Entries from April 2008 ↓

Following the disappointing result against Gamba Osaka two weeks ago, Melbourne tomorrow has the chance to make amends and keep the dream of Asian Champion League glory alive. With 3 more matches to play, not picking up points in this match would spell the end of the campaign. Even if Melbourne were to win the match, we would remain one point behind Gamba and be reliant on other results to see us through.

Still no Archie Thompson or Carlos Hernandez in the squad (although there is talk that Archie could be back sooner rather than later), but we may finally see a match debut for new recruit Tom Pondeljak. Making way for him is Daniel Vasilevski, who has picked up an injury.

Merrick has also flagged some changes up front and in the midfield, with Nick Ward likely dropping back into a more central midfield role, replacing Steven Pace, who failed to impress in the previous match. The question then is, who will fill the void in the attacking midfield? An interesting possibility is Leandro Love. Merrick now appears to believe he would be more suited to a hard-working midfield role; “He’s physically very strong, he’s fast, he’s a good tackler and he’s good in the air. An attacking midfielder would, I think, be a more suitable position for him”. I can see how this mightn’t be a bad idea. Although Love has yet to score a goal for us, he has always worked hard, dropping back to provide extra cover when needed. I also wonder if the less physical nature of the ACL would work better for Leandro.

The other option for that spot is of course fan-favourite Kaz Patafta and this is certainly an option I am fond of. Even so, I suspect Merrick will give both players a fairly even amount of playing time. Who gets the starting spot remains to be seen.

On the Osaka side, an injury cloud hangs over first-choice keeper Yosuke Fujigaya. The stand-in goalkeeper, 34 year-old Naoki Matsuyo, came off the bench in the last J-League match when Fujigaya hurt a shoulder and could very well be the primary shot-stopper in this match.

With little to lose and plenty to prove, Melbourne can be expected to come out all guns blazing in this match. Let’s hope they don’t run out of steam in the final stages like they did a fortnight ago.

Ever hopeful, I’m predicting a 1-2 result in favour of the Victory.

The match screens at 10:00* 8:00 PM on Fox Sports 3 (Viewer’s Choice)

*darn Fox Sports website got me confused. Hope no one’s based their evening on this. The match should still screen again at 10 is my understanding.

Juventus will be gracing Melbourne with a guest appearance at the Telstra Dome in May, according to The Age. The Italian club is making the rounds of the Asia-Pacific region, and is expected to play against the Victory on May 30.

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.

Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United have played their fourth friendly, ending in a 0-0 draw. That’s three draws in a row, with Melbourne winning the first friendly back in February.

Steve Pantelidis was given a straight red card in the second half after a challenge on Matthew Mullen.

Judging by the report on Goal.com, Adelaide were the more dangerous side. Merrick gave a start to Leandro Love and Kaz Patafta, and lost Leigh Broxham early on to injury. Broxham’s injury isn’t expected to keep him out of next week’s match.

The FFA has introduced a youth marquee system enabling clubs to sign one local player under the age of 23 and pay them up to $150,000 outside the salary cap. The player has to be Australian (or Kiwi for the Wellington Phoenix).

It’s a step in the right direction, as it seeks to avoid young players moving overseas for poor contracts:

“The concept is to ensure that talented younger players, who might otherwise be tempted to go overseas, stay in the A-League for as long as possible by offering them a competitive salary.”

Last year, David Carney moved to Sheffield United for just $125,000 – a sum which many in the A-League considered far too low for one of our brightest talents. Giving clubs the ability to offer players like that a bigger pay packet is an excellent idea.

So, with this new youth marquee system in place, who will ours be? Other than Kaz Patafta, none of the current stock spring to mind – and it’s hard to imagine the club offering Patafta big money when he’s only been used so sparingly. But turn your attention to the rest of the A-League, and some options start to present themselves: with the extra cash in the bank, could Melbourne entice the likes of Bruce Djite, Michael Zullo or Robbie Kruse to make the switch to the Victory?

It’s been two weeks since news hit that the Victory were looking at Costa Rican striker Windell Gabriel. Since then, a slow visa process has kept Gabriel from being able to come to Melbourne for a trial, according to the Herald Sun. With the Costa Rican league just started, time’s running out for Gabriel to get out here.

The Herald Sun article also mentions that Nathan Elasi’s contract has been extended to a two-year deal. Gary Cole is reported to say: “He’s a cracker. We’re really happy with him.”

Is that so, Gary? Does Ernie think so?

Melbourne’s recruitment so far this off-season hasn’t been inspirational. Elasi signed, never played. Pondeljak signed, never played. At least Celeski has managed to become a regular fixture in the squad.

Melbourne Victory 3, Gamba Osaka 4 (match report)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPBNV4D-deE[/youtube]

On Tuesday, I asked: Can a Melbourne side without Archie Thompson and Carlos Hernández score goals?

The answer, irrefutably, is yes.

Two goals from Danny Allsopp and another from Rodrigo Vargas, on most days, should have been enough to wrap this one up.

But three wasn’t enough to beat Gamba, nor to get a draw.

The J-League side, playing their fourth match in nine days, looked shaky at the start. For once, our long balls were paying off, due more to poor Osaka defending than Danny Allsopp’s prowess. Melbourne could have been two up within five minutes.

At one – nil, Melbourne was surging, and Gamba’s backline was betraying them. But this was an open, free-scoring match. A delicious long-range goal from Takahiro Futagawa put Osaka back on level terms in the 32nd minute.

The first surprising choice – surprised me, at least – was Ernie Merrick’s decision to replace Steven Pace with Steve Pantelidis. Pace had been slow on the ball and appeared to be playing too far forward too often, but to replace him with the lumbering Pantelidis seemed illogical, especially with Melbourne a goal down. Why not inject an energetic, creative player like Kaz Patafta into the mix?

But maybe Pantelidis’ introduction paid off, as the Victory levelled shortly after, going into the break 2-2.

Gamba seemed to settle in during the second half, cutting down on defensive errors. Consequently, the Victory long-ball approach to attacking football proved futile, as Danny Allsopp would be nullified by two defenders. You can’t blame Allsopp – not much he can do with it – but I had to wonder why none of our midfielders were pushing up behind him, ready to pounce on loose balls. As it were, there was little pressure on Gamba’s centre backs.

The Victory did manage to go ahead, a little too early according to some pundits. The second Melbourne goal from a spot-kick, tucked away by Allsopp. But with 20 minutes left on the clock, Melbourne were looking tired. This was a game in which Gamba were supposed to be the ones tiring, not us. The introduction of Kaz Patafta and Daniel Vasilevski in the final ten minutes came too late.

In the end, 3-4 was a bitter result. Besides almost killing our chances of making it past the group stage (although the Chunnam Dragons’ win over Chonburi FC certainly gives us a little more hope), it was disappointing to see the Victory leak so many goals. How many times has Theoklitos let through four in 90 minutes?

Even more frustrating was Melbourne’s continued use of long-balls. The futility of these was summed up most poignantly when Steve Pantelidis, coming into possession after a Gamba corner, decided to send a long-ball forward – despite the fact that all his team mates were with him in the Melbourne box.

‘Nuff said.

When the Melbourne Victory host Gamba Osaka tonight in the third round of the 2008 Asian Champions League, most Victory fans will harbour more than a passing sensation of trepidation. No Archie Thompson. No Carlos Hernández. Can Danny Allsopp deliver the top-shelf performance we need him to deliver?

Allsopp isn’t the only one with a fair weight on his shoulders. Rodrigo Vargas, given the job of marking Brazilian striker Bare, has an equally critical role to play, while Leigh Broxham is set to take on Bare’s countryman, playmaker Lucas. And Ernie Merrick is looking to Kevin Muscat to provide a strong attacking thrust.

The match has been fairly described as a “must-win” affair. With away matches in Japan and Korea yet to come, anything short of a victory will render the Victory’s chances of progressing past the group stage very difficult indeed.

Gamba, meanwhile, have had a hectic schedule leading up to this match, playing three J-League matches in six days before flying out to Melbourne early this week. The fact that they won all three of those matches will bolster their confidence; but the heavy schedule may take its toll against Melbourne, especially in the latter stages of the match.

With Archie absent, Adrian Caceres is likely to push up alongside Allsopp, with Nick Ward filling the hole behind them. Archie’s absence also means a promotion for someone else: fans may cry for Kaz Patafta, but my guess is that Merrick will instead bring on Steven Pace to provide extra muscle in the midfield and close down Gamba’s Yasuhito Endo.

Archie and Hernández accounted for over a third of Melbourne’s goals last season, so they will be sorely missed. But there is some hope, as our J.League Correspondent revealed last month: Gamba has major weakness in defence. It may also be encouraging to note that the Victory’s three goals in the ACL so far did not involve Archie at all. Let it be known, we can score goals without Archie.

My tip (hoping to be proved wrong): Melbourne Victory 2, Gamba Osaka 2

Your tip?

A comment left on my Pitch Invasion article about the conflict between Melbourne Victory supporters and the Telstra Dome sparked my interest:

“The conflict between the organised MVFC fans and Telstra Dome seems to have eased somewhat, but it has significantly slowed (or somewhat undone) the momentum of support for the club generated from Season 2. A mistake for a club that, being in its infancy, should be trying to attract as many supporters to their games as they can.”

Without a doubt, attendances did drop quite noticeably last season, from a season average in 2006/07 of 27,728, to an average of 26,064 supporters per match in 2007/08. The season high of 31,884 paled in comparison with the previous season’s high of 50,33 (both were home fixtures against Sydney FC). Continue reading →