.........I always thought it would be difficult to recruit out of the UK, especially for a half decent striker. The wages are too high and every player dreams of getting spotted by a Premier league club. NZ is out of sight, too far away for many.......
So unless Tony P has a rabbit that he is going to pull out of the hat soon ,we may have to make do with the current squad.
I think the comments on recruiting out of the UK are spot on - until the A-League has developed further (profile & $s) we will be limited to recruiting players nearing the end of their UK career and looking to extend their career for a few more years in the relatively less demanding A-League (particularly from a number of games in a season perspective).
I don't agree we should make do with the current squad - the challenge is where to find affordable, good foreign players - they are there e.g. Daniel and Gao. I think China and South America have to be a good options. Clearly scouts on the ground and good player agent networks will be important and these will take a year or so to build.
No disrespect to Costa who I think has a great future with a couple more years of experience but bottom line is we are screwed if Smeltz gets injured and we are still without a specialist right back.
I have every confidence Tony P and Ricki are on to it.
Whitby boy2008-05-10 12:42:21