citymad

So its Done? Source... That was easy!

That totally sux.

He also could have had a buyout clause in his contract that has been triggered by a club in a league that are familiar with him and how he plays. They may consider it smart business. City may see it as easing cap space.

As long as Genreau doesnt have a hand in it.

I would be excited by a Rojas addition to our line up. I am curious though - other than the ferver on this forum thread what do you mean by " All signs point to Rojas tbh," I am hoping you know something more concrete than the rest of us!!

I think Luna has pipped him based on goals tally alone. Berneguer is and has always been below par.

I am more interested, if it's confirmed by the club, as to who and how soon he will be replaced. TBH IMO Cabrera took way too long to settle in and also can't speak english very well at all and this has hampered his on pitch performance.

Does any body know if his current tally of 4 x yellow cards still stand? ie one more yellow and he misses another game in addition to this upheld Red card suuspension. That wll suck big time if it does.

Speedy asked Mombearts at the end of the game whether we would contest the incorrect Red against Delbridge. Mombearts seemed like he didnt understand that it was firstly, incorrectly given, and secondly, that he could appeal. Trouble is that delbridge will be downgraded to a yellow and this will be his 5th, so he misses a game anyway.

Yes we need to get these wins if we are going to stay within distance of Sydney. It also means WU are vulnerable to other teams in their current circumstances so essential to get the 3 points. Dean will be back 😓 !! Metcalfe, Glover, Najjarine and Genreau away with Olyroos. So we need to get the starting XI firing.

Adelaide Paid 150k for Riley outright. City should have been at least negotiating with Brugge for McGree. Pointless discussion now though, I realise that - my main point is that he is currently IMO, the best young player in the A league. Transfer market values him at $1 million. (Mclaren is 900k for comparison). Mcgree is currently 5th on the Golden boot Race and has recently missed 2- 3 games with a knee injury. Genreau does not really compare against those facts. I think Genreau is a fine player BTW.

I think this is a massive exaguration IMO. The kid is good but Riley McGree is by far the best young footballer based on actual output- goals and stats. And we should have kept him at City. Genreau has not scored a single goal and has one assist. How can he be the best?

Has anybody considered that Genreau might want to leave? He might want to try his luck back O/S. He actually doesnt play that much with city and is not really a starting eleven player under Mombearts. Same can be said for Atkinson - maybe he wants a change in situation.

Both off contract this season - A-League Hub @AleagueHub Macarthur FC have flagged their interest in young Melbourne City pair Denis Genreau and Nathaniel Atkinson. The A-League newcomers plan to get a closer look at the two Young Socceroos in Sunday's match between Melbourne City and Sydney FC at Jubilee Stadium.

This will also show Noone's defensive efforts as pretty lame also. If i was Mombearts i would cease the Jamo 'dropping in to midfield' rubbish to make Jamo focus on stopping these right sided attacks. I think Jamo's ego is being stroked a little too much with this midfield stuff. He should focus on defending and being a true Captain by practcing what he seems to preach at others all the time.

Interesting read in the paper a couple of days ago............. Melbourne City coach Erick Mombaerts’ links to football greats Zinedine Zidane, Paul Pogba David Davutovic, Herald Sun November 29, 2019 6:47pm Erick Mombaerts avoided playing French legend Zinedine Zidane at home. Not that Mombaerts didn’t like Zidane. He loved him. It was the Cannes fans who were frustrated by the unwieldy teenager defensive midfielder. “He was not fast and defensively he struggled,” Mombaerts recalls. Reds US star turns setback into fresh st Fowler calls for more Redcliffe Roar games “He played more away games. “When he was young, people didn’t like him too much because he was not fast. “We protected him. Our fans (jeered), whistled the first year. The second year he got better and better. “We moved him higher — to No.8 (box to box midfielder), then No.10 (attacking midfielder).” Erik Mombaerts helped develop Zinedine Zidane into the superstar he would become at Real Madrid. Mombaerts, who was appointed coach of Melbourne City this year, said Zidane was a bench player at 17 and became a regular starter at 18. “I never seen a player with this body balance, so fantastic. He never fell down, never. You can push him,” he said. “He was born in a suburb of Marseilles, he played a lot of street soccer, on concrete and it helped him have very good skill. “He’s the only player that can give you a (perfect) ball with both feet, at 18 in a competitive game. So confident technically.” Even then, Mombaerts did not foresee a player who would lead his country to World Cup glory in 1998 and get so close in 2006 (he was sent off for headbutting during the tournament), coupled with a Champions League win, three FIFA player of the year gongs and a world record transfer fee (Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001). Zinedine Zidane would go on to win the World Cup with France. “Honestly, no. Not at this level,” he said. “He was perfect technically, but his body changed and he became powerful, physically so strong after. “When he moved to Juventus he worked hard physically, they killed him. “Also Juventus, one of the biggest clubs in the world, helped him (develop) strong mentality. “He made good choices. He started at a small club (Cannes), then Bordeaux, then Juventus, and after Real Madrid. “He continued to improve, especially physically, and he scored goals. When he started he didn’t score (many) goals.” Erick Mombaerts waves to fans during his time with Yokohama F.Marinos. Picture: Getty Images THE ICE MAN Mombaerts is the first Frenchman to coach in the A-League, arriving with a wealth of experience primarily from the French system. The former Paris St-Germain coach left City officials gobsmacked on his first visit to their Bundoora training base, launching into a set of chin ups while inspecting the gym, age 64. “I can push (bench press) maybe 90 kilos, more than 90kg,” he said. “It’s important because I focus a lot on the job, but I have to take care of my health also. I want to have the same philosophy I ask my players. So if I am not fit, it’s difficult to ask my players to be fit. I want to be consistent and stay at a fit level.” His stint at Ange Postecoglou’s club Yokohama F Marinos was the game-changer. There he adopted the radical methods of Dutch iceman, extreme athlete Wim Hof, who holds a host of Guinness world records, including a barefoot half marathon on ice and snow. He has not had a hot shower since. Wim Hof, nicknamed ‘The Iceman’, has inspired Mombaerts. Picture: Supplied “Everyday (cold shower). I don’t remember (the last hot shower). I started when I was in Japan,” Mombaerts said. “Context in Japan. The culture in Japan helps you think about mental things. They control emotions more than us. You can’t see people (tooting horns), they are in control. That’s why they live for 100 years. They eat very good and they are in control with stress. “I follow the Iceman method, Wim Hof. Afterwards it helps you have better control. Not only for your job, now it’s not a job, it’s a pleasure. I changed totally.” Mombaerts puts his Melbourne City players to shame and only English winger Craig Noone — perhaps aided by his Merseyside upbringing — gets close to his ice bath feats. “Sometimes — I can stay in a bath 8C or 9C — I can stay for longer than 15 minutes. The players are (shocked),” Mombaerts said. “Normal person can’t stay, they die. It’s cool eh? I can stay 15 minutes. “I do a lot of strength, cold shower, cold bath, breathing. Also for mental (state). It’s a life attitude also. I want to be consistent with the players. “It helps me be calm and a coach needs to be calm to show you’re in control. If you can’t control yourself, you can’t control (others). I try to be in control in games, you (won’t) see me asking referees (questions), never.” Mombaerts says Manchester City superstar Riyad Mahrez is his “best success”. Picture: AFP WORLD CLASS STARS While undoubtedly a pleasure coaching some of the world’s best, there are stresses attached to expectation and handling big egos and personalities. Beyond Zidane, the roll call is impressive. World Cup winners, Champions League winners, world transfer record holders and global headline makers. Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) and Manchester City duo Benjamin Mendy and Riyad Mahrez. “He (Mahrez) is my best success. When I came to Le Havre, he didn’t play. The two coaches before me didn’t trust him. I thought this player has something, but he didn’t train well. Physically not so good, but great, creative left foot. Not fast but always dummied players,” Mombaerts said. “I started him, but my president at every Monday executive meeting (wanted) to fire me. ‘Why you trust Riyad Mahrez and put him on the field?’. “I had a very good relationship with Riyad and after that I said, ‘you have to change because every Monday (I had issues). You’re ambitious, I trust you, but you have to change’. I convinced him he had to work physically — he was a midfielder but didn’t want to defend. “The last season he was better, by the end he was very good. Then he got an offer from Leicester City, only 500,000 euros. Cheap. He sent me message to say ‘thank you’. Four years later then sold him for 60 million euros.” Mombaerts says Antoine Griezmann, pictured with Barcelona superstar Leo Messi, slipped through the national team cracks as a youth. Picture: AP Mombaerts said Griezmann triggered a change to France’s scouting philosophy. “We have a lot of players and it’s very difficult for clubs to find a good balance between power, athleticism and technical aspects. Griezmann was technical, but at 15 struggled against power players and his talent wasn’t recognised,” he said. “The Griezmann problem made the federation think about this. “We pushed a lot of academies that can take care of players who are physically immature and make a place for them in the academy. “Maybe they looked too much at the physical aspect. Now they corrected the balance. “Griezmann is typically now a Spanish player — very smart, first touch so good, can play in between the lines. He’s perfect. Playing at Atletico Madrid made him a complete player — aggressive, he can score, very smart in finishing.” Mombaerts says Paul Pogba is not suited to the way Manchester United plays. Picture: AFP THE POGBA PROBLEM The way French coach Didier Deschamps used Pogba, who was not suited to Manchester United, earned Mombaerts’ praise. “Pogba is a typical French player now, so strong. African origins. He has so much quality. He’s a box to box midfielder, so powerful, he likes to be free to go box to box, touch a lot of balls, finish,” he said. “It’s better for him to be well oriented and make a big job also defensively, as he did with France. If he’s too (free) he can be lost. He’s also not so good when his attitude is ‘I am the boss’. “Manchester United he plays a style that’s not good for him. “French national team and Didier Deschamps made a very good job, he made him better with the national team because it was a new way of playing, he was a collective player. “Pressure on him is normal because he’s an expensive player. But this kind of player, he was better when he was at Juventus. the culture, pressure and mentality of Juventus is good for Pogba.” Mombaerts compares young Juventus gun Blaise Matuidi to N’Golo Kante. Picture: AP Mombaerts also had high praise for Blaise Matuidi, another French player at Juventus. “His level of aggressiveness in 10 out of 10, good player. Like N’Golo Kante — the first player you put on the team is this kind of player, his work to regain the ball is fantastic.” He admitted Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy was problematic: “He was with me in Le Havre. Similar to Pogba, from the suburbs.” “I struggled with him. Le Havre not far from Paris and a lot of people visited him, lived with him. So powerful, good left foot. But sometimes he was not there at training. We would fine him. “Sometimes we played away, we went without Benjamin. When we come back, he get maybe 10,000 euro fine, and he was like ‘okay. Sorry coach, I just woke up. I’m back’.” Mombaerts has adopted a youth policy at City. Picture: Getty Images YOUTH STRATEGY Mombaerts revealed that exposure to youth was a key part of the French coaching pathway, which he’s adopted at Melbourne City. He has backed in Australian youth internationals Connor Metcalfe, Ramy Najjarine and Denis Genreau and the balance has proved ideal. City is sitting atop the A-League ladder after seven rounds. “First of all in France, all of the (professional) coaches start with academy first. It’s normal,” he said. “In France, it’s normal to have academy players to play with the first team. Every year 4-5 players integrate into the squad. If you have talent in France, at 18 you are ready to start in the first team. “So when I’m at a club my first intention is to watch if there is some good academy players to help the team to be better. I first watched the NPL team and I saw a game and Metcalfe was brilliant, he gave assist. I thought he has good potential and quality to help the team — good left foot, strong, he can score. “I’ve done this at every club I’ve worked at — especially Toulouse. I was there a long time and I won a trophy with this team and only with young players.”

you were wrong. So you got what you hoped for.

wtf noone - what did he do?

From the World Game "the competition newcomers have four points from their first two games but with a significant proportion of their side over 30, will need to manage their older players throughout the year.Andrew Durante (37), Alessandro Diamanti (36), Scott McDonald (36), Besart Berisha (34), Dario Jertec (34) and Panagiotis Kone (32) and Ersan Gulum (32) have all been heavily involved early in the season" IMO this is a chance to rest some starting XI players and give our bench players a run. I might be wrong but i think some fresh legs against the Dad's Army might be a good tactic to wear them out. Then Mombearts can bring on some regulars later in the game. I know we definitely need to win and still think we can by possibly doing this, but three games in a week or so might be too much and then we get in to strains and ligament soft tissue injury territory and that would be a disaster long term. Some will definitely disagree with me but I expect that. This will leave the starting eleven ready for Wellington game and CCM after that, so we can win three in a row. Three wins are a must to put the cup madness behind us I think. Any way just my thoughts.

This would be awesome. Do it in January CFG.

This was the reason for the lack of creativly built up goal scoring opportunities against Adelaide. When Jamo slides into midfield to overload the middle we have three at the back. This causes the defenders, including jamo to want to pump the ball over the top to the front three with diagonal balls. this helps them to feel they are alleviating the attacking threat and keep the ball away from our goals and supposedly deliver it to the attacking third. problem was that defenders are not the ball playing type players and just deliver the ball straight to adelaide (or who ever). the opposition see the weaked 3 at the back and play it forward to their wingers who can get in behind the depleted backline and are immediately on goal. If the the fullbacks played it through the middle, on the ground, we could keep possession and justify having the overloaded midfield, and get it to our 8/10's who can then setup the attackers into scoring opportunities. Luna/ Metcalfe/Brilliante, were left trying to recover the ball after failed long balls from the defenders and this is the reason that thet didnt look like they had enough ball to create anything at all. Adelaide new we would use this tactic because we displyed it to them in the sunday prior to FFA cup. IMHO we should have thrown that game in favour of winning the cup.

Metcalfe had a quieter game than his usual against WSW but he was still solid. I think he will partner Berenguer in the midfield as a starter. as two 8's I think city want to have Brilliante and Berenguer to sort of groom him a little bit. I think within 10 games the lad will be killing it.

i think he will gone from City by January 20.

No way that's too long. They will play a friendly again before then. The cup game is 11 days away we should be playing a game a week if we want the emulate a true season

ok if you are 100 percent certain then I guess I can't argue with that. Just curious as to why it's never been announced by the club. I'll say this though. If he isn't senior contracted then city are getting huge value for money. The kid is a gun.