History for chuckles

I think what a lot of you are forgetting is that not every player in your squad is going to be in the starting 11 (duh).  You need good squad members to possibly cover a few positions and be there to cover injuries and suspensions.  The main thing for that being managing expectations.

 

In terms of defenders, Christie is actually a midfielder and as long as he is willing to be a squad member, often on the bench then I would keep him. 

 

Old, seeing as he is a young fulla should also not expect frequent game time, and in fact I�d suggest he wouldn�t have got much this year if Cleberson came through as well as if the Christie trial at RB worked.

 

Rees also might be happy to be a reserve seeing as all he�d be doing otherwise is heading back down to the VPL (or whatever it�s called), but otherwise he�d be the first defender I�d cull (if we do get 2 CB�s) as I think Old would offer more as the reserve, with his age and nationality.

 

So if we do get Durante and Sigmund as it sounds is fairly likely, you�ll have them plus Dodd in some good value competition for the CBs role which can only be good (and something the Phoenix have severely missed in their first year).  Also as I�ve mentioned before, Dodd is listed as a RB, so I wonder if he�s had experience there and he could possibly cover that.  He has tried to get forward a bit recently and hasn�t looked too bad so with the freedom that RB gives him he may be worth a shot there.

 

I think Lia will be alright at RB too (at least he has pace, but dives in a bit), but would still look to sign a specialist.

 

We�d also need cover for Lochhead at LB for when he�s away, injured or suspended.  Otherwise they�ll have to switch to 3-5-2 again and I don�t think that�s good for consistency.

 

Midfield has been our strong point, and the only place where there has been competition for places.  Obviously a lot depends on pending retirements (Johnson, Aloisi), but really we don�t need to acquire anyone (especially if we play with a 4-4-2).  Daniel, Brown, Filipe, Ferrante, Elrich, Lia and Christie, offer plenty of balance and with the likely signing of Bertos too, it is certainly an area we can rest easy about for the moment.

 

Up front, as has been mentioned, a bit will depend on how they see Coveny�s role.  If he is to play as back up to Smeltz and another striker (one of the major priorities, surely), then with Barbarouses and Draper showing promise too (and young so most likely happy to sit back and learn), there is no need for Brownlie.

 

In goal it�s a tough one.  I agree I�m not sure how confident I�d be of using Spoonley in a big match, if Moss was out, so we need to see more of him, but it really depends on Paston�s feelings on playing second fiddle.  If he�s happy to train and collect his pay check then no worries, keep him, but I�d be wanting gametime and I�m sure it�s pretty tough as a keeper, as you don�t even get substitute opportunities.  Moss is definitely A-League class so all you�re after is a reserve keeper.  Not worth going crazy over.

 

So this is how I see the squad panning out (or at least how I hope it pans out).

 

1. Moss
2. Paston
3. Spoonley (y)
4. Dodd
5. Durante
6. Sigmund
7. Old (y)
8. (A quality RB � don�t ya wish you had a database of players to specify a search on?!) (f � Europe/Asia)
9. Lia
10. Christie
11. Lochhead
12. (A reserve LB, young) (y)
13. Brown
14. Ferrante
15. Elrich (not marquee � if doesn�t accept then release and keep Johnson)
16. Daniel (f)
17. Filipe (f)
18. Bertos
19. Smeltz
20. Coveny
21. Barbarouses (y)
22. Draper (y)
23. (A marquee quality, non ancient (max 30yrs) striker) � Phillips/Porter (f �Europe/Brazil?)

I think it provides the balance of starting, reserve, backup, youth and experience.  Obviously the signings are fairly important but I�ll leave that to the powers that be (satisfying my criteria of course!)