Let’s face it! The Melbourne Victory doesn’t deserve to finish in the Top 6 this season. At times, its play has been woeful. In fact, if the Victory featured in the English Premier League, it would be deep in a relegation dogfight.
However, with the current structure of the A-League finals system allocating six of the ten teams finals spots, the Victory still has genuine hope of not only making the finals but, also, effecting a major boil-over for when it really matters. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter how high the Victory hold its finals hopes as it would be remiss of the beleaguered outfit to ignore the issues that have played out before it.
A Case for the Defence
There’s been a whole lot of finger-pointing so far this season and with former manager, Mehmet Durakovic, made the scapegoat, it has become apparent that the Victory’s problems lie deeper than just the wrong choice of manager. Melbourne's defending must shoulder much of the blame for its inability to keep clean sheets.
Far too many times this season, Melbourne has thrown away winning leads to end up with a share of the spoils. Perth’s trip to Etihad Stadium in Week 7 should’ve seen the Victory comfortably claim all three points after the 10-man Glory conceded the first two goals. However, with less than half an hour to go, the Victory gave the Glory a sniff and conceded two goals of its own to see the score end at 2-2.
Week 10 and Week 15 saw the Victory twice throw away one-goal leads against Adelaide United (both home fixtures) with the outcome of the match ending in inevitable 1-1 draws. However, worst of all was the Victory's last two matches which has seen it drop another two-goal lead against Sydney and another one-goal lead against lowly Gold Coast to once again return home with a share of the points.
No Tissues for Fitness Issues
The Victory’s midfield simply isn't fit enough. Incumbent manager, Jim Magilton, has recognised this and has duly made an example of enigmatic midfielder, Carlos Hernandez, by relegating the Costa Rican to the bench. If the Victory is going to be worthy of a top six position this season, its midfield must be willing to work harder going forward and back to give much-required support to the attack and defence.
Going Forward
Melbourne’s long-ball game has also failed it. Too many times this season, aimless long balls have been sent up to the Victory frontmen with the opposition defence dealing with them a little too comfortably, and even if the Victory forwards do manage to chase down the long ball, they too often find themselves isolated with the midfield not working hard enough in pushing forward and creating support.
Arguably the A-League’s biggest club, the Victory boasts some fantastic players up front in Harry Kewell, Archie Thompson, Danny Allsopp and Jean Carlos Solórzano. However, what the Victory really craves is a big strong striker - à la Mark Viduka - who can retrieve the long ball and hold up play before feeding the likes of Thompson, Kewell or even Solórzano.
Jim Magilton’s Appointment and Reign as Victory Manager
Magilton was thrown into the melting pot a month ago and, to his credit, has already implemented changes to the troubled Victory culture. Magilton hasn’t been afraid to make the tough decisions either with the Northern Irishman publicly criticising Kewell for diving and, as previously mentioned, dropping Hernandez to the bench.
He has also pinpointed the need for a major reshuffle in defence with the signings of central defenders, Mark Milligan and Ubay Luzardo, until the end of the season. Magilton will now hope that his new crop of players can inject some much-needed vigour into the Victory line-up, and who knows? Maybe the Victory will be able to crash-land its way into the top six with enough momentum of causing a serious splash come finals time.
What’s to Come for the Victory
With that in mind, this is whom the Victory will face in its remaining games:
- Week 19: Central Coast Mariners (Home)
- Week 20: Brisbane Roar (Away)
- Week 21: Gold Coast United (Away)
- Week 22: Newcastle Jets (Home)
- Week 23: Sydney FC (Away)
- Week 24: Wellington Phoenix (Home)
- Week 25: Perth Glory (Away)
The Victory Verdict
It doesn’t get any easier for Melbourne. Its next two games are against the two top sides and will most likely decide its top six fate. If the Victory is able to steal away the three points from even one of these teams, then it can look towards the next five matches with pure optimism that the top six dream can be realised.
Look to the Victory’s clash against arch-rival, Sydney, in Week 23 as the pivotal moment of Melbourne’s overall season. Especially with Sydney fighting for a top six spot of its own, this match will become a virtual six-pointer with the loser likely to miss out on the finals altogether.
Furthermore, a lot will depend on the central defensive pairing of Luzardo and Milligan and how it prospers over the remaining games of the season, and despite all of its failings over the season, the Victory still has time to iron out the creases if it is serious about challenging for the finals...or even the premiership.
Andy Paolacci - Hi there! My name is Andy Paolacci and I am a 26-year-old Monash University Arts/Journalism graduate from Melbourne, Australia. I have ...
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