ananaveragestemballaneBullionLG+6Mainland FC, number8, Oi Oi Edgecumbe, Southernix, WanderingSheep, WhoStoleMySock
3 months ago
Jazzy Jeff
Continues to impress me with how he's grown into his role as captain over the past few seasons.
100% yet some still dont see it. For me the club should be making it a priority to make sure he stays a one club player and dosnt end up fishing in Newie
I love Alex but mate you’re crazy if you think he’s anywhere near Serie A or Championship level. There’s a reason he’s been in the A League for this long because he’s not European quality.
There’s no shame in that. He’s mustered out a great career at the Phoenix and will go down as one of the best. I think Scotland / League One would be a good level for him though.
But like someone mentioned above he’s grown immensely into this skipper role the last couple seasons under Chiefy.
It wasn’t long ago that Uffie had him riding the bench behind the likes of Devlin/Lewis.
I think he’d thrive in Scotland the same way Devlin has of recent. Marto
Whilst glad of his loyalty, I'd like to see if Alex really can crack it at a higher level like Serie A/B, Championship etc.
Rufer is up there for sure but I’m not sure he’s a top 5 holding midfielder in the league.
I’d take Okon Jr, Ryan Teague, Denis Genreau, Angus Thurgate and Jay O Shea over him. Throw in Kai Trewin before he left recently too. There’s plenty of quality across the league. Plenty that aren’t much better than A League level.
If he’s such a big cut above the rest of the A League then why hasn’t he been snapped up yet? There’s plenty of eyes on this league and he’s been around long enough to be known about. MetalLegNZ
Quck question, does Rufer make the starting line up at every other A League side?
I say yes... which puts him in pretty elite company.
I think he could do a job at the Championship level. Would he set the world on fire no. But he'd be serviceable.
Quck question, does Rufer make the starting line up at every other A League side?
I say yes... which puts him in pretty elite company.
I think he could do a job at the Championship level. Would he set the world on fire no. But he'd be serviceable.
Yeah, has 9th best FOTMOB rating in the league and 4th in the Alex Tobin medal (was equal first I think 2 or 3 games back). Championship might be pushing it, but certainly there are decent leagues he will be fine in.
I am not sure why he would want to play in a highly competitive, cut-throat football scene of UK? He could be more successful on the Continent in the slightly less competitive EU leagues that still pay relatively well for mature experience. Language is no longer a barrier as it used to be 30 years ago. I am thinking along the lines of Grasshoppers Zurich or some decent Austrian clubs.
Different players respond to different leagues too. Look at the way Smeltzy was the king of the A League but never very comfortable too far from home. I’m sure there are better examples. Certainly some quality players have not lit up the A league, while some of the best players came here unknown by international standards and still are such as Berisha, Fornaroli, Kosta…
Some players love a bit of argy-bargy, others shine where they don’t get sycthed down regularly or where the climate is warmer or having a glass of wine is allowed or where there’s a relationship with the club/coach that gets the best from you etc etc
We don’t have much of an idea how Rufer would go, but maybe he might find another sweet spot and get better. There was a point with Uffie where he was driving forward from the midfield a lot and looked fairly capable then.
Rojas, Arzani, J-Mac, maybe Singh etc. Though for a lot of players, injuries play a huge part in whether they make it overseas or not, it's a lot more straight forward to get injured 'at home' and recover, and get back to playing locally than it is when you're half a world away.martinb
Different players respond to different leagues too. Look at the way Smeltzy was the king of the A League but never very comfortable too far from home. I’m sure there are better examples. Certainly some quality players have not lit up the A league, while some of the best players came here unknown by international standards and still are such as Berisha, Fornaroli, Kosta…
Some players love a bit of argy-bargy, others shine where they don’t get sycthed down regularly or where the climate is warmer or having a glass of wine is allowed or where there’s a relationship with the club/coach that gets the best from you etc etc
We don’t have much of an idea how Rufer would go, but maybe he might find another sweet spot and get better. There was a point with Uffie where he was driving forward from the midfield a lot and looked fairly capable then.
Rojas, Arzani, J-Mac, maybe Singh etc. Though for a lot of players, injuries play a huge part in whether they make it overseas or not, it's a lot more straight forward to get injured 'at home' and recover, and get back to playing locally than it is when you're half a world away.martinb
Different players respond to different leagues too. Look at the way Smeltzy was the king of the A League but never very comfortable too far from home. I’m sure there are better examples. Certainly some quality players have not lit up the A league, while some of the best players came here unknown by international standards and still are such as Berisha, Fornaroli, Kosta…
Some players love a bit of argy-bargy, others shine where they don’t get sycthed down regularly or where the climate is warmer or having a glass of wine is allowed or where there’s a relationship with the club/coach that gets the best from you etc etc
We don’t have much of an idea how Rufer would go, but maybe he might find another sweet spot and get better. There was a point with Uffie where he was driving forward from the midfield a lot and looked fairly capable then.
I think for some of those names bit of it could be the transition from being the local hero Wonderkid, to being another young squaddie in a cut throat environment. I reckon his treatment from rudan (or kalezic?) where he was cut and basically had to retrial for the squad stands him in good steed from that perspective
Rufers probably looking at how the Jets season is going and seriously considering whatever they throw at him to jump ship. Who could blame him. But would be be the Captain there?
we all knows what happens when teams win the aleague though, they lose players in the off season and end up sitting mid table the next, wont win anything with the Jets if he joins them next season. consecutive championship wins have only occurred 3 times: Roar - 2011/2012 SFC- 2019/2020 CCM - 2023/2024 (dont know how I'd forgotten this)
Consecutive prem wins (ie top of the table) SFC - 2016/2017 MVFC - 2020/2021
we all knows what happens when teams win the aleague though, they lose players in the off season and end up sitting mid table the next, wont win anything with the Jets if he joins them next season. consecutive championship wins have only occurred 3 times: Roar - 2011/2012 SFC- 2019/2020 CCM - 2023/2024 (dont know how I'd forgotten this)
Consecutive prem wins (ie top of the table) SFC - 2016/2017 MVFC - 2020/2021
I presume you meant City for 20/21, the Vuck were ferociously bad during that period.
I agree though, consistency in the A League is so hard to maintain. That's what made that Sydney side of 2016-2019 so incredible, 3 Championships and 2 premierships in 3 years running. Did the double again only a couple seasons later I think.
Roarcelona probably played the best football of any A-League side, but I think that Sydney squad from the 2017/18 season was the best ever. Bobo up top with Ninkovic and Mierzejewski providing him service, Brosque with late runs into the box. Brillante and O'Neill holding, Jordy Buijs at the back with prime Zullo, Grant and Wilkinson... That team was ridiculous. I hated them, but jeez they were good.
Just clocked onto this on the aleaguestats website.
200* for Rufer across all competitions? - A-League, Finals, Australia Cup/Playoff games.Screenshot_20260410_155201_Samsung Internet.jpg200.25 KB I haven't gone back through and verified every match sheet and what not. And the older the records, the harder it is to get full and accurate information on lineups and games played.
Have we all missed a trick here by not celebrating 200 appearances for the club?
For what it's worth, several websites I follow have him between 196-200 appearances, so the celebration could yet be a little premature...
Ultimate A-League has him at 187 A-League Appearances (182 Regular Season + 5 Final Series)
Andy Howe's ALM 24/25 Season Guide (Pg236) had him starting that season on 147 Appearances. He played 19 games last season & 21 so far this season, bringing him up to 187 Appearances
They are the two best sauces for ALM stats.
Transfermarkt has him at 182 League Appearances, 5 Final Series Appearances & 8 Australia Cup Appearances.
So 195 competitive games, assuming TM has the Cup games correct.
With Rufer's season now officially over, has he done enough to overtake Mata in the Alex Tobin standings does anyone know?
And seems he is gone to Newcastle. For me this is disqualifying for him to be considered a Nix legend.
He is leaving in his prime for another small A-League club. True club legends don't go to rival teams. You can retain legend status if you leave for a much larger team, or a completely foreign team, that way there is no reasonable comparison.
Or you can be a legend regardless of where you go later if you win a trophy or something. Even scoring a hattrick or putting in a matchwinning performance against a derby rival might count. But Rufer lost every single game against Auckland FC and not only did he never win a trophy, he never even won a finals game for us!
All the best Alex. Here's hoping we see more (some is possibly more apt) success under our next captain.
imanixsupporter wrote: With Rufer's season now officially over, has he done enough to overtake Mata in the Alex Tobin standings does anyone know?
And seems he is gone to Newcastle. For me this is disqualifying for him to be considered a Nix legend.
He is leaving in his prime for another small A-League club. True club legends don't go to rival teams. You can retain legend status if you leave for a much larger team, or a completely foreign team, that way there is no reasonable comparison.
Or you can be a legend regardless of where you go later if you win a trophy or something. Even scoring a hattrick or putting in a matchwinning performance against a derby rival might count. But Rufer lost every single game against Auckland FC and not only did he never win a trophy, he never even won a finals game for us!
All the best Alex. Here's hoping we see more (some is possibly more apt) success under our next captain.
doesn't getting banned kick him out of the running for the award?
imanixsupporter wrote: With Rufer's season now officially over, has he done enough to overtake Mata in the Alex Tobin standings does anyone know?
And seems he is gone to Newcastle. For me this is disqualifying for him to be considered a Nix legend.
He is leaving in his prime for another small A-League club. True club legends don't go to rival teams. You can retain legend status if you leave for a much larger team, or a completely foreign team, that way there is no reasonable comparison.
Or you can be a legend regardless of where you go later if you win a trophy or something. Even scoring a hattrick or putting in a matchwinning performance against a derby rival might count. But Rufer lost every single game against Auckland FC and not only did he never win a trophy, he never even won a finals game for us!
All the best Alex. Here's hoping we see more (some is possibly more apt) success under our next captain.
doesn't getting banned kick him out of the running for the award?
No I think it's just red cards that take you out of the running.
Oh, does it? I wasn't aware. Not a particularly fair rule if so, as defenders and DMs are going to get a lot more yellows than attackers, favouring forwards big time. As if attackers don't already get a disproportionate share of the glory.
Also Rufs already has already had a 1 match ban against Adelaide for yellow cards accumulation this season, and was still in the running - so yeah I'm pretty sure it's just red cards that disqualify you
RR wrote: Ultimate A-League has him at 187 A-League Appearances (182 Regular Season + 5 Final Series)
Andy Howe's ALM 24/25 Season Guide (Pg236) had him starting that season on 147 Appearances. He played 19 games last season & 21 so far this season, bringing him up to 187 Appearances
They are the two best sauces for ALM stats.
Transfermarkt has him at 182 League Appearances, 5 Final Series Appearances & 8 Australia Cup Appearances.
So 195 competitive games, assuming TM has the Cup games correct.
Just clicking on Rufer gave the breakdown: 1000060697.jpg46.06 KBso its the cup games that TM are likely under reporting (Rufer played 4? last cup campaign)
Procrastinixing wrote: If Rufer makes the world cup squad, will we still get FIFA money if he has signed with the Jets?
I believe the answer is yes. It would be less than if he was a current player with the Phoenix, but I believe previous clubs the player was registered to during world cup qualifying also receive a portion of the Fifa money.
This is from the Fifa website: Step 2: Identification of eligible clubs
If a club registers for the programme, it does not automatically mean that it is eligible to receive a share of the benefits. To reward the clubs for releasing players, the club with which the player was registered during the FIFA World Cup, as well as the clubs with which the player was registered during the qualification phase, are eligible. Only these clubs will be entitled to receive a share of the USD 209.
There has been an awful lot of smoke about him going to Newcastle for a long time, hard to imagine there is no underlying fire. But I'll be much happier if he is indeed off to Europe instead
