Contracted Players - Return of the Long Pins

No Rufer either, waiting for him to recover?

Updated:

EXPIRES END OF 2015/16:

Kwabena APPIAH-KUBI
Troy DANASKOS
Justin GULLEY
Vince LIA
Manny MUSCAT
Alex RUFER (u21) 
Ben SIGMUND
Hamish WATSON (injury replacement for Krishna)

EXPIRES END OF 2016/17:

Roly BONEVACIA (f) 
Tom DOYLE
Louis FENTON
Alex RODRIGUEZ GORRIN (f)
Lewis ITALIANO
Glen MOSS
Blake POWELL
Albert RIERA (f)
Oliver SAIL (u21)

EXPIRES END OF 2017/18:

Andrew DURANTE
Roy KRISHNA (f)
James McGARRY (u21)
Michael McGLINCHEY 
Matthew RIDENTON
Logan ROGERSON (u21)

EXPIRES END OF 2018/19:

Kosta BARBAROUSES
Dylan FOX

Interesting Ridenton gets 2 years, ernie must be happy with his development

How many squad places do we get next season?

Also means that if he has a blinder of a year and has interest from South Africa or wherever he can ask for a raise...

Or he's 20 and happy to get paid anything to be a pro footballer, and isn't on Terry money? He has made quite a few appearances this season, though all over the place.

It's really unfortunate that Rufer got injured - I thought he was looking better than Ridenton.

So looks like we're going to have pretty much the same team as last year with Kosta and a new foreign centre back.  Did anyone watch us play this year?

Before Krishna was injured we had the best start of the season in our history, we are just a couple of starting players and a bit of depth short of a top squad. This year we had pretty much the same team as last year but missing a couple of players and some depth so that makes sense.

JD always wants wholesale changes. 

Pretty much spot on JD. Plus 4 top players (like Kosta) and long term injury (Krishna) coming back. But yes we will play the same team, minus 1st teams starters like Siggy and Muscat.

The big difference between the Nix and every other team this year is that we haven't beaten CCM or the Jets. Which is pretty bizarre really as I do think they are the weakest teams in the league by a long way.

If we had an 8 team league (i.e. all the results vs CCM and Jets were removed) the table would look like this. Nix are 5th with a game in-hand, potentially third as they would be favorites to beat Perth who sit two points below in the table.

I'd take from that table the Nix are competitive, and wholesale changes aren't needed. They just need to step it up against poorer opposition.

Sounds though that Ernie is intending to add "two or three" experienced quality players (probably Aussies?) for next season.

Ernie was quoted in the media yesterday as saying that he's "still looking to add more experience to balance out the squad. "

"I intend to sign two or three high quality players to do that and to add stability within the team," he said.

"Kosta Barbarouses is the first of those and he is a great signing for the club."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/779...

I quite like the way the squad is shaping for next season with new players coming in and this season's newbies like Powell and Fox having shown much worth in recent months...

I'd like JD to put together an alternate squad (on paper).

Yep - hopefully players like Powell and Watson take on those roles that players like Boyd and Cunningham performed last year, i.e. you need to change things up and score some goals then you bring them on and they make an immediate impact. I guess that's what Appiah was supposed to do this year, and he did make an impact by generally terrifying defenses by running at them, but unfortunately that's about the extent of his game.

no he didn't

Because of the salary cap and squad size restrictions 3 or 4 players can make a massive difference to a team too.

Maybe not generally but he did against the Roar at least.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I just see it as an evidence of our soft mental attitude. 

Other teams than Jets / CCM may be better, yet we beat them.  CCM and the Jets wanted badly to win but for whatever reason we were the easiest team for them to beat. So this is just my guess, others may see it differently.

is there where we talked about staff who have re-signed as well? because i am to lazy to look for that thread. 

in the article on the front page regarding Des's re-signing with us, it says he "will also take on a role as an assistant to head coach Ernie Merrick", is that just adding to his assistants or is greenacre on he way out?

http://www.newshub.co.nz/sport/phoenix-imports-hope-to-turn-kiwi-2016031716#axzz437yJ3xTT

Krishna and Riera trying to become kiwis.

He did terrify me, though. Regularly. If it helps?

I thought a goal keeping coach was automatically an assistant to the head coach?

I think our defence needs an overhaul

Why would NZ immigration fast track Krishna's citizenship? I don't believe they would. There's no advantage to NZ for them to do that.

Riera though - he would be eligible for the AWs so if Hudson wants him then I'm sure they'd do it for him, just as they did for Daniel (although he never ended up playing for NZ as FIFA changed the rules around the same time)

In the past 4 years we've finished 10th, 9th, 4th (with Burns), and probably 8th or 9th...I do not understand the loyalty to this group of players.

A lot of these players were here last season when we finished 4th, so why couldn't we do that again (or better) with Kosta to replace Burns in that role and a couple of new signings? 

Edit: Fenton was the only other player in the current squad who was in our first team squad 4 years ago when we came 10th https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012–13_Wellington...

I think we can give them a bit of a break this year - there's been a few circumstances which may have compounded on field issues.

Do you understand the limitations in  a Salary capped league JD ?

So we couldn't repeat or better 4th after trying and failing to replace burns, having terrible injury issues all year, a horrible schedule, and the distraction of the team possibly becoming defunct... I think everyone involved with the club deserves a break... but naturally they are having to work their hardest right now to piece together next season's roster, not just to keep other clubs away from players but also so they can do the decent thing and let them know who will have a job and who won't.

I agree the defence needs overhauling but that's naturally happening anyway, with two pillars of it in sigmund and muscat retiring. It also looks to me like fenton will be kept as a bit of a squad utility, and not our first choice right back. I would expect us to sign at least two more defenders capable of starting week-in week-out.

Muscat is not retiring- transferring to Melbourne . We need to replace Dura.

is saprong playing anywhere?

I agree with you there. That is where our import spot should be going (unless someone local becomes available out of nowhere)

Don't think so, last time I checked he still had Wellington Phoenix player on his twitter profile, that would have been a couple of weeks ago. He's removed it now.

[/quote]

I agree with you there. That is where our import spot should be going (unless someone local becomes available out of nowhere)

[/quote]100 % this.

quote fail but I still agree