By Michael Lynch
If ever a club needed to sign a defender it was Melbourne City, struggling with an injury-prone rearguard and a propensity to leak goals unmatched by any teams in the A-League other than cellar dwellers Central Coast Mariners.
If City can plug the holes at the back and push on for a top two spot, Asian Champions League qualification and a grand final berth, then John van 't Schip's pursuit and eventual capture of the Socceroo centre back Alex Wilkinson on a short-term contract will look like an inspired move.
Hamming it up: Melbourne City players enjoy a light moment at training.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Centre back and captain Paddy Kisnorbo has recovered from the injury that saw him limp off in the opening minutes of last week's thrilling 4-3 loss to league leaders Western Sydney and he is available for Sunday's game against the struggling Newcastle Jets.
But another veteran in Aaron Hughes has once again succumbed to injury. He missed the defeat in Sydney, and will be absent not just from the reckoning for the Jets game but the next three or four weeks as well after scans revealed a more significant calf tear than was originally thought.
Olyroo centre half Connor Chapman is still out with injury too, meaning that, for the Newcastle match at least, van 't Schip will have to rely on Kisnorbo as his defensive anchor, with the likes of Jack Clisby, Osama Malik and converted midfielder Jacob Melling in the other central positions – depending on whether he opts to play a back three once again or switches to a more orthodox back four.
That the free wheeling City are the A-League's entertainers is indisputable. With 43 goals in 17 matches they are scoring at more than two a game, winning friends and the admiration of those who like free flowing attacking football every time they take to the pitch.
But translating that attacking efficiency into a championship is a little harder than it might appear. As Sydney boss Graham Arnold pugnaciously pointed out this week, there are many ways of winning games than just with a gung ho attacking strategy and there are no more points on offer for a 5-0 win than there are for a 1-0 win from the penalty spot.
Still, van' t Schip will not be turned from his exciting approach, and why should he when he has players like attacking full backs Ivan Franjic and Michael Zullo, midfield conductor Aaron Mooy and two of the league's deadliest marksmen in Bruno Fornaroli and Harry Novillo at his disposal.
Nevertheless, he knows that his team must tighten up at the back, and although Wilkinson will not be available for Sunday's game against Newcastle – he won't arrive in Melbourne until Monday, when he is likely to be unveiled at a press conference at City's training ground – he will undoubtedly bring know how, experience and grit to the back four when he makes his debut, probably in the following weekend's Melbourne derby.
The only concern is that Wilkinson has not played since the conclusion of the K-League season, where his old club, Jeonbuk Motors, took the title as a parting gift for the Australian international.
However, van 't Schip is not concerned by his absence, suggesting, in fact, that Wilkinson might have benefited from an extended break.
"He (Wilkinson) has played a massive amount of games in the past two years without a break and I think this break will only benefit him for a fresh start mentally and physically.
"He is fit, he has been out for a few weeks. To rush him in playing would not be a good thing. He is going to come in tomorrow and then he will have a good week with us.
"He could be making his debut in the derby. He will give us more defensive stability with his experience. We have some issues with players who are not fit, with Connor and Aaron hughes, and that's an extra body. He can provide us with cover there.
The Dutchman is used to his team's title credentials being questioned because of the number of goals they concede – 31 in their 17 matches so far, almost two a game – but he is getting fed up with defending his side's flamboyant approach.
"It's a team issue, defending. But I would prefer talking about all the goals we are scoring. It makes our game a bit open, we are very attacking, we like to go forward. Now it's about building the team even further."
City won 4-0 when they played in Newcastle earlier this season and the Jets have since lost star player David Carney to Sydney but van 't Schip says that nothing can be taken for granted.
"If you don't approach every game in the right way or put in the effort you are going to struggle," he said.
"They have some refreshment in their team with (striker) Leonardo, with Morten Nordstrand (a former Danish international who joined the Jets in January). They have Nigel Boogard back which gives them stability at the back. We have to just make sure that we are on top and prepared."
The Dutchman says that the January window is now slammed shut as far as he is concerned, and he is no longer interested in speculation about new arrivals or departures or whether the likes of Fornaroli will be pursued by cashed up Chinese clubs.
"For me it's the end of talking about players," he declared on Saturday, suggesting that to continue doing so only encouraged endless speculation.