Square Peg, Round Hole

When it was announced Robi Koren was coming to Melbourne City as an international marquee the news was met with a very lukewarm response with most fans.  Given the deep pockets of the City Football Group and the strong need for the newly renamed club to start on the front foot and attempt to become an A-League powerhouse from day one it was an underwhelming announcement.

Personally I had a foot in both camps; hoping for a big name player to put bums on seats and results on the board, but I had also seen Koren ply his trade at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich Albion colours only a few years beforehand and was very impressed with what I saw.  Koren was the type of player who had the potential to take the league by storm and be mentioned alongside the likes of Broich and Berisha when talking about game changing potential.

Fast forward 18 months and City life has been an absolute nightmare for Robi Koren.  Decimated by soft tissue injuries and constantly being played out of position due to the rapid rise in form of Aaron Mooy and team balance.  Apart from one afternoon in Newcastle where Koren went home with the game ball, Koren hasn’t performed well in a City shirt owing to a number to a number of factors.  The return from our international marquee has been poor and after being omitted from the squad against Western Sydney you cannot see him turning this around any time soon.

There is now talk of Koren leaving the club, which will in turn open up a marquee spot at the club.  With Mooy, Bruno Fornaroli and Harry Novillo all firing it would be intriguing to see how John Van’t Schip would use this position if this was to come about.  Murmurings from fans every week about the continual disappointing performances from Koren may have finally come to a head if Koren is released mid season and the Slovenian is driven to Tullamarine one last time.

When you look at the output from Koren in comparison to international visa and marquee players it’s easy to see why the Slovenian is out of favour at AAMI Park.

	Koren	Mooy	Fornaroli	Novillo
Games	26	39	14	20
Goals	3	13	12	8

 

(Stats calculated during Koren’s time at Melbourne City)

Early doors I had incredibly high hopes for the former Baggie, but after seeing his performance against Sydney and his omission against Western Sydney it’s hard to see Koren forcing himself back into the City starting XI any time soon.  Koren has always been a professional at his time with the club and fans cannot chastise the player for his commitment.

If Koren departs Melbourne City it will be 18 months he will want to quickly forget.  We shouldn’t underestimate the pressure a unique salary cap restraints put on marquee players in the A-League and when you start on the wrong foot wit

Robi Koren has been a square peg in a round hole during his time at City; personally I hope he can play out the season and show fans some of the capabilities I know he is capable of.  Where there’s smoke, there’s normally fire and I don’t expect to see Koren run out (or even sit on the bench) when City play Wellington on Australia Day eve.

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