Tony to get a contract?

i dont know why people keep talking about him playing he is on a TRAINING TRIAL. and if they think hes good enough they sign him,and its looking like they probly will

I know Tony's missus and was chatting to her at a mutual friend's leaving party last night and she said that it doesn't look like Tony will be signed! I was shocked but she said that he thought he'd been unable to fully show his potential because he was unable to play in any friendly games for Boro, but only able to train.

Bummer for Lochy but terrific news for us! He slots straight back into LB allowing us to switch Muscat (who I'm pretty sure is right footed) over to the other side (at least until Mully is fit anyway).
KTBW2008-08-09 16:01:42

must be disappointing for the lad, i can see that the Nix couldn't afford the risk of him getting injured in a match (a la vince lia)

Isn't it the transfer rules that stop him playing rather than a club decision ?

Still comes down to the same sort of reasons though, a player is still contracted to another club so if he gets injured playing a match, the club that owns his registration goes balistic.

anywhere we can listen to ricki's comments on Lochhead

it'll be on the Newstalk website that LF1  provided a link to, it was part of the Phoenix Hour

so any news?? weren't we supposed to know by now?

Good news!

Yeah, expect to see him Sunday NZP.

he didn't get it??
Why isn't this advertised on front page/forum? or maybe I'm blind..

I mean, given Vinnie's injury, having Lockie is basically like signing up a world class defender!

first i have heard of it

Cause its not official, News' source is reputable though.

I have yet to see an official article, just comments at the various events players and staff were at over the weekend and radio bits and pieces.

buah buah buah!! ahaaahah ahahahah ahahah
someone help me, I cant stop laughin!! :D

LOL, no seriously, good work. And I'm sorry for Lockie, but very very happy for us cause he's invaluable!
newzealandpower2008-08-11 19:46:10

I'm actually really disappointed for him, it's the chance of a lifetime, both professionally and financially.  I hope he has another great season and makes a move of similar stature next off season.

yea pretty gutting for the guy

hey Lockie is young enough. He has the pace and the skills. Chances are he's going to leave NZ/Aus and will play for a number of years at a high level, plus with him at the back we have even more chances to succeed (top 4 or whatever) this year.
And as you all know the better results we get, the more chances the players have of being noticed.
Speaking of which, doesn't Daniel's contract expire at the end of this year??
If he doesn't renew I'm gonna jump off a cliff!

unlucky.

sucks for him, but damn our defense looks fine oh yeah

This news gets me super excited for our prospects. I believe our squad is now good enough to crack the top 4. I'd still like to see a pacy striker signed, Brockie would do but somebody of similar class and experience to Porter would be ideal.

We can arguably field two back 4's of superior class to those from last season!

1: Mulligan - McKain - Durante - Lochhead
2. Lia/Hearfield - Dodd - Sigmund - Muscat

Muscat's signing looks even better now as well. I still have a slight concern about Mulligan having all the qualities required to be our no1 right back despite his experiences in the UK, but now that Lochy is back if Mully doesn't quite fit the bill we can always bring in Muscat. Sigmund's presence is also valuable, since he appears capable of covering the entire back 4, while we can use Dodd at DM or CB as required depending on injuries/form etc.

Since Muscat looks like such a natural fullback I almost wonder if it would actually be worth giving Mully a run in midfield alongside Ferrante. How much experience does he have in the center of the pitch? Does he have the work rate and defensive ability to play there or is he more of an attacking player?

Hmmm...so the doubting Thomas' may have got the call over the polyannas. Still, the experience will have been primo preparation for the upcoming campaign..I can't wait to see him charging down the flank and delivering some quality ball.

Its win-win in my book, the club profile is raised a bunch by this connection with a Premiership club and even though he didn't get the job people will notice that the nix have connections... and we get Lochhead back so "we've got the best defense in the league".  Only downside is Tony didn't get to ply his trade over in the big leagues.  Still there's always next season.

i'd be pretty sure daniel will renew before the end of this season 4 sure, he's been sayin how much he loves it here, we should sign him up for 5 years :)

Yeah, the way he's been talking he might just stick around until well after retirement, he's calling himself a kiwi after all.

Some people I've chatted to, who don't follow football closely, are asking about the guy who went for a premiership trial. Proof that any publicity is good.

Ididn't think he got it, i went on to heir website yesterday and their new team photo was up. And no Lochy insight.

I would have assumed that too, which is why I opted for he'll be picked up by another club in the poll. Still, will be pleased if he's out on the pitch this Sunday 

Tony P, any word????

but  Luke Young was and he's since departed , so i'm wondering when they took that photo.

the only way to impress is getting game time and he didn't get any time at all in any of the pre season games boro just completed 

theres always next year

disappointed for him but hey its good news for us. No doubt he'll be at a European club at the end of this season though, hopefully he will play his socks off for us this season so he can stay on that radar.

I feel sorry for Tony, I really do.  Middlesborough are one of those fair to middling teams that you'd hope a guy like Tony had a good chance to get into.  The area itself is sorta between Newcastle and Manchester from memory when I drove by it so it's kinda out of the way of the major spotlight centres of 'Castle, 'Chester, 'Pool and London calling so it would in many ways I think be quite an ideal place to start off a pro career in the Premier League.

Stoked we have him back though.  Hopefully he picked up a few things over there that helps bring back some real professionalism and leadership to the club.

He wasn't available to play in any pre season games/trials... that was never going to be the case, nor could it have been.

We'll you never know, the rumours mills have been wrong before and he could still be signed, although the earlier post about his wifes lack of optimism doesn't bode well. TouchMe2008-08-12 18:27:49