The past two weeks for the Melbourne Victory have had fans guessing every move.
After a disaster-filled performance against the Central Coast Mariners, losing 3-2, many fans like myself voiced their concern, demanding some January signings. But there was still cause for optimism.
Star striker Ola Toivonen didn’t take part in that fixture and the prior two performances against the Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City were inspiring.
What followed was something completely and utterly unprecedented and unexpected.
Under-pressure coach Marco Kurz was sacked after half a season. Marco Rojas was recruited. Kristijan Dobras and unlucky left back Corey Brown received mutual terminations and it seemed to be onwards and upwards for the Melbourne Victory.
A classy announcement video followed for the Kiwi Messi, and excitement flowed through the veins of every Melbourne Victory supporter despite the 1-0 loss to Adelaide. However, A-League form continued to worsen as the side lost to Sydney FC at home. To put the nail in the coffin, saviour turned snake Kosta Barbarouses netted a goal in the 53rd minute.
The worst season in Victory history, they said. New interim head coach Carlos Salvachua promised attacking football.
However, it’s great to see Victory do well in Asia for once. This time with no Keisuke Honda, the Victory annihilated Bali United 5-0 at home last week with absolute screamers from Toivonen and holding midfielder Migjen Basha.
(Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The 1-0 win at Kashima was the ultimate turning point for the Melbourne Victory.
Last week, some sources close to the Melbourne Victory told me that Thomas Deng was unsure if he would re-sign with the club. Sure enough, a couple of days after returning from the triumphant Olympic qualification campaign, the young centre back left Melbourne for Andrew Nabbout’s former club Urawa Red Diamonds in the J. League.
To the dismay of the Victory faithful, this was to be expected. You cannot expect the players to be happy if the environment a coach sets is entrenched in poor performance and a lack of atmosphere. The Victory finally cashed in on Thomas Deng and are now searching for a replacement as the window closes in a couple of days. Matthew Spiranovic, anyone?
A six-hour delay to Japan followed that pitiful performance against Sydney FC. After minimal training, the Victory faced their final hurdle to get into the Asian Champions League group stage. That hurdle was the 2018 AFC Champions League champions and Japanese giants Kashima Antlers.
A gutsy performance including a screamer by Nabbout in the second half saw the first sense of life in this Victory side.
Players jumped for joy and hugged each other and it really feels like a good time to be a Victory fan. With gigantic fixtures against the Perth Glory on Saturday and a fiesty Melbourne derby the following week, the new coach and the Victory boys will turn it around.
There is something going on in Melbourne and I cannot wait to see the future of this side in Asia and the domestic league.
What will ensue in the next couple days? Who knows. It’s been a perilous and excitement-filled couple of weeks.
IJ
Roar Rookie
Why are you so unnecessarily and gratuitously offensive? I am confident that you don't behave like this in your day to day dealings with people. You remind me of one of those males who suddenly develops imaginary muscles and attitude to match in the safety of their utes or SUVs. You aren't impressing anyone.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Sounds like Thomas Deng has done the right thing by MV. I wish more players would do that, and allow the club to recoup something for their investment. I wish him well, he's been impressive in the U23 qualifiers.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
I am not sure on that. Despite their woeful away record, the group they have is survivable. Beijing Goan are probably going to have to play home games out of China and meet Victory very early in their season, assuming their season isn't delayed. FC Seoul look damn dangerous despite their 2019 K-League season and any points against them will be valuable. Chiang Rai have relatively little experience at this level which may count against them. It would make a nice away trip, though.
Nemesis
Guest
Oh dear. I'd be more concerned about your inability to count to one. :laughing:
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Harsh - love to see them get out of their ACL group.
Nemesis
Guest
I was at the game & I'm happy with my analysis. If you think differently, I've no problem with it because I honestly don't care.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Agree Andy.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Losing 3-0 is never a good performance. Unless you're Brendan Rodgers. Is it luck that you couldn't score but the opposition did three times? Sydney should have won by 5 or 6 but took their foot right off.
fabian gulino
Roar Rookie
One word for melb victory,game over for 19/20.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
It's a reasonable question, Buddy. Too few agents assess their client's capabilities and make solid recommendations as to their future. There are too many that shove the kids into a league that's above their capacity, hoping they'll get noticed and the easy cash will follow. Jimmy Jeggo must have a good agent, he really seems to have found his level and is having a great career as a result.
Punter
Roar Rookie
The table rarely lies, SFC are currently 22 pts ahead of MV at present with a game in hand. MV won one game & their keeper was excellent.
Neal Symons
Roar Rookie
Hey mate, just getting started in Journalism so it's really good to see some feedback I really appreciate it. I completely agree with what you have said and let's hope the Vuck can succeed this season
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Agreed - excellent move, I have no concerns or worries about it at all...just curious about the decision making process that goes on sometimes and that makes an interesting topic in itself. There have been numerous cases where the driving factor had to be money at the expense of career progression imo.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Urawa are a huge club, even by global standards. If he can thrive there then opportunities in the big European leagues beckon. It won't be easy but at 22 y.o. it is a smart move.
Nemesis
Guest
MVFC has only played 1 match with our full defence. For the past month, one of 2 best Central Defenders has been captaining the Olyroos. The other had knee surgery & has only started 1 match. That match, MVFC had no problem dealing with the 2nd best team on the Table. The defence does make errors. So does every defence. I'm pretty sure MVFC has the most clean sheets in the ALeague. But, don't let facts influence your opinion about the defence.
Nemeis
Guest
"if he was at SFC, being top of the league and in the ACL would he have gone now or maybe at least waited until the end of season." Why worry about such hypotheticals when we have an actual case we can observe. Refer to Brandon O'Neill. Additionally, Deng's contract expires in 5 months. If he stayed at MVFC he would then leave for $0. MVFC got a Transfer Fee for Deng. How much? No idea, but I guarantee it was more than $0. It might even have On-Sell Clause included because, when you are under contract to a club, that club has bargaining power to negotiate these things. In 5 months, Deng would've moved on & MVFC would be left with nothing but "Thank you". O'Neill left Sydney FC because he wanted to try a higher level of football. The SydFC CEO said O'Neill had been wanting to leave for some time but he had not received any offers. Now he has received an offer & he's gone.
AndyAdelaide
Roar Rookie
this victory team remind me a lot of man utd at the moment. They've got a fully functioning forward line (when fit) that will destroy most teams. However they're let down by a midfield that would barely make an NPL team and a defense that consistently makes mistakes. No matter how the rest of the season goes. Midfield and defense need an upgrade next season. The a league needs a successful victory team (especially for attendance figures)
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Don’t disagree as to why Thomas Deng is heading to J League but I often wonder if players would be so quick to “up and off” if the side is playing well and results reflect that. For arguments sake, if he was at SFC, being top of the league and in the ACL would he have gone now or maybe at least waited until the end of season. I know we don’t have the answers as such but it would be one of the first questions I would ask if I interviewed him.
Nemesis
Guest
I watch every Melbourne Victory match. Nothing in this analysis is remotely accurate. In particular, to suggest Tommy Deng moved because he was unhappy with MVFc is utter rubbish based on common sense that he's moving to a higher quality league to improve his career. For sure, if Deng had moved to another club in ALeague then it is very possible he was fed up with the mediocrity at MVFC & preferred to play in front of empty stadiums elsewhere in Australia or NZ. And, there would not be too many football savvy MVFC fans who were upset with the performances against Sydney or AUFC (2nd half). The results were disappointing. The performances were fine. MVFC created enough chances in both matches to win both matches. They didn't. That's not a reflection on the coaches or the performance. Poor coaching would mean the team has no cohesion to create any chances.
Paul
Guest
As a Victory supporter, I will say let's not get too carried away. It's one thing to knock off a J-League side in pre-season, it's a whole new level in the group stage. Victory will have to go to Chiang Rai where the conditions will no doubt be very challenging. FC Seoul and Beijing Guoan will be primed to go. With the league season a write off, I hope we finally take the opportunity to have a red hot crack at Asia but history is well and truly against the Vuck.