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Melbourne City scored the sort of goal you see more commonly in Europe on Sunday, and the club could hold the keys to unlocking the A-League’s full potential.
Ross McCormack finally got the monkey off his back by scoring a goal from open play in City’s 1-0 win over the Central Coast Mariners, as he finished off a superb team move started by goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis and laid to him on a plate by a slide-rule pass from Luke Brattan.
It was an instinctive run by McCormack, and it will be interesting to see if the experienced striker sticks around beyond January when Bruno Fornaroli makes his return.
The burly Glaswegian – is that the right way to describe him? – has already seen off one star teammate in the form of Tim Cahill, and coach Warren Joyce showed his hand by brooking no tolerance for dissent after Cahill spoke out about his dissatisfaction over a lack of game time.
Could Joyce be a shrewder operative than many in the Australian media originally gave him credit for? The one-time Wigan Athletic coach has already seen off both Cahill and former assistant Michael Valkanis.
Joyce evidently didn’t want to talk about Cahill’s departure in the build-up to City’s clash with the Mariners, but the taciturn Englishman seems to have been given a clear vote of confidence by his discerning employers.
And with Melbourne City vice-chairman Simon Pearce said to be flexing his considerable muscle behind the scenes, it’s entirely possible the City Football Group could soon be calling plenty more shots should the ten A-League clubs get their way and take ownership of the league.
Of all the mistakes Football Federation Australia has made over the past couple of seasons, failing to expand the A-League is by far the most glaring.
It was a point rammed home by 18-year-old Nathaniel Atkinson’s debut for City, with the Tasmanian turning in an assured performance in his first senior game for the club.
Far too few youngsters are getting an opportunity in the A-League, and that’s not a situation that’s going to change until whomever is in charge finally admits some more clubs.
Yet by the time it happens a huge swathe of the supporter base will have already been alienated – and marketing gimmicks like the inconceivably lame Star Wars round certainly won’t fix the problem.
FFA has already managed to alienate the national team coach, and if you believe the rumours, Ange Postecoglou could end up at a club with another strong City Football Group influence in the form of Yokohama F. Marinos.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
The group may own less than a 20 per cent share in the J. League heavyweights, but crucially they’re said to be lending back-room support in a country where traditional Japanese management techniques still play a significant role in the running of football clubs.
Postecoglou knows his J. League – take it from me – and he wouldn’t look out of place in charge of one of Japan’s most popular clubs.
Could the City Football Group be behind his next move? If Postecoglou ends up in Yokohama – and it’s not the first time he’s been courted by a major Japanese club – we’ll know for sure.
Yet it’s their increasing influence over the A-League that could be the most telling.
Melbourne City may still be failing to draw big crowds – surely an Andrea Pirlo-level marquee has got to be the next move – but there’s no denying the fact the City Football Group are getting a lot of things right from their Abu Dhabi base.
Their A-League team may be one of several to fall under their auspices, and there are legitimate concerns around the ethics of one company owning numerous different clubs.
But the City Football Group has learned a thing or two about running football clubs over the past few years. Maybe it’s not the worst idea to press them on their thoughts about how to run a league.