Vidmar expects Roar to hunt even after Aloisi departure

As he demands his players start turning draws into wins, Melbourne City coach Aurelio Vidmar expects Brisbane Roar to maintain their aggressive approach even after the shock departure of Ross Aloisi

As he goes searching for much-needed wins, Melbourne City boss Aurelio Vidmar thinks that the different circumstances of Ross Aloisi’s departure from Brisbane Roar won’t lead to the same kind of ‘new coach bounce’ that often accompanies a midseason coaching departure. 

Roar fans were left stunned on Christmas Eve when, less than 24 hours after Newscorp reported the possibility, the club confirmed a lump of coal in their stocking with news Aloisi was to depart his post as head coach and pursue an overseas opportunity, reportedly as an assistant to Kevin Muscat at Chinese side Shanghai Port. 

Luciano Trani was promoted from his assistant’s role to lead the Queenslanders in the resulting shake-up  – the second time in five years that an Aloisi has resigned from leading the Roar nine games into a season after Ross’ brother John did so in 2018 (albeit, John was three-and-a-half years into his tenure by that point). 

Aloisi became the third coach to exit their post on the young A-League Men season in departing, joining Rado Vidošić, who was sacked by Melbourne City two games into the campaign, and Steve Corica, who was axed by Sydney FC after three rounds. 

Both City and Sydney responded to these moves with wins: City beating Sydney in Vidmar’s first game in charge which, in turn, led to Corica’s ouster, Ufuk Talay coming in and subsequently thumping Adelaide United 5-1.

Already given a rally-around-the-flag moment by Jay O’Shea signing a new, two-year deal on Wednesday, the path the scriptwriters may be exploring for Roar’s trip to face City on Thursday evening, therefore, is obvious. 

Vidmar isn’t buying it, though. 

[They've been] very good,” he said. “We know that Ross has gone but I reckon he's really turned that team around in terms of the way they want to play. They're very, very aggressive, so it's certainly going to be a nice challenge for us. 

“A big difference would be if the coach was sacked, then that first game, there's always going to be a massive bounce. But Ross has left and it's just a continuation for Luciano. 

“So they won't be any different, I don't think. They want to play out, they're aggressive, the goalkeeper uses the ball well, they're direct, they're dangerous in the front third – I can't see too much changing. 

“Players are players. They're always there to prove a point, they're always there to do well, and they're always stepping on the pitch wanting to be the best player on the pitch. So we'll get a determined, aggressive Brisbane roar coming here for sure.”

Enjoying an extended period at home and on the training track after a mammoth touring schedule during their Asian Champions League commitments, Vidmar said that outside of long-term injuries, he would have a full team to choose from for the Roar visit – with planned changes to his lineup to be tactical. 

The subject of reported interest from Japanese side Fagiano Okayama, who finished tenth in the J2 League last season, striker Jamie Maclaren was said to be in a much better position with his persistent ankle injury by Vidmar, who also said that he was hearing about the transfer rumours for the first time when they were put to him. 

Though sitting in seventh position entering the round and still searching for the kind of dominating form they have almost made look routine in recent years, City are now six games unbeaten across all competitions (two wins and four draws) and will guarantee themselves a spot in the top six should they defeat Roar on Thursday evening. 

“We're building, for sure,” Vidmar said. “We've taken some big steps from the first day that I got here. I still think there's an enormous amount of upside for us. 

“Once we start to get a good block of training, that's obviously going to help because we'll be able to work on a lot more specific things. 

“I would rather have a couple fewer draws and as an extra win but the next couple of weeks are super important. Draws are not good enough for us, we need to win. The more draws we have the further away we're going to get from the top spot. 

“We've got to get our skates on and try to get a couple of wins on the bounce. 

“We're at home tomorrow, we're home against Western United -- even though it's an away game for us -- so it's a good opportunity to get a couple of wins before we travel to Sydney for the Unite round.”

Header Image Credit: Melbourne City