Ridenton only played 240 minutes last season, not much a sample size, and most of those were probably at the start when we were rock-bottom and no one looked good. He’s got 125 A League career games at age 25, that’s no mean feat. That doesn’t mean he is the answer but I’m not sure of any New Zealander with a CV to match who would be available.
Barcia is 32, and his only spell in pro football is 3 matches in the Indonesian league, which is a fair bit below A League. The rest of it is playing in the National League. That’s probably not worth using a visa on in my opinion.
Howieson is probably unlikely because he’d likely only get a couple month gig, and it probably wouldn’t be worth dropping everything and going to Australia.
There’s also access to kids in the academy, which is the only pro-club academy in a country of 5 million people. If you’re not going to use the academy kids at a time like now, then you will never use them. It’s not really an endorsement of the academy if you choose to bring in some 30-odd Australian over giving someone their break.
Barcia is 32, and his only spell in pro football is 3 matches in the Indonesian league, which is a fair bit below A League. The rest of it is playing in the National League. That’s probably not worth using a visa on in my opinion.
Howieson is probably unlikely because he’d likely only get a couple month gig, and it probably wouldn’t be worth dropping everything and going to Australia.
There’s also access to kids in the academy, which is the only pro-club academy in a country of 5 million people. If you’re not going to use the academy kids at a time like now, then you will never use them. It’s not really an endorsement of the academy if you choose to bring in some 30-odd Australian over giving someone their break.
Depends what mindset the club is in - go for broke, spend on a decent replacement and aim for playoffs, or be willing to possibly sacrifice that, save some money and blood guys like Manuel, Fin Conchie, Luis Toomey etc. in that CM spot. No standout CM talent in the academy right now, unfortunately - Toomey's great but usually plays more advanced (and isn't listed in the Weenix squad this season for some reason).
I'd be keen for the latter option, but start Sutton centrally and sign a backup for him. Has years upon years of senior experience in both deeper and more advanced positions, certainly has the passing range to be capable at AL level. Sutton-Pennington, with Manuel and Laws for backup. Barcia would be cool though - would be more open to take a flyer on a possible 6-7 out of 10 guy rather than a guy who we already know gives us 4s-5s in Ridenton.