Melbourne City were "Disgraceful"

[mattyh001]

Matty hypothetically I agree with you. But one thing this club has taught me is hypotheticals have never applied. It is more the reality of the situation that applies. That game we beat brisbane the team will take very little confidence because since then we have been beaten convincingly. Brisbane has a new manager which can have an immediate positive impact on the playing group. The derby, as you say just can't see us getting out of it alive. Perth is on top while were struggling. Us to get out of that with a point would be miraculous, especially with the player they have up front. We've already played both Newcastle and the mariners, what solid evidence is there that shows we can actually beat them? At least before our confidence was higher than it is now. I dare say after the loss this week and the arse raping victory give us the following week plus playing perth, the top team, we will be in a terrible state leading into those games.

The road is very bleak in front of us.

 

 

 

 

i just hope we don't totally screw up the next 5 games.

 

as it sits, we have 3 games at home on the trot (Brisbane, Visitors, Perth) followed by two away on the NSW Central Coast (Newcastle and the Mariners).

 

the way i see it, 4 of those games are quite winnable - sadly its just the derby against the visitors that i can't see us winning.

 

if anything, we should be going into this week's game thinking that anything less than three points isn't good enough.  of course, given how shit we've been then i don't think that will be the case.  but then again, the team has to take confidence in beating Brisbane earlier this season.

 

and the fact we have easily out played both Newcastle and the Mariners (literally should have won all but for the last kick of the game against the Mariners) means we stand a decent chance.

 

as for Perth, i think that they haven't really been tested this season.  of the 8 games they have played, they have only played another top 4 side once (adelaide) and they lost that game.

 

the remaining 7 games have seen them largely play the lesser sides.  granted, they did win away to Wellington round 1, but for the most part they have either had easy home games (ie Wellington almost always travel like shit when going to Perth) or against teams just not with it / other focal points (ie Brisbane with their early season in fighting, WSW with the ACL final).

 

not staying Perth are an easy win, more so that a win / draw is quite possible.

 

This team is a week-to-week proposition, unfortunately. I'm sure there were many (myself included) that probably looked at the block following the win against Brisbane and figured that the goal should have been 5-7 points from those three games. That would have seen City probably in fifth and possibly hot on the heels of Sydney, depending on whether we went closer to seven points and what the result was when we played against them. Instead, we've got one point from those three games and although (incredibly) there's three teams below us on the table, this is rock bottom, right alongside Aloisi's losing streak. We've thrown away points at home against both the Jets and Mariners and I see no reason to believe that we'll do better when we play away against them.

 

As someone who's played that 'If they get a few results in the next month and build some momentum...' game for about three years now, my advice would be don't look beyond week-to-week. Central Coast at home a fortnight ago could have set up the season to at least give them the inside track on a finals spot. It was an absolutely critical game, even before the kick off. So what do these idiots do? Put the cue in the rack after 80 minutes and figure they've done enough, despite pissing away God knows how many games from that position in recent years.

 

Melbourne Heart/City will get results when the games no longer matter. Always have. As soon as there's something on the line, as soon as it's a truly important game, they'll fold like an ironing board. It's in the DNA of this club.

Edited the last bit

 

 

agree thoroughly, particularly about the hypothetical; by saying winnable in the first place I was simply looking at what could (more so hopefully will) happen.

 

more so, it worries me significantly if (again towards the hypothetical) we fail to pick up more than two points - frankly, i think that any chance for some sort of success this season will be pretty foregone if we only get 0-2 points here.  after all, we will have played both Newcastle and Central Coast twice each in the first half of the season (we will have played 14 games by the time the league breaks for Asian Cup).  

 

not trying to push the idea a team should always get three points against the league's whipping boys (if nothing else it completely derides logic in a salary cap competition where all teams are at least somewhat competitive), more that i find it concerning that we will have a number of games in the second half of the season that should be harder.

 

add to that Brisbane are struggling now and have 4 weeks during the Asian Cup to find their feet again, it actually seems an ideal time to play them.

 

as for Perth, i never said we would absolutely win.  

 

frankly, i dont think that they have really been tested yet.  that doesnt mean will win by any stretch.  i am simply not looking at them being on top of the ladder and saying 'on crap they are going to bend us over, etc'

 

each of the games they have won (6 wins total), it has only been by 1 goal margins.  none of them are against the other teams in the top 4, and only two wins have been on the road.

 

two of those (Brisbane round 2, Newcastle round 4) have been where they have come from behind.  those two games plus the win round 1 (against Wellington) required goals in the last 15 - the two come from behind games both actually saw them get two goals in the last 15 to win.

 

also 75% of their goals have come in the second half - surely this means they have trouble getting started.

 

historically (which yes, is only a reflection on the past) we have had 6 games against them at home for a record of 3-1-2.  of which (as a fun little fact) the three wins are also our last three home games against them.

 

on that basis, i would imagine we do have a chance.  

 

if we get our shit together of course .............  

 

which we all know is another point in question.

Edited December 2, 2014 by mattyh001

[SF33]

To cut a long story short, my point is: we've proven that we can throw away points against anyone from any position, home and away. So trying to predict wins and losses between now and the break is a bit problematic.

[n i k o]

Yeah I know what your saying, all good. I've just grown tired of thinking positively about possible outcomes that have no evidence to the contrary.

[belaguttman]

 

 

 

"The team flew back from Wellington on Monday, but did not make anyone available for interview."

From "Melbourne City likely to make defensive changes for Roar game in wake of Phoenix disaster" at http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/melbourne-city-likely-to-make-defensive-changes-for-roar-game-in-wake-of-phoenix-disaster/story-e6frf4gl-1227141273322

My comment: Why was no one available for interview? Has anyone apologised to the supporters for this disgraceful performance?  

 

 

Of course not. They've had a tough weekend and they're busy feeling sorry for themselves.

 

The rest of that article is very interesting though.

 

How often has someone from the franchise actually addressed the supporters? We are asked for money (via attendance and merch)  in corporate emails, there are interviews with the press, but how often has the manager or the players actually spoken to us rather than about us? We hear ' the fans expect more' but never a direct apology to the fans, or an explanation of why success may take some time. This may work in Manchester where a 'trust us' request has been backed up with success but it isn't working here.

Edited December 2, 2014 by belaguttman

[SF33]

 

 

 

 

"The team flew back from Wellington on Monday, but did not make anyone available for interview."

From "Melbourne City likely to make defensive changes for Roar game in wake of Phoenix disaster" at http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/melbourne-city-likely-to-make-defensive-changes-for-roar-game-in-wake-of-phoenix-disaster/story-e6frf4gl-1227141273322

My comment: Why was no one available for interview? Has anyone apologised to the supporters for this disgraceful performance?  

 

 

Of course not. They've had a tough weekend and they're busy feeling sorry for themselves.

 

The rest of that article is very interesting though.

 

How often has someone from the franchise actually addressed the supporters? We are asked for money (via attendance and mercy)  in corporate emails, there are interviews with the press, but how often has the manager or the players actually spoken to us rather than about us? We hear ' the fans expect more' but never a direct apology to the fans, or an explanation of why success may take some time. This may work in Manchester where a 'trust us' request has been backed up with success but it isn't working here.

 

 

Absolutely spot on.

 

An email. Something on the website. In the media presser...I don't care. Just get someone in a position of authority to come out and publicly put their name against a statement that says that they can't continue to let the supporters down like this and that anyone that is willing to accept what has been dished up in the past three weeks will not be playing in the senior side. Might not do anything in the grand scheme, but it at least shows some sort of understanding of how badly they continue to let their supporters down.

[n i k o]

Actually the only person ever to do that from the club is Aloisi. Does anyone remember his plea "video" to supporters to #believe in him and the club during the season?

[wombegongal]

If someone acknowledged it publicly we would be bagging them out for something else. I don't mind things staying in house (in fact I prefer it) as long as they acknowledge and work today's solving said problems. That doesn't seem to be happening right now.

Edited December 2, 2014 by wombegongal

[belaguttman]

If someone acknowledged it publicly we would be bagging them out for something else. I don't mind things staying in house (in fact I prefer it) as long as they acknowledge and work today's solving said problems. That doesn't seem to be happening right now.

The only thing we would be bagging them our for would be for saying that it was an issue for us but doing nothing about it

[TheGaffer]

I repeat from an earlier post that this club lacks "PASSION"

There are no players in the team that have an emotional tie to the club and hence really don't give a toss if they win, loose or draw after the dust has settled.

To them its just a job whereas you take the Tards and they have Muscat, Thompson and Leijer who have been there for 10 year so its those individuals that drive the passion within that club. They bleed for their club...and their supporters.

 

Article in Herald Sun yesterday from Davutovic summed it well by saying that City/Heart in 5 years have had 4 captains whereas the Tards have been around 5 years longer but have only had 3 captains.  

All their ex captains are still involved at the club whereas City/Heart they are not.

 

I personally feel the mentality within the club is all wrong and the original board wanted to do things different to their neighbours so much they clearly missed addressing of "what makes a successful sporting team"

 

Sign the right players with the correct attitude and start building the passion....