To quote directly from there:

“Well, we certainly have come full circle.

Once upon a time we had the best team in the land with the most vocal and passionate supporters.

Now we’re bottom of the league with, what are without question, the worst supporters in the country.

After tonights disgraceful performance by the self-appointed ‘best fans in the land’ shed supporters, I call on the club to demolish the area known as the shed and replace it with either seats or more terracing. A move that will give all Glory supporters access to the area and help foster unity.

As far as I am concerned, the GSSC and the general shed area have tonight forfeited any rights or concessions the club has afforded them in the past and do not deserve any further special treatment of the type this minority clique has received for the past 10 years.

Tonight they turned their collective backs on the club by booing a player in purple – at home. “

The player in question was, of course, Simon Colosimo, who had been earlier reported to be leaving the Glory for brighter pastures at Sydney FC. As the writer of the forum post pointed out, Colosimo’s decision to leave Perth behind would undoubtedly have been aided by the Shed’s verbal and painfully obvious rejection of him.

I agree that it’s poor form to boo one of your own players. Very poor form. But I know that Perth Glory fans aren’t the only ones to be guilty of this.

It was only a few rounds ago that a certain section of Melbourne supporters had enough of Matthew Kemp and decided to boo him when he had the ball.

How is that helpful? Did they expect their boos to lead Merrick to take Kemp off there and then, never to play him again? That didn’t happen. Kemp has remained a solid fixture in the squad – despite what some fans think of him.

I agree that Kemp has not had a great season – especially considering the kind of form he was in last season for Adelaide United. The main fault I have found with Kemp this year was a propensity for long balls (shared by Grant Brebner), which did nothing to help a struggling Melbourne attack. At times, he has also been outpaced by opposition attackers (Robbie Kruse, for example).

But I don’t think that he has been woeful. My first glimpse of Kemp came in the pre-season match against Newcastle. My assessment of him then was brief, but I would still use it to describe Kemp’s more recent performances: “committed in defence and drove forward on a number of occasions.” For a defender, Kemp does a good job of getting up front and assisting the attack – while still tracking back to defend when necessary.

It also is worth remembering that Kemp is playing as a left-back – even though his role at Adelaide was as a right-back. It’s always going to be tough for a player that has to adjust to an unfamiliar position in a new team.

This post isn’t designed to be a complete defence of Kemp. As I said, I agree that he hasn’t had a great season. But as a supporter, abusing your own player - especially while he’s playing – is disgraceful. It does not help the player’s performance. And by extension, it doesn’t help the team’s performance. So how is that “supportive”?

What did you think of the fans who booed Kemp? Were you one of them?

That said, Melbourne fans should be excited about having Kemp on board. Here’s why:

Kemp was a key player for Adelaide during the first two A League seasons. Last season, he played 19 games and started 14 of those matches, plugging the Adelaide defence on the left. To judge his success, consider one game in which he was absent: the Grand Final match against Melbourne. Kemp missed the game due to suspension, leaving Greg Owens to try and fill his spot. The Victory’s attack exposed this weakness, again and again. Kemp’s absence was referred to frequently in subsequent days as commentators tried to make sense of the 6-0 scoreline.

Like Joe Keenan, Kemp is versatile enough to be played in midfield as well as defence, though it appears that Merrick prefers to use him in the latter position. In his first two matches for the Victory, against China and Tianjin Teda, he played as a right back.

I expect that Kemp is likely to be a regular starter for the Victory this year. The fact that he is versatile enough to play as a midfielder suggests an offensive bent, something which Melbourne struggled with last year. In some ways, Kemp offers a package that is similar to what Alessandro gave Melbourne last year – an attacking defender with the ability to run down the flanks when goals are needed. But then, I think Kemp will fill that role much better than Alessandro did. Where the Brazilian’s attacking forays opened up a weakness in defence, Kemp has proven that he can play the defensive role while offering a forward push.

Read more about Matthew Kemp:

• Kemp switches to Victory, 14 July, 2007, WorldGame
• Kemp hungry for first Victory lap, July 12, 2007, The Herald Sun
• Matt on Wikipedia
• Profile on MelbourneVictory.com.au