City in the headlines

[jw1739]

 

IIRC NSL teams that went into the first season of the A-League:

 

Adelaide United;

Perth Glory;

Newcastle United Jets (in the NSL as Newcastle United);

Queensland Roar (in the NSL as Brisbane Strikers);

New Zealand Knights (in the NSL as New Zealand Football Kingz).

They did in name anyway but all bar Glory had to change to a franchise ownership model. Glory was already owned by Nick Tana I think

 

...and Newcastle by Greek-Cypriot Con Constantine.

[Rellum]

IIRC NSL teams that went into the first season of the A-League:

 

Adelaide United;

Perth Glory;

Newcastle United Jets (in the NSL as Newcastle United);

Queensland Roar (in the NSL as Brisbane Strikers);

New Zealand Knights (in the NSL as New Zealand Football Kingz).

So not correct - They got in instead of the Strikers. As I said above they played in the NSL back in the 70/80's as the Brisbane Lions.

[Dylan]

[Shahanga]

Strikers continued on as a club in the local league. 

 

BTW I'm pretty confident that Brisbane Lions the real football team lost their court case versus Brisbane Lions the AFL club (formed by the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions).  i can only presume they never got around to registering and trademarking their name.    

[Shahanga]

Loved this.  Very informative. (out of likes though)

 

Shows how chaotic the NSL was.  The A League has been a paragon of stability in comparison.

[LR9]

Strikers continued on as a club in the local league.

BTW I'm pretty confident that Brisbane Lions the real football team lost their court case versus Brisbane Lions the AFL club (formed by the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions). i can only presume they never got around to registering and trademarking their name.

They actually received $50k from the AFL club in exchange for the rights and they changed their own name to Queensland Lions, before Queensland Roar and then now Brisbane Roar.

[jw1739]

 

IIRC NSL teams that went into the first season of the A-League:

 

Adelaide United;

Perth Glory;

Newcastle United Jets (in the NSL as Newcastle United);

Queensland Roar (in the NSL as Brisbane Strikers);

New Zealand Knights (in the NSL as New Zealand Football Kingz).

So not correct - They got in instead of the Strikers. As I said above they played in the NSL back in the 70/80's as the Brisbane Lions.

 

Yes, you are correct. My bad. Apologies.

[Rellum]

 

 

IIRC NSL teams that went into the first season of the A-League:

 

Adelaide United;

Perth Glory;

Newcastle United Jets (in the NSL as Newcastle United);

Queensland Roar (in the NSL as Brisbane Strikers);

New Zealand Knights (in the NSL as New Zealand Football Kingz).

So not correct - They got in instead of the Strikers. As I said above they played in the NSL back in the 70/80's as the Brisbane Lions.

 

Yes, you are correct. My bad. Apologies.

 

Sorry, sore spot for me that

[jw1739]

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/analysis--melbourne-heart-s-resurgence/86343

 

Melbourne Heart's astonishing 5-0 demolition of the Phoenix in Wellington not only confirms their A-League resurgence but ends their horror run of more than two years without a win outside of Victoria.

John Greco takes a look back at their road woes, the reason behind their form turnaround and whether they can make it all the way to an unlikely finals berth.

Long time between drinks
The Heart's cake walk at the cake tin ended a 780-day wait between away wins, going back to their previous best result the 4-0 drubbing of Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium just after Christmas in 2011.
That's 25 games outside Victoria without a victory. To put that streak into context, Australia has since had three different prime ministers, John Aloisi was coaching the club's youth team and the thought of Alessandro Del Piero playing in the A-League was nothing but a pipe dream. Coach John van 't Schip and the players will be hoping the Phoenix massacre doesn't signify another lengthy slump on the road

Why the turnaround in form?
It would be easy to say the Heart's resurgence over the last two months is solely down to the appointment of van 't Schip. The experienced Dutchman has done a superb job galvanising a side that was low on confidence when he took charge, as well as making them a lot more resolute at the back.

But there are other contributing factors. The return from injury of marquee men Orlando Engelaar and Harry Kewell has been crucial while the likes of David Williams, Patrick Kisnorbo and Aziz Behich have found some form. The announcement of Manchester City’s acquisition of the club has also been a factor improving morale in the dressing room. It's all contributed to 14 points from a possible 21 - after no wins from the first 12 games - thanks to four wins, two draws and just the solitary loss.

Key player
It's been said that David Williams looks a bit like Carlos Tevez and the pace attacker is certainly starting to play like him in recent weeks. Williams, who turns 26 next week, has for a long time been earmarked as a player of undoubted ability and potential but has struggled to live up to the hype on a consistent basis. But five goals in his last three matches – including the club's first-ever hat-trick against the Phoenix – is an indication Williams could finally be about to deliver. With Kewell out injured and the Michael Mifsud signing appearing to be a failure, Williams will need to continue on his current hot streak if the Heart are to maintain the rage.

Can they make the finals?
If you said two months ago the Heart would be a chance to push for the top six heading towards March, you would have been laughed out of town. But their upsurge in form – and the struggles of those around them – makes it a distinct possibility with eight games still to go. Sure they have a lot of work to do but they are just seven points behind the inconsistent Sydney FC in sixth and their draw isn't too bad compared to their rivals.

The Heart play four of their next five matches at home, starting with league leaders Brisbane this weekend, and have three of those games against sides that will be affected by ACL commitments.
They would probably need to win at least five or of their remaining eight games to sneak in and while it might be considered a long-shot you wouldn't rule anything out.

[Alexxandro]

It would be easy to say the Heart's resurgence over the last two months is solely down to the appointment of van 't Schip. 

Actually this seems impossible seeing as journalists don't even seem to be able to give JVS any credit let alone all of it.

[sharpy]

David Williams looks likes Tevez??

 

How is that for an insult!

[Rellum]

 

It would be easy to say the Heart's resurgence over the last two months is solely down to the appointment of van 't Schip. 

Actually this seems impossible seeing as journalists don't even seem to be able to give JVS any credit let alone all of it.

 

According to Colosimo it's all down to the players.

 

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/colosimo-hails-heart-revival

 

 

Colosimo hails Heart revival

 

Former Melbourne Heart defender Simon Colosimo has credited the playing group for turning the club’s fortunes around and continuing to work hard through a difficult period.

Heart smashed Wellington Phoenix 5-0 on the weekend, the first time the club had won away from Melbourne in two years. The Victorian club remains on the bottom of the A-League ladder after a horror start to the season but is unbeaten in its last five matches, securing four wins and a draw.

Colosimo, who played 63 games for Heart over three seasons, believes the change in coach and owners has meant little in regards to the recent revival.

“Whether Heart got sold or didn’t get sold, who the coach was or wasn’t, what’s going in the background at board level or management level, players can’t worry about that,” the 35-year old centre back said.

“They just need to get along and do their business. It’s just a case of the ball hitting the post and going in, hitting the right balance, I don’t know. But one thing that I’ve seen is those players have stood up. They’re the guys who deserve the kudos, the players. They’ve come out.

“What has really changed in the background? If you really think about it, apart from a document that says the owners have changed, a little bit of coaching staff but yeah at the end of the day it’s not like new players have come in. These players have really turned a corner and I’m proud of every one of them.”

Colosimo, who left Heart in 2013 to join Indian outfit Dempo SC, said he was disappointed with the club’s poor start to the 2013-2014 A-League season.

“When you look at the A-League, with the salary cap and squad sizes, you’re splitting hairs,” he said. “When you have a big turnover at a club, personnel-wise, there’s always going to be that element of it.

"But if you start matching up teams player for player and go through the list, every squad is pretty much of a muchness. So it’s about finding that balance.

“Was I surprised? Disappointed, yes. Because I know how the players work. And they were wearing a lot of the brunt. Questions were aksed about the players, how much they were giving, whether they were putting everything in, and there’s one thing that I saw is that every player was working hard.

“At the end of the day, as long as you continue to do that, eventually, you’ll score your hat-trick like Willo [David Williams] did.”

Melbourne Heart had a lot of upheaval in their playing squad for this season, with 11 new players arriving and 11 departing. It also had to do without injured pair Orlando Engelaar and Harry Kewell for the opening rounds. Coach John Aloisi was sacked in December and John van’t Schip appointed as his replacement.

“The structure’s changed slightly, tactically not a hell of a lot but they’ve got some fit bodies,” Colosimo said. “Again the ball going in, it’s one of those.

"With [Michael] Mifsud it didn’t matter what, it wasn’t because he wasn’t trying, wasn’t because of the process or whatever - it wouldn’t go in for him. They’ve found balance and I can still see him coming in and having an impact and scoring some goals at some stage.

"It’s football. Football’s not as complicated as a lot of the pundits make it out to be. You work hard, get your structures right and you get reward.”

With confidence rising and a bit of luck on the side, Colosimo wouldn’t rule out a late and improbable finals run for Heart.

“I think that every team believes they’ve got a crack at it,” he said. “And Heart don’t seem to be looking, early in the season they were talking about the end of the season. This is where we want to finish, this is what we want to achieve.

“I still believe their discussions in the changerooms, they’re not discussions for anyone outside. Now they’ve genuinely come in and said you know what, we’re going to concentrate this weekend against Wellington, we’re going to concentrate on this weekend against Brisbane.

"They’ve been told to do that week-by-week. They haven’t worried about anything beyond what’s coming up on the weekend.”

 

Edited February 19, 2014 by Rellum

[carlings]

 

I can still see him coming in and having an impact and scoring some goals at some stage.

 

 

[HeartinHobart]

Simon Colosimo putting our improved performance down to the players. All this tells me is he got along with the playing group better he did JVS.

[jw1739]

Simon Colosimo putting our improved performance down to the players. All this tells me is he got along with the playing group better he did JVS.

Well, we know that Colosimo definitely did not get along with JvS. It is hardly likely therefore that he will give the latter much or any credit for recent performances.

[Sash]

Also, with his role at the PFA, Colosimo's job is to advocate for the players. Therefore, when we lose, it's not the players fault, but when we win, it's all due to the players. It's part of his job.

[HEARTinator]

Vey nice work!

 

What it shows is that there was very little strategic thought behind the NSL. It stumbled from year to year growing (in number of teams) unsustainably with little regards to financial stability. It seemed like anybody that wanted to get into the NSL could.

[Murfy1]

Agree about Colosimo's biases. Also, he was pretty buddy-buddy with Aloisi, so Colosimo was always going to downplay JVS' influence and pretend our turnaround was due to a sudden and inexplicable change in the players' performances. A bit like the article above, that mentions one factor in our turnaround being "the likes of David Williams, Patrick Kisnorbo and Aziz Behich [having] found some form", but the article doesn't explain why they all suddenly started playing better (for instance, as Davutovic has said, JVS has made Williams actually work to be in the squad, whereas Williams started every game under Aloisi. Williams didn't 'suddenly' find some form, JVS made him play better).

 

Some of the wiser heads of  Australia's football pundits have given JVS acknowledgement and praise, such as:

 

Mark Rudan: 'Yeah look a lot of improvement under van't Schip, that's for sure'

 

David Davutovic: 'van't Schip has impressed me big time since he's come back'

 

Simon Hill: 'Things really starting to look up under John Van't Schip.'

 

Simon Hill: 'Kudos to John van't Schip, he's turned things around'

 

And I recall Craig Foster giving JVS some high praise after we beat Sydney 2-1 on the SBS coverage of that match. 

 

 

I'm just rather amazed it's even a talking point, 'why the turnaround in Heart's form?', when anyone who's watched Heart matches this season first under Aloisi then under JVS can see the night and day difference. Sure, as the article above mentions, there might other 'contributing factors', but JVS being the main factor should be beyond dispute.

[heart_fan10]

the sydney game showed the difference in attitudes between JA and JVS.

 

going down to 10 men early in the game against MV, Aloisi takes a striker off and put on a defender. I got the indication that he wasn't looking to get a result and would be happy to sit back and defend all game for 0-0. Result: 3-1 losers

 

going down to 10 men against Sydney, JVS kept the lineup the same, and even after going down 1-0 he still wanted to create chances up front and the substitutions he made were all attacking. Result: 2-1 winners

Edited February 19, 2014 by heart_fan10

[n i k o]

Simon Colosimo putting our improved performance down to the players. All this tells me is he got along with the playing group better he did JVS.

That's because jvs realised what a poor tackling terrible passing shit cunt he is and didn't play him as often. His mate JA comes in and plays him all the time even though he cost us games.

[n i k o]

I'd like to ask these journalists whether they think we would have been winless after 12 rounds under jvs? Fuckin clowns.

[Shahanga]

"Why the turnaround in form?
It would be easy to say the Heart's resurgence over the last two months is solely down to the appointment of van 't Schip. "

 

It would also be a quick, simplistic and accurate way to summarise the situation.

 

Fair dinkum.  You know why we on the forum see things so differently to these clowns?  We actually saw every game, not just a few highlight packages and JA press conferences.  We saw the rubbish dished out as "football" week in/week out.   

[Tommykins]

They're not going to come out and rightly say he's rubbish, are they?

[Shahanga]

There are subtle ways of saying it.  How about this:

 

"Heart are enjoying a rich run of form under the experienced Dutchman John Van't Schip, who replaced Australian football legend John Aloisi, who struggled to produce results in his first senior position."

or better still, as my grandma used to say "if you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all"

 

I'm happy to move on but wish the journos would move on too and stop re-inventing history. 

[Rellum]

There are many ways they could say it nicely and they haven't. So they either believe what they are saying or they are selling something. The Club needs to remember JA's time at the helm so we never repeat that mistake.

[kingofhearts]

They're not going to come out and rightly say he's rubbish, are they?

all it takes are some balls, why can't some young journalist have a go at JA? Actually give us some balanced opinion on him rather than keep up this lie about how unlucky he was as a coach.

[theresonlyonebzamora]

They're not going to come out and rightly say he's rubbish, are they?

all it takes are some balls, why can't some young journalist have a go at JA? Actually give us some balanced opinion on him rather than keep up this lie about how unlucky he was as a coach.

Why can't they? Because they'll probably get either shot down by journo peers protecting JA, or JA himself will try and sue if he says even the slightest bad word. Unfortunately it seems on this matter that a 'balanced' opinion won't be seen.

[Jestr]

They're not going to come out and rightly say he's rubbish, are they?

all it takes are some balls, why can't some young journalist have a go at JA? Actually give us some balanced opinion on him rather than keep up this lie about how unlucky he was as a coach.

Why can't they? Because they'll probably get either shot down by journo peers protecting JA, or JA himself will try and sue if he says even the slightest bad word. Unfortunately it seems on this matter that a 'balanced' opinion won't be seen. People who are bystanders, follow heart from the distance, follow other clubs or have very little understanding about tactics and football strategy are the ones who believe in this "unlucky, needed more time" BS

They would quickly change their opinion if they only attended heart home games to see and feel the negative vibe coming from on field and the stands, including 8 year olds clapping and sarcastically cheering every time Gerhard would lob towards mifsud, for the all only to be intercepted 99% of the time.

They don't get it

We did

So now what they think matters not!

[malloy]

They're not going to come out and rightly say he's rubbish, are they?

all it takes are some balls, why can't some young journalist have a go at JA? Actually give us some balanced opinion on him rather than keep up this lie about how unlucky he was as a coach. Why can't they? Because they'll probably get either shot down by journo peers protecting JA, or JA himself will try and sue if he says even the slightest bad word. Unfortunately it seems on this matter that a 'balanced' opinion won't be seen.People who are bystanders, follow heart from the distance, follow other clubs or have very little understanding about tactics and football strategy are the ones who believe in this "unlucky, needed more time" BS

They would quickly change their opinion if they only attended heart home games to see and feel the negative vibe coming from on field and the stands, including 8 year olds clapping and sarcastically cheering every time Gerhard would lob towards mifsud, for the all only to be intercepted 99% of the time.

They don't get it

We did

So now what they think matters not!

Add to that, these people only see 90 seconds of highlights which shows 3 of our chances which may have been close to scoring, then show 3 of the oppositions chances 2 or 3 of which were converted to goals. When you see that it looks like an even game except for on the scoresheet, but the reality was those were our only chances for the whole game whilst the other teams would have 10-15+.

[Peter]

Once upon a time there was an inexperienced coached named John. The team he was coaching lost consistently and looked as if they didn't have a clue as to what they were meant to do.

Then, along came another coach. His name was John also, but under him performances and results improved almost straight away.

The end.

[El Cunado]

From The Guardians a-league preview. 

 

 

Is the table lying?

One well-thumbed sporting truism states that the table doesn’t lie. That’s all well and good but when we look at the table ahead of Sunday’s match-up between the Melbourne Heart and the Brisbane Roar it appears to be telling porkies of the scale that led to Pinocchio losing his way. Brisbane, the table says, sit in first place, 20 points ahead of the last–placed Heart – yet for all that it’s not easy to pick a winner with any confidence. Of course this has everything to do with the Heart’s form over the past six weeks – more or less the period of time since John Aloisi suddenly found himself with more time than he’d factored to go suit shopping, Manchester City announced themselves as the Heart’s legal guardian, and Orlando Engelaar made it onto the pitch after a long injury layoff. From being the laughing stock of the league the Heart have taken on the aura of winners, even to the point where they’ve broken – and in some style – their long losing streak outside Victoria. Anyone who said they saw their 5-0 drubbing of Wellington last week coming is pulling your chain. And not in a good way. Can the Heart keep it up and upset Brisbane at AAMI on Sunday? The table says ‘No’ but after what we’ve seen recently who can agree with any confidence.
 

Who does Ange have his eye on?

Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou has said that he’ll be looking to test some fringe players and A-League talent when the national side play Ecuador on 5 March in London. Given he names his 23-man squad next week – and his World Cup squad in May – this week’s round of A-League fixtures will be the last chance for auditions (although you’d figure by this stage Postecoglou has more or less committed his squad to paper … so it could take something special to change his mind). It’s safe to assume that the likes of Mark Milligan and Tom Rogic are locked in, while Postecoglou has said himself that James Troisi is in contention. Tomi Juric might also be a chance, so too Ivan Franjic, Matthew Spiranovic and Adam Taggart, but what of David Williams? For someone who shares the lead on the goal-scorers’ list he’s not attracted a lot of talk. A national rep at youth level (where he played under Postecoglou) and twice capped at senior level (though not since 2010) Williams has been one of the Heart’s most consistent performers all season and lately he’s been adding a fleet of well-timed and nicely taken goals – including a hat-trick last week – to his list of attributes that include speed and a high work-rate. Much will depend on what sort of system Postecoglou is looking to employ but Williams – who’s 26 next week – would fit in well with a mobile front three or as a wide man beside a more traditional striker. You could argue that the enigmatic Williams has never quite fulfilled the promise he showed as a teenager but if you judge him on where he is today, and not where he’s been, he’s got to be a chance.

 

[theresonlyonebzamora]

if/when williams does re-appear in the NT, you'd think it pretty much means the end for babalj for a while (not necessarily forever). surely the coaching staff would be hung drawn and quartered for having two heart players in their extended squad circle (meaning not just for this game)

[Shahanga]

Don't understand your logic.  There is an official quota for players who've played for Heart? So I of say Williams/Babalj/Kisnorbo/Good/Kewell to go to Brazil?  

[theresonlyonebzamora]

I'm just joshing, was suggesting it would be outrageous for our club to have regular socceroos

[jw1739]

We did feature on ABC TV News tonight. Steve Pearce was out at Epping for training. There was footage from the Wellington match, and Kisnorbo was interviewed and was not afraid to mention how things have improved since the demise of JA. JvS was also on, and he put our recent improvement down to "confidence." The takeover got a run as well.

[InMyHeart]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/budgie-on-the-ball/9749929/Rumours-about-Melbourne-Heart
 

 

A couple of good things came out of Wellington Phoenix’s 5-0 ugly loss at the hands of Melbourne Heart last weekend – well good for the A-League in general.

Reliable sources tell me Heart, now majority owned by Manchester City, are in the process of signing a world class player from Spanish powerhouse Barcelona as their marquee man for next season.

Fitting the bill, and nearing the end of his career, is 34-year-old Spanish World Cup winning midfielder Xavi Hernandez.

He has played more than 700 games in Barcelona’s colours winning scores of trophies including multiple La Liga titles and Champions League triumphs.

The international media is already saying Xavi’s days are numbered and speculating on who will replace him at Barcelona.

The signing will be a loan deal. My understanding is that Xavi, or whoever Heart’s marquee signing may turn out to be, will also play for the New York City Football Club.

New York is a new club also majority owned by Manchester City set to play in America’s Major League Soccer competition from 2015.

Adding credibility to the story is the fact that Manchester City’s chief executive Ferran Soriano was previously at Barcelona where he was credited with transforming the off-field fortunes of the club.

The Heart news doesn’t stop there. I understand there is truth in speculation that the club will next season change its name to Melbourne City and the colour of its playing strip to sky blue - to match that of Manchester City.

It is exciting times for the A-League.

[Deluka]

I doubt they are already planning to change colours at this point in time, as they haven't even heard back from the survey. No doubt they'll look at the idea of it, but they'll quickly find out what the fans want. A lot of credability will be lost if they change from red and white.

[n i k o]

If they change the colours and the name then it will be like a new club. Melbourne heart will merely be a memory.

Edited February 21, 2014 by n i k o

[Nate]

No credible evidence in the slightest in that "rumour" article.

 

Would lose my shit if we got Xavi though, woweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[malloy]

Would prefer Iniesta

Edited February 21, 2014 by malloy