moops

So far I think you pretty close, unless Germano goes to RB, but JVS seems to like the Hoff and he did alright there. It will be interesting to see what happens with signings, the weakest positions I see are the FB's, DM and striker. I realy hope someone like Archibald or Shroen get's a bit of time, it would be interesting if they can step it up like Garruccio.

I'm happy so far, especially Chapman. Brown is interesting, he burst on the scene like the hot exchange student, then went missing. Though GVE had the Jets all sorts of terrible whith quite a good team, so not surprising.

Jesus, watching Beyern Munchin? Under Jupp Hynckes yes, but I hate what Guardiola has made them, don't learn from Guardiola ffs! This was two months ago lol. But anyway, what is it you don't like about Guardiola? They've done quite well with him I'd say. Haha, can't remember that, I was most likely indulging a bit much. I think (to answer the question) Guardiola likes to play keep ball, I think possesion is paramount and it gets a bit staid. They have played some games that they should have lost, but they have some players who can have some individual moments to pull a victory out of the hat. Jupp Hynkes had them playing a lot more exciting football and scoring more. I would like to see Guardiola at a lesser team, see what he can do with Stoke!

Gotta say I'm hanging for some news as well, kinda going more bonkers than usual with this waiting business

mmmm... sweet saviola. Haha Saviola, biscuit of the Gods!

I have always liked Saviola (maybe becuase his name reminds me of a cirtain crisp bread snack??).

I suspect the reason city invested in Aust and not anywhere else for their Asian base is because they will be able to come in and change what ever rule they want to suit them best discuss options with the FFA Nice. I hope it starts with the website, the most cost effective and easily produced media other than speaking, or writing speaking (oxymoron?).

See my post in the Traore thread Oh well...

There will be no Traore today. http://footballaustralia.com.au/melbourne-victory-news-display/Traore-to-pursue-European-dream/90321/11 Melbourne Victory wishes to advise that defender Adama Traore will head to Europe next season after two extremely impressive campaigns with the club. Traore, who joined Melbourne Victory at the beginning of the 2012/13 season from Gold Coast United, recently opted against extending his stay at AAMI Park.

They certainly are, and quite rightly so. I didn't watch the whole match, but what I saw yesterday of Brisbane reinforced my view above about how much of a gap there is between them, indisputably the top side of the past three seasons, and Heart. Brisbane just have so much intensity and will-to-win in every department. They fully deserve their success. They are a great team, I wish we had Juric. Though they have built their team around two players, Broich and Berisha. They loose players but those two are integral to their success.

Am I the only one that thought he was ok? His positioning was good off the ball, he defended ok and many times he was in space calling for the ball to have it passed to his teammate surrounded by two or three opposition. He is clearly a DM now, one reason we signed him, used right he will do well in this league.

You're a few months late. Berba left Fulham in January. thought he was only loaned out for the last 6 months of his contract but if thats the case then thats the end of it then Correct, Berbatov joined Monaco on loan from Fulham until the end of the season. and he's off contract at the end of the season (http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25981420). He would be an excellent A-League marquee IMO (although for Heart I do wonder if City would be open to signing a former United player...). It's rather tough to think of players coming out of contract at the end of the season that could make excellent marquees. 2 names coming out of contract at the end of the season that don't seem to have serious concrete interest ATM from clubs are: Jordi Gomez and Tiago Mendes. Also on Heart's marquee, I've began wondering if JVS might want a current or former Ajax player for a marquee (like Sibon), or a player that he's coached before (like Engelaar, who I vaguely recall reading was suggested by JVS to the club last off-season). Possible options that might suit could be Lasse Schone (who's off contract at the end of next season), and Ibrahim Afellay or Siemm de Jong, who are both probably ambitious targets, but they have both suffered injuries in recent times (which they both have seemingly recently recovered from) and hence other clubs could overlook them, so either could be a very shrewd signing. And some other good conceivable possibilities are Cristian Baroni (off contract at the end of next season), Esteban Granero and Niko Kranjcar, both of whom are contracted until the end of the season after next (til mid-2016), but both were loaned out this season and are seemingly out of favour at their respective clubs, and hence could possibly be sold. I'm pretty unsure which way the club will go on the international marquee. The only thing the club has signaled about the international marquee was the very quick denial that the club isn't interested in signing Frank Lampard (saying such speculation was "absolutely without foundation" a day or so after the article was published). Either way, I reckon we're bound to hear more soon when JVS and Didulica get back to Australia and the A-League season is fully finished after the grand final. Aren't marquees supposed to be well known? I don't know most of the names you mentioned above! If I had the choice of a an Ono-esque or Del Pierro-esque marquee and I had the money of Man City FC, I'd definitely splash out some more cash and get the Del Pierro-esque marquee! Quality on the field AND puts bums on seats a la Ronaldinho, Lampard, Pirlo, Raul (retired?), etc... The players I suggested are more in the Ono or Engelaar mold. That is, they are very good players who would probably make a big splash in the A-League. Also, All of the players I suggested are good ages, nearly all between 25 and 30. The problem with going after "big names" like Del Piero is that players of that ilk only stop playing top tier football when they are very old. Del Piero turned 38 very early into his first season at Sydney FC, and whilst Frank Lampard would be an excellent signing IMO, he is 35 (and turning 36 in June), and could probably only play well for 2 or 3 or at most 4 seasons. So that's the main issue with getting "big name" players, they can only play for a few seasons. And Man City themselves have specifically said that they would prefer to get "big players" (like Ono, Engelaar etc.) rather than "big names", and have a "big player" turn into a "big name" by playing very well and helping Melbourne Heart achieve success. Players like Afellay, Siem de Jong, Gomez and Schone could play well for 5 or 6 seasons, or maybe more, at Heart in the A-League. So that's the appeal of big players, who maybe aren't household names. You can build a team around them. And Man City seem to think that good football and success will put bums on seats as much if not more so than signing an ADP for 2 two seasons (and I think Man City are probably right). So I've just tried to brainstorm "big players" that City could sign for Heart, to keep for more than a few seasons and achieve success. Fair enough! Personally, I too would prefer a semi-well known player a la Afellay/de Jong who I will enjoy watching and who'll bring us success because ultimately I'd prefer to go to the stadium to watch my team win first and enjoy seeing an 'ADP' style marquee second. Here I though Esteban Granero and Niko Kranjcar were well knowen names?? Drogba would be great, Klose could be possible and realistic and a gun, there is another Behich getting about too, who I think would be a Finkler type signing, but I haven't followed him for a while ( German-Turkish), so I am not sure where he is, or what contract he is on. I'll try to make sense later.

I don't dislike the SE. I just enjoy a bit of banter. Yeah I understand, I generally need to be more drunk to up the enjoyment, but things are slow. On a side note, I always get lost in the western suburbs, I've found some interesting places though becuase of it.

I was a bit of a Hoffman as well, played everywhere, but I liked to be on the wing, either as an attacker or fb.

Melbourne's city centre has poor air quality while western suburbs have best in the stateYou talk a lot of shit mate :up:Feel free to present some of these plentiful 'statistics' you claim exist. Nice googling there mate... But consider yourself out googled http://www.wadenoonan.com.au/slideshow/193-clean-up-brooklyn-melbournes-dirtiest-suburb https://au.news.yahoo.com/vic/video/watch/17918478/melbournes-most-polluted-suburbs/ http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/brooklyn-pleads-for-tough-action-on-air-pollution-20130303-2fefu.html Mine are more recent too I can post the health and life expectancy stats too if you like but you've proven you're quite capable of using a search engine... Brooklyn is only one suburb, a highly industrial suburb, if you read (isn't the literacy rate below 20% in the SE?) the link I posted it even mentions it, and that outside of Brooklyn the western suburbs have the cleanest air. So your assertion that "The western suburbs of Melbourne have got the worst air quality by far" is incorrect, because the opposite is actually true, apart from one of the fifty suburbs that make up the Western Suburbs. Please do provide these statistics though. You almost border on the xenophobic with your dislike of the SE.

Haha, good stuff!

We missed a fuckload of tap ins this year, sign him up! Agree 100%. If a striker doesn't score "tap ins" he's not much of a striker. if you rely on bending them in from 30 yards you won't have many goals come season end, no matter who you are. WTF is so bad about a "tap in" anyway? (they are worth "one goal"!) Most of the ones I've seen have needed a seemingly pointless "gambling" run by the striker, in case the ball actually makes the back post, the keeper parries, the ball hits the post etc etc. Love tap ins! Only good players ever score them. Agreed. Go out on a pitch and have someone whip square balls in to you as you try to time your run and try to strike them clean-not as easy as you might think. "Easy tap ins" are actually not that easy. I played in the midfield and used to think tap-ins were easy, until I had two games as a striker. Couldn't wait to get back in the thick of it in the middle after that! The pitch and weather too, you might be used to the ball bouncing or skidding off the pitch at a cirtain speed and your timing could be all wrong and if the pitch is uneven or in poor condition it's even harder. I reckon a volly or a header is a lot easier, for me anyway.

Jesus, watching Beyern Munchin? Under Jupp Hynckes yes, but I hate what Guardiola has made them, don't learn from Guardiola ffs!

What a cunt. Don't care what he did for the national team, he is forever dead to me for the way he's conducted himself at heart. A bit harsh? Aussy hero, heart confidant. Sure his coaching was suspect, but I wish the best for him and if he improves I would welcome him back.

Would take, but not the best by a mile??

I think that Joe Palatsides is a pretty renowen coach, but it seems the yoof policy took a back seat these last two years though, it's dissapointing becuase Vranks was showing promise and was in our Aust youth side.

Bit racist much?

Good stuff Murf. I would like us to promote youth, first and formost. Garuccio is a tallent, but could be groomed to be the new Behich. That said he did well in the derby and against wsw. But like everyone else I would rather him played more forward. Our weakest points imho is striker, dm (if engelaar leaves and Murdocca stays), both fullbacks, a CD and keeper. I think the Hoff would make an allright DM, but I would like to have better. Does anyone have an opinion on our youth's, who could make the step up?

Can see this happening. Had a good feeling that our youth players are going to develop very nicely given the expertise of our new owners Nice, I like his name as well lol.

It was a foul, although he was caught out of position at first. I think Weilaart has been quality besides Kisnorbo, he is a smart player, just lacks a bit of pace