mattyh001
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Posts posted by mattyh001
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1. CCM
2. WSW
3. Victory
4. Melbourne
5. Perth
6. Brisbane
7. Sydney
8. Adelaide
9. Newcastle
10. Wellington
some are being very generous to us imo (including me) while we have signed some very good players and what not, we still have a spastic for a coach. i also can't see the top 3 coaches (Popovic, Arnie and Ange) finishing outside the top 3
call me rather optimistic, but there are a couple of things to remember:
1) we were amongst the best in the first half of games last season (certainly the first 22 games) so Aloisi can't be that bad given some of the injuries over the course of the season and the sales mid season. When you look at the shite we had in the bare squad we had at times (christ even Hoffman got 9 starts and 8 off the bench) its little wonder we struggled to play out games and had little bite in the midfield.
2) the last time we had a quality centre back (and in that certainly no mention of a quality DM like Engelaar) we were top two IIRC (that is for the period relating to the 10 or so games Madaschi played)
Add Engelaar to that and we certainly have a good chance.
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1. NRMAWS Wanderers (Solid squad, good coach)
2. Melbourne Heart (Best Squad, young coach)
3. Central Coast (Arnold's Bluechip Battlers)
4. Brisbane Roar (Influence of Mulvey and current squad)
5. Melbourne Victards (Too young or too old to be massively consistent)
6. Adelaide United (Wildcard)
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7. Wellington Phoenix (Merrick = Facepalm but with success with shite teams)
8. Sydney FC (Money spent Wildcard)
9. Perth Glory (No Smeltz, No scoring)
10. Newcastle Jets (Eh!)
as with every season, some teams over perform others under perform.
that said, i think the top four will be the top four (maybe five depending on the visitors) with a middling three and bottom two. all quadrants are a little interchangeable
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Best:
December 2011 as a period.
includes the 3-2 win over the visitors (and a handball winner IIRC and Matty Thompson's excellent brace), that 4-0 win over Sydney and the 2-1 win to break the Roar's record streak (and Germano's delightful celebration).
although last season's derby win was rather memorable for the way all my visitor associates moaned the usual shit despite knowing full well the Heart out did them (much to my constant reminding)
Worst;
Thompson's 90+ min to steal that derby game last season after Fred had equalised - was completely flat for three days
although the following do take the cake too
1. the lethargic performance against Adelaide in the Monday night game at home last season.
2. the loss away to Wellington last season when 2-0 up within 20 minutes (really set the tone for away games.
3. Losing Craig Goodwin to Newcastle after his breakout (half) season and then selling Behich 6 months later
4. the finals loss to Smeltz (not just Perth Glory). can't stand the bloke - pardon the pun but nothing more than a glory / goal poacher with little else to offer (much like Danny Allsop)
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Great to catch up with everyone again and meet some new faces
Most fun I've had at a pre-season game since the club started, and easily the most people we've had down for a pre-season game in our 4 year existence.
Few of us remarked that we had more ppl at the Gimp pre & post game then we did for some home games we played last season.
Think it really emphasises the importance of the club scheduling games locally & fixturing pre-season games at decent times. Instead of playing games behind closed doors and out in whoop whoop.
Anyways, really looking forward to the upcoming season and if last night is anything to go by reckon the yside will be a ripper
:up: sounds like it was a good atmosphere.
apologies for not making it - had planned to make it but between getting away late and having shite traffic conditions through town (making it an hour and a half from the West Gate to the game thanks to two lanes being closed in the Domain / Burnley tunnel and Friday night Footy traffic).
do people normally go back to the pub for post game drinks?
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Albeit against a VPL side patterns / forward rotations are looking alright and defensively the team looks reasonably cohesive despite no Wielaert or Engelaar
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i'm aiming for a 5.30-6 pm arrival at Impy but all depends on whether my mates are keen on a road trip from Ballarat or if they prefer the train.
plus its my first week on placement for my teaching course so i cant be seen to nick off too soon either.
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Was taking a look at the Heart thread on the Victory forum and found this absolute pearler:
8 Hours Ago#17783
Join Date Nov 2006 Location somewhere in the known universe Posts 3,331
Wtf is it with all these Heart membership Believe ads popping up all over the ****ing Internet? it's giving me the shits.Can't go on any of my favourite sites or read articles and shit without it popping up in my face very annoying.Melbourne Victory, S.S.C Napoli, Liverpool F.C, Geelong Cats, Pittsburgh Penguins, forever till I die.thats gold - just to shit 'em right up.
like murfy, i'm a little sceptical given it could just be the advertising agencies targeting our cookies and browser history, but if the visitors are getting them then the reach / promotion range must be al-right to pick up people who wouldnt come near a Heart site.
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Sorry to have to rehash it, but if that's the case, it doesn't make sense why we wouldnt just re-sign Ritchie-Fucking-Garcia and save ourself the trouble of gambling on a VISA player, who MIGHT pay-off, whilst gifting your rivals with a proven talent...
He gives us an abundance of options in the attacking 3rd, allowing us the flexibility to try several combinations up front, utilising all the star power we have there already too.
part of the challenge that i see with the squad going into round 1 is that we have only one out and out forward / front man in DMac.
Kewell can play there (but would leave a big hole in the number 10 position), whist Williams and - to a lesser extent - a couple of others (Mebrahtu and Dugandzic) could possibly acquit themselves al-right if needed. the problem is that they are mostly short term solutions.
i can't see Garcia being the one to lead the line (much better playing from in behind) and has stated a preference for playing in wider position. either way, i can't see him playing up front or directly in behind Kewell.
the way i see the club needs to sign a player that has a general preference for playing in central attacking positions. by all means if he can play wide a bit too then all the better, but the club needs a player who can lead the line OR play so well in behind that Kewell can be pushed forward.
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given the quality of the players signed so far (Wielaert, Kewell, Engelaar et al) and that the club has been quite public in their desire to fill the Striker role with a visa player, i am quite excited to see who they get.
mind you, it'll be interesting to see who they use and where on friday against Richmond.
has there been any indication that Kewell will actually be used in the hole? I know that he played there against La Trobe, but that doesnt mean he is necessarily pegged for that position and nowhere else.
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another season like last season for Williams, and he'll be first out the door, IMO i dont know how hes still even in our squad after last seasons performance..
given that you could add a number to that list that are still there (ie Hoffman, MaCallister, to an extent Germano - mostly poor thanks to injuries) and a number that have already gone (Fred, Colosimo, Thompson) it raises a concern around stability within the squad.
by all means, the team was shite last season and changes were required.
doesnt mean you through the baby out with the bathtub though. the team needs stability so that players don't fear they'll be outcasted because of one bad game, month, etc. doesnt give them much confidence.
it also makes it hard if there is some continued pattern work, defensive work, etc., the coaches are trying to implement. having a couple of players (even if they have had a poor prior season) have a solid understanding of what the coach wants. makes it easier for others to adjust.
personally, Williams needs to work on his second touch. watching him makes me think a lot of Rugter Worm - the two have a tendancy to mess up on their second touch.
he is good enough to get and trap the ball, just doesnt always seem to know what to do next.
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I'd say this is spot on.
We start the week on 3652 on the counter. Let's see where we are this time next week.
I'm wondering whether the explanation of how the counter works is as follows? On-line renewals/joins are counted straight away. However, quite a few people don't like doing financial transactions on-line, so they fill out the application form and pay by cheque/credit card by post, or renew/join over the 'phone. These off-line additions will be made periodically - possibly explaining how there are large incremental jumps form time to time.
agreed, there certainly have been some interesting jumps in membership number.
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Friday's game is coming up quickly. Would be great if Magic got a run.
Also the club would be stupid not to walk around trying to sell as memberships as possible along with putting up a tent.
although it does make me wonder how many will actually go to the game - i suspect that mostly hardcore fans of both (whereby most Heart fans will be members already).
and Victory played Richmond 6 weeks ago so i don't know how many Richmond fans will actually be interested / haven't taken a membership with the visitors.
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my expectation (or at least very high hopes) is that Heart actually give us a home final. that is no more excuses, just solid / consistent performance week in week out.
that in itself implies a top 4 finish, and thereby the ability to actually (a) not play like shite in the last 5 games - losing all of them like last season, and (b.) the ability to get goals, points and wins outside of Melbourne.
and to finish above the visitors would be nice too, after all their skyting about last season under Postecoglou and Liverpool game. would be sweet to have a derby in the finals classed as a home game just to shit 'em right up. as if the 5-0 trouncing we would give out in a finals game wouldn't be enough
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3442 as at 10 am Aug 11.
Seems that i may have ranted a little too soon. although it is interesting as a side point to see what happens when the club comes out with a very positive step (ie the signing of Engelaar).
it makes me wonder if i rant more often ........
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If so, we will have some great defensive set ups.
The Doc. Engelaar
Behich. Wielaert <-> Gerhardt. Walker
Redmayne
Vrankovic can cover CB and RB
Mitchinson & Ramsay cover LB
Germano can cover CDM
Germano has played at RB too so it is actually coming together nicely
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hope he doesnt sign for us but Foschini has been given the boot
http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/news/1162905/Foschini-released-by-Victory
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memberships are at 3087 as i post (11 am Aug 8th).
i'm a little suprised and a bit more disappointed that the club hasn't gotten more members. early on the numbers looked good and like we were going to eclipse last year.
still early days and the members number counts for more at the start of the season (since there will be greater hype closer to then and sometimes the numbers will be largely affected by timing issues - aka when people get off their arse and actually sign up) but i am worried that we are
(a) around 200 short for last year's first marker
(b.) only about a week from that marker
makes me wonder where the hell these supporters have gone and when / where the club is going to start its push
There are so many factors, I'll give you an example. Come next week, say we're still 200 behind last season's total...technically, we could actually be ahead of last season despite being behind. Bare with me hear, take for example, player signings. Last year, our international players were (preseason) gray, Fred, germano, Gerhardt aaaand the ditch. I don't remember, but perhaps by this stage next week last year, we had already signed our international players whereas this time we still are yet to sign two...meaning there are two definite spikes in memberships yet to come. Just an idea. Also, I reckon there are heaps of Garcia fanboys waiting to see if he resigns or not
agree Deluka, sometimes it just comes down to timing issues (of when players are re-signed or brought to the club like you mentioned) - something which was part of my original post.
what worries me is that even with the timing issues and other factors the club would surely have incremental targets as part of increasing last season's memberships numbers - just just a hope / big target to reach come round 1. frankly the only real push the club has made is towards pre-existing members. maybe there is a different sight and sound in Melbourne (after all i am a country boy so maybe they have different strategies). but if the focus has been pre-existing members, one would hope that more pre-existing members have signed up by now.
it kinda feels like the club has a bit of wait and hope strategy with it.
It's very hard to increase memberships off a season where the club finished equal last. And in reply to the other post, it's not that there's Garcia fanboys. The thing is, it's hard to build a case that there's much to look forward to when we're coming from second last and we can't even keep our best player from last year - one of our few recent success stories. Why would a borderline member be in a rush to sign up? Kewell will be a really good pick up I think to attract spectators and hopefully members, but otherwise, there's not much to sell the club with at this stage other than a plea to 'believe'.
totally agree, the club has shot itself in the foot through poor past performance.
one question that does remain for me is "what has (or is) the club done (or is doing) to put itself out there?
maybe its a bit different in Melbourne, but from where I am (Ballarat) i see bugger all. I'm hoping its a isolated thing, but thinking back to when Kewell trained with the club for the first time publicly, there was next to no publicly - not even an SBS or free to air station there to film as a bit of a promotional piece. for me, that raises questions about how Heart promote their product.
don't get me wrong here though either; they actually need a product to promote. poor past performances make that difficult.
i suppose i am mostly just venting that the club doesnt (or hasnt from where I'm sitting) push to get the brand out there, and as such it leaves it to (seemingly) the same hardcore members signing up to be a part of the club.
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memberships are at 3087 as i post (11 am Aug 8th).
i'm a little suprised and a bit more disappointed that the club hasn't gotten more members. early on the numbers looked good and like we were going to eclipse last year.
still early days and the members number counts for more at the start of the season (since there will be greater hype closer to then and sometimes the numbers will be largely affected by timing issues - aka when people get off their arse and actually sign up) but i am worried that we are
(a) around 200 short for last year's first marker
(b.) only about a week from that marker
makes me wonder where the hell these supporters have gone and when / where the club is going to start its push
There are so many factors, I'll give you an example. Come next week, say we're still 200 behind last season's total...technically, we could actually be ahead of last season despite being behind. Bare with me hear, take for example, player signings. Last year, our international players were (preseason) gray, Fred, germano, Gerhardt aaaand the ditch. I don't remember, but perhaps by this stage next week last year, we had already signed our international players whereas this time we still are yet to sign two...meaning there are two definite spikes in memberships yet to come. Just an idea. Also, I reckon there are heaps of Garcia fanboys waiting to see if he resigns or not
agree Deluka, there are a range of factors that mean sometimes it just comes down to timing issues (of when players are re-signed or brought to the club like you mentioned) - something which was part of my original post.
what worries me is that even with the timing issues and other factors the club would surely have incremental targets as part of increasing last season's memberships numbers - just just a hope / big target to reach come round 1. frankly the only real push the club has made is towards pre-existing members. maybe there is a different sight and sound in Melbourne (after all i am a country boy so maybe they have different strategies). but if the focus has been pre-existing members, one would hope that more pre-existing members have signed up by now.
it kinda feels like the club has a bit of wait and hope strategy with it.
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for whenever Kewell scores against the tards, to the Pussycat Doll's "Don't Cha"
Don't Cha wish you still had Harrrrry Kewell,
Don't Cha wish you got him as cheap as us.
Don't Cha
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memberships are at 3087 as i post (11 am Aug 8th).
i'm a little suprised and a bit more disappointed that the club hasn't gotten more members. early on the numbers looked good and like we were going to eclipse last year.
still early days and the members number counts for more at the start of the season (since there will be greater hype closer to then and sometimes the numbers will be largely affected by timing issues - aka when people get off their arse and actually sign up) but i am worried that we are
(a) around 200 short for last year's first marker
(b.) only about a week from that marker
makes me wonder where the hell these supporters have gone and when / where the club is going to start its push
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http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/news/1162757/Smeltz-out-for-three-months
thought people might like to know that Smeltz, barring a miracle, won't be up against us in round 3 for the game over there. given how well he tends to play against us and all ...
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So is he at the game?
no one has said so in the other forum but that doesnt necessarily mean anything
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Both not playing. Retre impressive so far and Williams finishing beautifully. Billy K pretty good too but this team is woeful, particularly in defender.
Really love the way murdocca goes about it
hate to burst anyones bubble here given the slagging that some give Heart for signing from the tards, but guess where the young fella use to play ...
cant see there being too many on our list with a last name of Retre.
not that it bothers me (as per my previous posts) - if the kid can play then that's all that matters
http://www.mfootball.com.au/ex-victory-youngster-joins-heart/
as per Murdocca, i'm not all that suprised. seems to be massively underated in some quarters.
mind you, we haven't conceeded yet with Hoffman at right back so what does it say about the oppenents
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only guessing, but if a 4-5-1
...................................................Velaphi
........Murdocca...............Vrankovic.............Gerhardt.............Mithcneson
.......................................Retre.....................Hoffman
....Konstantinidis......................Dugandzic....................Williams
................................................MaCallister
Mind you, I am assuming Retre is a DM. he could be a right back, something that would make a bit of sense since he and Murdocca would swap
Melbourne Derby Round 1
in Melbourne City
Posted · Edited by mattyh001
come round 1, Victory players are going to be up for a game.Thompson and co might end up on national duty, but that just means there's a chance for someone else to start and earn a place in the first XI.
in saying that, I can see the Victory fans now whinging and bitching about how the national team selections is an unfair hurt on their team. just another excuse for when they lose.
whats all the more amusing for me is that it really gives Heart all the more incentive to start with a bang. a big win really would do wonders in restoring confidence amongst the fans.
by all means the signings so far have been excellent and the extra online presence is great. if they can make it count in round one then it really solidifies what they have done.