I think ultimately this is the issue with NZ/Australian Football. We've seen this with most of the European players we've brought through. We had the same with Cillian Sheridan - they make good runs, be looking for/making passes and our players don't have that vision and take a punt at goal/hoof it long.
WPM 2021/22 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination
I think ultimately this is the issue with NZ/Australian Football. We've seen this with most of the European players we've brought through. We had the same with Cillian Sheridan - they make good runs, be looking for/making passes and our players don't have that vision and take a punt at goal/hoof it long.
Speaking of families, I wonder what the Ball's are gonna do, would be a big ask for them to move a 3rd time in 3 years. He mentions his family in this clip ?s=19
Presumably they come back to NZ, doesn't he have another two years on his contract? And, presumably the fact that he committed for so long means he's keen to stay here longer.
I think ultimately this is the issue with NZ/Australian Football. We've seen this with most of the European players we've brought through. We had the same with Cillian Sheridan - they make good runs, be looking for/making passes and our players don't have that vision and take a punt at goal/hoof it long.
Speaking of families, I wonder what the Ball's are gonna do, would be a big ask for them to move a 3rd time in 3 years. He mentions his family in this clip
Best of luck to all involved with the @WgtnPhoenixFC today!
— James Dodd (@JamesDoddFOX) May 22, 2021
Here’s a link to the final piece I did around the city of Wellington with David Ball and Steven Taylor!
Enjoy 🟡⚫️#WELvWUN #ALeaguehttps://t.co/UE72VTphHR
Presumably they come back to NZ, doesn't he have another two years on his contract? And, presumably the fact that he committed for so long means he's keen to stay here longer.
Also, unless he signed for one of three Sydney teams (and maybe not even them), he’d still have to move from Wollongong to wherever his next team was, so I’m sure he and his family are well aware of what the plan will be
Speaking of families, I wonder what the Ball's are gonna do, would be a big ask for them to move a 3rd time in 3 years. He mentions his family in this clip
Best of luck to all involved with the @WgtnPhoenixFC today!
— James Dodd (@JamesDoddFOX) May 22, 2021
Here’s a link to the final piece I did around the city of Wellington with David Ball and Steven Taylor!
Enjoy 🟡⚫️#WELvWUN #ALeaguehttps://t.co/UE72VTphHR
Presumably they come back to NZ, doesn't he have another two years on his contract? And, presumably the fact that he committed for so long means he's keen to stay here longer.
Loved living in Petone from what I understood. I'm sure they'd be happy to return.
Haha trust me.. if I could bring more Jews to NZ I would including Tomer.. Australia has greener pastures especially for Jews. I will do my best!
I seriously doubt Hemed would ever be signed by WSW. Be interesting to see if he cops any crowd abuse at Parramatta on Wednesday.
Melbourne also has a big Jewish population. Plenty of synagogues around likes of Caulfield, St Kilda East
I seriously doubt Hemed would ever be signed by WSW. Be interesting to see if he cops any crowd abuse at Parramatta on Wednesday.
Melbourne also has a big Jewish population. Plenty of synagogues around likes of Caulfield, St Kilda East
I don’t think any of those Sydney teams would really need him either. Sydney have Bobo, Kosta and Le Fondre, not to mention bench guys like Buhagiar and Wood, Macarthur has Derbyshire and soon-to-be Dávila, and WSW has signed far too many strikers as is, the last thing they need is to spend big on a striker.
As for the Melbourne teams, Kisnorbo has mentioned wanting to keep Maclaren despite overseas interest, but they also have Noone, Luna, Nabbout and potentially Socceroo Matthew Leckie inbound from being rather unwanted in Hertha Berlin’s Bundesliga relegation fight. Victory could look at him though, Gestede has been a monumental bust, and Popovic will want to clear house, and then Berisha this seasons has had his lowest output in the A League, so, just quietly, Western United might have a look, though cap-wise I don’t know what they’re spending.
nah I reckon we'll here about him showing some loyalty to the coach and team that gave him the chance he needed.
nah I reckon we'll here about him showing some loyalty to the coach and team that gave him the chance he needed.
Might be an unpopular opinion but I don’t really like signing Australian guys to be backups. I think if the club signs them it should be similar to signing foreign players, in that they should be a level above, so Piscopo I’m happy with, but less so guys like Lokoli-Ngoy, Muratovic, even Sotirio, and last season Walter Scott. The club has a huge advantage that they can sign almost any New Zealander unrivalled, versus competing with every A League club for a recycled Australian guy. I’ve let this season go, because it’s obviously a lot easier to sign an Australian when the team was there and there wasn’t quarantine-free travel, and the club is better than they were a couple seasons ago where they almost didn’t want to sign All Whites players, but still, I’d be little disappointed to see them sign some recycled guys.
Might not be 100% accurate but I think these are all the updated off contract players of each of the other teams in the league. Any players on here we want to poach?
Adelaide United (10)
Domenic Costanzo, Yaya Dukuly, Jordan Elsey, Joe Gauci, Tomi Juric, Nathan Konstandopoulos, Javi Lopez, Michael Marrone, Dakota Ochsenham, Noah Smith.
Brisbane Roar (11)
Joshua Brindell-South, Jordan Courtney-Perkins, Jesse Daley, Macklin Freke, Macaulay Gillesphey, Jai Ingham, Danny Kim, Masato Kudo, Jay O’Shea, Izaack Powell, Dylan Wenzel-Halls.
Central Coast Mariners (15)
Mark Birighitti, Daniel Bouman, Jaden Casella, Jack Clisby, Danny De Silva, Daniel Hall, Matthew Hatch, Stefan Jankovic, Michal Janota, Stefan Nigro, Adam Pearce, Kye Rowles, Matthew Simon, Ruon Tongyik, Marco Urena.
Macarthur FC (16)
Benat Etxebarria, Ivan Franjic, Antony Golec, Charles M’Mombwa, Antonis Martis, Jake McGing, James Meredith, Yianni Nicolaou, Milislav Popovic, Loic Puyo, Liam Rose, Michael Ruhs, Walter Scott, Nick Suman, Markel Susaeta, Aleks Susnjar.
Melbourne City (11)
Florin Berenguer, Raphael Borges Rodrigues, Stefan Colakovski, Daniel Georgevski, Taras Gomulka, Scott Jamieson, Craig Noone, Bernardo Oliveira, Adrian Luna, Kerrin Stokes, Naoki Tsubaki.
Melbourne Victory (13)
Aaron Anderson, Nick Ansell, Jake Brimmer, Jacob Butterfield, Max Crocombe, Rudy Gestede, Elvis Kamsoba, Birkan Kirdar, Robbie Kruse, Brandon Lauton, So Nishikawa, Storm Roux, Adama Traore.
Newcastle Jets (10)
Ali Abbas, Jack Armson, Nigel Boogard, Lachlan Jackson, Johnny Koutroumbis, Roy O’Donovan, Kosta Petratos, Jack Simmons, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
Perth Glory (20)
Carlo Armiento, Jonathan Aspropotamitis, Bryce Bafford, Luke Bodnar, Diego Castro, Giordano Colli, Cameron Cook, Nick D’Agostino, Declan Hughes, Chris Ikonomidis, Dane Ingham, Andy Keogh, Neil Kilkenny, Trent Ostler, Liam Reddy, Daniel Stynes, Nick Sullivan, Mason Tatafu, Tando Velaphi, Brandon Wilson.
Sydney FC (13)
Alex Baumjohann, Trent Buhagiar, Anthony Caceres, Bobo, Patrick Flottmann, Tom Heward-Belle, Ryan McGowan, Paulo Retre, Jordi Swibel, Callum Talbot, Ben Warland, Alex Wilkinson, Chris Zuvela.
Western Sydney Wanderers (10)
Phillip Cancar, Jarrod Carluccio, Ziggy Gordon, Kosta Grozos, Bruce Kamau, Alessandro Lopane, Scott McDonald, Nicolai Muller, Jordan Mutch, Kwame Yeboah.
Western United (13)
Besart Berisha, Aaron Calver, Luke Duzel, Brendan Hamill, Filip Kurto, Steven Lustica, Nicolas Milanovic, Sebastian Pasquali, Josh Risdon, Kaine Sheppard, Jerry Skotadis, Tomislav Uskok, Ivan Vujica.
In contrast, our midfield and front line will need some attention, as this is where most changes are likely. If Davila is the only one going, I will breathe a sigh of relative relief. Happy to see Waine re-signed, and if we can keep Piscopo and Devlin we will have a good season ahead. Hope to see a good replacement for Davila, depending on the money available.
Keep the young kids and grab a couple of players from the NZ league and we are set.
Astound us with your wisdom.
Dunno if it was just his opinion or some inside knowledge but someone I follow on Twitter said to me he wouldn't be surprised if Devlin heads to the Jets. They have enough credibility from previous player moves that I can't immediately write it off.
Alternatively they may figure a couple of good signings may push the average attendance over 10k and bring us finals footy and look at it as an investment...
Just look at how well the academy has been doing.
Speaking of families, I wonder what the Ball's are gonna do, would be a big ask for them to move a 3rd time in 3 years. He mentions his family in this clip
Best of luck to all involved with the @WgtnPhoenixFC today!
— James Dodd (@JamesDoddFOX) May 22, 2021
Here’s a link to the final piece I did around the city of Wellington with David Ball and Steven Taylor!
Enjoy 🟡⚫️#WELvWUN #ALeaguehttps://t.co/UE72VTphHR
Presumably they come back to NZ, doesn't he have another two years on his contract? And, presumably the fact that he committed for so long means he's keen to stay here longer.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want him to leave but just saying there are scenarios (hopefully very unlikely ones) that he may not be back next season.
Might be an unpopular opinion but I don’t really like signing Australian guys to be backups. I think if the club signs them it should be similar to signing foreign players, in that they should be a level above, so Piscopo I’m happy with, but less so guys like Lokoli-Ngoy, Muratovic, even Sotirio, and last season Walter Scott. The club has a huge advantage that they can sign almost any New Zealander unrivalled, versus competing with every A League club for a recycled Australian guy. I’ve let this season go, because it’s obviously a lot easier to sign an Australian when the team was there and there wasn’t quarantine-free travel, and the club is better than they were a couple seasons ago where they almost didn’t want to sign All Whites players, but still, I’d be little disappointed to see them sign some recycled guys.
I feel with Sotirio he’s an impact player who offers a tactical difference, not a back up player like say Rufer is at the moment or McGarry/Sutton say.
- Devlin has not signed anywhere else - my gut feel is he stays - but even then sign Oly Whyte. Worst case he's a straight replacement for Devlin if not he replaces Ridenton and pushes the existing midfielders.
- Replace Loko-lingnoy with someone like Watto who is just straight out better at the job than him.
- Rumour bouncing around over the weekend is that they are already well down the path of replacing Davila.
- I'd be surprised if we re-sign Hemed but if goes I'd expect a replacement import striker even if he went.
- Devlin has not signed anywhere else - my gut feel is he stays - but even then sign Oly Whyte. Worst case he's a straight replacement for Devlin if not he replaces Ridenton and pushes the existing midfielders.
- Replace Loko-lingnoy with someone like Watto who is just straight out better at the job than him.
- Rumour bouncing around over the weekend is that they are already well down the path of replacing Davila.
- I'd be surprised if we re-sign Hemed but if goes I'd expect a replacement import striker even if he went.
The Hemed thing is a bit unfortunate because he’s playing some really good stuff and you’d love to see him really attack a full season here with confidence. Fenton’s even figured out where he is from time to time and stuffed if I wanna watch another half season while our new striker and our wide players get introduced! I’ve love a season with a tail wind.
In contrast, our midfield and front line will need some attention, as this is where most changes are likely. If Davila is the only one going, I will breathe a sigh of relative relief. Happy to see Waine re-signed, and if we can keep Piscopo and Devlin we will have a good season ahead. Hope to see a good replacement for Davila, depending on the money available.
1. We've just spent a fortune to relocate to Australia for the season.
2. Last season we paid to fly our players home and then back (IIRC we were the only team to do that).
3. This season we could afford a striker like Hemed, and kept the bulk of our squad from last season.
4. This season we're apparently partially funding the Jets along with Sydney, WSW, and WU (https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/i-stayed-right-out-of-it-wanderers-owner-denies-transfer-collusion-claims-20210507-p57q1b.html)
We might not be able to spend three million on a player like Macarthur apparently did, but it seems like we've got enough cash to compete.
"After previous chairman Martin Lee was stripped of the club’s licence last year, the Jets have been financed by a consortium of owners from four other clubs - the Wanderers, Sydney FC, Western United and Wellington Phoenix."
This is news to me, and I wonder if this will act as some kind of a mutual insurance policy. If so, our future in the league is far more assured than I ever expected.
Not sure I agree with Ballane. The goal leaking thing was dreadful, I agree, but happened largely early in the season even if it continued for a while. It looked exactly like our goal leaking during the "late Durante" period - central defence guilty of ball-watching.
However, this improved somewhat when Sail replaced Stefan, and even more so once Laws and Sutton cemented their positions in. We still had some howlers, like the first goal scored by the Tards a weekend ago, which should not have happened with an experienced defence.
Agree on the potential long-term vulnerability of Taylor, but he strikes me exactly as the player that should be given back captaincy next season and entrusted with mentoring new understudies.
Not sure I agree with Ballane. The goal leaking thing was dreadful, I agree, but happened largely early in the season even if it continued for a while. It looked exactly like our goal leaking during the "late Durante" period - central defence guilty of ball-watching.
However, this improved somewhat when Sail replaced Stefan, and even more so once Laws and Sutton cemented their positions in. We still had some howlers, like the first goal scored by the Tards a weekend ago, which should not have happened with an experienced defence.
Agree on the potential long-term vulnerability of Taylor, but he strikes me exactly as the player that should be given back captaincy next season and entrusted with mentoring new understudies.
Laws isn't defensively aware enough and can't really be part of a successful defense next to anyone else but Taylor imo. I'd like to see him develop, but Taylor + Payne seems rock solid at the moment - most defensive lapses we've had this season have to do with an opponent attack down the flank when our wingback is pushed forward, evident with McGarry a lot in the earlier part of the season.
I'd love Taylor back for the next two seasons minimum, and would be very willing to use that visa slot on him.
"After previous chairman Martin Lee was stripped of the club’s licence last year, the Jets have been financed by a consortium of owners from four other clubs - the Wanderers, Sydney FC, Western United and Wellington Phoenix."
This is news to me, and I wonder if this will act as some kind of a mutual insurance policy. If so, our future in the league is far more assured than I ever expected.
I’d thought it was more clubs tbh. Wonder why the Victory didn’t chip in. Also been worrying about who enforces salary cap violations etc as the distance between offenders and enforcers is reduced...
Still- this is the most secure the leagues been for some time! And this year is possibly the most exciting and contested it has been for some time.
Koutroumbis is one that stands out to me. Cover CB and RB.