Melbourne Heart need to sign marquee player
Roar Rookie By jasonf, 20 Jan 2010 Jason Feldman is a Roar Rookie
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- A-League, football, Jesper Olsen, melbourne heart, Melbourne Rebels, Rugby Union
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In 2011, when the Melbourne Rebels run on the imaginatively named “Melbourne Rectangular Stadium”, they will represent the fourteenth professional football club to be based in the southern capital.
Fourteen clubs translates into a huge of amount of supporters, corporate dollars and media coverage needed just to cover costs and put a side on the park each week.
Six months before the Rebels make their debut, a far more risky venture will commence when the Heart become the second Melbourne-based side in the A-League and the first intra-city A-League rivalry will be born.
The big question is just who will support this new franchise??
With less than eight months until kick-off, the Heart don’t have an official name or colours, and only have six players on the books. The most exciting announcement thus far is that former Manchester United player Jesper Olsen has signed on as an assistant coach.
A pretty impressive appointment but it won’t drag fans away from the Victory or entice any new supporters to “the world game.”
The Heart has a massive challenge ahead of them to establish a supporter base prior to kick off.
Melbourne Victory is the clear frontrunner in the A-League fans stakes, yet the Victory has seen numbers drop despite two A-League titles and playing some of the more attractive football in the competition. Only twice this season have more than 25,000 fans seen the Victory at Etihad, and both matches featured main rival Sydney FC as the away team.
To reverse this trend, the Heart need to be ambitious and rope in a big name marquee that will get fans off the couch and bring them to the stadium.
There has been talk that Mark Viduka will come out of hibernation to lead the front line. However, apart from sailing off the coast of Croatia and buying property in Williamstown, no one has actually seen or heard from the man himself.
Viduka would have seen the treatment that fellow Socceroo John Aloisi has received in Sydney and may realise that the A-League may not be the best place for an aging Aussie star to collect a final pay-cheque.
So who else is out there?
If Freddie Ljungberg can earn US$5 million a season playing MLS in Seattle, then the A-League will continue to attract even the aging superstars of the game. Christian Vieri has Australian connections and was recently rumoured to be looking to a move to the Brazilain third division.
Patrick Kluivert is currently retired and could light up the local competition. Jay Jay Okocha is 36 but would be an exciting marquee option for any A-League squad.
Of those still plying their trade in Europe’s top leagues, Okocha’s compatriot Kanu could be a target, as his star is rapidly dwindling for Portsmouth. Perhaps the Heart could be a possible post-World Cup destination for the former Arsenal striker.
Whilst the current squad is small, the signing of Matt Thompson and Dean Heffernan have been mini-coups for the new franchise. Neither are household names in Melbourne but both have been superior A-League performers.
Jason Hoffman and Kristian Sarkies will be wearing Heart shirts next season, whilst there is speculation that former Socceroo Josip Skoko will return to Melbourne from his stint in Croatia.
Whatever the case, Heart coach John van ‘t Schip will need to act quickly to establish a squad that is competitive and can capture the attention of Melbourne football supporters.
The NAB Cup is only three weeks away and the Melbourne sporting landscape will again be dominated by another AFL season.
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- A-League, football, Jesper Olsen, melbourne heart, Melbourne Rebels, Rugby Union
January 20th 2010 @ 8:26am
MV Dave said | January 20th 2010 @ 8:26am | Report comment
Viduka was the key but he has retired and so…who will they sign. Certainly it has to be someone known to football fans here with an overseas pedigree and a goalscorer or at least creator.With a Dutch coach and a Danish assistant must be a fair chance the player will be European…Edgar Davids has been mentioned but does he fit the bill?
Whoever they sign MH have given themselves little time (if any) to receive decent media attention and put their brand out there. If the announcements of name. colors etc arent made in the lull after the Tennis then they have left it too late IMO.
Good luck to them as it will be great to have football every week played in Melbourne from next season. There will be some good will initially but if the club dont take advantage early they could struggle.
January 20th 2010 @ 8:36am
Australian Football said | January 20th 2010 @ 8:36am | Report comment
What I want to know is the Melb Heart FC the official name…? They have been stalling for a long time…
January 20th 2010 @ 8:41am
Australian Football said | January 20th 2010 @ 8:41am | Report comment
I just read the artilce and it seems not…
January 20th 2010 @ 9:08am
MV Dave said | January 20th 2010 @ 9:08am | Report comment
AF
Havent been told yet but it is likely they will stick with Heart after so long. The only other name possibility is Sporting Melbourne FC which l dont mind.
Colors are rumoured to be Red and White, possibly hoop design.
All to be revealed…eventually.
January 20th 2010 @ 9:12am
Redb said | January 20th 2010 @ 9:12am | Report comment
not sporting Melbourne – that is a rubbish name IMO. Stick with Heart.
It’s the marquee that counts anyway , after awhile the fans like the team/club and are rarely drawn just to the nickname.
January 21st 2010 @ 7:28am
kronic said | January 21st 2010 @ 7:28am | Report comment
They haven’t been stalling, the FFA has. This has been locked up in court of ages. However, it seems Melbourne Heart FC is the official name as is “Red and White”, similar to the AJAX strip.
January 21st 2010 @ 3:25pm
Spanner said | January 21st 2010 @ 3:25pm | Report comment
It is 100% Melbourne Heart Football Club. Trademark is signed sealed and delivered on the 14th January. The hold up is at the FFA headquarters.
Word: MELBOURNE HEART FC
Image:
Lodgement Date: 08-SEP-2008
Registration Due: 14-JUL-2010
Date of Acceptance: 23-DEC-2009
Acceptance Advertised: 14-JAN-2010
Class/es: 16, 25, 28, 41
Status: Accepted
Kind: n/a
Type of Mark: Word
Examiner: Boniface RAPHAEL
Owner/s: Football Federation Australia Limited
ACN: 106478068
Level 22
1 Oxford Street
DARLINGHURST NSW 2010
AUSTRALIA
January 21st 2010 @ 3:32pm
Australian Football said | January 21st 2010 @ 3:32pm | Report comment
Geez it took a Roar poster to break the news where everyone else has failed to get the informantion out—-well done Spanner…
January 20th 2010 @ 8:35am
Redb said | January 20th 2010 @ 8:35am | Report comment
Melbourne Heart will struggle for sure without a major crowd drawing marquee – no doubt this is priority number 1. If they don’t deliver one – gonski ( technical term).
I’d be pretty confident the Melbourne rectangular stadium which has not been named will have a whopping big sponsor very soon.
January 20th 2010 @ 9:05am
MV Dave said | January 20th 2010 @ 9:05am | Report comment
” If they don’t deliver one – gonski” l thinks he’s currently playing in the Polish 2nd division
January 20th 2010 @ 8:36am
whiskeymac said | January 20th 2010 @ 8:36am | Report comment
the marquee issue is never easy – culina is a superior player but is hardly a headline name for example whereas romario got the headlines but was a failure otherwise here. is the aim to improve the football or just boast the club has someone who was good 10 seasons ago? are they just for marketing? i hope that, if they do splurge on an old player, then it’s not the only strategy to be employed by the club to be noticed. substance over style will hopefully mean the club will survive longer than just as a one man novelty.
actually, do the club really need a marquee? ccm built their club w/o one and IMO are successful in a very crowded area for NRL, RU and even 2 (soon to be 3) HAL clubs.i think it is preferable for the club to build community support based on something more meaningful than a marquee. marquee’s rarely shine for long and are a tad superficial in anything other than the short term.
i like the hearts recruitment so far. good HAL players shld see them being competitive, this is important as fickle crowds wont support a new team if they are losers to begin with (and just down the road there are winners). if a marquee provides some extra turnstiles action that’s a bonus – but wld people turn up to watch kanu get beaten every week? actually wld the average punter even know who kanu… or ljunberg were???
if its not just about the glamour, and football is more important in signing a star, then for me a good marquee improves the team on and off the pitch – he imparts knowledge and experience to the others and when the team needs him steps up – fowler, yorke were exceptional in this respect… as was vignarolli until he was injured. do you need a name for this or cld it be achieved by buying any old player from a top league with experience.
ie why splurge 5mill on ljunberg – surely there’s some lesser name who cld return a proportionally better “football” return for your investment. perth’s signing of the ex derby player for example (not even a marquee…) or charlie miller….
January 20th 2010 @ 8:36am
Brett McKay said | January 20th 2010 @ 8:36am | Report comment
Have they confirmed they will be going by the name “Heart” yet?? The last time this came up they claimed they were still deciding, but surely it’s gone on too long to be anything other than Heart(s)…
Then they can focus on a marquee player. Is Teddy Sherringham still running around??
January 20th 2010 @ 8:52am
Davstar said | January 20th 2010 @ 8:52am | Report comment
We will probably sign Chipperfield he will come home after the WC but not as a marquee also im sure there are alot of young players in Melbourne good enough to play A-League.
January 20th 2010 @ 9:33am
Art Sapphire said | January 20th 2010 @ 9:33am | Report comment
The Melbourne football public are quite educated and demand to see good football and skillful footballers.
If Heart can assemble a stong squad (Thompson and Heff are good pickups) and add some class ala a player like Carlos Hernandez they should not have any problems attracting an appreciative and growing audience.
They have also picked two 17 year olds from the AIS – Striker Eli Babalj and the exciting Kamal Ibrahim
If Kamal keeps developing he has the potential to become a major drawcard for the Melbourne Heart.
Check out the vid.
The marquee signing is hugely important and must be considered carefully. This is where Victory have done well in having Archie for 5 seasons. They did not go the international star route and have been rewarded for it. Heart’s marquee will either have to be a creative attacking midfielder or a striker as they need a major drawcard. It will be interesting to see who they end up getting.
January 20th 2010 @ 9:47am
Vince said | January 20th 2010 @ 9:47am | Report comment
Last I saw the FFA legal eagles were holding up the annoucement of the name/colours etc for the Melbourne ‘Heart’ team.
MH wanted to get it out there in time for the Christmas gift giving extravaganza.
As for a Marquee, they might be waiting for the WC to come and go and see who has a blinder and gets noticed by the regular punter but is otherwise at the end of their ‘top tier’ career overseas?
For me, Fowler has been the pick of all Marquee’s to date, with decent service he would have scored more and hopefully the Fury will sign a couple of younger strikers (preferably australian AIS types) who can learn from the best and have Fowler play as a creative midfielder next season.
January 20th 2010 @ 10:43am
Rellum said | January 20th 2010 @ 10:43am | Report comment
“The most exciting announcement thus far is that former Manchester United player Jesper Olsen has signed on as an assistant coach.”
Disagree completely. JVS is by far the most impressive signing. A good marquee will go very far in helping the Heart but it will not make or break them, Victorians are smarter than that. Building a decent club that plays good football and builds strong connections with the local clubs will be the major factor.
The Melbourne press will love this as they love nothing better than promoting local teams. I hope the fans will behave from both the heat and the Victory, no fights or flares will be a great help.
January 20th 2010 @ 10:59am
Lmacca said | January 20th 2010 @ 10:59am | Report comment
Signing Robert Pires from Villarreal. He’d truly be a marquee player. Pity I just started that rumour now.
January 20th 2010 @ 11:06am
AndyRoo said | January 20th 2010 @ 11:06am | Report comment
Pires would be perfect. I think attacking midfielders make the best marquees and provide more value for the spectators than a striker relying on service.
Fowler and Yorke were bought as strikers but play/played deeper than they normally would.
January 20th 2010 @ 12:43pm
Punter said | January 20th 2010 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
I would like to see the Sydney FC bring in a attacking midfielder as their marquee player next year.
I think the best marquees to also be attacking midfielders, look at Jason Cullina, many believe he is not that star quality to be marquee, but I believe from a player point of view, see his performance against SFC, he is the perfect marquee player. Played at the highest level, an Australian socceroo & still in his prime.
January 20th 2010 @ 4:58pm
Fisher Price said | January 20th 2010 @ 4:58pm | Report comment
Unlike, say, Fowler or Yorke, Pires can cut it at the top level. No chance he’d play here.
January 20th 2010 @ 11:40am
Art Sapphire said | January 20th 2010 @ 11:40am | Report comment
Very nice Lmacca – Pires would be a fantastic marquee.
The good news is that he is coming out of contract.
The bad news is that there are plenty of cashed up leagues that can offer him more money.
You have to hope that the marquee makes a choice based on lifestyle and not just money.
Considering that the Heart coach is Dutch maybe he can convince someone like Roy MaKaay to come down to Melbourne.
January 20th 2010 @ 12:00pm
Rellum said | January 20th 2010 @ 12:00pm | Report comment
How about Scholes or Pippo Inzaghi, both are coming to the end of their careers and both are still playing and training at the highest level. I know both would be long shots but they would be worth a try
January 20th 2010 @ 12:27pm
Vince said | January 20th 2010 @ 12:27pm | Report comment
Pippo would be great but he does tend to ‘fall’ over a lot which given the HAL has the anti diving rule may see him yellow carded a lot
If the linesmen have trouble with Archie and off side, imagine the problems they would have with Pippo who according to Sir Alex was born in an offside position
I for one would like to see Bozza as the unofficial Marquee for the new Heart team, think it is a disgrace he isn’t in the HAL as he showed with CCM he could still boss the defense and teach the younger players what it takes to make it to the very top