Melbourne Victory: Too little - too late

Well done to the Melbourne Victory for their 3-0 win over the Wellington Phoenix at Telstra Dome on Friday night. The problem is that they left their "hot streak" too late and have now missed out of the finals. With the Newcastle Jets winning over the Central Coast Mariners, the top four places have been cemented for the finals.

It was a strange season. Similar in many ways to the previous season, but Melbourne left their "on form" run too late. It came much earlier last year as Fred became useful from the midfield around Round 8. What many see as his replacement, Carlos Hernández, didn't start making a major impact until around Round 16 or 17, but by then it was a struggle for the rest of the team to be mentally ready as well.

Strangely enough, being in last years final did not make Adelaide United (who was the opponent for the 2006/07 finals) a better team either. They have finished in around the same place as Melbourne Victory this season, and have missed out on making the finals.

Good luck Victory, for the AFC Championship for 2008, and more importantly, I hope you beat Sydney FC next week!! And if you after a more in-depth discussion on the Victory, try their blog.