Ross Archibald

[kingofhearts]

Today there was a death......

 

The death of a career that was.

 

Please leave your thoughts and prayers in this thread, as this young man ventures into his new career path.

 

To start the ball rolling, i always thought he tried real hard.

[Thrillhouse]

about as good as steven gray

[Nate]

Some say he's still trying to clear the ball out of the Mariners' box

[Luke]

As if the performance against Wellington wasn't evidence enough for JVs

[Tesla]

In b4 he's starting the next game.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Tesla

[silva10]

Feel sorry for the lad

 

Have in the past asked for him to be included having seen him in a couple of cameo roles. However, the Wellington game saw him exposed badly for pace and it showed me he wasn't ready.

 

Today he was exposed for showing no composure under pressure

 

If Chapman wasn't injured then JVS should be handed his P45 the moment he touches down in Melbourne

 

As for Archibald, he needs to play in the youth team for the next two years and try to build his game, by that I mean is improve his awareness and composure. He won't improve his pace....but there have been plenty of good defenders who didn't have pace

[Imperial Pints]

Don't like the title of this thread, yes the kid was ordinary today but he was by far the least experienced player on our side. Plenty of others were at fault also, some almost old enough to be his dad.

Only a couple of players can hold their heads up after today, a bit embarrassed that we're going to town on a 20 year old kid to be honest...

[jw1739]

Please member that Ross Archibald is not a member of the senior squad - he's in the youth squad.

[Tony999]

What is his natural posiion in the yoof?

[Murfy1]

Sure, he had a real bad game today.

 

But it was his 1st start in the centre of defence, and the rest of the team, players who because of their experience and CVs simply have to show more, really made Archibald's debut as a CB a lot harder than it needed to be.

 

Archibald won the NYL Player of the Year at Brisbane Roar in 2013, and the NYL Player of the Year award at Melbourne Heart last year. He's only 20. It was just one game today. This match doesn't necessarily have any big implications for his football career, yet of course less unimpressive games would help his football career progress better and quicker.

 

Another point is that Archibald was originally a DM (defensive midfielder) and only a sometime central defender, and since joining Melbourne City he's normally been a central defender, but has been asked to play and train as a RB for extended periods to compensate for the team's lack of depth. So him being played everywhere hasn't helped him nail down one position; so Archibald's rather been a victim of his own versatility.

 

 

Hope to see more from Archibald if he gets a spell of game-time again. But for the above reasons it is far to early to write-off Archibald. He's too young to draw a line through his name, and Archibald can play in the NYL for another season or two before he's over-age, so he's got penalty of time to still develop into a decent player for A-League football.

[malloy]

Today there was a death......

The death of a career that was.

Please leave your thoughts and prayers in this thread, as this young man ventures into his new career path.

To start the ball rolling, i always thought he tried real hard.

Lol you want him gone after 1 - 2 games of shitness yet you are willing to put up with JVS (presumably forever)... astounding.

Fwiw not at all sticking up for Archibald.

On a more serious note, at what point do you think JVS should be fired?

[silva10]

Sure, he had a real bad game today.

 

But it was his 1st start in the centre of defence, and the rest of the team, players who because of their experience and CVs simply have to show more, really made Archibald's debut as a CB a lot harder than it needed to be.

 

Archibald won the NYL Player of the Year at Brisbane Roar in 2013, and the NYL Player of the Year award at Melbourne Heart last year. He's only 20. It was just one game today. This match doesn't necessarily have any big implications for his football career, yet of course less unimpressive games would help his football career progress better and quicker.

 

Another point is that Archibald was originally a DM (defensive midfielder) and only a sometime central defender, and since joining Melbourne City he's normally been a central defender, but has been asked to play and train as a RB for extended periods to compensate for the team's lack of depth. So him being played everywhere hasn't helped him nail down one position; so Archibald's rather been a victim of his own versatility.

 

 

Hope to see more from Archibald if he gets a spell of game-time again. But for the above reasons it is far to early to write-off Archibald. He's too young to draw a line through his name, and Archibald can play in the NYL for another season or two before he's over-age, so he's got penalty of time to still develop into a decent player for A-League football.

 

Murfy I was also calling for him to have game time earlier this season as he seemed to do well in a couple of cameos. However, he was badly exposed against pace in the Wellington game and this is what changed my mind about him being ready for the first team.

 

If we had to play him then okay, but with Germano back he should have been on the bench with Wielhart moved to the centre.

 

I don't blame Archibald for today, it just showed he is not ready.

[Nate]

If we want to be a big club, we need to stop persevering with mediocre players (and coaches for starting these players). 

Yes he's young, but so is Chapman and so were Good and Hamill and they all showed a lot more than Archibald has in defence. His first half today was absolutely appalling, but it isn't the only game this season he's been dreadful in which is why I'm skeptical of his chances of making it in the A-League. Of course it doesn't help having retarded defenders alongside you but if you want to make the most of the chances given to you, you HAVE to make them count and he didn't today. 

[Murfy1]

I agree that Archibald probably wasn't ready for game-time today, or at least Archibald wasn't ready for the demands of today's particular match (which as I said above included circumstances such as a very flat team).

 

Archibald looked rather like a deer in the headlights to me today. He just looked nervy for much of his appearance. And maybe he made some wrong decisions as well, and failed to execute a few things (primarily the clearance in the lead up to the 2nd goal).

 

People might be starting to forget now, but I remember when Connor Chapman started playing his first few games for Newcastle. I remember Chapman being wildly inconsistent, and I remember him making a few dreadful mistakes (and if memory serves, Chapman made some forgettable mistakes that lead directly to Melbourne Heart goals). But then Chapman eventually got beyond those imperfect early performances, and impressively played a total of 25 games at Newcastle, which is quite a number for a player as young as him. But still the point is it would have been very wrong to write-off Chapman for some mistakes early in his career, and indeed it turned out to be a big mistake for the Newcastle Jets and some new coaches to not play Connor Chapman, and then to let Chapman leave and join Melbourne City at the end of last season.

 

 

Archibald deserves some blame for his performance today. I'm not saying he should be completely absolved of responsibility, and not judged seriously. But still I think it would be poor judgement to write Archibald off after this 1 game, and with young players such as him the coaches, and much as the players themselves, have to ensure that young players are ready and able to make an impact in the senior team.

[kingofhearts]

 

Today there was a death......

The death of a career that was.

Please leave your thoughts and prayers in this thread, as this young man ventures into his new career path.

To start the ball rolling, i always thought he tried real hard.

Lol you want him gone after 1 - 2 games of shitness yet you are willing to put up with JVS (presumably forever)... astounding.

Fwiw not at all sticking up for Archibald.

On a more serious note, at what point do you think JVS should be fired?

 

He has been horrible every time he had played serious minutes this season. He was average in the first game this season against Sydney when played at RB, and Wellington well.... 

 

JVS was trying to stick to playing an older and younger CB paring and today unfortunately it didn't work. I understand he is only 20 but garuccio is 19 and how well has he played? Maybe after 4-5 games he'll come good as Murf has showed in the post above about Chapman, but we just don't have that time in the season to work him into the team, especially with the ladder as close as it is.

 

On your second point JVS will have no excuses after we come back from the break. I've said heaps of times on this forum that the players he has signed have either been working their way back into form (Patraluu) or been injured (Duff, Chapman, Koren). He also hasn't had a striker since he was mislead about how long Villa was going to be here. After the break he will have the full disposal of players at his helm, if he cannot at least get us to at least the 3-4 mark, he should be sacked. I'd be happy for him to be sacked right away though, only if we can get a really good coach to replace him. 

 

What would sacking him now achieve though? It'll still be the same players on the pitch, still the same people in management, might as well do a big clean out at the end of the season IMO.

[rass]

Maybe today was a test for him before the transfer window.

If so, he failed sadly.

[n i k o]

Easily our best performer in the youth team but made some real blunders out there today. Way too early to say his career is over though.

Edited January 4, 2015 by n i k o

[HEARTinator]

Too early to call for Archibald's head. I'm sure he didn't have a say in whether he was going to be picked or not. However asking for a 'please explain' from JVS is perfectly accceptable.

 

And what about asking our other spuds to resign? THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE

[Tonyboozeadams]

yeah, archibald was terrible. but how many fucking chances are duga, willo and ramsay allowed before we give up?

[silva10]

I agree that Archibald probably wasn't ready for game-time today, or at least Archibald wasn't ready for the demands of today's particular match (which as I said above included circumstances such as a very flat team).

 

Archibald looked rather like a deer in the headlights to me today. He just looked nervy for much of his appearance. And maybe he made some wrong decisions as well, and failed to execute a few things (primarily the clearance in the lead up to the 2nd goal).

 

People might be starting to forget now, but I remember when Connor Chapman started playing his first few games for Newcastle. I remember Chapman being wildly inconsistent, and I remember him making a few dreadful mistakes (and if memory serves, Chapman made some forgettable mistakes that lead directly to Melbourne Heart goals). But then Chapman eventually got beyond those imperfect early performances, and impressively played a total of 25 games at Newcastle, which is quite a number for a player as young as him. But still the point is it would have been very wrong to write-off Chapman for some mistakes early in his career, and indeed it turned out to be a big mistake for the Newcastle Jets and some new coaches to not play Connor Chapman, and then to let Chapman leave and join Melbourne City at the end of last season.

 

 

Archibald deserves some blame for his performance today. I'm not saying he should be completely absolved of responsibility, and not judged seriously. But still I think it would be poor judgement to write Archibald off after this 1 game, and with young players such as him the coaches, and much as the players themselves, have to ensure that young players are ready and able to make an impact in the senior team.

 

Of course the games Chapman played for Jets must have helped him in a big way. However, there is one thing that he has over Archibald that won't change and that is pace.

 

From what I have seen of the A League in the year I have been watching it, is that teams have forwards with pace and this can expose a senior player without pace, much less a youngster without pace.

 

For me he has to go back to the Youth team and be told to learn his trade in defending. If you don't have pace as a defender, then you must be able to read the game better than young Archibald can do at the moment.

Edited January 4, 2015 by silva10

[Tonyboozeadams]

 

I agree that Archibald probably wasn't ready for game-time today, or at least Archibald wasn't ready for the demands of today's particular match (which as I said above included circumstances such as a very flat team).

 

Archibald looked rather like a deer in the headlights to me today. He just looked nervy for much of his appearance. And maybe he made some wrong decisions as well, and failed to execute a few things (primarily the clearance in the lead up to the 2nd goal).

 

People might be starting to forget now, but I remember when Connor Chapman started playing his first few games for Newcastle. I remember Chapman being wildly inconsistent, and I remember him making a few dreadful mistakes (and if memory serves, Chapman made some forgettable mistakes that lead directly to Melbourne Heart goals). But then Chapman eventually got beyond those imperfect early performances, and impressively played a total of 25 games at Newcastle, which is quite a number for a player as young as him. But still the point is it would have been very wrong to write-off Chapman for some mistakes early in his career, and indeed it turned out to be a big mistake for the Newcastle Jets and some new coaches to not play Connor Chapman, and then to let Chapman leave and join Melbourne City at the end of last season.

 

 

Archibald deserves some blame for his performance today. I'm not saying he should be completely absolved of responsibility, and not judged seriously. But still I think it would be poor judgement to write Archibald off after this 1 game, and with young players such as him the coaches, and much as the players themselves, have to ensure that young players are ready and able to make an impact in the senior team.

 

Of course the games Chapman played for Jets must have helped him in a big way. However, there is one thing that he has over Archibald that won't change and that is pace.

 

From waht I have seen of the A League in the year I ahve ben watching it, is that teams have forwards with pace and this caqn expose a senior player without pace, much less a youngster without pace.

 

For me he has to go back to the Youth team and be told to learn his trade in defending. If you don't have pace as a defender, then you must be able to read the game better than young Archibald can do at the moment.

 

i also think  modern football is evolving this way. there is only so much shirt pulling and hard man defending you can get away with. the best strikers tend now to be smaller and quicker (or bigger and quicker if possible) than they were maybe 10 years ago. Most of the big, slow, tough defenders still left in the top leagues tend to be a bit shit and get left behind (mertesacker springs to mind)

 

the only target man that I can think of in the a-league who is playing well is djite

[Murfy1]

Agree that pace is essential in football nowadays, and in the A-League in particular, as footballers have come to the A-League from just about every competition in Europe, and many competitions elsewhere, and effectively all have been quick to say that the A-League demands good athleticism and pace.

 

On Archibald, I don't think he's that slow, or much slower than Chapman. When Archibald was at RB, especially in pre-season, he got up and down the pitch pretty quickly in my judgement. I'm of the opinion that nerves truly got to the kid, and that's why he froze up so often, and his movement and actions were off.

 

 

Mauk and Garuccio spent about 2 seasons in the NYL before they got to their current levels, so Archibald might just need a bit more time to develop. So Archibald will go back to the NYL and we'll see if he comes good.

[Tesla]

Unfortunately he is not going to make it as a footballer. I don't think he'll even be able to cut it in the NPL. I hope he is studying or has some other back up plan, most of these kids do, so he should be alright. At least he can say he played a few A-League games.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Tesla

[mus-28]

Needed to spend the off season in the NPL playing against seasoned footballers in a highly competitive league with more at stake than just development.

[NewConvert]

Didn't watch the games so I have to go by the comments. But I do have a question regarding JVS and youth development. It is clear that the team does not have defensive depth and that the club chose to have a rather large mid-field - this means that players are getting put out of position to cover for the lack of defensive players on the roster. Has JVS & Co screwed up the development of players by throwing them in positions that they are not suitable?

[perthheart]

I feel bad for the kid. But I think at 20 most kids start showing whether they are capable of playing the required level by now. Will have the rest of the season + next year to try and make it up to standard, would love to see him come back from it as I want to see all our youth players succeed, but his lack of pace and composure are both things I think can't really be taught.

His other weaknesses in strength (duke just running past him for their first goal), positioning and awareness, yes, but I don't think you can train a player to control his nerves in a positive way if they are naturally inclined to shitting themselves when attempting to clear a fairly benign cross unopposed, then fall on your arse trying to lay a tackle on the player you've just given the ball to only to lay a perfect assist to one of the better finishers in the league in the process.

You can persevere with young players making mistakes if it's generally one or two areas that aren't quite up to scratch but the three/four times I've seen him play he doesn't look a potential a-league player to me.

[Tommykins]

He communicates so well in the youth league (very vocal, is definitely the leader of the pack) and is sometimes moved into midfield where he doesn't look too out of place. I'd like to see us persist with him in some capacity, but you'd need to see some better performances when he gets the chance at senior level.

[Tesla]

It's pretty obvious when a player doesn't have potential, and Archibald doesn't. Good for his age, but won't get better. As someone posted earlier, he's been NYL player of the year for his team 2 seasons in a row, still at that same level. 3 years with barely any improvement. To me that means he doesn't have much potential. Players like Chapman and Melling, you can see them improving every game. Even Mauk I rate as having potential, he just needs to get games.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Tesla

[Tonyboozeadams]

It's pretty obvious when a player doesn't have potential, and Archibald doesn't. Good for his age, but won't get better. As someone posted earlier, he's been NYL player of the year for his team 2 seasons in a row, still at that same level. 3 years with barely any improvement. To me that means he doesn't have much potential. Players like Chapman and Melling, you can see them improving every game. Even Mauk I rate as having potential, he just needs to get games.

I'd add retre to that list. He has been dog balls for us so far. But a few runs in the NYL and he should show some potential

[jw1739]

IMO van 't Schip is too quick to sign up some of these young players, and to offer some two-year contracts seems a bit over-the top to me. They can easily become list cloggers.

 

I've seen nothing in Retre so far (neither did Victory) and I don't see the need to put Marino on to a 2-year contract.

[NewConvert]

IMO van 't Schip is too quick to sign up some of these young players, and to offer some two-year contracts seems a bit over-the top to me. They can easily become list cloggers.

 

I've seen nothing in Retre so far (neither did Victory) and I don't see the need to put Marino on to a 2-year contract.

Would it be JVS or would it be JD? I thought that Retre was recruited by JA and JVS would have been advised by JD. JvS would not have had the time to have had a close look at Retre. Also I am not sure how youth contracts are handled, perhaps you may have a better idea.

[Tesla]

IMO van 't Schip is too quick to sign up some of these young players, and to offer some two-year contracts seems a bit over-the top to me. They can easily become list cloggers.

 

I've seen nothing in Retre so far (neither did Victory) and I don't see the need to put Marino on to a 2-year contract.

I sort of agree with this, but then if they do turn out to be good and aren't on a longer contract they'll leave for more game time or more money.

[Parrot]

We can't say, "Oh he's only 20. Give him time." 

 

Look at for example at Aziz Behich, Brendon Hamill and Curtis Good.

 

At 20 if you're way out of your depth playing in the first 11, then the odds are it's nearly certainly too late.
 

[Ray]

We can't say, "Oh he's only 20. Give him time." 

 

Look at for example at Aziz Behich, Brendon Hamill and Curtis Good.

 

At 20 if you're way out of your depth playing in the first 11, then the odds are it's nearly certainly too late.

 

It's a cut-throat business. It doesn't matter how old you are (young or old) if you don't cut the mustard, you have to cop what you get and in this case it is criticism.

 

I think he is a reasonable player but doesn't have the experience. How does he get it? He has to play at the top level! Can we afford it? Probably not! Not at this stage.

 

Also someone has commented that the older players should compensate more for younger ones. How? It's a full time job just doing your own job, without having to help someone do theirs as well. It's a finely tuned unit. Players have to assume that everyone knows what their role is. I think some of the so-called ball watching by the defenders for CCM's two goals was more the fact that it was expected that everyone knew their roles and were competent at doing them rather than some people being lazy and not working hard.

 

Finally, with regard to someone like Melling. Is he as good as people make out? Through his indiscipline he has picked up 5 yellows in 12 rounds, only to be suspended and lucky to be on the field at all. His untimely suspension has required the rearrangement of the team at a time when we least needed it from a confidence point of view. Yes he adds some dynamism to the midfield, but there is a fine balance between being aggressive and down-right stupid. He needs to come back and temper his aggression and learn to back off rather than go in boots-and-all. Otherwise it will end in more tears for him.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Ray

[jw1739]

 

IMO van 't Schip is too quick to sign up some of these young players, and to offer some two-year contracts seems a bit over-the top to me. They can easily become list cloggers.

 

I've seen nothing in Retre so far (neither did Victory) and I don't see the need to put Marino on to a 2-year contract.

Would it be JVS or would it be JD? I thought that Retre was recruited by JA and JVS would have been advised by JD. JvS would not have had the time to have had a close look at Retre. Also I am not sure how youth contracts are handled, perhaps you may have a better idea.

 

Van 't Schip is paid to be the Head Coach, not the ball-boy. He sets the paradigm for the football to be played by the club. It's his job to have a close look at all players, and he has Palatsides, Trani and Jolic to assist him with that and everything else.

[n i k o]

According to Davutovic JVS is head of recruitment meaning he oversees who comes and who stays at the club. And with his time at the club last season looking over the youth team he had more than enough time to assess whether Retre performed well enough to be given a senior contract. IMO this is a huge fuck up by JVS as he is finally seeing that Retre is no where near a bench player for this league. I could have told him that much last year when he played in the youth team that he lacked speed, strength, hunger, competitiveness and desire to be a professional sportsman. A poor decision by JVS to say the least.

Edited January 6, 2015 by n i k o

[Embee]

 

We can't say, "Oh he's only 20. Give him time." 

 

Look at for example at Aziz Behich, Brendon Hamill and Curtis Good.

 

At 20 if you're way out of your depth playing in the first 11, then the odds are it's nearly certainly too late.

 

It's a cut-throat business. It doesn't matter how old you are (young or old) if you don't cut the mustard, you have to cop what you get and in this case it is criticism.

 

I think he is a reasonable player but doesn't have the experience. How does he get it? He has to play at the top level! Can we afford it? Probably not! Not at this stage.

 

Also someone has commented that the older players should compensate more for younger ones. How? It's a full time job just doing your own job, without having to help someone do theirs as well. It's a finely tuned unit. Players have to assume that everyone knows what their role is. I think some of the so-called ball watching by the defenders for CCM's two goals was more the fact that it was expected that everyone knew their roles and were competent at doing them rather than some people being lazy and not working hard.

 

Finally, with regard to someone like Melling. Is he as good as people make out? Through his indiscipline he has picked up 5 yellows in 12 rounds, only to be suspended and lucky to be on the field at all. His untimely suspension has required the rearrangement of the team at a time when we least needed it from a confidence point of view. Yes he adds some dynamism to the midfield, but there is a fine balance between being aggressive and down-right stupid. He needs to come back and temper his aggression and learn to back off rather than go in boots-and-all. Otherwise it will end in more tears for him.

 

 

Saw an clip on MOTD, or one of those programs, with Jamie Carragher (I'd link, but I'm at work and have no access to Youtube) a while back regarding this subject. His comments on it were that as older players you are certainly expected to compensate for the lack of ability/composure of youngsters on the field.

 

Clearly every player has a job to do and is accountable for his own performance and mistakes, but the older heads in the team should be ensuring that younger players aren't exposed in the way that Archibald was on Sunday. Not only was Kisnorbo poor at fulfilling his own duties against CCM but he offered no assistance, or from what I could tell, real leadership to the rookie CB next to him, ditto for the Weilaert who was playing outside of him.

 

Found some quotes of the Carragher interview here:

"There are two teenagers there. I've been a young player and you need help but I've also been the older player, the experienced player trying to help young players.When you go into games like that, you know before the game you've got to play your own game on auto-pilot but you've got to play half their game for them. They're young lads."

http://www.espnfc.com/arsenal/story/2187976/arsenal-per-mertesacker-abandoned-ship-at-stoke-says-jamie-carragher

 

EDIT: Here's the video http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/29327/9598180/jamie-carragher-arsenal-skipper-per-mertesackers-performance-at-stoke-unaaceptable

Edited January 6, 2015 by King Malta

[rayv36]

 

We can't say, "Oh he's only 20. Give him time." 

 

Look at for example at Aziz Behich, Brendon Hamill and Curtis Good.

 

At 20 if you're way out of your depth playing in the first 11, then the odds are it's nearly certainly too late.

 

It's a cut-throat business. It doesn't matter how old you are (young or old) if you don't cut the mustard, you have to cop what you get and in this case it is criticism.

 

I think he is a reasonable player but doesn't have the experience. How does he get it? He has to play at the top level! Can we afford it? Probably not! Not at this stage.

 

Also someone has commented that the older players should compensate more for younger ones. How? It's a full time job just doing your own job, without having to help someone do theirs as well. It's a finely tuned unit. Players have to assume that everyone knows what their role is. I think some of the so-called ball watching by the defenders for CCM's two goals was more the fact that it was expected that everyone knew their roles and were competent at doing them rather than some people being lazy and not working hard.

 

Finally, with regard to someone like Melling. Is he as good as people make out? Through his indiscipline he has picked up 5 yellows in 12 rounds, only to be suspended and lucky to be on the field at all. His untimely suspension has required the rearrangement of the team at a time when we least needed it from a confidence point of view. Yes he adds some dynamism to the midfield, but there is a fine balance between being aggressive and down-right stupid. He needs to come back and temper his aggression and learn to back off rather than go in boots-and-all. Otherwise it will end in more tears for him.

 

Melling is a beast and is that good, its not a coincidence that he and Chapman came in and we started looking half decent. Also not since Behich have we had anyone with as much passion playing for this club.

[Ray]

 

 

We can't say, "Oh he's only 20. Give him time." 

 

Look at for example at Aziz Behich, Brendon Hamill and Curtis Good.

 

At 20 if you're way out of your depth playing in the first 11, then the odds are it's nearly certainly too late.

 

It's a cut-throat business. It doesn't matter how old you are (young or old) if you don't cut the mustard, you have to cop what you get and in this case it is criticism.

 

I think he is a reasonable player but doesn't have the experience. How does he get it? He has to play at the top level! Can we afford it? Probably not! Not at this stage.

 

Also someone has commented that the older players should compensate more for younger ones. How? It's a full time job just doing your own job, without having to help someone do theirs as well. It's a finely tuned unit. Players have to assume that everyone knows what their role is. I think some of the so-called ball watching by the defenders for CCM's two goals was more the fact that it was expected that everyone knew their roles and were competent at doing them rather than some people being lazy and not working hard.

 

Finally, with regard to someone like Melling. Is he as good as people make out? Through his indiscipline he has picked up 5 yellows in 12 rounds, only to be suspended and lucky to be on the field at all. His untimely suspension has required the rearrangement of the team at a time when we least needed it from a confidence point of view. Yes he adds some dynamism to the midfield, but there is a fine balance between being aggressive and down-right stupid. He needs to come back and temper his aggression and learn to back off rather than go in boots-and-all. Otherwise it will end in more tears for him.

 

Melling is a beast and is that good, its not a coincidence that he and Chapman came in and we started looking half decent. Also not since Behich have we had anyone with as much passion playing for this club.

 

Are we sure of that? Or was it that the team was starting to gel better?

 

So following your logic, when Melling comes back, we will start winning games and go to the GF where Melling will take someone out in a bone crunching tackle. Oops, was that outside the box?

 

Don't get me wrong. We need some aggression. However there is a difference between being constructively aggressive and being an out and out thug. The difference I guess is to be more like a Jacob Burns (shrewd with his aggression and disliked but knew how to manage the referee) versus a career ender (like Muscat).

The problem is that at his age he is out to impress the only way he knows. It might work, or on the other hand when he fails, the vultures on here will be baying for his blood, same as they do for all the others who make mistakes. Time will tell.

[n i k o]

What your touching on though is that Melling is purposefully out to harm players when he plays. I believe it's more that he is not afraid to put his body on the line for the sake of the team. That to me shows a high level of competitiveness, something our team has lacked since inception. We desperately need those players. Even Chapman has it as well, you could see his willingness to take Berisha on head to head during the derby. So I don't think anyone of our players have any malice in their games but that determination to play for the shirt.