Victory thrashed by Gamba in ACL

brave is one description.....

his comments merely highlight the fact that Merrick, or the club, has failed to do the required homework.

I thought before the game when Merrick opted to leave Hernandez at home and play 3 strikers against Gamba was a very brave move away from home... needless to say he got this wrong

That's the type of Marquee player I'm talking about - not someone like Fowler who's okay, but getting too old! Someone like Dwight who pulls in a crowd yet is one of the best if not the best player on the pitch! A player like Dwight Yorke will make a difference at Victory...well or Heart for that matter :-)

It's Australian sport's default setting. Australian teams are only ever beaten by two types of foreigner, viz (a) those that cheat, and (b) cashed-up ones. It's the first thing Australian Sports Journalists are taught in 101.

"He said the Japanese club .... had shown they were willing to spend big on strikers, such as Adriano, from Brazil, and Keun-Ho, from South Korea." For doG's sake, when is a reporter going to have the marbles tell the idiots who make these comments: "Quit making lame excuses". Gamba was willing to "spend big?" Where the hell do you get that from? Because nobody knows how much Gamba paid for those two players, and what little IS known suggests they cost less than it took to pry Alex Brosque away from Sydney. How can A-League fans (and reporters) whine and sob about how "cheaply" Brosque was sold, and then turn around a week later and claim that Gamba "spent big" to sign Lee and Adriano? FACT: Lee Keun-Oh was picked up on a free transfer by Jubilo Iwata, in mid-2009, at the age of 23. He had a brilliant first season, but went into a slump the next year. He was signed by Gamba for a relatively low fee because: (a) he had made an attempt to cut out on Jubilo and move to Holland (but the Dutch club ended up backing out), damaging his personal relationship with Jubilo, and (b) Jubilo was slipping into the red, couldnt afford Lee's salary, and badly needed a quick cash influx. Nobody knows the price tag, but it was definitely less than the A$400,000 S-Pulse paid for Brosque, and may have been as little as half that amount. FACT: Adriano was signed by Cerezo Osaka in 2009 on loan from Brazil's Internacional, for a reported US$500,000 (thats the total, including his salary!). I dont knows how much Gamba paid to lure him across town, but looking at the TOTAL figure Cerezo paid for a one year loan, you can be sure that the transfer fee was no more than half a million. In what bizarre, upside-down universe can those acquisitions possibly be described as "spending big?"

What this proves is that A-Leauge teams are at a huge disadvantage. We need to name the teams before we know who will take the premiership. It's a very flawed system, and makes no sense. So, yet again, we see a club that was at it's peak the previous season, and currently in a slump.

that would certainly be an interesting press conference

Perhaps the word that is most apt in this situation would be ...harakiri??

Only Football at Brisbane and CCM has noticeably evolved from the past seasons. GCU hasn't changed; Perth went backwards; AUFC still plays counter-attack but tightened up their defence; Newcastle consistently plays a nice style of possession game that saw them successful under van Egmond. Why would a marquee player make any difference? I've just mentioned that there is "no system" NOT that we don't have the players. To me - other than Dwight Yorke - marquee players have been a waste of money.

I'm not sure what the equivalent is in the corporate world, or in politics, of putting out essentially a 2 man midfield against a top japanese opponent and not expecting to be overrun in the middle and therefore very likely opened up, but I am guessing it would get you sacked pretty fast. the change with celeski helped, and had they nicked another before the break then who knows.. but I agree fully with your sentiments. it also appears to me, although of course this is pure speculation, that certain MVC players are quite comfortable at the moment in their surroundings and performances are not what they used to be or what we should expect, system or no system. a shake up at the club would do wonders I think.

There you are!!! :-D I love your take on statistics though...it's very convenient for you that the HAL Grand Final for this season hasn't been played yet because if you were writing this exact comment 1.5 weeks from now, you'd be saying Victory played in the last 3 from 5 Grand Finals..."last" the key word there...let's put things into perspective! I agree with you though, Merrick's style is just not working anymore! Football in Australia has evolved and improved, but Merrick's mentality and system hasn't! MVFC need a rejuvenation, they need to be re-invigorated and Straka could bring that to Victory! Both Merrick and Lavicka should be looking over their shoulders every time they play from now on...and apart from new coaches, signing real marquee players would also do them and their support base a LOT of good! ;-)

RoD, I wrote posted this (see below) last night after the Game ... not sure what more you want me to say? You'll find that AUFC finished bottom, Brisbane 2nd bottom and CCM 3rd bottom last season. They turned things around reasonably well this season, don't you think?\ MVFC has played in 3 of the past 4 HAL GFs so I guess, it's time for the cycle to end and, perhaps, we finish bottom next season and start again. Who knows? At the moment, I no longer care ... but, by next week, perhaps, I'll renew my optimism ... I hope. ------------- Wow … that was embarrassing. I’m stunned. I knew our defence was rubbish and now the whole of Asia also know that. I’ve stood by Merrick in recent years b/c we always got results. But, as far as I’m concerned, the harsh reality is Merrick is not a coach/trainer – although, by some accounts, he’s an excellent man manager. Craig Foster in the SMH last week-end explained the difference b/w management & coaching; and the difference between focusing on players to focusing on a system. Management is concerned with maximising human resources and largely focuses on individual and group dynamics; while coaching requires greater tactical insight and competency on the training ground to see and solve problems. Merrick is a “manager”; Arnold, Postegoglou are coaches/trainers. MVFC has no structure or system – it was so obvious tonight that the players have not been given tasks so they don’t know where they’re meant to be and are never in the right spot for the passes. We know Frank Straka is looking for a job … the thing is the hierarchy at MVFC are too slow to act – which gives stability but also hinders change. If I hadn’t already bought my ACL tickets I wouldn’t bother turning up to watch Merrick’s rubbish again … very disillusioned.

MV once again proves they have no place playing in Aisa

Where's Fussball today? haha Victory may have scored more goals than AUFC against Gamba, but they've also definitely copped a LOT more too! lol In fact just out of Adelaide's 3 AFC appearances, in the three group stages they've conceded a total of 12 goals to Victory's 21...and that's not including last night's 5 goals!! At the end of Victory's 3rd ACL campaign (equaling AUFC's appearances), Victory will be an embarrassment to the A-League in Asia's eyes! Maybe it's time Ernie starts putting a bit more focus on Asia instead of ONLY concentrating on winning the A-League...not that he's doing too well at that either lately! They went from 1st to 2nd to 5th and probably out of the finals next season (especially with no weak opposition to claim easy points against), that's an unhealthy decline... :-P

Not really surprising. Melbourne Victory are not at the top of their game, and it showed both during the season and in the finals. Gamba are one of the best sides in Asia. It wasn't too hard to figure out what the result was going to be.

ouch. ernies asian record is consistent at least ;)