Heart_fan

^^ Great read that one.

I think that a comment in the article by Michael Lynch the other day gave a hint on this. Being a nice guy will no longer be enough to stay around and the club will become more ruthless. This pretty much sums up Germano, as he does appear to be a good guy, gives his all for the club when he does play, but his injury situation is too risky for him to fill a visa spot. Maybe offer him a translator or ambassadorial role for the next Spanish speaker we sign

I can see him leaving. A side like NJ or CCM would likely sign him , but would just depend on the $$ they would offer him. I'm sure MC would happily release him though.

I didn't hear about that. Do you have a link? Oh, of course, it hasn't been mentioned much on here. The FFA just released a 20 year plan. It's definitely aspirational and it will be very interesting to see how they plan to implement it. Key points re the A-league admin: "The A-League will be an actively managed and competitively balanced league within a stable and sustainable structure. What does that mean? - It means that there will always be a role for a central body that can place the common good and long-term strategic objectives of the game at the heart of every decision." and "In order for the A-League to become a financially strong and stable league, it must: - Strengthen the operations of clubs by centralising select administrative services enabling clubs to focus on Football" It also sets out the plans for the w-league, with some big goals: a 20 game season (please yes) and for each A-league club to have a W-league club. No word on timeframes though. Still, I hope one of the offseason announcements from us is a new W-league team. There was some talk about it mid-season, so perhaps it will be more than just a dream. Thanks for the link. I don't know if it's something that'll happen this off-season, but a women's team is definitely on the agenda for Melbourne City. At the moment, CFG are pumping lots of cash into women's football in Manchester, and they're building one of the best teams, talent-wise, in the country.Would be great to see in Melbourne too! Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later, whenever it does happen. Judging by a number of comments I have seen, MC would be willing to have a womens team but the State federation does not feel the time is right. It fears that there is not enough quality players yet to justify a 2nd team. The state federation already funds the MV women's team, which is also the case for all sides in the W-League. The branding is just aligned with the HAL team but most have long ago washed their hands of actually investing in the women's team.

This was MV's year. It started from a far better base than us, with a couple of key signings added for good measure to strengthen them. We can only hope we build on this season and can become a consistent performer. I must say though that we can only hope that Koren can move on and we can find another marquee. He just hasn't offered us enough.

Was his hamstring apparently? Must have been a bad tear if that's the case. I agree though that this was a game he really stood up for us. Great performance.

The poorest form of the night... A bunch of MV's 'quality supporters' that felt like it was fair to stand near the gate at the end of the game yelling "f*** off City", including at kids. It just went to show why I never supported MV and even after tonight's result, very happy with my decision to follow our club.

Let's just be thankful the team actually put in a very solid effort and suffered from a lack of quality in front of goal and injuries made it twice as hard. This is a game that Harry truly stepped up and showed just how much of an asset he can be. It's a pity about the injury but I hope that doesn't harm his chances of getting a contract. Dissapointing end to the year, but I'm still proud to see the energy shown until the end of the match.

How old is Theo now? He has certainly had his fair share of injuries this year though.

I was talking to a MV fan today who said the same thing. He said "You dont deserve to be in the finals, as you lost more games than you won". Seriously lame.

Hes a keeper.. I like this kids attitude. If he doesn't get a contract hes either asking too much $$ or the clubs lost th plot. Lets hope this week he can well and truly seal a deal.

Buying tickets today was a nightmare. Tried to get it online today to sit with my friend and his family but it didn't seem to want to work putting both codes in together. Gave up and let him book his tickets for the family. Ended up on a different side of the stadium seated on my own, which isn't as fun. L1 Aisle 10 is where I ended up. Too close to the MV area for my liking, but in the end just decided that I didn't want to miss it.

I agree that the comments seemed to indicate that there's some tension in air and next year may see us with a different marquee next year. Oh well, we await news on that story unfolding soon. Hopefully this weekend he can play in midfield and show us what he says he could have all year

I tend to think that the salary cap should stay, but more flexibility in loan deals an an extra marquee spot may well produce better results. As much as the CCM owner tried to suggest that his club would be fine with a removal of a salary cap, the reality is that it would be left behind. We know all too well what having a squad on the cheap can do for supporter confidence, so that seems like an ll considered move on hs behalf. The rumours around the extra 3 clubs breaching the cap, including us, certainly is concerning. The latest seems to suggest the Duff was paid outside the cap, but hey who knows where this rumour really started. I'm guess out west

With all the talk of PG's salary cap issues, there are now rumours around that another 3 clubs may have exceeded the cap, including MC (MV and SFC are said to be the other 2). Time will tell if this is accurate, or it's just some kind of PG led counter claim, but If it ends up to be true, having nearly half the clubs in the league over the cap would be a very bad look. What would be your ideas around the salary cap moving forward, or whether extra marquee spots should be added?

If Maclaren is smart he would sign for us. There is far more upside for him at MC, given that he could well be a regular starter in a club that seems to suggest it wants to build for the future, along with top class training facilities and the CFG connection benefits (ie overseas training camps). Not too sure MV have the cap space or the need for him in their squad.

Very hard to make plans at this stage but I am hopeful we will get a good travelling supporter presence at the match if it's in Adelaide. Wellington would be far harder though.

I think many have been too harsh on him. He has come in mid season, been an attacking threat and given defences a very hard time. It's something we struggled with for years. With a full pre-season and hopefully a manager that can mould him into the squad more effectively, he may well be one of the better signings that can be achieved, especially given his age and development path. At this stage he is trying to do too much I agree, but a couple of passes on the weekend showed the potential he can also offer when he better integrates with the team.

I understand people wanting to see better communication but how is the club making statements like that going to help? All it does is generate more talk and pressure on the club to say what is going on, as many would likely not have realised anyway. Keeping things quiet at least leaves some privacy on the matter. As for next year, with the player and hopefully manager clean out, we can only hope that what we end up with is a mentally stronger, fitter side to contend for silverware for once. This year will more than likely be a first round exit from the finals, but if miracles do happen and we win, we may get to play MV in the semi. That would be a huge game for both clubs, but for the sport in this state it would likely generate significany general public interest.

We may have been finishing like dickheads. But playing like them? I am sorry I have to disagree Up to they scored I thought it was one of the best performances of the season so far I agree. We actually played a high standard of possession based football for once in the first half. For all the venting that has gone on about the performance, it seems most have overlooked the parts of the game many have actually called for us to do all along. This was an example of an attacking, possession based style. We went down to 10 players and lost shape and ran out of ideas / motivation in the 2nd half, which is likely a clear reflection of the position we now find ourselves in (5th on the ladder and can't go up or down based on this or next weeks results). With 2 weeks to go until finals, we can only hope more of the first half can be achieved, with much more clinical finishing. For the finals though it will likely be a more defensive approach though.

^^ They haven't promised us anything more than what they are delivering though. Members input is sought via surveys and representative groups though to give some insight into the club's fan insight. CFG operate the way they do and we need to understand that's just the way they do things. Expecting that to change is likely lead to frustration, so we either just get on with supporting the team or move on if we just can't wait for things to change.

Fully agree. He's an impact player at best.

I think JA lives in some parallel universe. He took every line out of the coaching excuses 101 manual, yet now he tried to sound like he has a clue. Good try.

Another sip of the kool aid Haha.. Nah just didn't see the point in trying to worry about this game. The games that really count for us now are in 2 weeks time. This was dissapointing, but what was in it for us? Nothing.

It seems odd. This was the opportunity to play him, getting him experience in a game that means nothing. Going down to 10 players didn't help I am sure, but still should have started him.