Ange Postecoglou is a hard taskmaster. The players and coaching staff know it and the media and fans are discovering it.
He rode his Victory squad hard in pre-season and despite seeing significant improvement over the first few months and gradual progression from game-to-game, the new coach was again dissatisfied after Friday night’s 1-0 win over last year’s grand finalists. Melbourne Victory fans demand high standards, but Postecoglou’s are even higher.
While we compare Victory’s 2012-13 performances to some of the garbage served up last season, Postecoglou compares it to his all-conquering Brisbane Roar side. Victory was sporadically good and took a while to get going, which could easily be attributed to the influx of new players in Mark Milligan and Archie Thompson’s absence. But for a team chasing the title and Asian Champions League qualification – which has just become harder – there are no excuses in Postecoglou’s book.
How far Victory goes this season will have less to do with the stars than how the second and third-tier players progress. We now know what to expect from Friday night’s standouts Marco Rojas or Gui Finkler, Socceroos pair Milligan and Thompson, plus Marcos Flores, skipper Adrian Leijer and rock-solid Adama Traore. And Billy Celeski has been a star since returning in Round 3 and a big reason for the turnaround.
But Jonathan Bru, Petar Franjic, Diogo Ferreira, Andrew Nabbout and company will determine how deep into April Victory plays. Players are intuitive, they sense the Victory bandwagon gathering pace and the fringe players realise if they don’t jump on soon they’ll be left behind. Take Franjic, for instance – if measured in desperation and intensity he produced his best game in a Victory shirt.
He may be just 20, but he’s out of contract at season’s end. He was dropped last week and Postecoglou signed Young Socceroos defender Jason Geria just a day earlier. Postecoglou likes keeping his men on their toes. He has no hesitation signing new players and throwing in untried youth team players ahead of senior lads on multi-year contracts.
Bru may have a two-year deal, but he too realises he’s dropping down the pecking order. Theo Markelis is in the same boat as Bru, his contractual security meaning little. But his substitute appearance was full of energy and intent. Considering Milligan was out and Victory conceded five goals the last time he was absent, the lack of chances Perth Glory produced was another big tick. Source: Herald Sun
