Phoenix Transfer - speculation

That's impossible... buy FM now !

Seriously though, have a read of some of the stories about African recruitment and the corruption.  Anyone who kicks a ball there has a dozen scouts all over them.  Finding someone who misses out on Europe isn't a matter of just turning up and saying come to New Zealand.

Likewise Europe.

Havn't got it but do want it! Is it on Mac?

Yeah I get that we wont be able to get the players who miss out on Europe, but maybe the players who are just under Top European quality and want a good safe country to make a name for themselves even though they couldn't make it in Europe

Hard News2009-02-27 14:57:31

And if you need a Mac to play it on.  PM me.

Thanx. never really looked into it but might sometime soon.

I think we have a lot of info about wot we are getting from next season.
I just hope our players aren't too past their prime.

hopefully we will get a player with a 2 at the start of their age. even if its a 9 that comes after

No he didn't, we asked him if he'd like to come back and play and he said yes... big difference. 

I also suspect that with players like Yorke, Carbone, Bosnich, Juninho and Fowler who are well known in the UK all having been in the A-League the league is hardly unknown.  Chuck in the likes of Carney, Carle, Leijer all who have moved from the A-League and playing in the Championship as well, without those who have moved to other parts of Europe (Holland, Rukavytsya, Jedinak).

"I'm off to earn the same money playing in the Australian summer in a league with Robbie Fowler, that has given people places at some top level leagues in Europe, so yah, boo, sucks" is more likely to be the response.

Hell, even Neil Emblen has got to play in two club world cups.  Aaron Wilbrahim is unlikely to get that chance with MK Dons.

We wnat playters who will come here, play their hearts out, score goals and we can afford.  That last point is the key to ALL these delusions os signing players from Euriope.  We have a salary cap and the pockets of Terry, a man in an industry being spanked by the gloabal recession we need to be realistic.

Oh, and while I'm ranting.  Scandinavia ?  We had that chance last year and passed on Hakkanson who flopped in a team as rubbish as Newcastle.
Hard News2009-02-27 15:46:04

Yip - on a loan though from Hull. So You could say he came from the premiership

What's your point though?

If the A League can attract him when he was 27-28 then they should be able to get other players out here.                                                                                                                                                         Got a few mates in cornwall england they said Stewart Yetton would be a player to give a trial he earning more money then football league players in he playing for TRURO CITY.

I think the goal should be to find players who desire to be playing at the top but just don't have the skill to make it. Come to the A-league and you could change from an english benchwarmer into a household name in Auz and NZ and a true contender for Golden boot. Lots of playing time and a chance to push yourself and make a name for yourself.

It's not going to be easy - but a few of the oldies  are going to want to give it a go because deep inside of them they wish they could have become big over there.

Midtsian and Scherven... two more Scandinavians then.  Supposedly Norwegian national youth players... not good.

...and as for the Belgian or Dutch second divisions ?  If Andy Vlahos played in the Belgian first division, I hate to think what the second division must be like.

My point is more about why there is this broad assumption that someone from an English level comparable to these leagues is frowned upon despite the fact that we can actually scout them and get an idea of what the players are like before we sign them.

We need more Brazilians. 

Fixed

Viduka & Kanu's contracts are up at the end of this season I think, wouldnt be a bad pair of strikers for us lol

Kanu would tear the A-League apart. Let's sign him. 

Fixed.

His wiki page says it all, look how prolific he's been.

Pottering around the web found this site; http://www.statbunker.com/football/btb/index.php?PL=competition&CompID=246&statType=nation&x=20&y=11 Quite cool - you can search player, scorer data bases by nationality - never used / played Football Manager so if this is old news - sorry. Anyway searching for Australasian Championship League players who have scored 2 or more goals this season you get; Rory Fallon (26) and Nick Carle (Midfielder 27)

Haha would love to see invincible at our club. don't have a clue of his pedigree but what  a name.
It says he rejected an offer from MV!
Anyway, I don't think we will be too interested in mids

We also are looking at English strikers so they don't gotta be from Australasia
Sterjovski could be a good acquisition however

I posted a link awhile back ( http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Abroad/index.html ) with what appears to be most of the aussie footballers abroad on it. Most people decided the aussie strikers on it that could be available wouldnt be up to standard, so cant see us not using import slots for the strikers.

I agree. we are going to have to use at least 2 imports on strikers this year

[QUOTE
My point is more about why there is this broad assumption that someone from an English level comparable to these leagues is frowned upon despite the fact that we can actually scout them and get an idea of what the players are like before we sign them.
[/QUOTE]

Playing around the  http://www.statbunker.com/football/btb/index.php?PL=competition&CompID=246&statType=nation&x=20&y=11 site there are 3 Championship League English forwards who have scored 5 or more goals this season and who are 30+ ( working on the theory they may be interested in extending their careers in the A-League). They are; Jonathan Macken (31, Barnsley (has played at Man City, wasn't that a clue given as to who Ricki and Tony were going to take a look at i.e. they had played at Man City ?)), Kevin Lisbie (31, Ipswich), and Robbie Blake (33 Burnley).

So players like Diego, and the stop they are making in Brazil on the way back to look at players ?

...and while I'm there, Dadi ?  Flair ? ...and Cristiano has been pretty disappointing for me this season.

No it was Dadi...Hair

Wouldn't call a player like Van Dijk a 'flair' player either. Great target man though and one of the best players in the A-League. Foreign doesn't = 'flair' necessarily. Cristiano could be decent with another striker to play off.
valeo2009-03-01 18:37:52

Whitby boy2009-03-01 21:01:03

I'm sorry, but what rubbish.

Talk is Diego and another attacking midfielder out of South American and some proven English-based goalscorers.  The players being linked are the same age as Joel Porter, playing in the same league (or higher) with a similar scoring record yet Porter purely because he was born in Australia is less likely to impact our team style ?

Do you really think Dundee played the worlds best tactical and technical football because they had Eugene Dadi there ?  Did they bollocks.  Shane Smeltz couldn't get a start 3 or 4 divisions below this yet he was more than capable of A-League level andwe didn't have to go Larry Long-Ball because he used to play for Halifax. The list of imports signed from Europe, Asia and South America amid much hype in this league who have delivered nothing is FAR larger than the list of successes.  An English based player already arrives with at least the ability to speak the local language which already increases the chances of settling here by a huge percentage.

Yes, we need to be more entertaining, but to claim because our strikers may be currently playing in England means we'll play long ball is absolute claptrap.  Much of the worst lonbgball in the A-League this season was played by a Newcastle side with Zura, Hakkanson, Griffiths, Song and co up front.  Hardly a history of English League 1 football is it ?

How we play has nothing to do with where we recruit from and everything to do with how we choose to play.

My concern wasn't so much about where we recruit from HN (except that we might not get the same value for money in England because it is a high-priced market).  Instead, I'm concerned that we don't recruit a sufficient number of proven pros who can strengthen the squad substantially beyond the standard of last season's squad.  As you say, an important factor is how the coach chooses the team to play.  But an important prerequisite for playing entertaining football, if the coach chooses to play this style, is having the personnel capable of implementation, in terms of technique, movement, speed, fitness.