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The Jacob Melling Thread


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Why was he not picked for the U23 squad released yesterday?

So you want Chapman and Melling to go into U23 squad?  If fit and available they have been alongside Mooy our best performing players this season. We are on a knife edge chance of making the finals and your concerned about them getting into a youth squad. 

 

Have I missed something? 

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Available for the Brisbane game?

 

Last Thursday the report on the club website said "Jacob MELLING (knee – 1-2 weeks)" (http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/18-man-squad-to-take-on-sydney/rd8t6cjctyys19z48892t2cfb), so I'd say Melling is unlikely for Saturday's match, but is maybe a decent chance to feature in the match a week later against WSW. 

Edited by Murfy1
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Is 1-2 weeks ever actually 1-2 weeks? Wasn't Mate 1-2 weeks, and he's still not right really.

 

It varies case to case. Sometimes players are ready to go earlier than predicted,  and sometimes players take longer than predicted to get back on the pitch (which often can be due to players being physically fit, but not 'match fit', and hence being unable to put in effective performances in competitive matches).

 

Overall it's my impression that the club doesn't fudge recovery timelines as much as it used to (like Germano - 3 Weeks ...), which could also be due to the fact that the club has decent resources now, so the club can properly facilitate the recovery of players.

 

 

So I'd be surprised if Melling was more than 2 weeks away. More importantly IMO, the club needs to ensure that so much of its playing list isn't injured in the first place.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We can't beat top sides with David Villa let alone Melling.

Well we have beaten Victory, Sydney and Adelaide also drawn twice with Wellington.

The point I was trying to make is that Melling provides the physicality and pressure in the middle that no one else delivers. In finals football this was crucial for us.

Simply can not be replaced.

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As usual gave his all.

 

What I will say though is that he has looked a bit jaded the last couple of games. If Paartalu is fit for the next game would you give him a break by having him on the bench?

 

You need to be careful with young players, especially one like Jacob who plays at a high intensity every game.

A very timely and astute comment. 

 

Pity the club didn't think the same, perhaps he wouldn't have missed half the season.

 

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/melling-out-of-finals-series/eqt12r7gthb71tzf5llyn724n

 

(shock!!!! the club actually announced something about a player!)

Edited by Shahanga
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As usual gave his all.

 

What I will say though is that he has looked a bit jaded the last couple of games. If Paartalu is fit for the next game would you give him a break by having him on the bench?

 

You need to be careful with young players, especially one like Jacob who plays at a high intensity every game.

A very timely and astute comment. 

 

Pity the club didn't think the same, perhaps he wouldn't have missed half the season.

 

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/melling-out-of-finals-series/eqt12r7gthb71tzf5llyn724n

 

(shock!!!! the club actually announced something about a player!)

I don't understand why, at this stage of the season, we would be pushing a young player who has only just returned from knee surgery so hard in training that he breaks down again. Perhaps I'm interpreting the situation incorrectly, but prima facie it seems so unnecessary.

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As usual gave his all.

 

What I will say though is that he has looked a bit jaded the last couple of games. If Paartalu is fit for the next game would you give him a break by having him on the bench?

 

You need to be careful with young players, especially one like Jacob who plays at a high intensity every game.

A very timely and astute comment. 

 

Pity the club didn't think the same, perhaps he wouldn't have missed half the season.

 

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/melling-out-of-finals-series/eqt12r7gthb71tzf5llyn724n

 

(shock!!!! the club actually announced something about a player!)

I don't understand why, at this stage of the season, we would be pushing a young player who has only just returned from knee surgery so hard in training that he breaks down again. Perhaps I'm interpreting the situation incorrectly, but prima facie it seems so unnecessary.

There is the off chance that the player themselves has rushed themselves to get back in the team, knowing they're not 100% ready.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

3 weeks away apparently. May be slightly creeping on the guys not playing at the game

If true that's excellent. Against Wellington, we saw that a midfield of Mooy, Koren, Paartalu can to very well (especially with our new forward line IMO), but we need some depth, in case of unavailability due to internationals and injuries. And apart from Melling, our only other midfielder is Mauk (Retre and Garuccio are really wide players, and hence more fullbacks or wingers in our current set up).

 

So we need Melling to be fit and firing this season to have competition in midfield, which is arguably the area of the pitch with the least competition. That, or we could recruit and strengthen our midfield before the season starts..

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  • 3 weeks later...

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Great to see images of Melling training again, which are from a few days ago (http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/photo-gallery/gallery-melbourne-city-prepare-for-the-westfield-ffa-cup-pao9vrlevz81jwrwo0bx3dzl/1-20).

 

Melling, together with Mauk, Trifiro, Espindola, gives us excellent midfield depth, and as far as I'm concerned gives us a first class A-League midfield with Mooy, Koren and Paartalu likely starting.

 

If there's one question mark over the squad now it's our goalscorers IMO, just because Novillo and Gameiro are not fully fit ATM. If Fornaroli can score a bagful (say, 10+ goals) then goals won't be a problem even if Novillo and Gameiro are unavailable. But I'm hoping we aren't dependent on just one player to score goals, and I'd like to see Kuzmanovski, Dekker or Williams or Garuccio step up and be a goal-threat early this season. 

Edited by Murfy1
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Spoke to Melling today and he said he's past his injury and all good, and just needs to build up some match fitness / conditioning, which will take a few weeks.  Also spoke to Willo and he said he is determined to have a big year, much better than last season, which he was disappointed in. 

General vibe from the players was that this season, which they are desperate to start well, has potential to be successful.

Best thing I saw was Novillo walking in front of some kid who was about to have a shot on goal, going for a cut out target, and casually pinching the kick, left foot behind the right leg, straight through target...and just nonchalantly strolling off ⚽️

 

 

 

 

Well Willo is basically playing for his career this season. But in saying that, I am glad we kept him, he is much better off the bench and I wouldnt be surprised at all if he got close to 10 goals this season. 

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Well Willo is basically playing for his career this season. But in saying that, I am glad we kept him, he is much better off the bench and I wouldnt be surprised at all if he got close to 10 goals this season. 

Would honestly score more goals as a bench player, if the side is doing well I could see him scoring a lot of junk time goals Archie style.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Melbourne City’s Jacob Melling willing to do whatever’s required for his team

 

Matt Windley

24 October 2015

 

JACOB Melling isn’t the purest of footballers, but his rugged style of play has won him many a fan in his short time at Melbourne City.

Despite vying for a position in a midfield that also boasts Socceroo Aaron Mooy, former Slovenian international Robert Koren and two-time A-League champion Erik Paartalu, Melling looked far from out of place when given his chance in 14 games last season.

Now back from a knee injury that cut short his 2014-15 campaign, the 20-year-old is again knocking on the door for a regular spot in the side.

And be it in a defensive midfield role, which he played in Wednesday’s FFA Cup semi-final loss to Perth, or in a more advanced position like he played for much of last season, Melling does not care so long as he’s on the park.

“Honestly, anywhere in the midfield I’m happy as long as I can get on the ball,” Melling said.

“My preferred position is probably No.6 (a deeper role). I’ve always played midfield, even as a kid.

“There’s so many good players around me at City, so it is hard to get your spot in the team. Last season I just kept working hard and luckily enough I got my opportunity.

“I just kept trying to improve and was lucky enough to keep my spot for a while, but then unlucky to get injured as well. You’ve just got to keep doing what you can do to stay in the team.”

Born in South Australia, Melling said he decided on making the move from Adelaide United prior to the start of last season in the hope of winning more senior match time.

Melling wears his heart on his sleeve and said as a kid he always tried to model his game on England superstars Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler.

His steely determination to win the ball can put him on the wrong side of officialdom, as highlighted by his eight yellow cards last season.

But the former Australian under age representative makes no apologies for his combative style.

“I don’t try to be a dirty player, I always just go hard at the ball because I know that at the end of the day if you’re not in (100 per cent) then you can get hurt,” he said.

“I guess I’m just hungry for the ball and I always want to win the ball in any area I can.

“Sometimes, especially when you’re young, I guess you can get perceived as too aggressive or rugged or whatever and sometimes I’ve timed my challenges too late, but I’m not trying to do that deliberately.”

 

http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/football/a-league/teams/melbourne-city/melbourne-citys-jacob-melling-willing-to-do-whatevers-required-for-his-team/news-story/f437b5b5810ba4fb76c9165592bf793d

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