The Melbourne Victory Post
Market19 Apr 2032
Jordi Valadon is on his way
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Melbourne Victory is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Apr 2032
Tempers go at Melbourne Victory
Noah Botic 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 Apr 2032
Tristan Patterson stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tristan Patterson and Melbourne Victory agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout19 Apr 2032
Jacob Farrell has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Melbourne Victory 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.
Squad19 Apr 2032
A row about effort at Melbourne Victory
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tadiwanashe Kuzamba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Apr 2032
Oliver Dragićević back under a manager who knows him
The new man at Melbourne Victory has worked with Oliver Dragićević before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout19 Apr 2032
No hiding place for Arion Sulemani
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arion Sulemani, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Apr 2032
The manager makes Levi Ball a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Melbourne Victory. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market19 Apr 2032
The shop window has Patrick Dixon in it
Melbourne Victory have let the market know Patrick Dixon can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
In brief
- Squad The training reports on Jamie MacDonald are not good
- Loan watch Joe Wallis's loan at Western Sydney Wanderers nearly up
- Boardroom The Melbourne Victory board put their names to it