WPM 2021/22 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination

RR

Former Socceroos midfielder Terry Antonis could be set for a return to the A-League with a few clubs interested.#ALeague pic.twitter.com/ELsksMYvt6

— Sha Nen (@Its_Shanen) June 27, 2021

Now that would be a good Devlin replacement

Would expect any team would be in for him, if you're Victory you'd be bending over backwards to get him

I am sure he'd be on Poppa's radar.  But as a side issue, how many other Oz players may want to return home for the next season? Would be useful.

Would much rather prefer Kiwis over Aussies. Is Joe Bell & James Musa any good? 

NZPhoenixFan

Would much rather prefer Kiwis over Aussies. Is Joe Bell & James Musa any good? 

Bell is too good for the Nix now, nailed on starter at Viking and at only 22 will definitely be looking to get a move to a bigger European club eventually. James Musa though is a player I could definitely see at the Nix, I think it's been mentioned that he expressed some interest in returning to Wellington and he's a really solid player. He's probably not as good as Antonis but is definitely one of the best kiwis available outside of NZ.

Newcastle Jets set to announce Cameron Devlin tomorrow morning.

Friar Tuck

NZPhoenixFan

Would much rather prefer Kiwis over Aussies. Is Joe Bell & James Musa any good? 

Bell is too good for the Nix now, nailed on starter at Viking and at only 22 will definitely be looking to get a move to a bigger European club eventually. James Musa though is a player I could definitely see at the Nix, I think it's been mentioned that he expressed some interest in returning to Wellington and he's a really solid player. He's probably not as good as Antonis but is definitely one of the best kiwis available outside of NZ.

Main position is CDM, but can also play as CB and LB. Would be a good pick up.
James Musa & Noah Billingsley (who plays as RB) off contract in November.

Screenshot_20210628-231516_Chrome.jpg 163.09 KB

Devlin soon to be announced 

The jets might actually be good next season they're also poaching Elsey from Adelaide with a new coach too and a fully revamped squad will be interesting to see how they do. Gutted about Devlin leaving to a squad below us tho

Newcastle has been all over the show as a team and as a club this year. Big call leaving a stable environment where you are valued for one selling the idea of becoming what you arguably have just left.

Had to be $$

wilbaker

The jets might actually be good next season they're also poaching Elsey from Adelaide with a new coach too and a fully revamped squad will be interesting to see how they do. Gutted about Devlin leaving to a squad below us tho

I'm not too sure how good they will be. Devlin will make a big difference and apparently signing Elsey too. But from Papas comments they don't seem too set on imports. Money may also be an issue.  Q) Are you looking to bring in overseas players?

A) It is a possibility. There are certain things that make that difficult like 14 days of quarantine which is tough by the way, but our objective is to bring in players which match the characteristics that we’re looking for and that will improve our position as a team. 

MetalLegNZ

Newcastle has been all over the show as a team and as a club this year. Big call leaving a stable environment where you are valued for one selling the idea of becoming what you arguably have just left.

Had to be $$

Gets to live at home, see the GF every week and probably a huge pay raise. Can't blame the kid for taking it up. 

Jets had been penny pinching under the previous owner & now they have the temporary owners cash to splash. So they have probably thrown big offers at a couple of the best young off contract players in Elsey and Devlin.

Ufuks the man

Screenshot_20210628-231516_Chrome.jpg 163.09 KB

Devlin soon to be announced 

I think is a terrible play on words to announce him. I'm embarrassed for them. 

RR

MetalLegNZ

Newcastle has been all over the show as a team and as a club this year. Big call leaving a stable environment where you are valued for one selling the idea of becoming what you arguably have just left.

Had to be $$

Gets to live at home, see the GF every week and probably a huge pay raise. Can't blame the kid for taking it up. 

Jets had been penny pinching under the previous owner & now they have the temporary owners cash to splash. So they have probably thrown big offers at a couple of the best young off contract players in Elsey and Devlin.

I'd be surprised if they can spend more than the cap minimum, but then they might want them to have a good season to drive up the price before selling.

Ryan

RR

MetalLegNZ

Newcastle has been all over the show as a team and as a club this year. Big call leaving a stable environment where you are valued for one selling the idea of becoming what you arguably have just left.

Had to be $$

Gets to live at home, see the GF every week and probably a huge pay raise. Can't blame the kid for taking it up. 

Jets had been penny pinching under the previous owner & now they have the temporary owners cash to splash. So they have probably thrown big offers at a couple of the best young off contract players in Elsey and Devlin.

I'd be surprised if they can spend more than the cap minimum, but then they might want them to have a good season to drive up the price before selling.

Hard to sell a team when they are struggling to be relevant, just look at CCM these last few years.

Someone "ITK" on Twitter predicted Devlin was heading to the Jets to me mid May, so the club should have had plenty of time to start looking for replacements at least.

RR

MetalLegNZ

Newcastle has been all over the show as a team and as a club this year. Big call leaving a stable environment where you are valued for one selling the idea of becoming what you arguably have just left.

Had to be $$

Gets to live at home, see the GF every week and probably a huge pay raise. Can't blame the kid for taking it up. 

Jets had been penny pinching under the previous owner & now they have the temporary owners cash to splash. So they have probably thrown big offers at a couple of the best young off contract players in Elsey and Devlin.

He'll likely have to move out of home. SW Sydney to Newcastle, a good 2 hour plus commute each way. But certainly yes a lot closer to whanau.

My memory of the Castle, is it's actually a nice pleasant little city. Very liveable. Some great beaches right down town, if you like the ocean.

coochiee

RR

MetalLegNZ

Newcastle has been all over the show as a team and as a club this year. Big call leaving a stable environment where you are valued for one selling the idea of becoming what you arguably have just left.

Had to be $$

Gets to live at home, see the GF every week and probably a huge pay raise. Can't blame the kid for taking it up. 

Jets had been penny pinching under the previous owner & now they have the temporary owners cash to splash. So they have probably thrown big offers at a couple of the best young off contract players in Elsey and Devlin.

He'll likely have to move out of home. SW Sydney to Newcastle, a good 2 hour plus commute each way. But certainly yes a lot closer to whanau.

My memory of the Castle, is it's actually a nice pleasant little city. Very liveable. Some great beaches right down town, if you like the ocean.

Great Town. Shark Club!

https://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/news/piscopo-named-olyroos-squad-tokyo-2020

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/125592235/wellington-phoenix-star-reno-piscopo-named-in-australia-squad-for-olympics

https://twitter.com/ByPhillipRollo/status/1410010116674498560?s=20

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/125605667/all-whites-defender-james-mcgarry-resigns-with-wellington-phoenix

great news!

EXPIRES END OF 2020/21:
Tomer HEMED [V]


EXPIRES END OF 2021/22:
Tim PAYNE
Reno PISCOPO
Jaushua SOTIRIO
Steven TAYLOR [V]
Louis FENTON

James MCGARRY

EXPIRES END OF 2022/23:
David BALL [V]
Alex RUFER
Sam SUTTON

Clayton LEWIS
Oliver SAIL
Joshua LAWS

Garry HOOPER [V]

EXPIRES END OF 2023/24:
Ben WAINE

I think everyone knows Hemed's gone, right? It really only remains to be seen whether it'll be the Wanderers or MVFC who will win the bidding war

Doloras

I think everyone knows Hemed's gone, right? It really only remains to be seen whether it'll be the Wanderers or MVFC who will win the bidding war

I don't think there's anywhere near the amount of information to come to that conclusion, the only teams who have announced they're in negotiations with him are the nix and hapoel beer sheva. It was also said on this forum that someone asked him where he would play next season and he said hopefully Wellington.

Saying that, assuming budget constraints and with the squad depth we've got with strikers, you'd think it would be better for the nix to spend the money on the midfield.

The longer an announcement regarding Hemed takes the more confident I am that he and his family is staying. e is currently holidaying in Australia with the Ball family. I reckon his agent is negotiating hard for a better deal given his late season performance. 

theprof

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/125605667/all-whites-defender-james-mcgarry-resigns-with-wellington-phoenix

great news!

Stealing a statistic 2ndBest put out there, McGarry has played 24 games for the Nix but never in Wellington. He should have a chance to end that streak now.

Great news keeping McGarry. 14 players signed!!

I still cant fathom signing both Hemed and Hooper.
UNLESS, we are signing a GUN Kiwi/Aussie midfielder

Glad to have McGarry back, a good young player, only will get better.
We just need to sign a kick-ass creative midfielder and then we should have a solid backbone for a winning team.

In my shortish time as a nix fan, this is a really weird feeling. A team already signed up within weeks of the finals finishing. Bizarre and wonderful feeling. Thank you nix!

Assuming we sign Hemed does that mean we'll still look for a Uli replacement or Devlin replacement for the last visa spot. I think if we go for an Uli replacement we might end up being too top-heavy unless we sign a non-import quality DM.

billyspleen75

Great news keeping McGarry. 14 players signed!!

I still cant fathom signing both Hemed and Hooper.
UNLESS, we are signing a GUN Kiwi/Aussie midfielder

Agreed; it doesn't make sense to me.
Will he play 4-4-1-1. Hooper and Hemed up top, Waine as back-up?

harrymc55

billyspleen75

Great news keeping McGarry. 14 players signed!!

I still cant fathom signing both Hemed and Hooper.
UNLESS, we are signing a GUN Kiwi/Aussie midfielder

Agreed; it doesn't make sense to me.
Will he play 4-4-1-1. Hooper and Hemed up top, Waine as back-up?

Err, do you mean 4-4-2? I don't see either Hemed or Hooper playing attacking mid or shadow striker role. 

Still much rather throw the money at Krishna than Hemed, though who knows how that will turn out. Sign a decent import AM and DM after that, and we're easily a top 3 squad in the league.

This tweet suggests Krishna was paid just over $1m NZD this season:

Big Bag 💰 for ATKMB Striker Roy Krishna 🔥

Hope the money reaches to the grassroot levels aswell 🙏 pic.twitter.com/1iCCP9bIZ3

— Indian Football Team for World Cup (@IFTWC) May 31, 2021

mrsmiis

Still much rather throw the money at Krishna than Hemed, though who knows how that will turn out. Sign a decent import AM and DM after that, and we're easily a top 3 squad in the league.

This tweet suggests Krishna was paid just over $1m NZD this season:

Big Bag 💰 for ATKMB Striker Roy Krishna 🔥

Hope the money reaches to the grassroot levels aswell 🙏 pic.twitter.com/1iCCP9bIZ3

— Indian Football Team for World Cup (@IFTWC) May 31, 2021

And I've read that Mumbai are offering him more than what he's on now.
But not a reliable source. Just online stuff.

Ranix

mrsmiis

Still much rather throw the money at Krishna than Hemed, though who knows how that will turn out. Sign a decent import AM and DM after that, and we're easily a top 3 squad in the league.

This tweet suggests Krishna was paid just over $1m NZD this season:

Big Bag 💰 for ATKMB Striker Roy Krishna 🔥

Hope the money reaches to the grassroot levels aswell 🙏 pic.twitter.com/1iCCP9bIZ3

— Indian Football Team for World Cup (@IFTWC) May 31, 2021

And I've read that Mumbai are offering him more than what he's on now.
But not a reliable source. Just online stuff.

With the success his goals have brought ATK, they will probably match any offer put in front of him. Can't see him coming back here anytime soon. 

billyspleen75

Great news keeping McGarry. 14 players signed!!

I still cant fathom signing both Hemed and Hooper.
UNLESS, we are signing a GUN Kiwi/Aussie midfielder

I feel that Hemed and Hooper are too similar as well, and would get in each other’s way, and neither likely to do the heavy lifting that Ball or Waine would. I don’t know any top non-visa midfielders that are off contract either, when I had a look Caceres and O’Neill were the best but are apparently signing with Sydney and Perth. 

kwlap

harrymc55

billyspleen75

Great news keeping McGarry. 14 players signed!!

I still cant fathom signing both Hemed and Hooper.
UNLESS, we are signing a GUN Kiwi/Aussie midfielder

Agreed; it doesn't make sense to me.
Will he play 4-4-1-1. Hooper and Hemed up top, Waine as back-up?

Err, do you mean 4-4-2? I don't see either Hemed or Hooper playing attacking mid or shadow striker role. 

No, I don't .

2ndBest

EXPIRES END OF 2020/21:
Tomer HEMED [V]


EXPIRES END OF 2021/22:
Tim PAYNE
Reno PISCOPO
Jaushua SOTIRIO
Steven TAYLOR [V]
Louis FENTON

James MCGARRY

EXPIRES END OF 2022/23:
David BALL [V]
Alex RUFER
Sam SUTTON

Clayton LEWIS
Oliver SAIL
Joshua LAWS

Garry HOOPER [V]

EXPIRES END OF 2023/24:
Ben WAINE

So 14 signed for next season
You would think Ben Old would get a Youth/Scholarship contract
That leaves 8 spots on the roster including 2 visa spots. If we use all 5. Last season we only use the 4 visa spots.
Priority has to be 
-an AM someone that can turn and run at defences with the ball. at the moment we only have Piscopo that regularly does that. So got to be a visa player.
If Piscopo has a ripper at the olympics he might well get sold on. So this is the main priority for me. 
- We also need a reliable quality DM replacement. What does Uffie have in mind here? I can't see any of the current quality A-League DM's moving to Wgtn. So Visa or oversea's NZ or Aussie. Musa has been mentioned. But this is the tricky one to get right.
- Back Up Keeper. I think Paulson is probably still too young for this role right now but should be no. 3. Crocombe would be a good option at no. 2 to push Sail.
- Defense. CB and RB cover or more likely both. Surprised they let McGing go, thought he did ok. So someone better or more versatile ??
That leaves room for 2 more squaddies.

I guess McGing has had a couple of years on the bench and needs to be playing. Maybe? Felt he did well with his opportunities too. 

Pretty efficient from the Nix in regards to sorting out the off contracts. Only Hemed left. If we can sign quality players (foreigners & Kiwi/Aussies) before our FFA cup clash (whenever it will be!), we can have a good run with competitive games which would ultimately set us up well for the upcoming season. 

harrymc55

kwlap

harrymc55

billyspleen75

Great news keeping McGarry. 14 players signed!!

I still cant fathom signing both Hemed and Hooper.
UNLESS, we are signing a GUN Kiwi/Aussie midfielder

Agreed; it doesn't make sense to me.
Will he play 4-4-1-1. Hooper and Hemed up top, Waine as back-up?

Err, do you mean 4-4-2? I don't see either Hemed or Hooper playing attacking mid or shadow striker role. 

No, I don't .

ok cool... Can you explain how you see Hemed and Hooper playing up top then?