Season over - start planning for 2017-18 now

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

9 hours ago, NewConvert said:

Liam Reddy for one season - then we would become his eight club in the A-League. Afterwards that would leave only AU and Victory to play for thus being the first player to have played for all clubs.

Wouldnt mind risdon, troisi, diawara, papadopulas and ninkovic.

Was gonna say castro but he is rumoured to go to sydney

[Chris p]

How do you find yourself in the position of having 16 players off contract ? crazy. surely you value some of them enough to resign earlier ?

3 hours ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

Wouldnt mind risdon, troisi, diawara, papadopulas and ninkovic.

Was gonna say castro but he is rumoured to go to sydney

Risdon signing for wsw 

[Originalmeme]

thought we had signed martinez? how far off is he from ninkovic? did wsw hold him back. Apart from defense, play maker is our biggest issue we need to sort out during preseason. can we actually play creative football? not with 4-4-2 i dont think

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

1 hour ago, Originalmeme said:

thought we had signed martinez? how far off is he from ninkovic? did wsw hold him back. Apart from defense, play maker is our biggest issue we need to sort out during preseason. can we actually play creative football? not with 4-4-2 i dont think

We should play flat 4-4-2 with 2 defensive midfeilders, one runs up while the other stays back. Our fullbacks run half way run back or if they keep running foward then our wingers drop back. We do not press our defenders high as well as it creates opportunities for our opponents to counter attack. We have a strong striker who is good in the air (Cahill) up front and the other striker right behind him (fornaroli)

[jeffplz]

25 minutes ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

We should play flat 4-4-2 with 2 defensive midfeilders, one runs up while the other stays back. Our fullbacks run half way run back or if they keep running foward then our wingers drop back. We do not press our defenders high as well as it creates opportunities for our opponents to counter attack. We have a strong striker who is good in the air (Cahill) up front and the other striker right behind him (fornaroli)

Didn't you post this already

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

1 minute ago, jeffplz said:

Didn't you post this already

Yeah but i cant be bothered typing the same thing so i copied and pasted the last part of my rant from yesterday 

[Embee]

4 minutes ago, jeffplz said:

Didn't you post this already

Through that account or one of the multis?

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

16 minutes ago, Embee said:

Through that account or one of the multis?

 

[Jovan]

15 minutes ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

Yeah but i cant be bothered typing the same thing so i copied and pasted the last part of my rant from yesterday 

This sort of shit is ruining this forum.

Post what you think by all means. But to continually spew out the same thing over and over and over again through different accounts is annoying and turns people off.

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

1 minute ago, Jovan said:

This sort of shit is ruining this forum.

Post what you think by all means. But to continually spew out the same thing over and over and over again through different accounts is annoying and turns people off.

 

[jeffplz]

Enough with the shitposting, even at the age of 12 I wasnt as naive on the ol' whirlpool and pokemon forums

[thisphantomfortress]

@xXCiTyZeNXx if you have nothing new to add, don't post. If this become repeated behaviour you will have a week on the sidelines. You've been warned 

[Originalmeme]

5 hours ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

We should play flat 4-4-2 with 2 defensive midfeilders, one runs up while the other stays back. Our fullbacks run half way run back or if they keep running foward then our wingers drop back. We do not press our defenders high as well as it creates opportunities for our opponents to counter attack. We have a strong striker who is good in the air (Cahill) up front and the other striker right behind him (fornaroli)

the only reason we were playing 2 strikers anyway was to accommodate cahill and bruno.  We do not have the players or the play style (from JVS days to try to even attempt to play it) - look at the final, team had no clue, couldnt attack for the life of them. the wingers get stifled because they dont get the freedom they normally would in 4-3-3. kamau had a shocker in that game because he was having to tuck in to play midfield (which he cant) when ball was over the other side to help the midfield. Then when he gets it, hes not high or wide enough to do his thing running at opponents. To play the formation well you have to have faith in your defence, which i doubt any players on the field probably ever did, so that the wide players can get high and attack into space (assuming the other team plays 4-3-3 or some variant-which most teams do nowadays) so you have 4 attackers running at 4 defenders .  The formation is just not conducive to creativity, it just relies on strong physical forwards, good crossing and solid defence because the midfielders are working their f**king behinds off all day to just keep possession and defend. also discipline, which comes from the coach first (go figure with valkanis)

Goes back to people bringing up that cahill and bruno cant be in the same team. everything you said is backwards shite football. might give the odd result but the way cfg ( im guessing) like to play, 4-4-2 is a no go. We play solid football with 4-3-3 because all the players know it and it allows the team more freedom to be more creative 

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

2 minutes ago, Originalmeme said:

the only reason we were playing 2 strikers anyway was to accommodate cahill and bruno.  We do not have the players or the play style (from JVS days to try to even attempt to play it) - look at the final, team had no clue, couldnt attack for the life of them. the wingers get stifled because they dont get the freedom they normally would in 4-3-3. kamau had a shocker in that game because he was having to tuck in to play midfield (which he cant) when ball was over the other side to help the midfield. Then when he gets it, hes not high or wide enough to do his thing running at opponents. To play the formation well you have to have faith in your defence, which i doubt any players on the field probably ever did, so that the wide players can get high and attack into space (assuming the other team plays 4-3-3 or some variant-which most teams do nowadays) so you have 4 attackers running at 4 defenders .  The formation is just not conducive to creativity, it just relies on strong physical forwards, good crossing and solid defence because the midfielders are working their f**king behinds off all day to just keep possession and defend. also discipline, which comes from the coach first (go figure with valkanis)

Goes back to people bringing up that cahill and bruno cant be in the same team. everything you said is backwards shite football. might give the odd result but the way cfg ( im guessing) like to play, 4-4-2 is a no go. We play solid football with 4-3-3 because all the players know it and it allows the team more freedom to be more creative 

Yeah i see where u are coming from. I would like to see what our new coach plays and what tactics he has. It is important to get our defence right first before really figuring out what formation would suit best. 4-4-2, 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 if we play the right tactic, any of these formations should work with the right coach and management. 

The start of preseason should really be about fixing our defence and counter attack.

[jw1739]

I still think that slavish adherence to some system or other is one of the reasons for our downfall in 2016/17. Perth showed why - they sliced us to pieces in each of the four matches we played. When Kenny Lowe can work out to to carve up the most expensive squad in A-league history, then so will every other decent coach.

So many times in 2016/17 we came forward only to find the way ahead blocked off by two rows of defenders, and we had no idea of how to work our way through. The Elimination final was the perfect example. Our players had no bloody idea of what to do, and the mind-set of the coaching team was so fixed that they just sat there, with no bloody idea either.

[belaguttman]

11 hours ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

Yeah i see where u are coming from. I would like to see what our new coach plays and what tactics he has. It is important to get our defence right first before really figuring out what formation would suit best. 4-4-2, 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 if we play the right tactic, any of these formations should work with the right coach and management. 

The start of preseason should really be about fixing our defence and counter attack.

I agree with your first paragraph completely, we can play 4-4-2 in defence but it isn't a good formation for stretching the opponents to create space because it's harder to play diagonal balls, it lends itself to more vertical passes, mind you that would be a relief from the square passing we've had to put up with. The main issues are:

defensive shape

first and second stage of attacking transition, we lost the ball in midfield far to often

movement off the ball

passing in the front third

Most important - team mentality

The other problem for us next season is that we'd need to sign a second striker to play 4-4-2 as Cahill is unlikely to be a 90 minute player

Edited May 8, 2017 by belaguttman

[Baka1]

Put ball in net farken. 

[Dylan]

This is arguably going to be our biggest offseason. New coach new coaching staff new kit new marquee potentially new CEO 

[xXCiTyZeNXx]

3 hours ago, Dylan said:

This is arguably going to be our biggest offseason. New coach new coaching staff new kit new marquee potentially new CEO 

Is sorensen becoming our GK coach. Whats the story with him because he hasnt left

[Dylan]

11 hours ago, xXCiTyZeNXx said:

Is sorensen becoming our GK coach. Whats the story with him because he hasnt left

No confirmation, but he is doing his coaching badges at the club with Cahill in the off season it seems

[haz]

7 hours ago, Dylan said:

No confirmation, but he is doing his coaching badges at the club with Cahill in the off season it seems

IMO he'll stay with us as a coach (or behind the scenes in another role) for a season then he'll probaly go back to Manchester. But that depends on how much he loves Australia, unlike most Visa players he's bought his whole family over.

[Kinnibari]

On 10/05/2017 at 0:39 PM, Baka1 said:

Put ball in net farken. 

I don't disagree with you, but look at the season before last, we scored the most goals and still didn't get anywhere, we also need to keep the ball out at the other end.

Players need to step it up all over the park and play cohesively, with determination.

[Baka1]

On 12 May 2017 at 9:09 PM, Kinnibari said:

I don't disagree with you, but look at the season before last, we scored the most goals and still didn't get anywhere, we also need to keep the ball out at the other end.

Players need to step it up all over the park and play cohesively, with determination.

Put ball in net more farken

[Jovan]

16 MAY 2017 - 6:10PM

Melbourne City proved you can't manufacture greatness, so what's next

The A-League's richest club spent more than any other this season, but still couldn't get past the first week of the finals. So where does Melbourne City go from here?

By 

Greg Prichard

 

 

Melbourne City midfielder Luke Brattan got it right when he described this season as a failure for the club.

Even allowing for their FFA Cup win, fourth place out of 10 teams in the A-League regular season and elimination in the first week of the finals series is well short of what a club backed by the huge financial resources of the City Football Group would have been aiming at.

City have brought plenty of high-profile players to the club during their three years in charge, including David Villa, as a short-term guest player, Damien Duff, Thomas Sorensen, Harry Novillo, Bruno Fornaroli and Nicolas Colazo.

Manchester City have bought a couple of players - Brattan and Anthony Caceres - from other A-League clubs and loaned them to Melbourne City. And, of course, Socceroos legend Tim Cahill came to the club under the newly-created third marquee rule.

Colazo and veteran goalkeeper Sorensen have played their last game in City colours, with more departures and arrivals to follow.

But regardless how much cash you throw at the problem, you can't just manufacture greatness.

City have the potential to be great, but how does it happen from here?

Former Heart captain Matt Thompson says having the right coach is crucial.

John van't Schip departed for personal reasons mid-season and was replaced on an interim basis by his assistant, Michael Valkanis, who's disappointing end to the season has almost certainly ruled him out of keeping the job next season.

The club are expected to appoint their new coach by the end of the month and Thompson says they needs someone who will take charge.

"City have got a lot of players with strong personalities, so they need a coach with a strong personality above that," Thompson said.

"Someone with a big name who knows football and who is genuinely in charge. Someone who takes control and isn't persuaded by someone on his left or right, but who is his own man.

"They've got quality players on paper, no question, but it's not working."

Former Heart goalkeeper Clint Bolton says the insipid, 2-0 loss to Perth Glory in the elimination finals, which was the final act of a season that started well but became a disappointment, had created a "line in the sand moment" for the club.

"The coaching job is just the starting point, I believe," he said. "It's not just the football department, you've got to look at the entire organisation.

"I look at the squads City have had and they've under-achieved, so I ask the question: why? More often than not when a squad has under-achieved it's because they lack direction and leadership.

"The leadership isn't there that I can see and they need to put a microscope over everything and make significant changes if they find these type of areas are failing them."

Some people think Cahill, at 37, is a player whose effect these days is too restricted to what he can do getting on the end of set pieces, but Bolton and Thompson are adamant he has been a huge success in his first year for City.

"He only played 21 games and some of them were off the bench, but he still scored 11 goals and that is a great result," Bolton said.

"He was a big part of the reason City got off to a good start in a lot of games, because he'd score the opening goal. I thought his contribution was outstanding."

Melbourne City may not have taken giant strides this season but have served their rivals a key reason why they can't be discounted from the A-League title race: Tim Cahill.

 

Thompson added: "It was huge for the club when Manchester City came on-board and when Tim arrived he made it even bigger.

"It was more personal to everyone. Everyone cheered for him in the Socceroos and now they could see him close-up every week. It helped the club's profile and it worked on the pitch as well."

Thompson believes the club's next phase of recruitment has got to put a greater accent on defence.

"Their defence has been weak and that means too often City have had to score three goals to win a game," he said. "They've spent a lot of money on attacking players and I think they need a better balance.

"They've created a profile for the club, now they have to get the side right. I expect them to improve next season. I think they'll get it right, to be honest, and be higher up in the finals series."

Bolton said City have got to find the right playmaker, which they haven't had since Aaron Mooy left the club at the end of last season, if they are going to compete with clubs like Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory next season.

"It's something they've lacked all year, a creative number 10 like a Ninkovic at Sydney or a Troisi at Victory," he said.

"Fornaroli lacked the chances he had last year because he didn't have an Aaron Mooy. Look at the teams that finished one-two in the regular season, they had Ninkovic and Troisi - simple as that.

"You need a creative number 10 in the modern style of football."

[jw1739]

Could have been written by any one of the grumps on the Forum, although Bolton is in effect pointing the finger at people outside and above the football department as well as in it.

[Jovan]

8 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

Could have been written by any one of the grumps on the Forum, although Bolton is in effect pointing the finger at people outside and above the football department as well as in it.

That's what I thought also.

[jw1739]

3 minutes ago, Jovan said:

That's what I thought also.

And Thompson's main point is that neither van 't Schip nor Valkanis have/had the right personality to manage the egos at the club. However I don't think that surprises me all that much. The body language on the coaching bench was just not right this season.

[AntiScum]

52 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

And Thompson's main point is that neither van 't Schip nor Valkanis have/had the right personality to manage the egos at the club. However I don't think that surprises me all that much. The body language on the coaching bench was just not right this season.

No disrespect to his family situation but him coming out and saying this is his last year .... why would you give shit when you are the highest paid coach in the country?

[jw1739]

8 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

No disrespect to his family situation but him coming out and saying this is his last year .... why would you give shit when you are the highest paid coach in the country?

I hear what you say, and believe me I've seen the same thing in industry. They get away with it because those above them tolerate it, and I guess that leads to Bolton's point about the leadership of the organization above and outside of the football department.

[AntiScum]

1 hour ago, jw1739 said:

I hear what you say, and believe me I've seen the same thing in industry. They get away with it because those above them tolerate it, and I guess that leads to Bolton's point about the leadership of the organization above and outside of the football department.

The club had no choice it was either sack him and pay him his whole contract or make him hang around and push him out slowly by negotiating the settlement. If the so called "money is no issue" sack him instantly!!

I cant exactly remember what round he came out and said it but they would of had enough time to find a replacement/ or mentor to Valkanis not wait until the last few rounds to bring out an advisor. 

[jw1739]

http://www.a-league.com.au/article/hyundai-a-league-season-review-melbourne-city/lg4gyl6tqgc713darhg7u9jt2

 

An up and down season for Melbourne City saw the club win their first piece of silverware but also plummet from the Hyundai A-League Finals at the first hurdle. We examine City's season and look ahead to the 2017/18 campaign.

Position: 4th, beaten in finals week one

Record: Played 28, Won 11, Drawn 6, Lost 11

Goals: 49

Conceded: 46

Leading Goal Scorer: Bruno Fornaroli (17)

Best home crowd: 24,706 – Round 11 against Melbourne Victory

Star performer: Michael Jakobsen

After conceding 48 goals last season, John van't Schip moved to shore up his back four and the Danish centre-back was key to that. The stylish, composed defender brought the experience of playing well over a dozen years at the top level in Europe and for his national side and immediately solidified the rearguard. Injury affected his season but that just reinforced his worth as City conceded an average of two goals per game in his absence.    

Breakout player: Ruon Tongyik

Defensive composure is rare in such a young player, but the rookie Sudanese-born centre-back looked every inch a star of the future in his 15 appearances during what was a debut Hyundai A-League campaign. At the end of the season, the talented youngster was named among the reserves in the PFA Team of the Season.

Goal of the year: Tim Cahill

One of the big pre-season questions was how long it would take Australia’s greatest ever goalscorer to make his mark in the Hyundai A-League. As it turned out, the answer was less than half an hour. In front of 43-thousand enraptured fans in the round two Melbourne derby at AAMI Park, the ball broke to Cahill forty yards from goal and his audacious long-range strike into the top corner announced his arrival in no uncertain terms and spawned a thousand replays across the next few months. It never gets old.

Highlight: Derby delight

Cahill's goal above was followed by three more as City put their cross-town rivals to the sword, playing some awe-inspiring football and looking every inch a championship contender. New imports Nicolas Colazo and Fernando Brandan combined effortlessly in attack with Cahill, Bruno Fornaroli, Bruce Kamau and Luke Brattan while at the back, it took a special piece of Marco Rojas skill to breach a compact looking rearguard. Even that was a consolation goal as Melbourne City became the early favourites to claim the silverware in 2016/17.

Lowlight: Meek finals surrender

The signs were there leading into the finals series, with City losing three of their previous four games, but even so, their 0-2 home loss to Perth in the elimination final was hard to fathom.  With their season on the line, City were utterly flat in the first half and Perth took advantage with goals from Diego Castro and Joel Chianese giving them a buffer they never relinquished. City finally woke up in the second half, but by then they were chasing the game and Glory allowed them just two shots on target all game. As they left AAMI Park with their collective shoulders slumped, City seemed a million miles away from the team that had started the season with such promise.

What they need:

Like Adelaide and Phoenix, a decision on the coach for 2017/18 needs to come before anything else. All signs point to a new man at the helm and when he arrives his main recruitment focus will fall on the extension (or not) of the loan deals of Luke Brattan and Anthony Caceres as well as finding replacements for Nicolas Colazo, Josh Rose and Thomas Sorensen. The main issue though seems to be moulding one of the best on-paper squads in the competition into a side that can fulfil its undoubted potential. We saw glimpses – and they were amazing – but it's consistency that must now be found and maintained. 

Acquisitions for next season:

TBC

Losses for next season:

Thomas Sorensen, Nicolas Colazo, Josh Rose, Corey Gameiro, Steve Kuzmanovski

Outlook for 2017/18:

Next season is likely to begin in much the same way this one did, with rightful – if cautious – optimism. With the likes of Cahill, Fornaroli, Jakobsen, Brandan, Franjic, Kilkenny and Kamau on the roster, City really should be challenging for the silverware. They won the FFA Cup this season, but that simply whetted their fans' appetites for bigger trophies. At some point, City need a breakthrough season – they’ll hope it's coming in 2017/18.