Phoenix Transfer - speculation (Part 1)

 

This Gold Coast mob look like they are going to be the Gretna of the A League. Buy anything with two legs which is available. Farking hell. I hope Tony P and Ricki weren't putting all their striking eggs in the Joel Porter basket for next season.

 

 

 

i think Santy has him

 

 

possibly, but he seemed to have a knack of running the wrong lines whenever he came on and ending up too close too whichever of our wide players he'd followed out onto the flanks

 

 

oh, yeah and that hint of imminent (sp?)  brutality that lay just below the suface 

 

 

Gao rules out return to Chinese soccer league

Created: 2008-9-25 0:38:09

Author:Zhang Liuhao

GAO Leilei, who plays for the Wellington Phoenix FC in New Zealand, is looking at European leagues, rather than China, to ply his trade at the end of the Kiwi soccer season and before hanging up his boots.

"I hope to play for a European club for a season or two before I call it a day," Gao said. "I want to experience the superb professional environment in Europe again to enrich my career."

The 28-year-old said he did not think of native China as an option unlike most European or Latin American players who prefer to end their careers with clubs or in countries where they started off.

"The only reason I left China was to get away from Chinese soccer," said Gao, who played for Beijing Guoan FC for eight years until 2006.

So disillusioned was Gao with the soccer setup back home that he even preferred to take a hefty pay cut.

The Beijing native said that most players in China spent too much time and energy in handling relations with coaches and club officials and currying favors to win more playing time.

Players often formed cliques in a team and these small groups often edged out each other, hurting team unity, he said, adding, that such long-standing internal discords reduced players' concentration on the job and their career development.

He said his straightforward personality made it difficult for him to survive in the Chinese professional soccer. Gao also noted that it was possibly the reason why China had not achieved any notable improvement since it introduced professional soccer league in 1994.

"I may return to China to look after my mother. Maybe I will go to a school to teach soccer to children, but I won't set foot on the turf of a professional Chinese soccer club," he said.

Gao played for Finnish club MyPa in the Finnish Premier Division last year before joining Wellington Phoenix in March. Phoenix is the only professional club in New Zealand and the team takes part in the 8-team A-League, in which the other seven teams are all Australian clubs.

His contract with Phoenix will end in January when the season concludes. So far he hasn't had any offers but his agent is working on his wish to play in Europe, Gao said.

He said Phoenix had offered him a three-year contract but he signed for one year.

The midfielder was impressed by the time he spent with MyPa in Finland but he said the Finnish league was not of the same level as the other European leagues like the English Premier League and the Italian Serie A.

Gao said many players in the Finnish league previously played for the top five European leagues. Their stamina and speed were on the wane because of their age, but their skills and abilities to read matches were still top class.

Phoenix was still chasing its first win of the season, which ends in January. But despite that he said soccer was slowly making inroads in New Zealand where rugby and cricket remained the top draw.

 

One thing that we know now is how much bullsh*t is chucked around when it comes to player transfers. Believe he is coming when you see him in a Phoenix shirt.