I always thought that the "waste of an import spot" line was really a suggestion that goalkeepers aren't important. I only watched the second half of the first game but surely Kurto's got it in spades over Smith, Italiano, Sail or Tandoori Flappy.
There is generally less of a difference in skill levels between Aussie/NZ keepers v International keepers (who would bother to come to NZ) in comparison to players across the rest of the pitch - there is still a dearth of players in CM with good technique in NZ, for example, and a dearth of true goal scorers (except for Wood)
Also, where can I watch Rudan's post match presser?
Good thing we get 5 visa spots so we can address those issues in different positions on the pitch. Goalkeeper isn't any less important than any other.
Disagree. There is a reason other teams never use the Visa spot on a GK. I don't look back at Sorensen and think he made such a big difference. You usually want your imports to run the game/score goals/provide excitement; I just think we were in a unique situation with a whole lot of bad NZ/Aus options.
You want your imports to win you games. I don't give 2 flying fudges what they bring excitement-wise, a goalkeeper is equally as important to winning a game as any other player on the pitch, we saw that in great detail last season. Kurto is arguably the biggest upgrade on any position we've made this season (further performances pending and Steven Taylor might want a word). That's more than enough reason to use a import slot. Not to mention that a goalkeeper is incredibly important to "running a game", which is one of the key #metrics you mentioned.
There's no unique situation, we bought in imports to cover weaknesses in our squad, same as every other team. We would have been remiss not to sign an import goalkeeper given the alternatives available.