ross McCormack returning for the club’s A-League finals campaign have been dashed with Aston Villa blocking a loan extension. City, who are away to Brisbane Roar on Sunday, were hoping to seal an attacking signing before most European transfer windows close on Thursday morning. City’s scoring hopes will now rest on the shoulders of Bruno Fornaroli, who could return to the squad within a fortnight after a successful 90-minute return in last Friday’s youth team friendly. McCormack held talks with Aston Villa in the last 48 hours and hoped to convince them to enable him to return for a second A-League stint after his injury-replacement deal for Fornaroli expired. In the end it’s believed that McCormack, who scored 14 goals in 17 games at City, was handed a lifeline at promotion-chasing Villa after it appeared that manager Steve Bruce had ruled a line through him. Relations between Bruce and McCormack have been tense since their infamous bust-up after the Scottish striker failed to show up for training last January but the Villa boss left the door ajar for a McCormack comeback after confirming that the City deal was dead. “McCormack looks as if he’s come to an end at Melbourne,” Bruce said. “I would have liked him to have stayed in Australia and play because I think he’s benefited from playing. But he’ll come back in and we’ll see how he is. “I’ve given him a couple of weeks off. He can’t go anywhere else because he’s played for two other clubs. “When he comes back after having a couple of weeks off I’ll have a chat with him, see where he’s up to and we’ll go from there. “You can never say never and I’ll never ever cut off my nose to spite my face, even though I’d like to at times. We’ll see what happens.” Sydney FC were locked in talks on A-League transfer deadline day, with former Central Coast attacker Fabio Ferreira destined to sign. The Sky Blues had already signed defender Ben Warland from Adelaide United. Central Coast Mariners confirmed the sale of attacker Kwabena Appiah, who joins a Korean top flight club. Melbourne City were also linked with Mariners midfielder Liam Rose. Only uncontracted players can be signed by A-League clubs after the close of the transfer window, which in most countries is January 31. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/teams/melbourne-city/ross-mccormacks-time-at-melbourne-city-appears-over-after-aston-villa-block-loan-deal/news-story/f24811957a0aa63719adb5699c3eaee8

Maybe Ross is getting the 2 weeks off to have time with his family, which he hasn't seen in a few months. I recall that we agreed to give Ross about a week off in February to see his family, if we re-signed him. However, the talks between MCFC and Aston Villa don't sound like they are progressing very well ATM... Maybe MCFC should look at signing another quality attacker if we can't re-sign Ross (Not many strikers out there. Chris Ikonomidis or Ajdin Hrustic on loan or longer?)

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce on McCormack (30th Jan 2018): "McCormack looks as if he’s come to an end at Melbourne. I’ve given him a couple of weeks off. He can’t go anywhere else because he’s played for two other clubs. When he comes back after having a couple of weeks off I’ll have a chat with him, see where he’s up to and we’ll go from there. I would have liked him to have stayed in Australia and play because I think he’s benefited from playing. But he’ll come back in and we’ll see how he is. It’s disappointing on both sides. You can never say never and I’ll never ever cut off my nose to spite my face, even though I’d like to at times. We’ll see what happens. At the moment, he’s away for the next couple of weeks." https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/the-rules-rules-every-word-14217013 Another new article (which I'm not so sure about, as it might be a rewrite of the above press conference) says: Ross McCormack poised for talks over Aston Villa future next month By Matt Maher | Aston Villa | Published: 11 hours ago | Last Updated: 1 hour ago Villa will hold talks with Ross McCormack next month with the striker facing an uncertain future. McCormack has been given two weeks off by boss Steve Bruce, having returned to the UK last Friday following the end of his loan spell at Melbourne City. Fifa rules, which limit the number of clubs a player can turn out for in a single season, mean the 31-year-old is unable to move anywhere in England, while a return to Australia has also been ruled out. A switch to the USA and the MLS, where the season does not begin until March, is an option. Neither has Bruce entirely ruled out a return to the fold at Villa, though that would currently seem a long shot. “I have given Ross a couple of weeks off,” said the boss. “He can’t go anywhere else because he has played for two clubs. When he comes back, we’ll have a chat and go from there.” McCormack scored 14 goals in 17 appearances for Melbourne, after making the move Down Under in early October as an injury replacement for Bruno Fornaroli. The A-League’s salary cap rules meant his stay could not be extended beyond the end of January, despite Bruce, Villa and the player’s preference being for him to remain in Australia. McCormack has not featured for Villa in the Championship since last January following a high-profile falling out with the manager. His only appearances for the club this term came in the Carabao Cup. Bruce added: “I would have liked him to stay in Australia and play. I think he has benefited from playing. He’ll come back and we will see how he is. “You can never say never. I will never cut off my nose to spite my face. We will see what happens.” https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/aston-villa/2018/01/29/ross-mccormack-poised-for-talks-over-aston-villa-future-next-month/

Melbourne City looked at signing Liam Rose in April 2016 : "All of that must be concerning to Liam Rose, the highly rated 19-year-old who was an almost ever-present for the Mariners this year. Rose has a year left in Gosford, but we hear Melbourne City are very keen on reuniting him with Nick Fitzgerald and Anthony Cacares." (source) On paper it seems funny signing another midfielder. However, I agree that Liam Rose would be good backup if either Malik or Brattan become injured or unable to play. Joyce seems to prefer Budzinski and Mauk in more attacking/advanced positions. Also, then Jakobsen will thankfully be able to continue playing in defence if we have Rose as cover for Malik and Brattan. The one thing to be weary about with this signing is it taking up precious salary cap money, which could perhaps be used to pay Aston Villa for a loan fee for McCormack for the remainder of the season. The latter piece of business should be concluded first IMO.

The overall point I was making was: Kilkenny was very good for us last season, then Joyce arrived and he didn't play at all for months, and now he's left for Perth and within a week he is already playing more and seemingly playing well. Seemingly the only factor between Kilkenny being a good player for us last season and now is Joyce, and maybe because of Joyce's limitations with press conferences and media he has been unable to explain why Kilkenny couldn't be a good player in the team or squad, and had to be released. By the way, I don't recall anywhere saying I wasn't taking a side or position, I just didn't want to do a speculating/guessing argument about things we can't see and don't have facts about (topics which are often speculated on include: Joyce's relationships with players, the attitude of players, and the impact of players on 'the team's culture'). Also, I don't think it's a good idea for clubs to ignore, freeze out or release good/quality players, like Kilkenny. The same could be said about Brandan, and maybe Carrusca and Cahill. I believe it's vital for A-League clubs, with small squads of 20 to 23, to get as much out of all of their players as they can. Perhaps that's a key difference between Joyce in 3rd place, who gets a lot out of many players, and Arnold in 1st place, who gets a lot out of pretty much all of his players. I don't like the idea of simply being "for" or "against" the manager. I'd prefer to give more detailed and fairer assessments. Yes, I sometimes say things which are effectively a criticism of Joyce--for example, not managing to get something out of good players, like Kilkenny (and maybe others), and then even releasing Kilkenny (and 3 others) halfway through the season. IMO that could be a significant weakness for an A-League manager, so I call Joyce out for that. I have also praised Joyce, as recently as 1 week ago, for making good tactical changes (and even becoming more flexible with his tactics; something he wasn't until recently IMO) and for creating an atmosphere (and maybe even a "culture") where some normal players (like Malik and Brattan) have become significantly better (source). Also, I have never called for Joyce to be sacked, even after the incredibly disappointing home loss to WSW on January 1st this month. Ultimately, I guess I'd say I have mixed opinions about Joyce. I'm undecided on him. However, I will say here unequivocally that I am happy for Joyce to remain as the manager at least until the end of the season. I've had a few sticking points with him, but overall things have been good enough, and maybe Joyce will grow into his role more and can guide the team to some success.

Does the author say that in the article? The closest quote I see is this: "For some, Arzani’s part in Newcastle’s opening goal on Thursday night could be seen as an affirmation of tactical naivety, or lack of game sense as Joyce put it. Still, his positives far outweigh the negatives in context of collective impact for City. Although the teenager is far from the finished article, when does a primary focus on what he can’t do – as opposed to what he can – become stifling?" I wouldn't argue against Arzani's positives "far outweigh[ing] the negatives in context of collective impact for City". Anyway, I guess I'm just a bit pleased to see some more journalism about Melbourne City. Far too little is written about our club IMO. And I expect that the longer our team stays in the top 3 (and hopefully in higher positions), the more articles we'll see written about Melbourne City.

Well, that's one way to sidestep the observable facts, I guess. And observable facts is pretty much what I meant by "outcomes" (the point being, it is better to focus on the results we can see, rather than to continue guessing at the processes that lead to them). It is also pure speculation based on nothing that Kilkenny was problematic for "the team's culture". All we know is that Joyce didn't play Kilkenny. Maybe Joyce didn't like Kilkenny's style of play (evidently preferring "midfielders" like Malik and Jakobsen). Or maybe Joyce just didn't like or get on with Kilkenny personally. So it is utterly unproven that Kilkenny that a problem for the "team's culture". Maybe Kilkenny was even a positive for the team's culture? (that speculation is equally as proven as the speculation that Kilkenny was a problem for the team's culture). Anyway, there are zero signs that Kilkenny was a problem for Perth's "team culture" last night. Far from it...

Melbourne City striker Bruno Fornaroli is frustrated by his injury recovery but busy with a new son Matt Windley January 27, 2018 THREE weeks after Bruno Fornaroli had surgery to repair a broken ankle his second child, Benicio, was born. “Imagine when I run with my wife to the hospital — she bring everything, I can’t walk,” Fornaroli said. “It’s a little bit strange at the time, but funny too.” It was a foreign situation for the Fornaroli family. And it has been a foreign situation in a footballing sense, too, for the Melbourne City star, as he has never experienced such a lengthy injury lay-off. One positive has been being able to spend a little more time around home with his wife, daughter and now son. But he felt he was more hindrance than help early on, while now he is chomping at the bit to get back on to the park, some five months after the injury he sustained in the FFA Cup. The hardest part, he said, are matchdays. The derby two days before Christmas at a heaving AAMI Park particularly tough. “I see all the fans, I feel bad,” he said. “This was a hard moment that I can’t go to play tonight and for another one or two months maybe.” Targeting a return in the next month or so — well before the April finals, at least, he said — the striker promises to be back at 100 per cent fitness and nothing less. “Because anything less would not be good for me, for my teammates and shows no respect for the fans,” he said. “I try to push to do everything, but it’s not easy. It’s not only the bone, it’s the ligaments too. If it was just the bone it would be OK, three months, it would heal. “I tried to push and come back the moment I could come back on to the pitch, but sore, sore, sore. So we wait again a little bit. Now I feel OK.” Ross McCormack had been brought in on loan from Aston Villa as an injury replacement and has thrived, scoring 14 goals in 16 games. Far from feeling jealous, Fornaroli said McCormack’s success has eased his own personal burden as he knows the team is still succeeding without him. “I feel very happy for him and the team. The goal he scored against Adelaide showed he is a top player. “It means I can, not take my time, but I feel relaxed because the club is still doing very well.” Fornaroli, 30, revealed to the Herald Sun last week he wants to become an Australian citizen and one day, if possible, play for the Socceroos. And so, with no plans to leave the country any time soon — perhaps ever — does that mean he will stay at City for the rest of his career? “You never know for sure, football is crazy and you can never say one thing because the next day everything could change. “But in this moment if you ask me of course, I’m very happy to stay here, I want to stay for a long time in this club, defend this club. “And I hope the club feels like me and want me here for a long time.” http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/teams/melbourne-city/melbourne-city-striker-bruno-fornaroli-is-frustrated-by-his-injury-recovery-but-busy-with-a-new-son/news-story/161e96bf1f71d8d43a1e4c58118106c2

I'd be interested to learn which parts of the article are "crap". Which sentences or ideas in that article are wrong or poorly argued?

Well, we can just look at the outcomes. We don't need to know absolutely everything that went on, or what the thought processes were for Joyce and Kilkenny. And the outcomes are that: - Kilkenny was voted the best player last season - Under Joyce, Kilkenny was frozen out of the team from early October to late January, only playing 70 minutes over 3 substitute appearances - A few days after joining Perth, Kilkenny plays 90 minutes and they beat WSW 3-1 (a team we haven't beaten all season) - And Perth's coach Lowe said players like Castro played well because: ' "Maybe sometimes your young, inexperienced lads don't give Cas the ball around the right spot and he has to fight for it a little bit, but Kilkenny gives him it where he wants, when he wants it and how he wants it," Lowe said. "When you've got quality generally that helps quality to be quality." '(source)

Mystery milestone the key as City fight to keep Arzani By Dave Lewis 23 JAN 2018 Rumours have circulated over a possible end-of-season exit for off-contract Arzani, whose finger prints have been all over City’s recent resurgence. But it’s understood that an automatic one-year contract extension will be triggered if coach Warren Joyce continues to pin his faith in the fearless 19-year-old during the run-in to the finals. Should Arzani clock up an undisclosed number of match minutes - he has reached 283 so far in six appearances this season - then he remains in the employ of the City Football Group (CFG). It’s believed he would need to play week-in week-out from now on to reach the undisclosed figure. There is already a new three-year offer on the table for the rookie whose repertoire of weapons has A-League defenses wondering how they can stop him. With Sydney FC offering a swift return to his home town should the eventuality arise, and several European clubs zeroing in, the CFG are keen to do what is required to keep a player who, in just three games, has breathed fresh life into their season. The former NSW Institute of Sport and AIS graduate emerged as a 53rd-minute substitute against Wellington Phoenix earlier this month, and turned the game on its head with two assists to inspire a 2-1 win. The following week he won a free-kick and a spot-kick, both dispatched by Ross McCormack, to seal a 2-0 victory over Perth. Adelaide United were next to fall under his spell, with his directness, trickery and technique leading to Marcin Budzinski's opener in a 5-0 win in which he loomed large as a figure of torment for the Reds. With the power of the CFG group to shape his career in much the way it has that of Aaron Mooy, the Arzani camp see the benefit of remaining under its umbrella, so long as he is playing. The plan longer term will lead to Europe, where some of the Continent’s leading clubs are already tracking his progress. The fact he lacks an EU passport potentially complicates matters, but the belief is that Arzani’s talent will be the final arbiter in where his career takes him, under the auspices of the CFG or elsewhere. Joyce acknowledges his ‘x-factor’ qualities, but says he’s more concerned with ironing out some flaws, rather than fretting over where Arzani will be playing next season. “I've not really discussed it with him. That's not my really concern at the minute,” he said. “My concern is developing the things he needs to get better at. “You want players that want to stay here and play here. “You'd like to think that he thought there might be a pathway to his development by being involved in Melbourne City. "We're not begging him to come and stay here if he doesn't think we can help him develop his future ... and achieve his aims. "It's got to be a two-way thing.” https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2018/01/23/mystery-milestone-key-city-fight-keep-arzani

Melbourne City marquee player Marcin Budzinski vows to stay until the end of the season DAVID DAVUTOVIC January 23, 2018 FRESH from his two-goal heroics, Melbourne City marquee player Marcin Budzinski has vowed to stay until the end of the season. Speculation was mounting that Budzinski, 27, could leave in this January transfer window after struggling to nail a spot in the first XI. Instead Budzinski has enjoyed a January purple patch, netting three in two games, including two impressive long-range strikes to add to his Round 2 Melbourne derby bomb. The attacking midfielder struggled for minutes as coach Warren Joyce opted for a more conservative approach but he has released the shackles in recent weeks and the players have relished the more offensive style. None more so than Budzinski, who celebrated just his fourth start of the season last week by taking his season tally to four goals in 11 games — totalling just four starts and 474 minutes. Budzinski, who signed a two-year deal, said he will reassess his City future at the end of the season but wanted to remain for City’s title challenge. “Yes. If it depends on me then yes (he will stay until the end of the season),’’ Budzinski said. “Maybe (I would’ve hoped to play more) but this is football, everybody is waiting for their chance, everybody can play. “If you’re not playing you have to wait and be patient.” Budzinski was confident City could push for a top two spot, ahead of Thursday’s crucial home match against second-place Newcastle Jets. “We are in third place but we easily can be second or first because we are one of the best teams in this league,’’ he said. “We have a strong team, not only 11 players, we have 16 players who can easily play in the first 11 so for the coach it’s sometimes difficult to choose the starting 11.” http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/teams/melbourne-city/melbourne-city-marquee-player-marcin-budzinski-vows-to-stay-until-the-end-of-the-season/news-story/252fbd8fe763ca7bfaf491687f18c5a1

This is definitely complicated, but my understanding is that: - Aston Villa want a new payment (a loan fee) from Melbourne City so we can keep Ross for the remainder of the season, and they can get some money to seemingly "recoup" some of the money they are spending now on Ross's wages (who, of course, is not featuring in the Aston Villa team). - City had about 100k under the cap (after Vidosic and Delbridge's arrivals reduced the money gained from Cahill's, Brandan's and Carrusca's exits), and now with Kilkenny's exit City has a total of 200k or a bit more under the cap - Now City can throw the whole 200k at Aston Villa to pay for the loan fee (which, hopefully, Aston Villa might decide is a sufficient sum for Ross to be loaned out to us for the remainder of the season). - On Ross's wages inside the cap, my guess is that perhaps because we have already had Ross on loan at MCFC, as an injury replacement marquee, we can put Ross's wages into the "marquee column", and we don't need to put his wages into the "salary cap column", because it would be unnecessary/inappropriate to register one player's wages for one season twice in the two columns (because we have already declared Ross's wages for this season, and that was when he first arrived as an injury replacement marquee). - On Budzinski, I guess he would need to choose to move within the cap. And maybe he is against that, and there could be multiple reasons why. 1, for example, Budzinski is contracted for next season, so for starters there is the job security of being here until next season and on a marquee wage (of about 400k). Also 2, even if Budzinski agreed to move inside the cap for this season, getting 200k for 10 games (and hence getting more money than his 400k a season marquee wages for the remainder of the season), he might (justifiably) doubt that he would get wages comparable to 400k or more for next season, so while the 200K move inside the cap might be financially payoff for Budzinski over the short term (that is, the remainder of this season), Budzinski might think that over the longer term that he would be unable to gain more money (if he moved inside the cap for 200k, and negotiated with the club for a salary cap wage for next season, compared with his current situation of 400k marquee wages for this season AND next season). Overall, for job security and financial reasons, I can see why Budzinski (and most A-League marquees in general, I believe) rarely and only reluctantly chose to move inside the salary cap.

Credit to Joyce, he has become a bit more flexible with his decisions (he dropped Jakobsen back to defence, has started only playing midfielders in midfield, and has mixed up the attack), and as Shahanga said, these calls have really lifted our performances a lot. Also I will say that Joyce's "culture change" seems to be paying off more and more now. Many individual performances--from Budzinski, Malik, Brattan, etc--are very good now. Further, some young players like Atkinson and Arzani have been motivated well and have stepped up into the senior team. Joyce's shake up of the team has done some strange damage and there have been casualties (Cahill, Brandan, Carrusca, Kilkenny), but you can't argue with results: with the team solidly in 3rd most of the way through the season, the performances and wins are now looking good (2 multi-goal wins this months), and the team is seemingly trending well and improving. Things were looking very different at the start of this month. So far, it's been a very good January for Joyce, and the month is not over yet.

The one thing that makes me weary about the "lot of bad habits" comments is that Joyce doesn't dish these comments out to other City players. Joyce doesn't say that Budzinski has to work on his passing game, and he's never said a negative word against Malik, or Bruce "certainly one that could play in the English championship, easily" Kamau. Also, some players just don't like being assessed or criticised in such a public manner. Yet alone being singled out and criticised (and especially after having pretty good performances in the eyes of effectively everyone else). Arzani has seemingly been doing well under Joyce since getting regular minutes this month. And maybe even there's an understanding between Joyce and Arzani ("because you are such a talent, I'll keep pushing you in public to get better" etc.). All up, I'd just be feeling much better about the whole Arzani situation if he had re-signed for next season. I agree that remaining at City is almost certainly the best thing for him. I just hope as many Melbourne City factors as possible are persuading him to say around at the club, so we can keep seeing him improve and star at MCFC.

The amount of criticism on Fitzy is harsh IMO. Assisted vidosic for his first goal and provided the secondary assist (a great cross) for Budzinski's goal. Looking at it objectively, Fitzgerald was involved in more goals than Arzani. I reckon Fitzgerald gets a disproportionate amount of criticism simply because he hasn't scored yet this season. That's unfair IMO, given how many attacking build-ups he's been in that have resulted in goals this season. Perhaps because of his lack of goals Fitzy will fall out of the starting XI. But I'd say that's because we have huge competition for the attacking spots ATM with McCormack, Vidosic, Budzinski and Arzani in strong form. I see Fitzy playing a valuable role as our next attacking option, kind of the 12th player in the team. Out of our second tier of attacking players--Fitzy, Kamau, Mauk, youth players--Fitzy is a pretty decent and reliable attacker.

The McCormack to MLS suggestions seem to have originated from this Daily Mail article 24 hours ago: Real Madrid to focus on move for Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois after No 1 target Kepa Arrizabalaga signs new deal at Athletic Bilbao By Simon Jones for MailOnline PUBLISHED: 14:41 GMT, 22 January 2018 | UPDATED: 16:37 GMT, 22 January 2018 [...] LA Galaxy are among the clubs showing interest in Aston Villa striker Ross McCormack as his loan period comes to a close at Melbourne City. McCormack's loan is due to finish this Friday, January 26 and Villa and Melbourne have, so far, been unable to agree on extending his loan arrangement until the end of the season. Steve Bruce has no plans to use McCormack but, as he started the season at Villa and has played for Melbourne, he can't move to another British club under the third club rule. The next best option open to him is to play in the MLS where LA Galaxy, Orlando City and Colorado Rapids have all expressed an interest in signing McCormack for their new season. The 31-year-old Scotland international is open to a move to the States if a deal can't be agreed with Melbourne. McCormack has scored 14 goals in 16 games for Melbourne including seven in his last five games. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5298063/Real-Madrid-focus-keeper-Thibaut-Courtois.html

Talented Arzani in A-League demand Ben McKay AAP / 21 January 2018 Melbourne City won't throw the kitchen sink at Daniel Arzani or beg the one of the A-League's best young talents to stay beyond his contract at season's end. But based on the 19-year-old performances, over the last five weeks, he's likely to be attracting greater interest and commanding a higher fee. Arzani has put together back-to-back best afield performances at AAMI Park, helping resuscitate Melbourne City's season. When he came on as a 53rd minute substitute against Wellington earlier this month, City were a goal down to the league's bottom side after three losses in a row. Two Arzani assists later, City were 2-1 winners. He won the free-kick and penalty that Ross McCormack converted in a 2-0 win the following week in Perth. Against Adelaide United, Arzani was the livewire that got City's party started. His mazy run before Marcin Budzinski's opener was typical of the "X-Factor talent" that coach Warren Joyce sees in him. But that doesn't mean he's the finished product. "He's certainly got talent ... qualities that can win games and create chances," Joyce said. "He's got a lot of bad habits. "Sometimes that's not his fault, people have allowed him to get away with things. "Over a period of time they become permanent. He's got a lot of things he's got to improve on." Joyce believes Arzani can develop that talent at City - but not at any cost. "You want players that want to stay here and play here. You'd like to think that he thought there might be a pathway to his development by being involved in Melbourne City," he said. "We're not begging him to come and stay here if he doesn't think we can help him develop his future ... and achieve his aims. "It's got to be a two-way thing. "If (players) they don't think that, they might as well not be here." As for whether Arzani is likely to stay at the club, which signed the Sydneysider after stints with the NSW Institute of Sport and the AIS, Joyce said he didn't know. "I've not really discussed it with him. That's not my really concern at the minute. My concern is developing the things he needs to get better at," he said. https://au.sports.yahoo.com/football/a/38672758/talented-arzani-in-a-league-demand/

Teenager Daniel Arzani instrumental in City’s 5-0 demolition of Adelaide David Davutovic January 21, 2018 MELBOURNE City has had an unhealthy reliance on Ross McCormack – until now. Two words – Daniel Arzani. The teenager starred in the 5-0 demolition of fellow finals contender Adelaide United, laying the platform as Marcin Budzinski was netting a brace, before Dario Vidosic and McCormack taunted the visitors with late stunners as City returned to third on the ladder. City’s front four included Polish marquee player Budzinski, World Cup and 23-game Socceroo Vidosic and Nick Fitzgerald – the guy who City’s football department hold up as a role model in work ethic. In just his third A-League start, Arzani has less established himself in the first XI than assumed responsibility as City’s attacking focal point. Arzani’s got a full bag of attacking tricks and a bucketload of confidence to boot, as displayed at AAMI Park: - Finding pockets of space and the confidence to demand the ball, such as his assist for Budzinski’s first goal when he timed his run perfectly before beating two players; - Identifying and then penetrating space, as he regularly pinned his ears back and took on the United defence; - Canny use of his body to protect the ball and beat players; - An impressive bag of skills, displaying the Zidane turn, nutmegs and stepovers. In just six games and 283 minutes this season, he’s become a target for opposition but far from intimidated, he’s won it as a badge of honour. An enthralling duel with Ersan Gulum, winning a free-kick which led to the first goal, and later Adelaide captain Isaias said much about his surety. Burly Gulum slung him to the ground as Arzani harassed after almost skinning him, before Isaias went chest to chest with him after he slalomed past the Adelaide defence. Arzani nonchalantly shrugged him off. Arzani has been directly involved in five City goals this season, with his fingerprints all over City’s crucial opener. His dominance forced an Adelaide reshuffle at halftime, with Ben Garuccio brought on at left-back to contain Arzani with Ryan Strain moved into midfield. Arzani was spent when he limped off on 67 minutes, replaced by McCormack. His engine needs most work, though his last two actions of the game were a 50-metre defensive chase and being clattered by desperate defender Jordan Elsey. City struggled to find avenues to goal without McCormack, who’d netted 13 of their 21 goals this season prior to Sunday. Yet just moments after McCormack struck the crossbar with an outrageous lob attempt, Vidosic scored a spectacular volley to kill the game off before adding another in stoppage time along with McCormack. The only blemish for City was an ankle injury to Nathaniel Atkinson, who was stretchered off after a long delay. MELBOURNE CITY 5 (Budzinski 30, 35, Vidosic 89, 90+2, McCormack 90+5) ADELAIDE UNITED 0 Crowd: 8103 at AAMI Park Referee: Adam Fielding Yellow cards: Elsey 44, Bouzanis 52, Schenkeveld 56, Isaias 59. Red cards: Nil. DAVUTOVIC’S MAN OF THE MATCH Daniel Arzani (Melbourne City) The teenager starred in the win, stepping up when the game was in the balance and taking control, causing the Adelaide defence havoc off the right wing. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/teenager-daniel-arzani-instrumental-in-citys-50-demolition-of-adelaide/news-story/79ba979333cfc3503ba24f6439a8b047

For the record, this season it's 1 goal every 118 minutes. However, since getting onto the pitch again he has averaged 1 goal about every 40 minutes. Warren Joyce had some interesting things to say about Budzinski in the interview: https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/football/a-league/press-conferences/city-press-conference!661379 He scored 2 very useful goals. Great to see Budzinski hitting some form. Hopefully he can take his chance now and run with it.