Fornaroli's feud continues after being axed from City squad to face Jets

Melbourne City will again be without marquee marksman Bruno Fornaroli after the Uruguayan was left out of the squad to face Newcastle Jets this Sunday.

Bruno Fornaroli celebrates a goal for Melbourne City Source: Getty Images

As reported by The World Game, Fornaroli refused to travel to face Brisbane Roar last Saturday after he was told he would be on the bench. 

The relationship between the star striker and the club has been damaged ever since the 31-year-old was denied a chance to join A-League rivals Sydney FC on a two-season deal worth in excess of $2.6 million.

In Fornaroli's absence, 21-year-old Lachlan Wales started up front against Brisbane and it's expected he will do the same against the Jets. 

City have no recognised striker outside of Fornaroli and their only goals outside of the Uruguayan this season have come from midfielders Riley McGree and Dario Vidosic, as well as right-back Ritchie De Laet. 

City coach Warren Joyce was on the front-foot about the issue on Thursday, saying his players had given heart-to-heart commitments in pre-season to "maximise their talents to be the best they could be every single day".

The clear implication is that Fornaroli had not.

"Everybody's got a chance every day to compete and force their way into the team ... the demands on Bruno and every other player at the football club are the same every day," Joyce said.

Joyce said it was his pursuit of elite standards that drove his selections.

"If they want to be the best player every day, they can be," he said.

"If the standard of training is high every day, there's a pretty good chance it will be high on Saturday.

"If it's poor in training, there's a pretty good chance it will be poor. You can't push a magic button.

"That's the level of consistency you expect from the players.

"We're setting our standards high as a football group, not only to be winners but serial winners.

"When they are in place, you become winners and serial winners."