WPM 2022/23 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination

First Team Squad
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Marto
Wusty Wab
If Krishna signs and Talay and Gill still want an import striker, they could try and get former All Whites and Phoenix striker Greg Draper back. Not sure if he would be considered an import, was born and raised in England and moved to New Zealand when he was 12. Had a short stint with the Phoenix as a teenager in their first two seasons and only got to play a couple of games. He has now become the 2nd all time leading goal scorer in Wales 1st division which for whatever reason is nowhere as big as the A-League but still a respectable enough league to be playing in. Not sure how keen he would be on coming back to New Zealand considering how long he has been in Wales. He dropped down to the 2nd division last season and hasn't had much game time so far, though I think this is because he is taking on a player-coach role. There also doesn't seem to be an end date on his contract.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/greg-draper/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/55325
 I guess you've never seen Welsh football. Standard is at best piss poor. Better standard in NZs Northern League.

It’s not exactly the top 5 leagues’ quality, but it’s above the NZ leagues. Zac Jones was the first choice keeper for the team that won the National League and went to Wales to be backup for a team that narrowly missed relegation. Nando Pijnaker is held up in NZ football circles very highly, but he looked all at sea when I watched Sligo play Bala Town last week in UECL qualifying, and Bala Town aren’t even the best team in Wales. Ship’s obviously sailed on Draper, but in his day he was breaking records there, he’d have done a job in the A League. 
Marquee
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Wusty Wab
ballane
Hope like hell Talay and Gill arnt looking at some  of the oldies mentioned here. Given some of the names that have come up thank Christ none of you have any influence on who we sign.

We're just trying to be helpful. Do you know anyone who we should sign?
Wouldnt even pretend to name players who i think could be useful. Guess im the odd one out i prefer Talay and his team to scout for the players they think might be useful to what they hope to achieve. No need to panic yet still plenty of time you never no they just might come up with another Davilla. Seem to recall there were plenty of doubters when he first signed. In Talay i trust.
and 1 other
Marquee
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dunnix
ballane
Hope like hell Talay and Gill arnt looking at some  of the oldies mentioned here. Given some of the names that have come up thank Christ none of you have any influence on who we sign.
What are you basing your judgements off? Age? It's pretty daft to write off players based on that, especially given their careers and records.

We're hardly likely to unearth some 20-year-old Portuguese wunderkind in the A-League, and even if we did, I *GUARANTEE* people would initially whine about signing unproven talent to a visa spot. It's bitten other clubs in the ass in previous years.

In this league, you want your foreign players to be near-certain starters, week in, week out. Best way to get a gauge of that is from their previous records, i.e. are they experienced and capable.

Of course, some older pros would only come here for a pre-retirement payout, but I trust Uffie 100% to weed those people out early on.
Yep some older players can do the job but come on do we really need to be signing players in their mid 30s. You mentioned experienced and capable before those should be fitness  when it comes to older players I loved what Hooper showed us but sadly his age and injury limited his contribution. Its for that reason we need to be wary of signing older players. Frankly some of those players mentioned why would you bother.
Marquee
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Friar Tuck
ballane
Hope like hell Talay and Gill arnt looking at some  of the oldies mentioned here. Given some of the names that have come up thank Christ none of you have any influence on who we sign.
Krishna, Hooper, Hemed, hell even Ifill. Weird how almost all of our most prolific goalscorers have been 29/30+ during their Nix peaks. 

2008/09 26 year old Smeltz (12G in 20apps), 2012/13 24 year old Brockie (16G in 24apps) and 2014/15 26 year old Burns (13G in 24apps) the only real exceptions. 

Sure I'd like us to sign an insanely prolific 24 year old over someone on the wrong side of 30, but we don't necessarily have that luxury. What I want more than anything is for us to sign someone who can bang them in the back of the net and win us a trophy for once, and if that means picking up a 34 year old Mame Diouf, a 31 year old Nicolai Jorgensen or whoever it ends up being then so what? Uffie's only got a year left on his contract so we're probably due a rebuild soon anyway, if we can get an older, proven goalscorer that can stay fit and bury chances for a season or two then give me that asap.
Marquee
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Think this from Friar Tuck is pretty much says it all "if we can get an older, proven goalscorer that can stay fit and bury chances for a season or two then give me that asap." End of the day it wont matter how good the goal scorer Talay signs is if our attack cant deliver the crosses or passes for them to even be in a position to shoot. The season just gone there many times we looked really good in our build up but our consistent failure to get those final balls in cost us.
Legend
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ballane
Wusty Wab
ballane
Hope like hell Talay and Gill arnt looking at some  of the oldies mentioned here. Given some of the names that have come up thank Christ none of you have any influence on who we sign.

We're just trying to be helpful. Do you know anyone who we should sign?
Wouldnt even pretend to name players who i think could be useful. Guess im the odd one out i prefer Talay and his team to scout for the players they think might be useful to what they hope to achieve. No need to panic yet still plenty of time you never no they just might come up with another Davilla. Seem to recall there were plenty of doubters when he first signed. In Talay i trust.

totally with you on this! there is no point in any of us selecting players we hope Talay and Gill are looking at - we have no idea who the club have connections with, which agents are touting their off contract players a-league way. It's a futile exercise in one-up-manship.
WeeNix
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about 2 years
It's still fun to speculate isn't it? I mean the word speculation is in the title for this topic.
and 2 others
Legend
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generally, the speculation part has some foundations in things that have an actual chance of happening, ie rumours from other clubs/player agents. Not just rando's that someone has pulled from transfer market.
WeeNix
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780
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about 2 years
theprof
generally, the speculation part has some foundations in things that have an actual chance of happening, ie rumours from other clubs/player agents. Not just rando's that someone has pulled from transfer market.

I am as keen as anybody to hear some rumors relating to the Phoenix right now.

Only rumors at the moment is that Krishna is apparently close to coming back but the sources are from twitter accounts which don't seem very trustworthy. There is obviously Grozos following us on social media as well but I hope that doesn't end up being a signing.
Legend
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I'm sure we all are, but obviously those in the know are keeping their information to themselves. There are a number of people here that have contacts with people within the club - those are the rumours, tit-bits of information I look for but often they are very scarce, especially at this point of the off-season when there is still 3 months before the season begins.
WeeNix
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theprof
I'm sure we all are, but obviously those in the know are keeping their information to themselves. There are a number of people here that have contacts with people within the club - those are the rumours, tit-bits of information I look for but often they are very scarce, especially at this point of the off-season when there is still 3 months before the season begins.

I understand the actual A-League is still 3 months away which is why there is not much information at the moment, but I just hope we have at least one new signing before our Australia Cup opener at the beginning of next month.
Marquee
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If we waited for rumors then there wouldn't be a lot going on here. I'm glad people are passionate enough about the team that they're going to use their spare time to dig around for suitable players. And who knows, maybe they do unearth someone that the team will take a look at. Stranger things have happened.
and 12 others
First Team Squad
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almost 7 years
Just a reminder that Gary Hooper was a random transfermarkt pick before there were any actual rumours linking him to the club. I remember someone complied a list of off contract/free agent Championship + League 1 strikers which included him and the likes of Frazier Campbell etc. Fans were getting excited about the prospect of Hooper before anyone had reported on interest from the club.
Legend
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I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
Marquee
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about 17 years
Friar Tuck
Oi Oi Edgecumbe
Friar Tuck
If we're still doing transfermarkt free agent speculation, I'm a big fan of these four blokes:

Alfred Finnbogason
- 33 years old
- Most recently at Augsburg
- Unreal scoring record in the Eredivisie and a solid return in the Bundesliga
- 61 caps/15 goals for Iceland
- Struggled with injuries last season

Nicolai Jörgensen
- 31 years old
- Most recently at FC Copenhagen (Stamenic's parent club)
- Very good scoring record in Eredivisie and Danish Superliga
- 39 caps/9 goals for Denmark
- Two unknown injuries last season

Cheick Diabaté
- 34 years old
- Most recently at Al-Gharafa SC (Qatar Stars League)
- Pretty dominant in Middle East (Last 4 seasons)
- Solid record in Ligue 1 & Serie A
- 39 caps/15 goals for Mali
- No injuries since 2019/20

Mame Diouf
- 34 years old
- Most recently at Hatayspor (Turkish Super Lig)
- Excellent scoring record last two seasons in Turkey (31G + 8A in 75 games)
- 51 caps/10 goals for Senegal
- Only missed 3 games with injury since 2013/14
- Rumoured to be signing with Samsunspor in the Turkish 2nd Div

There's plenty of other great looking options too but these four just stood out to me (plus Lasogga ofc)

They all look pretty interesting. Diouf would be awesome
Stoke legend
ManUtd legend
First Team Squad
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over 17 years
Finnbogason would be an excellent pick up, injury free. Was a helluva player at Heerenveen earlier in his career.
Phoenix Academy
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420
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over 9 years
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.
and 2 others
Legend
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harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.
WeeNix
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780
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about 2 years
theprof
harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.

Yeah and after all the jokes and banter made about Lasogga and me being his agent after I suggested him, a couple of people here told me that all jokes aside they actually would want him.
LG
Legend
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about 17 years
Ryan
Wusty Wab
Marto
Wusty Wab
If Krishna signs and Talay and Gill still want an import striker, they could try and get former All Whites and Phoenix striker Greg Draper back. Not sure if he would be considered an import, was born and raised in England and moved to New Zealand when he was 12. Had a short stint with the Phoenix as a teenager in their first two seasons and only got to play a couple of games. He has now become the 2nd all time leading goal scorer in Wales 1st division which for whatever reason is nowhere as big as the A-League but still a respectable enough league to be playing in. Not sure how keen he would be on coming back to New Zealand considering how long he has been in Wales. He dropped down to the 2nd division last season and hasn't had much game time so far, though I think this is because he is taking on a player-coach role. There also doesn't seem to be an end date on his contract.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/greg-draper/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/55325
 I guess you've never seen Welsh football. Standard is at best piss poor. Better standard in NZs Northern League.

Wonder why that is, Wales have always had an impressive football team.

Ok maybe not always.
best Welsh teams play in England.
Ryan
Wusty Wab
Marto
Wusty Wab
If Krishna signs and Talay and Gill still want an import striker, they could try and get former All Whites and Phoenix striker Greg Draper back. Not sure if he would be considered an import, was born and raised in England and moved to New Zealand when he was 12. Had a short stint with the Phoenix as a teenager in their first two seasons and only got to play a couple of games. He has now become the 2nd all time leading goal scorer in Wales 1st division which for whatever reason is nowhere as big as the A-League but still a respectable enough league to be playing in. Not sure how keen he would be on coming back to New Zealand considering how long he has been in Wales. He dropped down to the 2nd division last season and hasn't had much game time so far, though I think this is because he is taking on a player-coach role. There also doesn't seem to be an end date on his contract.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/greg-draper/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/55325
 I guess you've never seen Welsh football. Standard is at best piss poor. Better standard in NZs Northern League.

Wonder why that is, Wales have always had an impressive football team.

Ok maybe not always.
best Welsh teams play in England.

Swansea, Cardiff & Newport County. Plus Wrexham in the Conference and they nearly made it to League two last season.

WeeNix
930
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560
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about 7 years
Wusty Wab
theprof
harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.

Yeah and after all the jokes and banter made about Lasogga and me being his agent after I suggested him, a couple of people here told me that all jokes aside they actually would want him.

I would take Lasogga in a heartbeat.
Marquee
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over 17 years
Wusty Wab
Marto
Wusty Wab
If Krishna signs and Talay and Gill still want an import striker, they could try and get former All Whites and Phoenix striker Greg Draper back. Not sure if he would be considered an import, was born and raised in England and moved to New Zealand when he was 12. Had a short stint with the Phoenix as a teenager in their first two seasons and only got to play a couple of games. He has now become the 2nd all time leading goal scorer in Wales 1st division which for whatever reason is nowhere as big as the A-League but still a respectable enough league to be playing in. Not sure how keen he would be on coming back to New Zealand considering how long he has been in Wales. He dropped down to the 2nd division last season and hasn't had much game time so far, though I think this is because he is taking on a player-coach role. There also doesn't seem to be an end date on his contract.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/greg-draper/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/55325
 I guess you've never seen Welsh football. Standard is at best piss poor. Better standard in NZs Northern League.

Wonder why that is, Wales have always had an impressive football team.

Ok maybe not always.
the best Welsh players, like many Scottish and Irish ones, are actually English but have ancestry just like many All Whites eg Ethan Ampadu who is actually from Exeter, England. 

The top 4 Welsh clubs all play professionally in England (Wrexham, Swansea, Cardiff and Newport) and are excluded from Welsh competitions.
First Team Squad
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1.2K
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almost 6 years
Marto
Wusty Wab
Marto
Wusty Wab
If Krishna signs and Talay and Gill still want an import striker, they could try and get former All Whites and Phoenix striker Greg Draper back. Not sure if he would be considered an import, was born and raised in England and moved to New Zealand when he was 12. Had a short stint with the Phoenix as a teenager in their first two seasons and only got to play a couple of games. He has now become the 2nd all time leading goal scorer in Wales 1st division which for whatever reason is nowhere as big as the A-League but still a respectable enough league to be playing in. Not sure how keen he would be on coming back to New Zealand considering how long he has been in Wales. He dropped down to the 2nd division last season and hasn't had much game time so far, though I think this is because he is taking on a player-coach role. There also doesn't seem to be an end date on his contract.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/greg-draper/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/55325
 I guess you've never seen Welsh football. Standard is at best piss poor. Better standard in NZs Northern League.

Wonder why that is, Wales have always had an impressive football team.

Ok maybe not always.
the best Welsh players, like many Scottish and Irish ones, are actually English but have ancestry just like many All Whites eg Ethan Ampadu who is actually from Exeter, England. 

The top 4 Welsh clubs all play professionally in England (Wrexham, Swansea, Cardiff and Newport) and are excluded from Welsh competitions.


Are you kidding? The best Scottish ones are Scottish (see McGinn, Robertson, Tierney for example). The best welshman, is as welsh as you can get (Bale).
Legend
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about 17 years
Glad we’ve sorted all that then! 
Life and death
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You mean on an hourly basis…
theprof
harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.
 
WeeNix
1.3K
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780
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about 2 years
Napier Phoenix
You mean on an hourly basis…
theprof
harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.
 

Yeah I can't argue there, I definitely did get quite carried away. But I guess you could say anybody who was making jokes about this player also kind of got a little carried away.
Marquee
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about 17 years
It’s the off season, I am here for the hoopla. 
Opinion Privileges revoked
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almost 15 years
Legend
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about 17 years
What’s happening with Roy? Anyone seen him around, buying TVs, commuting from Auckland etc? 
WeeNix
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almost 5 years
martinb
What’s happening with Roy? Anyone seen him around, buying TVs, commuting from Auckland etc? 

Currently in Fiji
Legend
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holiday in auckland done, off to Fiji to see the rest of the family before he signs with another Indian club
WeeNix
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660
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Wusty Wab
Napier Phoenix
You mean on an hourly basis…
theprof
harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.
 

Yeah I can't argue there, I definitely did get quite carried away. But I guess you could say anybody who was making jokes about this player also kind of got a little carried away.
If he signs everyone owes you a beer haha.

I wonder if he/his agent will pickup this chat if he googles his name.....


Starting XI
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almost 6 years
theprof
holiday in auckland done, off to Fiji to see the rest of the family before he signs with another Indian club
Mumbai were pretty interested in signing him.
If he wants another big payday I'd say India is his best option.
If he wants to be close to family and friends. he has a child now and I saw mentioned elsewhere his wife works for OFC in some capacity.
Then Wellington is his best option, Not Australia surely.
https://www.fijivillage.com/sports/I-have-a-small-family-now-and-will-decide-on-my-future-based-on-it--Roy-Krishna-45f8rx/ 
Legend
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15K
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about 17 years
Elemenop
Wusty Wab
Napier Phoenix
You mean on an hourly basis…
theprof
harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.
 

Yeah I can't argue there, I definitely did get quite carried away. But I guess you could say anybody who was making jokes about this player also kind of got a little carried away.
If he signs everyone owes you a beer haha.

I wonder if he/his agent will pickup this chat if he googles his name.....



Geez for all the scrutiny you guys can be sloppy: apparently his agent is his mother who you were all looking at uncomfortably a few pages back. 
Cue: Ed Rooney “So…etc”
Legend
9.2K
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15K
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almost 17 years
martinb
Elemenop
Wusty Wab
Napier Phoenix
You mean on an hourly basis…
theprof
harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.
 

Yeah I can't argue there, I definitely did get quite carried away. But I guess you could say anybody who was making jokes about this player also kind of got a little carried away.
If he signs everyone owes you a beer haha.

I wonder if he/his agent will pickup this chat if he googles his name.....



Geez for all the scrutiny you guys can be sloppy: apparently his agent is his mother who you were all looking at uncomfortably a few pages back. 
Cue: Ed Rooney “So…etc”

who's to say that Wusty isnt his mum?
WeeNix
1.3K
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780
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about 2 years
theprof
martinb
Elemenop
Wusty Wab
Napier Phoenix
You mean on an hourly basis…
theprof
harrymc55
theprof
I mean, I'm not saying dont do it - feel free to search transfer market for anyone you think will fit the team. But just dont expect a great hoopla of conversation to be sparked up from it unless a credible source confirms it to be possible.
 What? Wusty came up with a name (Lasogga) and a "hoopla" of conversation would be an understatement to describe what followed.

only cos he kept raising it on an almost daily basis.
 

Yeah I can't argue there, I definitely did get quite carried away. But I guess you could say anybody who was making jokes about this player also kind of got a little carried away.
If he signs everyone owes you a beer haha.

I wonder if he/his agent will pickup this chat if he googles his name.....



Geez for all the scrutiny you guys can be sloppy: apparently his agent is his mother who you were all looking at uncomfortably a few pages back. 
Cue: Ed Rooney “So…etc”

who's to say that Wusty isnt his mum?

FFS not this again.
WeeNix
930
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680
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about 16 years
Mesut Ozil has been released from his contract at Fenerbahce...
WeeNix
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780
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about 2 years
Smeltz4PM
Mesut Ozil has been released from his contract at Fenerbahce...

He has joined another Super Lig club called Istanbul Basaksehir, wasn't a free agent for very long.
and 3 others
Marquee
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about 10 years
Any word on any other potential trialists coming in? We all know JHS is on board with the team at the moment, but has anyone seen or heard of anyone else from the domestic scene coming in to have a crack at a contract?

WPM 2022/23 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination

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