Roar Rookie
Joined August 2010
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This year the FFV (Football Federation Victoria) took a big step forward for football in Victoria by re-introducing a State Cup competition named the…
The big changes at Melbourne Victory continue with the news that Football Operations Manager Gary Cole has been sacked. It appears as though the…
In case you're unaware, there’s a little competition called the AFC Champions League that pits the best teams of Asia up against each other,…
[caption id="attachment_28803" caption="Melbourne Victory\'s coach Ernie Merrick barks out orders to his players. AAP Image/Joe Castro"][/caption] I woke up this morning feeling miserable. I…
Its been a long-time coming but the very first Melbourne derby is nearly upon us. As the cliche goes, this is history in the…
[caption id="attachment_29348" width="300" caption="Melbourne Victory players protest to referee Strebe Delovski. AAP Image/Joe Castro"][/caption] The wait is almost over. Season 6 of the Hyundai…
Well said Davidde. Spot on. The sooner the A-League and A-League clubs themselves can become separate entities from the FFA the better.
FFA exclude Victory, Heart from Mirabella Cup
Its not a racist thing Ljubo we just don’t like you. We’d probably like you more if you weren’t such an arrogant prick.
Ljubo shoots back at the Roar of the Crowd
So does that mean you won’t be supporting your team for the games at Etihad? Pretty poor excuse. As much as I hate Etihad it won’t stop me from going to watch my team play. Just be thankful you still have a team to watch.
Let's bid farewell to A-League at Etihad
Oh yeah and by the way, the FFA would never pay a cent to get MV out of a stadium contract. The greedy lot are still so reluctant to even bail out A-League clubs and save them from extinction.
Let's bid farewell to A-League at Etihad
Personally I don’t see why MV signed such a long contract when they knew AAMI Park was going to be built and its estimated completion.
Yes, they wanted to make sure these bigger matches were open to more fans but in doing that they’ve sacrificed any decent atmosphere.
Yes at the time our crowds were a lot bigger but there was no guarantee that that was going to last and it didn’t.
In my opinion MV have screwed themselves over big time. Okay, they might make a few extra bucks here and there but playing at Etihad means there is more pressure to get a big crowd to break even – they better be advertising these games like mad!
Isn’t it better to sell out AAMI Park and turn a few people away rather than get just over 30k Etihad plus a crap pitch and crap atmosphere?
And can I ask why Asian Champions League matches were part of the deal? The whole point of the contract was that we’d be attracting more people meaning not having to turn fans away and making more money from ticket sales? Surely that part would be scrapped from the deal after last season?
And about these so called “blockbuster” matches. Why the hell are we playing Gold Coast at Etihad? Sure we got big crowds against Sydney & Adelaide but why did they think the same would happen for United? Because they have Culina? Cause he’s really going to attract another 10k or so….
As a fan I hate the matchday experience at Etihad. Sure it helped us gain a better following and was important for our early growth and success but those days are over. Apart from the Grand Final we shouldn’t be playing any other games there.
The Club also stuffed up at AAMI Park though. I do agree that they need a general admission section.
AAMI Park is the perfect size for a club like Victory. I’d see it as a positive for football if it was the hottest ticket in town and sold out every week.
We should feel lucky that we have a brilliant stadium like AAMI Park to play at. Other clubs around the world that play at a higher level don’t play at a venue as good as this, let alone have the luxury of moving bigger fixtures to a larger stadium.
Unfortunately though we can’t do anything about it now and we’ll have to just put up with it. I’ll be at those Etihad games of course but I’m not looking forward to sitting 50 meters away from the pitch.
At the very least we can just hope that the seats will be brought out for these games (next season etc anyway as it won’t be happening this season).
Let's bid farewell to A-League at Etihad
Thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated.
Lets hope he does! 🙂
Merrick gets it wrong as Heart steals victory
True. But don’t all teams rely on just a few quality players? A-League squads are so limited, nobody has a team full of stars. They all have their average players.
Merrick gets it wrong as Heart steals victory
Thanks for the feedback guys. You all make valid points.
However I disagree with some. Sukha has been a whole new player this season and has performed well in the wing back position. He’s also bulked up heaps which has helped him out a lot. I still believe he’s a valuable and very useful player for us but I think he just had a bad game. This was a big learning curve for him so lets see how he responds on Saturday.
Yes, Petkovic did make a few good stops and looked confident in the air but he’s very shaky at times and his reaction time is clearly decreasing as he gets older. I just don’t think he’s as good as he used to be. Probably explains why his career in Europe has come to an end.
On the Muscat issue I do agree that he’s becoming a liability. Sometimes he’s okay but I’m losing faith in his ability. I think his hunger to go for another title and end his career on a positive note was his only reason for continuing to play. I think he knows he is declining but he’s too stubborn to hang up the boots. But what do you do mid-season? Leave your captain on the bench? Despite his poor form on the pitch his leadership and spirit is what drives this team, like it or not.
Personally I wouldn’t know what to do. It sure is a weird situation.
I would also prefer to see Adrian Leijer return to the CB position though.
I agree that Angulo is a waste of an international spot. He’s just not good enough. He’s like a little kid or something lol.
Pondeljak is also past his use-by-date. He has glimpses where he plays okay but most of the time his passing is pathetic and he’s just too slow and tends to give the ball away quite often.
I think Broxham has been pretty decent this season but he’s not very consistent. I think he can improve though and needs another chance to prove himself.
Its time to look forward to the future I think. As important as experienced players are to our team our youth has to be given more chances. Heads up though guys. We have to stick by our team.
You can check out my blog here: http://victoryblog.net/ and follow me on twitter here: http://twitter.com/#!/victoryblog
Thanks again for reading. Much appreciated.
Merrick gets it wrong as Heart steals victory
Wouldn’t a “breath of fresh air” usually be someone new? Not a former player who’s been at the club for years?
Merrick gets it wrong as Heart steals victory
“They’ve expanded too soon”
“Don’t think the A-League needs to go expanding when it’s inaugural clubs aren’t exactly viable yet”
Exactly. Totally agree.
Melbourne ain't big enough for both
Three times a year in fact. But yeah, I get your point.
Melbourne ain't big enough for both
I’d never leave it up to the FFA to decide anything to do with rivalry’s. They develop naturally and can’t be manufactured.
Melbourne ain't big enough for both
There is no way He*rt will have 12k supporters at the game on Friday. They’ll have their 3-4k members plus any neutrals they bring long. Plus I know for a fact that quite a lot of Victory supporters bought tickets during the He*rt sale period. We’ll drown them out easily anyway. Come on Melbourne!
Melbourne ain't big enough for both
The whole league is struggling. It is better to go to smaller markets that have a better (even slightly) chance of success. Yes Newcastle and North Queensland are struggling but Sydney and Gold Coast are too. There are a ton of people in the Gold Coast but they seem to prefer rugby. Sydney fans are fickle as usual.
Melbourne ain't big enough for both
Yes, smaller markets like Canberra and Tasmania can succeed. They have no other competing sports and having their own A-League team would be something great for the community. Smaller teams in smaller markets have the opportunity to create a family/community vibe around the club and really get their fans involved. Its one reason why I think teams like Brisbane should move to smaller stadiums. Its better financially and the fans feel more connected to the club. The whole Club element needs to be emphasized rather than just a “franchise”. This is something smaller markets could do very successfully. It doesn’t matter if they’re not in a big city. The important thing is that they are sustainable.
Melbourne ain't big enough for both
First of all, thanks everyone for reading. Your feedback is much appreciated.
Let me just clarify a few things.
I want this rivalry to succeed and I am looking forward to it. But at the same time I think we need to be realistic. The A-league as a whole is not exactly in a healthy state. Newcastle only barely survived, Gold Coast are in a shambles, North Queensland’s future is still up in the air and Sydney seem to be going backwards.
My point is don’t bring a new team into a city where they already have to fight the competition off right away. Why not go to smaller cities where it wouldn’t be so much of a gamble? There is already so much pressure on the He*rt to succeed.
If it was up to me I wouldn’t have brought a second team into Melbourne. But, now that the He*rt are here we can’t change it. They need to be a success. So therefore I fully support this rivalry but it doesn’t change the fact that I have strong doubts about their future.
Yes we have 4 million people in Melbourne but not all 4 million support football. And out of the ones who do, a large amount of them couldn’t care less about the A-League.
Anyways, thanks again. If you are a Victory fan please check out my blog here: http://victoryblog.net/ and if you like you can follow me on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/victoryblog
Melbourne ain't big enough for both
The point is the Mirabella Cup won’t have any negative affect on the FFA Cup. If anything, it would have a positive affect.
Its all about engaging the grassroots and lower leagues. Its good for the game that the Mirabella Cup has started off so well and the FFA should be using it as a platform to build on and learn from, for when they introduce the national comp.
FFA exclude Victory, Heart from Mirabella Cup