Contracted Players - Return of the Long Pins

Love Letter to Roy - moved to RoyNix

Callan elliot signs up for next season

One of the three youth spots along with Cacace and Singh 

I liked the look of him when he came on. I thought he was very good going forward. He needs to bulk up a bit and work on his defensive duties but definitely one to watch.
Same as Ben Waine whose contract situation I'm unsure about but really hope to see more of next season.

That's a pretty generous assessment G...but overall, yep, he's a young kid so just has to stick through it, but he does have a lot to learn and work on on the defensive side of things especially.

We've got enough players for a 7 a side now! 

Good work Callan, long way to go, but good to see another Kiwi lad working in to a pro gig.

That's the issue wurg playing this kind of formation. You need complete full backs who a) have a massive engine and B) can both attack and defend. These players are in high demand and difficult to find. Even Williams who did really well overall vs Mel C was found out defensively a few times. We're talking total football in a way and very few players can be just as good on the offense as they are defending and have the legs to run up and down for 90+ min.

We're gonna win the league!!

Needs more Roy. 

Kurto, Cacace & Singh make the ESPN Team of the Year

http://www.espn.com.au/football/australian-a-league/0/blog/post/3838989/a-league-team-of-the-year

They appear to have picked it off a stats page than from watching the games tho, so take with a pinch of salt.

Wins golden boot, doesn't make team of the year.

Madness.

Kurto, Cacace and Krishna should be in the discussion.

Reading it, they justify their selections with far more than just stats, though do use some stats to help justify, which is fair enough.

Golec has announced via Instagram he will be leaving.

Might be wishful thinking but I read "still a long way to go" as Willo having unfinished business with the Nix, and will therefore stay?

Combined with fact stated by someone else, that Talay & Williams were team mates at NQ Fury - gives some hope he may stay.

At least you could assume that Ufuk has found a nice quiet room on his lunch break at Sydney FC headquarters, to place a quick call to Williams for a chat.

Now, Roy joins Willo with some positive vibes.

Incredible, heartfelt message from Mandi on his Instagram: 

Could never fault his passion for the sport and he genuinely loves the club. Hope he sticks around for one if we can keep this type of attitude.

Oh well if nothing else, hopefully his NZ born kid turns out to be a useful footballer in 20 years time.

"Children born in New Zealand on or after 1 January 2006 will acquire New Zealand citizenship by birth only if at least one parent is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident"

So the rules have changed since Weemac's birth.

Do you need NZ citizenship to play for the AWs/FFs? 

I imagine the other qualifier is residency?  

But 4 months or so living in NZ (that's if Mandi & whanau return to Spain) - as an infant I'm guessing would not be enough.

Speculation to another level - working out if Mandi junior can qualify for 2039 AWs/FFs!

Time to update thread title?

Eligibility is one thing, but you also need to be able to submit a passport from the country of the national federation that you're representing, and you can't do that if you don't have the citizenship.

So have we taken away ius soli? What happens is you're born here to non kiwis? Can you become a kiwi at 18 I suppose? Not really relevant to Mandi's kid but important to the Nix given our large migrant population.

From what I understand, the mere act of being born here to non-resident parents means that you're not automatically a citizen. Obviously that doesn't mean that you can't become a citizen through residency for example. 

Sounds similar to Italy where children born in the country to non citizen parents do not gain automatic citizenship but can do so once they turn 18 (Balotelli and others IIRC).
Be interesting to find out what happens here with a degree of certainty as it's going to affect the Nix and to a similar extent the AWs at some stage

This is correct.  A child born here only acquires right to residency / citizenship if at least parent was a permanent resident or citizen at the time of the child's birth.  Temporary permit for a parent grants temporary permit for the child.

This was enacted in 2006 to close a loophole where children born here to people only briefly visiting NZ in last stages of pregnancy would be granted permanent residency which could still be claimed by the (now grown up) child even decades later.  The loophole to claw back hospital costs of delivery was not closed till years later, with mixed success.

I think you meant citizenship in your second paragraph but assuming you did, pretty much correct

Mandi gone. He's just put a post on insta saying thanks

Looks like there's plenty of cap and squad space available for the new coach.  On the other hand, another busy recruitment process about to take place

That’s the midfield Ufuked...

The odd faux-pas aside, Mandi’s distribution was hugely underrated. Could hit some absolute peaches across the park or over the top. Plenty of time to replace him at least.

Every club is going through a rebuild, at least we will start at a similar time this year!

Perth will lose players overseas at the end of the season as well IMO.

I liked Mandi's ability to hold onto the ball under pressure. Was strong shielding and using his body to create passing opportunities. Very composed on the ball.

Yep, his greatest asset - and something not many players in the league do well. Roly was another one who did this. 

Without knowing what formation Talay has planned for us, freeing up the visa slot to allow him more flexibility makes more sense than retaining him.

I would say Burgess is not so much "better" but a very different player from Mandi.  Younger, too.

He seems to be likely to follow Rudan, but I too would love him to stay if possible.