natalie182

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8635068

It's actually going to be really hard to get any decent players to sign with us. Why would they want to work under Aloisi and Foxe they will learn nothing, have little chance of making finals, use crappy training facilities etc. Guess we need to find unknown players who just appreciate being at an Aleague club. Bit of a worry.

And we have won away from AAMI Park since 2011...albeit only up the road at Etihad.

http://m.footballaustralia.com.au/opinion-display/article/Failing-Heart-in-need-of-assistance/63978 Sigh. So depressing.

This is actually really annoying me also. The club are acting like our season is over. You wouldn't know we had a game left. And nothing about how we've lost 4 games in a row. No apologies, explanations, nothing. We're just supposed to accept it. I went up for the Brisbane game and we had to put up with that crap. Not even a statement about how things will change, what's going to be done to improve next season. The only thing on the club's twitter account since the Brisbane loss is one story about Gerhardt returning. Otherwise it's more community stuff, or all about Aloisi and the Socceroos analysing. The only thing on Scott Munn's twitter account is that he seems to be on holiday in Sydney. Nothing from JD. No emails from the club. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but they just don't seem to care what they've put us through this season, especially the last 4 weeks. Grrr. So mad at them right now. Can't be bothered to spend $125 on the player awards this season either.

I just bought a Heart hoody on Saturday and it says established 2008.

If I remember correctly, he said ADP is costing $3 million a season, but the club is still losing $6 million a season. Something like that.

fair play, but then who wants to fund a club who only brings 6,000 to a game. at least with youth development we are helping the progression of the sport in this country... if you think about the young lads we have now, the future of the club is very bright. just hope people are patient... The future of the club may be bright money wise. But having to rely on selling players to function gives no indication that we will ever be a good side and challenge for the title. I think it's great producing young players, but I wish we didn't have to rely on it so much. I would love a rich foreign owner so we can have a balance, and the producing and later selling of the young players becomes an added bonus, not a necessity.

He basically said that they've discussed it, and gave the example of ADP, that they are still losing money because of him, and we can't afford to do that. He said that we will only be getting a marquee if its the perfect person and we will be guaranteed not to lose money by getting them. He didn't straight out say it won't happen, but I can't see that this perfect marquee actually exists.

My dad, who is kind of a new Heart supporter, so only half knows what's going on mentioned this to me the other day, based on that article in the paper. He said to me, 'Im a bit worried about Heart, they seem to be only able to survive if they can keep producing young players and selling them at a big profit.' Whether this is true, this is the impression we are putting our. That we only care about selling players and breaking even. Combine this with our terrible season, who would choose to become a Heart supporter now. My dad already told me he doesn't want to come back next season. A lady at work told me her friends probably won't renew. People like me will always be there, but what casual will choose to support a club that only cares about breaking even? And also continually giving the impression that we are poor. After what Munn said about the marquee situation at the after match, I got a fairly strong impression that its highly unlikely that we will get a marquee. Cause, you know, it won't contribute to breaking even. This is all very upsetting.

I'm going too. Reckon there'll be heaps of us there (well, relatively). Should be fun, no matter what.

Apparently Gerhardt will be out on international duty. Will be Coyne and Vrankovic in defence. Yay.

So long as we stay red and white!

I noticed that too Bozza. Typo I'm guessing.

As a female Heart supporter, I approve of this idea.

Maybe because people in Yarraside kept fighting and telling each other off. Not the most pleasant thing to see at a game. I think most people were in a bad mood anyway, with the heat and the bad performance, but sometimes Yarraside comes across as not the most fun place to be.

I got into the NSL when Northern Spirit came along, and madly supported them for a couple of years before moving away from Sydney. Then the NSL folded, and I completely lost all interest in soccer, local and overseas. I didn't pay any attention to the ALeague when it first started, was overseas for some of it anyway. I started watching a few games, then went to a few Victory v Sydney games and found myself hating Victory from the minute I first saw them live. Was vaguely going for Sydney cause I was from there, but not to the extent of supporting them as a team. When I heard there was a new Melbourne team starting I decided I would become a supporter, and get back into soccer as much as I had been with Spirit. To be honest, wouldn't have mattered what their name, colours, location was, I'd made the decision to support them. Was very happy when we were announced to be red and white! (as a Swans supporter) I've been to every single home game, and a few away games. Started off going by myself, but now I have people to go with that I've met through the club. I love supporting Heart, despite the frustrations with results, and constantly being criticised for our crowds, etc. I will support Heart til they fold or I die

Here's an article from The Age: Heart's veterans playing for futures A number of senior Melbourne Heart players who come off contract at the end of this A-League season could be playing for their futures over the final weeks of the campaign as coach John Aloisi demands his older men stand up and be counted. The team's lack of fight in its two recent losses - to Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand and at home to Adelaide United on Monday night - has left the club with only a slim finals chance. It will probably need to take nine points from its final three matches - at home to league leaders Western Sydney and away to second-placed Central Coast, as well as finals-chasing Brisbane - to make certain of a play-off place, which on current form looks well beyond the team. The club is understood to be relatively pleased with its financial position, if not its league position. A board meeting on Monday is believed to have heard that, as a result of sales of its most promising young players earlier this season, it could break even this year and prove to its investors that it could operate as a sustainable business even with its low supporter base - if it keeps producing players it can sell on to foreign clubs. But it has also accepted that such a business model is largely inimical to on-field success, and that it will have to invest further in experienced players and marketing and business development resources if it is to strengthen its position on the pitch and grow its small supporter base off the field. Heart works to the salary cap ($2.4 million) but does not pay any extra, unlike most A-League sides which fund overseas and domestic marquee players and use other permitted strategies to lift their clubs' wages bills. Players such as veteran defender Simon Colosimo (who turned 34 last January), Brazilian marquee man Fred (who turns 34 before the start of next season) and utility Matt Thompson (30), the first A-League player to reach 200 games (the milestone he marked in the loss to Adelaide) all come out of contract at the end of this season. Veteran goalkeeper Clint Bolton, who has lost his place in the starting line-up, is another, while Richard Garcia (31), the former Premier League winger with Hull City, is also at the end of the one-season deal he signed when returning from Europe. Of all those, the club would probably like to retain Garcia - depending on his salary demands - and perhaps Thompson, although he would be asked to take a pay cut if he wanted to stay. Bolton may retire, while Fred's injury record ensures that he might be a very marginal proposition in the future. Jamie Coyne, the ex-Perth Glory defender, and Dutch midfielder Marcel Meeuwis were both signed as stop-gap players to provide cover and it is unlikely that they figure in Aloisi's long-term plans. Heart retains some good youngsters - especially fullback Jeremy Walker - but it needs to get more out of its experienced men, starting this week.

But I'm not sure what the club would rather. I am the sort of person who will be guaranteed to be a member for the rest of my life no matter what. So if there's no other option, I will just pay full price each year. Then the club will get that extra 40% out of me. But some sort of discount for early renewal seems fair.

Renew for 10 years and get 100% off?

Me too. It's quite sad and embarrassing for our club that we have to resort to this, especially when this is such an important game in the finals race. Oh well. If we win, I'll get over all that pretty quickly!

Garcia just tweeted a pic of a package he received from Wrigley's. Haha!

I am slightly concerned. Sydney have Emerton, Joel Griffiths and Neill coming into their squad. We have Hoffman and Mccallister.

I would say our season has been bad in terms of losing players, injuries, things going wrong etc more so than results.

Victory's crowds last season were down to about 12-14k towards the end, which for them is very low. The crowds died off as the season went on because the results were crap and the novelty of Kewell wore off. This season they're getting mostly 20k again cause they're doing well. Doubt Sydney's crowds would be what they are now if they continued on their decline instead of picking up in recent weeks. Not saying I don't want a marquee, but I definitely think results > players for crowds and publicity. A marquee that improves results is obviously the best solution!