hardsy

Honestly, really struggling to commit this season. As Heart the club needed us financially as members to sign up every season. Now with the riches of City Financial Group there is no urgent need to become a member and the current administration this club is one of the worst run sporting organisations in Australia.

I think a fan podcast is a fantastic idea. Would be great if you could get 2-3 regulars with maybe some semi regulars. Weekly during the season and maybe monthly in the off season

Munn and JVS need to leave. Neither has accomplished anything at the club to validate their position. I won't be attending Saturday night as I believe this is the best form of protest. CFG has bigger things to worry about at the moment (Champ League and NYC) but if City fail to attract a crowd of 5k during Saturday night prime time they could react quicker to the shambolic way this club is bring run. #StayingAwayFromMediocrCITY

A few of my thoughts about the future of the club via From The Stands It'sa little lenghty but we have many problems. City Views – Rebuilding City Posted on February 23, 2015 by David Hards in A-League, City Views, Features, Melbourne City // 0 Comments If only rebuilding City was as easy as turning the PC on, loading the latest version of Sim City and starting from scratch again. It what appears to be yet another wasted year of existence, Melbourne City finds themselves with small crowds, very little identity on predictably off the pace when it comes to competing on the field. The success of cross town rivals Melbourne Victory only further compounds the failings of this rebranded team. Although overnight success wasn’t expected from a team now owned by the richest owners in football, dramatic improvement both on and off the pitch were not too much to ask. Whilst those running the club will point to favourable membership sales (11,206 up from 7,307 last season) and most likely state the club is on the right track. When you look at the City attendances for this season you get a better understanding of where the club really is at. CategoryAverage AttendanceHome Attendance – Melbourne Derby26,372Home Attendance – With Villa14,400Home Attendance – All other games8,366 This illustrates just how the club are struggling with getting people to AAMI Park when it’s not a big occasion. AAMI Park is a world class facility and when you can convince barely 8,000 people to attend the strongest domestic competition in Australia you start to realise you have a major problem on your hands. Financially the future of Melbourne City is secure but when you are consistently failing on and off the pitch you continue to ask yourself what can be done to rebuild City. ADMINISTRATION Scott Munn has performed admirably in his role as Chief Executive Officer but ultimately has failed in his role at Melbourne City. There has been little growth in the five years he has been in charge of Heart/City and the club has failed to realise its potential as the second A-League club in Melbourne. Publically Munn has always seen to do what’s in the best interest for the club but after five years it’s time for a change at the top. The club has failed to tap into the sporting market of Melbourne and has been dwarfed by Victory in the last five seasons. One only has to attend a Melbourne Derby at Etihad to realise the gulf in numbers between the clubs. Michael Brown should be the number one target for City Football Group as Munn’s potential replacement. His work during the Asian Cup was nothing short of outstanding and he knows the Melbourne sporting market through previous roles at Cricket Australia and the Hawthorn Football Club. THE COACH John Van’t Schip is a very strong minded coach and believes football should be played a certain way, sadly when you don’t have the personnel to achieve this idea you ultimately look foolish when attempting this goal. Van’t Schip’s inability to adjust tactically during a game or with squad selection has seen Season 2014/15 slowly slip away and now could be yet another wasted 12 months for the club. Injuries have played their part in the campaign with Koren and Duff, but ultimately Van’t Schip must fall on his sword if Melbourne City as a club is to move forward. The next head coach must be someone who has A-League experience. John Kosmina is one option to not only stir the pot with Kevin Muscat, but get more out of the youngsters in the team; Van’t Schip shows so little faith in. Mike Mulvey would be the man most likely to bring City its first piece of very much needed silverware and should be aggressively targeted by City management. THE LIST Whilst it’s not the greatest list in the league, it’s more than capable on any given day to produce some great football that is the most frustrating aspect of Melbourne City. Eleven of the current squad are coming out of contract at seasons end and is the perfect opportunity to cut some dead wood from the squad. Iain Ramsay would be first on the list. Three years ago he was a quick and skilful player in Adelaide, now he’s still quick but clogging up vital cap space and a place in the squad. Ramsay would be on decent money for an A-League player, sadly this far outweighs his value to the current City squad. Visa players Robbie Wielaert and Jonathan Germano should also be given their marching orders from the club. Germano is one of a few players who actually show passion for the City shirt but his constant battle with injuries makes him a very high risk. Wielaert could share a cab with Van’t Schip to Tullamarine enroute to the Netherlands. The signing of Singapore international Safuwan Baharudin was a real head scratcher at the time, and even more so with Kew Jaliens joining the squad. It will be very hard to see him winning a permanent spot on the Melbourne City roster. Mate Dugandzic has battled injury of late, but has shown once again this season he is nothing more than a squad player. With the plethora of midfielders at the club, Dugandzic shouldn’t be required next season. Paulo Retre has struggled to progress under Van’t Schip and could be given another season at this level given the right manager. The future of Tando Velaphi is an interesting one, on one hand he has shown genuine improvement and has become the number one keeper at the club. On the other side of the coin you must ask if City were to compete for a title could Velaphi be the keeper you would turn to? Given Andrew Redmayne is contracted until 2015/16 the contract status of Velaphi becomes vitally important and if City has a chance to sign a superior keeper, Velaphi must be shown the door. Patrick Kisnorbo and Massimo Murdocca still have plenty to offer if the club is to go forward. If you could get both players to sign reduced contracts they could play a vital role in rebuilding the squad. If City is to move forward as a club the squad must be built around Aaron Mooy, Robert Koren, Josh Kennedy, Jacob Melling, Connor Chapman, and Ben Garrucio. THE REMAINDER OF 2014/15 Whilst the possibility of playing finals still remains the club now finds themselves dependent on the results of other teams, namely Brisbane Roar. Over the last three weeks the club has let crucial opportunities slip and now could see another season wasted opportunities. It’s no wonder the club is struggling to attract supporters through the gates when Victory is at the pointy end of the table and playing a brand of attractive football. When you only have a choice between City and Victory for top level football in Melbourne it’s a pretty easy decision to make. THE FANS At present ‘The Melburnians’ appear to be the youngest active supporter group in the league. This can be a great thing if they can all stick around and support the club but real leadership must be found. At present the current ‘Capo’ divides opinion between supporters and this could be seen as a distraction to building a solid supporter base. Lack of numbers is a concern for the active element of the club and more must be done to create a game day atmosphere many want to be part of in 2015/16. When the ‘City’ announcement was made the club lost some very good people through personal choices. Some decided to take a back seat and still support the club; others chose not to be part of the new ‘Melbourne City identity’. Remaining supporters of the club must be prepared to promote the club in a positive light and look at how other clubs in the league are doing similar. A fan publication similar to ‘Schip Happens’ must be something supporters seriously consider starting up again. Even if the magazine only has three or four editions next season it would be a far superior product than the current match day program supplied by the club. A weekly supports club podcast should also be looked into and run by two or three regulars who are avid supporters of the club. The current ‘Yellow Fever’ podcast could be a great base if looking at a predominant City podcast. At the end of the day the club desperately needs an identity, something supporters can hold on to and be proud they chose to become Melbourne City members. In its current state City is merely an ugly duckling in comparison to the high flying (and vastly superior ran club) Melbourne Victory.

Was very good tonight and has shown promise all season

What does everyone think of a round of applause honouring Harry Kewell at the 10 minute mark. Harry made the number 10 famous for Leeds, Socceroos and also wore it for us. Think it would be a great way to honour a Socceroos legend.he may not have been as successful as we would have liked but we still need to honour him ad fans of the game in Australia.

In The supporters will always be the heartbeat (apologies for the pun) of the club no matter what colours or name the new owners choose. Let's not forget they now own the club but this is still our team in our city. No matter if you were there on day 1 or just joined yesterday we are one big (sometimes not so happy) football supporting family all wanting the same thing. To grow and be part of the club. Yes parts of me will be upset about certain aspects but lets also look at the positives the new owners will bring to OUR club.

JA and Munn both need to go. Club has been a joke for the last 18 months. Big player changes need to occur too but will be tougher to perform

What a shambles Melbourne Heart are at the moment. 4 points from 11 games, bottom of the table with a tactically inept coach. Our most impressive player over the past month is a bloke we have on loan and the future could only get darker. We are now 12 points out of the top 6 and not even 1/2 way thru season. It's time for Munn and Aloisi to be shown the door and a complete rethink about where the club is headed.

We are currently on 3 points and have a tough month ahead. WSW (away) SYD (away) MV (home) NIX (home) How many points do you think we will end up on before 2014 begins? My guess is 8 (five points from the next 4 games)

Here's my preview from Sunday's game. Have a read and let me know what you think. Let's hope we can turn this season around QUICKLY http://www.fromthestandsal.com/2013/12/02/heart-vs-adelaide/ Also if you ever want to post a blog on the site let me know, contact me on twitter @hardsy05 or send an email fromthestands@gmail.com

I think Sunday was the best goal scored in a Heart shirt, and maybe the most important. It will take something special to kick start our season, hopefully that was it.

I wish, it would make the 3-0 loss easier to take

Looks like I'm 0/5 (as expected) I agree that we should have hired Ante. And P.S I'm not 'high' but thanks for the concern.

At the risk of being unpopular, shouted down, laughed at, spat on (ok not that one we aren't MV fans) etc I think we should Back JA. Yes I know most of you think the B should be an S but I don't see we have a choice. I am not suggesting we accept mediocrity in fact the opposite I just believe (the club) don't have the funds to cover the sacking or the money to seek a viable option. JVS has already publicly stated he would not take the role (at least that's how I remember it) and we must give him MORE time. The season is only in its infancy and we haven't been that bad. We dominated for 60 minutes against the Champions and we played reasonably well against the Roar in the first half. The derby was a dour draw and the Glory game was very average. I don't normally post topics (unless it's plugging my blogs on 'From the Stands') or back Aloisi to be honest but I believe he is receiving a rough deal at the moment. This is the first season he has been able to choose his own squad (last season was ravaged by sales and injuries) and without Harry Kewell Patrick Kisnorbo and Orlando Engelaar it does leave a massive hole of both experience and skill. Let's BACK JA this Friday night and really get behind the club. Last season I was very anti Aloisi so this is a fresh approach I am taking, hopefully it's the right one. Before judging John we should at least give him the next month. This is the most important month in our History. No I am not understating this I truly believe this month could make or break the club. Nov 8 vs. Western Sydney (Home) Nov 15 vs. Sydney (Home) Nov 24 vs. Newcastle (Away) Dec 1 vs. Adelaide (Home) If we don’t manage 8+ points in these games it will leave us languishing in a precarious position and the tenure of Aloisi could well be under pressure. Being a head coach/manager in Football is one of the toughest gigs in our great game and it’s a cut throat industry. Time is not normally a coach’s friend but I firmly believe we should give Aloisi at least another four weeks. If not at least remember him for his penalty, not his coaching career thus far. Hopefully I will see you at the game this Friday night. This is a massive game for the club, and we must remember we are on the national stage with SBS giving us our first free to air coverage of the season. See you at the game. Hardsy