2012/13 Melbourne Victory Thread

[giggler99]

New season deserves new thread..

Went along to the match against Moreland on Tuesday night team looks so different from last year we are actually keeping the ball on the ground! general play was good standouts where Julius Davis, kid looks the goods and if he keeps his head straight and works hard he will be a start, Broxham yes Broxham!! With three assists and Flores was good too once he is at peck fitness look out!!

Looking forward so much to this season now after what I saw on Tuesday night can't wait for the season to start Bring on October 5th and the Heartless..

 

[thebigboy]

I've been out to a couple of the pre-season games, and whats really impressed me is how solid we are at the back. The games I saw (vs. Oakleigh & Bentleigh) we looked very assured and comfortable. Milligan was a huge signing for us, as Flores will be as well. Bru looks like he could be a good player in this league as well. Looks very comfortable on the ball. Can see Ange using him in a similar way to way Partaalu was used for Brisbane.

Good to see some of the younger players looking alright as well. We have been far too old as a squad for a while. The likes of Jeggo, Davies, Markelis, Foschini will have big roles. Can see Traore becoming a fan favourite with his runs down the wing as well. Only real concern is up front with Thompson and Allsopp. Both seemed to tail off a little last year with age and looked to have lost a yard. Maybe it was the system they were in & Ange was very quick to point out that they both featured strongly in his plans, so hopefully he will be able to get them back to being closer to what they were.

Also, probably the deepest squad we've had for a couple of years as well. Cannot wait for Oct 5.

 

[Murraj1966]

It's been great seeing the old guard changed out for a new generation of (hopefully) premiership heroes.

But the first step for them is belting Morwell, and after last years opening round disappointment I would love to see us tear them up.

 

[mcgarnacle]

I'm a SYD supporter so not up to speed with the going's on of MV, but what's the arrangement with home games this season? Where is the MV home ground? From the schedule, it seems as though they play several at Docklands in the early season, then shift to Swan St.

What does a potential supporter consider apart from name and colours between MV & MH if both clubs end up playing down at Swan St? The choice seems to be generic down there, unless I'm mistaken. Territory and representation doesn't seem as clear as it is up here in Sydney.

 

[Murraj1966]

If you're a winner you go for Victory, if you're a pretentious hipster you go for Heart

 

[giggler99]

I'm a SYD supporter so not up to speed with the going's on of MV, but what's the arrangement with home games this season? Where is the MV home ground? From the schedule, it seems as though they play several at Docklands in the early season, then shift to Swan St.

What does a potential supporter consider apart from name and colours between MV & MH if both clubs end up playing down at Swan St? The choice seems to be generic down there, unless I'm mistaken. Territory and representation doesn't seem as clear as it is up here in Sydney.

On your first point.. Victory play 5 games a season at Edihad an arrangement that was agreeded on when we moves to AAMI Park. As Edihad was our home ground previously plus the club gets a great deal by playing home games there due to it being used in the AFL off season, I think something like 9k fans through the gates at Edihad is a break even point. So it's a very good deal to keep playing there even through most supporters hate it and prefer AAMI Park.
We play four matches at the start of the season and one in feb. This due to T20 cricket being played there throughout dec-jan.
That's why the matches are spread out like they are.

As for your second point Victory fans come together at the begining of the A-league who wanted a football club for all of Melbourne unlike previously with ethnic ties and such. Didn't really care who ran the club coaches players etc.. Over the years it grew and grew due to the atmosphere created by the fans and the success on the field, I Also think Edihad had a big part to play in it due to it being familiar to AFL supporters and easy access to get there by public transport lots of GA tickets available.

As for Heart fans a lot of them are turncoats for starters, but also didn't connect with Victory at the start due to the way they where coached and played for reasons or another In other word they thought there could be a better team that focus less on the hype the Victory had generated and more on the on field play and promoting youth.

The reason the Heart haven't generated a lot of fans I think is they went about it wrong from the start. Trying to convince Victory fans that it's a better option which was never going to work and promoting the team not the club e.g how it will play better football then Victory despite any evidence to start with or since that it has played better or promoted better youths.
When all they had to do was just promote the club itself. Even through I don't think it would have made much of a difference to counter the Victroy Juggarnout that was already created.

 

[ROSEMVP]

I may be in the small % of people who like Docklands better then Swan St for the victory. Seem to play alot better at Docklands.

 

[Murraj1966]

We didn't win a game at Docklands last year

 

[giggler99]

Edihad was good until I stepped in to AAMI Park, the atmosphere generated by just 10K-15K at AAMI far out weights anything that 20k-30K even 40K can generate at Edihad. watching from the bottom deck at Edihad is so hard because your so far away compared to AAMI as well.
Having said that I don't mind the arrangement to play 5 games at Edihad it gives those people either sitting on the fence or not diehard supporters to come along to a stadium they are familiar in to watch a football match with there mates. I usually invite friends who ain't really in to "football" to come along to a Victory match at Edihad because its much easier and accessible for them.

 

[ROSEMVP]

Edihad was good until I stepped in to AAMI Park, the atmosphere generated by just 10K-15K at AAMI far out weights anything that 20k-30K even 40K can generate at Edihad. watching from the bottom deck at Edihad is so hard because your so far away compared to AAMI as well.
Having said that I don't mind the arrangement to play 5 games at Edihad it gives those people either sitting on the fence or not diehard supporters to come along to a stadium they are familiar in to watch a football match with there mates. I usually invite friends who ain't really in to "football" to come along to a Victory match at Edihad because its much easier and accessible for them.

I think Docklands is better then AAMI when they bring the seats in.

 

[Murraj1966]

I think Docklands is better then AAMI when they bring the seats in.

I've never been to Etihad with the seats in, but it looks amazing on TV.

 

[ROSEMVP]

I've never been to Etihad with the seats in, but it looks amazing on TV.

Looks like a world class football stadium with the seats in. Gotta say hate the Green Coloured seats at AAMI.

 

[Redalert]

Having been to both I have to say AAMI is still better than Etihad even with the seats in, just think the whole structure is suited more to association football (as wierd as that sounds).

On another note I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the Victory membership pack this season, still one year off a silver membership and it costs me a scarf.

 

[mcgarnacle]

Isn't Docklands similar to Stadium Australia when the lower tier is in rectangular configuration? The stands are still set back to fulfill its objective of being multi-purpose. The advantage Docklands has is the roof. Even though the higher tiers are back, the noise stays in. In contrast, Stadium Australia is cavernous.

Going back to my point re Victory & Heart, I understand that MV are the original football supporters club and so those who wanted a team to support at the inception of the new league got on the MV wagon. The success of MV led the powers that be at the FFA to consider a 2nd team for Melbourne. But what is it about MH apart from a different name and different colours that will lure new supporters to it this year and in the future? The clubs will play at the same venue for the most part and there doesn't appear to be any specific differential to market with. Homogeneity might be working for some Melbourne clubs in the modern AFL (it's not for others), but they had over a century of secular, geographic, and football history to rely on. MH, and to a lessor extent, MV, dont.

In contrast, even though many SYD supporters are from Western Sydney and will continue to support the Sky Blues, the Sydney teams will have a clear geopgraphic difference to market upon. There will be new football supporters at the A-league in Sydney. ADP will bring many into SYD but WSW as a club representing the west of the Sydney metropolitan will too. I see more growth for WSW than I do for MH.

 

[TigersBoy]

I have been going to Victory matches since they started and even though a packed Swan St has the best atmosphere in Melbourne, the memories of Docklands still have a lot to do with the club.

The 3-3 draw against Central Coast in 2006 with 9 men and the roar like no other
Robinsons 93rd min header in the 2007 Semi Final sending Victory into grand final infront of 48,000 fans going mental.
The 2 Championships
The Heartbreak of 2010
Docklands does have a place in the soul of Victory and yes as said the deal gives the club a lot of money compared to the not so attractive Swan St deal which sees Victory only club breaking even there.

The club would probably like the Etihad games spred out but sadly it's made harder because of the Cricket.

 

[giggler99]

Isn't Docklands similar to Stadium Australia when the lower tier is in rectangular configuration? The stands are still set back to fulfill its objective of being multi-purpose. The advantage Docklands has is the roof. Even though the higher tiers are back, the noise stays in. In contrast, Stadium Australia is cavernous.

Going back to my point re Victory & Heart, I understand that MV are the original football supporters club and so those who wanted a team to support at the inception of the new league got on the MV wagon. The success of MV led the powers that be at the FFA to consider a 2nd team for Melbourne. But what is it about MH apart from a different name and different colours that will lure new supporters to it this year and in the future? The clubs will play at the same venue for the most part and there doesn't appear to be any specific differential to market with. Homogeneity might be working for some Melbourne clubs in the modern AFL (it's not for others), but they had over a century of secular, geographic, and football history to rely on. MH, and to a lessor extent, MV, dont.

In contrast, even though many SYD supporters are from Western Sydney and will continue to support the Sky Blues, the Sydney teams will have a clear geopgraphic difference to market upon. There will be new football supporters at the A-league in Sydney. ADP will bring many into SYD but WSW as a club representing the west of the Sydney metropolitan will too. I see more growth for WSW than I do for MH.

Dude I think you answered your own statement about the Heart.

No there isn't any real geographic differences between both clubs apart from that Heart are based in Bundoora about 15k north of Melbourne and Victory are based at AAMI.
Heart can survive and grow their fan base, its just going to take time for a whole new generation to take hold esspecially if they end up become successful. In the meantime they should concentrate on finding there own fans tap into new markets which I am sure they are doing instead of just trying to convince Victory fans that there club is a better option to support which clearly hasn't worked.

 

[mcgarnacle]

Cheers for the input Giggler.

Thing is, I don't think Heart have the time of a generation to get settled. We've seen how quickly clubs that fail to grow with an entire region to themselves can fall over.

Relying on success to grow isn't being proactive enough. Focusing initially on either a specific region or and/or demographic of the metropolitan could give Heart a solid base to launch from, rather than just being the homogeneous 'other' option. What other option could football fans want when Victory has successfully brought the Melbourne football community together, delivered great memories & championships and established rivalries with other teams in the league? Al I hear from Heart supporters is that they represent the better half and a different philosophy of play. What farkin half is that? And playing styles can change with different managerial and playing staff.

Perhaps I'm viewing the Melbourne market incorrectly. In Sydney, there is a general idea of territory. In a two-club market focusing on city and west, the former will focus on the areas of the city-east-inner west-south-north of the metropolitan which is much of the areas the Swans have traditionally attracted their support too. The latter will focus on the area west of Olympic Park, North-west & south-west. This is the area WSW are targeting and will successfully attract new football fans. They are a real option for non-football folks who dont even register the sky blues on their radar.

I'm sure Victory supporters want an intra-metropolitan rivalry to thrive. The other club need to survive for this to continue.

Anyway, despite the intra-city metro derbies of MV v MH, as well as SYD vs WSW, the big inter-city MV vs SYD clash will continue to thrive. All the best.

 

[BlueFan4]

I think Docklands is better then AAMI when they bring the seats in.

Kidding right?

The atmosphere created at AAMI is 10x better even when Etihad has the seats in. Also, there's not a bad seat in the stadium, the same can't be said about Etihad.

 

[giggler99]

Cheers for the input Giggler.

Thing is, I don't think Heart have the time of a generation to get settled. We've seen how quickly clubs that fail to grow with an entire region to themselves can fall over.

Relying on success to grow isn't being proactive enough. Focusing initially on either a specific region or and/or demographic of the metropolitan could give Heart a solid base to launch from, rather than just being the homogeneous 'other' option. What other option could football fans want when Victory has successfully brought the Melbourne football community together, delivered great memories & championships and established rivalries with other teams in the league? Al I hear from Heart supporters is that they represent the better half and a different philosophy of play. What farkin half is that? And playing styles can change with different managerial and playing staff.

Perhaps I'm viewing the Melbourne market incorrectly. In Sydney, there is a general idea of territory. In a two-club market focusing on city and west, the former will focus on the areas of the city-east-inner west-south-north of the metropolitan which is much of the areas the Swans have traditionally attracted their support too. The latter will focus on the area west of Olympic Park, North-west & south-west. This is the area WSW are targeting and will successfully attract new football fans. They are a real option for non-football folks who dont even register the sky blues on their radar.

I'm sure Victory supporters want an intra-metropolitan rivalry to thrive. The other club need to survive for this to continue.

Anyway, despite the intra-city metro derbies of MV v MH, as well as SYD vs WSW, the big inter-city MV vs SYD clash will continue to thrive. All the best.

Which is ironic because its exactly what is happening now with ang coming in, before a lot of those that jumped over to Heart where mostly supporters that hated Merrick's style and Muscat. coming up with crap comments like "Victory play soccer Heart play football", well that Football style sent them to the heights of 7th and 6th while Merricks soccer style handed us two premierships and 2 championships, go figure, and now with ang it looks like our football style will be going in another direction one that hopefully is going to be much better and more successful then Merrick's and deffently "Van'shits", while Heart are stuck with a coach that has only 6 months coaching experience within the NYL with a limited squad of 19 and a load of has been's, yeah good luck with that!! Hearts philosophy seems to be take a gamble bringing in young kids then sell them off overseas to make a few $$$ to cover all there running loses. as for better half? yeah I like to know what half that is too.

 

[BlueFan4]

I didn't see what was so unattractive about Merrick's style of football. I get that we didn't use width or get the full backs overlapping but some of the passing in close and around the top of the box was a delight to watch. Also watching Fred/Hernezdez with the ball, coming out of defence, on the counter with Archie and Allsopp making runs off the shoulders of defenders was so exciting. We were so deadly on the counter that opposing teams didn't want to commit to many defenders forward. If teams tried to sit back and and prevent space in behind then Hernendez would punish them with a bomb or Fred would draw in 2-3 defenders before threading a ball to Archie. Good times.

Hopefully Ange encourages crossing the ball and shooting abit more than he did with Brisbane.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

We're gonna win the league

 

[Roos4eva]

We're gonna win the league

Probably.

 

[giggler99]

I didn't see what was so unattractive about Merrick's style of football. I get that we didn't use width or get the full backs overlapping but some of the passing in close and around the top of the box was a delight to watch. Also watching Fred/Hernezdez with the ball, coming out of defence, on the counter with Archie and Allsopp making runs off the shoulders of defenders was so exciting. We were so deadly on the counter that opposing teams didn't want to commit to many defenders forward. If teams tried to sit back and and prevent space in behind then Hernendez would punish them with a bomb or Fred would draw in 2-3 defenders before threading a ball to Archie. Good times.

Hopefully Ange encourages crossing the ball and shooting abit more than he did with Brisbane.

Yep spot on.. and another ironic thing is that Heart now has Fred who was probably the man used to best effect under Merricks style, now the heart flog fans are cheering him being used in virtually the some way.

 

[Redalert]

Can't see us winning in Ange's first season, I'd honestly take a top 4 finish. It takes a reasonable amount of time for a team to adopt a style of play and there are some very good teams competing against us, also the offensive and defensive issues are yet to be fully resolved.

 

[ROSEMVP]

Can't see us winning in Ange's first season, I'd honestly take a top 4 finish. It takes a reasonable amount of time for a team to adopt a style of play and there are some very good teams competing against us, also the offensive and defensive issues are yet to be fully resolved.

top 2 or bust. Due to the fact the other teams look average. Perth Adelaide and Brisbane and maybe the Jets are the only threats to a top 2 spot