The Melbourne City Gazette
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Nobody could get near Awer Mabil
Successful dribbles: 50. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match23 Oct 2027
Patrick Wood settles it late for Melbourne City
The 86th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Patrick Wood decided nobody was going anywhere. Newcastle Jets had no time left to answer.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A one-man rearguard from Patrick Beach
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match23 Oct 2027
10 unbeaten for Melbourne City
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Melbourne City did not have in the autumn.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Melbourne City
Luke Brattan 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.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
Graduation day at Melbourne City
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Nathaniel Atkinson 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 terraces25 Oct 2027
The crowd has taken to Max Caputo
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market25 Oct 2027
One of our own: Ryan Morgan joins the Melbourne City first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ryan Morgan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Market Thomas Walker steps up from the Melbourne City academy
- Market Nicholas Wright steps up from the Melbourne City academy
- Market One of our own: Bryce Johnston joins the Melbourne City first team