Melbourne Victory vs Western Sydney Wanderers 25/3/2016 7:40PM

lol ball boy be like...

Been echoed many times above, but our destiny is in our own hands. We win 3 games & we will win the championship but if we lose we've got to depend on other results to go our way.

 

 

Need to win every game from here on convincingly.

Actually three times an ugly 1:0 will do (even though the suspense is likely to kill me).

this.

scrape through the end of the season then win the finals matches so convincingly they scrap the concept.

I totally disagree with this, now is not the time to limp home. Yes it would be nice to win another trophy but we are so close to hitting top form that I don't think that we can play like this (relatively well, create so many chances but fail to score) & win the championship. The time to hit form is now not in 3 games time.

Our season starts here!

I cant see us winning this game. Victory have to win to make top 6, no acl for them this week, at home. can see us loosing 2-0 unfortunately

 

expecting a win here. Victory looked shithouse on weekend. Players lost their way. Midfield is rubbish. 

 

Travel safe hooligans. No **** flares boys

The two posts above are the glass half full & the glass half empty versions. Which Victory will turn up will be anyone's guess but I'm assuming that with no ACL, Victory will be putting out a very competitive side. In saying that, they got spanked against roar & struggled against an average Newcastle side. We can do this!

 

This is not a must win game for Victory, Easts have a tough run in to the finals & can hand us the championship with two good performances against Adelaide & Brisbane but can't see that happening. Realistically Adelaide & Brisbane win, meaning that unless Victory lose all three games then they'll easily make the 6.

Tough game this coming round as victory needs a win to stay in top 6. But I can see wsw win by 1 with santalab scoring. 

Tough game this coming round as victory needs a win to stay in top 6. But I can see wsw win by 1 with santalab scoring. 

So 60 minutes without a goal, or what I'm calling for START SANTA

Those wanting us to win convincingly are wanting something our team is simply not capable of doing. It won't happen. We don't have the firepower. Surely that is painfully obvious by now. Control of the midfield, and consistency week to week have got us where we are. We aren't going to win a game by 4 or 5 goals, especially away. There is a reason it hasn't happened yet, it's because we simply don't have the ability to do so. If we win the Premier's plate and/or the Finals series, it will be through tight 1-2 goal wins.

Those wanting us to win convincingly are wanting something our team is simply not capable of doing. It won't happen. We don't have the firepower. Surely that is painfully obvious by now. Control of the midfield, and consistency week to week have got us where we are. We aren't going to win a game by 4 or 5 goals, especially away. There is a reason it hasn't happened yet, it's because we simply don't have the ability to do so. If we win the Premier's plate and/or the Finals series, it will be through tight 1-2 goal wins.

Do you call firepower not putting away our chances or are you saying that we don't have enough players to create/score goals? I think we get ourselves into plenty of good positions to score goals it just seems that we are not clinical in front of goal. Firepower, comes down to goal scorers but then we have players like bridge, Santa, Dario & Nichols who are all very capable in front of goal, so to say we don't have the firepower is a load of crap. Yes it would be great to have a marquee striker that could score 10-15 goals to complement our other goal scorers but that has failed, just means that the load needs to be spread amongst our other attackers.

 

We have the ability to create chances & plenty of them but can't score. To say we don't have the ability is crap, we definitely have the ability but it comes down to our conversation from chances to goals. Many times during the season we have been able to score multiple goals in a game, we just need to do it more on a consistent basis. I am not expecting us to win 10-0 every game but if we create 5 good chances in the first half, is it not too much to get 1 possibly 2 goals? The key will be to put away our chances earlier in the game & then use our control of the midfield to dominate the possession to run our opposition in the ground.

Valeri factor

I wish they hadn't dropped Vukavic...

I wish they hadn't dropped Vukavic...

Is he dropped? Pretty sure it will be a one off, bet you that it was just Muscat sending a message "no more **** performances, or else"

 

I wish they hadn't dropped Vukavic...

Is he dropped? Pretty sure it will be a one off, bet you that it was just Muscat sending a message "no more **** performances, or else"

I'd say it has more to do with his baby son being in hospital with serious liver issues (will eventually need a transplant).

Oh, I didn't know about that. 

Cards going into this game:

Neville 6

Andreu 6

NTS 8

Dimas 7

Fathead 3

Aspro 1

Butters 4

Santa 6

Sotirio 4

Alberto 5

Vidosic 2

Pio 1

Gol Gol 1

Pepper 1

Jamo 3

Mooy's uncle - aka Sim 1

Hamill 1

Y'all Reddy for this 1

The rest 0

 

* card amnesty a couple of rounds ago means the suspension for cards in a season has increased from 5 to 8

Edited March 23, 2016 by Alexander

Any forumites gonna be in Victardia tomorrow night, gimme a yell.... We can go out Mumma hunting.... 

Cards going into this game:

Neville 6

Andreu 6

NTS 8

Dimas 7

Fathead 3

Aspro 1

Butters 4

Santa 6

Sotirio 4

Alberto 5

Vidosic 2

Pio 1

Gol Gol 1

Pepper 1

Jamo 3

Mooy's uncle - aka Sim 1

Hamill 1

Y'all Reddy for this 1

The rest 0

* card amnesty a couple of rounds ago means the suspension for cards in a season has increased from 5 to 8

 

Dimas gonna take one for the team ?

 

Cards going into this game:

Neville 6

Andreu 6

NTS 8

Dimas 7

Fathead 3

Aspro 1

Butters 4

Santa 6

Sotirio 4

Alberto 5

Vidosic 2

Pio 1

Gol Gol 1

Pepper 1

Jamo 3

Mooy's uncle - aka Sim 1

Hamill 1

Y'all Reddy for this 1

The rest 0

* card amnesty a couple of rounds ago means the suspension for cards in a season has increased from 5 to 8

 

Dimas gonna take one for the team ?

 

 

Probably the best week to do it with Central Coast at home next week we can hopefully afford to have him miss the game.

 

In saying that though, do cards carry across into finals? 

Prydz,

 

You say that "now is not the time to limp home. Yes it would be nice to win another trophy but we are so close to hitting top form that I don't think that we can play like this (relatively well, create so many chances but fail to score) & win the championship. The time to hit form is now not in 3 games time."

 

Play like what? Dominant to an extent where our goal keeper could establish a hammock between the goal posts and have a nap for most of the game? Considering that our marquee striker has been absent for most of the season it is an achievement in itself that we are still in the mix.

 

What would you prefer? Hammering VIC and Mariners and then a draw in Wellington while Roar and City win their next three games 1:0? Coming third instead of winning the title? Or would you rather see your team win the next three games 1:0 as well?

Now is the time to win games. Nothing else. Winning games means winning titles. Should we really limp back from NZ with the premiere's plate then I will officially not care about the post season cup any longer, but I'll celebrate for you :-)

 

Business end now. 3 pts is all that matters.

Play like what? Dominant to an extent where our goal keeper could establish a hammock between the goal posts and have a nap for most of the game? Considering that our marquee striker has been absent for most of the season it is an achievement in itself that we are still in the mix.

I hear what you're saying, 3 points is all that matters, do whatever it takes to get that 1-0, win ugly (not that you consider what we are doing as ugly in any sense) etc etc BUT

 

Dominating a game like we have been doing for most of the season is not enough at the moment. The biggest issue we have is that with the score at 0-0 or just 1-0 leaves the gate open for our opposition to get back into the game. Take Newcastle for example, despite a plethora of chances it was only 1-0 at 75 minutes & had we put away more chances (even just 1 more) it would have been a safe comfortable ride home. Instead Newcastle had a shot cannon off the post & bridge clearing off the goal line in the dying seconds of the game. We can't hope that the we get such luck in the next three matches & all it requires is us to be more clinical in front of goal.

 

We are missing our marquee striker you say? Yes I know that, but Popa wouldn't have done that if he didn't think that we had the players capable of scoring goals. All it means is that the goals need to be spread around & everyone needs to contribute. Let's be honest, we aren't putting goal keepers or defenders in the attacking positions, all these players are more than capable.

What would you prefer? Hammering VIC and Mariners and then a draw in Wellington while Roar and City win their next three games 1:0? Coming third instead of winning the title? Or would you rather see your team win the next three games 1:0 as well?

Now is the time to win games. Nothing else. Winning games means winning titles. Should we really limp back from NZ with the premiere's plate then I will officially not care about the post season cup any longer, but I'll celebrate for you :-)

The way we are currently playing I can see us not winning at least one of these games. Is it because I don't want us to win? No. Is it because I don't want us to win ugly? No. Is it because I don't think that 1-0 is good enough? No.

 

The reason is simple. 1-0 is not enough margin the way we are playing and it isn't just nerves either.

- The change of goal keeper has seen a big improvement but as Reddy showed at Newcastle, he has his moments

- Playing a possession based style, with a high line & committing many players forward leaves us vulnerable to a quick counterattack.

- Jamo has been our weak link defensively in the past month or so, many goals have come as a result of his lapses.

- We have conceded too many goals of set pieces this year, check the stats. It's horrendous.

 

All I am saying is that we just need to convert 1 extra chance a match. A 2-0 or 3-0 psychologically it gives us a much better position, in the knowledge that the opposition needs to take more risks to get back into the game, they will need to work harder to get the ball off us tiring them out & gives us more confidence when we are defending. It's not the case that we aren't creating enough chances, it is just that I want us to be more clinical infront of goal.

 

To say that we are limping or not playing well is a myth. It is just taking our chances is the final piece of the puzzle. At 1-0, despite dominating the match we made it look like really hard work. We are making it look a lot closer than it should be just by the fact that we are scoring 1 goal every 10 chances rather than 2-3 goals every 10 chances.

 

 

Cards going into this game:

Neville 6

Andreu 6

NTS 8

Dimas 7

Fathead 3

Aspro 1

Butters 4

Santa 6

Sotirio 4

Alberto 5

Vidosic 2

Pio 1

Gol Gol 1

Pepper 1

Jamo 3

Mooy's uncle - aka Sim 1

Hamill 1

Y'all Reddy for this 1

The rest 0

* card amnesty a couple of rounds ago means the suspension for cards in a season has increased from 5 to 8

 

Dimas gonna take one for the team ?

 

 

Probably the best week to do it with Central Coast at home next week we can hopefully afford to have him miss the game.

 

In saying that though, do cards carry across into finals? 

 

 

Santa must have the highest sub/card ratio in the history of the A-League, surely.

 

 

 

Cards going into this game:

Neville 6

Andreu 6

NTS 8

Dimas 7

Fathead 3

Aspro 1

Butters 4

Santa 6

Sotirio 4

Alberto 5

Vidosic 2

Pio 1

Gol Gol 1

Pepper 1

Jamo 3

Mooy's uncle - aka Sim 1

Hamill 1

Y'all Reddy for this 1

The rest 0

* card amnesty a couple of rounds ago means the suspension for cards in a season has increased from 5 to 8

 

Dimas gonna take one for the team ?

 

 

Probably the best week to do it with Central Coast at home next week we can hopefully afford to have him miss the game.

 

In saying that though, do cards carry across into finals? 

 

 

Santa must have the highest sub/card ratio in the history of the A-League, surely.

 

Most probably but look at when he gets them in the context of the game, they aren't always an accident or unplanned... 

Prydz,

 

"we just need to convert 1 extra chance a match".

 

... and I don't give a flying f8rk how we get there, and at what stage of the game it happens. Had Bridgey's ball against Adelaide not magically turned away from goal we would not have this conversation.

 

"the way we are currently playing I can see us not winning at least one of these games (against VIC, CCM, Nix"

 

Really? All season we have been playing well, apart from the home debacle against Wellington. What more do you want? Being up 2:0  or 3:0 at every game? As you say yourself, for that to happen the chances we are creating need to be converted more clinically. That has been the problem, and that's where Pio was supposed to deliver. And yes, we are missing our marquee striker. Unless him watching the games from the Western Terrace qualifies as presence.

 

"1-0 is not enough margin the way we are playing"

 

It has been for most of the season. It got us to being top of the table.

 

 

 

 

Cards going into this game:

Neville 6

Andreu 6

NTS 8

Dimas 7

Fathead 3

Aspro 1

Butters 4

Santa 6

Sotirio 4

Alberto 5

Vidosic 2

Pio 1

Gol Gol 1

Pepper 1

Jamo 3

Mooy's uncle - aka Sim 1

Hamill 1

Y'all Reddy for this 1

The rest 0

* card amnesty a couple of rounds ago means the suspension for cards in a season has increased from 5 to 8

 

Dimas gonna take one for the team ?

 

 

Probably the best week to do it with Central Coast at home next week we can hopefully afford to have him miss the game.

 

In saying that though, do cards carry across into finals? 

 

 

Santa must have the highest sub/card ratio in the history of the A-League, surely.

 

Most probably but look at when he gets them in the context of the game, they aren't always an accident or unplanned... 

 

Can't blame him though.

Comes on 80th minute, scores then brings the midfield down to prevent their attack.

We are definitely missing a marquee striker. Had Pio delivered what he was bought for we would have clinched the title now, so yes, we have missed that input.

However we are obviously still good enough to create chances and win this thing without Pio which Popa obviously realises.  We are relying on our attacking midfielders to score goals, which they are capable of for sure, but it isn’t their main game.

HAL squads are small and it’s much harder work that it should have been have Pio delivered. However it is what it is and we can certainly still win.

Love the Santa cards not because of the tackle but what it says about him & what he does for the team. Normally he picks up a yellow late in the game when a player (winger or midfield) doesn't have anything left in the tank to track back, so Santa makes a lung busting run to make a professional foul, breaking up the play.

Prydz,

 

"we just need to convert 1 extra chance a match".

 

... and I don't give a flying f8rk how we get there, and at what stage of the game it happens. Had Bridgey's ball against Adelaide not magically turned away from goal we would not have this conversation.

 

"the way we are currently playing I can see us not winning at least one of these games (against VIC, CCM, Nix"

 

Really? All season we have been playing well, apart from the home debacle against Wellington. What more do you want? Being up 2:0 or 3:0 at every game? As you say yourself, for that to happen the chances we are creating need to be converted more clinically. That has been the problem, and that's where Pio was supposed to deliver. And yes, we are missing our marquee striker. Unless him watching the games from the Western Terrace qualifies as presence.

 

"1-0 is not enough margin the way we are playing"

 

It has been for most of the season. It got us to being top of the table.

We will have to agree to disagree. All I want is to make these wins more comfortable, 1-0 wins leaves us very exposed & have to hope that we can scrape home through a mixture of poor strikers/shooting/finishing & good goalkeeping/defending.

 

Yes, we have been playing well but made a lot of hard work of our wins. Take the Perth win for example a few weeks back, they had so many chances to put that game away & had it been a McClaren, Novillo, Fornaroli or Berisha the scoreline could have been very different. The reason why I feel we will drop points is because we are relying on the opposition strikers not scoring than putting the game beyond doubt by putting the ball into the back of the net ourselves.

 

Those wanting us to win convincingly are wanting something our team is simply not capable of doing. It won't happen. We don't have the firepower. Surely that is painfully obvious by now. Control of the midfield, and consistency week to week have got us where we are. We aren't going to win a game by 4 or 5 goals, especially away. There is a reason it hasn't happened yet, it's because we simply don't have the ability to do so. If we win the Premier's plate and/or the Finals series, it will be through tight 1-2 goal wins.

Do you call firepower not putting away our chances or are you saying that we don't have enough players to create/score goals? I think we get ourselves into plenty of good positions to score goals it just seems that we are not clinical in front of goal. Firepower, comes down to goal scorers but then we have players like bridge, Santa, Dario & Nichols who are all very capable in front of goal, so to say we don't have the firepower is a load of crap. Yes it would be great to have a marquee striker that could score 10-15 goals to complement our other goal scorers but that has failed, just means that the load needs to be spread amongst our other attackers.

 

We have the ability to create chances & plenty of them but can't score. To say we don't have the ability is crap, we definitely have the ability but it comes down to our conversation from chances to goals. Many times during the season we have been able to score multiple goals in a game, we just need to do it more on a consistent basis. I am not expecting us to win 10-0 every game but if we create 5 good chances in the first half, is it not too much to get 1 possibly 2 goals? The key will be to put away our chances earlier in the game & then use our control of the midfield to dominate the possession to run our opposition in the ground.

 

Firepower is goal scoring ability. Yeah, we create chances, but we do not have the ability to finish them, nor to create goals out of nothing, and that's not going to change. If we win trophies, it will be through wins similar to those that have got us to the top of the table. All this talk though every week of 'this will be the week we score 6' is the stuff of fantasy.

"All I want is to make these wins more comfortable" - Well don't we all? This season is killing me! I don't get the pessimism though: we are top of the table - because we keep winning games, even if it is by a narrow margin.

 

Would you rather us be where Roar, City or Reds are? Would you rather have their remaining three opponents than playing the teams ranked 6, 9 and 10? Right now I can think of nine clubs/teams who would love to swap places with us.

No definitive teams news as yet. 

No definitive teams news as yet. 

 

No news is good news right... Well, regarding injuries anyway

Cards going into this game:

Neville 6

Andreu 6

NTS 8

Dimas 7

Fathead 3

Aspro 1

Butters 4

Santa 6

Sotirio 4

Alberto 5

Vidosic 2

Pio 1

Gol Gol 1

Pepper 1

Jamo 3

Mooy's uncle - aka Sim 1

Hamill 1

Y'all Reddy for this 1

The rest 0

* card amnesty a couple of rounds ago means the suspension for cards in a season has increased from 5 to 8

I worry about Andreu - he is the tactical foul king and could easy pick up a couple of cards and be out for a make or break final game or semi.

http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/article/melbourne-victory-v-western-sydney-wanderers-match-day-info-good-friday-march-25-2016/5hec2i4os4nj1ign9v152fxtz