Marked for Craig Smith
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 May 2036
Nathan Clark was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 May 2036
Words at Melbourne City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Finn Surman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad19 May 2036
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Will Doyle commits to Melbourne City for another 3 years.
The dugout19 May 2036
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Salieu Drammeh is on it.
Squad19 May 2036
Marcus Kelly: “I am not a substitute”
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Melbourne City will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout19 May 2036
The manager makes Gabriel Keita a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Melbourne City. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match15 Oct 2035
49 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market15 Oct 2035
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Melbourne City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Oct 2035
Finn Surman and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 Oct 2035
Melbourne City are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout15 Oct 2035
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Abdoulie Tamba is on it.
The dugout15 Oct 2035
Aldrine Kibet knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Melbourne City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market15 Oct 2035
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad15 Oct 2035
Words at Melbourne City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Craig Smith is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout15 Oct 2035
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 Sep 2035
Finn Surman and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Sep 2035
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Chris Fisher commits to Melbourne City for another 3 years.
The dugout24 Sep 2035
Eyong Ofem has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Melbourne City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout24 Sep 2035
Eyong Ofem asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad24 Sep 2035
Craig Smith falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout24 Sep 2035
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market24 Sep 2035
The clock does Usisya Longwe’s negotiating for him
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Melbourne City could ask drops and the wages Usisya Longwe can ask rise.
Squad24 Sep 2035
Connor Gallagher has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Melbourne City that is a harder question to answer.
The dugout24 Sep 2035
The manager makes Steven Turner a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Melbourne City. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 May 2035
Bailey Parker hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Melbourne City can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 May 2035
Words at Melbourne City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ussumane Djabi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad14 May 2035
Anthony Pantazopoulos was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 May 2035
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Craig Smith and Melbourne City agree another 3 years.
Market14 May 2035
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Melbourne City, another week without a signature from Gianni Stensness.
The dugout14 May 2035
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout14 May 2035
Eyong Ofem knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Melbourne City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market14 May 2035
The clock does Cam'ron Ismail’s negotiating for him
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Melbourne City could ask drops and the wages Cam'ron Ismail can ask rise.
The dugout14 May 2035
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.