On this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues, Sydney Morning Herald sports reporter Vince Rugari & former Isuzu UTE A-League stars Tommy Oar and Daniel McBreen discuss the biggest talking points, including Melbourne Victory forward Nikos Vergos.
How can Melbourne Victory get Greek star Nikos Vergos back among the goals?
That is the question heading into Saturday night’s blockbuster Big Blue against Isuzu UTE A-League rivals Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval.
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
Vergos is in the midst of a 13-game goal drought, having not scored since Victory’s Round 26 win over Wellington Phoenix last season.
On this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues, Isuzu UTE A-League legend McBreen discussed the “dilemma” facing Arthur Diles’ side and how they can fix it.
GAME-BY-GAME PREVIEW: What you need to know for Round 5 of the Isuzu UTE A-League
“Repetition, repetition, repetition would be my key,” McBreen said. “I would be grabbing the wingers coming in, saying after every session, I would be doing crossing, finishing, little balls through finishing, and I would be asking the gaffer to be making small-sided games where I’m going to get into those positions quite a lot, to be around the edge of the goal.
“Now that’s one way that you can get your confidence back, but it’s going to take a goal in a game really for him to really get that back.
“It weighs on your mind as a striker – 13 games now without a goal, it does weigh on your mind. All the stuff you can do in training can get you to that mindset of, okay, I’m in a good mood in the box, but he’s got to get one in a game.”
NUMBER ONE: The Isuzu UTE A-League is first on a global list of 50 competitions
Retired Socceroo Tommy Oar added: “If you look at the last game, he was obviously dragged quite early in that game in the Melbourne Derby, because you can tell that it’s not only the goals, it’s affecting the rest of his performance.
“I think in the last game, he was very flat. It’ll be interesting to see if Diles sticks with him in this game. Because I think that he didn’t really do enough in the last game off the ball to warrant his position.
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
“The pressure really is on him, but from Victory more largely. I think their last performance was actually quite good. I think they got into good positions. They were wasteful in front of goal, for sure. But I think if they play like that, week in week out, they’ll win more games than they’ll lose.
“The overall performance, it’s easy to get caught up in the hysteria of their run of losses, or their form, but I think overall, that last performance was did kind of give me belief that they are heading in the right direction.”
Rugari said: “It’s a dilemma for Diles with Vergos.
“Because you either play him and you risk seeing more of what you’ve seen, or you don’t play him and you probably kill his confidence even more.”
McBreen continued: “You also have the the idea that, Oh he’s a foreign player, he’s come here to play.
“The club’s backed them into he’s got to play. But then you also go back to the decision of not keeping a Bruno for a proven goalscorer.
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
“When you look at who’s going to come in instead, you don’t look at anyone and go, Well, there’s plenty of goals in their career, or they’re a 20-goal a season player.
“If you had Bruno, even though he might be there every week and put me in. That’s what you want, you need someone to be pushing that. You throw him in, and he might score a goal or probably will with the track record, and you don’t see that.
“You’ve got to question their inability a club of that size to have a second nine who is potentially the one to take over that role.”
