Melbourne Victory aren’t good enough to win the A-League this season and would be better off concentrating on the AFC Champions League instead.
Just kidding Victory fans! You lot are the easiest supporters in the country to wind up.
And the reaction of Victory fans to any perceived slight is instructive.
We want the A-League to produce passion, and supporters don’t come any more passionate than Victory’s eternally demanding set of fans.
But what does the past week tell us about where Melbourne Victory are at?
Firstly, it tells us that they’re still alive in the AFC Champions League.
They may have ridden their luck against a Kawasaki Frontale side that remains one of the weakest J.League champions in recent memory, but a win’s a win and it puts them level on points with a similarly ordinary Ulsan Hyundai outfit.
Can Victory escape the group stage? Time will tell. But already their campaign is faring better than many pessimistic fans predicted.
As for yesterday’s 5-2 thumping of Central Coast Mariners, it came on the back of another Leroy George masterclass and a timely return to form – of sorts – for Besart Berisha.
The feisty Kosovo international barely celebrated any of his goals, and despite his hat-trick, he still looked out of sorts for long stretches of the one-sided clash.
Has Berisha lost his mojo? He’s certainly lost the ability to stay onside, judging by how frequently the assistant referees’ flag has gone up of late.
And while the club looks to move heaven and earth to re-sign the mercurial George, there are surely some niggling doubts in the back of Victory fans’ minds that Berisha is still the right man to lead the line going forward.
(AAP Image/Joe Castro)
But then you could probably say the same thing about Kevin Muscat.
In an era when sacking coaches is de rigueur, Victory have gone the other way and rewarded Muscat for his long-standing service by handing him a two-year contract extension.
Is it the right move? Or are the club blinded by their loyalty to one of Victory’s favourite sons?
Having won all that there is to win – domestically – as a manager, Muscat has surely earned the support of the Victory faithful.
Yet there’s a prevailing school of thought that the former Socceroos hard man is a tactically limited coach whose teams rely heavily on the individual brilliance of players like George and Berisha to get them over the line.
Still, with four rounds of the regular season remaining, that may be enough to make Victory genuine championship contenders.
Particularly if Sydney FC continue their recent poor run of form.
The Sky Blues probably could have nicked a point in their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brisbane Roar on Saturday night, but that would have been harsh on the visitors.
Between Jamie Young’s late heroics and Matt Simon’s continuing inability to find the back of the net – in the A-League, at least – the Roar did just enough to see off their more fancied opponents.
But the signs were all there for anyone who cared to look, and ever since Suwon Bluewings did a number on Sydney FC in the ACL last month, the Sky Blues have clearly lost their aura of invincibility.
The question is whether anyone can step up and truly take the game to the defending champions in the finals series.
It’s unlikely to be Adelaide United or Melbourne City based on their showing on Friday night, which may well leave Melbourne Victory as the most likely challengers.
A few social media snarks were quick to suggest that Kosta Barbarouses repairing the net yesterday was symptomatic of the A-League’s lack of professionalism.
However, the truth is a bit more prosaic than that.
A-League clubs learned long ago to make do with what they’ve got. For Melbourne Victory, that may just be enough to launch a title challenge.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Theoretically, Punter is correct in saying that as a general rule, only one can win the premiership (and currently there is one likely winner).
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Clearly summarised CC, hopefully those confused about how the A-League champions are currently determined will now have a better understanding.
KJ
Roar Rookie
2 from here.
punter
Guest
AR, you have mentioned many times how the FFA has got it wrong. I remember as a kid watching the FA cup final late at night, dreaming of one day scoring in a FA cup, biggest crowd, TV beamed all around the world, the prestige, English football at it's finest, but I also realised that winning at Stoke on a cold winter Wednesday evening or playing & winning in front of 10K at Bournemouth in the H&A season, was what won you the prestige of being the champion of England. I think most football fans would understand that & hence not worry that there are 6 teams in the A-League finals in a 10 team competition.
AR
Guest
This whole discussion started from the idea that Victoree could “win the ALeague”. Then you waffled on about what “best team” means to you and what they do in England...as though they have the Premier League Finals. Amusing indeed.
Nemesis
Guest
How amusing is this? A poser, who has zero engagement with Aleague, is trying to lecture me about a competition I invest in each season for the past 13 years. Truly bizarre behavior, even for posers who have a daily history of asinine behavior.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
Whoever finished top of the points table are the A-League Premiers and win the A-League Premiership Plate. Which ever team wins the Grand Final are the A-League Champions and win the Golden Toilet Seat. When you talk about Victory "winning the A-League", I don't think they can win the Premiers plate, but they are a big shout for the Golden Toilet Seat. They are the form team at this point on the A-League curve. Obviously SFC are a bit rattled at this time and Arnie admits the Footballroos appointment has been an unwanted distraction. But Sydney are a very good team on their day, a couple of wins will steady the ship and put them back on course for another domestic treble.
AR
Guest
The end-of-season competiton. The finale-ACL-qual-Cup. The totally-separate-but-kinda-related-HAL-tournament. The nothing-to-do-with-ALeague-Cup-for-the-second-best-team-playoffs. I’m sure there’s a zillion fun names we could give it. But those of us in the real world will probably just stick to - the ALeague Finals. Its the event which culminates in the most press, the biggest crowds and tv, and the most prestige - according to the FFA anyway.
Nemesis
Guest
That's the beauty of the end-of-season competition. Keeping the season alive for as many teams as possible. Eliminate dead matches, or what other sports call 'tanking'. The ideal objective should be to have every team in the ALeague incentivised to win every match for the entire season - either a) to finish on top and win the title; or b) to finish within a group to play for an end-of-season trophy - could be a Cup, or could be ACL spots; or c) to not finish bottom and be relegated; or d) to not finish in the bottom group of teams, which will be involved in end-of-season knock out for further relegation.
Nemesis
Guest
So what if the seasons overlap? I don't even follow NRL & Rugby but I know they started several weeks ago. ALeague overlaps 2/3 of the Super Rugby season. ALeague overlaps 1/3 of the NRL season. Storm played at AAMI Park on Saturday night. MVFC played at the same venue on Sunday evening. No problem at all. In the past, we've even had Rugby, NRL & HAL played on 3 consecutive nights at AAMI Park. No problem at all. ALeague goes for 8 months. I can't think of a single major sport that ALeague does not overlap. It's the only sport that overlaps: Test cricket in Australia, BBL, NRL, SuperRugby, Australian Open Tennis, F1 Grand Prix, Netball, NBL.
punter
Guest
But only one can win the premiership.
fadida
Guest
I tend to only read the local paper when I'm at a coffee shop Mid. I haven't seen one this week but last week the Knights were back page, the Jets inside the back. But then the Jets didn't have a game. The Knights will shade it but from my experience it's 60/40, which is about 35% more football than anywhere else. Newcastle people are proud and just want their teams to give it all. They don't need to win trophies but they have to see total effort and a bit of quality.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
With four rounds to go, all clubs down to 8th position can still make the finals.
reuster75
Roar Rookie
Wouldn't starting the season in August cause issues in terms of ground availability/playing surface issues?? Only Adelaide, Perth and Mariners wouldn't have issues - Victory affected by Rebels and Storm, Sydney (with allianz gone) and Wanderers obviously affected by multiple NRL teams, Brisbane affected by Broncos and Reds. This shows up again one of the biggest problems facing the game here - without owning our own stadiums we don't have full control of scheduling our season.
Nemesis
Guest
Frontale absolutely smashed MV for the opening 20 minutes, then for the next 50 minutes it was even with MV slowly getting on top as the game progressed. Final 20 minutes, MVFC smashed Frontale. We just couldn't put the ball in the net. In the away match, for sure, MV incredibly lucky to come home with a point. We were totally demolished that evening. But, I've watched enough MV games when we demolish opponents & don't score and no one has any sympathy.
Football is Life
Guest
Neutral as in fully paid up badge wearing VIP members of Sydney FC.?
Nemesis
Guest
I agree. I watched them yesterday and the way they were more comfortable on the ball than MV. They just couldn't find the goal and, believe me, they had plenty of opportunities to score. CCM fans would best placed to offer their input on what's missing, but my feeling yesterday was maturity. They had the enthusiasm & they didn't give up - Pain's 2 goals at the end tell you just how mentally tough they were yesterday. Especially after the horrific injury to one of their older players. Also they were missing Baro yesterday, which wouldn't help. I've been impressed by Hiariej in the past but he was missing. I'd love to see a guy like Jamie MacLaren, or Corey Gameiro at CCM. Blokes who give 100% and stand up to defenders and behave like pests in & around the box.
chris
Guest
Waz come on, just because the FFA say its the pinnacle doesnt mean it is. What would you rather win if given the choice? The GF or finishing on top of the season? Yes nothing beats that exaltation on the day of a GF win but the real winners are the ones who came through the season in home and away as top of the league : )
chris
Guest
Nem I also said that CCM played some nice football and obviously Okon takes some credit in that. But they are not a 90 min team. They lack something and I dont know that Okon can provide that. I've seen coaches who recite the curriculum and put good drills on etc but they lack game day awareness. Its that undefinable piece that cannot be learned. How to win games through not only tactics and personnel, but fixing things on the fly when things go awry. I havent seen that in Okon yet.
Nick
Roar Guru
If you played football you’d know that playing a league system tests totally different technical, physical, tactical & mental attributes to knock out matches. I do play football. Played it yesterday in fact. Pre-season matches and all that. I've stated that I play football many, many times on this website. I'm not really sure why I need to state that to you again... Does the A-league have an Autumn break? Could have sworn I went to the SFC match on a hot autumnal evening on the weekend.