How do Melbourne Victory save themselves from ruin?

Now you know what a Jets fan is going through

Firstly, if you are in possession of any football knowledge whatsoever, you would acknowledge that everything goes in cycles. Just like Man Utd. , there are peaks and troughs, winning teams and rebuilds. Trouble is that Australian football fans need to learn how to be football fans. In Europe, in Sth America, all over the world every fan understands the aforementioned cycle. Yes they whinge and whine about it, and again, that's part of being a football fan, but they never ever give up on or abandon their team. The points made in this article are excellent. So what do they have to do? 1. The club's management has to come out and fully acknowledge that they are at the bottom of the cycle. Acknowledge they will rebuild and that club management understand what is required. 2. It's strikes me that of all the clubs, and I might be wrong, but it's Victory who have the least concrete academy set up. I know this is a red flag, but Adelaide, City, even Newcastle have a more established set up. (The Speers Point football centre is quite a set up thanks to local government) To be beholden to purely purchased players is dangerous, but credit to Victory for producing kids like Jake Brimmer. He was an astute acquisition and you can see he has spent time at Anfield. I'm also impressed with Butterfield, he just needs better players around him as does Kruse. 3. Communication - i am a strong believer in comms, and by keeping the fans fully up to date it shows respect for the fans, and establishes a sense of ownership and inclusion - one club. Let the fans know what the strategy is to get out of this. As painful as it might be, it would earn the supporters respect if club management faced the members and listened to what they have to say. 4. Victory is a bit like Man Utd. At Old Trafford, Ferguson ruled with an iron fist. The players knew who was Boss. I am sure you can see the parallels with Muscat. They need a manager who understands the club and it's culture but brings that presence the Muscat had. Nothing against Brebner, but he just does'nt have the same aura. 5. A strong reassessment of the playing roster needs to be undertaken. I don't see Gestede, firing like Muscat, Simon, Goodwin and Derbyshire. And in acquiring players, look for players who have the attitude, mindset, who fit the culture as well as bring the footballing ability with it.

Harry Kewell is what they need. Big publicity and a manager who likes to rebuild lists. This looks like a job for 'KEWELL-MAN'

Maybe right. But Robbie Kruse has been one of MVFCs better players this season. Still can cut through defences, lay off passes. Foot skills reduced from his earlier days but with intelligent players around him, he would be much more potent. I don't know what's wrong with Rojas and the other unidentifiable strikers in MV, they are so lacklustre! They are not where they need to be when Kruse makes runs and cuts inside. (Jets fan)

Too funny

Andy, I was taking the piss mate. And i now you weren't having a go at any individuals, apart from the players named. But don't blame the players, blame the clubs who employ them. Any OS player should be subjected to a simple critique, are they better than any of our youth team. If the answer is yes, then employ them, if not let them go to SFC or Victory. Like you I am enjoying seeing so many 'kids' getting a chance, some will go on and make a name for themselves, others will fade away after a bright start. There is nothing better than seeing a kid get his A League debut and score a goal within 15 seconds of coming on with his first kick. Well Done young Hatch.

a fair few of the ex pats seem to be getting wound up with my comments re british football. Everyone is taking it far to personal, take the heart away and think of it with your head. I never said i hated british football, i said the 80/90s are gone and australian teams shouldn't play UK style. (run, tackle, cross to lanky striker, rinse repeat) Victory play like a div 2/div 1/championship team. They're possibly the richest club in this league and they play like that? Australian players already know how to run non stop, pass sideway, tackle and header from the under 10 age group. Its the technical skills from a grass roots level where they're lacking and unfortunately they wont learn that from British style coaching. I've seen it first hand here in adelaide where we've had; cassio, cristiano, marcos flores and marcelo carrusca running coaching clinics, they are teaching australian kids so differently to how a a UK coach would and has before them

#Micko The existing deal would pre-date the AFL and is being honoured. However - consider too - there is value in being on the Marvel schedule - - because of the exposure to the Medallion Club. They get eyes on them that they wouldn't get otherwise........that's a given.

Ben - There are 2 classic example in recent years of football clubs drifting into almost obliteration and ,coming out of the doldrums. I refer to the two giants of Scottish football, Celtic and Rangers. Celtic, who had been under control of one family for untold years, had their own ground etc, albeit the only word to describe it in 1963 was a "dump". Then the earth started to cave in and in a dispute with the Royal Bank of Scotland the club was given 24 hours to clear a 7milliom GBP, or else face foreclosure. The "family" ran for cover, and along came a knight in shining armour who, subject to his terms being met, would clear the debt in time. His terms?. He would float the club on the open share market, he had to have complete control on ALL matters concerning the club, and he would only stay in the job for 5 years. He ,and his terms, were accepted and he set about repairing the faults and flaws of the long term management that had gone before. Now it should be said here this man was neither an ex-player.an ex coach, or to be honest not an experienced football club administrator. What he was was a shrewd business man who recognised the potential in a club with an estimated support of around 60,000 fans. He bulldozed the "dump" and erected a brand new 60,000 all seated, all covered stadium, while at the same time overseeing the team built into a winning combination. They went on to win championship after championship .With all his promises fulfilled he departed as promised, after 5 years ,and it is rumoured he sold his controlling shareholding for around 70 million GBP's While all this was happening, across the city, the other giant, Rangers, were spending money like it was going out of fashion with a new owner taking advice from "learned football????" men and spending ridiculous sums on bringing international players from England and Europe, They too had a successful run on championships but to anyone with half a brain it was obvious the largesse with money could not last, and finally the club was sold to a consortium for 1 GPBs, yes one pound, and all the debts. For the behind the scenes goings on, the club was finally made to appear in court and were relegated to the 4th tier of football in the country. Luckily for them their support remained loyal and stuck by them as the fought their way back to the top division. Just this week they have won their first championship in years. Now surely you recognise the similarity in what has happened to our "top" club. What is going to matter most is what is going to be done about the present state of affairs. Is there a knight in shining armour ? or will the support stay loyal if they have to suffer the ignominy of being an "also ran" Cheers jb.

If a club were an orchestra the coach would be the conductor whilst the TD the composer. Meanwhile the goalkeeper would be up the back with a huge set of cymbals patiently waiting for his/her big moment.

No club is entitled to success. Victory are a well supported club, so are Newcastle in the EPL. Good governance is what is required to maintain a healthy club; pulling together the mosaic of communication, structure, policy, finance and performances into the most effective possible combination with the resources on hand. It is a combination that constantly changes, making it both a puzzle and juggling act. Victory have the mix wrong, and have for some time.

Those 17 s and 20s wins re I force that the strategy of coaching young players in England has been successfully reformed from the era you so desperately need to hate .. the fodens Bellingham sanchos etc are light years ahead of Aussie kids .. I was living in the midlands in the nineties and the kids in school then were playing skillful passing football, .

elsey is rubbish, i would love him to move onto greener pastures.

lol those under 17/20 wins mean nothing given the amount of money they pump into there game since its inception. They should be embarrassed with their lack of success in over a 100 years i know what you mean kangas.... alosi's, borello, lazaridis, veart, agostino, vidmars off the top of my head that have graced the leagues you mentioned. Plus the many more that ive missed, very good turn out with our population size. Just goes to show you how talented the players are in south australia.

AA - my comment about Shotton was very much about him as a central defender, big and imposing, his body gets everywhere, he is able to stick out a long leg to intercept and deflect and he must be difficult to play against. AU are fortunate that Jordan Elsey has played his way back into form as he was struggling earlier in the season and nowhere near as imposing as he has been in past seasons. Every team needs a commanding presence in defence. SFC have Wilkinson and McGowan and although we disagree due to concerns about age- The Jets have Boogard and NTS. By way of contrast look at PG. Everyone laps it up when they are attacking with their powerful looking strike power but it is different when asked to defend and they have Aspro in the centre of their defence and he is someone that just doesn’t have the presence to impose himself on opposition players but is at the heart of what is a very wobbly defensive set up.

I wonder what Fuss thinks of all this ...?

It would be interesting to see how much time commitment the board and senior managemt have to the club. Is it a case of taking the competition of the A League seriously or is it just to come and have a beer with mates and let the Dan Andrews style of management set the culture with a creeping assumption of delusional greatness.

They tend to get pretty average npl players. Not sure if its to save on costs but how on earth Atheiu made it on the pitch for a couple of seasons is beyond me. The management got fat on their own reputation and it went to their heads. When you believe you are destined to success because of who you are and not what you do, you are bound to end up here.

He is limiting his own career to carry his sons. At some point shouldn't they become their own footballers and let the chips fall where they may.