Melbourne Victory: Time to relaunch

It may be a long way to the top, but it’s even harder staying there. You certainly do become the hunted, as Melbourne Victory has discovered this season.

Despite their position on the table, the Victory at their best are still very hard to beat. Their multiple goal-scoring options make them one of the most formidable sides on their day.

However, consistency for the boys in blue hasn’t been that apparent. This season we are often pondering as to which Melbourne Victory will show up.

Will it be the Victory that humiliated the then ladder leaders Brisbane? Or will it be the Victory that showed up in the opening forty-five minutes in Geelong?

One thing is for sure, the Victory cannot afford any more hiccups heading into their next few fixtures.

It was always going to be a difficult season for the Victory.

They lost their captain and midfield general in Mark Milligan and to a degree that sense of spontaneity that guided them to a number of wins last season.

Like all great sides, the Victory was forced to find new ways to win. This season however, clubs are taking greater notice of players such as Khalfallah and Barbarouses who may not have been as tightly marked for large parts of last season.

Losing Carl Valeri has also not helped their cause, with the club having to dig deep to field a solid side.

The Victory had the chance to jump into third position, catapulting over rivals City. However blew the chance, going down 3-2 to the Glory.

The loss came down to the side being caught napping, conceding two early goals making it eleven goals conceded in the first half of their matches.

However this is certainly not the end of the road for the Victory as there are enough matches and talent in the squad to cement the top spot.

Victory fans would be licking their lips when analysing the next few fixtures.

The Victory will play seven of their next ten matches at home as well as meeting cross-town rivals Melbourne City in the derby making it eight games in Melbourne.

Things could not have worked out any better for the Victory, allowing them to put those unfavourable results on the road behind them.

The Victory have an opportunity to re start their season, allowing the Victory the chance to prove that they are still a force to be reckoned with, playing many of their rivals that are congested with them on the table.

First up are the in-form Wanderers who currently sit two points clear on top of the table, followed by the much anticipated Melbourne derby before home fixtures against Adelaide and Sydney, all of which will draw massive crowds.

These fixtures are huge for the Victory, not only to restore a sense of confidence within the side but could potentially see the Melbourne club find themselves in the position of claiming their second successive premiership, a feat that is yet to be achieved by any A-League club.

The competition is still wide open, for what feels like the first time in the league’s history, it is almost impossible to pick out an ace from the deck.

The way the current table stands there are potentially four to five teams that are capable of taking out the premiership, with the finals campaign being a different discussion all together.

With the race for the flag being as close as it is, it will come down to whom best can manage their squad delivering the desired consistency and intensity.

As for the Victory, if having the chance to beat four of their rivals on home soil does not motivate them enough then nothing will.