The Melbourne City Gazette
Match29 Sep 2031
Melbourne City are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 42 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad29 Sep 2031
A falling-out at Melbourne City
Joshua Rawlins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout29 Sep 2031
Hayden Matthews back under a manager who knows him
The new man at Melbourne City has worked with Hayden Matthews before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Squad29 Sep 2031
Max Thompson signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Max Thompson and Melbourne City agree another 3 years.
The dugout29 Sep 2031
Lamine Diaby Fadiga 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 dugout29 Sep 2031
Akol Akon gets it from the manager
“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.
Market29 Sep 2031
The clock does Alex Bonetig’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Melbourne City could ask drops and the wages Alex Bonetig can ask rise.
The dugout29 Sep 2031
Max Thompson 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.
Market29 Sep 2031
The Josey Casa-Grande talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Melbourne City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
- Squad Joshua Rawlins finally belongs at Melbourne City
- Squad Questions about Luke Harper on the training pitch
- Boardroom The Melbourne City board put their names to it