The Melbourne Victory hosts the Queensland Roar tonight, in what is a critical juncture of the A-League season.
The Roar sit on equal points with Melbourne, but edge us out on goal difference. A win tonight for either side would go a long way to ensuring their finals aspirations.
The Central Coast Mariners have already played their game this round, beating the Perth Glory 1-0 on New Year’s Eve. That’s put the Mariners at the top of the table temporarily, but that’s unlikely to remain so, with Adelaide United, Queensland and Melbourne all able to overtake the Mariners.
Ernie Merrick indicated that he plans to do very little to change the squad that overcame Sydney FC last week, suggesting that Grant Brebner and Jose Luis Lopez may once again have to watch from the sidelines. Surely it is a sign of the depth of Melbourne’s squad that a hero from season 2 and a Costa Rican international are unable to make it into the squad?
The pitch is a cause for concern, as the Telstra Dome was used for New Year’s Eve festivities. The club and Dome are apparently clashing heads over it. Ernie Merrick even said: “As coach of Melbourne Victory, I find working with Telstra Dome management and preparing for a game is very difficult. That’s all I’ll say at this stage.” Enough said Ernie. We know what you mean. Telstra Dome are pains in the arses.
My tips for the weekend:
- Melbourne to shatter Queensland: Maybe not by much – Queensland have a strong defence – but if Melbourne play with the intensity they had against Sydney FC, they can win this.
- Adelaide United to beat Sydney FC: Only the bravest of punters would tip otherwise at the moment. Adelaide are riding high at the top of the table, while Sydney are tumbling down. I expect the trend to continue.
- Wellington Phoenix to beat Newcastle Jets: I suppose I could have saved time and just said I expect the home teams to win this weekend. Newcastle have nothing but pride left to play for, while a win for Wellington is essential for the finals chances.
3 comments ↓
Squad Thoughts: We have had trouble controlling the play from midfield the past month. Muscat got plenty of ball last week but half the time he gave it away with poor disposal. He had a poor game by his standards so I hope his disposal is better this week.
Pondles and Celeski can be creative but aren’t holding players. They need to be pushed between center and wing allowing room for Kemp/Burger/Thwaite to pay very wide down the wings when they attack. They should learn to switch sides more often as the become predictable for defenders. They also need central midfield cover.
Carlos is often too slow and caught in possession but needs to be on the park for his imagination. Maybe he needs to learn the English for “MAN ON!” so he stops getting tackled and falling over. He must like falling down as he does it so often. (And one day he may even go close with a fee kick!)
I think we still need a Brebner or Lopez to add some stability and cover alongside Carlos with Muscat behind. But Muscat and Lopez always seem to get in each others way as Lopez tends to fall back too far. Maybe Muscat beside Carlos and Lopez might be an interesting option.
I think Ney Fabiano as an impact substitute works fine especially when the defense is tiring he can use his jump and run to great effect. Archie needs to do more work. Danny does too much work and is often knackered by the time he gets the ball.
Another option is to play Ney and Danny upfront with Archie taking either Pondle’s or Celeski’s position from attacking midfield. Arch would be in the play more often and more accountable.
Ground Thoughts:
Telstra management should be embarrassed by the surfaces they have give us this year. Last week Qld showed how to fix the pitch after an Andre R concert compared to the shit we had 2 or 3 weeks back.
Before that we had the Etihad logo burnt into the ground and cut out again leaving a huge patch in mid-field (I believe that was what it was).
Last week we had big scars in the surface from god-knows-what.
Clearly TDome don’t care about Victory as tenants. Whoever negotiates the agreement should have a clause that we don’t pay if they can’t produce a first class surface to play on.
Personally, I’d like to see Muscat on the bench, with Lopez or Brebner there instead. Muscat had a shocking game last week. Sure, he’s a valuable as a leader, but to what extent? In the midfield and attack, there’s plenty of competition for spots; why not with Muscat? When he’s on his game, he’s an incredible asset, but it seems he’s been off his game too often lately. Reminds me of Allsopp last year, when he was dropped for a game or two towards the end of 2007. He came back firing and had a much better run of form in the last few weeks.
I share your sentiments regarding Archie and Danny. Danny is much more willing to chase for the ball after he loses it; Archie tends to drop his head and give up.
But Fabiano, he’s been a shining light lately. Loved his work when he came on last week. He’s worked as an impact sub, but it could be worth trying to put him on from the start and keeping Archie on the bench. From recollection, the last time Merrick started Fabiano on and Archie on the bench was against Newcastle… that turned out quite well, to say the least!
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