Contracted Players - Return of the Long Pins

To the people saying a "Player Option" makes no sense, think about ADP for Sydney, he was signed to a 1 year contract with an Option for a second as well. In his case it is highly likely it is a player option.

1) He didn't want to sign for two years, but Sydney wanted him for two years

2) He then agrees to a deal for one year, with an option himself to sign for a second

It makes sense in a case where the team wants the player more than the player wants the team.

 yeah ADP vs Totori which on would you offer the 1 year option to?

I think its fairly safe to say that Sanchez and Smith are toast?

I've been tempted to run that poll again but we'll wait and see how Gamiero and Cernak (who both didn't feature in the first poll) go over the next few weeks

Here's a reminder of the results from January though...

Remember that the percentages don't matter as much as the number of votes out of 124.

The big loser since then has to be Sanchez, who 89 out of 124 voters would have re-signed. I voted for him but wouldn't now. Also, Totori has apparently become "Contracted for 2013/14" which by using another import slot changes things a lot.

Has Cernak not signed with Perth for next year?

2 people voted for Downey! lol

DId Cernak play on the weekend? Definitely keep him and Gameiro if possible.

He was injured. Think I saw somewhere that he's a chance for Weds.

hmm return of cernak will be interesting to see who drops out at his expense..

Well if players are playing for a contract next season, obviously no one wants to be here.....

bumpity bump

In the Podcast, Dome mentioned talking to Smith about a contract. Guessing that would depend on becoming an Aussie.

At the moment we're in an interesting position - without a new coach.

So the question right now is - are there any off-contract players who are so worth keeping that we give them another contract before the new coach signs on?

Or do we wait for the new coach and risk losing some of these guys because they take up offers elsewhere?

The podcast implied that some players would be offered contracts before the coach is appointed.

With the way the management portrays the club and how they see it being in the future, perhaps just try and keep as much of what we've got would be the best.

OK, the poll is back! Any chance of a sticky mods?

Which off-contract Phoenix players should be re-signed for the 2013-14 season?

http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=5157da63e4b090005f2cf1f0

Same rules as last time. You can vote for more than one player but voting for a player(s) plus the "None of them" option doesn't make sense, even though the poll will let you. Also, Lucas Pantelis and Jimmy Downey are both in the poll for purely technical reasons but if you vote for either of them you're pretty much just being a dick.

Out of the poll since last time:

Mark Paston (retired)

Benjamin Totori (contract extension activated)

In the poll since last time:

Isaka Cernak

Corey Gameiro

I picked only Bertos, Hogg and Lochhead and I base that on the following.

Gameiro - yes he has played well but I would like to think that with Stein and Brockie there, Fenton and Boyd a year older for experience and Ifill still about, Gameiro is a luxury

Cernak - Not a bad player but with Hernandez and a couple of others able to play that high sitting midfielder role, again he becomes a luxury considering we have other needs

Sanchez, Smith, Downey and Pantelis speak for themselves.

In terms of why Hogg and Lochhead - Lochhead looked a different player under Greenie (as did a few others) and LBs are not easy to find. We are lucky to have 3 (although I believe Hogg is a better option that Rowe but if Hogg is not available, then Rowe is a nice backup) Bertos still has value in the league. I would expect that Lochhead and Bertos come in at less than what they are on now.

Any response has to governed by how many kiwis and Aussies we need..unless we can attract more quality Aussies then we have to retain some who should go.  I favour a cleanout and then see what we can cobble together aka WSW!

Can't see teams letting that many Socceroos go again. Would love to see their books, must have been some pay cuts.

personally think today was the last day we will see sanchez in a stripey

Here's the final results from a few months ago as a reminder...

Pretty clear cut result at that time.

Re-sign Sanchez, Bertos and one of Lochhead/Hogg. Let the rest of them go.

I'm pretty sure the results are going to look different this time.

Was a bit of talk earlier in the season that was off. The new coach will need the Visa spot to use.

Lochhead should go, and Bertos will be VERY lucky. Just not good enough IMO.

thank god its not up to you

You think those 2 are still up to it at this level? Bertos I'd keep for the squad. Lochhead, not so much. 

I would think re-signing Bertos & Lochhead would depend on them taking a pay cut. I would like to keep them both, but the quality we need to add into our midfield won't come cheap. We won't go down the marquee route, so this is the only way to make room under the cap. Neither are irreplaceable but both are still good enough to perform at this level.

Well my view is that having the likes of these 2 start every game is a large part of why we are bottom of the league and Ricki is gone. Add Lia to that too.

One of the things I like about you Steve-O is that you say what you mean.
The problem that we have had is not that the team is worse that it was last year, but we have not improved, cause all the other teams have and we have been left behind.
As I mentioned before, WSW signed some very average players at the start of the season and every one of them looked good.
Good management and coaching.

Don't forget to vote in the poll...

Which off-contract Phoenix players should be re-signed for the 2013-14 season?

http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=5157da63e4b090005f2cf1f0

After a lot of thought I've been really cut-throat this time and only gone for Ian Hogg. My rationale there is that he should be dirt cheap and Luke Rowe showed enough yesterday that he may actually be a capable understudy. That said, we could still do worse than look for a decent left and right back on the market.

Bertos and Lochhead would both be worth re-signing except that they'll be on big money. We need to more ambitious than that if we're really going to step things up. Tough call on both of them though.

Likewise, Sanchez just does not offer enough to use up our last precious foreign slot. He actually won the poll last time but Carlos Hernandez means he's now surplus to requirements.

Alex Smith not even in the frame for me.

Isaka Cernak's chances have been hobbled by injury. Might have kicked on but I haven't seen enough to be convinced yet.

Corey Gameiro is interesting. Good player, puts in the effort but I think he has bigger plans for himself. I'm assuming we couldn't match the type of wage he might be looking for. Borderline call though.

Basically, I'm looking for a clear-out. Could actually have voted for "None of them" on a different day.


Edit: Thanks for the sticky by the way.

I'd keep Bertos around for his free-kicks and set pieces. 

Its no coincidence that we've played better since moving Bertos back out to his natural position. That first goal yesterday is what we've been missing all season. Just shows how poor Rickis player selection was this season that he took our no.1 in assists from the season before and moved him to right back, while an international signing sat on the bench pretty much the whole time. Any other club with half an ounce of self belief wouldve signed an actual right back instead of Totori.

And Im not Locheads biggest fan but Id keep him too, even if he ends up our no.2 left back. His experience is a valuable asset to the squad.

I don't think you can do April Fools after midday...