Missed Opportunity: Failure to sign Neill highlights Heart woes

Australian football has gone through turbulent times in the past, and their inability to qualify for World Cups became an extremely alarming issue and many thought the end of Australian football was near, that we would never be able to qualify for the World Cup.

But then came that fateful night, when all Australians back home or abroad had their eyes glued to their television screens. It was by far my most favourite footballing moment, a night never to be forgotten. This may sound somewhat controversial, but forget the heroics of now Heart coach John Aloisi and Mark Schwarzer in the penalty shootout; it was officially the night Lucas Neill announced himself to the Australian public, the night where he made a name for himself as Australia’s best defender.

Not many Australian footballers, past or present, can boast of a better CV than Neill. The vast experience he carries with him is second to none, having represented Australia boasting an incredible 89 caps and counting, played in the EPL against the world’s elite representing Blackburn Rovers before short stints at West Ham and Everton, before finishing off in the middle east, he has been there, seen it and done it, handling the most perilous of situations on the football pitch he really has the skills and experience that an inexperienced Melbourne Heart defence need.

He may not be in his prime but he still has a lot to offer.

Despite an impeccable front line, boasting arguably one of the most prolific attacks in the league, it became evident in their match against Newcastle on Friday night that being placed in the middle of the ladder is exactly where they belong.

With momentum going into the second half after being a goal down, you would’ve expected them to go into the second half pumped and playing with a lot of intensity, however that was not the case.

Their defence was no way near as solid as a brick wall. With Taggart, Heskey and Zadkovich leading the Newcastle attack and doing a great job at it, gaps were exposed in the defence and they were lucky to not have conceded more. Their wing was constantly attacked by Gallaway in what truly was arguably a man of the match performance, and Melbourne just had no answers. Babalj looked flat footed in attack and was often caught off guard and seemingly on a different wavelength then the rest of his teammates. His conversion rate was just as terrible, lacked discipline on the pitch as well. All in all his performance summed up the whole team’s performance, one not to be proud of. The team made John Aloisi look like a complete idiot in the press conference, who looked much more confident than his team did.

The fact is, these somewhat petty issues can be easily fixed. Tighter marking on the ball would be a good start. But their defensive problems stem from a more important issue- there was a lack of leadership and discipline on the pitch. Lack of intensity in the second half was also an issue.

I must admit, the absence of their injured captain Fred may have played a part, but even a brief second half cameo did nothing to solve those issues.

Neill however has the ability to solve them. The Socceroos captain is one who demands respect in the dressing room. Should he have joined Melbourne Heart, he would have brought a new sense of hope to otherwise a hopeless team. It also would’ve been a massive coup for the club and a quick fix solution to their defensive woes.

No matter what y’all think, Melbourne Heart really should’ve done everything within the abilities to sign him. They were in the front seat to sign him and at this point in time, board members must be banging their heads against a brick wall, reflecting on what went wrong.

But at this point in time, looks as though Melbourne fans will have to wait at least another season to have another crack at glory and you’d expect the club to learn from this disaster.

 

Follow me on Twitter: @CrowzarY

 

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