melby

*Chapman has started one and come off the bench for another out of the 3 games in Kleague classic (top league). He started in cdm in one match and came on as a cb in another. I am pretty sure Valkanis and Petrillo will lose their jobs at season end for poor recruitment and letting Chapman go midway through the season without a replacement. Word is Chapman asked to leave because of lack of opportunity and concerns about the clubs direction and was advised he had to stay until a replacement was found. We had Papadopolous (brisbane new cb) allegedly pretty much signed and once he signed Chapman was free to leave. The Papadopolous deal fell through at the last minute so City said to Chapman he couldn't leave without a transfer fee and his new club then chipped in for the transfer. Somehow Brisbane tied up the Papadopolous deal that City couldn't so it doesn't look good for Petrillo and Valkanis. Think about the points gained if we had a half competent CB either still with us or Papadopolous joined. There is no doubt Chapman would've been playing and improving our defence and we would be sitting higher on the table if he stayed. Malik and Tongyik's defending abilities are laughable. To be fair the midfielders are piss weak infront and Kilkenny and Brattan offer absolutely no defensive support.

Tongyik performance stats- 10 games 20 goals conceded; average of 2 goals per game 10 games 10 points total gained; average of 1 point per game 10 games 2 wins 4 draws 4 losses ; average of 20%win, 40%draw, 40% loss Are city fans really that blind that they let a couple of nice dribbles convince them that this kid deserves to start aleague games. I am by no means saying Muscat and Malik are good but when Tongyik has those stats he shouldn't walk into the squad like everyone expects. Compare with Chapman stats whom we sold and decided to play Tongyik over. 5 games 4 goals conceded; average of 0.8 goals per game 5 games 11 points total gained; average of 2.2 points per game 5 games 3 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses; average of 60% win, 40% draw, 0% loss While Chapman didn't play to his full potential in those games he knew how to defend and is a big loss. Tongyik is nowhere near his standard imo.

No definitely tongyik. He had no expectations coming into this season and thus created some once he started playing. Ever since after his first game we have conceded goals for fun. His positioning and reading of the game is atrocious and he is starting to get caught out with his risky passing and runs now. Malik is better but certainly not a good cb either.

Yes muscat shouldn't be starting in an A-League squad. How do people rate Tongyik still. Every time the kid plays we concede goals for fun. Can they not see as a coach they can't continue to select him because he looks good on the ball sometimes. As a coach when they concede so many goals with him on they have to try replace him, even if that's muscat. both goals we've conceded so far second half are his fault.

For people saying tongyik best player can I ask who was at fault for both our goals? Foul from tongyik lead to goal from free kick and second goal he lost guardialo on the counter and was daydreaming while the ball was in air to allow him to play Adelaide attacker through. im all for ball playing defenders, when they can defend. That's where this club is confused. All the fans are sitting here saying they love tongyik because he is a good ball player (ie city style) yet they aren't happy losing? Look at the amount of goals the kid has conceded. If you want nice "city style" players then don't complain when we don't win. sydney fc are winning the league because they don't concede goals. We have scored in every game from memory, shore the defence up and we jump up the table. But that's not "city style"

Bouzanis- shot to save ratio atrocious. Confidence way too high. franjic- didn't overlap kamau and get any good crosses in. Much better right backs in the league elsewhere. tongyik- looks nice on the ball, especially for a neutral. Poor defensively, switches off in key moments and was ball watching for second goal. Lucky cirio missed the 1-1 as would've been another time he was caught out. Jacobson- not his best game. Looks as though he could break down with injury again soon. Didn't Marshall defence well at all. Rose-. Not at fault for any goals. Too many wayward passes. Not at level of Clisby, garrucio or Zullo. malik- part of a slow midfield. Ball movement is too slow and lacks invention. Uninspiring. brattan- looks to be a key part of the problem. Was good early in the season when he had energy and was pressing but looks slow and cluggy. Plays in right back position way too often because he can't find himself in any space in attacking half. Part of the reason midfield looks slow. Cahill- cannot remember him getting the ball at his feet or making 1 pass. Very poor game. Wasn't even an aerial threat. Doesn't link well with fornaroli at all and you can see him questioning fornarolis decision every time he picks ball up and decides to shoot from 20 yards. kamau- form improving. Great ball for goal. Looks dangerous and finds himself in good positions but too inconsistent with deliveries. Doesn't look a danger to score. fornaroli- great finish. Not an inspiring captain. The style of play is confused with him and Cahill and they aren't a good link at all. To get the best out of him everything needs to be through the middle to his feet but now we go wide often to cross to Cahill. Minimising his effectiveness.

Agreed tongyik games he has been thrown in deep end. Just see tongyik similarities with Malik with the way he is dragged out of position by attackers and is comfortable on the ball. I don't however agree with wanderers judgement. Wanderers were playing without a striker and probably had more clear chances then us. Not bagging him at all think he has done reasonably well considering the situation he was brought into the team however just think chapman could've offered more stability in that period and moving forward. Next few games will be interesting to see with Jacobson back. Apparently chapman was starting over tongyik against wanderers until he asked club to leave and was removed from squad.

Agreed he hasn't played too full potential but he has provided security at the back shown through results. Tongyik and Malik for me are similar type players. Both good headers and dribblers and good at bringing ball out from the back quickly. Both however lack defensive positioning and knowhow. They get dragged out of position by attackers often and leave space in behind. They try play offside trap and allow teams to attack them down the middle. They mainly play short quick passes to cdms and rbs. The games are usually higher scoring and open. They prefer to make nice tackles then jockey and prevent dangerous attacks. In saying that when they play good it looks good and they usually make a lot of interceptions because they rush out of the defensive line often. chapman for me much more like Jacobson. Jacobson obviously superior as expected with experience. Both play percentage defending and like to sit deeper and force opponents to shoot from distance or go wide when possible. They are good at delaying attacking teams and guiding them where they want them slowing the play down. They often like to switch it up and bypass the defensive mid and play switch balls to the flanking fullbacks or wingers when possible. They generally have low shots against and the games are tighter affairs. They both excel at reading the game.

Good word says chapman has multiple offers. early Jan graham Arnold called city offering a swap deal for chapman, not sure which player was offered. Smart coaching, clear out one of his unwanted players clearing cap space while also bringing in player you want. If only city management were that strategic. Also most other A-League clubs enquired but mariners and Adelaide really wanting him. word is he asked city to leave because of lack of opportunities and very lucrative Asian offer. City told him no because they don't have any replacements and haven't been proactive in market. Don't understand how he hasn't been playing this season, he hasn't lost s game when he's played and has conceded max 1 goal in games he's played. Don't want to lose him unless we get transfer fee but to be fair he should've played more this season and hasn't been given adequate opportunity. Tongyik 5 games - 8 goals conceded and 6 points won Chapman 4 games- 3 goals conceded and 8 points won. Yet to lose.

Strong source tells me the following: Retre offered by Sydney and Mariners. Think he will be a lost player when he gets consistent games under his belt and people realise the quality he has. Rumours Chapman has 5+ other clubs asking about his situation after the decision to leave him out over Tongyik just before January. Looks like a statement of intent. Think Chapman has another 2+ years signed so if the club don't want him the club will have to convince him to mutually terminate the contract, in which case I assume he will ask for a big payout. Sorenson offered by Mariners for next season but looks like it could be retirement. Fornaroli with potential lucrative Asia offer, City group won't allow him to leave without a transfer fee of $5million+. Mariners and Adelaide asking about Fitzgerald. Wanderers, Perth and Wellington asking about Kuzmanovski. Rose off at season end. Galekovic to City next season on big contract. Talks with Isias and Cirio. Both want big $. More to come in Jan.

After 2 games he has had 1 good game and 1 poor game. Don't understand the hype so far? Victory he was a weak-link and was at fault for both goals and allowed Berisha another 5 clear cut chances with poor positioning. To me it looked as though players were avoiding passing to him, particularly Bouzanis. Watched him play youth a couple of weeks ago and he gave a penalty away and looked average. On another note Chapman scored and looked solid that game. I understand blooding players and giving them a chance but JVS shouldn't have played him against Victory particularly in a back 3.

Looks like Jacobson and Malik are still out injured, unless they have a very quick recovery. Bouzanis Franjic Chapman Tongyik Muscat Brattan Kilkenny Caceras Colas Brandan Fornaroli Bench- Retre, Cahill, Fitzy, Kuzmanovski Will be interested to see Colazo playing high and wide again. Kilkenny and Brattan need to both play CDM and stick to their positions for the most part to allow the attacking players space to isolate defenders. We need Chapman to martial Tongyik as his defensive positioning was very poor against victory, leading to atleast 5+ clear cut chances for Berisha alone. Need better performances all over the pitch.

Wow atrocious performance all round. Our best player was Bouzanis and he certainly didn't have the best game. Defence: How are people raving about Tongyik after this performance? Rose, Tongyik and Muscat were equally bad and if any had to be selected as worst I would even say Tongyik was poorest being central. All of their clear chances came straight through the middle, being 1v1s. Berisha missed atleast 3 1v1 opportunities and most were Tongyik positioning allowing it. He was at fault for both goals. Poor defensive header(s) for first and then second he got rolled by Berisha on edge of box before losing him for a tap in. Offside or not it was very tight and they shouldn't have a tap in when we were so deep already, it's not like a ball was played over the top and we had a high line. Rose and Franjic equally poor. Offered nothing offensively or defensively. To be fair to all 3 selection of a back 3 was always going to be an uphill battle especially with these 3. Furthermore where is Chapman? I don't understand why he wasn't/hasn't been selected? From memory he has been involved in 3 wins and 2 draws when he has played and hasn't been at fault for any goals or played poorly in any aleague games I can think of? I think this has to do with the influence of Valkanis potentially and the Tongyik/Valkanis link otherwise I can't understand why they're doing it unless Chapman has an overseas offer for January so they are blooding Tongyik? Midfield: Kilkenny and Brattan are actually our weakness currently. Both players just constantly roam anywhere and everywhere and run into other players positions. Kilkenny always dropping into CB which puts the defensive structure out and then when we lose the ball is always stuck in between a CB and CDM position. Brattan can commonly be found crossing the ball on the right, but then he is doing the opposite of what he should be doing by dragging defenders wide. What he should be doing is early passes to the winger to allow him to isolate the defender and run at him 1v1. Why is Brattan a CDM stuck crossing balls wide? I cannot recall 1 time this season i've seen brattan pick the ball up in the opposition attacking third centrally and running at the defence. I don't even blame these two for the drop in form, it's completely down to team selection and strategy. Colazo offered little to nothing in a central midfield role during this game. Attack: Look tired. Look tired of our system and formation. Lack belief in current setup. Constantly have teammates running into their zones and bringing defenders. They all look as though they are lacking some sharpness and I think that comes down to a lack of confidence/belief. We are overloading attacking areas to a detrimental effect. We are not Barcelona and have unlimited pace and skill so can break down deep lying teams and overload the attacking third. Bruno/ Cahill combination not working. Cahill is a big moment player and that is about it at this stage of his career. He can have big moments in critical games but besides that he offers near nothing during the rest of the game besides an aerial option. Play him off the bench and allow Bruno the freedom and space to run at defenders again and isolate defenders. Brandon tried but cannot be expected to be involved in assists and goals every game. Kamau needs to have more input. For the confidence the coaches have put in him so far I don't think he has rewarded them in enough goals/assists to date. First 10 games we came out of the blocks flying. We had a new formation that was adventurous and teams didn't know how to cope, thats changed. A lot of other teams bar Sydney FC were poor and looked as though they were not yet sharp. Now other teams have caught up and are starting to pick up sharpness when it matters and we are still trying to reinvent the wheel when we need to go back to basics. Squad for Perth should be IMO(if Malik and Jacobson are still injured): Bouzanis Franjic Chapman Tongyik Muscat Brattan Kilkenny Colazo Caceras Brandan Fornaroli Bench- Kamau, Fitzgerald, Retre, Cahill.

Very impressive display overall from the whole squad. We played with great fluidity and controlled the game from the opening whistle. The most important and exciting thing to come from this game was the passion and hunger we played with from the opening whistle. From the offset we were harassing and closing off the ball and this continued throughout which is key to any good defensive side. We were winning the ball in dangerous areas because we were closing down well from the front and we were able to have possession in good areas moving them from side to side with effective possession. Any average team can become a very difficult team to beat if they play with hunger and passion, we are a quality team and if we can continue this hunger and passion will absolutely dominate this season. Overall our new players were fantastic and undoubtedly we are a much stronger squad then last season. Its funny to see the motivation levels and quality of performance compared to our last FFA cup match on a poor pitch against an NPL side. People need to take into account the emotional arousal levels and context of the game before making future judgements. The standard of the pitch can also not be understated for a team like ourselves trying to play football, especially when you are trying to break deep lying teams down with quick passing on a poor pitch as we were in previous FFA cup games. We played a 3-1-2-3-1 in attack with Malik playing very deep lying and dropping in sometimes to allow Chapman and Rose to split and play as fullbacks. In defence he would often transition quickly into CB and into a 4-5-1. This formation was devastating in allowing us to control the game from the offset but it is imperative in a system like this to defend and press from the front otherwise we will be exposed in transition. Player Ratings: Sorenson-6: Needs to sweep higher based on the tactics. Needs to improve his play with his feet as he looks a little shaky with his passes sometimes. Chapman- 7: Did his job very well, looked comfortable throughout and like Rose didn't have anyone get beyond him down the by line. Think he is important to this squad with his size, pace and defensive abilities. Jacobson- 8.5: Absolutely brilliant performance. Passing and switching is immense, marshalled and covered well. Reminds me of Zwaansvick and with that scissor will be pushing Fornaroli for goal of the season already! Rose- 7: Did his job well defensively, nothing to fault from his game. Muscat will be on his and Chapmans toes followed by Franjic which is going to keep them all having to perform to keep their spot. Malik- 6.5: Did his job covering well and having a presence in that defensive midfield position and moving between CB and CDM well in attack allowing us to play out effectively. Think he is far superior to Brattan at this position however think he still has to look at his positioning in defence when he slots into CB. Caught ball watching for the goal so loses .5. Brattan- 7.5: Did his job pressing, rotating and passing well. Was a big part of our first goal. Very good set pieces. Definitely shouldn't be compared to Mooy as his replacement as he isn't aggressive in his attacking play and movements. Will be a key cog for us. Kilkenny- 6: Yet to really show much. Passing a little off and didn't impose himself in attack or defence. Will be a Valeri type player but more box to box. Would like to see more from him. Kamau- 7: Tireless performance with some good combination play and some good individual take ons. He looks a good option on the wing and tracked back well. Looked to have a good partnership with Chapman and from memory got an assist. Cahill- 8.5: Perfect performance from Cahill leading from the front. Can feel his influence and aura already. Pressed from the front and had very good link up with Fornaroli in attack. Will score us minimum 10+ goals and be a good leader. Goal and assist on proper debut. Will miss him when he goes with Socceroos. Brendan- 7: Good all round performance, defending well from the front and really putting a good effort in. Looked very comfortable on the ball and looked more comfortable when he moved into the attacking midfield position. Looking forward to seeing more from him. Fornaroli- 7: Good performance from Fornaroli but he has set very high expectations for himself. Combined well in attack with Cahill in particular but was an ever present threat throughout. Subs- Colazo-7 : Reminds me of Greizeman looking at him early on. Cant take too much but he got a secondary assist and looks like he is going to have a strong cross. Very excited to see more from him. Retre- 6: Came on late, did his job. Fitzgerald- 6.5: Made his presence felt running at his defender numerous times. Good player to have coming off bench. JVS- 8.5: Poppa really had no answer to JVS tactics from the off. Very aggressive lineup and looked to have the team in great physical shape as well as everyone in a good emotional state. Cannot fault him from this performance and will be interesting to see how well he can get players understanding their role prior to the season as it could be a big risk but could be great reward.

Current squad Sorenson/Bouzanis Muscat/ Franjic Chapman Malik/Ruon Clisby Brattan/Melling Brandan/Caceras Kilkenny/Retre Kamau/Gameiro Fitzy/Kuzi/Arzani Fornaroli Looking at the squad we are very competitive in midfield and up front. I think we have an overall stronger squad then last year with a lot of young promising players. The 3 cm positions look finished and we are undoubtedly the strongest in this area in the competition. There is very good competition for places and i'm confident they can cover the loss of Mooy with the attacking mids chipping in with goals and assists between them and Brattan directing play behind. The attack is led by the king Fornaroli but he will have a lot of pressure to score and it will be difficult to replicate last seasons tally so we need some of the younger promising players (fitzy/kamau/gameiro) to chip in along with the midfielders. We don't have a backup for Fornaroli besides Gameiro so unless Cahill signs if we pick up some injuries here we could be in danger. The wingers are all good players in their own right but we really need Fitzy/Kamau and Gameiro to step it up and to be chipping in with 5-10 goals each this season and some consistent assists. The competition for places here could push them to a different level if they can all stay fit as the 3 are on similar levels. We could use a big marquee flashy winger with pace and a presence to dominate big games and put some fear into opponents because I don't think our wingers would frighten to many defences on paper and Novillo's presence will be a big loss. The defence needs a big left footed CB who can also play left back when needed. If Cahill signs rumour has it we will go 3 at the back so someone with experience who will have a presence and push Chapman and Malik. The right side of defence is looking strong but on the left side we could use an addition particularly a left footed CB to create a better balance when playing out from the back. If we can get two good visa players in the above key positions and Cahill we will have a very, very competitive squad, maybe even the best aleague squad of all time on paper. I would genuinely feel for JVS having to make team selections each week if the squad can stay fit.

60th minute Brandan comes on and we are caught from the left with a diagonal ball high and over the top. Muscat high up the pitch and the ball dinked over the top with two Floreat attackers 1 on 1. Chapman attempts to recover against the 2 attackers and forces the striker into a weak shot shutting off far post but Sorenson caught flat flooted and expecting the ball to go near post as the strikers weak shot trickles past him almost down the middle. 64th minute and wow what a screamer from 30 yards from Caceras. Absolutely phenomenal strike into the top corner with the keeper barely diving by the time the ball had struck the top corner of netting. Brendan played him in with a nice flick and has made a difference with some nice quick play around corners through the middle. The second half opened up a little with Floreat going more direct with long balls and counters to their fat chode strikers. All in all this was a cup game early into our preseason and with the pitch and oppositions tactics I don't think it was a bad hit-out. We won the game and had 85% possession and understandably looked a little rusty. I think if we played on Aami Park we would've seen a much better, sleaker performance but the pitch and bobble definitely slowed our play down. We have to remember the motivation levels of our boys and the opposition heading into a game like this and consider that these cups are built for "fairytale upsets". I would like to think before the game the KPI's would have been to win, dominate possession, start building combinations and play the match in their half of the pitch so we can assume the coaching staff would be reasonably happy knowing they were achieved, just disappointed to concede. Sorenson- 5- not much to do. Should have done better off the goal, would be very disappointed to concede like that in aleague season. Muscat -5- did get caught out too often particularly in the second half. He is a strong defender but will take some fine tuning to our style in attacking play to ensure he isn't getting caught in transition. Chapman -6- physical and won most of his headers. Communication could have been better with Muscat with the ball catching them out over the top but showed good recover pace. With Clisby was our main source playing out from the back. Malik -6- strong game physically offensively and defensively. Rarely tested and rarely noticed. Clisby -7- probably the best of the back line. Got up and down pretty well and was a good option going forward always willing to overlap. No problems defensively down his flank. Rumour has it he may be moving on, I think he is a good squadie and would like to see him stay. Brattan -7- strong game and showed his passing quality. Good anchor in the middle of the pitch directing play and had some good set pieces. Very good pickup. Retre -6- moved around well but rarely sighted with Floreat tactics. Will have to make a bigger impression in the next game with Fernando and Kilkenny ready to challenge in the middle of the pitch. Caceras- 7- brilliant goal and started to link better in the second half. First half much like Retre showed good movement but Floreat tactics prevented most opportunities. Looks like he could form a good partnership with Fernando as they found each other a few times. Kamau -6- getting in good positions but looks like he has heavy legs. Think he can be a strong pick up on the wing and would expect much better performances in future games. Himself and Fitzy will want to make an impression with Gameiro ready to come in and challenge soon. Will be a good challenge for them all to cement a position as they are all good players. Fornaroli -6- tried to get involved but the Floreat tactics left him with little opportunities. Wasn't his day up front but you can't expect him to always be firing, especially on a cold wet Tuesday for a cup game in Perth. Fitzy -7- good goal and much like the other attackers struggled to make their presence known with the deep defending. Did his job giving us the lead and would like to think he can get 5-10 goals for us this season. Brandan -7- looks like he is a quick thinker, knowing where his next pass is before he gets the ball. The game was more open when he came on but he looked like he was most likely to create an opening of the CM's. Looks promising so far. Kuzi -6- showed some good signs getting in behind a couple of times. One thing you have to admire about him is his confidence and desire to run at defenders. His end product is rarely good enough but if he works hard this season and focuses on his final ball he could make a difference off the bench sometimes this season. Arzani -6- looks like a good pickup and has brilliant ball control, word from inside the camp is he is a gem but obviously with his age needs a little refining. Don't be surpised if he gets a few games this year and impresses. JVS- 6- did the job and put out his best available team. Would have liked to see him change it to a 3-5-2 to test ourselves against these lower rated sides because we know we are going to dominate possession, particularly when he realised they were playing 5-4-1 in the first half. Decent subs. At this stage I think we need 1 big attacking player and 1 big defensive player. Our attack besides Fornaroli are all young and promising and the worry is that they wont be able to deliver consistently. We need a big marquee attacker who will install some fear into opponents and I think this should be someone on the wing. Not necessarily a notable name but someone with pace and flair to push teams back as Fitzy and Kamau aren't lightning and Novillo's presence is a big loss. Defensively I think they should be looking for a strong left footed CB to create some balance playing the ball out. Someone who can always cover at left back if Clisby is injured or not selected. Someone with the experience to help push Chapmans development and provide a presence at the back. At this stage Malik and Chapman are good starting CBs with Chapman the stronger and Malik some refining to do with his positional change based on his CB performances last year. Overall we have some very, very good squad depth and if we can get two strong visa players in we almost have 2 strong players for every position. Our squad is young and could benefit from some experience but at this stage of the season I think it's very promising.

Half time and you can't take much from that half. Floreat playing 5 at the back and showing no ambition to play, purely defending. Because they rarely leave their defensive third it's very difficult to break them down and are making it impossible to play fast, direct football. We are just shifting the ball probing for opportunities to play 1-2s and combos around the box but because there are 3 cbs it is very difficult to find any space. Often we are getting overlaps and crosses from Clisby and Muscat but again because of the defensive numbers and lack of height in the final third we aren't reaping much rewards. Brattan looks a very good pick up as the deep lying midfielder and has had some good deliveries off set peices, he looks like he can fill some of the void left by Mooy, albeit from a deeper position. Defence is looking fine but is rarely being tested, Muscat looks like a strong pick up at right back. Rumour has it we if Tim Cahill signs we will be playing 3 at the back with Chapman, Muscat and Malik and that could be a decent combo with Brattan sitting deep. Midfield is moving the ball and trying to link up as much as possible. Because Floreat are basically sitting in their defensive third very difficult for the midfielders to create anything as the only real option is to keep the ball moving and try look for quick link up plays until Floreat get tired. Attack has had little to no clear opportunities. All 3 are trying to get involved as much as possible but are finding it difficult to do anything notable. Good goal from Fitzy using the decoy overlap to cut in and finish near post. Most of our threatening has come from set pieces with Chapman and Malik finding some space and forcing saves off the line. The pitch is poor, the opposition has parked the bus in their final 3rd and have no ambition to play any football at all. The game is essentially a training session and it would be hard to expect more based on the oppositions tactics and stage of preseason we are at. I would expect a couple more goals as the game opens up in the second half.