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Melbourne City 2014 Pre Season

AlexDaGroza

By AlexDaGroza,
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marn11

marn11

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That first goal we conceded was partly Redders fault. He was just ball watching when he could've easily come out and punched the ball away.

 

looked to me like it was hoff's fault. reckon walker would've stopped it.

 

Said in jest...but if you watch the video you'll see that Hoffman's marking is poor, just like it was last season. He gives his winger far too much room. The best that can be said for the Hoff is that he is a useful utility player. Having him as a first choice full-back just emphasises how poor our defensive options are at present. 

 

We make too many excuses on here for poor performances. These guys are professional footballers, and they shouldn't have to re-learn their trade every off-season. If I'd have had to do that every time I had annual leave I would have been out of a job quick smart.

 

I am convinced the club just resigns Hoffman because the think he is a fan favourite - Who they only need to pay a base salary.

 

 

This is on your head bt50.

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LR9
LR9

Proposed round 2 tifo...  

mus-28
mus-28

Guess who plays for Whittlesea Ranges? Augustine Sokan. The new owners must be offering a friendly as part of the transfer deal that will bring us the Lionel of Lalor.

Murfy1
Murfy1

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Heart_fan

Heart_fan

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The Hoff is one of the luckiest footballers around.. Showed nothing over many seasons at a couple of clubs, yet keeps on getting a deal.

 

Same as how I think Luke Wilkshire has some compromising pix of someone at his Russian club, the Hoff must have something up his sleeve too :lol:

 

Last year though he finally showed something. Lets hope he continues to develop his game though. Still a long way to go.

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Kiro Kompiro

Kiro Kompiro

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:droy: Williams….

 

In williams defense the conditions were blustery.... 

 

Yeah I guess so. Just hard to use that as an excuse when we've seen him do that time and time again. 

 

 

I'm joking the guys a spud when it comes to finishing, that being sad can't deny the fact he was our leading scorer last season and won 33% of the games we won of his own boot last season.

 

And we should have won more games had he converted a few more opportunies along with Ramshit, Duga, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand MIFSUD :hkpalm:

 

 

Correction Mifspud but yeah a lot of wasted opportunities and it didn't help germano, engelaar and kewell were injured for the most part, basically 2013/14 was fucked for us from the beginning.

 

 

Naah mate, it was the finishing by those four that killed us- Engelaar simply put away the chances that would've fallen to those spuds and been missed.

 

I hope we don't end up with Tom King but I have this awful feeling we will: we need a LB, he's Australian, has played in England and is shit.  He's perfect.

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Shahanga

Shahanga

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If we are considering King as a LB why did we seemingly trial him at CB?

 

Perhaps we are trialing both King and Archibald for the 4th centre back (ie 2nd back up) spot in our squad?  Why we would be so worried about this when we don't have a single left back in the squad surprises me.

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Kiro Kompiro

Kiro Kompiro

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That first goal we conceded was partly Redders fault. He was just ball watching when he could've easily come out and punched the ball away.

 

looked to me like it was hoff's fault. reckon walker would've stopped it.

 

Said in jest...but if you watch the video you'll see that Hoffman's marking is poor, just like it was last season. He gives his winger far too much room. The best that can be said for the Hoff is that he is a useful utility player. Having him as a first choice full-back just emphasises how poor our defensive options are at present. 

 

We make too many excuses on here for poor performances. These guys are professional footballers, and they shouldn't have to re-learn their trade every off-season. If I'd have had to do that every time I had annual leave I would have been out of a job quick smart.

 

 

One of the things I'm hoping for is that this culture where player are left unaccountable changes.  Sometimes it IS one players fault that costs everyone the game.  We have too many like that.

 

Words on the Sydney FC forum is that Arnold has already got them organised. Doesn't seem that we are.

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jw1739

jw1739

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Who do we have at CB? Kisnorbo, Wielaert and (the elusive) Chapman, plus our NYL Player of the Season Ross Archibald - please someone explain to me why we don't sign this guy up?

 

There seems no reason to trial any more CBs.

 

The glaring weaknesses are GK (Redmayne and Velaphi just get worse and worse), both full-backs, a stand-out no. 10 and a decent striker. Just seems to me we are wasting time trialling players for other positions.

 

Yeah, yeah, three months to go and all that, but IMO our recruiting has gone off the boil.

 

Anyway...midnight tonight AEST we face up to Oldham at Boundary Park. League 1 side - I've looked at a couple of videos and they look pretty sharp. This will be a stiff test for us.

Edited by jw1739
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Shahanga

Shahanga

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You've hit the nail on the head jw.  At present, even with Villa we will finish in the bottom half of the table i reckon.  We will just concede too many goals, given that unless things are addressed we will have arguably the worst goalie in the league and definitely the worst left back in the league.

 

On top of that without a decent #10* we might not score too many either.

 

* Mauk isn't ready to be the first choice #10 and if we play Mooy here instead we are just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

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Kiro Kompiro

Kiro Kompiro

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You've hit the nail on the head jw.  At present, even with Villa we will finish in the bottom half of the table i reckon.  We will just concede too many goals, given that unless things are addressed we will have arguably the worst goalie in the league and definitely the worst left back in the league.

 

On top of that without a decent #10* we might not score too many either.

 

* Mauk isn't ready to be the first choice #10 and if we play Mooy here instead we are just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

 

 

Unless the plan is to have Germano anchor the midfield (meaning Hoff gets RB) with Mauk/ Murdocca and Mooy.

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Defibrillator

Defibrillator

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You've hit the nail on the head jw.  At present, even with Villa we will finish in the bottom half of the table i reckon.  We will just concede too many goals, given that unless things are addressed we will have arguably the worst goalie in the league and definitely the worst left back in the league.

 

On top of that without a decent #10* we might not score too many either.

 

* Mauk isn't ready to be the first choice #10 and if we play Mooy here instead we are just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

 

Unless the plan is to have Germano anchor the midfield (meaning Hoff gets RB) with Mauk/ Murdocca and Mooy.

I agree Kiro and think you're right. I think Germano was excellent when he came back last season as primarily the DM. I think he offers much more in the middle of the park than he would at RB but his injury record is the sword of Damocles. If we play a 4-3-3 at the moment then Germano, Mauk and Mooy would be the starting three. I'm a Murdocca critic on the record before and think he's worthy of bench at best. And Mooy's body language when played at DM last season for WSW clearly showed he didn't enjoy the position - he's keen to attack and I'd be keen to see him unshackled.

If Germano is to anchor the midfield (and Murdocca or Kalmar to be the injury replacement), we are short at LB, RB, arguably CB (still unclear what's going on), a gun creatve AM (also to teach Mauk and Mooy) and a quality striker who will stick around for the whole season. The skepticism in above posts is warranted - there are still some massive holes in this squad.

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Shahanga

Shahanga

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You've hit the nail on the head jw.  At present, even with Villa we will finish in the bottom half of the table i reckon.  We will just concede too many goals, given that unless things are addressed we will have arguably the worst goalie in the league and definitely the worst left back in the league.

 

On top of that without a decent #10* we might not score too many either.

 

* Mauk isn't ready to be the first choice #10 and if we play Mooy here instead we are just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

 

 

Unless the plan is to have Germano anchor the midfield (meaning Hoff gets RB) with Mauk/ Murdocca and Mooy.

 

Well we could, but if we do that getting a starting birth is not as cut throat as I would like and to be honest it looks like an OK line up, but not a challenge for the title side.  I'd like to see Germano, Mauk, Mooy & Murdocca fighting for 2 starting spots.

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Murfy1

Murfy1

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From the official Oldham website:

 

Johnson Previews Melbourne City

 

Posted: Fri 18 Jul 2014

 

Oldham Athletic host Melbourne City in the club's fourth pre-season friendly of the summer tomorrow afternoon (3pm kick off).

 

Latics are currently unbeaten in their last two pre-season games after Tuesday night's victory over Premier League outfit, Newcastle United.

 

New signing Timothee Dieng and trialist William Gros bagged the second half goals to seal an unlikely victory.

 

The game on Saturday will allow manager Lee Johnson a chance to further assess his squad ahead of the 2014/15 season.

 

Visitors Melbourne City are a somewhat unknown quantity but do boast a former Premier League midfielder in Damien Duff.

 

The Australian side have recently changed their name from Melbourne Heart and now have an association with Premier League champions, Manchester City.

 

David Villa recently signed for the A-League side but is not expected to join up with his teammates until October.

 

Melbourne have played one friendly since flying over to the UK, drawing 2-2 with fellow Lancashire side, Bury.

 

Speaking after Tuesday night's victory over Newcastle United, Johnson said: "I haven't managed to watch a game but I will do this week.

 

"It's a funny one because I'm not sure of their level. I think it's around League One/Championship but I'm not sure.

 

"It's a bit of the unknown and that's good because it means that people have to adjust and have to think on there feet."

 

Coverage

 

Commentary of the game will be provided by Latics Player.

 

You can also follow live text updates via Twitter and Latics Wall.

 

Ticket Information

 

Verlin Stand (large) - Home Supporters

 

Verlin Stand (small) - Closed

 

George Hill Stand - Home Supporters

 

ZenOffice Stand - Closed

 

Adults: £10

Over 65: £5
Under 16: £5

 

 

http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/article/20140718-melbourne-city-preview-1768033.aspx

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Murfy1

Murfy1

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Also, it looks like the Herald Sun will have a live blog about Melbourne City on tour tonight:

 

Join New Corp football writer Matt Windley as he takes you on tour with Melbourne City in England. Matt will be blogging and chatting throughout his trip, which you can follow here from Saturday night (EST).

 

Here:

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/go-behind-the-scenes-with-melbourne-city-on-tour-at-manchester-city/story-fnk6pqhd-1226992036413

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jw1739

jw1739

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I'd rather we took our time and got our signings right to be honest. Knee jerk signings are the worst thing we can do, we've still got plenty of time to sign a marquee player (especially as we're now able to pay transfer fee's). 

I don't think I'm advocating knee-jerk signings at all. In fact I am advocating the opposite. If anything, I would say that the re-signings of Hoffman, Velaphi and Williams were in the "knee-jerk" category, and totally unnecessary at the time they were made. 

 

We've had access to the resources of Manchester City for almost 6 months, and during that time the only signing that I would class as significant is that of Damien Duff. Aaron Mooy had already agreed to join us before the City takeover. Our other newcomer signings of James Brown and Connor Chapman are hardly in the "significant" category. David Villa is not our signing, but New York City's; it has been stated by the club that he will play for us, but neither his status nor the length of time he'll be here has been clarified.

 

The gaping holes in our squad have been known for a long time. I'm expressing a view that IMO we should be a lot closer to plugging them than we seem to be.

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mulhollanddrive

mulhollanddrive

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Might be a teething season.

 

But we all know it's only a matter of time before we win a lot of stuff. 

 

May not be the worst thing for the new owners to get a dose of what it takes to win the league.   They have said their spending will be in correlation with what it takes, if they find out it's more, they'll spend more.

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stewmac

stewmac

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Might be a teething season.

 

But we all know it's only a matter of time before we win a lot of stuff. 

 

May not be the worst thing for the new owners to get a dose of what it takes to win the league.   They have said their spending will be in correlation with what it takes, if they find out it's more, they'll spend more.

I agree based on our defence & keepers id be happy with 4th tbh

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Murfy1

Murfy1

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I'm starting to think that Garuccio is going to be the left-back next season. Munn even said I recall that they are trialling "for cover" in the left-back position.

 

I rate Garuccio pretty highly, and who knows if Hoffman can turn into a somewhat decent full-back after 1 pre-season (as he did last pre-season) then Garuccio could quite possibly become a pretty good full-back after a whole pre-season of preparation. Perhaps that great Melbourne derby showing from Garuccio at full-back wasn't a once-off, and we'll see consistent good performances from Garuccio at LB, who knows. Anyway, as things stand, I'm expecting Garuccio to be our default LB next season.

 

The question with our centre-backs is is Kisnorbo, Wielaert, Chapman & Archibald enough? Kisnorbo (who we know had surgery) & Chapman both haven't played a minute of football yet this pre-season, so we need our other CBs, namely Wielaert & Archibald, to be very solid and reliable. And whilst I personally think they both are pretty good, I'd rather us have 1 more reliable CB that the team can call upon if cover is needed.

 

So IMO I reckon if we sign another CB or 2, they will strictly be for cover, and as noted above could be crucial for our defence next season, but as they are cover I reckon they may well be signed to our NYL team. In effect, they will play the role that Archibald did last season, they will be solid defenders in the NYL team that the senior team can call upon if defensive cover is needed (unfortunately the likes of Aloisi didn't call upon Archibald or even Vrankovic when Kisnorbo was injured & Gerhardt and Wielaert weren't getting the job done defensively, but that's another story). That would explain why this pre-season we have trialled the likes of Tom Lakic & Nick Symeoy, because we could sign those young CBs to our NYL team they were promising CBs who could possibly provide cover.

 

I agree nonetheless that we should get another LB, if only to compete with Garuccio and spur him on, in the same way that we may well have Germano and Hoffman competing for the RB spot. Even though IMO there are very few good Australian LBs out there I'm surprised the club hasn't put more effort into scouting and trialling capable LBs. Maybe we could scoop up Jason Davidson if he keeps having contract issues with his Eredivisie club and doesn't have many options to turn to.

 

I fully agree about our GKs. Not an ideal situation with Redmayne & Velaphi. I guess that's further incentive for our team to have as much of the ball as possible, and always be on the front-foot attacking.

 

Then there's just the No 10 and the striker, and in my judgement when Munn was doing the radio interview he pretty much said those spots will go to our marquees, which is in line with what Davutovic reported a while ago. 

 

 

Recruitment is a funny business, because a club often has to be pro-active and patient pretty much at the same time. I'm hoping a the club can actively sort out at least another signing or two before our first competitive game August 12, so the club can more fully devote its attention & resources to the final signings (which will probably be 1 or both of our marquees). At this very moment though it would be positive to see another signing that clearly indicates that our team's recruitment is improving, and the quality in our senior squad is on an upward curve, because there hasn't been much evidence that we're a new & powerful football team since we signed Duff under the cap several weeks ago. So hopefully there's some actual concrete news to prove that our team is really on the improve, and can live up to all the hype surrounding the team heading into the new season. 

Edited by Murfy1
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Murfy1

Murfy1

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Some interesting Twitter coverage:

 

Damien Duff has been warming up with Melbourne and is in his kit but we're told that he isn't set to play any part today. #oafc

https://twitter.com/MENOAFC/status/490493679275372544

 

Been told that Melbourne will line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Retre, Poole and Brown leading the attack. #oafc

https://twitter.com/MENOAFC/status/490491940493070336

 

 

And the official teamsheet with both teams is here: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs6PGTpIMAEjtvZ.jpg:large

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