SF33

It has to be a concern given we've got over 10,000 members. On those figures ~1/3 of the paid members didn't even show-up. Was saying with a mate of mine at the game, Sunday 5pm is such a putrid time slot. Especially for families bringing kids. The game finishes 7/7:30 by the time you get out etc, that's dinner time, so if you go home and cook, it'll be 9 by the time you eat after the drive home. Too late, so means you have to eat out which means for most families time to get their young kids ready for bed. Look at Sydney on a Saturday night, more electric, more vocal and more support. People can go out afterwards, families don't have to get their kids ready for bed for school etc. As for everyone else, lack of winning, Sunday 5pm, the rain, etc. all contributing factors. As for opposition fans, well we are such a big country it's way too hard to travel considering last minute flights are $200, accommodation pushes over $100 a night. I'm all for going on at least one road trip to support the club per season, but in planning that, I'd look at the fixture and put a cross next to any game on a Sunday, especially a game that kicks off after 3pm.

It has to be a concern given we've got over 10,000 members. On those figures ~1/3 of the paid members didn't even show-up. cant speak for everyone, but i'm sure there are a range of reasons for this. the country membership only allows for 5 games attendance to allow people who travel a fair distance to support without having to commit to each and every game; i'm sure a number of people with that sort of membership have to be very selective and (given how we have been going) i cant blame them for being cautious about this game. for me (and i'm sure there are others) 5 pm games on a sunday just dont work. including the time it takes to get through the city, breaks every 2 hours, etc., after the game it is a 7 hour drive back to Mildura - hence i wouldnt even get home until 2 am (at best). taking public transport means i have to leave the game at half time - not really an option and even then it still gets back at 2 am. in any case and long story short, it makes it hard to both go to games and balance with work commitments. would love to rock into work late every monday but will never go down well unless i actually cut down my hours. as for other / newer members, it is a reflection on how shit things have been at the start of the season and how poorly the club has managed different issues. bringing Villa out was great from a marketing perspective was great, but the club has well and truly fallen short in terms of ongoing quality in the way we play. there just hasnt been any real substance. imagine if, on the other hand, our results were more reflective of the visitors? all those new members, bandwagoners, etc., would have seen something successful. however (and regardless of their reason(s) for jumping on board), these new members have paid good money for shite. they have little to no attachment to the club, so what do expect them to do other than bail? the club has to do more than just getting its proverbial foot through the door with new members. it has to create an attachment, some sort of lingering enjoyment so people think their money has been well spent. until then, there is little incentive for new members to remain when and where performances turn to shit. And little incentive for the opposition supporters to travel either, particularly if their team is rubbish as well and they're not confident of a win. But, no matter how you slice it, getting less than 8k when the membership is over 10.5k would and should be a cause of concern for the club. We'll obviously get a huge crowd for the next home game, but the only way to keep people coming is by continuing to get good results.

And that's the thing. Whatever the club decides to do with him once his contract is up is ok with me, but realistically, he is (and should be) assured of a spot on the bench as a bare minimum, at least until Kennedy arrives. Say what you want about him, but I'd still back him in to score more (disregarding penalties) over a 5-10 game period than any of the other supposed goal scoring options we have on our squad currently. It's not like Dugandzic, Brown, Marino and now Melling are known for consistently getting shots on target either, is it? And as for Duff, I can barely remember him even having a shot this year. So Williams gets the nod at least until Kennedy is right to go, as far as I'm concerned. He has one job. If he's not doing it someone else deserves the spot. Not really interested in hypotheticals that he "could" score more goals than anyone else. Preferably Marino. Fair enough. I'd argue that Marino has had a few chances and hasn't even been able to get a shot away, let alone on target. The whole point, as far as I'm concerned, is that we don't really seem to have 'someone else'. Certainly not someone that we can have faith on to force the keeper to make a save when he has a chance. I'm happy for Williams to continue to come off the bench; that's where he started yesterday and he didn't really do anything to earn a promotion from there. But to leave him out of the squad altogether, considering the alternatives that we have, seems pretty bloody-minded to me.

And that's the thing. Whatever the club decides to do with him once his contract is up is ok with me, but realistically, he is (and should be) assured of a spot on the bench as a bare minimum, at least until Kennedy arrives. Say what you want about him, but I'd still back him in to score more (disregarding penalties) over a 5-10 game period than any of the other supposed goal scoring options we have on our squad currently. It's not like Dugandzic, Brown, Marino and now Melling are known for consistently getting shots on target either, is it? And as for Duff, I can barely remember him even having a shot this year. So Williams gets the nod at least until Kennedy is right to go, as far as I'm concerned.

I was generally happy with all of the unfamiliar faces that started, although I'm certainly not a big fan of Brown's work. That was the main thing to take out of the game for me: that Velaphi, Garuccio and Chapman all looked quite good and all probably should start in the derby. I also thought Murdocca looked like he could play a regular role as a DM off the bench, if we ever start to find ourselves in the position that we're defending leads late in the game Beyond that, I refuse to look further than the next game, until this team gives us the slightest indication that it can be trusted. Hopefully the rescheduling of the Wanderers game gives Duff and Koren a better chance of getting up.

I assume people are joking when they bring up Di Canio's name? Seems to be handy for beating a few wins out a team that is trying to stave off relegation, before he causes a near-mutiny against him and is moved on. And, of course, relegation is never a concern for this club, even though it probably should be.

That streak went back about six games from last year as well. You're right, he didn't do anything unbelievable, but can't really remember any mistakes either. He was chosen ahead of Redmayne this week and there was certainly nothing that happened out there today that suggested that should be changed for the next game.

Oh goody. I remember the last time we had one of these Sidwell told us they were looking to bring in some more investors but we're still considering a fan owned model, then he told us it was up to the fans to convince people to come to games followed by Aloisi giving loads of excuses why he was failing and how he needed better players before he would be able to start winning. Yeah. Can't wait. Lol They'll probably fly Dylan Macallister back to answer a few questions. Have him on the panel with Germano and a youth league player.

Billed on social media as Kisnorbo answering 'the tough questions'. http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/we-need-to-dig-in-collectively/75h57an7xedn1tphk73x69nnp We seem to be missing the points in the interview when he was asked: 1. What he has to say to the fans after such a dismal opening two months to the season? 2. Why the defence, with four players who started the majority of the games there last season, continues to be exposed on a weekly basis? 3. Whether it's time for JVS to make a statement and axe a number of veterans? 4. How he's seen his season individually? 5. What the feeling is in defence when he sees opportunities being butchered time and again at the other end of the ground? 6. What the team has tried to actually start getting some results?

I think, when in doubt, a safe bet is that it is reasonable to give the CEO a bit of the credit for everything that goes right and also a bit of the criticism for everything that goes wrong. He's the head honcho. Every employee ultimately reports to him, so he shares their successes and their failures. That's how it works.

I can't imagine anyone outside of our club even recalls the incident. It's a bit of a non issue. exactly So the goalposts are moving a bit from 'no-one would remember it' to 'no-one that I personally respect would remember it.' It would be one thing if it had actually been a derby (and still not great from the CEO to a bloke that he is clearly not friends with), another to do it when your team wasn't even involved in the game, was anchored to the bottom of the ladder and (from memory) had just registered its first win for the season early that weekend (in January). Have some self-awareness, FFS. Again, if a young kid like Garuccio or Mauk had done the same thing, I'd expect him to be given a serve from JVS (and perhaps from higher up than that) and possibly cop a penalty of some sort. As far as I'm concerned, GC won that slapfest by simply Tweeting back something along the lines of 'Says a lot about why your club is where it is, when as the CEO you're doing this sort of stuff.' Checkmate...he's spot on.

'Fan engagement' has been off the charts this week. Not sure about anyone else, but I keep getting a picture of Scott Munn hiding under his desk with his phone switched off. The club is apparently going with the 'pretend that Sunday's game never happened' strategy, with regards to all official news (what little of it there's been) being released this week. Which would be fine, you know, if this was some park football team run by part-timers and volunteers.

Exactly this. Couldn't give two fucks if he brang me a slab right now, he doesn't know Football, end of. I couldn't give a fuck about him buying beers either. But I also don't give a fuck if he doesn't know football. In regard to the position of CEO, there is very little difference what sport is being played. That's why there is a position of Football Operations Manager, to manage football operations, the things that actually require a detailed knowledge of the sport. To set the long term strategy and direction of the football teams, beyond just the first team, and beyond just the current manager. Seems the only strategy JD has implemented is "let's be a bunch of shit cunts and never get a result". How this guy still has a job is beyond me, far worse than JVS still having a job. JVS 1, JA, JVS 2, under every manager we have been failures, to me that means JD has to go as well. Fix the football department, the rest of the club is on the up, probably due to the good work of SM & co. They've proven themselves with the increased resources at their disposal, only the football department continues to let us down. And that can easily be fixed by getting rid of JD and JVS. Consisting of what, exactly? I find it very hard to believe that the increased membership and numbers at the first couple of games were due to anything, besides: A bunch of big name/highly credentialled recruits, including arguably the biggest name in A-League history in the tail end of his prime. The 'likely' recruits that were bandied around, whether or not they ultimately eventuated: Bresciano, Kennedy, Lampard. The Manchester City connection (every Melbourne EPL fan that had jumped on the Manchester City bandwagon over the past five years was probably going to do the same with Melbourne City) and the idea that we were just going to blow everyone away with our spending. Pre-season championship favouritism with the bookies. How much of the above was due to Scott Munn? How is the rest of the club on the up, considering we've seen pretty clearly that unless the team starts winning, we'll be back to Heart attendance figures by Christmas? Because it seems from here like he's had a bit more money to throw around, so now we've got some pretty facilities and the players had a nice England tour and it's made Sweet FA difference. Lol, so you want to blame the CEO for the club not performing on the field, but you don't want to give him credit for increased memberships, increased attendances, far greater fan engagement, increased brand awareness, a much higher overall level of professionalism, etc.? No, I want you to tell me exactly what he's done. Increased brand awareness?? The CEO could be based in Abu Dhabi and never even been to Melbourne and we'd have increased brand awareness, compared to the Heart years. Increased memberships: what a bang up job here. People jumped on because: a] they thought we'd start filling trophy cabinets; and b] because they wanted to see David Villa. Several would feel that they've been misled by the club, regarding Villa. I wonder how many will stick around for the 2015/16 season. Increased attendances: are you suggesting it's not due completely to the factors that I listed previously? Of which, few have anything to do with Munn, as far as I'm concerned. Tell me about how well City is going in this regard after the game this weekend. Fan engagement: Meaning what? I'm a fan. I feel no more engaged than I was 12 months ago. The fan engagement was (and is) pretty five star with keeping us in the loop about Villa, wasn't it? Higher professionalism: well, what a genius. He got millions to throw at an off-field set-up that wasn't even semi-professional standard (under his watch) previously. And we've seen...how much improvement from the players that were here last year? Has anyone improved? Etc: oh, no...please continue with Munn's glittering list of achievements... Well actually, during the Heart years, before City was even thought about, we still somehow managed to maintain membership growth and match attendances, as well as manage to somehow keep the majority of fans and turn over a small profit. All of this happened despite the on-field product being one of the least appealing products on the market, whilst the direct market competitor (Victory) continued to go from strength to strength. I see this as a fucking miracle. If anything, Munn is a god for somehow keeping the club afloat for as long as it was. (please note, I'm not saying keep Munn, I couldn't give a shit tbh, but your claim that he hasn't done anything is incorrect in regards to his role as CEO.) The 'improved' home match attendances (which actually appear to have yo-yoed from season 1 to season 4) almost seem to be entirely down to which seasons we've had two home games (and the subsequent additional 25k+ crowd) against Victory. Not sure Munn can be take credit for that, to be honest.

Exactly this. Couldn't give two fucks if he brang me a slab right now, he doesn't know Football, end of. I couldn't give a fuck about him buying beers either. But I also don't give a fuck if he doesn't know football. In regard to the position of CEO, there is very little difference what sport is being played. That's why there is a position of Football Operations Manager, to manage football operations, the things that actually require a detailed knowledge of the sport. To set the long term strategy and direction of the football teams, beyond just the first team, and beyond just the current manager. Seems the only strategy JD has implemented is "let's be a bunch of shit cunts and never get a result". How this guy still has a job is beyond me, far worse than JVS still having a job. JVS 1, JA, JVS 2, under every manager we have been failures, to me that means JD has to go as well. Fix the football department, the rest of the club is on the up, probably due to the good work of SM & co. They've proven themselves with the increased resources at their disposal, only the football department continues to let us down. And that can easily be fixed by getting rid of JD and JVS. Consisting of what, exactly? I find it very hard to believe that the increased membership and numbers at the first couple of games were due to anything, besides: A bunch of big name/highly credentialled recruits, including arguably the biggest name in A-League history in the tail end of his prime. The 'likely' recruits that were bandied around, whether or not they ultimately eventuated: Bresciano, Kennedy, Lampard. The Manchester City connection (every Melbourne EPL fan that had jumped on the Manchester City bandwagon over the past five years was probably going to do the same with Melbourne City) and the idea that we were just going to blow everyone away with our spending. Pre-season championship favouritism with the bookies. How much of the above was due to Scott Munn? How is the rest of the club on the up, considering we've seen pretty clearly that unless the team starts winning, we'll be back to Heart attendance figures by Christmas? Because it seems from here like he's had a bit more money to throw around, so now we've got some pretty facilities and the players had a nice England tour and it's made Sweet FA difference. Lol, so you want to blame the CEO for the club not performing on the field, but you don't want to give him credit for increased memberships, increased attendances, far greater fan engagement, increased brand awareness, a much higher overall level of professionalism, etc.? No, I want you to tell me exactly what he's done. Increased brand awareness?? The CEO could be based in Abu Dhabi and never even been to Melbourne and we'd have increased brand awareness, compared to the Heart years. Increased memberships: what a bang up job here. People jumped on because: a] they thought we'd start filling trophy cabinets; and b] because they wanted to see David Villa. Several would feel that they've been misled by the club, regarding Villa. I wonder how many will stick around for the 2015/16 season. Increased attendances: are you suggesting it's not due completely to the factors that I listed previously? Of which, few have anything to do with Munn, as far as I'm concerned. Tell me about how well City is going in this regard after the game this weekend. Fan engagement: Meaning what? I'm a fan. I feel no more engaged than I was 12 months ago. The fan engagement was (and is) pretty five star with keeping us in the loop about Villa, wasn't it? Higher professionalism: well, what a genius. He got millions to throw at an off-field set-up that wasn't even semi-professional standard (under his watch) previously. And we've seen...how much improvement from the players that were here last year? Has anyone improved? Etc: oh, no...please continue with Munn's glittering list of achievements...

Exactly this. Couldn't give two fucks if he brang me a slab right now, he doesn't know Football, end of. I couldn't give a fuck about him buying beers either. But I also don't give a fuck if he doesn't know football. In regard to the position of CEO, there is very little difference what sport is being played. That's why there is a position of Football Operations Manager, to manage football operations, the things that actually require a detailed knowledge of the sport. To set the long term strategy and direction of the football teams, beyond just the first team, and beyond just the current manager. Seems the only strategy JD has implemented is "let's be a bunch of shit cunts and never get a result". How this guy still has a job is beyond me, far worse than JVS still having a job. JVS 1, JA, JVS 2, under every manager we have been failures, to me that means JD has to go as well. Fix the football department, the rest of the club is on the up, probably due to the good work of SM & co. They've proven themselves with the increased resources at their disposal, only the football department continues to let us down. And that can easily be fixed by getting rid of JD and JVS. Consisting of what, exactly? I find it very hard to believe that the increased membership and numbers at the first couple of games were due to anything, besides: A bunch of big name/highly credentialled recruits, including arguably the biggest name in A-League history in the tail end of his prime. The 'likely' recruits that were bandied around, whether or not they ultimately eventuated: Bresciano, Kennedy, Lampard. The Manchester City connection (every Melbourne EPL fan that had jumped on the Manchester City bandwagon over the past five years was probably going to do the same with Melbourne City) and the idea that we were just going to blow everyone away with our spending. Pre-season championship favouritism with the bookies. How much of the above was due to Scott Munn? How is the rest of the club on the up, considering we've seen pretty clearly that unless the team starts winning, we'll be back to Heart attendance figures by Christmas? Because it seems from here like he's had a bit more money to throw around, so now we've got some pretty facilities and the players had a nice England tour and it's made Sweet FA difference.

And, in fact, it could quite easily be seen by the cynical as (at least partly) a strategy to keep the most vocal supporters on his side. Quite possibly true, something I didn't think about. Especially since it seems to have worked an absolute treat, going by the last few pages. Potentially one of his more astute moves.

Yeah. Supporting an A-League side is a bit like supporting a Sheffield Shield team. If the guy has talent, it's pretty selfish to expect him to stay at this lower level and not see how far he can go with his football. I guess if he has Asian Cup aspirations, it might not be out of the realms of possibility that he'll come home for a few matches leading in to it. But surely he wouldn't stick around after that? Which would make it a band aid and we'd have exactly the same problems waiting for us when we return in February. Would rather give a kid or two a go. He looks far from being the long-term answer, but I think the time has well and truly come to give Garuccio another crack at it. Give him a start and see how he goes. There's nothing to lose.

Interesting read, nothing new though. Although it would best suit David that before he writes such a piece he researches how long a calf injury can take to recover from before making comments about it. Would also argue that potting the recruitment of Koren is pretty easy, but it's a bit hypocritical for all these people to criticise that signing in hindsight without mentioning that the older (and, as I understand it, more injury-prone prior to 2014-15) Damien Duff has been one of only a couple of shining lights this season. It's pretty easy to say 'Just get a younger player as the marquee'. But surely getting a player with about a quarter of the professional experience of Koren (and presumably not even close to the standard of Koren - why would a European born 25 year old Premier League player quit that to come to Australia and play League 1/2 standard in anonymity?) has at least as many risks. And we know for a fact that Engelaar's injury had nothing to do with his age. It was a broken leg. As for Grella...wasn't he signed for the minimum? Disappointing, sure, but we never should have been counting on him in the first place. SF33 I think Hardsy's disappointment with the Koren issue stems from the initial statement by Begiristain that included the words: "It's not about the names, it's about the player. We don't need a big name, we need a big player and a big player will develop into a big name. He has to add something more than a name. Commitment with the group and the football in Australia, experience to teach the players and help the coach." (Herald Sun 23rd January 2014) And other statements were attributed to Begiristain at the time, such as : City's director of football Txiki Begiristain said City's centre of gravity in Europe gave it an unfettered knowledge of prospective players for Heart."We have experience of players, we will know who can fit or not," he said. (www.news.com.au 23rd January 2014) I think most Heart fans, and I include myself in that number, interpreted these sorts of statements to indicate that we would be looking to sign players for Heart, both as visa players and as marquees, that would not be 30+ and would not be big names. Yes, that was our interpretation, but can you honestly say that the squad we have today actually matches up with the sorts of things that Begiristain was saying last January? Can you honestly say that Koren and Duff match "...unfettered knowledge of prospective players for Heart."? Because I think not. Not at all. I just think the criticism of Koren is a bit harsh and there's nothing to suggest that his injury is anything other than bad luck. And I've honestly got no problem with the club continuing to use its marquee slot and another visa position on the likes of Duff and Koren: guys that have been there and done that (and stand out on the park, unlike pretty much all of our other visa players, who are all pretty middle-of-the-road for A-League players). I think the club needs guys of Duff and Koren's experience, class and professionalism. You're absolutely spot on though, that there needs to be a more even spread of players at different stages of their careers in the visa positions (Koren or Miller would be the youngest we currently have, I believe) and I think that the visa rules do provide the scope to do that. It's just that we need to replace the incumbents from the Heart-era with Australian equivalents that are about the same standard. That's the key, I reckon: get visa players that are significantly better than what we'd find locally. With the City network, I see no reason why we shouldn't be in a better position than any other club in the league to do just that, as soon as existing contracts start expiring.

Of course not. They've had a tough weekend and they're busy feeling sorry for themselves. The rest of that article is very interesting though. How often has someone from the franchise actually addressed the supporters? We are asked for money (via attendance and mercy) in corporate emails, there are interviews with the press, but how often has the manager or the players actually spoken to us rather than about us? We hear ' the fans expect more' but never a direct apology to the fans, or an explanation of why success may take some time. This may work in Manchester where a 'trust us' request has been backed up with success but it isn't working here. Absolutely spot on. An email. Something on the website. In the media presser...I don't care. Just get someone in a position of authority to come out and publicly put their name against a statement that says that they can't continue to let the supporters down like this and that anyone that is willing to accept what has been dished up in the past three weeks will not be playing in the senior side. Might not do anything in the grand scheme, but it at least shows some sort of understanding of how badly they continue to let their supporters down.

Depends if the CBA CEO took the time to have a beer with them and tell them that none of it was his fault and that he's furious with the board (but he won't leave). Seems like the membership campaign this season is the jewel in his crown. Great. That means his salary can be halved, he can start manning the phones and we can get someone else in as CEO. And, in fact, it could quite easily be seen by the cynical as (at least partly) a strategy to keep the most vocal supporters on his side.

To cut a long story short, my point is: we've proven that we can throw away points against anyone from any position, home and away. So trying to predict wins and losses between now and the break is a bit problematic.

Tbh I don't think JVS, JA and JD is Munn's decision. I do recall speaking to him about the appointment of JA over Millicic. He was pissed off the board did not take his and JDs advice to appoint AM over JA. On the first point, I can't see it working that way. The CEO would be in on the interview and selection process and would present the recommendations to the board. And it would probably take something pretty extraordinary for the board not to go along with the CEO's recommendations. On the second, that just seems like an excellent example of where the accusations of arrogance, stubbornness and lack of professionalism that are present in the last couple of pages here are coming from. Without knowing you in the slightest: why is he telling you this? I can't imagine getting into a bit of a chat with Gary Pert, Brian Cook or Stuart Fox and having one of them tell me that they were livid with their respective presidents and boards for not taking their advice. If he's that pissed off and the board isn't listening to him, the simple solution would be to resign. You can't operate effectively as a CEO in such an environment. Great post. A lot of people point at Munn and JVS and say they are don't have enough support etc to do their job properly (or didn't in the past). Well if that was the case they either should have made such a stink about it they got sacked or changes were made or resign if they are more concerned about their career than anything else. Instead JVS leaves for "family reasons" and then comes back at the soonest opportunity. @SF33: It was not unknown for Scott Munn to catch up with senior YS members and have a drink and a chat late after a game at the imp. He told me because I asked him and I definitely wouldn't be saying it on the forum, but for the fact that people are calling for his head for not getting rid off JA and JVS earlier. In the case of JAs appointment the board were heavily involved in the interview process and ultimately it was a board decision (Sidwell's) to appoint JA. @Alexxandro: Tesla has pointed at that Munn, since having increased resources, has improved every part of the club except the football department. Which given the evidence I do not think he has much control over. Everyone knows that the next manager who is appointed is going to be chosen by city/city's representitives on our board not Munn. As for the playing squad Munn would not have much of a say in that at all. The only appointment/sacking I feel Munn has potentially let us down with is JD, if it is his decision at all. (I can imagine the board would be pretty controlling in our setup) As for JVS I do not want him at the club and have called for his head for some time. So I am not trying to argue he needs time to prove himself. Munn on the other hand quite possibly has proven that with increased resources that he can do better as Tesla has pointed out. Still feel that it's completely outrageous for him to be airing that sort of dirty laundry, personally. Even if it was true. And if the board going over his head with decisions like that is par for the course, he should have walked. Seems to me that people are using the 'good bloke' explanation to defend him. That worked wonders for Mifsud and continues to work wonders for the likes of Redmayne. Good gig he's got. Not responsible for any of the major decisions that have blown up in the club's face. Not his fault that there is a complete lack of transparency at the club for anything besides overwhelmingly positive news. Not his fault that this club has been by far the worst in the competition over the past three seasons. Not his fault that if the above is to be believed, the football department runs its own race and he has no control over what it does. Not his fault that he gets into juvenile Twitter wars with celebrity supporters of rival clubs that any other self-respecting CEO wouldn't touch with a 10m pole. Not his fault that existing and new members were misled about the availability of David Villa for the first half of the season and that a club statement didn't come out until after the press was all over it (and, not his fault that we still don't know whether Villa's playing any more games in Melbourne, so naturally, we just give up on the idea). And he still gets a CEO salary and gets to put 'Chief Executive Officer' of a major professional sporting club next to his LinkedIn profile. It's a joke. I don't want him gone because of JVS and JA. I want him gone because this is my third year as a member, the club continues to be a rabble and there hasn't been a single instance that I can think of, where I've thought: 'Geez, that Scott Munn's running a tight ship. We're lucky to have him.' But, there's been a number of times where I've thought 'What a complete and utter muppet.' That's just me though.

Of course not. They've had a tough weekend and they're busy feeling sorry for themselves. The rest of that article is very interesting though. To be honest, and cynical, I've had a gutful of words. Other than the "brand" crap all we have had from CFG so far is fine words. I want action. Depends on what those words are. If a player, or JVS came out today with some home truths about how much this team is kidding itself currently, I would consider that a step in the right direction. If they came out and gave us the usual 'take our chances...stay positive...winning mentality...full 90 minutes' stuff, that would mean nothing to me either. I can even remember JA by the end pretty much being fed up and starting to question the players in his press conferences.

This team is a week-to-week proposition, unfortunately. I'm sure there were many (myself included) that probably looked at the block following the win against Brisbane and figured that the goal should have been 5-7 points from those three games. That would have seen City probably in fifth and possibly hot on the heels of Sydney, depending on whether we went closer to seven points and what the result was when we played against them. Instead, we've got one point from those three games and although (incredibly) there's three teams below us on the table, this is rock bottom, right alongside Aloisi's losing streak. We've thrown away points at home against both the Jets and Mariners and I see no reason to believe that we'll do better when we play away against them. As someone who's played that 'If they get a few results in the next month and build some momentum...' game for about three years now, my advice would be don't look beyond week-to-week. Central Coast at home a fortnight ago could have set up the season to at least give them the inside track on a finals spot. It was an absolutely critical game, even before the kick off. So what do these idiots do? Put the cue in the rack after 80 minutes and figure they've done enough, despite pissing away God knows how many games from that position in recent years. Melbourne Heart/City will get results when the games no longer matter. Always have. As soon as there's something on the line, as soon as it's a truly important game, they'll fold like an ironing board. It's in the DNA of this club. Edited the last bit Yeah, fair enough. More than a few of the current players have won elsewhere, so there's probably something to the notion that they get a Heart stink on them when they come through the door.

Of course not. They've had a tough weekend and they're busy feeling sorry for themselves. The rest of that article is very interesting though.