Melbourne City capitulated in under thirty minutes in what head coach Aurelio Vidmar labelled a “horrendous” first-half performance in the first Melbourne Derby of the 2024-25 A-League Men's season. While the City players' performances were well below the necessary level for a derby, questions need to be asked about whether the team was lined up in a way that would allow them the most success.
Saturday night's 3-1 defeat was Melbourne City's third straight derby loss. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
In the interest of fairness, Melbourne City head coach Aurelio Vidmar was missing a few of those in his preferred starting side. James Jeggo was suspended following last week's red card, and Mathew Leckie is dealing with a minor injury that has prevented him from appearing this season. Despite this, Vidmar still had more than enough talent in the squad to achieve a positive result from the Melbourne Derby.
Starting in the defensive half, Kai Trewin was used further up the pitch in a defensive midfield role due to Jeggo’s suspension. While Trewin has a history of playing as a defensive midfielder from his time at Brisbane Roar, centre-back is his best position, and in the long term, he should be considered the future leader of Melbourne City’s back four.
Trewin’s technical ability, enabling him to find passes that can break the lines, should be regarded as his biggest strength for City, a club with a philosophy built on controlling possession and playing out from the back. Whilst Trewin's abilities also make him suitable for a defensive midfield role, utilising one of the side's more critical players in a secondary position is not ideal.
Vidmar might have been better served handing a start to young Zane Schreiber in this position based on the theory of utilising each player in their best role.
New City recruit Kai Trewin (centre left) on the ball during the Melbourne Derby. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
Meanwhile, in the off-season, Melbourne City fans were excited to see the return of youth product Nathaniel Atkinson following his stint at Hearts in the Scottish Premiership. Atkinson made his name in Melbourne City as a dynamic right-back who could bomb down the touchline and whip in crosses for his teammates in the final third. The Socceroo can also play higher up the pitch as a traditional winger who can hug the touchline and create space for midfielders to make forward runs in behind.
So, it came as a shock in the season opener against the Newcastle Jets when Vidmar seemingly lined up Atkinson at the base of his midfield alongside Jeggo in a double pivot, a role he found himself in again for the Melbourne Derby.
When asked about the positional move post-match, Vidmar alluded to the sporadic use of Atkinson as a midfielder throughout the season.
“I think it will be a bit of both (midfield and right-back),” Vidmar said.
“We have a few injuries at the moment, like Andreas (Kuen), for example. He has had a couple of little niggly injuries, an ankle injury, so he missed a couple of weeks. So obviously, we've been missing him, and obviously Lecks (Leckie). Nate’s (Atkinson) played there before (in midfield). Okay, he probably hasn't played there for a little while, but he did a great job for us there last week, so we decided to go with that again. So yeah, he'll be midfield, right-back, wherever we need him.”
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Atkinson has the technical ability to do a job in midfield in case of an injury crisis. But Vidmar also has to weigh whether incumbent right-back Callum Talbot has been performing to a standard that forces Atkinson into a less suitable role in the long term. Talbot has not offered much in attack, is prone to defensive lapses of concentration, and arguably has not lived up to the potential he showed during his time at Sydney FC. It probably did not help ease expectations for Talbot when Melbourne City Director of Football Michael Petrillo dubbed him Australia’s best young right-back when he was signed. Clubs must remember, particularly in a phase of the A-Leagues where teams are getting younger, that such quotes can often become an albatross around the neck of players.
However, it is also worrying that Australian coaches often try to fit square pegs into round holes with team selection. Perhaps it is the remnants of a false idea that young talents cannot be trusted in the more 'mentally taxing' positions. But the Central Coast Mariners' success over the last two seasons should prove this is not the case.
Looking higher up the pitch at their attack, Melbourne City would always have a difficult transition following the departure of talismanic striker Jamie Maclaren. So far, Andrew Nabbout has been Vidmar’s choice to spearhead the attack, possibly only until Max Caputo returns from injury. Regardless, Nabbout’s profile does not suit the striker role, and he has not been clinical enough in front of goal to be consistently played there.
Andrew Nabbout has led the line for Melbourne City in their first two 2024/25 A-League Men matches. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
Meanwhile, on the bench, Melbourne City has a very intriguing prospect in Arion Sulemani, who finished fourth in the 2022 NPL 3 Golden Boot, which helped City secure promotion. The 19-year-old had been on the verge of making his senior debut before suffering a long-term ACL injury. Across the first two rounds this season, he only received a few minutes at the end of each match.
Yes, he is returning from a severe injury, and City will not want to risk re-aggravating it. However, increasing the youngster's minutes off the bench to 20+ rather than five minutes here and there could benefit the team and his development.
For Melbourne City and Aurelio Vidmar, the warning signs are not quite there yet, but some minor adjustments need to be made quickly if the club wants to improve on their disappointing performance last season. Vidmar needs to focus on finding his best starting line-up and prioritise utilising players in the positions they need to be in to succeed. There is no need to reinvent the wheel; keep it simple and let the talent build a foundation upon which he can evolve throughout the season.
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