Entries Tagged 'Rumours' ↓

Ney Fabiano, Chonburi FC’s Brazilian striker, is playing his last game for the the Thai champions tonight. According to the Bangkok Post, Fabiano is moving to Australia.

It was Stephane Baga that made the biggest impression when Melbourne Victory played Chonburi in March, but Fabiano set Chonburi on their way with his first half goal. He’s an instrumental cog in Chonburi’s front third, and if the news is true, the Thai team will miss him.

The obvious question, though, is where in Australia he may be heading. Victory seem to be the most likely contenders, since they have dealt first-hand with the striker. With Archie Thompson injured, Nathan Elasi untested, and Leandro Love left by the wayside, Fabiano may find himself with alongside Danny Allsopp in no time. Perhaps even against Chonburi in two weeks?

Of course, the interest for Fabiano could be coming from anywhere. But I, for one, won’t mind if it’s Melbourne showing him the transfer papers.

Meanwhile, rumours on the MVFC forum are that Scott Chipperfield is in negotiations with the Victory.

The Age is reporting that the Victory are pursuing one José Luis López, a Costa Rican defensive midfielder currently playing for Deportivo Saprissa. But Gary Cole and Ernie Merrick won’t reveal any details:

“We are looking to get the best combination possible of a striker and midfielder for Melbourne Victory next season … We need a holding midfielder.”

This Spanish site had the news, but the item appears to have been removed (anyone that can find it, post the link in the comments). According to that, “Pupy” López is expected to move to Melbourne in June on a one-year lone, with the possibility of turning into a longer contract.

Check out his profile on Wikipedia.

With Archie Thompson set to miss the rest of the Asian Champions League group stage, Gary Cole has turned his attention to finding a replacement striker, fast. And a report in the Herald Sun today indicated that the Victory are looking to Costa Rica for their salvation.

“Encouraged by Hernandez’s form late in the A-League season, Victory is poised to trial a Costan Rican striker, perhaps as early as next week, with a possibility he could play in an exhibition game against Adelaide United.” Continue reading →

The Herald Sun indicated last week that the Central Coast’s Tom Pondeljak is currently in negotiations with the Melbourne Victory.

Responses on the Melbourne Victory forum have been quite mixed. Pondeljak is a technically gifted player, but one who, at 32, is in the twilight of his career. In short, signing him would be risky and potentially wasteful if he should succumb to injury.

Sydney FC signed 34-year old Juninho but were unable to reap the benefits of their investment for much of the season. And Pondeljak is no Juninho.

On the other hand, if Pondeljak were to avoid injury, he would certainly be a valuable asset for the Victory. Granted, he has some competition in the attacking midfielder role, but with Kaz Patafta and Nick Ward both doubtful members of the squad for next season, Pondeljak may be a useful player to have on hand.

How do you rate Tom Pondeljak? Should the Victory sign him?

The Melbourne Victory doesn’t seem to be having much luck attracting new players.

Nathan Burns has re-signed with Adelaide United; and indications are that Sasa Ognenovski will be heading over there too. The Queensland Roar defender already seems to be burning bridges with his current club: last week, he got in a fight with Roar goalkeeper Griffin McMaster. The conflict appears to have been about McMaster’s haircut…

Meanwhile, an article in The Age last week was talking up the possibilities of Melbourne signing Perth Glory’s Jamie Coyne. Earlier this week, that possibility was squashed, as Coyne re-signed with Perth.

Michael Thwaite has also just signed a deal with Norwegian team Brann Bergen (incidentally, Nathan Burns is over at Brann Bergen for a trial at the moment). The 24-year old Socceroo had been rumoured to be negotiating with Melbourne.

So, that leaves us with… Stuart Musialik. The Newcastle Jets are hoping he’ll stay at the club, and with the way the Jets keep on winning these days, I wouldn’t put it past them.

Where are these new recruits going to come from?

With Steven Pace joining Daniel Piorkowski and Ljubo Milicevic on the list of injured defenders – Pace has a broken leg – Melbourne’s defensive options are a huge worry. With Nathan Elasi bolstering our striking options, finding a few new defenders is taking top priority for Ernie Merrick and Gary Cole.

According to this post on the Melbourne Victory forum, Tony Ising has been “retrenched from his position as Media Manager of Melbourne Victory Football Club”.

On the official Victory website, however, his name is still listed.

Tony Ising was one of the original creators of the Melbourne Victory. A few years ago, Peter and I met him on a plane from Sydney to Melbourne (the day after Australia qualified for the World Cup) and he told us that he was the “inventor” of the club. Since the Victory’s inception, Ising has had a behind-the-scenes role.

Last week, Geoff Lord made it clear that he was very disappointed with the season and that changes were on the way. But the indication was that more staff would be brought in to “liaise with the current management” – not to replace them.

Thanks to Campbell for alerting me to the news.

Since I first posted about Lucas Pantelis potentially signing with Melbourne Victory, a few more potential new recruits have been mentioned in the press:

• Sasa Ognenovski: Simon Hill mentioned this one during the match on Saturday night. Could the Queensland Roar defender be on his way down to Melbourne? The chance to play in the Asian Champions League will undoubtedly sweeten the deal.

• Stuart Musialik: Great defender, but how will he get along with Rodrigo Vargas, whom he called a “black monkey” earlier this season? Another player for whom the Champions League could prove a drawcard.

• Nathan Burns: Doesn’t seem like this is a very likely prospect, but from the sounds of it, Melbourne has made an offer. An excellent striker whose presence in the squad would definitely put more pressure on Danny Allsopp and Archie Thompson to perform.

Steven Pace has also had his contract extended. I think he’s going to struggle for a place in the starting line-up, but he has definitely proved his worth in what little game time he’s had.

Meanwhile, I’ve written an article about the problem of Australia’s representation at the Asian Champions League over on Newsvine. In the article, I discuss the problems with having last year’s Australian champions playing in this year’s ACL – a problem highlighted by the fact that both Adelaide and Melbourne are unlikely to reach this year’s A-League finals.

You can read the full article here:  The Problem with the Asian Champions League.

Talk of the town is that Lucas Pantelis has been discussing his options with the Melbourne Victory recently.

The 25-year old midfielder, who has been with Adelaide United since the start of the A-League, may be after a change of scenery when his contract runs out with Adelaide in January.

If he is signed, Pantelis would be a great boost for the Melbourne midfield. Left-footed and dangerous in attack, some Victory fans will remember the goal he scored against us in round 8 (if not, watch the video here – it’s the last goal). It hurts to get strikes like that against you, but it sure would be nice having a player capable of that on your side.

Ljubo Milicevic has been invited back to training, but his future with the Melbourne Victory is still looking doubtful.

An article in The Advertiser today, titled “Ljubo up for grabs”, once again suggests that Ljubo could join Adelaide United in November, as a replacement for Angelo Costanzo, who picked up an injury in the clash with the Victory two weeks ago. It doesn’t look like it would be a long-term affair, as Milicevic seems to be eyeing a return to Europe in January.

News from the Herald Sun today suggests that Adrian Leijer may be on his way over to England. London side Fulham has offered the Melbourne Victory a deal for the defender. The money would be good, according to the HS:

“It could be lucrative for Victory, which will receive a tidy transfer fee for a player under contract, while Leijer will be moving to a league where the average salary is edging close to $2.4 million a season.”