AL Jazira FC vs Melbourne City

[jw1739]

 

 

 

They have decided to give Retre a go and rest Duff.

Williams now striker and Retre RW.

No idea how to explain the 2nd goal. Looked a sure foul as Redders got to the ball and punched it before he was clattered by the Al Jazira player, and the punched goal OG'ed off Kisnorbo.

Pretty sure Mauk and Marino aren't fully fit ATM, so there aren't many other players to give a go to.

Murfy

 

Why haven't they taken young Dekker there? Surely with him scoring in the NYL he was worth having a look at with the senior players

 

 

Sadly the NYL simply isn't a good indicator of whether players are up for A-League football (even though in theory it is meant to be a production line for A-League talent). Michael Mifsud, a striker who performed terribly for Melbourne Heart, scored a hattrick in his first game in the NYL. Maybe Dekker will be a good A-League player, but NYL form is no convincing reason to believe that that is currently the case.

 

 

My thoughts on the match:

 

- That Safuwan kid looks alright. Would like to see how he goes in another match

- Redmayne can actually save penalties

- The 1st (and only legitimate) goal came down Garuccio's side. A new LB would be very valuable

- James Brown isn't a striker. The team needs a striker like Kennedy ASAP in the team

Overall the team actually looked very good in the first half. Dominated possession, had twice as many shots, had about 7 corners to 1 and so on. But one lapse down Garuccio's side, although it was a pretty solid goal by Vucinic, put Al Jazira in the lead. Then they got a fortunate and flattering 2nd goal. It's hard to know how to evaluate this game because I have no idea how good a side Al Jazira are, but if Melbourne City had a decent goal-scorer up front then I'm certain the team would have got a result from this game.

 

 

It's been the story since last January Murfy

 

Hopefully we can get defensive reinforcements this month

 

I think we will just have to go with the froward line with hopefully Kennedy improving it.

 

But is there really any substantive evidence we are actually looking for reinforcements in this window? We've read some fairly standard van 't Schip "vague-speak", but most of our hopes seem to be built on what's being said on this forum rather than elsewhere. Safuwan is with us on this training camp, but the way I read it is that he is not trialling with us but is with us "...as part of a development opportunity arranged with the SIngapore Football Association."

Of course we might still like him and sign him, but I don't think we have scouted him.

 

I can't see any evidence that anyone else other than City players is with us in Abu Dhabi.

 

I didn't watch the match, but it sounds like a fairly standard Heart/City away fixture. Really not a lot of point in playing it if all we're going to do is trot out the same old hacks. We already know that half our squad are either spuds or at the end of their careers, so I don't see what point there is in recycling them over and over again.

 

Ho-hum, back in your box JW.

Edited January 11, 2015 by jw1739

[rass]

 

 

 

 

They have decided to give Retre a go and rest Duff.

Williams now striker and Retre RW.

No idea how to explain the 2nd goal. Looked a sure foul as Redders got to the ball and punched it before he was clattered by the Al Jazira player, and the punched goal OG'ed off Kisnorbo.

Pretty sure Mauk and Marino aren't fully fit ATM, so there aren't many other players to give a go to.

Murfy

 

Why haven't they taken young Dekker there? Surely with him scoring in the NYL he was worth having a look at with the senior players

 

 

Sadly the NYL simply isn't a good indicator of whether players are up for A-League football (even though in theory it is meant to be a production line for A-League talent). Michael Mifsud, a striker who performed terribly for Melbourne Heart, scored a hattrick in his first game in the NYL. Maybe Dekker will be a good A-League player, but NYL form is no convincing reason to believe that that is currently the case.

 

 

My thoughts on the match:

 

- That Safuwan kid looks alright. Would like to see how he goes in another match

- Redmayne can actually save penalties

- The 1st (and only legitimate) goal came down Garuccio's side. A new LB would be very valuable

- James Brown isn't a striker. The team needs a striker like Kennedy ASAP in the team

Overall the team actually looked very good in the first half. Dominated possession, had twice as many shots, had about 7 corners to 1 and so on. But one lapse down Garuccio's side, although it was a pretty solid goal by Vucinic, put Al Jazira in the lead. Then they got a fortunate and flattering 2nd goal. It's hard to know how to evaluate this game because I have no idea how good a side Al Jazira are, but if Melbourne City had a decent goal-scorer up front then I'm certain the team would have got a result from this game.

 

 

It's been the story since last January Murfy

 

Hopefully we can get defensive reinforcements this month

 

I think we will just have to go with the froward line with hopefully Kennedy improving it.

 

But is there really any substantive evidence we are actually looking for reinforcements in this window? We've read some fairly standard van 't Schip "vague-speak", but most of our hopes seem to be built on what's being said on this forum rather than elsewhere. Safuwan is with us on this training camp, but the way I read it is that he is not trialling with us but is with us "...as part of a development opportunity arranged with the SIngapore Football Association."

Of course we might still like him and sign him, but I don't think we have scouted him.

 

I can't see any evidence that anyone else other than City players is with us in Abu Dhabi.

 

I didn't watch the match, but it sounds like a fairly standard Heart/City away fixture. Really not a lot of point in playing it if all we're going to do is trot out the same old hacks. We already know that half our squad are either spuds or at the end of their careers, so I don't see what point there is in recycling them over and over again.

 

Ho-hum, back in your box JW.

 

 

...but isn't the main point of this trip (games anyway) to keep our current squad playing and hence keep them match fit for when the season resumes?

Sure, it's a chance to trial some players and hopefully out of that a good signing will occur, but the main reason I thought is to keep them ticking over.

That's why we are predominantly playing our match day squad.

[KSK_47]

 

 

People who watched it saying we were dominant and still we weren't even close to coming away with a win. Same old story. 

 

I was going to stay up, but these tired eyes just couldnt last the distance. Doesnt sound as though I missed anything I havent seen plenty of times before. 

[Tonyboozeadams]

I am really fucking over kisnorbo

[AaronAV11]

Apparently chapman was subbed on and then subbed off? Is he injured?

[jw1739]

 

 

...but isn't the main point of this trip (games anyway) to keep our current squad playing and hence keep them match fit for when the season resumes?

Sure, it's a chance to trial some players and hopefully out of that a good signing will occur, but the main reason I thought is to keep them ticking over.

That's why we are predominantly playing our match day squad.

Well, I've really got no idea what this training camp is intended for. What I was suggesting is that because there's no substantive evidence that we are using it to "trial" non-City players I was agreeing with others that it's a chance to test other City players rather than just field under-performers like Dugandzic, Williams, Ramsay etc. etc.

[Ruckoo]

I would rather we actually get a decent established player rather than trialing people that have shown glimpses.

[Red or Dead]

Apparently chapman was subbed on and then subbed off? Is he injured?

Melbourne City FC @MelbourneCity · 10h10 hours ago

69' | Sub @MelbourneCity: Baharudin OFF, Chapman ON (@AlJazira_uae 1-0 @MelbourneCity)

 

Melbourne City FC @MelbourneCity · 10h10 hours ago

89' | Sub @MelbourneCity: Chapman OFF, Petreski ON (@AlJazira_uae 2-0 @MelbourneCity)

[Dylan]

 

Apparently chapman was subbed on and then subbed off? Is he injured?

Melbourne City FC @MelbourneCity · 10h10 hours ago

69' | Sub @MelbourneCity: Baharudin OFF, Chapman ON (@AlJazira_uae 1-0 @MelbourneCity)

 

Melbourne City FC @MelbourneCity · 10h10 hours ago

89' | Sub @MelbourneCity: Chapman OFF, Petreski ON (@AlJazira_uae 2-0 @MelbourneCity)

 

 

 

Its a practice match so they probably just made any changes they wanted and chapman is coming back from injury

[carlings]

Great commitment shown by those who stayed up late to watch it on what sounds like a shitty feed!

[johnno cpfc]

 

 

 

 

 

They have decided to give Retre a go and rest Duff.

Williams now striker and Retre RW.

No idea how to explain the 2nd goal. Looked a sure foul as Redders got to the ball and punched it before he was clattered by the Al Jazira player, and the punched goal OG'ed off Kisnorbo.

Pretty sure Mauk and Marino aren't fully fit ATM, so there aren't many other players to give a go to.

Murfy

 

Why haven't they taken young Dekker there? Surely with him scoring in the NYL he was worth having a look at with the senior players

 

 

Sadly the NYL simply isn't a good indicator of whether players are up for A-League football (even though in theory it is meant to be a production line for A-League talent). Michael Mifsud, a striker who performed terribly for Melbourne Heart, scored a hattrick in his first game in the NYL. Maybe Dekker will be a good A-League player, but NYL form is no convincing reason to believe that that is currently the case.

 

 

My thoughts on the match:

 

- That Safuwan kid looks alright. Would like to see how he goes in another match

- Redmayne can actually save penalties

- The 1st (and only legitimate) goal came down Garuccio's side. A new LB would be very valuable

- James Brown isn't a striker. The team needs a striker like Kennedy ASAP in the team

Overall the team actually looked very good in the first half. Dominated possession, had twice as many shots, had about 7 corners to 1 and so on. But one lapse down Garuccio's side, although it was a pretty solid goal by Vucinic, put Al Jazira in the lead. Then they got a fortunate and flattering 2nd goal. It's hard to know how to evaluate this game because I have no idea how good a side Al Jazira are, but if Melbourne City had a decent goal-scorer up front then I'm certain the team would have got a result from this game.

 

 

It's been the story since last January Murfy

 

Hopefully we can get defensive reinforcements this month

 

I think we will just have to go with the froward line with hopefully Kennedy improving it.

 

But is there really any substantive evidence we are actually looking for reinforcements in this window? We've read some fairly standard van 't Schip "vague-speak", but most of our hopes seem to be built on what's being said on this forum rather than elsewhere. Safuwan is with us on this training camp, but the way I read it is that he is not trialling with us but is with us "...as part of a development opportunity arranged with the SIngapore Football Association."

Of course we might still like him and sign him, but I don't think we have scouted him.

 

I can't see any evidence that anyone else other than City players is with us in Abu Dhabi.

 

I didn't watch the match, but it sounds like a fairly standard Heart/City away fixture. Really not a lot of point in playing it if all we're going to do is trot out the same old hacks. We already know that half our squad are either spuds or at the end of their careers, so I don't see what point there is in recycling them over and over again.

 

Ho-hum, back in your box JW.

 

 

...but isn't the main point of this trip (games anyway) to keep our current squad playing and hence keep them match fit for when the season resumes?

Sure, it's a chance to trial some players and hopefully out of that a good signing will occur, but the main reason I thought is to keep them ticking over.

That's why we are predominantly playing our match day squad.

 

Is Kennedy there and is he playing?

[Red or Dead]

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have decided to give Retre a go and rest Duff.

Williams now striker and Retre RW.

No idea how to explain the 2nd goal. Looked a sure foul as Redders got to the ball and punched it before he was clattered by the Al Jazira player, and the punched goal OG'ed off Kisnorbo.

Pretty sure Mauk and Marino aren't fully fit ATM, so there aren't many other players to give a go to.

Murfy

 

Why haven't they taken young Dekker there? Surely with him scoring in the NYL he was worth having a look at with the senior players

 

 

Sadly the NYL simply isn't a good indicator of whether players are up for A-League football (even though in theory it is meant to be a production line for A-League talent). Michael Mifsud, a striker who performed terribly for Melbourne Heart, scored a hattrick in his first game in the NYL. Maybe Dekker will be a good A-League player, but NYL form is no convincing reason to believe that that is currently the case.

 

 

My thoughts on the match:

 

- That Safuwan kid looks alright. Would like to see how he goes in another match

- Redmayne can actually save penalties

- The 1st (and only legitimate) goal came down Garuccio's side. A new LB would be very valuable

- James Brown isn't a striker. The team needs a striker like Kennedy ASAP in the team

Overall the team actually looked very good in the first half. Dominated possession, had twice as many shots, had about 7 corners to 1 and so on. But one lapse down Garuccio's side, although it was a pretty solid goal by Vucinic, put Al Jazira in the lead. Then they got a fortunate and flattering 2nd goal. It's hard to know how to evaluate this game because I have no idea how good a side Al Jazira are, but if Melbourne City had a decent goal-scorer up front then I'm certain the team would have got a result from this game.

 

 

It's been the story since last January Murfy

 

Hopefully we can get defensive reinforcements this month

 

I think we will just have to go with the froward line with hopefully Kennedy improving it.

 

But is there really any substantive evidence we are actually looking for reinforcements in this window? We've read some fairly standard van 't Schip "vague-speak", but most of our hopes seem to be built on what's being said on this forum rather than elsewhere. Safuwan is with us on this training camp, but the way I read it is that he is not trialling with us but is with us "...as part of a development opportunity arranged with the SIngapore Football Association."

Of course we might still like him and sign him, but I don't think we have scouted him.

 

I can't see any evidence that anyone else other than City players is with us in Abu Dhabi.

 

I didn't watch the match, but it sounds like a fairly standard Heart/City away fixture. Really not a lot of point in playing it if all we're going to do is trot out the same old hacks. We already know that half our squad are either spuds or at the end of their careers, so I don't see what point there is in recycling them over and over again.

 

Ho-hum, back in your box JW.

...but isn't the main point of this trip (games anyway) to keep our current squad playing and hence keep them match fit for when the season resumes?

Sure, it's a chance to trial some players and hopefully out of that a good signing will occur, but the main reason I thought is to keep them ticking over.

That's why we are predominantly playing our match day squad.

Is Kennedy there and is he playing?

He is there - didn't play. Hopefully he'll make an appearance in the next friendly...

[Dylan]

for those who watched. how did koren go?

[Murfy1]

for those who watched. how did koren go?

 

Looked good. Took some pretty good powerful shots from outside the box, which I expect we'll see more of in the remainder of the A-League season. Yet still I don't think he's at 100%, and think there's more to come from Koren.

Edited January 12, 2015 by Murfy1

[Murfy1]

Van’t Schip says Al Jazira test will keep standards high

 

Monday, 12 January 2015

 

 

Melbourne City FC Head Coach John van’t Schip felt the mid-season training camp and matches against foreign opposition will keep his side’s standards high coming into the second half of the Hyundai A-League season.

 

The Dutchman saw his side go down to United Arab Emirates equal league leaders Al Jazira 2-0 on Sunday (Monday morning Melbourne time) and was positive about their first 45 minutes.

 

“I think we played a decent game first half,” Van’t Schip said.

 

“We had decent chances and played good football but in the second half we dropped off a level and they gained a level so the result was 2-0,

 

“It was a good experience to come here and play. Of course the result was not what we wanted but we have to look at the game, a lot of players played 90 minutes and that’s what we are here for, to keep our rhythm.”

 

Van’t Schip’s side are two days into their Abu Dhabi training camp and the Head Coach admitted that his players were still acclimatising to their surroundings.

“We have only been here two days and we always knew it was going to be hard with the jetlag,” van’t Schip said.

 

“You could see in the second half that the quality of Al Jazira was high and we dropped a level physicaly with the trip but I was happy with the performance and the players that played 90 minutes.”

 

Melbourne City FC will regroup and prepare for their second friendly match in Abu Dhabi, continuing their training regime at New York University in the UAE’s capital but van’t Schip still has his focus on the February 1 encounter with the Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park.

 

“We are halfway through the season and mid-table so we have to continue to get points to ensure we are the finals time,” van;t Schip said.

 

“This camp is going to be useful to keep our standards high and play quality opposition in Al Jazira so we go back and play the Wanderers on the 1st of February, so that’s going to be a very important game.”

 

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/vant-schip-says-al-jazira-test-will-keep-standards-high/kidwt38chobk19ioje7k62ccn

[Murfy1]

@ JW

 

Make no mistake, Safuwan is on trial. I don't know why the club used the vague-talk "development opportunity arranged with the Singaporean Football Association". Perhaps It's because the club thought what I did pre-game: that it seems a bit risky, and arguably a bit crazy, to play a young Singaporen footballer who has only ever played in Singapore and Malaysia. There seemed a lot of opportunity for the experiment to go awry. Also, it could just be that Melbourne City is being tight-lipped, as is it City way.

 

This article that came out just before this training camp Melbourne City is on now makes complete sense:

 

LionsXII defender Safuwan sets sights on Australia

 

Singapore defender Safuwan Baharudin will head for trials with an A-League club next month in a bid to earn a contract in Australia.

 

The 24-year-old has been one of LionsXII's top performers over the last three years and was an integral member of the 2013 Malaysian Super League (MSL) title-winning squad.

 

Despite being courted by MSL teams like Sarawak FA and Terengganu FA in recent months, he chose to remain with Fandi Ahmad's side. But he says he is now ready to venture abroad to take his career to the next level.

 

Safuwan told the New Paper: "There's no more holding back now. If an A-League team want me, then it's a 100 percent 'yes' from me.

 

"I have been holding back for the past two years where I have turned down offers from the region due to personal reasons.

 

"I'm 24 next year, and I feel this is the right time to venture out and see how far I can go. I've spoken to my wife about this and she is supportive."

 

It is understood that the A-League trial will be arranged by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS). But the federation has not yet confirmed which club will be the chosen destination.

 

FAS spokesmen Gerard Wong said: "The FAS is pleased to note that our youth and senior players are increasingly attracting attention from clubs around Asia and Europe.

 

"It reinforces our belief that our players have the talent and ability to play professional football at a higher level.

 

"On our part, the FAS will always seek opportunities for our players to ply their trade overseas as part of our constant efforts to help them realise their true potential."

 

While his heart is set on a move to Australia, Safuwan in concentrating, for now, on the 2015 MSL season. He reckons that LionsXII can improve on last season's standings where they finished eighth out of 12 teams.

 

He said: "We definitely want to finish better than last season, and I feel we are capable of that."

 

LionsXII are due to start their campaign on Jan. 31 but the Football Association of Malaysia has yet to release the fixture schedule.

 

http://www.espnfcasia.com/blog/football-asia/153/post/2213004/lionsxii-defender-safuwan-sets-sights-on-australia

 

 

The kid is very keen, and could possibly be signed on minimum wages. So it could be a pretty shrewd signing, if only because we might only have the money left for a minimum wage signing (who knows). Or more hopefully, perhaps the club could sign Safuwan on minimum wages and sign another player with all the remaining money left inside the salary cap.

[jw1739]

Yeah, I did read that but then the statement on the club web-site confused me again. It's going to take me a while to get used to this new "vague-speak." 

 

I hope he's good enough and can fulfil his dream with us.