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.
https://twitter.com/ByPhillipRollo/status/1125574386931470336
Hes the best centre back in the league to be fair to him. Him and Taylor would be one formidable partnership
Shame, he would have been a perfect foil an dare I say it, probably worth the marquee wages. Rudan got the first thing right, you need to be strong at the back.
Read recently in the Polish sports newspaper a low-key comment from Kopa's partner (forgot her last name but it is not Kopczynska) that they were looking forward to seeing family in Warsaw as she missed her Mum - but no idea whether it was a permanent return or a holiday. The snippet was about womens rugby and not about Michal Kopczynski.
Like most, I do not rate Kopa at his original position of DM, but that was also his case at Legia, where he slowly slipped down from a preferred candidate to a third choice at DM, since a new coach took over. So it might be that being converted to a CB is a key for him to reinvent himself back home in Warsaw. I cannot see ourselves paying his full wages; and you'd be mad to.
Phillip Rollo saying on twitter that Marinovic has been released by Bristol.
Random Australian name I'll chuck out - Brandon Vella
Was part of Talay's u19 side a few years ago while playing in the NPL.
Seems to have built a bit of a profile of late, only 20 years old.
Article rates him highly, but I suppose that's its job!
https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/six-future-a-league-players-smashing-the-npl-nsw-524775/page0
Phillip Rollo saying on twitter that Marinovic has been released by Bristol.
Phillip Rollo saying on twitter that Marinovic has been released by Bristol.
I just don’t see him as wanting to come to the Nix at the moment. I think he’ll spend the Euro summer trialling up there. Just a hunch. Strong connections to Germany, think his girlfriend still lives/studies there. From Auckland.
Be interested to know what’s Gleeson’s injury situation currently is. If fit and MLS door has closed for him, I’d think he’d more likely consider a move back. From Palmy Nth.
When will Sail be #1 and not the understudy?
Do we need him?
Phillip Rollo saying on twitter that Marinovic has been released by Bristol.
https://twitter.com/ShababHossain13/status/1123090...
Goalkeepers with 300+ minutes and numbers from Wyscout
If we can get Marinovic, then 100% go for him. He's the better player.
The alternative to Marinovic is Gleenson, and I don't know a lot about him tbh. Is he better than Sail?
If neither of those work out, back Sail.
When will Sail be #1 and not the understudy?
Do we need him?
Two good keepers is important IMO. No complacency.
Oli would definitely push any of the names mentioned. He's been in top form this year. Can we keep Gothard?
Hopefully that NQF connection between Willo and Talay can help us resign him. Looking at their past players I see Brockie also played with Ufuk - perhaps the rumours of a few weeks ago have some substance.
I'd prefer Gleeson, watching Stefan in goal gives me the shakes even when he was playing for the All Whites. The few times I've seen Gleeson play when he was in form for the Timbers he bosses the goal area.
If we lose Kurto, give Sail his chance. He's looked very good in what game time he's had.
The key is having real competition for spots. If we have two goalkeepers of equal or similar skill (Sail & Marinovic or Sail & Gleeson) they'll both be pushed by the other to improve. Can only be good for us as a club.
I hope brockie isnt in the mix to come back, he hasnt been first choice where he currently is and he certainly wasnt good for us in his last season
I think keeping willimas and Krishna is more important that bringing brockie back, I'd keep Sheridan over brockie purely for the point of difference he offers
Brockie could become the new Burns (in terms of bench time, anyway!)
Serious Question
Who would we take from the ISPS and are there any "Imports" in the ISPS worth a gamble on ie like we did with Krishna.
Seams like Ole players are out of the question with the best of them overseas?
"Imports"
Tomy Semi
Micah Lea'Alafa
David Browne
Brian Kaltak
Kiwi's
Tim Payne
Andre DeJong
Cam Howeison
Nathaniel Halimarim
I hope brockie isnt in the mix to come back, he hasnt been first choice where he currently is and he certainly wasnt good for us in his last season
Serious Question
Who would we take from the ISPS and are there any "Imports" in the ISPS worth a gamble on ie like we did with Krishna.
Seams like Ole players are out of the question with the best of them overseas?
"Imports"
Tomy Semi
Micah Lea'Alafa
David Browne
Brian Kaltak
Kiwi's
Tim Payne
Andre DeJong
Cam Howeison
Nathaniel Halimarim
Tim Payne is rated highly by Danny Hay. We really do need to build our defensive stocks.
https://soundcloud.com/trackside-radio/football-danny-hay
Ufuk was a ball playing midfielder. I'm sure he will be looking to improve our game in that area also. That is why i think it would be smart for Burgess to stick around. Hope Ufuk is talking to him.
Serious Question
Who would we take from the ISPS and are there any "Imports" in the ISPS worth a gamble on ie like we did with Krishna.
Seams like Ole players are out of the question with the best of them overseas?
"Imports"
Tomy Semi
Micah Lea'Alafa
David Browne
Brian Kaltak
Kiwi's
Tim Payne
Andre DeJong
Cam Howeison
Nathaniel Halimarim
Don't think any of the imports are worth it.
Of the Kiwis, and leaving the Ole boys aside, think Payne, De Jong, and to a lesser extent, Howieson, are all worth looking at. To them I'd also add Jack-Henry Sinclair, especially given how difficult it was to plug the gap at RWB once Fenton went down.
Some of those guys, however, may be more interested in coming down than the others.
Tomy Semi
Micah Lea'Alafa
David Browne
Brian Kaltak
Would take Browne in a pinch for sure, wouldn't have him as one of our starting 5 imports but say we get an injury (like the one to Ifill that gave Roy his chance) and I'd absolutely take him - most talented attacker in the league by a mile.
From the Kiwis, I'd honestly only take Payne, Tavano and McCowatt (if he doesn't sign overseas following the U20 WC). de Jong and Howieson I wouldn't necessarily trust to take the step up (de Jong not physically there and Howieson took a step down this season), though could be decent backup.
if we sign three locals from the local league surely that would be the most ever
Would be great, especially as they are probably better then the parkhouses of this world
If this is our last ever season may as well
Very little to lose
Phillip Rollo saying on twitter that Marinovic has been released by Bristol.
BBC too:
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.
Nailed it. Our season pretty much succeeded on the back of two strikers who had the goal scoring seasons of their life (Williams and Krishna) and a goal keeper who played very well.
In the big games our midfield and defence was well below the level of the teams capable of winning the competition, and our defence particularly got bailed out by a keeper who made some absolute worldies. Overall our defending wasn't great, we only kept 4 clean sheets all season and we had to outscore teams to win.
I doubt we can get a goal keeper as good as Kurto (Marinovich I am a bit dubious about because frankly his club career has been pretty weak and it's hard to judge him at international level). We really need to get another centre back to replace Kopa who isn't good enough, and for all the plaudits for Dura I think even in a three he's teetering.
Sheridan never seemed to fit with our system.
I'd keep Mandi personally, I think his range of passing makes him worth sticking with despite the fitness issue.
The thing with Mandi though is he is so erratic with his form. Some games he's an 8/10 and some he's a 4/10. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground with him
Build a new system around Sheridan :)
The thing with Mandi though is he is so erratic with his form. Some games he's an 8/10 and some he's a 4/10. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground with him
I think he had his purple patch between regaining some fitness and having a baby. He looked tired earlier and later. No disrespect to his good skills (and a mean free kick with good accuracy) but these are the realities.
The thing with Mandi though is he is so erratic with his form. Some games he's an 8/10 and some he's a 4/10. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground with him
Guess it means we need another reserve midfielder (which to be fair was meant to be Kopa).
also it was clear at Perth our team was also close to an 8/9 place team. Lose 1 or two players and the coaches man management and...
also it was clear at Perth our team was also close to an 8/9 place team. Lose 1 or two players and the coaches man management and...
That is pretty much every team in the league, though. Lose one or two key players and you drop down about 3-4 pegs.
also it was clear at Perth our team was also close to an 8/9 place team. Lose 1 or two players and the coaches man management and...
That is pretty much every team in the league, though. Lose one or two key players and you drop down about 3-4 pegs.
Our good performances against Victory when they played us twice without Honda and IIRC once without Toivonen are a clear proof of that. Troisi was on the park in those games, he was not there last Friday. Shows the relative value of losing Honda vs losing Troisi.
If we were to lose Kurto, I'd play Sail. The guy has proven himself to be quite capable. Give him the gloves.
Looks like Melbourne have just said goodbye to their "loan" players, I didnt realise you could have so many
I feel like we need to keep some perspective with Sail. The man has played when called on, yes, but he’s also had four good games over the season. Marinovic has been doing this his whole career.
I feel like we need to keep some perspective with Sail. The man has played when called on, yes, but he’s also had four good games over the season. Marinovic has been doing this his whole career.
That's pretty generous when you consider Marinovic's club career. Personally I think Gleeson has the better track record at club level
Ask Bristol City fans.
