NewConvert

Did you see Walker play when he was in the team earlier on?He looked VPL standard or worse. Not sure why he was so poor, but he needs to show the new gaffer he can defend before he will get another run in first grade. I blame JA/HF. Actually did you see MHT play for JA's inaugural derby against Victory in 2011? Did you see them this season? What happened???? JA happened. Wasn't it under JA that walker was given a chance. And didn't he prove he was capable under JA at that time? Yes Walker joined the club when Aloisi was made coach but I am not sure that JA was responsible for the hiring. Walker had his first game when Heart were running out of players. Walker and Garcia became an integral part of the team with Walker running down the right flank just like Behich did on the left. One of the changes for this season under JA was that LB/RB no longer ran with the ball forward and were left in defense. This did not suit Walker nor Behich. Under JVS the formation has been changed to a tight diamond allowing Behich/Hoffman to run forward. This style of game suits Behich really well (hence that goal assist) but it does not seem to suit Hoffman.

struggled to win the epl with all the money in the world and couldn't make it out of the group stage with city, might as well get jim magilton Harsh!!!

When Bielsa took over the Chilean side the general feeling across south american was that the team lacked discipline and some of the players were prima donnas. So yes, my way or the highway worked a treat there giving the Chilean side the best WC since 1962. At Athletic Bilbao I am not sure what went wrong but it appears that he demanded more than what the club was able/willing to provide (not necessarily remuneration). But you may be right.

Did you see Walker play when he was in the team earlier on? He looked VPL standard or worse. Not sure why he was so poor, but he needs to show the new gaffer he can defend before he will get another run in first grade. I blame JA/HF. Actually did you see MHT play for JA's inaugural derby against Victory in 2011? Did you see them this season? What happened???? JA happened.

I don't think that things are as dire as you suggest. In my experience, the public want to see quality and with so many options available people will not turn up to see below par offerings - never forget that Port Power vs Melbourne in 2012 drew less than 6,000 people to the MCG. Last season Collingwood had their worst crowd attendance when they played the Dees. So given that MHT has not been playing champagne football then attracting crowds and members is difficult. I am under no illusion that it won't be a hard slog but I know people who watch EPL/Euro Leagues but don't attend or watch A-League: they should be targetted. On a broader scope the general public need to be educated about strategies and techniques - many which have been adopted by the AFL.

Can't see Engelaar starting - post match interview he mentioned he was tired within five minutes, which may be an exaggeration but not too far from the truth. So for me Kalmar will be in the starting line up. Germano has not been listed by the FFA so I don't think he will play which leaves Vranks, Walker and Kisnorbo to replace Gerhardt - early in the week I saw JvS spend about 10 minutes alone with Walker at training. Up forward Garrucio would be my option to replace Williams. As JVS once said if a 30 year old is going to make the same mistakes as an 18 year old why would I play the 30 year old who will never learn?

You have obviously never been asked to deliver something with nothing. I had a manager who once told me what we had to deliver and that the budget was $0 and I had to find a solution. So if JVS felt that the club was not going to put in for players, facilities, etc then I can understand his reasons. Now given what has transpired since he left I was shocked that he chose to come back and help out - cause I certainly wouldn't. As to his ability I like him - indeed it was he who took Heart to second spot (and yes I am aware that was when he had Madaschi) so I can't really complain too much. Are there better alternatives? Probably but I expect the new management to be looking thouroughly. Will a Latino coach help? Hard to say - they are used to working with budget constraints not caps - and not too many have been successful outside of Latam - Pelligrini and Bielsa are the only two that come to mind.

I am pretty sure that the FFA would have clauses about third party agreements. Yes the money could be paid O/S but the FFA could deduct points to the club never the less. So I can't see this happening. The new management will be keen to improve things quickly but I don't think that it will be at the expense of ruining their reputation. Right now for me the playing list is second to the selection of the new coach panel and in this area there is no limit.

I guess that I would prefer that the colours remain the same but I am quite happy to accomodate a link to Man City. The obvious difficulty would be against Sydney FC but since these people aren't stupid I don't believe that it will develop into an issue. My only other request is that the numbers and players name have to be easy to read both at the ground and on TV - about three seasons ago the Jets had an awful away kit where it was impossible to read. Again these people aren't stupid but it has already happened once.

As I stated a few times, the only two blunders that Sidwell & Co made was the appointment of JA and how long it took them to dismiss JA. Yes the club was in penny pinching mode and sold players but financially the club was profitable. Too many clubs have already gone bust and there is no point in going all out without looking at revenues. Could they have done more to raise investment for better facilites? Perhaps but that will always be an imponderable. It is better to still have the club and build for the future rather than have spent all the cash and have no club at all.

I almost tossed in my membership because they didn't sack JA at the end of last season. Glad I was talked out of it.

I agree. I hope that they have started the search for the new head coach today so that he gets appointed quickly and can see the players that we have in the NYL as well as the seniors. Then they can start planning accordingly. Would love to have Bielsa but I suspect that until we can have decent infrastructure he would not consider us. I wonder who is the budding Bielsa or Pellegrini that can be poached.

Going over the news release, MC have not said that they will change anything until mid year, that is, once the season is over. They have also said that they will consult and review before making any changes and that their idea is not to make a mini man city down under. So for those taht would like to keep the name, colours, etc start emailing! As for me I don't have a view as yet. But I am reminded of Michael Voss former skipper of the Brisbane Lions whose original club were the Brisbane Bears. He once wrote, quite angrily, that Melbournians kept on moaning about the loss of the Ftzroy Lions and it's long history but no one gave a toss about the foundation players of the Bears who although had a really short and unsuccessful history (sounds familiar) yet it was a history that he, other players, and the local members were quite proud of. So I suppose what I am reading in this blog is precisely this.

Bielsa will certainly be demanding! According to this report if the national team of Peru wants his services thenthe minimum requirements are: A proper training stadium to be used exclusively for men's senior and youth team The stadium to be walled No access to the public No mobile phone access An IT/video room to monitor the team as well as opposition teams the report is dated the 20th of January, 2014 so it is current. here is the link: http://trome.pe/deportes/1685902/noticia-marcelo-bielsa-sus-condiciones-dt-seleccion-peruana

I am on the record saying that we needed a big name coach to entice prospective players to come and play for the Heart and a few to stay. Now that Man City is behind the club then the prospects have considerably brightened. Not only will adequate monies be found to pay for a good coach but the net can truly be widened. If it happens that the new management believe that a local can do the job then so be it. Whatever the outcome, I am expecting the search to be professional and ambitious.

This!!!

Another reason to smile is that Man City overlooked WSW!!!!! Well I am sured they looked and walked away

Better brush up on my Man city history I suppose BUT HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!! Bela was always worried about getting some real football people in - well me thinks that this fits the bill. Players should be buoyed by this and they better be fully pumped for the game against AU!

Actually the sale can happen at any time BUT the new owners can take posession at some time in the future - very much like buying/selling a house. You buy the house but only take possession at a time in the future (60/90/120 days) when settlement happens that is the final transfer of monies take place. So if an in principle agreement has been reached then the new owners are probably haggling over the price of the curtains but in the mean time may be assembling a new management team, coaching team, etc.

Adelaide has some weak spots and minimising Carrusca's influence will go a long way to shutting them down. Jeronimo lacks stamina so if he is made to run a lot with no result then he will tire and be subbed. Also some of their players seem to be prone to soft tissue injuries (Ferreira, Djite) so stretching them would also help us. I don't mind if we lose by 1 goal however what I really want to see is that if they go in front that Heart don't drop their heads (it was fantastic to see the heart players respond to the Jets - a sharp contrast with the previous week against PG). Secondly that the Behich, Djugandzic, Ramsey and Gerdhart continue to improve. Thirdly that Heart don't commit stupid fouls/penalties in the box - I am looking at you Wieleart, Hoffman and Gerdhart. For me this will really be a tactical battle between Gombau and JVS; final score 0-0.

A bit early to judge the impact of JvS' second term at the helm. I see him as an astute coach who has a very strong focus on development of younger players. IMO last time around he left before we could see the full impact of his tenure, and this time around he might well pick us up from the floor but again he's with us for only a short time. I think the "search" that preceded the appointment of JA was a sham and that we need to try a lot harder and with much wider vision for our next manager. If we go though a rigorous process and still come up with JvS, and he's prepared to commit to us, then fine by me. But another sham process and going back to square one simply because it's easy will not be the way for the club to grow. There was no search. Immediately after JvS announced he was leaving the club issued a press release stating that they were going to promote from within. This meant either JA or AM. According to Muichael Lynch MA came to the club with the understanding that he would be promoted to senior coach if JvS lef and he was very surprised that MHT board asked him to apply for the job again. Of course after the board gave JA the gig he left for much greener pastures. I am also a fan of JVS but the club has to announce an international search and if JVS wants to put his hand up again then he can apply for the job. I sort of agree with the idea that penny pinching has cost the club but for my money giving JA the coaching job was the worst decision the board has made. Their second worst decision was not terminating his contract sooner. The club's inability to adequately assess the senior coaches' performance indicate that they are on a long learning curve and really are not suitable to be running a football club. As an aside I wonder if any of the board members would have tolerated such non-performance in any of their other investments?

At the start of the season I felt that three coaches were going to fail: JA because he can't coach, GVE and Farina because the game has past them by. For a while the latter two were going to prove me wrong but in the last six weeks things were panning out as I thought they would. To be fair to GVE he has lost four players to international duties and one of his loans - all from the starting line up. Would have results been different if he had had those four internationals? no one will ever know. But in this instance he was treated too harshly. For me Heart have no choice but to go for a proven well credentialled coach to entice promising youth players to stay and to be able to recruit good players. Under JA the club has become a burial ground for careers. So even though I would prefer to have Ali Edwars or Pappas as local candidates, realistically the club will need to look O/S and spend big.

Second I think, didn't Ferguson lose his job at Perth after the unthinkable happened and they lost to us? Can't really remember whether that was us or not. I do remember that Ferguson stating that the club did not have enough money to get the players that the club required. This pissed off Tony Sage who went public saying that not only had PG enough money to meet the salary cap but there was also an additional $1M (or therabouts) for a marquee and that all the players in the squad were selected and approved by Ferguson. A few seconds later Ferguson was history.

Your story is like my brother's. He started at MV (and is still a member) but became incresingly disillusioned with all the meat heads at MV and Kevin Muscat. When MHT was announced he decided to become a member of both clubs so that the game could progress - he also figuratively put a gun to my head for me to join. These days he attends all the Heart home games but rarely does he go to the MV games. On derby day he backs the Heart. Great to see that you enjoy a good game of football and like you I hope that the slump we have been in has now bottomed out, and now we can get back to stage great derbys.