RD4 Brisbane vs MHFC, Suncorp 5pm EST

[LR9]

Miller, Berisha, Lambadaridis, Danning all out, while Steffanuto has apparently injured himself at training.

Roar have a small squad as it is, with only 20 players

Inb4 'where were you when heart broke their away duck'...

Inb4 "Round Two" last season...why so much butt hurt, all the time?

Fwiw, we haven't won 'away' in over a year, a lot longer time span between 'that day' in Sydney and Matchday 2 last year..

Its called having a Realistic Outlook on Life mate...Well 'Realistic', against a depleted Roar line-up, we got a pretty good chance of getting a result.. don't ya think?

Edited October 30, 2013 by LR9

[Luke]

 

 

 

 

Miller, Berisha, Lambadaridis, Danning all out, while Steffanuto has apparently injured himself at training.

Roar have a small squad as it is, with only 20 players

Inb4 'where were you when heart broke their away duck'...

Inb4 "Round Two" last season... why so much butt hurt, all the time?

Fwiw, we haven't won 'away' in over a year, a lot longer time span between 'that day' in Sydney and Matchday 2 last year.. Its called having a Realistic Outlook on Life mate... Well 'Realistic', against a depleted Roar line-up, we got a pretty good chance of getting a result.. don't ya think?

 

 

I'll take that on board and quickly dismiss it, when you consider the amount of "winnable" games we managed to fuck up last season 

[possiblygeorge]

Game plan: Paint suncorp stadium's seats green and we'll win

[cadete]

 

 

 

 

Miller, Berisha, Lambadaridis, Danning all out, while Steffanuto has apparently injured himself at training.

Roar have a small squad as it is, with only 20 players

Inb4 'where were you when heart broke their away duck'...

Inb4 "Round Two" last season... why so much butt hurt, all the time?

Fwiw, we haven't won 'away' in over a year, a lot longer time span between 'that day' in Sydney and Matchday 2 last year.. Its called having a Realistic Outlook on Life mate... Well 'Realistic', against a depleted Roar line-up, we got a pretty good chance of getting a result.. don't ya think?

 

1. Not really, for one Brisbane are Odds on Favourites for a win at $1.50 and we are paying $6 (Not that the Bookmakers always get A League Odds right).

 

2. And TBH I also really dont like Jinxing the teams I follow by ticking of wins until they actually have happened.

Edited October 30, 2013 by cadete

[LR9]

Miller, Berisha, Lambadaridis, Danning all out, while Steffanuto has apparently injured himself at training.

Roar have a small squad as it is, with only 20 players

Inb4 'where were you when heart broke their away duck'...

Inb4 "Round Two" last season... why so much butt hurt, all the time?

Fwiw, we haven't won 'away' in over a year, a lot longer time span between 'that day' in Sydney and Matchday 2 last year.. Its called having a Realistic Outlook on Life mate... Well 'Realistic', against a depleted Roar line-up, we got a pretty good chance of getting a result.. don't ya think?

1. Not really, for one Brisbane are Odds on Favourites for a win at $1.50 and we are paying $6 (Not that the Bookmakers always get A League Odds right).

 

2. And TBH I also really dont like Jinxing the teams I follow by ticking of wins until they actually have happened.

[belaguttman]

Although I am weary with Kisnorbo out I think that Weilaert will have a good influence on Gerhardt in defence. Would love to see JA give Mauk a start but fat chance of that happening. 

Can't start Mauk, he's too young and inexperienced   Imagine that, the idea of playing young players!!

[loriente]

Game plan: Paint suncorp stadium's seats green and we'll win

 

didn't help us against perth lol. they might've been confused because there was people sitting on them though.

[Deluka]

I've said this about many away games, but I've got a good feeling about this one. I think we'll win if Kewell plays.

[Tbitm]

[Nate]

This bloke's the one player in our squad who gives me the most hope, there's no way he'll let us play like shit all season.

[alexandro]

I've said this about many away games, but I've got a good feeling about this one. 

So... you were wrong many times before but this time is different? 

[Deluka]

Melbourne Heart FC Squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3.Robbie WIELAERT, 5.Sam MITCHINSON, 6.Patrick GERHARDT, 7.Iain RAMSAY, 8.Massimo MURDOCCA, 10.Harry Kewell (Captain), 11.Michael MIFSUD, 14.Golgol MEBRAHTU, 15.David WILLIAMS, 16.Aziz BEHICH, 17.Jason HOFFMAN, 19.Benjamin GARUCCIO, 20.Tando VELAPHI (GK), 21.Stefan MAUK, 22.Nick KALMAR, 23.Mate DUGANDZIC, 25.Andrea MIGLIORINI

***Two to be omitted***

Ins: 10.Harry KEWELL (returns from injury), 5.Sam MITCHINSON (promoted), 19.Benjamin GARUCCIO (promoted), 22.Nick KALMAR (promoted)

Outs: 28.Paulo RETRE (omitted), 24.Patrick KISNORBO (knee – 3 weeks)

Unavailable: 4.Orlando ENGELAAR (Fractured tibia – long-term), 9.Dylan MACALLISTER (Hamstring – 3-5 weeks), 13.Jonatan GERMANO (Hamstring – three weeks),

[Nate]

HAAAAAAAAAAAARRY!

 

Expecting him to come off the bench but we shall see.

[belaguttman]

 

Melbourne Heart FC Squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3.Robbie WIELAERT, 5.Sam MITCHINSON, 6.Patrick GERHARDT, 7.Iain RAMSAY, 8.Massimo MURDOCCA, 10.Harry Kewell (Captain), 11.Michael MIFSUD, 14.Golgol MEBRAHTU, 15.David WILLIAMS, 16.Aziz BEHICH, 17.Jason HOFFMAN, 19.Benjamin GARUCCIO, 20.Tando VELAPHI (GK), 21.Stefan MAUK, 22.Nick KALMAR, 23.Mate DUGANDZIC, 25.Andrea MIGLIORINI

***Two to be omitted***

Ins: 10.Harry KEWELL (returns from injury), 5.Sam MITCHINSON (promoted), 19.Benjamin GARUCCIO (promoted), 22.Nick KALMAR (promoted)

Outs: 28.Paulo RETRE (omitted), 24.Patrick KISNORBO (knee – 3 weeks)

Unavailable: 4.Orlando ENGELAAR (Fractured tibia – long-term), 9.Dylan MACALLISTER (Hamstring – 3-5 weeks), 13.Jonatan GERMANO (Hamstring – three weeks),

 

Invisible: Jeremy WALKER

[jw1739]

Very surprised not to see David Vrankovic named.

 

Will Jonatan "Three weeks" Germano ever be fit?

Edited October 31, 2013 by jw1739

[n i k o]

Vrankovic...damn it he'll be one of those young players we'll lose one day and will be successful at some other club

[Nate]

That's actually a good point about Vranks being missing... if one of our central defenders goes down, who are we going to play?

 

Oh wait... never mind, I almost forgot that we have Mr. Versatility aka J.Hoffman to slot right in.

[Tommykins]

Ridiculous that Vranks isn't coming in as cover for PG and RW. Even more ridiculous that a bloke who got sun-stroke in 26 degrees will be playing without backup.

[Nate]

I've been massive JA fan since his appointment and have defended him profusely time after time but he's starting to lose me more and more with each day over these illogical decisions being made. 

 

We desperately need at least a win and draw throughout the next 3 weeks against Brisbane, WSW and Sydney or else I'm going to go mental.

[Deluka]

Have any journalists actually questioned the whereabouts of walker/the selection of hoffman? I'd be intrigued to find out from JA.

[Murfy1]

Here's the write up of this week's preliminary squad on the Melbourne Heart website:

 

Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi has named a preliminary 18-man squad for the Red and White's trip to Suncorp Stadium to face Brisbane Roar in Round 4 of the Hyundai A-League.

 

The squad includes captain Harry Kewell who has recently been sidelined through a whiplash injury sustained in Round One against Melbourne Victory.

Kewell joined his teammates in training this week; however, could face a race against the clock to reach full fitness to be handed a start by Aloisi for the match against Mike Mulvey's Roar.

 

Melbourne Heart will miss key central defender Patrick Kisnorbo for the trip to Queensland after the defender suffered cartilage damage to his right knee against Perth Glory.

 

But Patrick Gerhardt, who performed consistently for the Red and White last season, is likely to slot into defence next to Robbie Wielaert in Kisnorbo's absence, ensuring that the side will maintain a solid defensive structure.

 

Melbourne Heart's midfield could maintain consistency with the effective pairing of Andrea Migliorini and Massimo Murdocca likely to remain as a midfield pairing; however, Kewell and Nick Kalmar could potentially vie for a spot in midfield.

 

Brisbane are missing Liam Miller (calf), Besart Berisha (hamstring) and George Lambadardis, but will pose a strong challenge for Melbourne Heart at Suncorp Stadium.

 

 

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/18-set-for-Suncorp/77708

Edited October 31, 2013 by Murfy1

[Dylan]

Your probably going to have kalmar start over kewell. Really curious to see how kalmar goes with better defensive support this time.

[Libero]

so Mitchinson is preferred in the squad to Walker? must be more behind this. (and he has been previously this year aswell) 

 

 

Germano going to get fit? - i feel this will be his last year at the club... 

 

 

i would love to see Mauk start this game; but Aloisi wont even....

 

 

do we really need Kewell, Kalmar and Mauk in the same squad? Vranks should be there.

[Chez]

Exciting to see they've at least got Harry in the squad. No Vrankovic is a head scratcher. Thompson was usually the midfielder who dropped back into defence for us so I'm not sure what Aloisi has for Plan B.  

[Murfy1]

I'm pretty sure Sam Mitchinson used to be a centre back, so he's probably the backup for PG and RW, and Behich, of course.

 

I agree about Hoffman. It's a bit disappointing that he's a walk in to the RB position, given that Aloisi told Davutovic "he [Hoffman] may take a few extra days to recover" after the Perth game. Hoffman seems to be really preferred for the RB position.

 

Hope to see some of Germano this season. He has been "three weeks away from recovery" since round 1... Hopefully he gets a chance to prove himself before his contract finishes at the end of this season.

 

2 of the 18 listed above will be dropped. Garuccio will probably be the first to be cut (as we have so many wingers). Then I reckon 1 of Kewell, Mauk and Kalmar will be dropped as well, so I'm glad that all 3 made the preliminary squad. We just better use our attacking midfielders this game, even if Kewell or Kalmar can't play a full game, 1 of them should start and maybe then Mauk or Kalmar could be subbed on at 60 or 70 minutes (or even half time, if need be). The point being, it'll be quite disappointing if we don't play a proper midfield, given this preliminary squad.

[Deluka]

Would like to see Kewell play 65-75 minutes and then Mauk come on for the remainder of the match, he came on with real intensity against Perth. Displayed more enthusiasm than anyone else had all day (midfielders and strikers) other than perhaps Murdocca and Mifsud when we actually got the ball to him

[jw1739]

Have any journalists actually questioned the whereabouts of walker/the selection of hoffman? I'd be intrigued to find out from JA.

I'd guess that the journos have pretty much given up on us TBH. We're not really very interesting to write about. They've exhausted the "Heart" puns and most of the synonyms they can find in Roget's Thesaurus for "mediocre", lacklustre", "succumb" etc.

[Luke]

As long as Williams isn't played at No. 10 

[kingofhearts]

It'll be good to see my man Paddy Go hard in the starting line-up. It's a shame that he's only ever going to be seen as an emergency for Paddy K for the rest of the season, he's such a good player, would be starting in any other a-league team arguably. He'll probably be let go at the end of this season i reckon.

Edited October 31, 2013 by kingofhearts

[Dylan]

It'll be good to see my man Paddy Go hard in the starting line-up. It's a shame that he's only ever going to be seen as an emergency for Paddy K for the rest of the season, he's such a good player, would be starting in any other a-league team arguably. He'll probably be let go at the end of this season i reckon.

 

 

I hope not, I am hoping we can keep the same squad for next season -Kewell. If we are going to have any success we need some continuity about the team. Otherwise next season we are back to square 1 again. 

[Nate]

 

It'll be good to see my man Paddy Go hard in the starting line-up. It's a shame that he's only ever going to be seen as an emergency for Paddy K for the rest of the season, he's such a good player, would be starting in any other a-league team arguably. He'll probably be let go at the end of this season i reckon.

 

 

I hope not, I am hoping we can keep the same squad for next season -Kewell. If we are going to have any success we need some continuity about the team. Otherwise next season we are back to square 1 again. 

 

Wouldn't mind if we axed Germano on top of that, opens up a VISA spot which is important and shouldn't be wasted on a regularly unfit player.

 

If he returns and plays well for us though, by all means keep him.

[Dylan]

 

 

It'll be good to see my man Paddy Go hard in the starting line-up. It's a shame that he's only ever going to be seen as an emergency for Paddy K for the rest of the season, he's such a good player, would be starting in any other a-league team arguably. He'll probably be let go at the end of this season i reckon.

 

 

I hope not, I am hoping we can keep the same squad for next season -Kewell. If we are going to have any success we need some continuity about the team. Otherwise next season we are back to square 1 again. 

 

Wouldn't mind if we axed Germano on top of that, opens up a VISA spot which is important and shouldn't be wasted on a regularly unfit player.

 

If he returns and plays well for us though, by all means keep him.

 

 

 

Well I agree with that. We will probably drop Germano when the window opens and sign Migliorini

[Nate]

 

 

 

It'll be good to see my man Paddy Go hard in the starting line-up. It's a shame that he's only ever going to be seen as an emergency for Paddy K for the rest of the season, he's such a good player, would be starting in any other a-league team arguably. He'll probably be let go at the end of this season i reckon.

 

 

I hope not, I am hoping we can keep the same squad for next season -Kewell. If we are going to have any success we need some continuity about the team. Otherwise next season we are back to square 1 again. 

 

Wouldn't mind if we axed Germano on top of that, opens up a VISA spot which is important and shouldn't be wasted on a regularly unfit player.

 

If he returns and plays well for us though, by all means keep him.

 

 

 

Well I agree with that. We will probably drop Germano when the window opens and sign Migliorini

 

Oh yeah... I keep forgetting Migliorini's only an injury replacement signing.

[Red or Dead]

You gotta feel for Retre, every time he's on the bench he never gets any game time! Not playing in the last game wouldn't have been as bad though as being on the bench for the Derby (when there were only 4 subs) and Aloisi makes only two subs!

[Roz]

Mebrahtu doesnt have that killer instinct, hes no gerald sibon

[Murfy1]

Heart's Massimo Murdocca to finally close Brisbane chapter when he lines up against Roar

 

Marco Monteverde  The Courier Mail  October 31, 2013

 

MASSIMO Murdocca's career as a Brisbane player officially ended when he departed the club almost six months, but the pocket rocket admits he wont mentally leave the Roar until he plays against them on Sunday.

 

Having spent the first eight years of the A-League wearing the orange of the two-time A-League champions, Murdocca returns to Suncorp Stadium this weekend in the red and white of Melbourne Heart.

 

And while he has no regrets about asking for an early contract release to return to his home town, the 29-year-old workhorse admits he still grapples with no longer being part of the Roar set-up.

 

"Sunday will be a massive wake-up call for me," Murdocca told The Courier-Mail.

 

"You just want to play that first game against your old club and  move on.

 

"I’ve really been waiting for this game to come around, for it to end, and for me to move on."

 

Murdocca was part of a Heart side that lost 3-0 to Brisbane in a pre-season clash in Lismore, but he said that reminded him of a Roar scrimmage at Ballymore.

 

"It felt like I was at training again. It didn’t feel like I was playing against them officially, but this week it’ll be different," he said.

 

Despite having played in more matches for the Roar than anyone else, Murdocca is expecting a mixed reception from Brisbane fans on Sunday.

 

"I’m not too sure how they’re going to react, but I  think some will be happy, some won’t and that’s natural in football," said Murdocca, who made 167 A-League and AFC Champions League appearances for the Roar.

 

"I just hope it’s more good than bad. I gave everything there.

 

"When you do return to your old club for the first time, you do hope for a good reception. That’s all I can ask for."

 

Murdocca said he had nothing to prove to Roar coach Mike Mulvey, despite the Brisbane boss having largely overlooked the midfielder for first-team selection last season.

 

"I’m the type of player that has been consistent my whole career. I don’t see what I have to prove," he said.

 

"Mike doing a  great job. He’s brought in some good players. You just move on and this was my path.

 

"I was always thinking of coming home to Melbourne and it was the just the right time for me.

"Even though I’ve left Brisbane, I still have the utmost respect for my mates there. I still regard

them as the best team in the league."

 

But he admits a change of scenery has done him a world of good in terms of a fresh start in the later stages of his career.

 

"I’m surprised with how good it feels. To go to Heart and to starting training with new players, a new coach (John Aloisi) with new philosophies, it’s refreshing," said Murdocca, who added that being back in Melbourne made him "appreciate" his football more.

 

"Brisbane was good for my career in another way. It was quieter for me there and I just had to concentrate on training each day, going home and preparing for the next day.

 

"It was a different culture and a different career path, and that was good for me as a young player.

 

"Now that I’m more mature and know how to deal with the pressures, it was the right time for me to go back to Melbourne."

 

 

http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/football/hearts-massimo-murdocca-to-finally-close-brisbane-chapter-when-he-lines-up-against-roar/story-fnhq6mtp-1226750868622

Edited October 31, 2013 by Murfy1

[n i k o]

..." a new coach (John Aloisi) with new philosophies, it’s refreshing," said Murdocca.

Let's see in 3 weeks time if those philosophies are still refreshing.

[yeah_sampson]

Have any journalists actually questioned the whereabouts of walker/the selection of hoffman? I'd be intrigued to find out from JA.

That would mean they would actually have to cover a story about Melbourne Heart!

[Murfy1]

Kewell not cleared for Brisbane clash

 

November 1, 2013

 

Ben McKay

 

AAP

 

Harry Kewell is a touch and go proposition ahead of Melbourne Heart's A-League visit to Brisbane on Sunday.

 

Coach John Aloisi said the former Socceroos forward would be assessed on Saturday morning.

 

"We won't risk it if there's a slight risk. We want to make sure when he gets back he stays back, so it's a 50-50 at the moment," Aloisi said.

 

Kewell trained with his teammates on Friday morning, continuing his recovery from a whiplash injury.

 

Aloisi revealed he drew inspiration from the Western Sydney Wanderers, who had one point from three matches before travelling to Brisbane last season.

 

"We're happy with the way we've been performing, especially the first two games.

 

"Look at Western Sydney. They hadn't scored a goal until round 4 and they went up to Brisbane and beat them."

 

The 1-0 win by the Wanderers in Brisbane last year sparked a run culminating in the A-League Premiership.

 

Former Roar midfielder Massimo Murdocca will make his first appearance for the Heart against his old side after making a switch in the off-season.

 

Murdocca won two championships at Brisbane before returning to play in his home town, backing Heart to make the most of Brisbane's long injury list.

 

"That is a massive positive for us. That's what we'll take into the game, that they're not at full strength," he said.

 

"We're going to use that for sure."

 

The match pits two of the A-League's most injury-riddled sides against each other with Brisbane missing striker Besart Berisha, Shane Stefanutto and Liam Miller.

 

Patrick Gerhardt will come in for Patrick Kisnorbo in Heart's central defence.

 

 

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-sport/kewell-not-cleared-for-brisbane-clash-20131101-2wpu2.html?

Edited November 1, 2013 by Murfy1

[Red or Dead]

Since there isn't a thread for round 5 yet I thought I stick it here...this is what I want to print and take to our next home game: