Marked for Harrison Delbridge
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market19 Feb 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Melbourne City, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Melbourne City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Rafael Durán in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Melbourne City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Feb 2029
Melbourne Victory left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Jordan Kelly left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
No place for Lamin Jawo on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Melbourne City pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Market19 Feb 2029
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Harrison Delbridge has his answer from Melbourne City; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrew Nabbout, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Jan 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Melbourne City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Jan 2029
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Melbourne City will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Melbourne City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Rafael Durán and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Dimitris Theodoridis 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.
Loan watch1 Jan 2029
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Melbourne City, and 4 appearances in 19 say he has earned the hearing.
Match30 Dec 2028
Adelaide United left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Oct 2028
Harry Souttar 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafael Durán was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch9 Oct 2028
“I did not go to Brisbane Roar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Melbourne City and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
Awer Mabil gets picked when it counts
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 Awer Mabil is on it.
Market9 Oct 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad9 Oct 2028
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Melbourne City lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
Squad9 Oct 2028
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Melbourne City lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
“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.
Market9 Oct 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Lachlan Bayliss signs something — a contract at Melbourne City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Sep 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Callum Elder 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dimitris Theodoridis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
When it matters, Awer Mabil plays
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.
Market11 Sep 2028
“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.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
“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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Michael Woud 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.
Market11 Sep 2028
Window shut, Alou Kuol still here
Melbourne City spent the window trying to move Alou Kuol on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 May 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Melbourne City, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout15 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Melbourne City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 May 2028
Callum Elder 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 May 2028
Amadou Diawara 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.
Boardroom15 May 2028
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Haji Mnoga has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Melbourne City have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
The dugout15 May 2028
When it matters, Brad Smith plays
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.
Market15 May 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout15 May 2028
Marco Tilio knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marco Tilio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout15 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Medin Memeti
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Apr 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Callum Elder 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
The medical room confirms 20 days on the sidelines for Anestis Vlachomitros, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Melbourne City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Tilio 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 dugout17 Apr 2028
“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.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Brad Smith 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 dugout17 Apr 2028
Luke Supyk knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luke Supyk trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market17 Apr 2028
The shop window has Luke Supyk in it
Melbourne City have let the market know Luke Supyk can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The terraces7 Feb 2028
The mood at Melbourne City has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 10 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Melbourne City until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
Melbourne City had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at PAOK, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rafael Durán and Melbourne City agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Callum Elder in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Melbourne City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Amadou Diawara 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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Awer Mabil was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.14. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
“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.