Before the impressive appointment of successful Australian coach Tony Popovic, Melbourne Victory was a complete shadow of their former glory days.
Whether it was on the field with their abysmal performances with a mediocre squad winning the wooden spoon or problems higher up in the board, the future was looking bleak.
Arguably the biggest club in Australia, Victory supporters have felt the club was not run to the highest standards through poor management and wrong decisions.
That all changed last season when Popovic was handed the responsibility of taking over the reigns and steering the ship back in the right direction.
The foundations were laid down early as he brought in some of his former players that he was familiar with such as Jason Davidson and Matthew Spiranovic to bring that extra experience to the locker room.
Defensive solidity has always been a credible trait of Popovic’s philosophy. Still, it was in the attacking third where he guided Victory to new heights through his exciting and attractive brand of football.
On top of that though, what was also raising eyebrows was the top level of consistency they were producing each week.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The 3-0 derby win against rivals Melbourne City was scintillating and vintage Popovic through picking the right moments to attack and holding possession. It must be added Popovic’s men completely dominated and dismantled the then-Australian champions in what was a performance for the ages.
In saying all of that, there is a fair argument to be made that the four-time A-League champions exceeded expectations and over-performed to an extent.
Now, it is starting to become very obvious that Victory is losing its identity and regressing back to where perhaps they should be.
Despite losing some key names in the form of Marco Rojas and Jason Davidson, there are still some top-class players on paper, with Johnny Warren Medalist Jake Brimmer being the heart and soul of the side.
However, problems have started to arise which were not so evident last campaign.
Having that creative spark and being able to combine fluently between midfield and attack is always essential, but this is the biggest area in which they are struggling and need reinforcements.
When you watch Victory play now, it is clear that the lack of urgency and intensity has dropped off which has made the pace of the game much slower.
If only the (back then) Football Federation Australia (FFA) were not so ignorant and so unaware of Italian forward Alessandro Diamanti’s class. They rejected Victory’s offer to sign him as a marquee because the now Western United champion was deemed as ‘not high profile enough’.
Portuguese marquee and former Manchester United star Nani was supposed to be the bright light for Popovic’s attack, but instead he has been underwhelming so far.
For as much as Leigh Broxham has contributed to the club and been a loyal servant, at 34 the game is slowly catching up to him and he is not fit to start every game through no fault of his own as he has been replacing injured defenders.
Nicholas D’Agostino desperately needs to rediscover his form from last season where he notched up 10 goals and begin to contribute again to that lacking spark in the attack. Can Stefan Nigro find the form that helped him make his mark in the club a few years ago?
Idiotic fan behaviour from the North Terrace definitely contributed a small part to the team camaraderie and spirit within the group which has taken a toll mentally on the field.
Back-to-back losses against Western United and the Central Coast Mariners have certainly raised alarm bells that not too many would have predicted.
Tactically, Popovic is under fire and he needs to sort out his best 11 quickly before it is too late to make a finals appearance.
Although they are not at the level of Melbourne City just yet, it doesn’t mean that Victory is not good enough to be challenging for the top four or at the very least a finals berth.
From winning the Asian Champions League and coaching in Europe to now struggling to find the right balance within his squad at Melbourne Victory, this is Popovic’s greatest managerial challenge yet.
He’s in the hot seat.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
victorys problems lie deeper than whats been said. i've brought up the victorys youth developement (or lack there of) multiple times on here - they are a "win now" club, they dont plan for the future (like all 'big clubs') they have minimal young players coming through that can make the jump up professionally, especially under a coach that is known to prefer mature players. its not just a victory problem though, its victoria as a whole when it comes to developing young players - they are the worst state in australia for youth production. coincidentally i'm in victoria for the week of the 9th, where i will be spending time with one of the states a league clubs as well as a few of NPL sides - to see how things are going since i was last there for a week mid last year
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
I would agree with the 3 at the back but the only issue is that I don’t think Victory have the players available to play in a wingback position. Davidson would’ve been perfect. I don’t see Nani as a winger anymore as it’s clear he struggles to beat his man so yes, CAM should be a position that Popovic may want to transition him into
foot and ball
Guest
Not sure Popa knows how to utilise Nani. On evidence this season, Folami and Ikonomidis are the younger faster wingers. Two up front was tried recently. I'd say Nani should be utilised as a CAM, alongside Brimmer in a 3 5 2, as that might well be the answer, or they should just cut ties with Nani at the end of the season. He may not be fitting the system or he may not be at ALiga level these days, it happens.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
And what was Popovic doing recruiting El Tuna? The strangest decision as it’s turned out. Weird :shocked:
Saffi
Roar Rookie
In regards Victories finances, As I responded on Mikes post, if a club with 22 thousand members is in trouble, then forget professional soccer in Australia. In regards our team, I think Miranda is a fine defender. I regret we rely on Broxham but we have no choice. I think Marchan, Brillanti, Nani and Fornaroli are duds that are past their best years. That’s Popovics fault. Getting out of this mess will need some better January recruiting, sticking with some talented youngsters (where’s Lleyton Brooks for gods sake) and getting fans back and cheering. Unbelievably, We are in big trouble at the club. Those 100 morons that invaded the pitch might just be the final nail in our coffin. It may lead to us missing the finals, losing big money and having the club sold to private equity. Man, this is such a sad predicament for the formerly best club in the A League.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
The existing shareholders could just put in new funds themselves. The clause to get up to 70% with the addition of 30m is hardly a good clause, but then you have this clause they are entitled to a pay out if they give up their ownership 30m plus 10% interest. So they get 30m, then do a spending splurge,director fees, marquees corporate dining, company cars etc any amount of money can dissapear quickly. Take 30m compound it for 5 year at 10% and its almost 50m. If a club has a 50m debt then it could become unsaleable. No one has revealed if a club is insolvent what happens under the new structure. Lowy was the master businessman and had the solution to all these problems, cant pay your bills and Lowy withdraws your license and leaves the debt, no playing games amongst shareholders. The APL used the Lowy structure to get Lee out of Newcastle just before they changed it. If the ownership structure of the APL is the clubs like the MLS then the debts come down on the APL. This could be a very dangerous structure, the MLS got away with owners piling on the debt and saddling them with it with massive licence fees.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Only advantage is that Popovic has worked with him before at Perth and can get the best out of him. Not the same player as previous years gone past, but he can definitely still be a difference maker in the right environment. Still early days.
Garry
Roar Rookie
Too many has beens (or never beens :stoked: ) as starting players..Broxham, Fornoroli – and for Sydney, Donahie.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
No one should be surprised though given that he struggled to make an impact in the MLS with Orlando City and in the Serie A recently with Venezia. Nani’s name has been influential enough to make it out as a big signing. He still has quality obviously, but he needs more time to gel with the rest of the team before fully judging him
Garry
Roar Rookie
And Fornoroli is/was a waste of money
Garry
Roar Rookie
Im sure he's had some impact including shirt sales but he's not playing well enough to draw more.. if there were headlines saying "Nani Brilliant" he mightve done..Im sure there were a few 'supporters' saying lets wait & see.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Really good post. :thumbup:
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
I agree with this. If you think to past Victory championships it was all about the backbone of the defence whether it be Muscat, Vargas, and Delpierre (who I think was the best defender to ever play in the A-League) Popovic tactically knows how to set up defences and even last season that’s where Victory focused on in getting those basics right again, but even he needs more reliable centre backs who can offer a bit more quality rather than just experience.
Waz
Roar Rookie
That was implicit in the article - the investment wasn’t only desirable it was essential. They still found big money for Nani though who has, err, had zero impact on crowds, viewing & metrics suggesting they actually don’t know what they’re doing - “spend it and they will come” is the new motto?
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
I thought some of Brember’s signings were a waste. Tried to bring in foreigners from the UK because of his background but there needed to be more ambition, especially with the money he had available to him at the time.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Money is at the heart and soul of the game now unfortunately. You’d think that they will have to inject that capital very soon the way things are looking, but you have to commend them for not trying to be one of those clubs that injects money just for the sake of it. If it means keeping the club alive and giving them a chance to be successful, so be it.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Don’t see Brimmer as that type of personality. He knows how important he is to the side and Popovic knows this. Spiranovic is a massive in but you can never trust him to stay injury free which is a real shame. He’s a fantastic defender when 100% fit. I thought Victory played some great football last season, although I’ll admit that it wasn’t that difficult to improve on the previous season which was shambolic.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Mate, you know full well that Western United have only just been established since Diamanti arrived and are struggling for a fan base. It’s that much of a disaster that the only players that could draw such crowds to WUN would be Messi and Ronaldo. If Diamanti signed for Victory it would have been fantastic for the league because Victory actually does have great supporter base. Who’s for you to Say that Diamanti wouldn’t increase those crowd numbers even more? The point is that football is run in this country by clowns that have no clue how to run the game and are clueless outside of the walls of the A-League. Put injuries aside, Diamanti has proven his quality and class and we should all be so disappointed that we missed out on a couple more years of him here.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
The only match those two played together was against WSW where Broxham played right back against Yengi . Certainly Miranda and Hamill were together with best defensive record last season, though they did have the best pressing and most defensively intense team in front of them. MY thinking at the moment is Broxham+ anyone is going to be the biggest failure.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Ikonomidis has been poor this season, Spiranovic will be a huge help if it means they can get Broxham out of the line up. Its not just about form, Victory didnt play that well last season it was mainly their effort levels were great apart from after the FFA cup last season. Now they are taking over from WSW last season. Adding the marquee means jealousy come into it, I see Brimmer as jealous now and sulking.