Outside the offices of Melbourne Victory underneath AAMI Park, there was no other way to describe the departure of the club’s coach Patrick Kisnorbo, just five days before the derby. Chairman John Dovaston told assembled media the news was a “shock”. Captain Roderick Miranda used the same word, and that it “came from nowhere”. Assistant Arthur Diles, who has taken charge, continued the theme. “Everybody’s shocked,” he said, “We didn’t see anything coming.”
Victory were once the embodiment of promise for football in Australia, vindication for the pain of killing off the NSL and the heavy-handed birth of the A-League. Yet the decline of the club has been written in its attendances and financials for a decade. Ten years ago this coming May, Melbourne Victory drew 50,873 fans to a semi-final against rivals City, during a season they averaged more than 25,000 per home game. In a rollicking evening at Docklands, the club’s faithful were treated to a 3-0 victory that paved the way for a grand final triumph a week later against Sydney FC.
