Of course i was proved very wrong in a season that didnt get going until the final 3-4 rounds of the season. So this season i wasnt going to make such stupid statements. But i was always hopeful.

I suppose i looked at Sydney signing up a Marquee player and paying him almost what the entire salary cap was, in season one. Then we saw Sydney signing an original Melbourne boy from the Glory and the hero from last seasons Grand Final. In Melbourne we saw Adrian Caceres, one of our most well performed players from a double winning season leave for Gosford was enough to make me really think we were in trouble for this season. We have of course had players come in but except for Michael Thwaite you couldn't help but ask questions. This is what i thought about the following-

Celeski- Signed by Perth Glory and was then released and played in the VPL until he was re signed by the Glory. Thought it was a backwards step.

Lopez- Knew nothing about him, so would he arrive in Melbourne 10kg overweight like his countryman?

Fabiano- Saw him score 2 goals against us the the ACL, one from an awful Steven Pace error. But had seen him fluff 4 times that amount.

But you know? They have all worked out (except for Fab's 6 week layoff of course), and i think that is one of the most important things in this league with salary cap etc. Celeski this season and during the ACL has shown that he can take a dead ball just as good as Kristian Sarkies. Lopez is exactly what we needed in a DM and Fabiano is just perfect at supporting Thompson and Allsopp. And Kemp is playing at the level he did at Adelaide. Last season our new signings just did not work.

Ljubo- If he wasnt injured he was pissing off the coaching staff

Kemp- Although not as bad as some supporters thought he was. He was unable to cope with being out of position and being relied upon so much more with only one recognised CB.

Carlos- Didnt get on the treadmill until round 15.

Leandro Love- His surname more than explains how many goals he scored.

Pace/ Vaselevski- Both VPL level footballers

Against Queensland we lost our first game of the season that could rightfully be blamed on a bizarre second yellow to Carlos Hernandez. I mean when was the last time someone was yellow carded for diving on the halfway line? Im sick and tired of watching games and having good contests ended by very strange send offs. Not saying that Theo or Fab shouldnt have been given their marching orders but that afternoon really annoyed me.

I really look forward to the remainder of the season. We look very strong currently, but i think the biggest reason isnt Lopez and Carlos, and it isnt having a good third striker. I take you back to season 2 and when we had the best CB pairing in the league of Leijer and Vargas. The hole that Leijer left last season was just too hard to close. Having Thwiate with Roddy has given us the best defence in the league, just like it was in season 2. With the style that Merrick plays it is all so important that we have a class CB pairing.

I just hope that now i have said that it doesnt all go pear shaped.