A-League thread

[Hellenic Tiger]

Will be pee poor if victory drop this one. Last derby they were just going through the motions while heart's season was on the line. Reaching the granny was always the expectation this year. Repeat of first derby, victory in a canter

Given our poor form at Etihad Dwaino you're probably right. Victory will score 3 and that will be that.
But in the Big City you just never know.

First of all. Velaphi is keeping. No Redmayne in goals to give gifts.
There's a few freebies you won't get.
Game is much more even now.
Much tighter. Could be decided by the odd goal either way.

[dwaino]

I'm not impressed with Thomas in net but we'll have del Pierre, Georgevski and Milligan which from memory we were missing last time (or at least some other time around then when we lost a few on the trot) which should bolster the defense, and if heart win because the combo of barbarouses, Berisha, khalfallah, finkler and Thompson can't find the back of the net then may as well scrap the final and give them the cup.

[dwaino]

A mate prone to telling porkies told me this so don't know how much truth is in it, but MVC members can only get 1 ticket per barcode and Heart can get 4?

Been to most victory games this year but giving this one a miss, but that is pretty crap if that's the case.

[WilliamPowell]

A mate prone to telling porkies told me this so don't know how much truth is in it, but MVC members can only get 1 ticket per barcode and Heart can get 4?

Been to most victory games this year but giving this one a miss, but that is pretty crap if that's the case.

Was true for the members only sales (was on SEN yesterday) but once the went on sales to the general public they could buy as many as they like

[dwaino]

That's still crap. Not the fault of victory supporters that heart finished 4th last and can't get numbers though the gate.

[Hellenic Tiger]

That's still crap. Not the fault of victory supporters that heart finished 4th last and can't get numbers though the gate.

Fifth last dwaino. Fifth after the Perth debacle.
Potentially top two after tomorrow night.

Essendon v Carlton 1999 Prelim.

[dwaino]

5th* and 2 wins from a granny, not enough teams in the comp to warrant a valid final series. May as well just let the last 4 teams in too so everyone can have a run. I'll call it: heart to contain and clog it up behind the ball early and look for that one cheap foray over the top.

Heart v Sydney final 

[Hellenic Tiger]

5th* and 2 wins from a granny, not enough teams in the comp to warrant a valid final series. May as well just let the last 4 teams in too so everyone can have a run. I'll call it: heart to contain and clog it up behind the ball early and look for that one cheap foray over the top.

Heart v Sydney final 

By the way we still qualified on merit by finishing 6th. Thank you Perth for the upgrade.

Hahaha scrap the finals hey and just call it a day with the Premiers Plate.

If Victory lose it will hurt you more compared to us.

Like it hurt us when Carlton beat us in 2013.

Essendon v Carlton 1999 Prelim.

[dwaino]

6th is still 4th last. That's my point. Run into a severely out of form Wellington instead of Adelaide or Perth, now they're one crap goal or another Delovski special from a granny. What's funny about scrapping finals? It's what you get for finishing top of a long season. We run a domestic knock out comp now and would bring the competition into line with just about every other league in the world. Top team wins league, top teams go through to regional champs comp, then a cup for domestic knock out. It will happen eventually with blokes like Bozza pushing for it. Would be like Dortmund becoming Bundesliga champs from 9th because they beat Bayern on penalties in Pokal cup the other day. Plop Plop Plop.

[Hellenic Tiger]

No I'll reiterate again 6th is 5th last.

So why support the league and finals then dwaino?
If you were playing Sydney or Adelaide or if Wellington had beaten us on Sunday the system is fine but you're playing City.....

You make you're own luck. Wouldn't you have wished Wellington had beaten us and you played them here tomorrow night with them being so out of form. Last time you played them you lost 3-2. Would a win for you against Wellington have been the best thing since sliced bread?

If your nervous I can't help that but anyway.... You did finish 18 points in front of us so finals are a bit of a waste of time. Just like in 2008 when Geelong finished 16 points in front of Hawthorn but Hawthorn won the flag but I digress. So how does 20 shots on goal to 5 sound with City winning 1-0.

Heck if we beat Port last year would it have been hollow because we were 3-10 at the end of June and Sydney finished top of the ladder in a comp where 8 of 18 participants qualify.?

Would never happen in Germany and the same applies in all knockout cup comps but hey twist it how you like. Don't go tomorrow or next week if you qualify based on your arguments.

As I said the pressure is on Victory to perform as we all know and as you succinctly put it we don't deserve to be there not one bit but don't let that get in the way either.

Victory = Carlton Footy Club.  Arrogant, Unpleasant and oh so Nauseating.

It's like Round 1 again tomorrow night minus all the pressure that comes with it for City.

Victory should win and on the evidence of the season rightly so and the two previous games between the sides at Etihad but the pressure and I repeat is on Victory to perform both this week and next week in front of their home fans. Most people are expecting a comfortable win for the Victory and probably that will be the case but City can cause an upset. We did beat you 1-0 at Christmas and it was sweet. Anyway I digress again.

Will be a cracker.

Go City.

[dwaino]

I'm not a fan of finals in the A League since there aren't enough teams, had you jumped on here earlier in the season you would have known that. We are building a new domestic cup to reconnect with the older teams and in time it will replace this flimsy finals system we have as a knock out. The competition will be brought into line with the European comps where the top team is the domestic champ and the rest will be playing for AFC Champions spots. If we scrap the FFA cup and eventually expand to more teams then I might change my mind on finals, but any playoff structure where more than half the teams go through I think is ridiculous. Not sure how I'm twisting anything here, I compared declaring a middle of the table Dortmund Bundesliga champs because they beat top of the table Bayern quite unconvincingly on penalties (and without Robben, Alaba, Ribery and I think Lewandowski) in the DFB cup, to a middle of the table Heart beating a top of the table Victory and becoming domestic champs. The AFL doesn't have multiple comps so that's a pretty pee poor comparison. We've got plenty to play for in the A League, Premiers Plate, Asians spot, and now an FFA Cup, we don't need a tact on finals series with -0.500 teams with negative GDs just there making up the numbers.

Had Wellington won then the four best teams all season would have made it through (or replace Wellington with Perth with no disqualification). Adelaide is IMO one of the most skilful in the comp and Gombau is the best coach, Sydney have absolutely barnstormed the second half of the season and on form would be the team to beat, and Victory with one of the best rosters the A League has ever seen. Where does that leave Heart? Heart beat us 1-0 because we had entire first string defense out through injury and international duties and their season was quickly slipping away, and the only goal came from contentious adjudicating since Melling should have been sent off and Khalfallah's goal was disallowed due to an offside call (ruled incorrect on the broadcast). To finish top at the end of so many games after rotating through so many players is pretty worthy while the minnows lap up unconvincing wins over depleted teams.

Heart v Victory might be great for Melbourne, but Victory v Sydney would be even better for the A League and would help to lay a massive blow to the AFL or NRL should they take a wrong step any time soon. Wouldn't get a whimper out of Heart fans at Allianz, but the travelling Cove at AAMI would at least stand out. Just a shame it can't be at Etihad because of the Freo v Bulldogs blockbuster.

Heart = north. contrived, supporterless and soulless.

[Hellenic Tiger]

Yeah I know the comp dwaino. Bentleigh Greens did really well and made a semi. Old time wog myself.

Anyway. Whilst you make some valid points about Adelaide and Gombau and Sydney there is certainly a fear factor that exists from Victory fans since Heart came into the comp and mow have been rebranded as City. The excuses to hide your fear have been endless.

The clear difference between a City/Heart fan and a Victory fan is this. City are happy to co-exist, giving football another foothold in this town against AFL. Victory don't want a bar of it and use the rivalry on their terms when it suits them, unlike other rivalries who use it to generate the aura of it even more like Man Utd/ City, Liverpool/Everton, Barca/Real or Olympiakos/Panathinaikos from my homeland.

You talk about us getting a foothold, how good will it be tonight we get a full house but Collingwood v Geelong struggle to get 60K on the back of us winning the Asian Cup and all the controversies that exist at AFL/NRL. All this in an AFL town, but again you take the high moral ground saying would be better if Wellington had played who would have brought what other than a hundred or so fans if that and then you add about Allianz next week and we have not even played tonight.

Some real fear for the cult at Victory. This is not just a derby and you all can feel it.

Anyway we aint North. We have money unlike North, backed by Man City and their Sheik but keep taking pot shots. By the way what happened with the Liverpool take over? Anyway again.

Keep trying dwaino we are here to stay regardless of tonight's result.
Give us another 5 years which you have timewise on City and I am sure we can get up there, given also you also had a monopoly on the town from 2005-10.

As I have said the pressure is all on Victory and I must say you are handling it like the Premier's Plate winners you are.

Essendon v Carlton 1999 Prelim.

See you at the game.

Go City.

[🏅Dooks]

"Therrrrrrres only one team in Melbourne. One team in MELLLLLLLBOURNE Only one team in Melbourne"

[dwaino]

Heart don't get anything from City besides the branding. Murdocca said he got a hat but didn't get to use all the facilities when they went for a training camp over there. Unless heart pull their finger out then city could pull the funding. Maybe then they could go back to being operated by the storm?

I don't care about heart, just still just a minnow with an identity crisis, and if you were more familiar with this thread then you'd know I would have had the same issue if Brisbane had of got over Adelaide. Victory have nothing to fear from Heart as we are well established and we don't need heart to get 40k at Etihad. TM and myself were talking about this a while ago and it was about the FFA trying to crowbar in a new side when the competition itself is still trying grow, now they have a manufactured side that can't draw a crowd while they're trying to sell the competition to the rival code supporters. The league has tried expanding before consolidating and now Newcastle are in massive trouble with CCM not far behind. WSW have done brilliantly to create their own brand and character in less time. In 15 or 20 years if heart are still around these games will be massive. And I hope we get a 50k purpose built football stadium to accommodate 

I only started following roundball after meeting the wife as they're from Italy (or should I say some are Sicilian since some prefer the distinction ) besides when I started watching bundesliga on espn way back on optus vision. Heart already existed, I followed victory because they did and have now been to nearly every Victory game for the last 3 years and it has been a pleasant change from Richmond. We care more about beating Sydney or Adelaide than heart, they are still just the little bro. Since then I watch the EPL double header with them on Saturday nights especially if liverstool are playing, at least one uefa and la liga game per week and we sometimes go around to the old nonnas joint to watch serie A off her Italian satellite, and it's on for young and old if juve or Roma are on. I love the game now and would love to see it really take off here, but whether it's a bottom half team making up the numbers in the a league or a - 0.500 divisional winner making the play-offs by default in the NFL I am not a fan. I am especially less of a fan when the home team, also the top of the ladder, have less tickets available on a pre sale because the opposition can't get more than a handful through their gates which is where my original rant started before it got more pointed at heart in particular.

[tony_montana]

all good fellas  lets hope for a cracker, not only bc I forked out for premium A tickets for me and my daughter 

City needs a big game to help create an identity/culture. When the comp first started and I followed victory it didn't take long for some massive games to really create a buzz about the victory, season 2 I recall crowds over 30k at ettihad every home game, I think they nudged 45k and 50k agaist Sydney and Adelaide, massive! Occassions like that create a buzz and help a club garner more engaged supporters.  Heart?City haven't done that yet, in all honesty I couldn't tell you one single game that stands out in my memory (except for when muscat smashed that poor kid and ruined his career). Regardless of the result, City needs tonights game, put in a big performance and either take an unlikely win or go down gallantly and all of a sudden it gives some latent fans something to look forward to. City have 11k members, it's not too bad, but I reckon a lot of them aren't fully engaged bc its been a pretty bland affair to date. Lets change that tonight!

Victory's got the better side and if both play to their best then they should win, but City's side player for player actually stacks up pretty well talent wise. Mooy is a gun, Parteluu is a strong Def mid, Novillo is too good for this league, Koren is class (but been massive disappointment) still these types of games may stimulate him to go above and beyond, Kennedy is dangerous if he gets fed right andChapman is a future Socceroo defender, very talented player. Reads the game superbly.