admittedly i havent watched a lot of him, but the higher standard of the MLS and boyens' lack of serious gametime suggests to me that the A League might be just about perfect for him?
I think that's a bit of a dangerous assumption. The top of the MLS is undoubtedly very strong btu they do carry much bigger squads (some guys at the edge of the squads earn 17k USD). He's a guy who has generally struggled in not very strong franchises, I wouldn't assume that making the MLS means you're A-League quality Jared Smith was there for a while and no-one is rushing to sign him up.
Not knocking Boyens by the way (I like him personally and played a few games with him in Dunedin and he's a top guy) - just think we're getting back into the he's kiwi, he's played a few games in an ok league = sign him up.
I don't think we should ignore the fact that we're going to finish 6th at best in an 11 team league. That's a poor season and we shouldn't let the finals place obscure that. We need 3-4 quality players (and I'm talking Ifill quality) before we're going to be competing for the title - I don't see Andy Boyens being in that class. I think we have the set up and resources to be a top 2 side and I think we need to be a lot more strategic in our recruiting (because I think we did a pretty lousy job this year).
Agree it's quite an assumption but keep in mind he was on the bench behind players like Rafael Marquez who could keep many on the bench so for him to be good enough as a bench player in the A-League sounds right to me. Having said that, I don't think, nor do I want, Ricki to sign based on my assumptions - he knows the guy and if it's right for the team for him to join as a sub then I'll be happy.