2015/16 Transfer Speculation

This is much more likely IMO. Next year he'll be in NZ for 5 years and I'm sure Hudson will be keen for him to play for the AWs, so his citizenship will be fast tracked.

I'm surprised Hudson hasn't thought 4 years is good enough and played him already. 

Despite how good Riera is for us, I don't think he's the answer at national level. I think it will be a bit like Dura - won't quite step up to that level.

Though in saying that - beggars can't be choosers I suppose.

By the time he is a Kiwi the AW level will come down even more and so he'll fit right in.

Really? I can't think of a single Kiwi defensive midfielder currently playing who would be better than him. Maybe Tuiloma in the future but not right now.

hardly changed, just passing it to defenders in the box now..

Boxall is getting more money in Pretoria which perhaps is enough of a reason, but he also gets to play regularly.

He was clearly aching for more game time, not keen to be waiting patiently "till his time comes" - at 27, you can't blame him.

You can't, I just would have expected a more experienced signing in the backs oer the off-season. We have the young boys right now but they could be a bit further away than we need them to be.

And which aussie or kiwi CB would you target.

So they couldn't find a striker and they couldn't find a central defender. 

laugh.

His brother Niko

If Boxall wasn't prepared to wait patiently until his time come, the other option is to get better at your craft. Become a better option than the incumbent. Radical idea I know

Well with the demise of in the zone no one is pushing for Eager any more, I'd say Musa.

I think he may have been close to this.  He was certainly close to first choice at fullback.

Impossible to know who was interested/demanding too much etc. But I would definitely have made a play for Zac Anderson before he signed with Bling.

Curtis Good seems to be going nowhere with Newcastle United, sooner or later he will have to come back to the A-League to re-launch his career.

Taylor Regan as a squad player.

That is true. I would rate Boxall equal to or better than Manny, as per their form midway through last season. 

But both Siggy and Dura played very well at that time and Boxall was not getting enough game time as CB. If I am not mistaken, he was headhunted for a CB position in Brockie's new team in SA. So it panned out as planned: he is hopefully getting better at his craft by playing regularly (although not in a better level competition IMHO), and is earning money to afford a house in Auckland once he's back.

Wasn't there talk that we tried to get him?

Or go elsewhere, get paid more AND get playing time, while also working hard to get better at your craft. 

I suppose the question I would like to ask is: who thinks that we could have got a real striker and a real CB backup, if we tried harder / were more organized / splashed the cash, as opposed to who believes Ernie et al. that they tried their best and came up empty? Because if you believe the latter, there's not much point whining about it now. Eg, the idea that we "let Boxall go" rather than "Boxall got an offer that we couldn't top without the aid of a friendly genie".

Clubs sometimes make bad decisions in the transfer market (Andy Carroll to Liverpool, Falcao to Man Utd/Chelsea, Arsenal Wenger not signing a proven goalscorer or a DM, and so on). I think our decision to not have CB cover signed early enough to get settled into the squad and playing preseason friendlies was a bad decision. 

If you were a "decent" Aus player on the market, you would likely have options available besides just us (or they wouldn't be that decent, would they). 

If you did have options available, would you chose the one that was in another country and doesn't have a licence next season, even if they offered you a little more money? No, nor would I.

that license business is not a very attractive selling point to what ever players we approached this off season

Next podcast with Dome on, I would love the question to be asked how he sells that to our potential transfer guns

He must surely have some pre arranged lines

Or do we just say she'll be right mate?

[quote=ConanTroutman]

[quote=Doloras]

Clubs sometimes make bad decisions in the transfer market (Andy Carroll to Liverpool, Falcao to Man Utd/Chelsea, Arsenal Wenger not signing a proven goalscorer or a DM, and so on). 

You can't say these are bad decisions until the season has progressed further, certainly not in the carroll to liverpool bracket by any stretch.

Sorry if I caused offence!

Haha getting defensive pretty quickly there bro ;)

The worst thing about the lack of licence (aside from the lack of licence) is that there were assurances it would be sorted by the end of last season, then the beginning of this season, and now???... I'm assuming the end of this season lol

How do we know that it is a big issue for signing players?  My just be an issue for us fans, and the owners but no one else.

Would Old be worth another look at 29 - seasoned professional now in Sweden and does get a few goals. Might give us a more "attacking CB" at set pieces?

Nikko Boxall is an interesting idea... his teams performances have certainly improved since his arrival... big impact or just the team finally clicking?

I'll slow it down next time ;)

Just using logic. A dangerous thing for some I know

If someone is signeable and looks more than just good enough then you would want to tell them: "let's agree on this season, and also have first dibs on the next season".Second year can be conditional on whatever, from performance to licence. You do not need to spell it out.