Tony to get a contract?

well, im bored...

Yep, $3 dollars would have only kept El**ch in pies for about 10 minutes.

im still bored!

if he does I won't be happy to see him go but both these points have been stated many times before

- It is inevitable that our best players wil be taken to bigger clubs in bigger leagues

totally agree

how great would it be, it he goes from the nix, holds a regular spot at boro, then once hes stop being as amazing, then he returns to the nix. perfect. and ricki get voted in as PM

perfect advert for the A-league.

It seems a bit hypocritical of the club to deny him the Olympics but give him this opportunity.

So what's the point?  If it's only the A-league then raising the profile of football is going to make no difference at all.  Ryan Nelson has been a regular starter in the EPL for ages and has raised his bank balance not the profile of football in NZ.

The Phoenix should be raising the profile of NZ football by winning matches and winning the A-league, not by sending it's best playerd overseas.  If you're honestly trying to tell me that you think Tony playing in the EPL will be better for the game in NZ than the Phoenix winning the A-League, then I really do despair.

Rubbish, just about every news show in this country has sent people to spend time with him and do an item on him.  Every time he steps off a plane in this country he makes TV sports news, every time he has a good game in the Premier League he makes the national sports news. 
Hard News2008-08-01 20:57:10

DLB, how do you ever justify any team selling a player to a better side?  If I remember rightly you support Swindon, do you kick up this much of a fuss whenever any of your players end up signing for a better club?  It's the way of the world aint it?

yep!
Cosimo2008-08-01 21:55:03

and...people still don't care about football in NZ, so what's your point? having ANOTHER player will make all the difference?

Personally i hope he gets the contract. Would be great for N.Z football and more for the Phoenix because they will wonder which Club he came from and the Phoenix would get coverage over in England.

But it would be sad to see him go, he has been a stand out for the Phoenix since day one.

I'm getting bloody tired of this nowhere argument, unless someone brings something new to the table how about we all shut up. I'm also feeling mean enough to ask Cosimo to get real, a sh*tload of people care about football in NZ. Try being involved in Lacrosse, we don't even have a local league (though Auckland does), we have the Wellington rep team basically and that is it. Bet most of you wouldn't know we play it here if it weren't for Rob, I sure as hell didn't.
Critical_Lemon2008-08-01 22:31:26

Kiwis dont get deported from here, just dont tell the immagration department, and say that he is here for a holiday!!!

Of course I understand that transfers are a part of the game, it's what keeps most lower league clubs in business, but I think this is different.

I think we'd all agree that Lochy is one of our better players and that with him we'd stand a better chance of success than without.  I have never heard of a manager approaching another club trying to offload one of his best players at this point of the pre-season (unless there has been a falling out).

This isn't about a team approaching us and making an offer, it's the Phoenix trying to offload one of it's best players.  Our management team have had a "I know you haven't seen him play, but watch these video's and give him a trial, I think he could do a good job for you" type conversation.

I'd prefer to hear "Lochy is one of the best left sided players in the A-League, he's an important part of our title push, we'll not entertain any talks with other clubs (EPL or other) until the end of the campaign".

I'm not "kicking up a fuss", I'm stating my point of view, which is my understanding of what a forum is for.

Just to be clear, my point of view is:  I want the Phoenix to do all they can to keep their best players and give the Phoenix the best chance of success.

Fair enough, fair enough, some valid points even if our unique situation means the rules are a little different in our case.

Well, it's Hibs v Boro tomorrow, don't know if Lochy is in the starting team, but if he does get a game, I'll ask my dad, who'll be at the game, how he gets on.

I am guessing that our Tony has 1 year left on his contract, so am just going to through this idea out there.......

Just adding on the above post, I think that we can all agree that the way the phoenix has handled player recruitment so far has been first class.  I am not talking about the success of every signing, but the way they build a competitive squad in about 3 weeks before last season, signed a marquee that we were all very excited about when it happened (lets not talk about what happened from that point on) under the raider and build a squad for this season that has expectations through the roof.

fair enough - i'm done. Was fun though - nothing like a good scrap on the internets.
Cosimo2008-08-02 07:07:00

Yup, that's right.

Frankie Mac's scenario might be speculative but it is one possibility of many, perhaps, that could be influencing the management's decision.

To even consider that they have 'offered' Tony (rightly ot wrongly) with no sub-plot seems to me very naive.HarryHotspur2008-08-02 14:04:16

Be good for him if he gets it (and NZ football) but crap for the nix.

Och well, no game for Lochy v Hibs

http://www.hibs.co.uk/news/more.php?id=2881_0_1_0_C

The crowd for Hibs v Boro was about the same as Sydney v Nix!!!

They probably want to see him play  against some decent competition before making any decisions
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Ho ho ho! - fine form this morning jambo!

when u check the boro website u see talks about him not playing any games so it will just be about how  he fronts up in training sessions, which might only be 4 or 5  sessions , big ask of him, but hell be buzzing to impress,

Form the attached link to the Boro website, it is pretty clear that Tony will not be playing while he is on trial.

http://www.mfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,1~1357091,00.html

You'll find it will be at least twice that number of training sessions, clubs at that level will have 2 or maybe 3 training sessions in a day with breaks in between, particularly in pre-season.

Take what you want from it, but Southgate mentions Tony here... for my two cents it sounds as though he's impressing, and a contract definitely isn't out of the question at this stage... (he says stating the obvious)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/middlesbrough/7541442.stm

Hmmm...might need to recast my vote.

Hel be signed u watch. Hes cheap and as southgate said they want someone to push the youngsters at borough for this left back position. Im sure hel be thinking how nelson has developed into a decent player so I really think hel sign him. Hopefully. For the first time in my life I would actually consider watching borough play someone like fulham if lochhead played. That strip just makes me want to go to sleep unlike the new united away strip which is the best in the league!

I'm still not convinced having listened to the interview. Basically he said they are still looking at him. Indications are good, but often you can generally tell within an hour or so if someone has got the goods.