2017/18 Transfer Speculation

Sorry, my bad, was thinking of Sail. Just Doyle and the young 'uns then?

Well,  Krishna pretty much learnt his football here.

Hopefully some of the young ones push their way into the first team.

Hoping the team can gel and get results, and that will become irrelevant. 

Having just spent a week on the Gold Coast on holiday, and the next working in Wellington, Id have to say we must be doing a pretty good selling job.

Agreed - I think we've done quite well to get players that we wouldn't normally be the first choice for.

However, we've hardly recruited any Australian players that other clubs were clamoring for - except maybe Vidosic.

Once again I am suitably whelmed!

I hate being overwhelmed

I joke around about valeo being Steve-O 2.0, but he has a point - with the Nix, it is never wise to get your hopes up.

In fact he said that the current Jets squad is too young.

We were told last year that that was the most expensive Phoenix squad in history and I wonder if too much money was spent on the midfield players and Kosta and so the rest of the squad had to be padded out with cheaper players. 

Also his mandate at the Nix appeared to be promote youth, his experience at the Victorian Institute of Sport was definitely one of the reasons given for signing him.

I think so too (too much money on the midfield and Kosta)

If you are complaining about us now having too many players who did not learn their craft locally, spare a thought for an average Englishman following their local club in EPL.

I am really curious as to how the injury replacement rule works.  It sounds like Fenton isn't actually injured at the moment, he's had a bad run of injuries and is lacking game time, but does that qualify?

I think it's great the club are looking after him and even signed him on a new contract for next year, I am just curious about the legality of such a move.  I may be naive but I thought the idea behind the rule was to sign a new player outside of the playing roster (and maybe salary cap) while an established player was injured and rehabbing?

It sounds as though Fenton will be playing football for TW fairly soon - so how does that sit with FFA, e.g. if he's not actually injured - how can we use an injury replacement on him?

It seems as though he is legitimately injured, from the Nix twitter:

When is he due back from injury?

— Dale Warburton (@Dale_Warburton) August 23, 2017

It could be several months at this stage - we're hoping Louis can either get an NZ Prem or an Australian NPL campaign under his belt. Cheers

— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) August 23, 2017

I would think you would come to an agreement where he is released outright by the club, Rob or Henry pay his salary out of their own pocket so that they can sign a player that will be of use and part of the deal for doing this is that he gets another year added to his gig.

Personally, I don't think his body is going to get well enough again to handle the rigors of high level football. Some people are just like that. They can function to a level and be ok but once they convert their body to an elite level athlete (Siggy said it took him 3 years?) they just fall apart cause their body was not made for that level of tuning.

I assume it would be as a buy out, but the key to the deal is the roster spot...

Roster spot without cap space isnt worth very much. Avoiding having to pay out the contract is key to being able to get a player in to replace him.

Not necessarily though. The likes of Italiano, Lowry, Fox, Watson, Parkhouse, Rufer, McGarry, Singh, Doyle, Ridenton, and Rogerson won't be on much. We may well have had space for Abbas under the cap even if Fenton is still counted. Given Abbas been announced as an injury replacement it doesn't matter for now, but I imagine we'll need cap space to keep him once Fenton starts playing again.

From how i understand the situation, we are paying Abbas as an IR until Fenton is fit. When he is fit, he will be released (probably wont have to pay him out cuz of the contract offer) & Abbas comes into the squad full time. So everything paid to Abbas before Fenton is fit again isn't counted towards the cap but he can only be paid as much as Fenton was on.

We can pay more but only if the cap allows I thought?

Fenton will be on ACC (Iffill had issues with PFA/FFA insurance) and the leagues injury cover (If they sort the faults).

When's the next Off Season start? I am already missing my daily dose of Transfer Speculation ?

Incredible really how fast all our transfer business was done. Anyone know when AK is joining the squad?

He's dreamy...

Don't you just hate it when football rumours and speculations are rudely interrupted by six months of actual football.

I wouldn't call it football

That's an interesting one - presumably went for the money?   Iranian football is notoriously high speed, so I am impressed he still has it in him to run around at that pace. 

Wasn't he infamously trialled at Phoenix but rejected by Ricky, before going to Roar?

Not entirely transfer speculation but didn't know where else to put this. Was talking the other day to someone about Michael Fitzgerald, that promising kiwi defender who had to turn his back on the all whites because he had to change nationalities to Japanese to further his career with Albirex Niigata. Apparently the club wanted him to become a Japanese citizen so he didn't take up a foreign visa spot, and as Japan doesn't allow dual-citizenship he had to throw in the towel with the all whites (despite having played for us already). Anyway, I'm wondering hypothetically could he play for the nix in a few years and not take up a visa spot? Because from what i remember he was pretty good, and he's only 29

Yes. But at no stage have they approached him, as far as I'm aware.

Is he really 29?  He really is the missing piece in the AW defensive puzzle.  Rickie really did a job on him (and us).  

Not for the first time Marto. Eg: Daniel.