Which similarly skilled players have done well in those leagues? Hoffman has scored in one game in over 40 in the A-league. This is the sort of form which should have him playing state league, not getting interest from abroad.

I rate Babalj and Hamill and could see both getting some dollars in the future. The issue is though, you are likely to sell one of these types of players every 2 or 3 years. Bringing in a few hundred thousand dollars. Or, you might see, as in the case of Leckie and Kruse, players leaving for free after a few good years service.

I give full credit for the heart and am excited by a lot of their young players. This will not translate into them being profitable.

He looks a very good signing. Good on the ball today, and he showed in the last match he has a decent strike on him.

I have no problem with what he said. More of it i say! Thats what they are paid for. On the other hand, i am really surprised that he would be surprised by the appointment. It had been rumoured about for a while. Not as if it came out of the blue. Unless Slater is one of the commentators who just makes comments and doesnt really read around the supporter discussions.

He is an okay players who is good enough to score goals against weak opposition but cant cut it at A-league level. He was ordinary at Newcastle and has been hopeless at the Jets. With the players that Heart have signed, he shouldnt be seeing much game time at all. Have heart still got Babalj? id be playing him over Hoffman.

Great work by the Cove and Sydney FC to negotiate the reversal. If you take away the fans affinity and affection for their club, then all you are left with is a very ordinary professional football league. I can understand their being safe-ty issues, but i think its now more important than ever for supporter crews to work with the FFA, and also with themselves, to ensure when they are using something like a pull-over, that they ensure they know who will be under and to try avoid let in random fans who might ruin it for the rest of anyone.

It doesnt matter how much you kick and scream, but if there are instances where-by there is real safety concern, the only decision that that the FFA can make is to ban them. Its the responsible thing to do, and everyone can imagine the harm this sport would receive in the media here about injuries and damage caused by flares.

Thanks for the comments all!

To explain a few different choices; i tried to think about the games which helps me to define what Melbourne Victory are. The Sydney game is so important because it ended our idea of invincibility, and whilst it really was a terrible thing to see, i think it was probly good for the league, and perhaps has helped to awaken Sydney FC.

From an emotional point of view, i would say the four matches that stand out for me are: Central Coast VS Melbourne 3-3 (i recent listed Danny Allsopp’s equaliser as one of my top five goals for Melbourne due to the circumstances of the match, and an fantastic little assist from Fred mind you.); Adelaide VS Melbourne 0-2 Semi final 09; Sydney VS Melbourne 2-0 ’10 and Sydney VS Melbourne 2-2 ’10. They were l great matches and as exciting, if not more so than the five i listed in my article. However i still feel they dont have the same symbolic meaning of what makes Melbourne Victory itself. For what it’s worth, if i had a top six. The 3-3 draw against Central Coast would have got the nod.

In terms of this season, i am not so optimistic at the moment. I believe we have the makings of the best and most destructive midfield in the league, but also the slowest defense and least threatening striking options. Remembering at this time last season we had not signed Robbie Kruse, Adrian Leijer and Mate Dugandzic yet, so there is still hope!

At the en of the day, people choose to go and are not forced into purchasing tickets. Price cuts are annoying for initial buyers but it happens in every Industry.

The club will also make more money, and get free publicity from this match than they would a local club. I choose not to attend these style matches after watching fulham and a low intensity match that I felt was overpriced.
Saying that, from memory that match was organized b the club and prices and venues were similar to those by the organizer if the everton tour.
I must admit I am a little envious of seeing boca play though.

Different ways to look at the situation. I think the Adelaide crowd is great but i daresay you would want more evidence to support moving into there. One thing you can say about the AFL, they are willing to spend A LOT of money to make their expansion work. I would be interested in seeing how much money the AFL has spent on making both the Swans and Lions successful. Add into that the two new clubs, and you have to question whether thats a smart investment. I couldnt see the NRL caring about that expansion all too much when they would spend a lot more money than they would recoup in extra tv coverage or crowd reciepts. Sometimes its best to know your market and keep it, rather than focusing on trying to gain a little extra piece of the pie. The best and most succesful expansion will be when the communities involved campaign heavily for it. Locals in Adelaide and Perth will be more likley to know if the momentum is there.

I am a little concerned about Port Adelaide’s situation. If you unable to make a profit based off 25,000 crowds and the biggest tv rights deal in this country then thats a worry. I get the feeling that with the money the “popular teams” have the ammounts they would be spending on their football operations, that other clubs will struggle to keep up and will run at heavy losses in order to remain competitive. The main growth for AFL will obviously be the two new teams, but even they are long term investments, and there is a big difference between average crowds and local interest and tv ratings. I really struggle to see where the growth will be in the next 5 years for AFL, which could tighten the belt on a few clubs (kangaroos and port immediately come to mind).

Lets ban trumpets and drums too, because they annoy people, and that annoying bell in the epl. I hate when im watching a football match and all i can hear is Singing and something about “Melbourne til i die”. Dont those guys realise how out of tune and tone they are? Sometimes whilst im sitting and watching my match i get a bit of tissue paper on me, i recon they should be banned too.

Fans should be allowed to support their teams the way they choose as long as they comply with the law (ie- no abuse, damage etc). You agree with the banning of one thing, you open up the doors to ban everything. I for one, am not bothered by the vuvuzela’s; but i daresay the fact that so many people are playing them, that fans are enjoying the experience.

Whilst i havent seen Petratos play, i agree with the sentiments of your article. You dont have to look far to see that smaller technical players are currently tearing it up on the world stage. I am always hesitant to expect too much from a young player based on reports also. You might remember Chris Payne being labeled, if i recall currectly, the next mark Viduka.

Of players i have seen, i will be following Kamal Ibrahim and feel that he may be able to have an impact quickly. Troisi for mine is the other player i can think of who fits your description but unfortunately for him he’s not had the best time of it at late.

Skoko will definitely add something to the team Dejan although i must admit i have not seen him play since his time in the national team. Given that he has played at a relatively high level over the past few years and has always been a consistent performer; i can see him really adding some class to this team. From initial reports i was under the impression that Worm was a wide player. In this game he was used in the centre of midfield. Perhaps with Skoko arriving he will take over Hoffman’s position and will definitely be dangerous.

Srhoj is interesting. At times last season he showed form for Perth to suggest he was ready to stamp his foot on the A-league. I see him fighting for a spot in the starting lineup with Marrone (who i have been very impressed with in the past). I think the Heart will have no problems this season. They have a lot of quality in their side. It was just evident that they have a bit to go before the season to get used to each other.

Dave i have been wondering why Victory haven’t for quite some time. I do not think you will see massive numbers of Gippsland fans traveling on mass to watch the matches as you do with the AFL. Even so, a few extra memberships and potentially a few hundred extra fans from each regional area will definitely help the new team. As the league gains momentum and popularity; people will remember that Heart visited when faced with the choice of which Melbourne team to support.

I agree with you on some levels. It easy to say that Kewell had an obvious hand ball. But there was also one in the Germany Australia match which was not given. And one in the Serbia Ghana match which was. At the end of the day the Australian one was the only one not given and Australia were eliminated on goal difference. Australia were not robbed. But the Referees had too much influence in this world cup.

The fury have actually built one of the better squads in the league. Which is surprising given they looked to be shockers before the season started. Players such as Tadross and Griffiths have turned out to be very good aquisitions. Whilst Williams, Fowler, Daal and Mcbreen is a very good strike quartet.

What the the fury have which Gold Coast United dont, is team unity and a whole lot of heart. Gold Coast looked to build a club which all the football outside of their own territory would love to hate. The main problem has been even their own public dont seem to like them either.

Coming off contract at the end of the season, looking for a few extra games, how about a permanent move to Melbourne instead of a loan. Could fit in well and replace Musket’s likely retirement. As a Melbourne fan, one can dream.

Moore is vital to the Roar and they really need to focus on keeping him and building a team around him. For a guy who has equalled, if not surpassed the, success Muskat has seen; its dissapointing the club and fans dont seem to have the same association and affection with Moore as those in Melbourne do with Muskat. If Queensland can keep their captain a season or two and try and emulate the the marketing the Victory has performed, it might go a long way to bringing the fans back to Suncorp. At his best, I’d still rate Moore as our best centre back we currently have.

I would say Oar definately is a better prospect at this time than Zullo. Though i guess one question would be whether they both could play in the same team. I believe it was the match before sydney where Oar received the ball on the right and unleashed from outside the box. It was a fantastic bit of skill.

Nichols actually is quite technically sound, though he just lacks motivation and enthusiasm this season. Last season his finishing was poor, but he always ran hard and got himself into really good positions. His passing was also at a higher standard. It will be interesting to see if Postecoglou helps Mitch rediscover his form.