Fahid Ben Khalfallah

[Imperial Pints]

Agreed, no more 30+ signings ffs! Everyone should be aspiring to emulate Wellington's signings this season: Burns (26), Krishna* (26), McGlinchey* (27)

*Age when signed.

All 3 are in their absolute prime and let's be honest, Wellington weren't exactly a 'destination club'.

Khalfallah has been quality but he ain't getting any younger, or better for that matter. It also concerns me that he's wanting to leave a team that in all likelihood will make the gf this year purely for $$$

[billyheart]

Don't like him, don't want him. Not as bothered about the coming from the visitors as I am about using that sort of money and a 32 going on 33 year old winger. Look at Duff and Perth putting big money into Hersi. It seems too big a risk. Surely 500k could find us a Del Piere & a Segio Cirio type player with the 36 scouts at disposal.

[Thrillhouse]

Don't like him, don't want him. Not as bothered about the coming from the visitors as I am about using that sort of money and a 32 going on 33 year old winger. Look at Duff and Perth putting big money into Hersi. It seems too big a risk. Surely 500k could find us a Del Piere & a Segio Cirio type player with the 36 scouts at disposal.

would be pissed off if we offered 500k for someone with the ability of del piere or cirio

[Kiro Kompiro]

Personally I think Gatt is posting a load of bull.  He doesn't even know that Koren is our marquee, and the FFA isn't stupid enough to to allow contract shaningans that allows every marquee this year to become a cap player next year, and nor are the clubs for that matter.

 

Because we're owned by One Rich Arab every time some player wants a pay rise we'll always be linked to that player.  

[cadete]

 

 

 

 

Going back to the Fred signing I thought that cost us more off the field that it did on it. People stopped taking us seriously after that.

Really?

 

Because the only time I can remember The Gimp being full to the brim for the showing of a Heart game on TV (Not a bloody Liverpool game or Socceroos game) was in the Season that a half alive Fred did about 40% of the work to get us into our only ever final.

 

FFS! How about the club build its own history of quality players rather than steal them from its major opponent?

Our history consists of the one pathetic final I mentioned above... if a player is going to allow me to see this bloody football club play a final in the flesh I really don't care where they come from... Victory, Rangers, wherever.

 

 

you could do that now just by watching Victory.

 

Yes - That makes complete sense mate.

 

 

i thought you'd bite.

 

And how would THIS club any different?  Same players, same city, same home ground.  Oh its the shirt, right?

 

Bite?

Seriously you really are clueless...

 

Did I spend over three Seasons in Core helping run a Home End for Victory? NO

Did I help mentor up a Youth Group for Victory? NO

Did I spend too many hours to count over three years painting numerous Tifo's for Victory? NO

Did I spend large sums of money on Tifo's for Victory? NO

Did I travel to shit hole after shit hole, year after year pissing of my partner at the time and knowing that each time I went there was a high chance of copping crap from opposition fans to watch Victory? NO

 

The only thing I have ever done that is Victory related is have to put up with crap from their supporters trying to bully myself and my mates from the get go because we decided to support the other team in town.

 

And that's point that your are missing in your snide remarks, your missing what this club means most to me (and many on here) which is the memories and most all the mates who I share those memories with... the guys who that I had a hell of an experience doing the above with and still enjoy watching Soccer with to this day.

 

The shirt is gone and the name is gone and that I agree is not something I am very happy about and I usually treat City in my mind as a different club to Heart but the reality is I still go to every match possible and have even done two Away Trips this Season.

 

Not because of the fucken city, or the players or the ground but because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City not because of the fucken Player Roster.

Edited March 24, 2015 by cadete

[Melburnian]

Going back to the Fred signing I thought that cost us more off the field that it did on it. People stopped taking us seriously after that.

Really?

Because the only time I can remember The Gimp being full to the brim for the showing of a Heart game on TV (Not a bloody Liverpool game or Socceroos game) was in the Season that a half alive Fred did about 40% of the work to get us into our only ever final.

FFS! How about the club build its own history of quality players rather than steal them from its major opponent?

Our history consists of the one pathetic final I mentioned above... if a player is going to allow me to see this bloody football club play a final in the flesh I really don't care where they come from... Victory, Rangers, wherever.

you could do that now just by watching Victory.

Yes - That makes complete sense mate.

i thought you'd bite.

And how would THIS club any different? Same players, same city, same home ground. Oh its the shirt, right?

Bite?

Seriously you really are clueless...

Did I spend over three Seasons in Core helping run a Home End for Victory? NO

Did I help mentor up a Youth Group for Victory? NO

Did I spend too many hours to count over three years painting numerous Tifo's for Victory? NO

Did I spend large sums of money on Tifo's for Victory? NO

Did I travel to shit hole after shit hole, year after year pissing of my partner at the time and knowing that each time I went there was a high chance of copping crap from opposition fans to watch Victory? NO

The only thing I have ever done that is Victory related is have to put up with crap from their supporters trying to bully myself and my mates from the get go because we decided to support the other team in town.

And that's point that your are missing in your snide remarks, your missing what this club means most to me (and many on here) which is the memories and most all the mates who I share those memories with... the guys who that I had a hell of an experience doing the above with and still enjoy watching Soccer with to this day.

The shirt is gone and the name is gone and that I agree is not something I am very happy about and I usually treat City in my mind as a different club to Heart but the reality is I still go to every match possible and have even done two Away Trips this Season.

Not because of the fucken city, or the players or the ground but because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City not because of the fucken Player Roster.

Amen.

[Kiro Kompiro]

 

 

 

 

 

Going back to the Fred signing I thought that cost us more off the field that it did on it. People stopped taking us seriously after that.

Really?

 

Because the only time I can remember The Gimp being full to the brim for the showing of a Heart game on TV (Not a bloody Liverpool game or Socceroos game) was in the Season that a half alive Fred did about 40% of the work to get us into our only ever final.

 

FFS! How about the club build its own history of quality players rather than steal them from its major opponent?

Our history consists of the one pathetic final I mentioned above... if a player is going to allow me to see this bloody football club play a final in the flesh I really don't care where they come from... Victory, Rangers, wherever.

 

 

you could do that now just by watching Victory.

 

Yes - That makes complete sense mate.

 

 

i thought you'd bite.

 

And how would THIS club any different?  Same players, same city, same home ground.  Oh its the shirt, right?

 

Bite?

Seriously you really are clueless...

 

Did I spend over three Seasons in Core helping run a Home End for Victory? NO

Did I help mentor up a Youth Group for Victory? NO

Did I spend too many hours to count over three years painting numerous Tifo's for Victory? NO

Did I spend large sums of money on Tifo's for Victory? NO

Did I travel to shit hole after shit hole, year after year pissing of my partner at the time and knowing that each time I went there was a high chance of copping crap from opposition fans to watch Victory? NO

 

The only thing I have ever done that is Victory related is have to put up with crap from their supporters trying to bully myself and my mates from the get go because we decided to support the other team in town.

 

And that's point that your are missing in your snide remarks, your missing what this club means most to me (and many on here) which is the memories and most all the mates who I share those memories with... the guys who that I had a hell of an experience doing the above with and still enjoy watching Soccer with to this day.

 

The shirt is gone and the name is gone and that I agree is not something I am very happy about and I usually treat City in my mind as a different club to Heart but the reality is I still go to every match possible and have even done two Away Trips this Season.

 

Not because of the fucken city, or the players or the ground but because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City not because of the fucken Player Roster.

 

 

 

The players and what they do or don't do on game day are integral part of the club you support.  

 

BTW that's not to take anything away from your work in active support.  But the way you put it sounds like something you enjoyed because you were there with your mates.  If that' s the case then go with your mates to the local AMF  bowling club, make some matching silk bowling shirts instead and talk about the "memories".  

 

What's the difference?

[Heart_fan]

The scouting network has been talked about so often but we can only hope it is a beneficial aspect of our operation in the future.

I would like to see them find a few players in their mid 20s, hopefully with some creative types that we so badly need.

[cadete]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going back to the Fred signing I thought that cost us more off the field that it did on it. People stopped taking us seriously after that.

Really?

 

Because the only time I can remember The Gimp being full to the brim for the showing of a Heart game on TV (Not a bloody Liverpool game or Socceroos game) was in the Season that a half alive Fred did about 40% of the work to get us into our only ever final.

 

FFS! How about the club build its own history of quality players rather than steal them from its major opponent?

Our history consists of the one pathetic final I mentioned above... if a player is going to allow me to see this bloody football club play a final in the flesh I really don't care where they come from... Victory, Rangers, wherever.

 

 

you could do that now just by watching Victory.

 

Yes - That makes complete sense mate.

 

 

i thought you'd bite.

 

And how would THIS club any different?  Same players, same city, same home ground.  Oh its the shirt, right?

 

Bite?

Seriously you really are clueless...

 

Did I spend over three Seasons in Core helping run a Home End for Victory? NO

Did I help mentor up a Youth Group for Victory? NO

Did I spend too many hours to count over three years painting numerous Tifo's for Victory? NO

Did I spend large sums of money on Tifo's for Victory? NO

Did I travel to shit hole after shit hole, year after year pissing of my partner at the time and knowing that each time I went there was a high chance of copping crap from opposition fans to watch Victory? NO

 

The only thing I have ever done that is Victory related is have to put up with crap from their supporters trying to bully myself and my mates from the get go because we decided to support the other team in town.

 

And that's point that your are missing in your snide remarks, your missing what this club means most to me (and many on here) which is the memories and most all the mates who I share those memories with... the guys who that I had a hell of an experience doing the above with and still enjoy watching Soccer with to this day.

 

The shirt is gone and the name is gone and that I agree is not something I am very happy about and I usually treat City in my mind as a different club to Heart but the reality is I still go to every match possible and have even done two Away Trips this Season.

 

Not because of the fucken city, or the players or the ground but because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City not because of the fucken Player Roster.

 

 

 

The players and what they do or don't do on game day are integral part of the club you support.  

 

BTW that's not to take anything away from your work in active support.  But the way you put it sounds like something you enjoyed because you were there with your mates.  If that' s the case then go with your mates to the local AMF  bowling club, make some matching silk bowling shirts instead and talk about the "memories".  

 

What's the difference?

 

There is at least 2000 - 3000 posts on this forum made by me about the club, players, and coach so I really dont think its fucken necessary for me to point out that care about what happens on the field.

 

FFS I even drove from Sydney to Newy and back alone earlier this year to watch the Boys play so its hardly like I dont care about the on field performance of the side I just dont think the Player Roster is a pivotal to the making of a football club like you do.

 

Players come and go...

 

And when it comes to supporting a sporting side I am a bad loser so if they help the team I support win a game I dont really care where the come from, mind you I must concede I might on occasion care about where they go if I think they could still be helping us win games of football and not someone else.

Edited March 24, 2015 by cadete

[Kiro Kompiro]

The player and the coach are all important to the making of a football club that goes far beyond just winning or losing.  The types of players and strengths, their conduct on and off the pitch, and even the coach's persona are what defines the identity of the club.

 

Heard of Alfredo Di Stefano?  A god at Real Madrid.  He came out against Maurinho's Real team for its anti-football approach.  He went as far as to praise his arch enemy Barcelona for the on-field and off field  conduct, as opposed to Maurinho's grub tactics and general thuggery of players like Pepe and the petulance of Ronaldo, even when they were winning games, even trophies. Why?

 

Because that's not what Real Madrid was about.

 

The other mob can point to Thompson, Brebner, and even Broxham as stalwarts that are Visitors through and through.

 

We have Behich as the only one who played for the shirt, and he was a Victory reject (Don't get me started on Clint "Since I retired I learned the fans care if you win or lose" Bolton.

 

Its time that this club stopped being the joke that it has become and made its own way with its own player signings that match its philosophy of how it wants to play and stays the course.

 

We don't need ANOTHER player from them who is only with us because they can't fit him under the cap. 

[Heart_fan]

^^ Good summary.

[thisphantomfortress]

The player and the coach are all important to the making of a football club that goes far beyond just winning or losing.  The types of players and strengths, their conduct on and off the pitch, and even the coach's persona are what defines the identity of the club.

 

Heard of Alfredo Di Stefano?  A god at Real Madrid.  He came out against Maurinho's Real team for its anti-football approach.  He went as far as to praise his arch enemy Barcelona for the on-field and off field  conduct, as opposed to Maurinho's grub tactics and general thuggery of players like Pepe and the petulance of Ronaldo, even when they were winning games, even trophies. Why?

 

Because that's not what Real Madrid was about.

 

The other mob can point to Thompson, Brebner, and even Broxham as stalwarts that are Visitors through and through.

 

We have Behich as the only one who played for the shirt, and he was a Victory reject (Don't get me started on Clint "Since I retired I learned the fans care if you win or lose" Bolton.

 

Its time that this club stopped being the joke that it has become and made its own way with its own player signings that match its philosophy of how it wants to play and stays the course.

 

We don't need ANOTHER player from them who is only with us because they can't fit him under the cap.

I've heard of Di Stefano but who's Maurinho?

[Kiro Kompiro]

 

The player and the coach are all important to the making of a football club that goes far beyond just winning or losing.  The types of players and strengths, their conduct on and off the pitch, and even the coach's persona are what defines the identity of the club.

 

Heard of Alfredo Di Stefano?  A god at Real Madrid.  He came out against Maurinho's Real team for its anti-football approach.  He went as far as to praise his arch enemy Barcelona for the on-field and off field  conduct, as opposed to Maurinho's grub tactics and general thuggery of players like Pepe and the petulance of Ronaldo, even when they were winning games, even trophies. Why?

 

Because that's not what Real Madrid was about.

 

The other mob can point to Thompson, Brebner, and even Broxham as stalwarts that are Visitors through and through.

 

We have Behich as the only one who played for the shirt, and he was a Victory reject (Don't get me started on Clint "Since I retired I learned the fans care if you win or lose" Bolton.

 

Its time that this club stopped being the joke that it has become and made its own way with its own player signings that match its philosophy of how it wants to play and stays the course.

 

We don't need ANOTHER player from them who is only with us because they can't fit him under the cap.

I've heard of Di Stefano but who's Maurinho?

 

 

Its what we call him in Brazil.

[GreenSeater]

The player and the coach are all important to the making of a football club that goes far beyond just winning or losing. The types of players and strengths, their conduct on and off the pitch, and even the coach's persona are what defines the identity of the club.

Heard of Alfredo Di Stefano? A god at Real Madrid. He came out against Maurinho's Real team for its anti-football approach. He went as far as to praise his arch enemy Barcelona for the on-field and off field conduct, as opposed to Maurinho's grub tactics and general thuggery of players like Pepe and the petulance of Ronaldo, even when they were winning games, even trophies. Why?

Because that's not what Real Madrid was about.

The other mob can point to Thompson, Brebner, and even Broxham as stalwarts that are Visitors through and through.

We have Behich as the only one who played for the shirt, and he was a Victory reject (Don't get me started on Clint "Since I retired I learned the fans care if you win or lose" Bolton.

Its time that this club stopped being the joke that it has become and made its own way with its own player signings that match its philosophy of how it wants to play and stays the course.

We don't need ANOTHER player from them who is only with us because they can't fit him under the cap.

So what your saying is that even though Aziz Behich came from Melbourne Victory he still played his arse off for us and we all loved him for it? Your basically making Cadete's point that it doesn't matter where a player comes from for him? Edited March 24, 2015 by GreenSeater

[Kiro Kompiro]

 

The player and the coach are all important to the making of a football club that goes far beyond just winning or losing. The types of players and strengths, their conduct on and off the pitch, and even the coach's persona are what defines the identity of the club.

Heard of Alfredo Di Stefano? A god at Real Madrid. He came out against Maurinho's Real team for its anti-football approach. He went as far as to praise his arch enemy Barcelona for the on-field and off field conduct, as opposed to Maurinho's grub tactics and general thuggery of players like Pepe and the petulance of Ronaldo, even when they were winning games, even trophies. Why?

Because that's not what Real Madrid was about.

The other mob can point to Thompson, Brebner, and even Broxham as stalwarts that are Visitors through and through.

We have Behich as the only one who played for the shirt, and he was a Victory reject (Don't get me started on Clint "Since I retired I learned the fans care if you win or lose" Bolton.

Its time that this club stopped being the joke that it has become and made its own way with its own player signings that match its philosophy of how it wants to play and stays the course.

We don't need ANOTHER player from them who is only with us because they can't fit him under the cap.

So what your saying is that even though Aziz Behich came from Melbourne Victory he still played his arse off for us and we all loved him for it? Your basically making Cadete's point that it doesn't matter where a player comes from for him?

 

 

Not at all.

 

Aziz was a fringe player who was booted out after being scape-goated for their Grand Final loss, and was then playing on the horse paddocks in the State leagues.  We gave him a shot to save his career, and he had a point prove.  He was on minimum wages too.

 

And this all happened in the beginning of the club's history. With all the supposed resources we now have, we should be looking for our own names, rather than be relying on our rivals rejects and players they had to let go.

[cadete]

 

 

The player and the coach are all important to the making of a football club that goes far beyond just winning or losing. The types of players and strengths, their conduct on and off the pitch, and even the coach's persona are what defines the identity of the club.

Heard of Alfredo Di Stefano? A god at Real Madrid. He came out against Maurinho's Real team for its anti-football approach. He went as far as to praise his arch enemy Barcelona for the on-field and off field conduct, as opposed to Maurinho's grub tactics and general thuggery of players like Pepe and the petulance of Ronaldo, even when they were winning games, even trophies. Why?

Because that's not what Real Madrid was about.

The other mob can point to Thompson, Brebner, and even Broxham as stalwarts that are Visitors through and through.

We have Behich as the only one who played for the shirt, and he was a Victory reject (Don't get me started on Clint "Since I retired I learned the fans care if you win or lose" Bolton.

Its time that this club stopped being the joke that it has become and made its own way with its own player signings that match its philosophy of how it wants to play and stays the course.

We don't need ANOTHER player from them who is only with us because they can't fit him under the cap.

So what your saying is that even though Aziz Behich came from Melbourne Victory he still played his arse off for us and we all loved him for it? Your basically making Cadete's point that it doesn't matter where a player comes from for him?

 

 

Not at all.

 

Aziz was a fringe player who was booted out after being scape-goated for their Grand Final loss, and was then playing on the horse paddocks in the State leagues.  We gave him a shot to save his career, and he had a point prove.  He was on minimum wages too.

 

And this all happened in the beginning of the club's history. With all the supposed resources we now have, we should be looking for our own names, rather than be relying on our rivals rejects and players they had to let go.

 

Well both Fred and Mate walked out on MVFC despite MVFC being very keen to keep them... and both played major roles in getting us to our one and only final.

[bt50]

 

 

 

The player and the coach are all important to the making of a football club that goes far beyond just winning or losing. The types of players and strengths, their conduct on and off the pitch, and even the coach's persona are what defines the identity of the club.

Heard of Alfredo Di Stefano? A god at Real Madrid. He came out against Maurinho's Real team for its anti-football approach. He went as far as to praise his arch enemy Barcelona for the on-field and off field conduct, as opposed to Maurinho's grub tactics and general thuggery of players like Pepe and the petulance of Ronaldo, even when they were winning games, even trophies. Why?

Because that's not what Real Madrid was about.

The other mob can point to Thompson, Brebner, and even Broxham as stalwarts that are Visitors through and through.

We have Behich as the only one who played for the shirt, and he was a Victory reject (Don't get me started on Clint "Since I retired I learned the fans care if you win or lose" Bolton.

Its time that this club stopped being the joke that it has become and made its own way with its own player signings that match its philosophy of how it wants to play and stays the course.

We don't need ANOTHER player from them who is only with us because they can't fit him under the cap.

So what your saying is that even though Aziz Behich came from Melbourne Victory he still played his arse off for us and we all loved him for it? Your basically making Cadete's point that it doesn't matter where a player comes from for him?

 

 

Not at all.

 

Aziz was a fringe player who was booted out after being scape-goated for their Grand Final loss, and was then playing on the horse paddocks in the State leagues.  We gave him a shot to save his career, and he had a point prove.  He was on minimum wages too.

 

And this all happened in the beginning of the club's history. With all the supposed resources we now have, we should be looking for our own names, rather than be relying on our rivals rejects and players they had to let go.

 

Well both Fred and Mate walked out on MVFC despite MVFC being very keen to keep them... and both played major roles in getting us to our one and only final.

 

Not to mention FBK wouldn't be a reject, rather a player poached from a rival club.

[Jovan]

If we want to be a big Club then when need to be the club all good players end up. If you look at the big European leagues whenever a player dominates the discussion ultimately becomes when will he go team A. We need to be that team that becomes the aspired destination of quality not the team that can turn players careers around. Without being flippant we need to become the Real Madrid of the A League.

[perthheart]

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

If you look at any league around the world the most successful clubs are the ones that poach the best players from other clubs in their league. Look at Bayern, real/barca, Ajax, Celtic etc etc. even though they are known for youth production it's still a fact that they poach the best 2-3 players from the rest of their league each season. Not only do you get a proven player but you weaken your opponents by taking the players their squads are built on.

Bayern taking the quality from Dortmund being a great example. Even if their fans complained about having Dortmund players in their squad I'm sure they're not complaining when Dortmund the one real threat to their dominance is sitting mid table and they're about to win the league by a ridiculous margin.

Obviously I'm not saying we can do that with the salary cap in position and nor am I saying we should for Kalfallah but taking a key player from your main rival is usually great business.

[Parrot]

If we want to be a big Club then when need to be the club all good players end up. If you look at the big European leagues whenever a player dominates the discussion ultimately becomes when will he go team A. We need to be that team that becomes the aspired destination of quality not the team that can turn players careers around. Without being flippant we need to become the Real Madrid of the A League.

 

"... we need to become the Real Madrid of the A League."

 

In the lowly salary capped competition that FFA, with their Management experience based on one country only professional AFL football, and a few countries only professional rugby,

in their "wisdom" impose on us, that is impossible. 

 

[Deeming]

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

So according to you I should therefore support another team then if I don't see a problem with us recruiting from our Rival in a league of only ten teams that contains a strict cap on International Players which is minor sport based in an Isolated Island Nation where half of the population lives on the coast in two states ???

 

I wish I had known this when I spent all that the money and those hours painting Yarraside Tifos or when I went on Countless Away Trips every season to every Stadium in Australia bar Gosford. Or most of all the countless number of times I found myself after games (Like many on here) being bullied by opposition fans basically due to the simple fact that I had the nerve to be an Active Supporter of a club that had a small supporter base and was thus an easy target for these idiots to try push around.

 

The reality is that: Denis Law sent United down to the Second Division, Mo Johnston signed for Rangers, and 25 different players have played for both Milan clubs just since 2000.

 

At the end of day Soccer is about Winning and Losing because teams they don't win enough in Australia don't end up playing in a Pub League like they do overseas but as nothing more than a brief Wikipedia Page or perhaps if they are lucky they might also get a couple of mentions on a place like here by posters like KSK, Malimate or myself for nostalgic reasons once a year. 

 

The best they might get is having their kits being worn by some Sport Nerds who brought them for $30 at a Soccer Fever Clearance sale as they stand in the Away Bay at an A-League game where they support neither team playing but have come to watch because they have nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

 

My point was that no one is a Heart/City supporter because of our amazing winning form. If someone cared about winning above and beyond all else they wouldn’t support MCFC. You yourself said “because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City”. And I’ve grateful for the time, money and effort you’ve thrown into the club, more than I have or will.

For me (and I suspect many others) my initial attraction to the Heart was that they were not the Victory. So I don’t want a defacto Victory club. If we were to buy the Victory roster and then just put a City shirt on them what would be the point of supporting MCFC over MVFC? IMO part of what defines a team is who their rivals are and not want ing to replicate them. While the league is small and young I think it is now mature enough that we can afford to not recycle Victory players especially as CFG is now on board.

[Jovan]

If we want to be a big Club then when need to be the club all good players end up. If you look at the big European leagues whenever a player dominates the discussion ultimately becomes when will he go team A. We need to be that team that becomes the aspired destination of quality not the team that can turn players careers around. Without being flippant we need to become the Real Madrid of the A League.

 

"... we need to become the Real Madrid of the A League."

 

In the lowly salary capped competition that FFA, with their Management experience based on one country only professional AFL football, and a few countries only professional rugby,

in their "wisdom" impose on us, that is impossible.

Not literally philosophically.

[cadete]

 

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

So according to you I should therefore support another team then if I don't see a problem with us recruiting from our Rival in a league of only ten teams that contains a strict cap on International Players which is minor sport based in an Isolated Island Nation where half of the population lives on the coast in two states ???

 

I wish I had known this when I spent all that the money and those hours painting Yarraside Tifos or when I went on Countless Away Trips every season to every Stadium in Australia bar Gosford. Or most of all the countless number of times I found myself after games (Like many on here) being bullied by opposition fans basically due to the simple fact that I had the nerve to be an Active Supporter of a club that had a small supporter base and was thus an easy target for these idiots to try push around.

 

The reality is that: Denis Law sent United down to the Second Division, Mo Johnston signed for Rangers, and 25 different players have played for both Milan clubs just since 2000.

 

At the end of day Soccer is about Winning and Losing because teams they don't win enough in Australia don't end up playing in a Pub League like they do overseas but as nothing more than a brief Wikipedia Page or perhaps if they are lucky they might also get a couple of mentions on a place like here by posters like KSK, Malimate or myself for nostalgic reasons once a year. 

 

The best they might get is having their kits being worn by some Sport Nerds who brought them for $30 at a Soccer Fever Clearance sale as they stand in the Away Bay at an A-League game where they support neither team playing but have come to watch because they have nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

 

My point was that no one is a Heart/City supporter because of our amazing winning form. If someone cared about winning above and beyond all else they wouldn’t support MCFC. You yourself said “because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City”. And I’ve grateful for the time, money and effort you’ve thrown into the club, more than I have or will.

For me (and I suspect many others) my initial attraction to the Heart was that they were not the Victory. So I don’t want a defacto Victory club. If we were to buy the Victory roster and then just put a City shirt on them what would be the point of supporting MCFC over MVFC? IMO part of what defines a team is who their rivals are and not want ing to replicate them. While the league is small and young I think it is now mature enough that we can afford to not recycle Victory players especially as CFG is now on board.

 

I am sorry about its just a reality you are going to have to accept that former MV players are going to end up find themselves in City Shirts... its just the nature of both the league and the population spread in this country.

[n i k o]

It's also the nature of being part of a club where players will want to be playing

[Jovan]

I think what's more important is at what point of the players development he is at City.

[Kiro Kompiro]

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

If you look at any league around the world the most successful clubs are the ones that poach the best players from other clubs in their league. Look at Bayern, real/barca, Ajax, Celtic etc etc. even though they are known for youth production it's still a fact that they poach the best 2-3 players from the rest of their league each season. Not only do you get a proven player but you weaken your opponents by taking the players their squads are built on.

Bayern taking the quality from Dortmund being a great example. Even if their fans complained about having Dortmund players in their squad I'm sure they're not complaining when Dortmund the one real threat to their dominance is sitting mid table and they're about to win the league by a ridiculous margin.

Obviously I'm not saying we can do that with the salary cap in position and nor am I saying we should for Kalfallah but taking a key player from your main rival is usually great business.

 

 

Bayern and Dortmund is very bad example. Bayern saved Dortmund from extinction by giving them millions.

 

Now its payback time. Bayern gets first dibs on their best players, that much is obvious

 

It was a disgrace what happened with Gotze when he came off after about 15 minutes with some mystery injury in a game against Bayern just before the Champions League game against Bayern, after it was announced he'd be going to Bayern

Edited March 25, 2015 by Kiro Kompiro

[Kiro Kompiro]

 

 

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

So according to you I should therefore support another team then if I don't see a problem with us recruiting from our Rival in a league of only ten teams that contains a strict cap on International Players which is minor sport based in an Isolated Island Nation where half of the population lives on the coast in two states ???

 

I wish I had known this when I spent all that the money and those hours painting Yarraside Tifos or when I went on Countless Away Trips every season to every Stadium in Australia bar Gosford. Or most of all the countless number of times I found myself after games (Like many on here) being bullied by opposition fans basically due to the simple fact that I had the nerve to be an Active Supporter of a club that had a small supporter base and was thus an easy target for these idiots to try push around.

 

The reality is that: Denis Law sent United down to the Second Division, Mo Johnston signed for Rangers, and 25 different players have played for both Milan clubs just since 2000.

 

At the end of day Soccer is about Winning and Losing because teams they don't win enough in Australia don't end up playing in a Pub League like they do overseas but as nothing more than a brief Wikipedia Page or perhaps if they are lucky they might also get a couple of mentions on a place like here by posters like KSK, Malimate or myself for nostalgic reasons once a year. 

 

The best they might get is having their kits being worn by some Sport Nerds who brought them for $30 at a Soccer Fever Clearance sale as they stand in the Away Bay at an A-League game where they support neither team playing but have come to watch because they have nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

 

My point was that no one is a Heart/City supporter because of our amazing winning form. If someone cared about winning above and beyond all else they wouldn’t support MCFC. You yourself said “because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City”. And I’ve grateful for the time, money and effort you’ve thrown into the club, more than I have or will.

For me (and I suspect many others) my initial attraction to the Heart was that they were not the Victory. So I don’t want a defacto Victory club. If we were to buy the Victory roster and then just put a City shirt on them what would be the point of supporting MCFC over MVFC? IMO part of what defines a team is who their rivals are and not want ing to replicate them. While the league is small and young I think it is now mature enough that we can afford to not recycle Victory players especially as CFG is now on board.

 

I am sorry about its just a reality you are going to have to accept that former MV players are going to end up find themselves in City Shirts... its just the nature of both the league and the population spread in this country.

 

 

 

the elephant is the room is that not ONE of our players have ended up playing for them.

 

Why is that?

[[LIBBA]]

 

 

 

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

So according to you I should therefore support another team then if I don't see a problem with us recruiting from our Rival in a league of only ten teams that contains a strict cap on International Players which is minor sport based in an Isolated Island Nation where half of the population lives on the coast in two states ???

 

I wish I had known this when I spent all that the money and those hours painting Yarraside Tifos or when I went on Countless Away Trips every season to every Stadium in Australia bar Gosford. Or most of all the countless number of times I found myself after games (Like many on here) being bullied by opposition fans basically due to the simple fact that I had the nerve to be an Active Supporter of a club that had a small supporter base and was thus an easy target for these idiots to try push around.

 

The reality is that: Denis Law sent United down to the Second Division, Mo Johnston signed for Rangers, and 25 different players have played for both Milan clubs just since 2000.

 

At the end of day Soccer is about Winning and Losing because teams they don't win enough in Australia don't end up playing in a Pub League like they do overseas but as nothing more than a brief Wikipedia Page or perhaps if they are lucky they might also get a couple of mentions on a place like here by posters like KSK, Malimate or myself for nostalgic reasons once a year. 

 

The best they might get is having their kits being worn by some Sport Nerds who brought them for $30 at a Soccer Fever Clearance sale as they stand in the Away Bay at an A-League game where they support neither team playing but have come to watch because they have nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

 

My point was that no one is a Heart/City supporter because of our amazing winning form. If someone cared about winning above and beyond all else they wouldn’t support MCFC. You yourself said “because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City”. And I’ve grateful for the time, money and effort you’ve thrown into the club, more than I have or will.

For me (and I suspect many others) my initial attraction to the Heart was that they were not the Victory. So I don’t want a defacto Victory club. If we were to buy the Victory roster and then just put a City shirt on them what would be the point of supporting MCFC over MVFC? IMO part of what defines a team is who their rivals are and not want ing to replicate them. While the league is small and young I think it is now mature enough that we can afford to not recycle Victory players especially as CFG is now on board.

 

I am sorry about its just a reality you are going to have to accept that former MV players are going to end up find themselves in City Shirts... its just the nature of both the league and the population spread in this country.

 

 

 

the elephant is the room is that not ONE of our players have ended up playing for them.

 

Why is that?

 

Well that simple.

 

We've pretty much been shit since day one. You wouldnt be taking players from a club that is shit would you?

[cadete]

 

 

 

 

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

So according to you I should therefore support another team then if I don't see a problem with us recruiting from our Rival in a league of only ten teams that contains a strict cap on International Players which is minor sport based in an Isolated Island Nation where half of the population lives on the coast in two states ???

 

I wish I had known this when I spent all that the money and those hours painting Yarraside Tifos or when I went on Countless Away Trips every season to every Stadium in Australia bar Gosford. Or most of all the countless number of times I found myself after games (Like many on here) being bullied by opposition fans basically due to the simple fact that I had the nerve to be an Active Supporter of a club that had a small supporter base and was thus an easy target for these idiots to try push around.

 

The reality is that: Denis Law sent United down to the Second Division, Mo Johnston signed for Rangers, and 25 different players have played for both Milan clubs just since 2000.

 

At the end of day Soccer is about Winning and Losing because teams they don't win enough in Australia don't end up playing in a Pub League like they do overseas but as nothing more than a brief Wikipedia Page or perhaps if they are lucky they might also get a couple of mentions on a place like here by posters like KSK, Malimate or myself for nostalgic reasons once a year. 

 

The best they might get is having their kits being worn by some Sport Nerds who brought them for $30 at a Soccer Fever Clearance sale as they stand in the Away Bay at an A-League game where they support neither team playing but have come to watch because they have nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

 

My point was that no one is a Heart/City supporter because of our amazing winning form. If someone cared about winning above and beyond all else they wouldn’t support MCFC. You yourself said “because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City”. And I’ve grateful for the time, money and effort you’ve thrown into the club, more than I have or will.

For me (and I suspect many others) my initial attraction to the Heart was that they were not the Victory. So I don’t want a defacto Victory club. If we were to buy the Victory roster and then just put a City shirt on them what would be the point of supporting MCFC over MVFC? IMO part of what defines a team is who their rivals are and not want ing to replicate them. While the league is small and young I think it is now mature enough that we can afford to not recycle Victory players especially as CFG is now on board.

 

I am sorry about its just a reality you are going to have to accept that former MV players are going to end up find themselves in City Shirts... its just the nature of both the league and the population spread in this country.

 

 

 

the elephant is the room is that not ONE of our players have ended up playing for them.

 

Why is that?

 

Well that simple.

 

We've pretty much been shit since day one. You wouldnt be taking players from a club that is shit would you?

 

I was just going to say the same thing...

 

Its not like you see players in their prime leaving Celtic for Hibs, but you do see it happen the other way every second season.

[SF33]

 

 

If we want to be a big Club then when need to be the club all good players end up. If you look at the big European leagues whenever a player dominates the discussion ultimately becomes when will he go team A. We need to be that team that becomes the aspired destination of quality not the team that can turn players careers around. Without being flippant we need to become the Real Madrid of the A League.

 

"... we need to become the Real Madrid of the A League."

 

In the lowly salary capped competition that FFA, with their Management experience based on one country only professional AFL football, and a few countries only professional rugby,

in their "wisdom" impose on us, that is impossible.

Not literally philosophically.

 

 

I still think there is the potential to have something sort of similar, without just blowing away what our rival clubs can offer in terms of salaries. All things being equal with the terms of a contract, we should have a competitive advantage over all of our rivals in securing a player. We're in one of the major cities. We've got a great home stadium. We've got the best training centre in the league. We go to Manchester City's HQ for preseason and do O/S mid-season camps in the break, flying business class every time.

 

If we could only promise prospective recruits wins and reasonable-sized crowds (which I'm convinced will come with wins), we'll win out in these battles for a signature, more often than we lose (assuming the money on offer is the same).

 

As for the debate about why people jumped on Heart in the first place, I think it's fair to say that it wasn't for instant gratification, but in a salary capped competition, I don't think any of us would have expected to be a perennial door mat of the league and consistently worse than Victory either. Hvaing the smaller fan base isn't a major issue, the issue is how we can increase this fan base, now that we have the reputation that we're Victory's little brother, not only off the field, but on it. We've gone past them now in aspects off the field and as soon as we bridge the gap in on field performances, our crowds and memberships will rise.

[jw1739]

On the issue of players...I don't have a problem at all if in the future we can poach the best players from Victory if they're what we need, better than what we have, and take us to silverware. What I do have a problem with - or would rather not see - is us taking mediocre/squad fillers from Victory when it looks as though we couldn't be bothered to get off our arses and look around at other options. And with CFG behind us there's no reason for us to do the latter any more.

 

So IMO there's a balance that we can strike fairly easily. But I still think we need a shake-up in our football department to achieve that balance.

[Kiro Kompiro]

 

 

 

 

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

So according to you I should therefore support another team then if I don't see a problem with us recruiting from our Rival in a league of only ten teams that contains a strict cap on International Players which is minor sport based in an Isolated Island Nation where half of the population lives on the coast in two states ???

 

I wish I had known this when I spent all that the money and those hours painting Yarraside Tifos or when I went on Countless Away Trips every season to every Stadium in Australia bar Gosford. Or most of all the countless number of times I found myself after games (Like many on here) being bullied by opposition fans basically due to the simple fact that I had the nerve to be an Active Supporter of a club that had a small supporter base and was thus an easy target for these idiots to try push around.

 

The reality is that: Denis Law sent United down to the Second Division, Mo Johnston signed for Rangers, and 25 different players have played for both Milan clubs just since 2000.

 

At the end of day Soccer is about Winning and Losing because teams they don't win enough in Australia don't end up playing in a Pub League like they do overseas but as nothing more than a brief Wikipedia Page or perhaps if they are lucky they might also get a couple of mentions on a place like here by posters like KSK, Malimate or myself for nostalgic reasons once a year. 

 

The best they might get is having their kits being worn by some Sport Nerds who brought them for $30 at a Soccer Fever Clearance sale as they stand in the Away Bay at an A-League game where they support neither team playing but have come to watch because they have nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

 

My point was that no one is a Heart/City supporter because of our amazing winning form. If someone cared about winning above and beyond all else they wouldn’t support MCFC. You yourself said “because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City”. And I’ve grateful for the time, money and effort you’ve thrown into the club, more than I have or will.

For me (and I suspect many others) my initial attraction to the Heart was that they were not the Victory. So I don’t want a defacto Victory club. If we were to buy the Victory roster and then just put a City shirt on them what would be the point of supporting MCFC over MVFC? IMO part of what defines a team is who their rivals are and not want ing to replicate them. While the league is small and young I think it is now mature enough that we can afford to not recycle Victory players especially as CFG is now on board.

 

I am sorry about its just a reality you are going to have to accept that former MV players are going to end up find themselves in City Shirts... its just the nature of both the league and the population spread in this country.

 

 

 

the elephant is the room is that not ONE of our players have ended up playing for them.

 

Why is that?

 

Well that simple.

 

We've pretty much been shit since day one. You wouldnt be taking players from a club that is shit would you?

 

 

Right and the solution is to sit back, hope they recruit so well that they can't keep their players under the cap?  During which they vie for top spot and we fight to scrape in to the finals?

 

This isn't a one off we're talking about here. Its an established pattern of relying on your biggest rival to fill your gaps in your playing roster.  It demonstrates a lack of ambition, a lack of skilled talent identification processes.

 

Six years later and its gone beyond a joke.

[SF33]

 

 

 

 

 

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

So according to you I should therefore support another team then if I don't see a problem with us recruiting from our Rival in a league of only ten teams that contains a strict cap on International Players which is minor sport based in an Isolated Island Nation where half of the population lives on the coast in two states ???

 

I wish I had known this when I spent all that the money and those hours painting Yarraside Tifos or when I went on Countless Away Trips every season to every Stadium in Australia bar Gosford. Or most of all the countless number of times I found myself after games (Like many on here) being bullied by opposition fans basically due to the simple fact that I had the nerve to be an Active Supporter of a club that had a small supporter base and was thus an easy target for these idiots to try push around.

 

The reality is that: Denis Law sent United down to the Second Division, Mo Johnston signed for Rangers, and 25 different players have played for both Milan clubs just since 2000.

 

At the end of day Soccer is about Winning and Losing because teams they don't win enough in Australia don't end up playing in a Pub League like they do overseas but as nothing more than a brief Wikipedia Page or perhaps if they are lucky they might also get a couple of mentions on a place like here by posters like KSK, Malimate or myself for nostalgic reasons once a year. 

 

The best they might get is having their kits being worn by some Sport Nerds who brought them for $30 at a Soccer Fever Clearance sale as they stand in the Away Bay at an A-League game where they support neither team playing but have come to watch because they have nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

 

My point was that no one is a Heart/City supporter because of our amazing winning form. If someone cared about winning above and beyond all else they wouldn’t support MCFC. You yourself said “because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City”. And I’ve grateful for the time, money and effort you’ve thrown into the club, more than I have or will.

For me (and I suspect many others) my initial attraction to the Heart was that they were not the Victory. So I don’t want a defacto Victory club. If we were to buy the Victory roster and then just put a City shirt on them what would be the point of supporting MCFC over MVFC? IMO part of what defines a team is who their rivals are and not want ing to replicate them. While the league is small and young I think it is now mature enough that we can afford to not recycle Victory players especially as CFG is now on board.

 

I am sorry about its just a reality you are going to have to accept that former MV players are going to end up find themselves in City Shirts... its just the nature of both the league and the population spread in this country.

 

 

 

the elephant is the room is that not ONE of our players have ended up playing for them.

 

Why is that?

 

Well that simple.

 

We've pretty much been shit since day one. You wouldnt be taking players from a club that is shit would you?

 

 

Right and the solution is to sit back, hope they recruit so well that they can't keep their players under the cap?  During which they vie for top spot and we fight to scrape in to the finals?

 

This isn't a one off we're talking about here. Its an established pattern of relying on your biggest rival to fill your gaps in your playing roster.  It demonstrates a lack of ambition, a lack of skilled talent identification processes.

 

Six years later and its gone beyond a joke.

 

 

If he was a reject at Victory, something like Kalmar to the Wanderers, or maybe Clisby to us, then yes, it would be a concern, if it was happening time and again. But Khalfallah is possibly Victory's best player and possibly the best player in the league. Was Kewell the last one before that? League minimum wage...I'm sure we wouldn't have been the only club interested in him on those terms. I don't really see it as an epidemic in recent times, especially if this current talk comes to nothing. Dugandzic and Fred were already here when I first signed up, so it just doesn't really seem to have happened much since I've been going to games.

 

What I would say though is if the player was coming from another A-League club (whoever you like), would you have an issue with it? If the answer is 'no', it might be a case of just ignoring what Victory wankers have to say about our recruiting. I understand that there's a few players that can just never wear our colours, due to some serious animosity: Muscat and A.Thompson would be the big ones, as far as I'm concerned. But if any of the other Victory players could improve our squad, want to come to us and are committed...welcome aboard, I say.

Edited March 25, 2015 by SF33

[[LIBBA]]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If a supporter doesn't care about where a player is from and only cares about success on field then Heart/City is not a great fit.

Winning is great but not at any cost. We need to set our own identity and part of that is having different players from Victory.

The world's a big place surely we can find someone else. The overseas recruitment has been pretty good this year and I've got faith we can continue that.

So according to you I should therefore support another team then if I don't see a problem with us recruiting from our Rival in a league of only ten teams that contains a strict cap on International Players which is minor sport based in an Isolated Island Nation where half of the population lives on the coast in two states ???

 

I wish I had known this when I spent all that the money and those hours painting Yarraside Tifos or when I went on Countless Away Trips every season to every Stadium in Australia bar Gosford. Or most of all the countless number of times I found myself after games (Like many on here) being bullied by opposition fans basically due to the simple fact that I had the nerve to be an Active Supporter of a club that had a small supporter base and was thus an easy target for these idiots to try push around.

 

The reality is that: Denis Law sent United down to the Second Division, Mo Johnston signed for Rangers, and 25 different players have played for both Milan clubs just since 2000.

 

At the end of day Soccer is about Winning and Losing because teams they don't win enough in Australia don't end up playing in a Pub League like they do overseas but as nothing more than a brief Wikipedia Page or perhaps if they are lucky they might also get a couple of mentions on a place like here by posters like KSK, Malimate or myself for nostalgic reasons once a year. 

 

The best they might get is having their kits being worn by some Sport Nerds who brought them for $30 at a Soccer Fever Clearance sale as they stand in the Away Bay at an A-League game where they support neither team playing but have come to watch because they have nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

 

My point was that no one is a Heart/City supporter because of our amazing winning form. If someone cared about winning above and beyond all else they wouldn’t support MCFC. You yourself said “because of the memories and the blokes who sit beside me at the match who share those memories. That is what why I follow Melbourne City”. And I’ve grateful for the time, money and effort you’ve thrown into the club, more than I have or will.

For me (and I suspect many others) my initial attraction to the Heart was that they were not the Victory. So I don’t want a defacto Victory club. If we were to buy the Victory roster and then just put a City shirt on them what would be the point of supporting MCFC over MVFC? IMO part of what defines a team is who their rivals are and not want ing to replicate them. While the league is small and young I think it is now mature enough that we can afford to not recycle Victory players especially as CFG is now on board.

 

I am sorry about its just a reality you are going to have to accept that former MV players are going to end up find themselves in City Shirts... its just the nature of both the league and the population spread in this country.

 

 

 

the elephant is the room is that not ONE of our players have ended up playing for them.

 

Why is that?

 

Well that simple.

 

We've pretty much been shit since day one. You wouldnt be taking players from a club that is shit would you?

 

 

Right and the solution is to sit back, hope they recruit so well that they can't keep their players under the cap?  During which they vie for top spot and we fight to scrape in to the finals?

 

This isn't a one off we're talking about here. Its an established pattern of relying on your biggest rival to fill your gaps in your playing roster.  It demonstrates a lack of ambition, a lack of skilled talent identification processes.

 

Six years later and its gone beyond a joke.

 

 

If he was a reject at Victory, something like Kalmar to the Wanderers, or maybe Clisby to us, then yes, it would be a concern, if it was happening time and again. But Khalfallah is possibly Victory's best player and possibly the best player in the league. Was Kewell the last one before that? League minimum wage...I'm sure we wouldn't have been the only club interested in him on those terms. I don't really see it as an epidemic in recent times, especially if this current talk comes to nothing. Dugandzic and Fred were already here when I first signed up, so it just doesn't really seem to have happened much since I've been going to games.

 

What I would say though is if the player was coming from another A-League club (whoever you like), would you have an issue with it? If the answer is 'no', it might be a case of just ignoring what Victory wankers have to say about our recruiting. I understand that there's a few players that can just never wear our colours, due to some serious animosity: Muscat and A.Thompson would be the big ones, as far as I'm concerned. But if any of the other Victory players could improve our squad, want to come to us and are committed...welcome aboard, I say.

 

 

 

Agreed.

 

There is a difference between taking Victory rejects and picking up probably the inform player in the A League.

[rass]

Whether you want him here or not, it would be negligent of the club to not even investigate the possibility of gaining/poaching a player who is right now, absolutely killing it in the league.

Irregardless of where he is from.

 

Also, picking up players from Victory who are out of form or not worthy of a squad spot, sends the message we are still reliant on them. HOWEVER, picking up their most important player fires a warning shot to them that our club is fast becoming a more desirable option than theirs.

[HEARTinator]

Whether you want him here or not, it would be negligent of the club to not even investigate the possibility of gaining/poaching a player who is right now, absolutely killing it in the league.

Irregardless of where he is from.

 

Also, picking up players from Victory who are out of form or not worthy of a squad spot, sends the message we are still reliant on them. HOWEVER, picking up their most important player fires a warning shot to them that our club is fast becoming a more desirable option than theirs.

[Murfy1]

Very good and accurate distinction between signing victory's squad players (or 'rejects') and their very best players.

 

What grated me about signing victory players like Sebastian Mattei and, when it happened, Tando Velaphi, was that it looked like Melbourne Heart was all too quickly just looking to sign squad fillers from the other side of town (although for me Velaphi, like Behich, has proven he deserves exceptional status).

 

If Melbourne City were to pouch victory's best player than that would be a whole other kettle of fish, which is why I'm open to the idea of signing Khalfallah. Also, if Melbourne City were to only sign the best player on rare occasion from the crosstown rivals, then it would mean Melbourne City are recruiting less players from victory, because in the A-League there's always more squad filler spots to fill than marquee (or top price salary cap) spots.

 

Also, I agree that the biggest, and generally most successful, clubs do pouch players, especially star players or main players, from other clubs. Victory 100% did exactly the same thing last season with Besart Berisha, and they even got some positive press for it as well. Melbourne City with Khalfallah would be doing exactly the same thing.

 

 

Fully agree as well that it would be a warning shot to them that Melbourne City are fast becoming the number 1 destination in Melbourne, if not Australia. We signed Damien Duff ahead of victory, Perth Glory and Sydney FC. And if Melbourne City signed Khalfallah for next season it would arguably signal that Melbourne City has arrived as the number 1 destination for players, especially if he wins the Player of the Season award. Hence it could be a real statement signing, and a real strategic move. So when it comes to possibly signing Khalfallah, it should be noted that it would likely be about a lot more than merely signing one player: it would be a statement.

 

 

Overall I'm confident Melbourne City will unearth a lot more talent, like Safuwan and like Novillo, than it pouches from other A-League clubs in the future. But there's nothing wrong in occasionally pouching the very best talent from rival A-League clubs, and in modern football it is pretty much the standard and necessary way to go about achieving success and winning trophies.

[markn]

i'll take him.

 

he plays wide - which is where Koren is currently playing.

 

And if i had my pick i would pick Fahid over Koren in a heart beat.

 

This would be one way of getting victory supporters off side.

 

Akin to Figo.

[cadete]

The interesting thing about this thread is I cannot remember any Heart fan being upset (in fact I can only remember delight) when Mate decided to walk out MV to join us citing the need to play football in a manner that would further his career in Europe.

 

NOTE: Obviously things didn't go to plan for Mate, well at least not after his first Season at Heart.

[jw1739]

The interesting thing about this thread is I cannot remember any Heart fan being upset (in fact I can only remember delight) when Mate decided to walk out MV to join us citing the need to play football in a manner that would further his career in Europe.

 

NOTE: Obviously things didn't go to plan for Mate, well at least not after his first Season at Heart.

No, but the situation has changed, hasn't it? We have seen a number of players, including youth players, who previously played for MV. And I would admit to thinking about at least two of them that it didn't look as though the Heart football department had done an awful lot of research into alternatives.

 

Incidentally I note that the much-vaunted Ante Milicic, in his attempt to become Heart coach, wanted as his marquee player Carlos Hernandez...