Allsopp, the player his own fans love to hate

Spot on, Danny's been my favourite player for years. He's a great guy and I'm sure no one can question his work rate out on the pitch, and also his scoring ability, and if you still doubt this, then you should have a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O00d-qf0G6U He is easily one of Victory's best players and most consitent, and he's not a player that'll go down to earn a free kick easily, as shown in the first Semi-Final agaisnt Adelaide in 2009. Outmuscling Ognenovski to score brilliantly. He's one of the best strikers that don't enough enough appreciation for what they do.

das I don't see enough of Scotty to judge one way or the other (although obviously the Man Utd goal was a beauty). As to the general proposition of being lucky - a bit like the Allsopp story - you can be lucky for a game, or two, maybe for a big chunk of a season, but you can't be lucky for 3, 4 or 5 seasons. When you're lucky for a big chunk of your career, it can't be luck we are talking about anymore - its' somethine else again - like good ol' striker's instinct!

If MV fans doesn't like Danny Allsopp I'm quite sure Adelaide would be happy to take him. would make a good partnership with cristiano

Paddy although you can't say anything about scott mcdonald now after scoring some cracking goals (man U and rangers) and showed some great goal scoring instinct this season. I also have no problems with tap in. However I think people downplay his record for large amount of genuinely lucky goals. Likes deflection of the post or off a defender or the keeper (AC milan goal seems very good fortune) that goes straight to mcdonald. Unless someone can explain to me how a person can consistently predict where a deflection or parry from a keeper will go to and then position yourself for it. I do think he is a great striker for celtic but his record is a little bit exagerrated and his goal scoring record in this season is a more accurate portrayal of his ability (although the type of goals his score is far more impressive) then that insane first season.

Spanner The only thing strikers need to do to prove their worth is score goals - Danny is the second highest scorer in the A-League, so he's pretty much proven his worth already (by the way, do you have a highlights reel on his many assists? there are probably far too many to find) With Ernie - what more can a manager do than win two of a comp's first four premierships. Throw a double in there, plus a pre-season cup, plus a real shot at the double this season, well, once again, I'm not sure if Ernie needs to do much more to be honest. Going back to Danny's tap ins, one of his most important was the first goal MV scored against CCM to start a run of three goals in 7 minutes to kill the contest when it had been a very tight, dificult game to that point. That too was a tap in, but only someone with little knowledge of the game would dismiss it as "just a tap in". Watch this clip carefully (around the middle): http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=LE8WdQjaeYU Carlos starts the move, rolls it across the top of the D, but both Arch and Danny are actually able to take the ball, Danny lets Arch take, they criss cross paths, Danny knows instinctively what Arch will do next and he does a wide arc in the opposite direction around the back of the defenders, completely losing his marker, and is there at the far post to tap in. Yes, it's a simple tap in, but Danny demonstrates a couple of things that many A-League strikers may have failed to do: 1. A perfect understanding with his striking partner; and 2. not just where to run, but most importantly, how to get there to arrive on cue and in the process lose his marker. They seem simple things - maybe they are - but the fact that Danny is the 2nd highest scorer in the comp means that he displays these qualities a bit more frequently than other A-League strikers. It's not enough to have someone feeding you, otherwise we'd all be strikers. Incidentally, as it happens, this particular clip opens with Danny going on to his left and curling a shot that clips the far upright, which shows that maybe he is not the one trick pony you think he is.

someone do a highlights reel of Allsopp´s 30 goals and you will see just one great goal which is the one that all his admirers talk about. The other 29 are tap ins that were served up mostly by Fred, Thompson and Hernandez. Then watch the 80 goals that he missed which were just as easy. No quality in this guy just like his coach who is the biggest joke. As my mate says, he marks himself out of the game.

If he could improve his first touch, he maybe, be as good as Archie .. But until he can do that, he will not be a great player, but maybe a reasonably good player, like Archie ... ~~~~~~~~ KB

I am not sure what the references in this article to a fan wearing a Liverpool shirt are about - the Author seems genuinely concerned/confused? The conclusion that if Danny is picked, that PVB rates him above other strikers seems equally confused - or plainly simplistic at best. I am a huge fan of Danny (always defend him) - but I am afraid this particular contribution to football analysis smacks of that which Danny is often wrongly accused of - 'impotence' up front. mahony

Mick I imagine you'd agree with the following: if we look at CCM's strikepower (and it's considerable), blokes like Mrdja (in particular), but even Sasho and Macallister, more often than not have eyes for the goals (like all good strikers) - but too often they fail to pick out a team mate in a better possie. I know many CC fans will disagree - but that's a bit of a view I have formed over the current season. The other thing is that we're talking about four pretty big blokes - they're going to scare the bejeezus out of some of the Asian club teams (the weaker ones) - but it's a different story relying on three at the same time in the A-League - you might get away with it in some games - you're going to be found wanting more often than not though. This is another aspect of the Arch/Danny partnership - they are compatible as players, they bring balance to the forward division - together they form a whole in a way that any combo of CCM's strikers do not. Their record suggests that there is something in that. Just a thought.

Excellent point Pippinu.

And let's not forget the assists to add to the 11 goals.

Allsop runs his socks off, gives 100% effort and generally is asked to do too much IMO by the coach...some of his energy should be saved for the task he is in the team for, to score. Danny needs to take more of the chances he is presented with. He has 11 goals but missed some it appeared easier to score than miss. That said he is worth his place in the side but needs to continue working hard on his finishing.

Re Ernie, it should be added that he has twice bounced back from relatively poor seasons inside four years - that says volumes about him alone.

The problem for Dan is that he has suffered from the "first impressions count" type scenario, he has very much proved himself since season 1, but people will always remember the initial impression of his poor season and some glaring misses etc from season 1 and will never be convinced He has had two seasons now where he has got over 10 goals, a double digit Striker in a 21 round season is respectable and congratulations for his call up. He has scored many important goals for MVFC, but like I said people will always have the memory of season 1 and their first impressions at the back of their minds Same thing applies to Ernie, a lot of people haven't forgotton season 1's efforts, and despite him leading MVFC to the double in emphatic style, and a very strong campaign this season, he has the most A League oriented Trophies and under his tenureship I think MVFC is now the biggest and most successful club in the early phase of A League history, however people are still generally unconvinced and we'll continue to go round in cycles down here in Melbourne. There are issues, but some of these can be attributed to the general state of the Coaching level in Australia

Rooster Coach may have meant it, but it certainly didn't read like it. In any event, people underestimate the amount of running he does - it's massive - certainly far, far more than the likes of Cristiano, Aloisi or Dadi would manage in a game. So it's beyond me how anyone could accuse him of laziness. If the detractors (and I agree too many MV fans are amongst them) are still scratching their heads wondering why Danny is the 2nd most successful striker in the history of the comp, I give them two reasons (beyond his excellent striker's instinct): 1. His long partnership with Arch is worth a lot. The understanding the two have is as good as anything you will find in the A-League (and has certainly attracted the interest of Pim, more so than the two as individuals); and 2. In AFL speak - Danny is a very difficult match up. He has considerable speed for a big man, yet can do the holding, bullocking work required of a good centre-forward.

I think what Coach is trying to say Pippinu, is that he thinks Allsopp is a smart runner who doesn't run himself into the ground. I can understand the confusion though. Interesting article Paddy, as Mebourne had struggled last season and a couple of time this season, it is clear that victory fans just need someone to point the finger at, and the front line can often cop the grunt of the fans disappointment.

I'm glad somebody has put this out there. I'm a big Danny fan and think is call-up to the Socceroos is well deserved - even if it's the synergies with Thompson that get him into the starting line-up rather than him being the second-best striker in the A-League, which he's not. Nothing infuriates me more than the stick he cops from a surprisingly large number of Victory 'fans' with short memories and a lack of appreciation for the value Danny adds to the team. The statistics, as Paddy has mentioned, speak for themselves. The rebuttal to this that is often put to me is that it is all down to his partnership with Thompson, which is a pretty naive view. You don't become the second top scoring striker over 4 seasons just because of a good strike partnership, there's a tad more to it. What will always win me over with Allsop is his work ethic. I find it hard to believe anyone could misconstrue him as lazy. His efforts in chasing back and making challenges in his own half are excellent and add huge value to a team that often leaves itself light on in the middle. Agreed, he's is not always the silkiest player going around and is at times frustrating to watch, but he does a job and does it very well. Anyone who needs reminding of that should go back and watch the tape of that semi final. I hope he silences a few critics on Wednesday.

He runs to the right positions because of his limitations and laziness?