Happy with Leo as a squad player. He has the fitness to play on for at least 2 more years.
I wonder how much of a cut he took.
Contracted Players - Return of the Long Pins
Glad to see Leo re-sign, not sure there were many Aus/NZ options better. I would think the +1 would be performance related so he knows what he has to achieve to get another season.
As @usasoccerguy would say he needs to try kicking more of those goalshots in the soccergoal.
Yay - good shit Leo.Always liked him(just wish he'd score more goals).
Must mean the new gaffer is on the way
COYN
Okay but hardly the Brave New World we were wanting...so maybe only 5 new players to come?
Happy with Leo as a squad player. He has the fitness to play on for at least 2 more years.
I wonder how much of a cut he took.
Agree...but if Leo is a regular in the starting 11 next season we will be struggling....again......
Happy with Leo as a squad player. He has the fitness to play on for at least 2 more years.
I wonder how much of a cut he took.
Agree...but if Leo is a regular in the starting 11 next season we will be struggling....again......
I think you and I might be the only ones that might think this.
Le---ooo Leee--ooo
Happy with Leo as a squad player. He has the fitness to play on for at least 2 more years.
I wonder how much of a cut he took.
Agree...but if Leo is a regular in the starting 11 next season we will be struggling....again......
I think you and I might be the only ones that might think this.
In the poll we ran at the end of the season 70 out of 104 people wanted to re-sign Leo, second only to Corey Gamiero (77/104). So about 2/3's support among fans. Not bad, but hardly a landslide.
Name kiwis in our squad that would have landslides?
Name kiwis in our squad that would have landslides?
Moss?
Personally I'm happy about this. He was one of our better players this year (though there wasn't much competition). I assume the +1 is a club option (no Totori clause) which would make sense with a new coach on the way.
From our current squad he's probably second choice RB to Manny and second choice RW to Fenton (assuming he kicks on), maybe even competing with Totori for the attacking bench spot - so from that perspective he's probably just an ok squad player. You'd hope we sign another wide attacking player anyway which means he may fall even further.
We saw pretty clearly last season what he's capable of and we really need a significant upgrade in both positions (RW/RB) if we want to challenge further up the league. From that perspective I really don't want to see him playing a lot of minutes this season which makes me wonder whether he's another player we're signing purely as a back-up. Personally I think the ideal squad is 17 senior pros who should all be capable of pushing for a starting spot depending on form and fitness and 3 youngsters introduced over time.
Mixed feelings because I really like Leo as a guy and I think it's important to keep a Wellington flavour in there as well.
Our current squad had far too few players outside the playing XI putting pressure on the starters.
Remember, a new top fitness coach is coming! Leo will be faster than last year AND the year before. Plus, we will see Ifill playing for 90 min. Thanks to Science, it works!
Remember, a new top fitness coach is coming! Leo will be faster than last year AND the year before. Plus, we will see Ifill playing for 90 min. Thanks to Science, it works!
Fitness can't help old legs.
Remember, a new top fitness coach is coming! Leo will be faster than last year AND the year before. Plus, we will see Ifill playing for 90 min. Thanks to Science, it works!
Seriously, the story about Ed Baranowski working with the club seems to crop up every off season and then nothing changes!
I thought he already was working with the club
Personally I think the ideal squad is 17 senior pros who should all be capable of pushing for a starting spot depending on form and fitness and 3 youngsters introduced over time.
Our current squad had far too few players outside the playing XI putting pressure on the starters.
The salary cap limits the ability to do this, I cant think of any A-League clubs that have 17 players all worthy of a starting spot.
Assuming that the 3 youth players are all on just 70k a year, there is $2,290,000 available in the cap. That gives an average wage of $135,000 for each of the 17 players. Players like Ifill and Stein are obviously going to be getting paid a lot more than that, so other players will have lower wages as a result.
I agree that having a squad like this would be idea, but it'll be rather difficult to find these 17 "senior pro's" you speak of when we can only offer some of them less than $100k a season.
Personally I'm happy about this. He was one of our better players this year (though there wasn't much competition). I assume the +1 is a club option (no Totori clause) which would make sense with a new coach on the way.
From our current squad he's probably second choice RB to Manny and second choice RW to Fenton (assuming he kicks on), maybe even competing with Totori for the attacking bench spot - so from that perspective he's probably just an ok squad player. You'd hope we sign another wide attacking player anyway which means he may fall even further.
We saw pretty clearly last season what he's capable of and we really need a significant upgrade in both positions (RW/RB) if we want to challenge further up the league. From that perspective I really don't want to see him playing a lot of minutes this season which makes me wonder whether he's another player we're signing purely as a back-up. Personally I think the ideal squad is 17 senior pros who should all be capable of pushing for a starting spot depending on form and fitness and 3 youngsters introduced over time.
Mixed feelings because I really like Leo as a guy and I think it's important to keep a Wellington flavour in there as well.
Our current squad had far too few players outside the playing XI putting pressure on the starters.
Leo still has a bit to offer in the midfield. He was one of the critical pieces of the puzzle in our improved performances towards the end of the season. He brought a lot of energy and tenacity into the area of the park where previously had very little during the season. And he's an experienced A-league player.
And as a RB he certainly had a better season than Manny, who was probably one of the biggest disappointments last season. But I guess the trade-off for the Phoenix was more positive with Leo in midfield and Manny at RB so that may be the way we head into the pre-season.
Personally I think the ideal squad is 17 senior pros who should all be capable of pushing for a starting spot depending on form and fitness and 3 youngsters introduced over time.
Our current squad had far too few players outside the playing XI putting pressure on the starters.
The salary cap limits the ability to do this, I cant think of any A-League clubs that have 17 players all worthy of a starting spot.
Assuming that the 3 youth players are all on just 70k a year, there is $2,290,000 available in the cap. That gives an average wage of $135,000 for each of the 17 players. Players like Ifill and Stein are obviously going to be getting paid a lot more than that, so other players will have lower wages as a result.
I agree that having a squad like this would be idea, but it'll be rather difficult to find these 17 "senior pro's" you speak of when we can only offer some of them less than $100k a season.
Personally I think the ideal squad is 17 senior pros who should all be capable of pushing for a starting spot depending on form and fitness and 3 youngsters introduced over time.
Our current squad had far too few players outside the playing XI putting pressure on the starters.
The salary cap limits the ability to do this, I cant think of any A-League clubs that have 17 players all worthy of a starting spot.
Assuming that the 3 youth players are all on just 70k a year, there is $2,290,000 available in the cap. That gives an average wage of $135,000 for each of the 17 players. Players like Ifill and Stein are obviously going to be getting paid a lot more than that, so other players will have lower wages as a result.
I agree that having a squad like this would be idea, but it'll be rather difficult to find these 17 "senior pro's" you speak of when we can only offer some of them less than $100k a season.
What I am saying is that saying let's sign him, he'd be fine as a backup attitude lead to us putting together a squad where players outside the starting XI weren't good enough to force their way into the starting line up. I genuinely think that lead to the situation where the form of our supposedly top players fell away alarmingly. In small A-League squads yes, you're always going to be vulnerable in certain positions.
But signing players to pad out numbers in the squad and then crossing your fingers they never get a game isn't much of a strategy - and hasn't worked for us previously!
I think Boxhall is a classic case of this - I don't think anyone actually thought he would ever start except in an emergency - he was a pure back up. Then when our CBs were shit we had no-one able to come in and change things in defence.
Happy with Leo as a squad player. He has the fitness to play on for at least 2 more years.
I wonder how much of a cut he took.
Agree...but if Leo is a regular in the starting 11 next season we will be struggling....again......
I think you and I might be the only ones that might think this.
And me, he is a disappointing player, some say hit and miss, I say more miss than hit.
He is decent off the bench for 20 min, but as a starting player is extremely uninspiring.
Like to see Boxall get moe of a chance - he played nearly a full season of MLS two seasons ago and did ok and that's a better comp than A-League.
Happy with Leo as a squad player. He has the fitness to play on for at least 2 more years.
I wonder how much of a cut he took.
Agree...but if Leo is a regular in the starting 11 next season we will be struggling....again......
I think you and I might be the only ones that might think this.
And me, he is a disappointing player, some say hit and miss, I say more miss than hit.
He is decent off the bench for 20 min, but as a starting player is extremely uninspiring.
Are you guys blind? Did you not see the immediate turn around in our squads performance as soon as he was moved back to his natural roll with Manny at right back? Mind = blown. More assists than anyone over the clubs history i believe
yeah I really think Leo is being a little hard done by some. He has been a little hit and miss - sure, but no more than some others in the team, particularly this season. As a RM he does really well at getting forward and bombing crosses into the box, he also has the most assists almost every season for the club and is really high up in the league for this too. He may not be the starting RM next season given the players we have available in the midfield but he'll be a decent squad player who can now cover RM and RB should it be required.
Random thought of the day: Could Leo play centrally as a ball playing midfielder?
No longer quick as he was - solid defensively and a good workrate.
Doesnt utilise his crossing
Random thought of the day: Could Leo play centrally as a ball playing midfielder?
No longer quick as he was - solid defensively and a good workrate.
Doesnt utilise his crossing
So after a season where everyone admits that trying him out of position didn't really work, we're going to try him out in a new position that won't work? Not for me sorry. If we need a transplanted out of position central midfielder we should try to bring home Chris Killen (joke).
I'm on the not pessimistic side, and think that if he's played in his natural position (RM) with a decent formation and tactics (hoping for new coach to be better than Ricki here) Leo will be a handy starting player for us again this year. Not set the world on fire sure, but a handy (non import) starting player.
tend to agree, he's not CM material, for mine he lacks the killer pass ability and his control is not up to what I'd like to see in a CM. On the wing he can recover a poor first touch, at CM not so much.
Yeah I also dont think he would qork out there - but overheard people discussing it last year on the train so thought I'd throw it out there and play devil's advocate
I can understand the logic of Leo in a CM role.... There is more to him being tried there than Chris Killen that's for sure.
I always point to the case of Lothar Matthaus that is the outlier that I always like to use. Started up front, went to midfield, ended up as a sweeper. I know this is not even remotely the same case but it can happen.
Hypothetically, if you were going to try him in a CM role, you would not be doing it in an A League season straight off the bat. I would be inclined to get him down at a park in Wellington over the winter and trying it there in the Cap leagues. I know its not really a true reflection of A League, but if he has the skill set you say, then its just the positional awareness he needs.
Anyway, its just all talk.
. He may not be the starting RM next season given the players we have available in the midfield
Remind me again who these are?
We have midfield? I must have missed that along with every other team in the A league when they played us.
Bertos is a squad player and i am happy he got another year, but i don't think he should be credited with the chage in fortunes for the last few games of the season we had... and by the way we still tended to lose. I think a fresh coach (Greenie in charge) with different and playing Hysegyms helped more than anything else.
I see leo as giving us a strong bench option covering the whole right side, and in the event of injuries I'd feel comfortable seeing his name in the starting eleven. Essential for a good squad, but only some players have the attitude to accept it and thrive in the role, perhaps Leo has that attitude?
Do you think Leo has re-signed with the intention of being a squad player or a starter?
Let the player show us what he intends to be before we pigeonhole him.
Jeff, I have Vader as the voice on my Tom Tom. Jermaine Jenas is available on a "Free" if we want him. Wages might make him our Marquee though. Rob Hulse is also available. ;)
Do you think Leo has re-signed with the intention of being a squad player or a starter?
Let the player show us what he intends to be before we pigeonhole him.
Hopefully nobody signs just to be a squad player.
Kinda what I was intimating.... Every player should aim to be a starter. Whether they get there, is relative to the other candidates and how they perform.
Do you think Leo has re-signed with the intention of being a squad player or a starter?
Let the player show us what he intends to be before we pigeonhole him.
Do you think Leo has re-signed with the intention of being a squad player or a starter?
Let the player show us what he intends to be before we pigeonhole him.
I'm thinking the new gaffer has just outed himself!!!
Ok. Who is he...?
Do you think Leo has re-signed with the intention of being a squad player or a starter?
Let the player show us what he intends to be before we pigeonhole him.
Well even if he is a squad player I really hope his intention is to be a starter.
Ok. Who is he...?
I'm also curious (speculation on name of new gaffer).