The malaise Melbourne City are presently stumbling through has them foraging clumsily for answers.
Neil Kilkenny, following City’s lurching 3-3 draw with Perth on Tuesday, decided to point a trembling finger at the officiating, criticising both the performance of Kris Griffiths-Jones two rounds ago against Sydney, and of Shaun Evans against Perth.
It was an extraordinary whinge, and like an anchovy sundae it left a horrible, salty taste lingering on the palate, following what had been a succulent main course of footballing entertainment.
Kilkenny only serves to heighten his unpopularity with reactions like this. Of course, forcing a player to chat to the media following what must have been a hugely frustrating evening, asking him for a composed opinion in the midst of near-Singaporean humidity always beckons for a poorly contrived response.
But to blame the referee for a mediocre result after your team was awarded three penalties in the match – and only two of them warranted – pushes the very limits of what is tolerable.
Besides, if one looks closely – past, even, the fact that City awarded Kilkenny their own man of the match award on the night – they’ll see that it was Kilkenny who was, in concert with the rest of City’s highly unusual defensive unit, at fault for two of Perth’s three goals.
John van’t Schip has set up a very fluid system of rotation at the back, where a nominal back three – against Perth composed of Ruon Tongyik, Ivan Franjic and Manny Muscat – allow Kilkenny to freely drop in and out of defence.
At times, a back four is in place, with Muscat sliding out to the left to allow Nicolas Colazo to roam further forward, as well as for Kilkenny to slot in as a temporary centre back. At others, Kilkenny is seen dictating play high up the pitch, unhindered by doubts about whether to make forward runs, even off the ball, as seen in this clip.
The result is a sprawling heat map, with activity present all over the central corridor, from box to box. It is a system that allows City to pass with slickness out from the back, as well as giving the team a huge numerical advantage when keeping possession in the midfield, particularly when Tim Cahill drops deeply, which he did often against Perth. City had a touch over 70 per cent of the possession on Tuesday evening, a quite remarkable share.
But the problem – as it so often is with formations as ambitious and pliant as this – is that, in times of panic, the deliberately plastic structure can fold horridly under pressure. For Perth’s first goal, plundered while City were still tender following Tim Cahill’s disallowed header, one defensive mishap cause the City defence to tilt into a hazardous position.
As Chris Harold prods the ball through Manny Muscat, the City defence are suddenly three-on-three, with Kilkenny forced to track the runs of the Perth strikers. The fact Kilkenny was forced so deep meant that Luke Brattan had to race into the newly vacated defensive midfield position, to guard against Diego Castro from lurking on the edge of the area ready for the cut-back.
Brattan dithered, and as Castro collected the ball in space, with the City centre backs only barely in advance of their own goal-line, the outcome was inevitable. The sudden movement, the shifting and exchanging of roles that must occur all falls into chaos when panic sets in, and City’s ability to defend during a red alert will always be suspect because of this.
Perth’s second goal, a simply astonishing counter-attack following Bruno Fornaroli’s saved penalty, sounded a similar alarm across the City back line, and this time it was Kilkenny, caught between roles, who unwittingly assisted in the Perth build-up. A hopeful Perth clearance, pinged from on top of the touchline, was met weakly by Kilkenny, whose skimmed header bamboozled Tongyik, who had been in position to clear with authority.
It fell to a Glory attacker, and as they worked it wide to Castro once again, images of Watford in the 2013 Championship playoff final faded into view. Like Troy Deeney had, albeit in far less significant circumstances, Castro delivered a raucous counter-punch. Perhaps Tongyik had not vocalised that the aerial pass was his to deal with, or perhaps Kilkenny was unaware of exactly who was behind him; whatever the case, it was another frazzled sequence, and was again duly punished.
There were further incidents from which City did not receive such harsh – if just – rewards. Here, in this clip, after Brandan turns the ball over, Kilkenny is dragged over to the far flank. As two Perth players muddle the ball up the pitch, it becomes blatantly apparent that a yawning space in front of the City back line is once again opening up, with Brattan trotting back with no apparent urgency. Nebojsa Marinkovic has time to check back toward his own goal then, realising a chance is still in the making, turn back towards the City goal and receive the ball with a huge swathe of pitch to himself. He forces a fine save from Dean Bouzanis.
It’s clear that City have an issue, perhaps just as much a mental frailty as it is a tactical one. Of course, had Bruno Fornaroli converted just one of his missed spot-kicks, the issue would not be as visible; City scored enough goals, and should have scored enough others, to have won the match easily. But they also conceded enough to not win it, and the manner in which they crumbled suddenly, as the blanket of security was torn away, was alarming.
James Troisi put Kilkenny, and the players upon whom his hybrid role relies, under similar pressure in the derby last round, and this week the issue persisted. City are now a full 11 points behind the leaders Sydney and, as Kilkenny rails embarrassingly against the refs, there are precious few signs that the problem is being addressed.
Anthony Chiotis
Roar Rookie
In regards to Melbourne City's extra help from the FFA, the FFA should be helping the clubs who are struggling rather than spoon feeding the team which arguably has the most money. The FFA should start lending a helping hand to the Phoenix so that we can have a team from NZ in our competition that is a strong competitor in the competition. So hopefully over the next few months the FFA start putting funds into the Phoenix so that can start re-building their club.
Insideman
Roar Rookie
Evan a good article but perhaps a touch overanalysed because City did not win when they should have won in a canter.Would this article have been written if City won as they should have? Having watched the game again, although Shaun Evans did help to make the game the spectacle it was his inexperience did show. Whilst no doubt subject to contention Cahill's disallowed goal should in my view have been allowed. Cahill completely outfoxed, outchallenged and outfmuscled Djulbic who in the end was forced to bend over making it look as if Cahill had climbed over him. I don't think too many people would have objected had the goal stood. The penalty at the end of the game should not have been awarded despite the fact that Djulbic lashed out at Brandon. This was because Brandon clearly fouled (poleaxed) Djulbic in the preceding action sparking the retaliation byDjulbic. The correct action to be taken by a referee in this situation would have been to award a free kick to Perth (not a penalty to City), book Brandon for the initial incident and red card them both for the kicking out at each other. However as stated elsewhere he could have kept them on the pitch if he wanted to. My biggest criticism of Shaun last night was the awarding of petty free kicks (stopping the flow of the game) and awarding free kicks when the team which had suffered the infringement had possession of the ball. I have always been a great believer in referees undertaking coaching courses to a sufficient standard where they would be taught the underlying principles of the game. The number one principle of defence is delay. So if a referee blows up unnecessarily this assists the defence although the team on the ball may well have been the team which had been infringed. The referee in effect becomes the first defender for the defence clearly not the function of the referee. As each game is subject to a referee's inspection it would be useful albeit controversial if the assessment was published so that spectators can understand how referees are rated and the reasons for the rating. My understanding is that referees are a fairly autonomous body who march to their own tune. Time that changed so that referees are accountable and meet the demands of the professional era.
tully101
Roar Guru
New membership record this year, and pulling crowds of 11k+ on a tuesday night, citys crowds are building. I really also dont understand the whole lenient suspension comment either,
Ruudolfson
Guest
Melb City's system which is a hybrid 3-1-3-3/4-3-3 is quite different to alot of teams in the a-league its of high risk and also high in reward as well i think the first melb city showed the true effectiveness of it but i think we can see teams worked it out and so they have become less effective as a result. Its something different which i like, i think maybe teams here are too predictable tactically so i applaud them for being innovative and bold with their approach its won them some silverware already so it hasnt harmed them so far. On a side note its good to see them blood some youth into the side, we know the young lad in Tongyik who is looks quite promising but also they blooded in a couple of 17 year olds too so they looking to the future as well balancing with their immediate short term concerns too, a lot of clubs here go gung ho and only want the short term success so credit melb city with their planning.
TheVolley
Guest
3 words for Kilkenny. Fornaroli - penalties - FAIL.
tezza
Guest
wrong sport champ, try the cricket page
MoriartyExp
Roar Rookie
Jakobsen has shown he is the backbone of this team, without their defence looks clueless. It is also very easy to hate City, between FFA, Yoshi and Timmy, it felt as if the FFA/media was pushing City down everyone's throat. If they (as a club) think they aren't getting special treatment from referee's, they are kidding themselves.
Barto
Guest
Perfectly said. As a Sydney FC fan, I actually hate City more than Wanderers right now. If the FFA are trying to turn them into the villains, they are doing a decent job. At least that way they will have some sort of identity for the fans to figure out why they exist in the first place...
Swanny
Guest
I'm not s city fan at all , I follow the jets . But I love watching city. . They attack with class and defend with frailty . Kilkenny had a bit of a rant but so what , the game was a cracker
Kaks
Roar Guru
I understand that a strong City means a strong A-league, because of the financial power their owners have. But there is plenty to dislike about the club as well. Yes they do everything right from their recruitment to their investment in youth and grass-roots football in their community - but I still cant get over this feeling that the whole club is manufactured and represents a lot that is wrong with modern football. With the help the FFA has given them this year to make them relevant, their petulance, their outbursts, their 'gamesmanship', how they seem to get away with things others have no hope of getting away with, they really are taking the title of the A-leagues villain from Victory. But at least with Victory it had to do with success, which created a mutual respect.
Nemesis
Guest
Who is Clarke? I've never seen any Clarke on FoxSports discussing ALeague.
Col (again). . Col C. an
Guest
At the risk of repeating myself , Clarke should not give up his day job , because commentary is not his go .always asks a question when making a comment . A sign he doesn' t know what he's talking about . Drop him .
Steve
Guest
Agree.....City have lost their credibility as a club worthy of support. Money & Arrogance define this club.
Barto
Guest
Kilkenny is doing his best to help solidify City as the most hated team in the league. The team comes across as entitled, like they expect the FFA and the officials to give them the title. The Cahill marquee saga, the diving, the whinging about the refs, the FFA cup final home game saga, the lenient suspension, the Cahill boo whinge, (and all the others I missed) are all building resentment from other clubs towards them. They don't seem to want to change this perception. Luckily, the fans are not flowing through the gates, which indicates most football fans are not falling for this.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Grahame, I have no issue with the vast majority of your article that points out the frailties of our system of play. It was on show last season, and Alex Wilkinson was immense when he came in, and it is on show again this season. Having Jakobsen out has been a big blow to the side because he has brought strength, organisation and nous to defence which is currently lacking. But the elephant in the room is JVS - and has always been. It's one thing to try some sophisticated rotation scheme but you need a lot of things to go right to achieve that - a pretty risky approach. So while Jakobsen is out (along with Malik) we have a raw 20 yr old in Ruon Tongyik, with a total of 3 senior games to his name, basically being last man and doing Jakobsen's job!!!!! Give me a break! The kid has great potential and done exceedingly well but why shoulder him with that burden? But yes, Perth exploited us on the quick counter earlier in the season and they chose the same tactic this time and we struggled. What a game from Castro and Reddy. They should be acknowledged for what Perth achieved on the night. If Bouzanis had a game similar to Reddy we would have won. Kilkenny over cooked it but he's just come off the pitch and is devastated about what had just transpired and is spitting chips. I'd rather see him angry than meekly saying "if we win we win, if we lose we lose" like our previous marquee Willo once said LOLz.