He is under Benjamin Totori
Alex Jones, who was an "ex-Nix" without ever officially becoming a Nix player, has played 19 games for Port Vale in League One so far this season, on loan from Birmingham City. Nine goals scored in the league / ten overall. Port Vale's top-scorer this season.
http://uk.soccerway.com/players/alex-jones/411399/
I noticed he was on loan there when he scored against my club, Charlton Athletic, in Vale's 1-1 home draw back in October.
His loan spell ended after the Boxing Day game, but no decision has been been finalized on whether he'll stay on loan at Port Vale (they are open to a permanent move) or go out on loan to another club for the rest of the season:
Nice research pete.
What might have been, eh
Alex joins bradford for an undisclosed fee in league 1 on a 2 and a half year contract. Potentially great move they are in 5th and hunting promotion
Most Bradford fans are excited about this. Estimates of the fee are between 100-400k pounds.
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/15005728.Bantams_snap_up_striker_Jones/
THE NIX'S COSTA RICAN PAIR:
Kenny Cunningham:
http://int.soccerway.com/players/kenny-cunningham/...
Has been doing well since leaving the Nix in 2015.
Joined current Costa Rican champions Herediano and played regularly for them August - December 2015.
Achieved second place on the table in the "Torneo de Invierno" (first half season championship) and played in the semis of that tournament for the top four teams, losing over two legs to Deportivo Saprissa in December 2015, which was the last time that he played for Herediano.
From January to July 2016, Kenny was on loan to fellow CR top division side Uruguay.
During that period, his parent club Herediano won the Costa Rican title, the "Torneo de Verano" (closing second half season championship) in May 2016.
Since July 2016 Cunningham has been playing for CR side Santos de Guapiles and they finished fourth on the table in the opening "Torneo de Invierno" thus making the semi-finals and finishing fourth in the semis in December 2016.
Kenny also played two games for Herediano in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2015.
His last appearance for the Costa Rica national team was February 2016 when he came on as a 56 minute sub in the 1-0 friendly away loss to Venezuela. Previous to that he was on Costa Rica's bench for their November 17 2015 World Cup qualifier 2-1 win away to Panama.
There was a feature on Herediano in a recent World Soccer magazine (October I think) - owned by an American Mormon businessman.
Carlos Hernandez
http://int.soccerway.com/players/carlos-hernandez/...
Continued his globetrotting after leaving the Nix in 2014.
2014-15 season: Cartagines, Costa Rica; Dempo, I-League, India.
2015-16: Municipal, Guatemala; Carmelita, Costa Rica
2016-17: Carmelita, CR (Finished seventh in the recent "Torneo de Invierno" completed in November 2016)
Has never reprised his A-League scoring form (7 goals for the Nix in one season; 32 for Melbourne Victory with a high of 13 in 2009-10)
These days he's only scoring three a season in CR.
Stein Huysegems played 16 times for Belgian Second Division club Dessel Sport last season (twice as many games as the previous season when he was plagued by injury) and scored four goals.
However, he still missed long stretches of last season such as not playing at all between September and December and missing the whole of March:
http://int.soccerway.com/players/stijn-huysegems/2...
Ernie off-loaded him at the right time with his fitness now a constant problem.
Stein, now 34, is playing for provincial league club Berlaar-Heikant in the Antwerpen league (sixth tier) after his previous club Dessel Sport fell victim to changes in the second division format and were relegated to an amateur league at the end of last season.
http://www.transfermarkt.com/stein-huysegems/profi...
There have been massive changes this season in Belgian football with the FA reducing the second division to a mere eight clubs.
This meant that nine clubs were relegated to amateur leagues at the end of last season.
Belgium now has only 24 professional clubs (16 in the top league, 8 in the second) with all other clubs and leagues now amateur.
The FA took this drastic move after so many clubs went bankrupt.
So Belgium could be a good source of foreign players for the Nix with so many former pros looking for jobs...
New Belgian format:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_football_l...
1. Belgian First Division A (professional, 16 clubs)
2. Belgian First Division B (professional, 8 clubs)
3. Belgian First amateur Division (16 team amateur national comp.)
4, Belgian Second Amateur Division (split into three regional leagues)
5. Belgian Third Amateur Division (split into four regional leagues)
6. Provincial Leagues (Stein is playing in one of these, the Antwerpen)
Stein Huysegems played 16 times for Belgian Second Division club Dessel Sport last season (twice as many games as the previous season when he was plagued by injury) and scored four goals.
However, he still missed long stretches of last season such as not playing at all between September and December and missing the whole of March:
http://int.soccerway.com/players/stijn-huysegems/2...
Ernie off-loaded him at the right time with his fitness now a constant problem.
Stein, now 34, is playing for provincial league club Berlaar-Heikant in the Antwerpen league (sixth tier) after his previous club Dessel Sport fell victim to changes in the second division format and were relegated to an amateur league at the end of last season.
http://www.transfermarkt.com/stein-huysegems/profi...
There have been massive changes this season in Belgian football with the FA reducing the second division to a mere eight clubs.
This meant that nine clubs were relegated to amateur leagues at the end of last season.
Belgium now has only 24 professional clubs (16 in the top league, 8 in the second) with all other clubs and leagues now amateur.
The FA took this drastic move after so many clubs went bankrupt.
So Belgium could be a good source of foreign players for the Nix with so many former pros looking for jobs...
New Belgian format:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_football_l...
1. Belgian First Division A (professional, 16 clubs)
2. Belgian First Division B (professional, 8 clubs)
3. Belgian First amateur Division (16 team amateur national comp.)
4, Belgian Second Amateur Division (split into three regional leagues)
5. Belgian Third Amateur Division (split into four regional leagues)
6. Provincial Leagues (Stein is playing in one of these, the Antwerpen)
If they are amateur, can they still pay their players if they want to?
Stein Huysegems played 16 times for Belgian Second Division club Dessel Sport last season (twice as many games as the previous season when he was plagued by injury) and scored four goals.
However, he still missed long stretches of last season such as not playing at all between September and December and missing the whole of March:
http://int.soccerway.com/players/stijn-huysegems/2...
Ernie off-loaded him at the right time with his fitness now a constant problem.
Stein, now 34, is playing for provincial league club Berlaar-Heikant in the Antwerpen league (sixth tier) after his previous club Dessel Sport fell victim to changes in the second division format and were relegated to an amateur league at the end of last season.
http://www.transfermarkt.com/stein-huysegems/profi...
There have been massive changes this season in Belgian football with the FA reducing the second division to a mere eight clubs.
This meant that nine clubs were relegated to amateur leagues at the end of last season.
Belgium now has only 24 professional clubs (16 in the top league, 8 in the second) with all other clubs and leagues now amateur.
The FA took this drastic move after so many clubs went bankrupt.
So Belgium could be a good source of foreign players for the Nix with so many former pros looking for jobs...
New Belgian format:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_football_l...
1. Belgian First Division A (professional, 16 clubs)
2. Belgian First Division B (professional, 8 clubs)
3. Belgian First amateur Division (16 team amateur national comp.)
4, Belgian Second Amateur Division (split into three regional leagues)
5. Belgian Third Amateur Division (split into four regional leagues)
6. Provincial Leagues (Stein is playing in one of these, the Antwerpen)
If they are amateur, can they still pay their players if they want to?
I'd say so - much like in the Sterling Sports Premiership.
The distinctions between pro / semi-pro and amateur can often be blurred....
SIGNING • The club welcomes former Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix midfielder Ben Litfin for the 2017 season.#WelcomeBen #Green17 pic.twitter.com/u6VlaGNBZL
— Bentleigh Greens SC (@BentleighGreens) January 26, 2017
So pleased for @vuka20 and his family. They have announced via Facebook that their son has had his transplant. Wonderful news!
— Ray Gatt (@Gatty54) February 1, 2017
Jon McKain announced his retirement from professional football today
Jon McKain announced his retirement from professional football today
Ha ha, remember how gutted we were when this guy was poached off us?
Striker Maceo Rigters scored just four goals in 22 games in his only season at Gold Coast United. Maybe that explains why they finished bottom of the table with the second lowest goals tally.
Gold Coast was Rigters last professional club after fruitless spells with Heerenveen and NAC Breda in the Dutch Eredivisie.
In 2007 the forward tried his luck in England with Blackburn Rovers, however he played just 14 minutes in the Premier League despite spending four years at the club.
Rigters failed to score on loan at Norwich City or Barnsley in the English Championship before he moved to Gold Coast in 2011.
He finished his career at amateur side ZSGO in the Netherlands before retiring in 2014.
Yeah, he was really hyped at age group level one of the next greats but never kicked on at a senior level.
Wasn't there a quote from Serepisos along the lines of "I don't care what he costs we have to sign him."
We dodged a bullet there.
Could still do a job..... in defence
The voices are echoing across the aisle: “Ahmad, Ahmad, are you watching the game?”
He is indeed, sitting on the edge of his bed. His eyes glued to the television as he watches the fullback steam downfield, beating one player, then another, before whipping in a cross.
Time and again, the player in red makes inroads, using his pace and skill to beat his opponent.
The pride wells deep inside of Ahmad Elrich. “That’s my brother,” he says to himself.
By now everyone in the vicinity is cheering for Adelaide United’s Tarek Elrich, the player in red. The A-League star has become a minor cult hero, thanks to Ahmad.
The game ends and there is silence. The reality hits as Ahmad slumps onto the bed, staring blankly at the four walls that make up his cell at Sydney’s Silverwater prison.
He can’t reach out to Tarek, to slap him on the back and say, “well done”, to hug him and tell him how proud he is of his younger brother. And it hurts like hell that he is not there for him.
It is 2013 and it doesn’t seem that long ago it was Ahmad who was exciting the fans, in Australia and overseas, with his marauding runs, the speed, the strength, the power, the crosses, and the goals.
But now he is paying the price “for making some bad choices”.
Ahmad had been arrested by police and admitted to three counts of illegally carrying a pistol in May 2011. At just 30 years of age, his football career was over. He was sentenced to four years and released on October 12, 2015 — a date he recites with the conviction of someone who has given up alcohol or cigarettes.
It is 17 months since the last of those dark days in Silverwater, and Ahmad, with the support of his close-knit family, and good friends like Tony Basha, is piecing his life back together. Now married and with his first child on the way, the 35-year-old is making the best of what he calls the gift of a second chance in life.
Although he can no longer play at the elite level, football is part of the healing process. Basha, an old school friend, has convinced him to go from park football in Auburn, where he played with his cousins “just for fun”, to having a crack at semi-professional Rydalmere Lions in the NSW NPL 3 competition — four tiers below the A-League.
It’s a long way from the heady days that saw him play for Parramatta Power (NSL) and Busan in the K-League before ending up with a dream move to English Premier League club Fulham in 2005, eventually making his debut against the mighty Liverpool. There were also stints with Wellington Phoenix and Central Coast in the A-League.
In between, there were 17 appearances and five goals for the Socceroos, as well as playing for the Olyroos (under-23s) at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
But the past is not something he dwells on, for now it’s all about looking after his family, being grateful for a second chance, and trying to repay society by being a guiding light for young players.
Which is why he’s not worried about opening up to The Weekend Australian about where it all went wrong and his time in jail.
“I’m having a bit of fun and trying to move on with my life,” Ahmad says. “In life, sometimes you make some poor decisions and I’ve made my fair share. But now I am just trying to show people that no matter what happens, you can always turn it around and do something positive again.”
Ahmad says his time in prison helped him reassess his values and taught him many valuable lessons.
“I learned from the experience not to make the same mistake twice,” he says. “It was difficult, but obviously the family support was a big thing. If it wasn’t for them it would have been a lot harder. I had to come to the reality and accept that I did the wrong thing and I had to pay the price. It was an immense toll on my family. That was the most disappointing thing. It wasn’t me as a person.
“A lot of people used to say to me: ‘What are you doing in there, Ahmad? You don’t belong there, you are too good for this’.”
Ahmad says he drew on his experience as a professional footballer to help him survive.
“Being in jail teaches you a lot about yourself. You have to be mentally tough to play professional football. In an ironic way, that prepared me for that time (in jail),” he says. “I found out who I was. I think the experience, if you want to call it that, has made me who I am today.”
He also found out who his real friends were and that is why he is forever grateful to people like Basha, former Socceroo Mark Bosnich and Melbourne City and Socceroos great Tim Cahill.
“Bozza came to court and gave me a character reference and, for what he did for me, I consider him a brother,” Ahmad says. “He has been through the dark days himself and is a perfect example of someone who turned his life around.
“Tim Cahill and the Cahill family were always in contact with my family and asking if I needed anything.
“The day I got out and came home, there was Timmy and his brothers, Chris and Sean, all at my house. That meant so much to me.”
As far as football goes, Ahmad keeps an eye on the A-League but more so on his brother. He speaks with tremendous pride about Tarek.
“I am so proud of him and what he has achieved,” he says. “Sometimes things don’t work out for you but you have to bounce back up and go. He went to the (Western Sydney) Wanderers and unfortunately that didn’t work out and he was at a stage in his life where he didn’t know whether he wanted to keep playing football or not.
“I spoke to him while I was in there and told him he would regret it. I pushed him to get a fresh start, to prove to himself he can do it. The rest is history.”
In much the same way he helped Tarek, Ahmad now wants to do the same with the young players at Rydalmere.
“I am happy to play and have a bit of fun but I also want to give back and try and help the young kids,” he says. “After football I didn’t have any direction, I lost my way. I got caught up with a bad crowd and in a lifestyle I wasn’t used to.
“At the end of the day I didn’t have that guidance, someone in my ear telling me I was hurting myself and my family. I can draw on that. So, if I can help one person, a young kid, then what I went through is a positive thing.”
Didn't know that Ahmad Elrich had spent so long in jail - four years is quite a stretch.
Hope he continues to turn his life around.
Didn't realise he'd played 17 times (five goals) for the Socceroos - that's quite an established international.
Reminds me a bit of former Football Kingz signing Con Boutsianis from South Melbourne FC was implicated in the robbery of a restaurant as the getaway driver and was very lucky to avoid jail time, serving two years' probation and having his contract with Bolton Wanderers in England terminated. Boutsianis has been running a successful football coaching business for the last decade and lived and studied coaching in Barcelona a couple of years ago.
Perhaps the pie man could resurrect his career at the Nix??
Could still do a job..... in defence
An absolute highlight of this tyhread
Ross Aloisi...Allegedly punching on with the Adelaide assisstent in the tunnel
Ross Aloisi...Allegedly punching on with the Adelaide assisstent in the tunnel
apparently he punched him in the back and the police are investigating.
not sure what's happening at Brisbane Roar but fitness boss Karl Dodd has quit. seriously, i leave the country for one week and look...
— Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) March 25, 2017
Appiah has a chat with CCM's podcast
Good chat with Appiah last night. Said he had a torrid time in Wellington and pretty much gave up on the A-league. https://t.co/6TxLznYjdJ
— Luke (@Boycey1105) April 18, 2017
Hd looked as pathetic at CCM as he did here. Pure comedy factor.
Hd looked as pathetic at CCM as he did here. Pure comedy factor.
Best experience of the season: before Mt Smart game, swapping stories with RBB members of how much Appiah sucks.
See, told you, there for the comedy factor.
He has scored a couple of goals this season. I just looked up his stats on Ulatimate A-League, he's played a lot of minutes this year, almost as much as the rest of his career put together. I guess that is a pretty bad indictment of the quality of CCMs squad.
He has scored a couple of goals this season. I just looked up his stats on Ulatimate A-League, he's played a lot of minutes this year, almost as much as the rest of his career put together. I guess that is a pretty bad indictment of the quality of CCMs squad.
He's not been half bad for the Mariners. Hasn't stood out with sharkloads of mediocrity around him though.
Where's young Rufer : )
Where's young Rufer : )
he walks around the concourse signing things before some home matches, also in the craft beer tent down by the field talking to supporters but not playing a lot of football.
Anyone know where Vinnie has headed to?
Wow that account is gold. Poorly punctuated gold.
Haha, I know that Ljubo is linked with the underworld and he knows people and they tell him things, but who told him Ernie had unlimited funds at the Nix? I'll bet Ernie didn't even get unlimited pencils.
that was a great read, if slightly unhinged. Comment by a Cameron Lindsay at the end?
But was Merrick right about you Cam??
One thing that did seem to fall away under Merrick was the positive "we are a family" theme that was built originally with Ricki.
And yet: Kosta, Moss, A-Rod and Roly all wanted no part of a post-Ernie Nix. He seems to inspire strong positive and negative reactions, like Marmite.
