Williams and Krishna both hinting on social media that they're staying...
Williams and Krishna both hinting on social media that they're staying...
Rojas never really fired with us? He was excellent in his break out season with us, as a teenager playing in Ricki's system which barely suited him. That's what got him an import slot at the Victory.
I mean, he's only one of the best players to ever play in the league, so yeah, why would we want him...
I'm not sure I'd rate him that highly. He certainly was never as good for us as he was for Victory.
2009–2011 | Wellington Phoenix 20 apps 2 goals |
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2011–2013 |
Melbourne Victory 48 apps 15 goals |
2016–2017 | Melbourne Victory 23 apps 12 goals |
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Well, obviously he wasn't as successful for us, he was only a teenager while here in a side that had Paul Ifill. Even so he was a huge difference maker from the bench. He would then go on to win the Johnny Warren medal before he was even 22, spent three average to unsuccessful years in Europe, and came back to the A-league and was pretty much again one of, if not the, best player in the league that season.
Some very short memories here.
Rojas had 7 assists and 2 goals in 914 A-League minutes in 2010-11, the season that started in the year he turned 19, .89 scoring contributions per 90 minutes. He had previously played 55 minutes.
Singh had 8 assists and 5 goals in 2031 A-League minutes in 2018-19, the season that started in the year he turned 19, .58 scoring contributions per 90 minutes. He had previously played 610 minutes, scoring 4 goals.
Williams and Krishna both hinting on social media that they're staying...
Can you tell me more?
... though I wouldn't take either of these sources as very strong hints.
Williams and Krishna both hinting on social media that they're staying...
Can you tell me more?
"We've all come so far yet we still have a lot to hope for."
"For now we all take a short break before we pick up again."
Of course it's doesn't explicitly say it, the tone of this makes it sound like he wants to sort out a deal here to stay. We don't know obviously, but he definitely seems more invested and positive than he did 12 months ago. Quite frankly I'm amazed he agreed to another year last year but lucky for both parties that he did.
Boxall would be good.
Smith comes across as a Twit, but has plenty of experience at a high level and at 29 is still at a good age. Would be a better signing than a 37 year old Durante.
I would keep Kopa and Sheridan, but let Mandi go. He just goes missing too much and doesn't always seem to be giving a 100%. We really need a quality player there to help us transition and keep the ball.
would rather keep mandi and let sheridan go. mandi is too good on the ball and works well with rufer where as sheridan offers very little for an import forward.Also he was out-performed by ben waine when it was his chance to lead the line.
Didn't sound overly positive that the Sheriff was happy here in his most recent podcast
I rate Sheridan. I think he put himself about very well in the front end - he always seemed to pop up on good runs in good spaces - but the ball never seemed to go to him when he did it. He also missed a few chances of his own by instead feeding to others better placed for the shot - not his fault if they missed.... I wish we'd somehow seen more of him in combo with Roy and Willo. I reckon their combined mix of skills and capabilities could be pretty daunting for opposition defenders.
Boxall would be good.
Smith comes across as a Twit, but has plenty of experience at a high level and at 29 is still at a good age. Would be a better signing than a 37 year old Durante.
I would keep Kopa and Sheridan, but let Mandi go. He just goes missing too much and doesn't always seem to be giving a 100%. We really need a quality player there to help us transition and keep the ball.
would rather keep mandi and let sheridan go. mandi is too good on the ball and works well with rufer where as sheridan offers very little for an import forward.Also he was out-performed by ben waine when it was his chance to lead the line.
Feel he could offer something, but hasn't quite clicked with the team...a different formation with a front 3??
But Mandi was a foundation of our season.
Looks like Burgess is probably gone?
no way!
Krishna and William's seem to have some real chemistry, I'd like to think that if you sign one the other will follow.
He made a good enough impression to be signed to one of the top teams in the comp as a foreigner, we also offered him the youth marquee spot.
So pretty much he was the "Matt Ridenton" of his generation
I hope the above was a joke, because he was unreal in my opinion when he played for us and as el grap said some people have poor memories. He was the only player apart from ifill
we have had that when he got the ball you actually started getting excited
Bart from city is rumoured to be leaving City would be an amazing pick up if we could get him
Boxall would be good.
Smith comes across as a Twit, but has plenty of experience at a high level and at 29 is still at a good age. Would be a better signing than a 37 year old Durante.
I would keep Kopa and Sheridan, but let Mandi go. He just goes missing too much and doesn't always seem to be giving a 100%. We really need a quality player there to help us transition and keep the ball.
would rather keep mandi and let sheridan go. mandi is too good on the ball and works well with rufer where as sheridan offers very little for an import forward.Also he was out-performed by ben waine when it was his chance to lead the line.
Feel he could offer something, but hasn't quite clicked with the team...a different formation with a front 3??
But Mandi was a foundation of our season.
I think the issue with Sheridan is that the other players weren't aware of how he played. He's got a good touch, great vision, makes excellent runs and links up well. The issue is, in the Southern Hemisphere, we're not used to that kind of football.
The only way we're gunna improve on that is by starting him more regularly.
I agree. I highly rated him and we can't fault him too much for not always having an impact especially when he was only getting 10 minutes at the end of each game. He definitely has the goods in my opinion.
On the topic of imports, it's always very difficult to say if someone should be retained because it's all relative to who their possible international replacement might be. For example, I hear people saying let's keep Kopa. Now, he did a good job at CB but what if we were to pick up another Taylor like player? Someone with EPL experience? Wouldn't that be better.
Same with Mandi and even Sheridan...
I agree. I highly rated him and we can't fault him too much for not always having an impact especially when he was only getting 10 minutes at the end of each game. He definitely has the goods in my opinion.
On the topic of imports, it's always very difficult to say if someone should be retained because it's all relative to who their possible international replacement might be. For example, I hear people saying let's keep Kopa. Now, he did a good job at CB but what if we were to pick up another Taylor like player? Someone with EPL experience? Wouldn't that be better.
Same with Mandi and even Sheridan...
wasn't Kopa on loan only? for like a year?
How did Kopa's partner get on in NZ? That will play a huge part if he decides to stay
Thought she did her ACL pretty early on..
How did Kopa's partner get on in NZ? That will play a huge part if he decides to stay
I get that people like Mandi/Kopa/Sheridan, I do too.
But do people actually see those guys in a league winning team? If our goal is to try and scrape into the playoffs, they are capable, but I don't think they can take us to being first or top 2 or 3, which surely you have to aim for.
I remember hearing that Kopa was one of the higher paid players and he had to take a pay cut to play here.
How did Kopa's partner get on in NZ? That will play a huge part if he decides to stay
Met them both a few weeks ago and she was obviously a big fan of the rugby here, big shame about the injury. Asked him his thoughts on next season and he was certainly interested it. With a reasonable contact offer I think they stay.
I agree. I highly rated him and we can't fault him too much for not always having an impact especially when he was only getting 10 minutes at the end of each game. He definitely has the goods in my opinion.
On the topic of imports, it's always very difficult to say if someone should be retained because it's all relative to who their possible international replacement might be. For example, I hear people saying let's keep Kopa. Now, he did a good job at CB but what if we were to pick up another Taylor like player? Someone with EPL experience? Wouldn't that be better.
Same with Mandi and even Sheridan...
For me Kopa isn't good enough to hold a visa spot, if he could do a job at DM as well as CB then I could see him being good enough for the squad but doesn't stand out enough for me.
For me Kopa isn't good enough to hold a visa spot, if he could do a job at DM as well as CB then I could see him being good enough for the squad but doesn't stand out enough for me.
really??, until he moved into the CB role our back three looked awful. His playmaking ability form the back allowed Dura and Taylor to focus on defending instead of Dura bombing up field and being caught out.
I'd actualkly like to see us try and keep all the imports - excluding Kurto if he's already gone. It would be great to build a team around the foundation we've worked on all year. Rather the spending another season rebuilding.
For me Kopa isn't good enough to hold a visa spot, if he could do a job at DM as well as CB then I could see him being good enough for the squad but doesn't stand out enough for me.
really??, until he moved into the CB role our back three looked awful. His playmaking ability form the back allowed Dura and Taylor to focus on defending instead of Dura bombing up field and being caught out.
I'd actualkly like to see us try and keep all the imports - excluding Kurto if he's already gone. It would be great to build a team around the foundation we've worked on all year. Rather the spending another season rebuilding.
Doyle is a bit more heart on sleeve and foul prone but does not have the ball skills. Kopa has better ball skills but is helped by 2x better CBs beside him.
For me Kopa isn't good enough to hold a visa spot, if he could do a job at DM as well as CB then I could see him being good enough for the squad but doesn't stand out enough for me.
really??, until he moved into the CB role our back three looked awful. His playmaking ability form the back allowed Dura and Taylor to focus on defending instead of Dura bombing up field and being caught out.
I'd actualkly like to see us try and keep all the imports - excluding Kurto if he's already gone. It would be great to build a team around the foundation we've worked on all year. Rather the spending another season rebuilding.
Doyle is a bit more heart on sleeve and foul prone but does not have the ball skills. Kopa has better ball skills but is helped by 2x better CBs beside him.
Agree that Kopa showed his worth at LCB. I would have thought Doyle is good injury cover for LCB or LWB. Am surprised Rudan didn't use Doyle at LWB and move Cacace to the right when Fenton was injuried. easy to say in hindsite of course.
For me Kopa isn't good enough to hold a visa spot, if he could do a job at DM as well as CB then I could see him being good enough for the squad but doesn't stand out enough for me.
really??, until he moved into the CB role our back three looked awful. His playmaking ability form the back allowed Dura and Taylor to focus on defending instead of Dura bombing up field and being caught out.
I'd actualkly like to see us try and keep all the imports - excluding Kurto if he's already gone. It would be great to build a team around the foundation we've worked on all year. Rather the spending another season rebuilding.
The thing is, with or without Kopa, our backline was still pretty bad. We gave up by far the most goals of any team that made the top 6, and were significantly worse than Newcastle in that regard too, and that's despite having an above-average A-league keeper between the sticks for most of the season.
The problem with Kopa is, a) he couldn't do the role that he was brought in to do in the central midfield, and b) proved a decent option in the back three because of his passing ability, but his inexperience in that role shone through enough over the course of the season to suggest that a better solution is required. To top it off, he's an import player, and even if he's willing to take a pay cut, he may not accept that much of a pay cut.
To me, Kopa (and Sheridan too) are very similar to the imports we had last season - tidy players, who can do most things right, but not real difference makers, or guys you can build a team around. Players like that are basically dime a dozen in Europe, so you're better off rolling the dice in the hope of finding another Berisha or Fornaroli, and even if you don't, the chances are you're not gonna end up with much worse than with what you have (at least with the likes of Kopa, Sheridan, Paracki, Ljujic, etc).
Mandi is one that I'm a bit more on the fence about, we were definitely a much better team with him on the park, but he only really had legs for 60 minutes, which basically meant that you either had to take him off, or basically concede the middle of the park in the final stages of the game, and brace yourself for an errant pass or three. The problem there is that finding players who can be effective in the middle of the park is very hard even in this league, and they also cost money. So then you have a much more difficult to decision to make, because going to the market in that scenario means that the potential for a miss is higher, but then it also means that if you can't count on Mandi as a 90 minute player, you have to find a way of holding your own in the middle of the park in the closing stages of games, especially against better sides in the league. The good thing there is that Talay we'll be able to get a sense (and maybe already has) of how he wants to deal with that situation so that we're on the front foot there, unlike in the previous couple of seasons.
For me Kopa isn't good enough to hold a visa spot, if he could do a job at DM as well as CB then I could see him being good enough for the squad but doesn't stand out enough for me.
really??, until he moved into the CB role our back three looked awful. His playmaking ability form the back allowed Dura and Taylor to focus on defending instead of Dura bombing up field and being caught out.
I'd actualkly like to see us try and keep all the imports - excluding Kurto if he's already gone. It would be great to build a team around the foundation we've worked on all year. Rather the spending another season rebuilding.
The thing is, with or without Kopa, our backline was still pretty bad. We gave up by far the most goals of any team that made the top 6, and were significantly worse than Newcastle in that regard too, and that's despite having an above-average A-league keeper between the sticks for most of the season.
The problem with Kopa is, a) he couldn't do the role that he was brought in to do in the central midfield, and b) proved a decent option in the back three because of his passing ability, but his inexperience in that role shone through enough over the course of the season to suggest that a better solution is required. To top it off, he's an import player, and even if he's willing to take a pay cut, he may not accept that much of a pay cut.
To me, Kopa (and Sheridan too) are very similar to the imports we had last season - tidy players, who can do most things right, but not real difference makers, or guys you can build a team around. Players like that are basically dime a dozen in Europe, so you're better off rolling the dice in the hope of finding another Berisha or Fornaroli, and even if you don't, the chances are you're not gonna end up with much worse than with what you have (at least with the likes of Kopa, Sheridan, Paracki, Ljujic, etc).
Mandi is one that I'm a bit more on the fence about, we were definitely a much better team with him on the park, but he only really had legs for 60 minutes, which basically meant that you either had to take him off, or basically concede the middle of the park in the final stages of the game, and brace yourself for an errant pass or three. The problem there is that finding players who can be effective in the middle of the park is very hard even in this league, and they also cost money. So then you have a much more difficult to decision to make, because going to the market in that scenario means that the potential for a miss is higher, but then it also means that if you can't count on Mandi as a 90 minute player, you have to find a way of holding your own in the middle of the park in the closing stages of games, especially against better sides in the league. The good thing there is that Talay we'll be able to get a sense (and maybe already has) of how he wants to deal with that situation so that we're on the front foot there, unlike in the previous couple of seasons.
Exactly I agree with all that. I think with Mandi if we could sign a midfielder who will do most of the defensive duties someone like Albert Riera it'd take a lot of that pressure off him and let him to focus on being the playmaker from the back.
Mandi is one that I'm a bit more on the fence about, we were definitely a much better team with him on the park, but he only really had legs for 60 minutes, which basically meant that you either had to take him off, or basically concede the middle of the park in the final stages of the game, and brace yourself for an errant pass or three.
All these points you make are valid but Mandi does my fudgeing head in with his error rate, inconsistency and low stamina. That's why I'd roll the dice on another import midfielder. You can't build around Mandi. Hopefully on the next roll you get an "Isaías" rather than a "Dani Sanchez". I honestly think A-Rod would be a better foil in midfield than Mandi (not that A-Rod would come back).
Exactly I agree with all that. I think with Mandi if we could sign a midfielder who will do most of the defensive duties someone like Albert Riera it'd take a lot of that pressure off him and let him to focus on being the playmaker from the back.
He still has too many flaws IMHO
On Kopa, our backline was a lot better with him, this is true, but I feel like there's a number of better CB's out there that could make our backline a ton better.
Probably the same as a lot of other people are saying, I just wanted to get my thoughts on the matter out.
Hopefully if the license goes the way we hope it will it will, that will mean that there may be some better players who will be prepared to commit to us. Happy to let those imports go if it means Talay can build his team as he wants it.
On Kopa, our backline was a lot better with him, this is true, but I feel like there's a number of better CB's out there that could make our backline a ton better.
Probably the same as a lot of other people are saying, I just wanted to get my thoughts on the matter out.
if they are out there, then name the ones that may come here for one season?
On Kopa, our backline was a lot better with him, this is true, but I feel like there's a number of better CB's out there that could make our backline a ton better.
Probably the same as a lot of other people are saying, I just wanted to get my thoughts on the matter out.
if they are out there, then name the ones that may come here for one season?
I don't pretend to have the names of a ton of elite CBs who will fit into our style of play and will fit into our wage demands and will be happy with a one year contract. What I'm saying is that Kopa is in no way the best centre back out there and I think we can do better than him.
If you actually have another elite centre back plus Taylor you actually dont need 3 centre backs
You only need two
If you actually have another elite centre back plus Taylor you actually dont need 3 centre backs
You only need two
Exactly apparently we tried to get Bart from MC but he was asking marquee wages. Him and Taylor would've been a very good patnership.
If you actually have another elite centre back plus Taylor you actually dont need 3 centre backs
You only need two
Exactly apparently we tried to get Bart from MC but he was asking marquee wages. Him and Taylor would've been a very good patnership.