We need an Aussie coach who has the contacts and personal credibility to attract a couple of above-average Aussie players in key positions, either from overseas or other A-League clubs.
This is the A-League and knowledge/understanding of the Aussie (and in our case Kiwi) player pool is paramount.
Interesting. Is this necessarily the case though? I'm kinda looking to be swayed either way on this point. In relation to that, do Moss, Stubbins and Trani (the Aussie names that seem to be getting flung around) have that credibility you speak of? I know Moss has been Arnold's right hand man and Trani has been between here and Adelaide. I profess to being a bit unfamiliar with all their backgrounds so they could well have that clout already. I guess the current benchmarkers really are Ange and Arnold but they are wrapped up tight but they ain't available any time soon.
You would think surely that you had done some research on the team and landscape before you chucked your name in the hat for the job. A good coach worth his salt would have surely done that. Thats why I find these 15 or so high quality European based candidates interesting because they will not come cheap and realistically, how much research have they done on a league on the other side of the world with all the various parameters that we have (salary cap and import restriction) that they do not have in Europe. Not saying its not true, just saying I am a bit of a skeptic on this point. I thought it was generally understood that Ricki was on around 200k with a top up from NZF...