Defibrillator

Really agree with this. Ange obviously started with a plan to test a few players, but going down 2-0 decided to bring on Bresciano and Cahill to ?? salvage something. If he wanted to win the game he should have started with his strongest team, if he wanted to test players he should have been more inventive at the end. Not really sure what he was trying to achieve - really disappointing. Is anyone any the wiser after this? Is the default option to go back to the old brigade when things are bad? Let's be honest, this was a match that meant little and the one week camp was probably far more important. An opportunity lost for fringe players to push their case.

I'd be looking at cutting Germano before Miller. At least Miller can get on the park. Then find a LB.

Just home and gutted. Chances to bury the game and a soft goal at the end with ref, time and naivety working against us. Positives were Melling and Miller in midfield - both strong on the ball after both had a shaky first five minutes. Melling has aggression and strength which we've sorely missed. I can't see Murdocca reclaiming his spot any time soon. Liked what Marino offers over Williams bar the obvious miss (but at least on target!). Better positioning, touch and smarts and he should start in front of Willo next week. Paartalu looked fitter and generally solid positioning. And Redmayne is growing in confidence. Three things shit me though. Williams - fucking at least get the ball on target! JVS what was your strategy for the last 10 minutes?? CCM obviously pushing up and finished with a 4-2-4 with an obvious overload. I still don't know the solution or plan? Putting Retre on for Melling was just bad. I don't care how tired Melling was, he had a physical presence that kept them guessing, watching for heavy challenges and created turnovers. Retre ran around like a headless chook much like last week as an AM. Do you think maybe changing the shape and covering would have hurt? And with a back four man on man with a front four, would an extra defender hurt? Drop Archibald in and defend better. It smacked of a manager that couldn't adjust to change a strategy - a Wengeresque stubbornness to not kill a game but try and create beautiful football. Sometimes you have to win ugly. And Paddy K had a shocker. Touch poor, distribution ordinary, going to ground in the box a couple of times - luckily no smarts from CCM to dive- and can you, as the tallest plyayer, organise a wall with you in it? Miller and Melling are a fair bit shorter and Melling less experience. Show some smarts.

I know he's not the most skilled or popular player here, but he does have one quality that's been lacking in our midfield until this season and that's mongrel. I think we've had a history of having a soft and small midfield, far too easily intimidated and soft enough to concede possession without aggressive recovery, and too easily pushed off the ball. Fred, Kalmar, Murdocca, Migliorini, Thompson, Worm, Hoffmam when in there, the list goes on. Engelaar was a one man band last year and Shroj prior (admittedly with no skill). This year Paartalu will come good I think and doesn't shirk, Mooy had a touch of nastiness I love, and just watching the game again Melling showed a bit. With Miller dropping in this is a midfield that won't take a backward step. Koren apparently has the same qualities from Hull forums. I'm sick of year after year watching us get bossed in midfield with not enough physical stuff - time for it to end. I'm not saying you don't need skill, but backbone can go a long way too.

I know I should be excited by this, but I just can't seem to get fired up. Maybe the general malaise of the season so far, maybe great expectations failing again, but more cynically I don't think he alone will make a huge difference. Until the inherent weaknesses in the squad are addressed down back and with injuries / culture, the lustre of the shiny new recruit doesn't shine so brightly. So used to it failing on recent history. Fuck I hope things turn around soon.

Actually Stephen Dank could help us enormously. Fill them up with Thymosin Beta 4 or HGH, have them rubbed out and sacked for breach of contract with no payout, then use the freed up salary cap cash to buy some decent players. Creative accounting at its most cynical exploitative best!!

I tell you what, it's getting hard again driving 90km up and then 90 km back from a game with the kids trying to build future supporters. The disappointment is starting to ramp up again. The membership counter is all well and good, but the "games since we've won" counter seems to be far more relevant to our future. Last week I think was the death knell for Iain Ramsay, but tonight I think was, at a minimum, the start of the death knell for four of our club. 1. David Villa obviously but for all the shits and giggles, as the circus leaves town we can now finally concentrate on what is wrong with our club and our culture. Great to see him play, but the distraction is over. 2. Jonaton Germano. Surely this has to be the end. 25 minutes and 30 seconds every 10 weeks is not enough output from a visa player. I think he's a good player, just not good value. We can't carry him any more. Add to this he looked so overweight - an indictment on him as a professional, and the club. 3. Andrew Redmayne. No command, no distribution, suckered in to a pen and no ability to save a pen. Watch how far his full stretch was in diving for that pen - for a near 200 cm player, his reach (or reaction time) was woeful. He unfortunately hasn't developed. 4. JVS - you lost me tonight. Clearly out coached and Gombau is one shrewd cookie. Knowing our fullbacks are our weakness he exploited this ruthlessly. It was obvious to me he planned to push Elrich, his fullback, right up adjacent to his right winger Mabil to throw our left back in to confusion. It worked a treat for their first goal with Garruccio unsure who to mark. The second goal they exploited Garruccio again with him eyeing off both the winger and Elrich again, and he was caught napping. To me it was an obvious overload and wasn't countered at all. But where he really lost me was the last 10 minutes. When were being slaughtered in midfield for the last 30 minutes, the plan to counter this at the end was to lump the ball Aloisi style to Kisnorbo playing up front. It smacked of desperation and a lack of belief in his game plan. I thought we were aiming to play complete football. That was shit. Play a back three and drop in an extra midfielder - at least try and get control back. Final rants - Willo hit a fucking target, the decision against Mooy to give them the second goal was really poor and we got nothing all night, and can we learn to irritate opponents like every other team seems to do to us like standing in front of free kicks until the team is organised? No mongrel or smarts. Only plus for me was Mooy - the kid is a gun who gut runs all day. And I haven't seen Duff so pissed off. I hope he's got the personality to give the team a real spray in the sheds.

Where the hell is Mauk? I have high hopes for him to replace Murdocca. Youth led Renaissance in AM positions.

Did you mean Scott Galloway? Because Georgievski is 26 and has played 20 internationals for Macedonia. But I generally agree with you, especially your point regarding the worst 5 starting players being a better barometer of how good a side is. Yep, my mistake. Hence the question marks.

There so much more to this quote than meets the eye. After calming down after last night, the evening confirmed something I've been thinking about since the start of pre-season. We do have good talent in the squad but I think we've been blinded by the brilliant guest player or marquee (even if we can't get them on the pitch!!) or visa (even if we can't....................). If you look at successful A-league clubs, one obvious point is that they have very few muppets on the pitch. I think success is defined more by the quality of the worst five on the park than the best five. A classic example being WSW - very few guns, but nearly every player solid and reliable, with decent technical skills and decision making. Apart from Ono (who's impact was reasonable but not earth shattering) they had a group that was skilled enough for each and every one of them to fulfill their role. The successful Brisbane teams had some quality players, but there were absolutely no passengers. And last night the bottom five Victory players were miles in front of our bottom five. And for all of CFG's 36 global scouts, practically they are of very little use to us. They can fill a visa or international marquee spot, but in a squad filled with 18 Australians, they don't have the capacity to find the best Aussie talent to fill a squad with 11 reliable players on the park at any time. Add to this that you need to dive deeper into your squad when your marquees or visas are injury prone, then your diving into a pretty shallow talent pool as we saw last night. Victory seem to have a wider net to identify talent - their worst player would be ? Georgievski ? who at 18 shows promise. The rest of the weaker players are generally serviceable. We don't have this luxury. So CFG are facing a challenge. You can't just buy the best player if one of yours is broken. In a salary capped league, you also need to develop a "harm minimization" strategy to at least find the reliable player. I dont think theyd be used to this problem On the park last night I thought we had four players who were well below standard, and David Villa/Duff et al can't compensate in my opinion. We've been blinded by the couture clothing, but the emperor ain't got much on underneath!!

3-5-2 Wouldn't have to pick him at all.

Just home myself and for first time I'm actually fuming. Every problem with this club was highlighted and brutally exposed in 45 minutes of pure horror capped of by the ground announcer introducing the attendance with "ladies and gentlemen and melbourne City". The smugness of these pricks shits me to tears. 1. We have the worst goalkeeper in the league. Well acknowledged on this forum but again exposed for poor positioning and handling. He certainly doesn't command the box, doesn't communicate well with his CBs and is indecisive. 2. Ramsay - need I say more. An obvious tactical shift in the second half was to sit Barbarousos on the line, drag our defence centrally and then play to him so he was one v one with Ramsay. It was embarrassing how bad he was in defending. Add to this as a fullback there are times you need a weak sided touch to hit a target, yet his right footed skills were really poor giving the ball away twice in the first half alone. He is so far off the mark its an obvious channel to goal that was exploited brutally. There simply has to be someone better in the squad. 3. No penetration in midfield. Mooy pushed and I love his mongrel, but he's alone. 4. Unfit players. Will Paartalu ever see out a full game? At 55 minutes we looked spent. Unbelievable. 5. Injured marquees and injured visa players. When you look at our bench this seriously screwed us over. Can we recruit some quality that at least has some resilience and reliability? These are meant to be the cream of the squad, but we can't get them out there. Add to this a loan player who wouldn't work, what are we recruiting and will this ever change? 6. JVS had a bad night and as mentioned above, the number of games without a win is climbing. Retre to AM whilst pushing the only guy creating scoring options further back down the park smacked of putting up the white flag (and again Mooy looked pissed off). We didn't chase the game. Why not take off Ramsay like last week and play a back three? Why not motivate these guys to have a dip? Conceding a goal in 25 seconds after half time doesn't reflect well on the coach - what frame of mind did he send them out with? 7. Impotence up front. Two goals from two defenders, opportunities not completed, same old, same old. 8. Squad depth. As above the bench, but recycling lower tier club rejects is clearly failing. I simply had to laugh at Brown's penalty - the inept nature of it was comical in how bad it was. 9. Passion and effort. It's obvious really to see someone having a go and caring. You only need to look at someone like Duff who's come from a culture of excellence. I just don't see it widely and this is a huge cultural issue with our club. At least show us you give a fuck - far too many passengers. The only reassurance I got from the night was talking on the train on the way up to a rusted on Man City fan. He said the project will be a success - Man City don't tolerate mediocrity and will build diligently and slowly. I'm sure they'll be reaching for the broom unless there is a turnaround soon.

This will be a fascinating game. Like others above the MV forward line does scare me - especially after watching our defence on the weekend. Ramsay will have to close people down, Hoff play a blinder, and Weilardt and Paddy K be organised to work well together (I actually think Weilardt is doing pretty well this year - has anyone else noticed he looks much fitter and his touch is so much better?). I think this will hopefully be a game where we see the real benefit of Paartalu breaking up attacks further up the park. He's only getting fitter with each run and hopefully is hitting his straps. People also forget Muscat is not a great game day coach and last weekend being a case in point. Removing Leijer and putting Milligan at CB instead of Broxham who was on the pitch made my jaw drop. And as expected it cost them two points with Milligan being skinned on the counter. JVS is a better game day tactician in my mind and has pretty reliably out coached him before. I'm hoping emotion clouds Muscat's thinking and behaviour (does anyone else think he's an appalling ambassador for their club on game day - so easy to lip read and it ain't pretty), and JVS exploits this. And if Koren doesn't get up, I'd like to see Mauk get a crack. Youthful enthusiasm and exuberance often bring surprising results in derbies. Will be good to watch.

The forgotten player we missed on the weekend was Mauk - a more than adequate replacement for Murdocca. Runs, harries, far more creative and actually has a crack at goal. When's he back?

Just back from the game and firstly well done to the Melburnians. At times it sounded a little disorganised, but sitting up the ground I was really impressed how much louder you sound with the increased numbers. Clearly a few teething problems - some really quiet patches - but it will come together and the club will be so much the stronger for it. Well done and keep pushing. The game was a disappointing result but we did play some nice football. There are some obvious problems that need to be corrected and, certainly in midfield, we have solutions. Murdocca still doesn't rate for me - for all the wasted energy and fly in a bottle buzzing around, there were times a true AM would have carved Newcastle open, yet he took the conservative approach. Koren will add more and, god forbid, if we get Germano fit, he will add plenty more as well. Mooy is an absolute star and Duff's effort is something to behold. I loved him giving Rambo a spray out on our wing for not closing someone down - the guy just cares and was pushing until it hurt. Ramsay is really, really poor. I'm not sure if he's been instructed not to close players down due to his clumsy tackling, but it certainly opens us up and when you look at their goal you'll see what I mean. The guy is so scared of giving away a foul that he doesn't press and opens the door for the opposition. Add to this he gives nothing going forward, it's an area I can see will be exploited by Thompson or Barbarousos next weekend. The Hoff is improving but still pretty weak. I'm not sure why Paartalu was subbed - I'd imagine fitness - but when Retre came on and Mooy was instructed to sit deeper, you could see he was clearly pissed off. He was creative and you get the feeling he just wants to push forward and create. To me it would have been better to sit Retre deeper and allow Mooy to continue up the park. Was strange to me. And Brown was pretty average. He's a perplexing signing to me. I'm also surprised how big a bloke he is - he needs to throw his weight around more as he had absolutely zero presence today. There were some good things to see though. We are clearly better in possession, we pushed to the end for the equalizer at least showing some desire to get a result (that wouldn't have happened in the past) and at least JVS chased the game. Changing to a back three and pushing more bodies forward was risky, but at least he took the game on and through this rescued a point. I know there's not a lot of JVS love on the forum, but I think he is showing game day smarts and trying to gel this squad. For all the disappointment, we are clearly playing better football, dominating games, and trying new things. I'm happy with the process at this stage - I get the feeling if we stick to our guns the results will come, but adding some more direct football to mix it up wouldn't hurt either. Of course if results don't come then at least we have the war chest to make personnel changes. City don't have a history of being a patient group. The final word to Villa - just a delight to see the tricks and craft. Need I say more.

So looking forward to this. One of the great joys of the A-league is sitting in 30 degree sunshine with a beer in hand watching football - perfect beer drinking weather unlike the AFL season. The first time I watched Heart was a hot December day season 1 and it was like an epiphany. I think it's a real selling point and makes for a much more enjoyable afternoon. Not fussed by the crowd - I just want a win. Through sustained success will come sustained crowds. The Villa signing is good marketing, but consistently thumping teams will slowly but reliably bring the fans. Bring results and the rest will follow.

Same shit, different shovel!!

As Jovan mentioned in another thread, a 4-2-3-1 would be better. We need a bit more cover in front of that back 4. Drop Mooy deeper to start with the ability to push up later in the game if we settle well and look comfortable.

I'm going to get a reputation for being too negative, but a majority of possession often exposes weak defences more than equal or negative possession. As possession is racked up and the team is known for over possessing and pushing higher, opposition tactics are often to concede space, drop deeper and aim to get them on the counter at great speed. (This is pretty well how we've won more than lost against Brisbane over the last few years.). So with two pretty slow centre backs and two full backs who are suspect in defensive capabilities, the last thing we need is to leave ourselves exposed to this. The days of greater possession meaning an assured win are over - people have nutted it out. An average defence is still an average defence no matter how much you have the ball.

I like this, Hoffman and Ramsay can have some defensive support from Chapman and Wielaert, and Paartalu can drop back into a CB support position. It frees Hoffman and ramsay up to push forward and overlap. The problem with this (essentially a 3-5-2) is that you need FBs who are confident going forward (which the Hoff is definitely not) and who are incredibly fit (and unless something dramatic has happened, Ramsay has one of the worst engines in our team - he was pathetic last year in terms of fitness). Otherwise the strikers are too isolated with no support and easily countered by a 4-3-3. We haven't got the cattle to play this system. Again concerns me the inherent weakness and lack of flexibility we are handicapped with by having two pretty average fullbacks. I like the 4-2-3-1 better and Mooy has the fitness/engine and grunt to push forward more, much like Ramsay does at Arsenal. Mooy has the air of a box to box midfielder to me and seems to be very disciplined for such a young player. And if Koren is having a bad day or injured you could play Mooy/Mauk in the advanced role and drop Murdocca or Germano in next to Paartalu as the other DM. Would work well.

I hope like hell I'm wrong, but I think there's a pretty high chance we'll miss finals. Whilst there are some real improvements in the squad especially with Mooy, Koren and Duff, compared to last year we still have some major problems with the squad. And we know where we finished last year!! The back four is worse than last year with Behich gone. Weilardt is not getting any younger or quicker, Hoffman is still ordinary and the LB position is currently a joke. Add to this that the replacements for any injury to the current back four relies again on players playing out of their normal position, or inexperienced NYL promotions, then the depth is a real problem. With an uninspiring and weak goal keeper behind them, I find this really worrying. I still think the DM position is critical to the structure of JVS's squads - someone with a hard edge and good on the ball. Engelaar was that guy, and unless the last Visa spot goes to someone of substance here, then we are arguably weaker now than last year. The only three options we have at present are Germano (injury concerns ongoing), Murdocca (I don't rate at all for pass completion or strength) and Kalmar (you never know what you'll get but is not overly inspiring). The AM's of Koren and Mooy look good (and I think Mauk is a huge talent), but the news Villa is not coming until the season is just about to begin doesn't mean the squad will gel immediately - especially if he's not committed to his trip down south. Probably by the time they work each other out, it's time for him to go. Kennedy isn't a guaranteed proposition yet, and even he has a recent injury record that is not great. And Williams and Dugandzic have histories of being inconsistent which we can't turn a blind eye to. But probably what I am most concerned about is that the team fell away so badly to the end of last season after a period of rejuvenation. I still don't think we have developed that dig in and fight to the last man culture that grinds out those close games when things aren't going well. Maybe Duff and Koren will bring that, but until I see some real change in the character and fight of the bulk of the players, then I think we'll keep coasting along. We need to have a greater ruthlessness (and maybe CFG can bring that) where people are fighting for their spots - indeed their careers. To turn a culture of mediocrity into success often doesn't happen overnight (especially in a salary capped league). I really do hope I'm wrong but there are some real concerns still for the squad.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28600216 I wonder where this puts us in the pecking order?

Looking through some of the Hull City fan forums, there seems to be an overall positive mood towards him. The two standout criticisms seem to be he is slack in tracking back with defensive duties, and he is over zealous to shoot rather than create. In my mind my concerns over a quality DM are only increased - we really do need a holding midfielder of quality and strength if this guy pushes high up the park. But his leadership and vigor to win the ball won over many fans. But like many above, we'll have to wait and see. On paper this looks like a terrific signing to me - fit and injury resistant, good leadership qualities and an eye for goal. If he can curb his shooting from range and aim to create for Villa, we could be in for some fun times.

I def get your point but sometimes a good team is better than a team of good players... Clough proved this often enough. ......... as did Costa Rica at the World Cup.

Unless the plan is to have Germano anchor the midfield (meaning Hoff gets RB) with Mauk/ Murdocca and Mooy. I agree Kiro and think you're right. I think Germano was excellent when he came back last season as primarily the DM. I think he offers much more in the middle of the park than he would at RB but his injury record is the sword of Damocles. If we play a 4-3-3 at the moment then Germano, Mauk and Mooy would be the starting three. I'm a Murdocca critic on the record before and think he's worthy of bench at best. And Mooy's body language when played at DM last season for WSW clearly showed he didn't enjoy the position - he's keen to attack and I'd be keen to see him unshackled. If Germano is to anchor the midfield (and Murdocca or Kalmar to be the injury replacement), we are short at LB, RB, arguably CB (still unclear what's going on), a gun creatve AM (also to teach Mauk and Mooy) and a quality striker who will stick around for the whole season. The skepticism in above posts is warranted - there are still some massive holes in this squad.