fensaddler

I fear we'll not be rid until season's end. But I also fear that by then the club and its support will be irreparably damaged, as we fall apart and fail just as a vigorous third Melbourne franchise emerges. I said this after the woeful performance against the Mariners, we simply cannot afford not to be successful this season, and if the alarms aren't going off at CFG Towers, they surely are the useless wankers we suspect.

Too many apathetic fans to muster much of a protest anywhere.

Stick Arzani and Bruno into that team and I suspect we'd have won it.

Would have been Jamo but for his delusional post match comments. So will have to be Bort.

And Curtis not deserving his sending off.

Yes, said what he could about the poor refereeing. Said we made Perth look ordinary. Sorry Scott, but the ordinary side in the second half was us. That being said, Perth get results without looking good.

Castro is a dirty bastard and should have been off. Curtis Good certainly should not have been. The referee was a muppet and gave us nothing. All that being said, we would still have lost.

Think Jamieson had a decent game.

That makes seven and still no booking.

There are two ways this season could turn out OK. 1.Wazza proves to be a tactical and organisational genius, with our late comeback win at Perth sparking an unbeaten run right through January. 2. The 5-0 drubbing in the derby makes three losses on the trot. Wazza is sacked, the new manager brings in some canny signings and gets rid of dead wood. We enter the finals as the in form side and sweep all before us. Neither seems likely. What will really happen will be much more of the same, chaos, poor form, and fans voting with their feet. Sixth if we're lucky and out of the finals with a whimper.

What's it going to take for Castro to get booked?!

Always feared that. We play OK and they snatch one.

You could make an argument to suggest Castro should be in the book by now. We're actually not looking too bad, but it's difficult to see how we'll score.

Red and white is as dead as Bruno.

Injured striker, exiled striker. Either way, no striker, and no cover in the squad.

Think we're now seeing a policy of plausible deniability. The coming poor results are nothing to do with Bruno, just a series of unfortunate injuries which depleted the squad.

I am @Spartacus.

Where did that come from? Seriously, who would have predicted Nix 3-0 up, in Sydney?

Berisha is back in Melbourne apparently...

If he's gone, I want to know what's coming in. That's one of our two marquees and our only striker. Must be replaced with quality.

I still reckon that's a Germano. Always just a few weeks away...

Talking City are reporting no Bruno in the squad again. I suppose the excuse will be that we'll be stuffed anyway, Bruno or no Bruno. This club really does try the patience of its fans.

Smoke and mirrors. We have no idea what is really going on, and probably won't until it happens. Could be better, could be worse.

I want us to play well away from home, or against one of the stronger sides in the league. Agree with you that Newcastle weren't awful, and we did well on the night, especially given the context. But we looked a lot better against Wellington, and then failed to turn up against Brisbane. Is it who or where we're playing, or is it inconsistency? Either way, I'm waiting to see. But it was great to see us win with three good goals and some good defensive work.

Consistency. It's always been our issue. Even in our best seasons, never mind our worst, we've been brilliant one week and utterly, inexplicably shite next week. Last season I gave Wazza some credit for making us more consistent, and less inclined to those inexplicable 'don't turn up' performances, though he did not entirely eliminate them. This season, that inconsistency is back. We appear to be largely flat track bullies. At home, against poor sides, we look decent, and win. But give us a little adversity, an away trip (even to a poorish side like Brisbane) or a decent side even at home (Sydney) and we are woeful. Thats why I agree with those who conclude that we were much better last night, but also those who fear for the next three matches, which all look like potential shellackings. None offer a flat track, and I fear we will be woeful. And the state of the dressing room? Well last night suggested some resilience, and a willingness to pull together for something. Whether that something is Wazza, loyalty to team mates, professional pride or some combination thereof, we won't know. But at the same time, the real test of that resilience will come in the next three weeks.