From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Mar 2027
Will Henderson has one foot out of the door
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 Mar 2027
Brad Smith 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.
Match13 Mar 2027
2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
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From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mathew Leckie and Melbourne City agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“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.
Match6 Mar 2027
It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Patrick Beach
“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.
Match27 Feb 2027
Macarthur FC left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market1 Mar 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 2027
The bid was some way short and Melbourne City did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Michael Ruhs 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Melbourne City will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market8 Feb 2027
The Brad Smith 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
Melbourne City have made Liam Bonetig available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Liam Bonetig 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
The wait is over, and the relief was visible from the back of the stand. 3 for the season, and the next one always comes easier.
The terraces8 Feb 2027
The press cannot get enough of Mathew Leckie
Praise is not points and never has been. It is, however, the fastest way for a valuation to move, and everybody in the game reads the same pages.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Melbourne City's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Melbourne City has to find a result from somewhere.
Market11 Jan 2027
The bid was some way short and Melbourne City did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Michael Ruhs 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Melbourne City will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match9 Jan 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Newcastle Jets came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market11 Jan 2027
The Brad Smith 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Melbourne City's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Melbourne City has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
143% of the income goes out in wages at Melbourne City
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match28 Nov 2026
0-2 to Melbourne Victory, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
“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.
Match7 Nov 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Perth Glory will be the happier side with the point.
Market9 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
237% of the income goes out in wages at Melbourne City
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Elba Rashani
“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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lachie Charles and Melbourne City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“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.
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market31 Aug 2026
The paperwork is done: Logan Rogerson joins from Auckland FC in a deal worth $360.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Market31 Aug 2026
Auckland FC are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Melbourne City will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A new face in his position, and Mathew Leckie suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Melbourne City have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The language is coming and there is somebody to talk to in the dressing room. A footballer who feels at home plays like one, and it never shows up in a scouting report.