In what other country would the coach of a club with one win in nine games watch his side blow a two-goal lead and still not be in danger of losing his job?
Yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Perth Glory was peak Melbourne City.
Two-nil up after 35 minutes thanks to a double from a striker who became the club’s second-top scorer for the season in just his fourth game, City then proceeded to pass the ball around aimlessly until Glory scored twice in the final six minutes.
And they probably would have lost the game had referee Alex King pointed to the spot when Diego Castro had a decent penalty shout in the first half.
Mind you, City might have gone in front even earlier had two-goal striker Jamie Maclaren not side-footed home after the ball had already gone out of play.
Some 7,746 fans were in attendance – if you believe the official figures – and despite taking just three points from the last 18 on offer, City should qualify for the finals with ease.
The question is why.
Not why should they reach the playoffs, or why should Warren Joyce escape further scrutiny, but why do they exist?
Melbourne City coach Warren Joyce. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
I should have prefaced that by stating that I’m not staunchly opposed to the City Football Group’s involvement in the A-League.
Every league needs different types of teams, and in a competition where the clubs effectively started from scratch, the City Football Group’s ownership actually gives Melbourne City a point of difference.
But that’s about the only thing it’s given them for the last few seasons.
And the inertia around the club is costing them at the gate and causing plenty of critics to ponder what exactly is the point of having them in the league.
The arrival of both Maclaren and on-loan Tottenham striker Shayon Harrison was a step in the right direction.
But the elephant in the room remains the handling of City’s former record goal scorer Bruno Fornaroli.
If the club has an especially compelling reason for the fan favourite being frozen out, they’ve never shared it with the public.
And while there have been whispers that Joyce is the ideal manager to mould young talent, some of the club’s decision-making seems to suggest otherwise.
City’s signings this season include 30-year-old Belgian defender Ritchie de Laet, a 29-year-old French midfielder in Florin Berenguer and the much-travelled 30-year-old Rostyn Griffiths.
Meanwhile, highly-rated goalkeeper Mark Birighitti joined from Dutch club NAC Breda and hasn’t featured between the posts once.
There’s nothing wrong with signing experienced players – every other club does it – but sometimes it’s hard to follow the logic.
City say they want to play an exciting brand of football, then exile the most entertaining player in the club’s short history for the entire season before cutting him loose.
They suggest they’re willing to give youth a chance, only for a 37-year-old shot-stopper to keep the goalkeeper they signed at the start of the season on the bench throughout the campaign.
They present themselves as an alternative to Melbourne Victory, only for more Perth Glory fans to turn up in the away end than City have in their home end.
Cartoonist David Squires skewered City in his inimitable fashion last week and no doubt put a few noses among the club’s hierarchy out of joint.
But here’s thing: we’ve heard every excuse and justification and obfuscation under the sun.
Melbourne City are supposed to stand for something, but at the moment no one can quite work out what that is.
If the club’s new chief executive Brad Rowse has his finger on the pulse, he should be doing everything he can to ensure City has an international marquee star on the books by August.
Otherwise City run the real risk of passing the ball around aimlessly once again next season, only this time there’ll be no one in the stands at AAMI Park to see it.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Taxi drivers being the exception it seems.
Nick Symonds
Guest
NEWS: City Football Group targeting 'investment in India' The City Football Group's portfolio of clubs includes teams in USA, Spain and Japan, with a move into India next on the agenda. - Manchester City's owners aim to buy a club in India this year, according to chief executive Ferran Soriano. The City Football Group (CFG) expanded its portfolio of clubs to seven last month when it purchased Chinese third-tier side Sichuan Jiuniu. - https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/city-football-group-targeting-investment-in-india
BigAl
Roar Rookie
I read somewhere that City rather than United were traditionally the most popular club in Manchester.
Jeff
Guest
There's no point in responding to the article in such a thoughtful manner when it was written to serve one purpose - to hate on Melbourne City. We keep getting the same question thrown to us: 'what is their identity?' I think our identity can and should be somewhere right in my statement above. They hate us, and we should love it. As a supporter group we seem to be too focused on fighting back - let the haters write about us, let the opposition fans sing about us, let the tweets and posts taunt us. Let us embrace the hate and let it build our off-field culture. People will come back when we get the game style, the players and the manager right, and we start delivering on field. In the mean time, us 6-7k core fans need to laugh back.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Kids these days
Stevo
Roar Rookie
No doubt at all that CFG should get 'ticks' and pats on the back for investment in facilities, womens football and youth development. However CFG investment in Australia will be comensurate with the size of our market. That is, don't expect to see the same amount of $$$ spent as elsewhere in the CFG stable of clubs. It probably also means that they won't be spending megabucks on marquee players anytime soon. Will that change with an independent HAL? Maybe but my guess is that an independent HAL is about control of direction and finances and owners (including CFG) recouping their investment in their teams - stopping the red ink. What supporters want though is for the suits at City HQ to put away their Excel accounting spreadsheets every now and again and listen to the fans and build a club that feels more than just a business. The Bruno fiasco that's unfolded under a nobody coach shows that the suits just don't get it.
Nick Symonds
Guest
NEWS: AUSTRALIA'S U-23 STARS SET FOR ASIAN GAMES? Australia could have a golden opportunity to improve our best youngsters with the news that Oceania nations are set to be invited to compete at the Asian Games from 2022. - Robin Mitchell, President of the Oceania National Olympic Committees, was pleased with the decision. "Oceania and Asia are very close economically and politically - now we are coming closer together in sport,” he reportedly told delegates. It’s not clear if such a tournament would also double as an Olympics qualifier. The Olyroos are due to start their Asian qualifiers for Tokyo 2020 later this month in Cambodia. - https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/australias-u-23-stars-set-for-asian-games-520051
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Urgh. We've wanted to know what that the issues with crowds numbers is, we get a glimpse and we say it was useless.
Beach
Roar Rookie
Very small sample, indicating exactly nothing
AR
Guest
Actually, according to the most recent ABS data, Brisbane’s thriving migration comes from the rest of Queensland, Sydney, and then rest of NSW, in that order (not Melbourne).
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
I entered that survey. I voted Canberra and Tasmania for the next 2 teams. Some other interesting things were that Spotless Stadium was labelled as the worst A-League venue. Over 80% of fans supported Promotion and Relegation. And the big one. Why fans don’t attend more. 26.95% Ticket Prices ($20 ideal said the participants) 18.74% Food Prices (That surprised me) 18.63% Football Quality (So marquees and stuff) 13.37% Police (Yeah I really hate the over policing as well) 12.12% Parking (Why my Dad doesn’t take me, have to go myself) 10.84% Public Transport (Interesting) 3.79% Fan Behaviour (Good to hear fans seem comfortable) 54.95% Other So now that we’ve identified the main issues, we need to act. Are you listening FFA? Note: 21.05% were Sydney fans.
Nick Symonds
Guest
FTBL POLL: WHERE FANS WANT THE A-LEAGUE CLUBS TO GO NEXT (Almost 1,000 people took part in the survey) - Overwhelmingly they say that the next club into the A-League MUST be from Canberra, with a whopping 73.45 percent of the vote backing the nation's capital's bid to join the top tier of men's football. But while TV and football bosses are said to favour more big city derbies, fans strongly disagree. Tasmania was the most popular second choice for a club in the A-League with 38.91 percent of the vote, and Wollongong close behind on 35.15 percent. A second team in Brisbane was the only big city option that gathered any kind of momentum with 15.15 percent of the vote, with backers of Ipswich/Western Pride potentially split between voting for Brisbane and voting for regional Queensland which drew 7.64 percent of the vote. After Brisbane though was pretty much daylight, with South Melbourne and South-East Melbourne mustering around 7 percent before votes fell to just four percent or less for areas like regional Victoria, WA, South Sydney – and Adelaide and South Australia both struggling to get even 2 percent backing. - https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/revealed-where-fans-want-the-a-league-clubs-to-go-next-520089/page0
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Meanwhile Melburnians migrateto Queensland - do they become Roar fans? No, I think they move to support the Lions as perhaps they need it more? Plenty of reasons to leave Sydney these days though - its getting a bit cramped in some areas.
AR
Guest
Intrastate migration? That’s certainly one option. But I see 2 glaring problems: 1) it’s actually Sydneysiders that continue to migrate to Melbourne in record numbers, and they’re hardly bringing a fan culture of pick’n’stick with them. 2) going the other way, you’re trading up sky blue sheiks for sky blue Russians. Decisions decisions...
AGO74
Guest
All sounds a bit juvenile schoolyard approach to managing the situation and his frustrations but yeah, I guess he's frustrated...... Galekovic has been a fantastic goalkeeper throughout his career - although I've not seen enough City games to reasonably say what his forms been like this year. Pretty sure Thomas Sorensen also had to sit on the bench at times for Melbourne City - and his pedigree is far greater than Birighitti's.....don't think he unfollowed City on Instagram as a result of his demotion LOL
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
TOO TALENTED FOR THE BENCH "Mark Birighitti returned to the A-League expecting to play a key role for Melbourne City, but instead the talented goalkeeper has played second fiddle to Eugene Galekovic this season. Birighitti joined City from Dutch club NAC Breda on a three-year deal at the start of the season and, at the time, City coach Warren Joyce said, “we think he’s got a lot to give in this stage of his career”. But he has been afforded little opportunities and his frustration at spending the season on the bench was clear when the 27-year-old unfollowed Melbourne City on Instagram, and followed rivals Melbourne Victory." https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/bruno-fornaroli-could-yet-return-to-the-aleague-this-season-after-leaving-melbourne-city/news-story/863f6b85d7ebd5cdf746d36b9682d5f1
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
And they will make the decision based on TV metrics sadly.
Nick Symonds
Guest
"People are calling for a 4th team in Melbourne but that would mean Tassie, Perth, Wollongong may miss out because Dandenong needs one." - Possibly. But you could still have Canberra, Wollongong and Tasmania, plus South East Melbourne. Mind you, not even Canberra will get in if they make the decision based on TV metrics. If they go for TV markets it could be SEM, Brisbane 2, Perth 2 and Adelaide 2.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Thanks for the reply Mike. Yes I'm sure they are reading the comments but they seem as remote as ever from fans. I've already made sure that I'm not on automatic membership renewal for next season. CFG need to demonstrate they are in it for Australian fans not just for their global ambitions. Starting with #joyceout and getting some entertaining football and real marquees back. Act now or lose members.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
They've been in touch with me this season, Stevo... as a club they're certainly aware of what's being written about them. And Lionheart's point about them being a driver of A-League reform was bang on the money. I certainly don't think the other clubs have a problem with City's presence. But as others have said, it's mainly about how the City Football Group balances its global ambitions with Melbourne City's real-time physical presence in the A-League. I think they're trying - sort of - but at the moment they're just not getting things right.