milanista93 Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 If we can pull off a win and Jets lose..... Even if we win and Jets draw... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSK_47 Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 We're not bottom of the league, say we're not bottom of the league! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHFC-FAN Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 (edited) From round 4 to round 20 on the dead end of the table! Hopefully upwards and onwards from here... Edited March 1, 2014 by MHFC-FAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbitm Posted March 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 what a turnaround. who thought 6 weeks ago we could even get off the bottom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theresonlyonebzamora Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Beat Newcastle away and it's on for young and old. Sydney have FFA Wanderers which is likely to result in defeat. Wellington have Perth at the cake tin which you'd fancy them to get a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae7smith Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Three wins over the next three games are absolutely vital if finals are to be a reality. Because the final three are Roar (A), Adelaide (A) and WSW (H). I reckon we'd need 4 wins from 6 to lock in finals. Gonna be tough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR9 Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 To put it all in to perspective... This was the table on January 1st, 2014: And here it is today: Incredible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silva10 Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 It certainly is looking good. I can't see any team looking forward to playing the Heart. The team has the momentum at this critical point in the season and I can see them finishing at least 4th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjake1234 Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 If we make the finals in whatever position it will be fantastic. From there we would now have to be in with a good chance of winning it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jovan Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Be interested in knowing stats on winning streaks. How many can realistically do. Were definitely on the verge of cinderella status. Very excited about all possible permeatations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyheart Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Followed an Aleague record winless streak with our best ever undefeated streak! Crazy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHFC-FAN Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Be interested in knowing stats on winning streaks. How many can realistically do. Were definitely on the verge of cinderella status. Very excited about all possible permeatations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Melbourne_Heart_FC_records_and_statistics#Honours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahanga Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 This run keeps going finishing 4th is a real possibility (can't see us catching Brisbane. Wsw or Adelaide ) We have just come through what we thought was a tough 3 games. Won them all and didn't concede. Now we have a couple of teams who have been struggling . Let's sink the slipper. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredinho69 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Best thread title on the forum imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Next couple are huge (been saying it for weeks on end now but it's still true). Those extra 2pts due to that late equaliser from a while back would be handy about now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexxandro Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Looking at our fixtures 20 v Brisbane @ AAMI 21 v Visitors @ AAMI 22 v Newcastle @ Hunter 23 v Wellington @ AAMI 24 v Central Coast @ AAMI 25 v Brisbane @ Suncorp 26 v Adelaide @ Hindmarsh 27 v Wanderers @ AAMI Jesus that's quite an end to the season. Three games against the current top three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Three wins over the next three games are absolutely vital if finals are to be a reality. Because the final three are Roar (A), Adelaide (A) and WSW (H). I reckon we'd need 4 wins from 6 to lock in finals. Gonna be tough. Agreed. Logically if we have to concede a point to any team the remainder of the way, it's better to do it against the teams that we realistically can't catch. But maximum points against the likes of Newcastle, Wellington, and Central Coast (the latter two at home, which is a huge bonus) is a must. And - glass half full - it's quite conceivable that Brisbane and West Sydney have locked up their respective final positions by the time we play them and will have little to play for, besides having a positive lead-in to the finals (see below: Adelaide isn't uncatchable by any stretch at this stage). Our current run has certainly given me a lot more interest in the other A-League games during each round and it's amazing that we now hold the GD advantage against any of our rivals for those last finals spots. I just assumed that we'd have to get an extra point than the team in seventh to make it, as our GD was so rubbish, but right now, we own the tiebreak against all our potential rivals, except for Sydney (which goes to the third phase of tiebreakers - points in matches played against each other - to split us). It is undeniably fun to go through pretty much every game in a round of fixtures and have a team - or result - to support. Take the next two weeks. To me, ideally, the following results would occur (bolded are the important/definite results, that I'd want, as for games like Victory v Central Coast, it's debatable whether a draw, or one team remaining on 30 points is the best result for us): Round 22 MV draw with CC NJ lose to MH Syd lose to WSW BR defeat AU WP draw with PG (or Glory win) Round 23 Syd lose to BR WSW draw with AU (a bit too early to tell what the best result would be here; I've gone with the draw, as it gives the best chance of Brisbane locking up the league, by the time we meet them again) PG defeat MV CC draw with NJ (or Jets win) MH defeat WP Which would leave the ladder looking something like this BR 47 WSW 41 (assuming a win today) CC 32 Utd 31 MV 31 MH 30 (with CC at home the following week) Syd 28 WP 27 PG 25 NJ 23 But the reality is, if we want to not just make the finals, but cause some damage, the other results probably aren't going to matter so much. And it's probably too early to be absolutely sure what the best result is, in some instances. Edited March 2, 2014 by SF33 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huzie Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Would be nice if City loaned us a player for 10 week guest stint to help insure we make finals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofhearts Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Just keep winning, forget about the other teams, every game needs to be played like a sudden death final. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Just keep winning, forget about the other teams, every game needs to be played like a sudden death final. No doubt. But it does make the other games a hell of a lot more interesting to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR9 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Looking at our fixtures 20 v Brisbane @ AAMI 21 v Visitors @ AAMI 22 v Newcastle @ Hunter 23 v Wellington @ AAMI 24 v Central Coast @ AAMI 25 v Brisbane @ Suncorp 26 v Adelaide @ Hindmarsh 27 v Wanderers @ AAMI Jesus that's quite an end to the season. Three games against the current top three. Honestly, we could probably afford to drop points in all 3 and it wouldn't matter, if we were to win the next 3... If we do win the next 3, I'm predicting the ladder to look something like this: 3 - Mariners 34 4 - Adelaide 33 5 - Heart 33 6 - Victory 31 7 - Phoenix 30 8 - Sydney FC 30 In the last 3 rounds, there are so many potential '6 pointers'. Victory v Sydney Pheonix v Adelaide Sydney v Pheonix Adelaide v Heart Victory v Pheonix CCM also have a very tough draw WSW, Perth Away, Brisbane Away. It's hard to look ahead and not get excited, and we'll cross this bridge if/when it comes. But there is no reason why we shouldn't strive for a home final and and a qualification place in the ACL!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hakz7 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 http://www.thefootballsack.com/p/predictor.html Although, you'll have to update the results from the past 4 rounds yourself cos for some reason it hasn't been updated by the website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR9 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 http://www.thefootballsack.com/p/predictor.html Although, you'll have to update the results from the past 4 rounds yourself cos for some reason it hasn't been updated by the website. A-League one is better, matches up to date too. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/aleague/finalspredictor?page=finals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hakz7 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 http://www.thefootballsack.com/p/predictor.html Although, you'll have to update the results from the past 4 rounds yourself cos for some reason it hasn't been updated by the website. A-League one is better, matches up to date too. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/aleague/finalspredictor?page=finals Oh thanks mate. Much better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 No use predicting. There will be injuries and suspensions for various teams, game-changing refereeing decisions, and a whole lot more. All we can do is go out there and focus on our matches, one at a time, and get the best result possible from each of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ademchee61 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 One of the best nights on the terrace! Only 6 points behind the victory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jovan Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 No use predicting. There will be injuries and suspensions for various teams, game-changing refereeing decisions, and a whole lot more. All we can do is go out there and focus on our matches, one at a time, and get the best result possible from each of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR9 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 No use predicting. There will be injuries and suspensions for various teams, game-changing refereeing decisions, and a whole lot more. All we can do is go out there and focus on our matches, one at a time, and get the best result possible from each of them.That's why they're called predictions, not veracious fortune-telling... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jovan Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Disagree. Its super fun to envisage what could be, what should be and then see what eventually occurs. Yes logic says to make finals and actually play a meaningful role in them is highly unlikely, but the more I think about it fuck logic. We have a real sniff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewConvert Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I think that Heart are a good chance for the top six. As I write the top 3 sides are Roar, WSW and AU. Sydney play these three over the next three weeks, then they play MV and WP who are also competing for a spot on the six. Their last match is PG. So I can't see them picking up to many points. CCM play BNR and WSW from the top three. MBH and MV are in the play for a top six spot but lucky for them they play NUJ and PTH which I would expect them to win. So they have a chance. The Phoenix play only AU from the top 3. MBH, MV, SFC are in the play for the top six. And they also have NUJ and PG. Due to the amount of injuries they have sustained, I think they will shape the final six but won't make it. MV only play BNR from the tope three and as a gift they have NUJ and PG. The fellow contenders are SFC, WP and CCM. Counting against them is the travel and Muscat. Just chckedthe scores on the FFA website and NUJ are leading WSW 2 - 0. hmm maybe the jets aren't easy points after all. The race just got tougher but I still believe that Heart will play finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF33 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Disagree. Its super fun to envisage what could be, what should be and then see what eventually occurs. Yes logic says to make finals and actually play a meaningful role in them is highly unlikely, but the more I think about it fuck logic. We have a real sniff. Agreed (out of likes, unsurprisingly). I'd be disappointed if the players and coaches were getting ahead of themselves, but we, as supporters, have the luxury to do that. Another positive is that we get the Mariners with a similar lead-up to Victory (Sunday game at AAMI, with Mariners coming off a Wednesday game in Beijing) and Wanderers (also at AAMI, on 12 April) for the last round, where we're sandwiched between a trip to Japan (1 April) and Korea (15 April) for them. Wanderers aren't doing us any favours today though...pricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murfy1 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Melbourne Heart the in-form team whose story threatens to rival the Wanderers last season David Davutovic March 4, 2014 AS outrageous as it sounds, Melbourne Heart is now a contender for this season’s A-League championship in what looms as a Steven Bradbury-style finish. Heart is four points adrift of the top six, but if it makes April’s finals series, a grand final appearance on the first weekend of May is a strong possibility. While Heart has a decent run home that includes games against fellow top-six hopefuls Newcastle, Wellington and Central Coast, John van’t Schip’s side fears no one. And that’s why Heart looms as the team nobody would want to meet in the finals. League leader Brisbane Roar succumbed 1-0 to the league’s in-form side a fortnight ago at AAMI Park and I wouldn’t be surprised if Heart wins again when the sides meet in Brisbane on March 28. The only blemish during a super consistent seven-game streak that has yielded 19 of a possible 21 points was conceding a last-minute equaliser away to Adelaide United, the team looming as Brisbane’s main threat. With Asian Champions League trio Western Sydney, Melbourne Victory and the Mariners a worry on recent performances, Heart could enter the finals series as the genuine form team. Two wins would be enough to propel it to the grand final, a feat that would go close to matching the Wanderers’ debut season fairytale. The mere presence of marquee player Orlando Engelaar lifts his teammates and his quality has been on show. His goal against Victory on Saturday was effortless and one perfectly weighted 50m pass to Mate Dugandzic was a ball few A-League players can hit. With Harry Kewell to give Heart another dimension in attack and youngsters Ben Garuccio and Stefan Mauk improving every week, anything is possible. http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-heart-the-inform-team-whose-story-threatens-to-rival-the-wanderers-last-season/story-fnk9bpxo-1226844085538 Edited March 3, 2014 by Murfy1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murfy1 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) A-League Analysis Melbourne Heart’s incredible rise By Tim Palmer March 4, 2014 A consistent source of entertainment this season has been the pre-match formation diagrams on Fox Sports – from basic mistakes of player positions to full-blown changes of system, they’re nearly always wrong, and it’s become a bit of a ritual to see how drastically the actual team shape has been changed by the production team. It was odd, then, that the information recently emerged that it’s in fact the coaches responsible for this oddity – the line-ups are a conscious decision on their part to try and disguise their team’s actual formation, and more specifically, the real positioning of players. A good example is Phil Moss at the Central Coast Mariners, who frequently lists his side in a 4-4-2 diamond – the shape preferred by Graham Arnold in his first season at the club, but barely featuring in the last couple of years – so that Moss can cloak which flank his attacking players have been deployed in. It wouldn’t make sense for him to use Bernie Ibini on the left side of a midfield diamond, but that’s what he (and Fox Sports) want you to believe. It’s curious that coaches go to such lengths when you’d think they’d be confident enough in their players being able to win their individual battles, but in fairness, in a sport of such fine margins, you take every advantage you can get – and if that means being able to hide from an opposition full-back which player they’ll be marking at least until kick-off, there might be some benefit in the practice. One coach is particularly fond of misleading his opponents with wildly wrong formation line-ups in John van’t Schip, whose return to the A-League in place of his once successor and now predecessor, John Aloisi, has been a welcome additional to this pre-match ritual. This Saturday was perhaps the best example – we were supposed to believe he’d changed from a 4-3-3 that had been so successful in breaking up Brisbane’s possession game a week earlier to a 3-4-3 formation with a diamond midfield, supposedly with Jason Hoffman as a third centre-back and Ben Garuccio on the left of an attacking trio. As it turned out, Garuccio was one of only two changes from the previous match, replacing the suspended Aziz Behich at left-back. The amazing thing was, the idea of a 3-4-3 wasn’t totally ridiculous, and Mark Bosnich and Mark Rudan spent several minutes discussing the pros and cons of the formation pre-match. That’s because Van’t Schip is one of the league’s most innovative coaches, constantly tinkering his side’s shape to suit both the players and counter an opposition threat. In fact, he’d actually used 3-4-3 earlier in the season, against Sydney FC, where the thinking was three central defenders could mark Sydney’s two strikers, with Jonatan Germano sitting on Alessandro Del Piero when he dropped into positions between the lines. The added bonus of being able to push Aziz Behich higher up the pitch as a left wing-back, rather than left-back – the change is subtle, but proved crucial – meant the Heart could take advantage of Sydney’s lack of natural width, and despite playing most of the match with ten men, the Heart won 2-1. That was a fantastic example of one of Van’t Schip’s favourite moves – readjusting his defence from a back four to back three when up against a traditional strike partnership, giving the centre-backs an extra man to cover in behind. It was something the Dutchman did throughout his first stint at the club, although he generally favoured some variant of 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, just as he has in his second tenure. Indeed, the 4-3-3 has been a cornerstone of the Heart’s recent stunning run of form. The key is how it frees up Orlando Engelaar from a left-sided central midfield role – he’s been in fine goalscoring form because a midfield trio gives him freedom to make powerful forward runs, but he also is the figurehead for the Heart’s energetic, combative pressing and does an excellent job breaking up play in the centre alongside Massimo Murdocca. Such has been Engelaar’s influence in recent weeks, the question has been raised of whether the Heart’s magnificent turnaround is indebted more to Engelaar, or to Van’t Schip. It’s something of a paradox – neither Dutchmen would be as effective without the other, because Van’t Schip’s responsible for creating the system that gets the best out of Engelaar, but that’s only because he has a player of Engelaar’s quality available to him. That’s a luxury Aloisi wasn’t always afforded. You can certainly question the logic in a transfer policy that targets players over the age of 30, but there’s no denying the bad luck he suffered in losing a number of those players to long-term injury at the start of the season. Along with Engelaar’s fractured right leg, he was also without the likes of Harry Kewell, Patrick Kisnorbo, Germano and Mate Dugdanzic for long periods – all players who have gone to be key under Van’t Schip. However, this betrays the improved form of other players under the new leadership, particularly evident in the sparkling form of David Williams. A player so often accused – and not unfairly, too – of incredible inconsistency, he’s been instrumental in recent weeks, redeployed at no.9 rather than the left wing position Aloisi favoured him in. A key feature of his game as a central striker is his intelligent movement towards the play, laying balls down for onrushing midfielders but also flicking through balls onto his fellow attackers to chase – but he’s also been working the channels tirelessly, becoming clever at timing little bursts of acceleration into the space between opposition centre-backs and full-backs, and although still guilty of profligacy, become a more confident finisher. He was the key player in Saturday’s stunning 4-0 win over local rivals Melbourne Victory, being the outlet for balls out from the back to bring passing moves into the final third before darting forwards to provide a goal threat. That 4-0 win took the Heart’s record since Van’t Schip took over to six wins in nine games, including five successive victories. Going the first nineteen rounds without a win is what is currently hurting them – but in a competition where six teams enter the finals and the system advantages the teams in form at the tail-end of the season, there’s a very real chance the Heart could have a serious impact on the finals should they claw down the four points separating them from the top six. After all, they have the league’s most intelligent tactician, perhaps the most dangerous two-way – meaning he contributes both defensively and offensively – player in Engelaar, and players entering prolonged streaks of form: much like the Fox Sports formation diagrams, the Heart are complexing, unpredictable, and above all, remarkably entertaining. http://www.theturf.com.au/2014/03/melbourne-hearts-incredible-rise/ Edited March 4, 2014 by Murfy1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriente Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Would love to see vuktree and wsw get docked their 3 points for antisocial behaviour (ripping pyro). If that happens I think we've even got a chance at 3rd spot lol. And vuktree/wsw could potentially miss finals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbitm Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Would love to see vuktree and wsw get docked their 3 points for antisocial behaviour (ripping pyro). If that happens I think we've even got a chance at 3rd spot lol. And vuktree/wsw could potentially miss finals? If we were to somehow manage an ACL spot, surely they will up their budget on a the marquee's. C'mon Joe Cole and Josh Kennedy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melburnian Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 Central Coast selling yet another player in Montgomery. They will fall of their perch. Too many Good players have left that club. The strains are about to burst. Next game for us at home is important. No talk of finals please but us fans need to turn up and show the positivity and noise and contribute to the game. Help Yarraside do their thing. Enjoy the rest of the season by taking it one game at a time. No talk of anything other than that. Whatever happens, happens. Our club just needs to concentrate on next week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony999 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Can we still make it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUTD/MLBHRT/ESSNDON Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 You no what's the most frustrating thing Tony... 1- We get on a run of 7 great results and every team around us start beating teams 1st 2nd 3rd 2- Just as we are two wins from 6th position, we loose a game to Newcaslte that should have been over in the first 15min of both the first and second half. 3- We draw to Wellington at home, after the Ref did everything for us apart from putting the ball in the goals himself. 4- That's 5 stupid points lost! Right now we should be sitting 7th on 30 points 1 point behind Adelaide, who after Sydney at home play Wellington away, Heart at home and Jets away. 5- We now play Ccoast at home who are coming from Asia Thursday, then we play Brisbane who will already be Champions if they beat Victory this week and have nothing to play for againts us. Adelaide away anything can happen and WSW at home after a tiring trip to Asia followed by another Asian game three days after playing us. 6- Finals is not over, I've got faith we can win all 4 remaing games and put the pressure on Adelaide and Ccoast especially because we are playing both. We create enough chances playing half decent football with JVS, we can't miss sitters every week like the last two games... 7- And last but not least, Fuk you John Aloisi and Michael Mifsud all we asked for was a few wins from 12 games and We'd be playing for top 4 now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japiedog Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Can we still make it? i don;'t think so , and to tell you truth, I hope not let's start planning for next season , when the new masters are here we can move forward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbitm Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 We've come too far to give up now. I hope the players still believe they can win 3 of the next 4 and put us in the thick of a potential finals birth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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