Melbourne City are going to be an exciting force this season. Am I biased? Absolutely. Does that change the fact that both the men and women’s sides are looking extremely positive? Hard no.

On Tuesday the 29th of September, I had the privilege of attending the Melbourne City Supporters Forum at the Imperial Hotel. Beer in hand, I shook hands with Andrew Nabbout and cleared something up. In a recent interview video on the club and league socials, he seemed to be backing Victory in the Australia Cup final. Turns out he doesn’t want them to win, he just thinks they’ll outclass South Melbourne. Phew.

It was an all-round great experience, especially being able to ask questions openly and have a transparent pub chat with CEO Brad Rowse and men’s coach Aurelio Vidmar. Here is what I learned from the evening:

The men’s side are building an attacking philosophy

We all know it was slim pickings when it came to goal-scoring in the previous season as City notched only 33 goals in the 26-game league season. Early on, we were knocked out of the Australia Cup by APIA Leichhardt in a two-nil cupset, and we were kept scoreless in six league games. Not exactly signs of goal-scoring power. 

Vidmar believes that our top goal-scorer last season in Max Caputo (eight in the league and ten across all competitions) will be more of a threat this season as he builds on his confidence and ability in the box. When paired with the exciting addition of Awer Mabil out wide, the service that Caputo receives should translate into more goals. I believe the potential is still there for Caputo, but this is the season where he really needs to take massive strides forward if he is to be our number nine for years to come.

Vidmar and Michael Petrillo – Director of Football – both spoke about leaving City lighter at the back to adhere to new salary cap rules (hard cap of $3m plus one marquee player), a reduction of $500k compared to last year. This has been intentional, in order to shore up our midfield and attacking options, opting to favour a more attacking playstyle this season.

Nabbout told the forum he is feeling really good. He scored in the first half of the two-nil pre-season win over Oakleigh and was subbed off in the 75th minute, but reckons he could have played the full 90. He still “feels 25” when he plays, and said it’s on him to manage his minutes and look after his body. Vidmar also said Mathew Leckie is healthy and looking good for the start of the season.

All of this perks up the ears of City fans, who would love to see their team higher than eighth for goals scored in the league this season.

“We want to win the treble” – Michael Matricciani

What a statement to hear from our women’s coach, Matricciani. Winning the A-League Premiership, A-League Championship and AFC Women’s Champions League would be an unprecedented feat in the A-League, but this squad looks capable of achieving this, so why not be bold? 

With the influence that Rebekah Stott and Melissa Barbieri provide within the club and on the field, and the addition of top-class players such as Cortnee Vine, Momo Hayashi and Melina Ayres, City have put themselves into a wonderful position to potentially win multiple trophies in the upcoming season, and play a style of football so exciting that it’ll pull fans in to watch it all unfold.

Matricciani touched on the importance of players recovering quickly in short turnarounds between competitions to ensure the best possible side is on the pitch at any given moment. 

Plans to bring in more fans

The Fan Representative Group (FRG) were out and about with two of my close friends hosting the night. They advised that they are opening better communication channels (socials and email) to facilitate greater transparency and methods for raising concerns and opinions with the club.

Brad Rowse also spoke on how the club is trying to bring in more fans. Responding to my question regarding school engagement, Rowse stated that the club is looking at increasing its presence and impact in schools by building on the in school program which promotes school attendance and builds children’s connection to the club. 

Rowse noted that City spend more on marketing than any club in the league, and with the move of General Admission to the south end to sit alongside the active support at AAMI Park, we should see a louder and larger crowd around bay 17, and new or casual supporters will be more engaged by this switch.

One well-spoken fan asked about the possibility for City to provide a shuttle bus for fans from Cranbourne station to Casey Fields, and asked if there is an update on the grandstand and field that is planned to be built. Brad Rowse advised they will look into the shuttle bus addition, and advised that funding has recently been secured for the grandstand, and that the Casey Fields precinct will look significantly different in 18 months time.

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I for one am extremely proud to know that my club cares about the opinions of fans, and am very excited to see what both men and women’s sides have in store for us this season.