FORTUNE CHANGES

Fortunes change very quickly in football and Melbourne Victory FC is a prime example of it. Before Christmas, they were in a decent position in the A-League with 12 points in 8 games, but, in the last couple of weeks, their performance has come down considerably. They have managed to secure just 7 points from their last 5 games and 6 of those points have come against comparatively weaker teams like Perth Glory and Melbourne Heart.

However, the situation hasn’t got panicky for Melbourne Victory yet. They are still one of the top 4 sides in the A-League points table and their chances of qualifying for the finals are still very good. But, they have lost the momentum for sure.

At this point of time, the points’ tally of Melbourne Victory shows 19; that is 11 less than the no. of points secured by the table toppers Brisbane Roar.

The main reason behind the deterioration of Victory’s performance is Mitch Nichols’ sudden loss of form. The Queensland midfielder had been a stand out performer for the Navy Blues for the first 2 and half months of the season, but, in the last few matches, he has looked completely lost. His concentration level on the ground hasn’t been that high.

There have been talks about Cerezo Osaka being interested in him and planning to place a bid for him during the mid season transfer window. That might also be affecting his concentration a little bit.

Nichols had made his way to AAMI Park at the start of the ongoing season. He has so far made 13 league appearances for the Navy Blues and has found the back of the net on 3 occasions.

It’s very important from Victory’s point of view that he regains his form.