CITY VIEWS | Get Behind The Boys
As the FFA Cup Final approaches, the enormity of the situation is quickly becoming apparent for all involved. Melbourne City would still be considered a boutique club at their stage of development and given their short history next Wednesday represents the biggest day in club history.
The FFA has played their hand many times this season, knowing the importance of a successful second Melbourne club off the field. When the decision to award Melbourne the hosting rights was announced there was a mixed reaction towards the decision but looking at it from a long term perspective the decision isn’t as much one against Sydney but a cry for help to establish Melbourne City as a cornerstone of the A-League. We all know how much time, energy and effort City Football Group has invested into their Australian project but a poor turnout on Wednesday night would be a disaster for all involved.
Even with the inclusion of Socceroos superstar Tim Cahill City are still struggling to draw crowds at AAMI Park and currently sit eighth in home attendance figures, only ahead of Wellington and Central Coast. Albeit the fixture hasn’t been too kind to City as yet but there would be some worried faces around the boardroom at City HQ. The club is currently sitting second and whilst playing great football at times, this has been all too sporadic for any Championship aspirations just yet. A poor showing against Brisbane and Western Sydney adds to the well known commodity that City on the road is as reliable as Burke and Wills. Poor crowds and despondent away performances are clear for all to see and must be addressed if City is to become the club we know it can.
The current tenure of John Van’t Schip is continually a subject for debate with many supporters frustrated with his heavy focus on possession football, and his inability to overcome opposition tactics when it’s evident our squad is the most talented on the pitch. Having a talented squad is a luxury City are very lucky to have and when the squad clicks we play the best brand of football in the league but this also leads to frustration when we see the team lacking the ability to kill off the game at numerous stages. When you have Fornaroli, Brattan and Brandan at your disposal you begin to worry when we seem to prefer to control the game with possession rather than on the scoreboard.
The use of Tim Cahill over the next few games will be interesting. After the Western Sydney game Cahill raised concerns about his Achilles which questions how involved Cahill will be in either the Wellington game on Sunday or the Cup Final against Sydney. Personally we need to prioritise the Cup final over the league fixture on this occasion and either rest Cahill for Wellington or play him off the bench.
Next Wednesday represents a very exciting chapter in the history of Melbourne City and shouldn’t be missed by either City fans or even the neutral looking for some exciting midweek football. Any issues or qualms you have with club, manager or owners should be put aside for one night and we really need to get behind our boys. There has been far too many bleak days for opportunities like this to be missed and if we manage to win our first piece of silverware (Men’s) you will be kicking yourself for your non-attendance.
Having the opportunity to host a Cup Final shouldn’t be lost on Melbourne City and we need all fans to get out and support our boys, and who knows we might be lifting a trophy at the end of the night if we perform to the standard we all know we can.
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