(Sean Walsh blogs on Melbourne Victory for BPL.)

1. A 6-0-4 formation will struggle to gather enough possession to threaten any decent side.

When the Victory team sheets were presented to match officials before the Melbourne derby the obvious conclusion was that Durakovic was sending out the team in a 4-2-3-1 formation. However in the best Blackadder tradition they had a cunning plan. Having read much pre-season analysis Durakovic is obviously concerned about the Muscat shaped hole in his defensive ranks. To remedy this he has sent two holding midfielders back to the edge of his own penalty area to hold hands with the two centre backs. Add a surprisingly good keeper and there we go - back half sorted. For the front half, tactics seem to consist of placing Kewell on the pitch with whatever other assortment of attack minded players are available and waiting for the inevitable avalanche of goals. Unfortunately for Victory the folly of conceding the midfield battle has resulted in 270 scoreless minutes and reported "crisis" meetings. Luckily it's only 3 games in and there is still plenty of time to pull the season out of the fire.

2. On the flip side a 4-6-0 formation may dominate possession but will struggle to deliver the decisive strike.

Heart Dominated the midfield battle but it was all for nought. The three wingers (let's face it Terra, although lovely to watch, is a little lightweight to be leading the line) they deployed were unable to breach Victory's packed defence and although Covic made some good saves he wasn't constantly under bombardment. I wonder if they would consider an Allsopp for Colosimo swap deal (unlikely after the latter's performance at the weekend).

3. Sacking Merrick isn't looking like a good piece of sports administration.

Durakovic may rebound from this rocky start and become a useful A-league manager. However Victory already had one of those and saw fit to tear up his contract with a year left. Anecdotal evidence would suggest they did this expecting Ange Postecoglou to come running home to Melbourne. This appears the height of arrogance, especially as all of this occurred in grand final week, potentially upsetting Brisbane's preparation for its inaugural premiership. An alternative strategy would have been to let both the Merrick and Postecoglou contracts run their courses and get their man then. Now for good or ill they have backed their horse and will have to hope Durakovic will reward their largesse.

4. Brisbane has gone from certain contender to prohibitive favourite.

I'm a little suprised they are still listed well above even money for the title. The team that unpicks Postecoglou's well drilled side wins the league. At this point I can't see anyone getting near them. Central Coast has fallen back to the pack after a good finish last season, Perth is reliant on Smeltz's lethal finishing (if you need to rely on something this is admittedly a good place to start), Adelaide is misfiring and the rest of the league is still looking for a footballing identity.

5. Questions for Mehmet:

Q. Who's in charge?

A. Me, B. Muscat, C. Harry (or Bernie), D. Let me check with the board...

Q.I haven't seen any Barcelona games this season. Is this how they play?

6. Happy with:

Covic, Foschini, Fabio, 2 pts

7. Disappointed with:

Two holding midfielders, 2 pts

8. Covic - Foschini, Leijer, Vargas, Fabio - Brebner, Cernak, Hernandez - Kewell, Solorzano, Thompson/Rojas.

For what it's worth, I'd be sending out a 4-3-3 this week. It's the only formation that can possibly fit Kewell and Hernandez on the same park.