Merrick completes player jigsaw

Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick has spoken of his immense relief at assembling a squad of such depth that it should enable him to genuinely aspire for the A-League championship.

• Victory sign Costa Rican Lopez
• Thwaite came in from the cold

Merrick, in Sydney for the annual forum of league coaches, said that he was happy to have completed the player jigsaw and he was looking forward to a positive season that would lead the club to the semi-finals.

“One of the things we learned last season was that we did not have enough depth in the squad so as soon as key players were out with the national team or got injured, we struggled to replace them,” Merrick said.

“This year will be different. Up front we have added Tom Pondeljak from Central Coast, Ney Fabiano from Thailand’s Chonburi and young Nathan Elasi from the under-20s.

“In the middle of the park we recruited Nick Ward and Billy Celeski but we struggled to find a good defensive holding midfielder.

“But we now have Costa Rican Olympic captain Jose Luis Lopez, who won four championships with Saprissa in five seasons and who played for the club in the 2005 Club World Championship where they finished third behind Sao Paulo and Liverpool.

“I went to Costa Rica personally to talk him into coming here and I’m sure he will be a great addition to our midfield.

“In the back line we have signed Michael Thwaite on loan (from Norway’s SK Brann Bergen) for a season.

“So all in all we have a well balanced, all-round squad that is a mixture of experience and up-and-coming juniors.”

Merrick, who saw his club just fail to make the semi-finals after a late run of unbeaten matches, said that he now had enough quality players in his squad to make up for any unforeseen eventuality.

“Injuries and transfers were our major problem last year,” he explained.

“We lost Adrian Leijer to Fulham and we struggled to fill that centre-back position because Ljubo Milosevic got injured. So we had to get Kevin Muscat into the back line.

“We also lost Fred to DC United who just could not knock back a big offer.

“So our championship-winning midfield was a bit disrupted in season three. Nineteen-year-old Leigh Broxham was forced to carry too much of a load.

“So now we’ve got a midfield of Carlos Hernandez, who is even better than Fred but is injured at the moment, Ward, Lopez and Grant Brebner, who is also out injured and was adequately replaced by Broxham.”

Merrick said that fans could expect Melbourne’s all-purpose, attacking football that made them the league’s highest scorers on aggregate after three seasons to remain intact despite a change of personnel.

“We have a big supporter base and our fans expect us to play entertaining football,” Merrick said.

“Our style of football won’t change because I am a firm believer of that.

“Our philosophy was highlighted in last season’s AFC Champions League match against Gamba Osaka in Melbourne.

“We lost 4-3 but it was a great game of football that typified our approach. That’s why so many people pay to watch us play.

“Last season we were the highest scorers in the league with 29 goals, which was more than the champions Newcastle Jets or the premiers Central Coast Mariners.

“But we also conceded too many goals which is probably due to the fact that we never play for a draw even when we are away.

“My main objective is always to win games but we like to do it in style.”

Melbourne face Adelaide United in their first match of the Pre-Season Cup in Launceston on Sunday afternoon. The other teams in Group 1 are Perth Glory and Newcastle who meet in Mandurah on Saturday evening.

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