Round 2 | 19th of October | Melbourne VS CCM

[mattyh001]

 

chuck in kalmar as number 10, play williams as striker and ramsay on left wing

 with walker in for hoff

 

 

this

 

was quite disappointed that Ramsey didnt start against the visitors.

[belaguttman]

i don't think duke is a good as people make him out to be - it's a combination of the way he gets the ball at his feet and pace. midfield are doing most of the work.

this is a team that made daniel mcbreen look like a goal scoring legend ffs.

His runs off the ball are very good. The way he peeled off his WSW defender and made a diagonal run into the box for his goal last week was excellent.

[Cinnamon]

So any word on H's training today?

[hakz7]

Melbourne Heart Squad: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3. Robbie WIELAERT, 6. Patrick GERHARDT, 7. Iain RAMSAY, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 10. Harry KEWELL (Captain), 14. Golgol MEBRAHTU, 15. David WILLIAMS, 16. Aziz BEHICH, 17. Jason HOFFMAN, 18. David VRANKOVIC, 19. Benjamin GARUCCIO, 20. Tando VELAPHI (GK), 21. Stefan MAUK , 22. Nick KALMAR, 23. Mate DUGANDZIC, 24. Patrick KISNORBO, 25. Andrea MIGLIORINI (Two to be omitted)

Ins: 19. Benjamin GARUCCIO (returns from international duty), 21. Stefan MAUK (returns from international duty)

Outs: Nil

Unavailable: 2. Jeremy WALKER, 4. Orlando ENGELAAR (Fractured tibia - long-term), 5. Sam MITCHINSON, 9. Dylan MACALLISTER (Hamstring - 3-6 weeks), 11. Michael MIFSUD, 13. Jonatan GERMANO (Hamstring - two weeks)

So looks like Hoffman at RB again.

[Embee]

Bugger, no Mifsud

[HeartinHobart]

Michael McGlinchey unavailable. Strange because Barbarouses named for Tards.

[Deviant]

Bugger, no Mifsud

i know you were holding onto hope... but he isn't even in the country... returns tomorrow night.

 

If your free, go to the airport

[[LIBBA]]

 

Bugger, no Mifsud

i know you were holding onto hope... but he isn't even in the country... returns tomorrow night.

 

If your free, go to the airport

 

Dont tempt me hahaha

[Cinnamon]

Walker "unavailable" hmmm, does he have a previous engagement?

[Red or Dead]

Walker "unavailable" hmmm, does he have a previous engagement?

I know he was recovering from a foot injury, but he played in our last pre-season game in Frankston so unless he re-injured his foot, I don't see why he's "Unavailable"...hrmmm indeed...

[jw1739]

Here http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/Strong-squad-to-challenge-reigning-champions/77336 it says Walker, Mitchinson and Mifsud are "omitted."

 

Wouldn't read too much into it...yet...but seems Walker is on the outer atm. Very disappointing.

[DukeVader]

looooook.. hoffman didnt do 2 bad last week defending.. but does he have 2 decent performances in a row in him??

would definately prefer Walker though actually attacks occasionally hoffman couldnt dribble past a cone

[Dylan]

Here http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/Strong-squad-to-challenge-reigning-champions/77336 it says Walker, Mitchinson and Mifsud are "omitted."

Wouldn't read too much into it...yet...but seems Walker is on the outer atm. Very disappointing.

He will probably move on now because of this

[Cinnamon]

Here http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/Strong-squad-to-challenge-reigning-champions/77336 it says Walker, Mitchinson and Mifsud are "omitted."

Wouldn't read too much into it...yet...but seems Walker is on the outer atm. Very disappointing.

He will probably move on now because of this

Probably already has

[Jestr]

Walker "unavailable" hmmm, does he have a previous engagement?

I know he was recovering from a foot injury, but he played in our last pre-season game in Frankston so unless he re-injured his foot, I don't see why he's "Unavailable"...hrmmm indeed...

So many speculations, surely someone out there knows why walker isn't playing

[Fentonthescreamingcactus]

Walker "unavailable" hmmm, does he have a previous engagement?

I know he was recovering from a foot injury, but he played in our last pre-season game in Frankston so unless he re-injured his foot, I don't see why he's "Unavailable"...hrmmm indeed...

So many speculations, surely someone out there knows why walker isn't playing

Because JA is a total spastic

[Murfy1]

I spoke to Walker at half-time at the derby. I asked him, twice, if he was injured and he said he wasn't. 

 

IIRC, and my memories are a little hazy from that night, he might have been sick, as I recall he sneezed into a tissue he had (probably grasping at straws for a reason why Hoff started over him). But he wasn't injured.

 

I think JA prefers Hoffman over Walker, which I find pretty disappointing. Maybe that's the case because he thinks Hoffman is better defensively, I don't know.

 

The problem I have with Hoffman at RB is he doesn't get forward and help us in attack. I only saw him get up field once in the derby, and then he was pretty much caught out of position when Victory won the ball. Maybe a defensive RB was okay in the derby, but IMO normally we should have a RB who can defend and help us out in attack, like Behich at LB.

 

On Kewell BTW, Kisnorbo said 'he's alright' when asked about Kewell in an interview yesterday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv0Sb4D0Bfc). As far as I know, whiplash only last for a few days, and you pretty much have to be in a car-crash to have whiplash that lasts longer than that.

 

 

From the looks of the announced squad, I reckon we will go with the same line up that started last week (and the same bench, probably). I'm fine with that, as they did pretty well. Also, now that this team has played a bit together, I reckon we should be able to keep the ball and attack more, especially because it's the Mariners we're playing on Saturday.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Murfy1

[Murfy1]

 

You can see Walker in the background. He's injury free.

[Cinnamon]

You can see Walker in the background. He's injury free.

Redders didn't really sell me on the notion that he is happy to be at heart instead of the mariners

[Red or Dead]

I don't know why most people think that Hoffman actually did a good job last Saturday!?!

 

Other than the fact that he doesn't go forward enough - whether because he doesn't have the confidence, creativity or directive from the boss - he was terrible! He was often slow and out of position!

He found himself chasing the attacker into the penalty box a couple of times because he wasn't goal side or Pain just ran straight passed him too easily. He also had multiple wayward passes and if it wasn't for Wielaert commanding his troops around it would've been a lot worse.

 

This Derby was probably the only game that Heart did not concede a goal whilst Hoffman has been on the field! I do not think that's because Hoffman finally proved he can play football, but because the two central defenders did such a good job protecting him!

 

Hoffman OUT -> Walker IN.

[DukeVader]

 

You can see Walker in the background. He's injury free.

 

How many times can a bloke say "fantastic"?

[bergkampesque]

Can't see them changing the defence after a clean sheet.

[belaguttman]

I don't know why most people think that Hoffman actually did a good job last Saturday!?!

 

Other than the fact that he doesn't go forward enough - whether because he doesn't have the confidence, creativity or directive from the boss - he was terrible! He was often slow and out of position!

He found himself chasing the attacker into the penalty box a couple of times because he wasn't goal side or Pain just ran straight passed him too easily. He also had multiple wayward passes and if it wasn't for Wielaert commanding his troops around it would've been a lot worse.

 

This Derby was probably the only game that Heart did not concede a goal whilst Hoffman has been on the field! I do not think that's because Hoffman finally proved he can play football, but because the two central defenders did such a good job protecting him!

 

Hoffman OUT -> Walker IN.

Agree but it wasn't just the 2 CBs who protected him, Mass Murdocca was often there as well, pulling the midfield out of shape. His side of the field was clearly targeted by MV and expect that a cluey coach like Arnold will do the same. Walker isn't even on the team list

Edited October 17, 2013 by belaguttman

[Murfy1]

Melbourne Heart to give Harry Kewell every chance to prove fitness before Mariners clash

 

Matt Windley Herald Sun October 18, 2013 12:00AM

 

MELBOURNE Heart will wait until the last minute on Saturday before deciding whether captain Harry Kewell plays against Central Coast at AAMI Park.

 

Kewell suffered a form of whiplash after being hit by the ball from a clearance by Melbourne Victory’s Pablo Contreras on Saturday night and remains sore in the neck and back.

 

The 35-year-old was Thursday night named in Heart's 18-man squad to take on the Mariners.

 

But Kewell did not train with teammates at a rain-swept Gosch's Paddock Thursday and Heart

football operations manager John Didulica said the No.10 had not trained much at all this week.

 

Striker Michael Mifsud arrives back from international duty with Malta on Saturday morning and is deemed by Didulica to be "unlikely" to face the Mariners that afternoon.

 

If both Kewell and Mifsud don't play, then Heart must re-jig its midfield line-up to accommodate either Patrick Gerhardt or Iain Ramsay, both of whom were substitutes against Victory.

 

Another option would be to throw exciting youngster Stefan Mauk in for his first A-League start.

 

The 18-year-old attacking midfielder is available again after returning from under-20s

international duty.

 

"Harry's still getting treatment and we're hopeful he can get up for the weekend," Didulica said.

 

"He hasn't trained too much this week other than some low level stuff, but we’ll keep it until the 11th hour to make a call."

 

Heart will train at AAMI Park this morning, but Didulica said Kewell doesn't necessarily have to prove himself during that session.

 

"Normally we would, but he’s a player with great understanding and physically he's in good nick," he said.

 

"He'll know in himself when he wakes up on Saturday morning whether he's good to go or not.

"If he's not, he's not and we're fine with that. There's 27 rounds in the season, we don't want to risk him in Round 2."

 

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-heart-to-give-harry-kewell-every-chance-to-prove-fitness-before-mariners-clash/story-fni2fopz-1226741976631

Edited October 17, 2013 by Murfy1

[n i k o]

I don't know why most people think that Hoffman actually did a good job last Saturday!?!

 

Other than the fact that he doesn't go forward enough - whether because he doesn't have the confidence, creativity or directive from the boss - he was terrible! He was often slow and out of position!

He found himself chasing the attacker into the penalty box a couple of times because he wasn't goal side or Pain just ran straight passed him too easily. He also had multiple wayward passes and if it wasn't for Wielaert commanding his troops around it would've been a lot worse.

 

This Derby was probably the only game that Heart did not concede a goal whilst Hoffman has been on the field! I do not think that's because Hoffman finally proved he can play football, but because the two central defenders did such a good job protecting him!

 

Hoffman OUT -> Walker IN.

Agree but it wasn't just the 2 CBs who protected him, Mass Murdocca was often there as well, pulling the midfield out of shape. His side of the field was clearly targeted by MV and expect that a cluey coach like Arnold will do the same. Walker isn't even on the team list

If your both going to look at Hoffmans shortcomings, then it's only fair you look at very other players. Cause I can show some fuck ups by other players which don't seem to get any attention. Only once did Pain get in behind Hoffman and that was in the first half. What about the successful interceptions he made prior to that? Seem to slip some peoples memory and you guys only focus on the one or two negatives. Secondly the reason murdocca covered him was because Hoffman a few times pushed forward a bit, this is normal, unless you would want that RB position empty?? Watch the replay, watch Hoffman closely if you have to and you will see he performed much better than you guys are giving him credit for.

[alexli]

don't want hoffman to be RB, a speedy left winger would kill us

[LR9]

Watch the replay, watch Hoffman closely if you have to and you will see he performed much better than you guys are giving him credit for.

 

He was trash.

Kisnorbo, Mass and even Mate had to cover for him countlessly times. He 'jockeyed' like an under 11's defender, 'went in' needlessly, got 'turned' on most occasions, was regularly caught out of position (held a shit line, kept players onside, etc.), provided Mate with rubbish going forward all night apart from one or two rare instances and his inclusion at RB resulted in unnecessary and avoidable pressure to the team.

Great bloke, shit footballer.

[MTP]

Would be happy with a clean sheet and a point agaisnt the Mariners tbh.

espicially considering we are under strength.

If we have to play a boring style then so be it. Will take 2 cleans sheets in a row agaisnt two of the so called "title contenders" for this season.

feel its important to get through this tough run we have at the start of the season unscathed and we can build from there.

[Argentinez]

Can't wait to be back at the imp with the lads!

[cadete]

Its not simply a case of Walker being kept out of the team by Hoffman,

 

He is on the sidelines because we can only have on Wing Back with four in defence and that is obviously going to be Aziz.

[hedaik]

Going to be a cracker of a day. 18 holes at Yarra Bend in the morn, then a few dozen beers in the arvo in 27 degree weather. 

[Murfy1]

John Aloisi: Melbourne Heart will attack Central Coast

 

By Iain Strachan

 

18/10/2013 11:35:00 AM

 

The coach of the red and whites claims his team will be on the front foot this weekend despite playing host to a side they have only beaten once in their brief history

 

John Aloisi says Melbourne Heart will attack Central Coast to try and avoid a dull game on Saturday, but they must plan to do so without Harry Kewell.

Heart coach Aloisi expects the reigning champions to adopt a defensive mindset when they travel at AAMI Park, obliging the hosts to take the initiative, something they opted not to do in a tight 0-0 draw against Melbourne Victory last weekend.

"Tomorrow will be completely different," he said, referring to Heart's safety-first approach in the derby. 

"The Mariners will come here and sit off us. As they always do when they come here. They made it a pretty dull affair [last season].

"The onus is on us. We've got players we believe can dictate a game."

The Heart are burdened by a woeful record of one win, one draw and seven defeats in nine meetings with the Mariners.

However, Aloisi believes that record will count for nothing against a Central Coast line-up which has experienced a high turnover of players from their title-winning campaign last term.

"They're still going to be the benchmark of the league," he said.

"We play quite well against the Mariners, we match up quite well against them. Because we've only won one, I don't think that'll affect it all. We've got enough fire power."

Captain and playmaker Kewell is unlikely to start and may not be involved at all after failing to train this week following a serious head knock suffered in the derby.

"He's still struggling a little bit but we're going to leave it to the last minute, give him a fitness test tomorrow morning and hope he's ok," Aloisi said.

"If he's not right, we won't risk him. He hasn't trained all week.

"Iain Ramsay can come in and do a job and we can shift a couple of players around. We've got Stefan Mauk back from the Under-20s. We won't be able to start Nicky Kalmar."

Aloisi also confirmed striker Michael Mifsud will not return from international duty in time to be involved in Saturday's game.

 

 

 

http://www.goal.com/en-au/news/4021/a-league/2013/10/18/4340981/john-aloisi-melbourne-heart-will-attack-central-coast

Edited October 18, 2013 by Murfy1

[Murfy1]

Kewell '50-50' chance for Mariners clash

 

Sean Ellicott for melbourneheartfc.com.au

 

Friday, 18 October 2013 1:54PM

 

Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi will give Harry Kewell plenty of opportunity to recover for tomorrow's Hyundai A-League match, as his captain races against time to front up against Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park tomorrow.

 

Kewell is rated a ‘50-50’ chance to recover from a case of whiplash in time for tomorrow’s 5.30pm kick-off, after being struck on the back of the head by a Pablo Contreras clearance in the Round One Melbourne derby.

 

“[He's] still struggling a little bit,” Aloisi said.

 

“We are going to leave it until the last minute and give him a fitness test tomorrow morning and see if he’s okay.

“We saw some good signs of Harry last week and it’d be nice to get him out on the pitch because he means a lot to us.”

Aloisi is confident in his squad depth to cover for the skipper if required.

 

“We’ve got a lot of fire power; we’ve still got Golgol [Mebrahtu] and David Williams,” Aloisi said.

 

“Iain Ramsay scored seven goals for Adelaide last year and Mate Dugandzic the year before last scored seven goals. We’ve got quite a few goal scorers and we are confident they can get them for us.”

 

Turning his thoughts to tomorrow’s opponents, Aloisi is expecting a close encounter against the defending champions.

“[it’s a] big challenge. I think it’s going to be a good and tight game because they’re defensively well organised and they are always hard to play against, but we’ll see how much we have improved from last season when we come up against them tomorrow,” Aloisi said.

 

Aloisi has also taken some positives out of last weekend's derby and is hoping his squad can display the same qualities tomorrow afternoon.

 

“We thought that the boys defensively worked really well and it wasn’t just the back four; it was the whole team,” Aloisi said.

 

Despite the Mariners having an edge over the Red and White in recent occasions, Aloisi is confident his side can achieve a result in their first home game of the 2013-14 season.

 

“We play quite well against the Mariners; we match up well against them” Aloisi said.

 

“The onus is on us [to attack] but we can’t get frustrated and start playing balls that aren’t on. We have to be patient, wait for the right opening, keep the ball moving quickly and see if we can cause them problems when we do get into their half.

“I’m sure we’ll be able to do that because we’ve got players - even though there will be less space in behind - in tight areas that can do a good job.”

 

The 2013 Victorian Premier League Grand Final will take place as a curtain-raiser to tomorrow’s Hyundai A-League match at AAMI Park and will kick off at 1pm.

 

Saturday, 19 October 2013

Hyundai A-League Round Two

Melbourne Heart FC v Central Coast Mariners

AAMI Park, Melbourne

Kick-off: 5:30pm AEDT

Referee: Ben Williams

Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis

Assistant Referee 2: Jonathan Barreiro

Fourth Official: Alex Azcurra

TV Broadcast: 5.30pm (AEDT) Live and exclusive coverage on FOX Sports 1HD and Sky Sports 2 (New Zealand).

Radio Broadcast: 5.30pm (AEDT) Live coverage on ABC 774 Melbourne, ABC Local Radio Victoria, 92.5 ABC Central Coast, Grandstand Digital Melbourne and Online/Mobile phone app

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #MHTvCCM

To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets

 

Melbourne Heart FC Squad: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3. Robbie WIELAERT, 6. Patrick GERHARDT, 7. Iain RAMSAY, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 10. Harry KEWELL (Captain), 14. Golgol MEBRAHTU, 15. David WILLIAMS, 16. Aziz BEHICH, 17. Jason HOFFMAN, 18. David VRANKOVIC, 19. Benjamin GARUCCIO, 20. Tando VELAPHI (GK), 21. Stefan MAUK , 22. Nick KALMAR, 23. Mate DUGANDZIC, 24. Patrick KISNORBO, 25. Andrea MIGLIORINI (Two to be omitted)

Ins: 19. Benjamin GARUCCIO (returns from international duty), 21. Stefan MAUK (returns from international duty)

Outs: 2. Jeremy WALKER, 5. Sam MITCHINSON, 11. Michael MIFSUD

Unavailable: 4. Orlando ENGELAAR (Fractured tibia - long-term), 9. Dylan MACALLISTER (Hamstring - 3-6 weeks), 13. Jonatan GERMANO (Hamstring - two weeks)

 

Central Coast Mariners Squad: 1. Justin PASFIELD (GK), 3. Joshua ROSE, 4. Marcel SEIP, 5. Zachary ANDERSON, 6. Brent GRIFFITHS, 7. John HUTCHINSON ©, 8. Nick MONTGOMERY, 9. Mitchell DUKE, 10. Marcos FLORES, 11. Nick FITZGERALD, 12. Liam REDDY (GK), 13. Hayden MORTON, 15. Storm ROUX, 16. Trent SAINSBURY, 17. Anthony CACERES, 18. Michael NEILL, 19. Matt SIMON, 21. Mile STERJOVSKI (two to be omitted)

Ins: 13. Hayden MORTON, 18. Michael NEILL

Outs: Nil

Unavailable: 2. Daniel MCBREEN (On loan at Shanghai SIPG until October 31), 14. Michael MCGLINCHEY (International Duty, New Zealand All Whites), 23. Adam KWASNIK (Groin - 1 week)

 

 

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/Kewell-5050-chance-for-Mariners-clash/77356

Edited October 18, 2013 by Murfy1

[Nate]

 

John Aloisi: Melbourne Heart will attack Central Coast

 

By Iain Strachan

 

18/10/2013 11:35:00 AM

 

The coach of the red and whites claims his team will be on the front foot this weekend despite playing host to a side they have only beaten once in their brief history

 

John Aloisi says Melbourne Heart will attack Central Coast to try and avoid a dull game on Saturday, but they must plan to do so without Harry Kewell.

Heart coach Aloisi expects the reigning champions to adopt a defensive mindset when they travel at AAMI Park, obliging the hosts to take the initiative, something they opted not to do in a tight 0-0 draw against Melbourne Victory last weekend.

"Tomorrow will be completely different," he said, referring to Heart's safety-first approach in the derby. 

"The Mariners will come here and sit off us. As they always do when they come here. They made it a pretty dull affair [last season].

"The onus is on us. We've got players we believe can dictate a game."

The Heart are burdened by a woeful record of one win, one draw and seven defeats in nine meetings with the Mariners.

However, Aloisi believes that record will count for nothing against a Central Coast line-up which has experienced a high turnover of players from their title-winning campaign last term.

"They're still going to be the benchmark of the league," he said.

"We play quite well against the Mariners, we match up quite well against them. Because we've only won one, I don't think that'll affect it all. We've got enough fire power."

Captain and playmaker Kewell is unlikely to start and may not be involved at all after failing to train this week following a serious head knock suffered in the derby.

"He's still struggling a little bit but we're going to leave it to the last minute, give him a fitness test tomorrow morning and hope he's ok," Aloisi said.

"If he's not right, we won't risk him. He hasn't trained all week.

"Iain Ramsay can come in and do a job and we can shift a couple of players around. We've got Stefan Mauk back from the Under-20s. We won't be able to start Nicky Kalmar."

Aloisi also confirmed striker Michael Mifsud will not return from international duty in time to be involved in Saturday's game.

 

 

 

http://www.goal.com/en-au/news/4021/a-league/2013/10/18/4340981/john-aloisi-melbourne-heart-will-attack-central-coast

 

Interesting that we "can't" start Kalmar, maybe it's not just match fitness he's lacking in. Played pretty well off the bench last week though so whatever works, works. 

 

I wonder if we'd consider playing a 4-4-2 with Willo and Gol Gol up front and Ramsay and Mate on the wings, or maybe Aloisi plans to start Mauk in the Harry Kewell CAM position.

[Murfy1]

Its not simply a case of Walker being kept out of the team by Hoffman,

 

He is on the sidelines because we can only have on Wing Back with four in defence and that is obviously going to be Aziz.

 

I reckon Aloisi simply prefers Hoffman over Walker for the moment, unfortunately

 

I agree, one fullback should always be back defending, but LB & RB can communicate and make sure one fullback is always defending. That's how we played for the first half of last season under Aloisi, when we had both Behich and Marrone in the team. Behich also said in this article, published around the start of the season, that fullbacks can and should coordinate who attacks and who defends: http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/au/tactics/behich-get-up-down-like-evra, suggesting that we intend to play with each fullback occasionally supporting the attack. 

 

It would be a disappointing tactical cop-out IMO if Aloisi didn't trust his fullbacks enough to coordinate attack and defence. Always having one attacking (Behich) and the other defending (Hoffman) is not only uninspired and weaker in attack, it is predictable and fairly easily to defend against.

[heart_fan10]

kalmar mustn't be up to fitness which is a real shame. I'd throw mauk in there and see what he can do. We need a natural attacking player in the midfield

[yeah_sampson]

Hey dudes,

 

I've created this wallpaper for the new season, feel free to use and share. If you have any requests drop me a message.

 

Thanks!

[KSK_47]

Very nice

[Murfy1]

kalmar mustn't be up to fitness which is a real shame. I'd throw mauk in there and see what he can do. We need a natural attacking player in the midfield

 

This is what Aloisi said about Kewell and a replacement for Kewell:

 

‘‘Harry means a lot to us in the way we play but if he’s not right we won’t risk him. Ramsay could come in and do a job, Mauk is back from the under-20s now. Nicky Kalmar had a very interrupted pre-season so he’s still getting his fitness. He won’t play more than 15 to 20 minutes if we use him.’

 

(http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/for-aloisi-its-all-about-results-20131018-2vrai.html)

 

I'd be real pleased if we gave Mauk a go. Not all of our young players will go on to great things, but I'm pretty hopeful about Mauk, and think he could do a fine job tomorrow.  

[Deluka]

Surely Kalmar is not so unfit that he can only get 15-20 minutes