bt50

I understand we all might have a different perspective here, but by subbing a defender on when behind in a gf you're effectively giving up. And i think from that perspective, and from the perspective of the team before the individual, then almost the best possible tribute to Jamos legacy given the scenario was to stick to the principles that man was largely responsible for introducing and overseeing a seismic cultural shift at the football club.

Disagree. I think its more insulting to give him some sort of charity minutes when we are chasing the game in a final. Would fly against every thing that champion has stood for in his time at the club.

Obviously people picked Option 2 as it means they dont have to take a day off work on the Friday, but jesus christ, way to suck all the fun out of the whole experience. You'd get virtually no pre-game, scrambling to get your gear to a hotel before kickoff, and then youd have to be hungover af on a bus all day Sunday. Fizzer. I was kinda hoping they'd split it and do a coach or more of each tbh.

Yes, but i didn't action it once they announced option 2 was the successful one. That's way too much bus in two days and very little buildup

Wouldnt latch on to that too hard just yet, but irrespective of age he'd be a great get coming straight out of a 30 appearance Premier League season. Not sure how exactly we'd fit him in cap/marquee wise though.

Not many at all of people ive spoken to are attending. I think active will be non-existent and a lot of regulars will boycott in protest of the grand final decision.

Not a chance that many attends imo

Suspect more so than anyone our fans will genuinely boycott this game. 3-4k max, with a decent chunk of that being made up from freebies to local clubs

Ive got no issue with the decision to retake the pen in of itself, but it is extremely annoying when its the first time theyve decided to look at it all year.

2 - Glover 1 - Berisha

Hes a very good signing imo and will be an asset. Quick, tall, good with the ball. Bos will be the hardest one to replace because full backs of that calibre are rare, and worth their weight in gold when teams park on you. Youre hardly going to use a marquee slot on that sort of position, but as we've seen all year, we are strong across the board and we'll make it work.

Get exactly what we deserve imo. The Vic government has repeatedly not come to the party when it comes to football, whether its friendlies or internationals so we don't deserve to host the big tickets when they come here.

I think Brillante is past it tbh. He was absolute rolled gold for us at the time but imo hes had a fairly steep drop off this season, and tbh hes collected half the clubs in the league now. Pass.

Active is $28

I strongly disagree that the club is the main reason our membership base is not growing tbh. It's really difficult to put your finger on imo, but i dont think they are getting anything horribly wrong from an administrative point. Its not perfect, but imo they are doing most things better than everyone else in the league. To me, and it seems to be in Victoria in particular, the general malaise of the league is really the main factor. The general punter and theatregoer just isnt even slightly interested. I think a large part of it is the negative publicity, esp surrounding the GF decision and the Victory stuff that went down at the Xmas derby, but even then i tend to tie it back to the fact active support in Victoria has been pushing up daisies for quite a few seasons. IMO thats the big point of difference down here compared to the other codes and the club only can have so much control over that. The fact it has gone steadily downhill (no offence to those that put in the effort, believe me i know its a tough job) since 15/16 in terms of our club has just led to a big lack of atmosphere, and from that the more casual viewers just drop off and dont come back.

2 - Tilio 1 - Reis

I was exactly the same at first, but yes Young was clearly the best keeper in the comp last season and might act as a perfect bridge for Nieuwenhuizen to step in and be the top dog.

2 - Maclaren 1 - Berenguer Nabbout, Glover stiff

Big name marquees very, very rarely mean on-field success in the A League. Usually the only ones remotely in the responsible HAL spend window are over the hill physically. Pass.

i disagree that that is how it reads. He's making the point that the title being won felt underwhelming, because we didn't 'win' it on the day. I agree with him. It doesnt downplay the achievement, but the reality is it feels far less euphoric than if we had of won, or even drawn a game on the day to secure it.

I disagree tbh, i think that was a fairly well written and considered article.

2 - Berenguer 1 - Bos

Its a good point. Some people are brilliant at driving Ferrari's but wouldnt know what to do with a Datsun, and vice-versa

Id sum Paddy up as follows; Pros - Excellent, fluent Plan A that is both attractive to watch and is generally effective - Extracts the most out of most of his players and doesnt allow complacency to set in - Generally speaking inspires his players - Best suited to a side that has a superior squad to most rivals Cons - Tactically inflexible, his idea of Plan A is do Plan B better which in some respects makes him easy to coach against, albeit execution is harder than the theory - Aggressive approach is inspiring to some, but others will thoroughly dislike it. - IMO his gameplan is useless when he's using subpar cattle, which would appear to be the case at Troyes. Personally i think he can thrive overseas, but he needs the right conditions and tbh, a mid to lower table battler won't suit his style.

With due respect though, Aidan is a loooooong way in front of Denis both as a player, and on the performances in the A League. Denis had a great season with Bulls, but not to the level that Aidan is playing at this season with us. I genuinely think given the opportunity, O'Neill can be a regular starter in any league in the world. Not sure i'd say that about too many other Aus players