Phoenix Transfer Speculation 2012/13

...and signed Ifill while we were there.

Cheers!  He was a very happy chappy last night - they were thinking they might have come 6th or 7th.  Seems like there wasn't much between all the teams.

Stephen and the other two australians didn't make it into the next round (top 52). 

Hope Ricki and his staff are scouting the Indian national team who are playing in a tournament in Delhi currently, involving Cameroon, Syria, Nepal and Maldives in the Nehru Cup.

Unfortunately they've just missed out on India's top striker Sunil Chhetri who's signed for Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.

However I rate left wingback/ fullback/ winger Nabi more highly - 26 yr-old who plays in I-League for top club Mohun Bagan, 47 India caps. 

Saw him play for India in the South Asian Championship finals last December and he was outstanding - had all the fans and commentators raving about him. Genuine pace and skill - good going forward and defending and can score too. Looked like he'd be comfortable ina better league than the I-League. Better option than Lochhead long-term for the Nix.

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syed_Rahim_Nabi

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw9gdGfj3AQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw9gdGfj3AQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUi9ZvKSla8&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsktabJdq1E&feature=plcp

Yeah Junior82 has been a great supporter since he was signed by the Phoenix. Would love a team full of Junior82's!

Eh?  I'm not from Barbados.

(I do have some Bob Marley CDs and a Shinehead tape, but they are Jamaican)

Indian media confirm Nix have been checking out the Indian national team in Nehru Cup this week:

"The Wellington Phoenix squad had arrived in India in the capital New Delhi and had a reception at their Embassy besides watching the opening match of the 2012 Nehru Cup between India and Syria yesterday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium."

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/08/24/north-east-lajong-super-series-wellington-pheonix-take-on-usfc-tomorrow/#ixzz24SJc6oB3

Good to see the phoenix kids getting time to shine. Gonna be hard to pick two by the end of the pre-season methinks. 

These two Lower Hutt players being talked-up as Phoenix prospects any good? German midfielder Tobias Bertsch and local kid, striker Hamish Watson:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/7545134/Lower-Hutt-eye-happy-end-to-cup-fairytale

So the mantle falls to German midfielder Tobias Bertsch and red-hot striker Hamish Watson, who have both piqued the interest of the Phoenix.

"Toby's been tremendous for us, he went back to Germany for three weeks and believe it or not he got homesick and came back again," McIntyre said.

"The Phoenix had shown interest before he left and they've got him going along to their trainings so once they get back from India it might develop into something else. He's been fantastic for us and he brings that wee bit of German efficiency and work ethic."

Watson is leading the Central League golden boot race with 15 goals and will be top of Vicelich's "must-stop" list tomorrow.

Watson has been an unofficial member of the Phoenix academy and is likely to be bumped up to a place proper once the club hands out its two remaining under-21 contracts.

"He set himself a target of 20 goals so he's on track," McIntyre said."He's obviously in the frame at the Phoenix and for him and Toby this is a showcase for their skills against a good side, it'll be a yardstick."

Good points. I think Rowe adds good balance to the current squad. If we do get another foreign player, the two u21 we need to sign will leave the squad at 21. Does leave space for a couple more players to come in later in the season if need be.

Definitely think Fenton should be signed. Exactly the type of player where his inexperience and naivety can sometimes be a blessing.

Boyd sounds like he's earnt a spot, but maybe next year when we release Pav

Are we looking at this the wrong way? Yes there may be 2 U21 contracts sitting there, but if 3 players really put their hands up (Fenton, Rowe, Boyd) then why not give all 3 a contract? The U21 spots are minimums rather than the perfect number to hit yes?

Yes, but then you have to balance the fact that they won't play (apart from occassional reserves fictures) whereas leaving them in the academy and they play for Team Welly and you can still call them in if you need them.

Fair call, I guess it just depends on how prolific they are. If they're on par with Kosta & Rojas then perhaps locking them into a 2 year contract and dumping in the deep end is worth it. Bit old school I guess now we're in the youth set up.

I just want a big shiny new striker/RB to get excited about!

Should another club approach one of our academy guys, do we think would they have to 'buy' them? Or are they free to go when/where they want?

You would hope when they signed up for the accademy there was a clause put in the contract for a "first-choice" option. However I doubt it.

It would be a brave A-League club willing to take a punt on a teenage import woth no professional football experience

We might be able to get a small amount as Training Compenstation.

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/site/_content/document/00000066-source.pdf - pg27

Are the academy players actually part of the club?

Part of Team Wellington?

Ah true, didn't think about the kiwi import rule. Maybe I-League teams would be interested..

Judging by pre-season and if we don't get a gun striker from Europe then I reckon Boyd and Fenton will sign and play a fair bit. More than Lindsay anyhow. Luke Rowe is good defensive cover and would be the less likely to get game time. So maybe he's better off in TW.

The one thing I would say is that there is no point having a structure designed to introduce young players if there are no opportunities for them to play.  Maybe the gaps in the squad, and the lack of attention that has received that Whitby identifies, will mean a silver lining in that Herbert may play some of the younger players

I definetly agree with number 3. Although I don't see many local right backs out there. Manny should be there,definetly not Bertos. 

On number 3.   We know Manny had other offers, and compelling reasons to go (family etc..) and we know that he has a preference for the midfield over right back.  If he came to the club when we were looking to resign, and said he's had these offers, and these clubs are looking at him as a CM, I want to play there or I am going, I certainly would have resigned him under those conditions.  No idea if this is what happened, but I could understand both the club's and Manny's position if something like this happened.

I think thats pretty much what happened - but it has set a very interesting precedent.

So what happens when Leo picks up an injury?

...sorry, I meant "if".

Lia

Downey

Gulley

Siggy

Manny

*Not necessarily in that order.

After thinking about it for a while - when Downey gets fit, I would start him at RB

From the limited time I have seen of both at right back (including Leo's RWB All White's performances) Bertos looks far more impressive there than Downey ever has, both offensively and defensively.  The only advantage Downey seems to have is that he is quick enough to recover and miss a second tackle on a player that has already gone around him once.

When has Downey played RB for us ever? I can't remember him ever actually being given a shot there. I've seen way more of Bertos, but really, how much have people seen of Downey playing at RB for us or his previous clubs in Holland?

He only played 3 games for Sparta before he was let go. He was far from impressive at Perth and North Queensland though.

I am playing devils advocate a bit - but if hes only had one appearance at RB for the nix, and that was against the best side in the league, then maybe he should be given nother go.

The club signed him as a RB, not a winger and if we didnt think his previous stints at Fury & Glory were good enough then we shouldn't have signed him. I understand he was signed in the terry turmoil era but surely Sparta saw something worth investing in. He was let go because of his injuries I understand - so I assume they thought he had the raw abilities to become a decent RB if given time. Maybe we should give him a go?

If we had to choose between Bertos & Downey, are we choosing Bertos?

You've partly answered your own question - he was signed in the middle of the Terry drama with the club having no money to sign anyone even half-decent. So he was signed because he was willing to come here, not because he was rated by the club (indeed, I'd even heard a story he was willing to go unpaid for about three months after he signed with the club).

Sparta signed him because they rated his speed - they believed if they could teach him to cross the ball his speed could be an asset. After six months, they gave up on him and he came back to Australia and was playing VPL when the Nix came to sign him.

Yeah so I wonder why we offerred him a 2 year deal if he was so desperate to play here? Seems bizzare. Anyway, Ive decided that I want to see him given more of a chance than Lia or Bertos - just because I hate when I have an opinion of a player based on other opinions. I want to see him in action some more.

Doesn't help that he's always injured...

Maybe we should release him 

Well, why did we offer a two-year deal to Pantelis when he will probably never even play for the Phoenix? Guess there's a bit of give and take - you want to have a player for peanuts, maybe he asks for a minimum two year deal in return. Who knows. But the key is that the whole of last off-season's recruitment, we really, really scraped the bottom of the barrel.

Having said that, there's no poing releasing him when he's still under contract and still counting against the salary cap. Let's just hope he'll be able to contribute some way this season.

I feel like its one of those ones where it should be a 1+1 contract deal. Like Totori's. However doesn't really matter. Just wierd we re-signed Pav for 2, and got hese guys for 2 years when the club was in such financial trouble.