Chris James and Jared Smith would be great. Should be able to get them on the cheap and they both have a huge point to prove. It's a risk but could work out positive for all parties concerned.
Why take a risk
They'd both be cheap. And have potential. I'm all for having as many New Zealanders in the team as possible, but they have to be good first. If they don't become starting material atleast we haven't paid top dollar for them like Mulligan.
Or we could actually focus on recruiting high quality professional footballers who will improve our squad instead of throwing bones out to guys who have failed elsewhere (in James' case, everywhere).
I just don't know when we became the "kiwi footballers living the dream foundation". We're a serious professional outfit who wants to win the comp, not going round giving guys chances because they have a kiwi passport.
I bang on about Chris James a lot but what frustrates me is the constant mantra of he has potential. The fact that none of the 6 or 7 clubs he has played or trialled for, or any of the thousands of scouts in Europe seems to have spotted it doesn't seem to matter. People see Fulham Reserves, England Youth and think must be great. James Derbyshire, who played and failed at Miramar, was in the Man U reserves. So was Ben Colett at the Knights. It isn't a high standard, 10% of UK academy graduats are still playing professional football 2 years later.
These guys would be cheap because they are rubbish. Yet without watching them play people want them signed. Have a bit of ambition for the club!
This thread is very frustrating