no chance Elliot will be back at Nix....both believe the other was disrespectful. It would be a world first if that kind of relationship was overcome.
Never say never in football. It just wouldn't be on a short term deal as people suggested, the club won't want to do that.
Another issue would be Elliot would take a few weeks to get his fitness back & there are no National League games that he could play in for match fitness. So doubtful he would be very useful as a mid season signing tbh.
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ship has sailed surely. Go out and get another fullback in nz. Elliot not that great lets be honest he cant even get a contract elsewhere hes back to park football. Give another player a chance.
but yeah stranger things have happened...especially in this part of the world.
ship has sailed surely. Go out and get another fullback in nz. Elliot not that great lets be honest he cant even get a contract elsewhere hes back to park football. Give another player a chance.
but yeah stranger things have happened...especially in this part of the world.
Maybe, but Elliots not playing professionally now is he, if the nix came knocking he'd be a fool to turn them down.
no chance Elliot will be back at Nix....both believe the other was disrespectful. It would be a world first if that kind of relationship was overcome.
Kosta seems to keep coming back though!
And he keeps getting better on every return. So I wonder: is he is at his peak (with us) now, or do we need to sell him, and buy him back one more time, to get him to even more sublime levels???
Actually, getting outplayed quite a bit these days
For all the talk about Paulsen and his fantastic start to the season, these past three or four games have felt like a coming of age for Ben Old - Some really superb contributions.
Hopefully he can stay injury free, because if he can, there's every chance we see a breakout season from the lad. Even in a losing cause last night, he was easily one of the best on the park.
Absolutely - it was obvious he had something and it was only for his injury record last season in particular that news of his contract extension wasn't hyped more. If he can stay fit and hopefully add a few more goals to his game he could be huge for the nix.
Just came across this tweet from a week ago and thought I'd cut through all the wishful thinking about Zawada staying. He is gone already. There is no chance the Phoenix can pay him anywhere close to the amount plenty of other teams will be offering him as a free agent come season's end.
"In the last few days of the transfer window, there was interest from Croatia and Saudi Arabia. Wellington were very determined to keep me (...) My priority was a return to Europe, specifically to The Netherlands or the… pic.twitter.com/3ldcAgvJuJ
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In the interest of accuracy, I read the original interview in Polish, dated 17 Nov 2023, in the sport section of the Polish state TV portal. What Kiwi Mancunian is quoting is a twitter reprint by an Aussie football fan group and it is inaccurate.
When Zawada said that "Wellington were very determined to keep me" he referred to the fact that no club was able to meet the requested transfer fee. He then says: "Wszystko pozostało tak, jak życzył sobie klub i najbliższy sezon spędzę w Wellingtonie" ('the end outcome was as per club's wishes and I will spend the next season in Wellington'). He also went on to say that: - the Nix training facilities are excellent, "better than those at other Australian clubs"; - Saudi league is not his priority, he targets either a club in the Netherlands or in the English Championship as his next port of call; - there was also a cryptic statement that he did not expect the Nix to reach as high this season because of the loss of experienced players and the reliance on youngsters (but then, many of us thought the same - this was November 2023). - He got on well with Talay and was sorry to see him leave; he appreciates that Italiano is a different coach with less experience and that the tactics have changed to a more defensive play with greater stress on counterattack.
Actually, getting outplayed quite a bit these days
Manyumow Achol is a free agent according to transfermarkt.
Wouldn’t mind seeing us pick him back up, he would be a solid back up for Rufer and adds a point of difference to our midfield by being a massive 1.93m tall.
Rufer/Achol Old/Al-Taay Pennington/Conchie
That’s a very solid depth of midfield.
That being said, reinforcements in the front 3rd as well as CB and RB are probably more important.
And yet, on current evidence, they're better than us
How so? what evidence. We are currently placed 1st/2nd which is higher on the table than them (9th). That is all the evidence I require to say we have had the better season thus far and are therefore better than them.
Get Kosta for another 2 years? or a 1+1 contract before the end of this season? https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/301035591/why-wellington-phoenix-must-act-quickly-to-resign-reborn-star-kosta-barbarouses Given his current form and improvement under italiano, Corica and Co surely will have noticed. He's won the elague with Corica at Sydney so they'll be comfortable with each other. But he has strong family ties here, so may want to finish his career with the Nix. I've been vocal about my disappointment abour his previous interations with the Nix and I wasnt hopeful. Under Uffie he seemed to struggle but this year he has found his best form, so if that can continue then I'm all for giving him a retirement plan - till he's 35/36.
Not sure if I have this right or not but it was my understanding that players could enter talks with foreign clubs once they had entered the final six months of his contract, so the Nix can talk to any other A-League player coming off contract, and any other A-League team can talk to any Nix player coming off contract, but this may not apply to Auckland as they are also in NZ (though of course tapping up has always happened anyway). Rollo might have got this wrong in his article if so.
Our entire first choice front 3 is coming off contract, though fortunately it is only them & Pennington of players who start regularly for us who are not already signed for next season. Hopefully we hear some good news about any of those 3 forwards renewing soon, but I also hope Chiefy has some good targets in mind should they all leave. Would be interesting for him to be asked about this in upcoming interviews.
Get Kosta for another 2 years? or a 1+1 contract before the end of this season? https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/301035591/why-wellington-phoenix-must-act-quickly-to-resign-reborn-star-kosta-barbarouses Given his current form and improvement under italiano, Corica and Co surely will have noticed. He's won the elague with Corica at Sydney so they'll be comfortable with each other. But he has strong family ties here, so may want to finish his career with the Nix. I've been vocal about my disappointment abour his previous interations with the Nix and I wasnt hopeful. Under Uffie he seemed to struggle but this year he has found his best form, so if that can continue then I'm all for giving him a retirement plan - till he's 35/36.
Hopefully Kosta is well settled back in Wellington and the idea of moving his family to Auckland dosnt appeal at this stage of his career. Have to hope the idea of winning a first title with his hometown team appeals more than reuniting with Corica.
Not sure if I have this right or not but it was my understanding that players could enter talks with foreign clubs once they had entered the final six months of his contract, so the Nix can talk to any other A-League player coming off contract, and any other A-League team can talk to any Nix player coming off contract, but this may not apply to Auckland as they are also in NZ (though of course tapping up has always happened anyway). Rollo might have got this wrong in his article if so.
Our entire first choice front 3 is coming off contract, though fortunately it is only them & Pennington of players who start regularly for us who are not already signed for next season. Hopefully we hear some good news about any of those 3 forwards renewing soon, but I also hope Chiefy has some good targets in mind should they all leave. Would be interesting for him to be asked about this in upcoming interviews.
Teams can talk to anyone (regardless of country) in the final 6 months of their contract.
I just did some more reading, and a goal.com article seems to state that the 6 month rule is a FIFA rule that applies to the ability to sign a pre-contract, i.e. sign a contract to join another team after the expiration of a current contract, and this rule applies only for teams in different countries, so you can't sign a pre-contract for a side in the same country.
In general, a team is not supposed to enter discussions with another team's player without requesting permission to do so, do you know which rule states it is legal to talk to any player (even from the same country) if that player is in the final six months of their contract?
Of course, discussions and agreements that are not supposed to happen happen all the time, I'm just interested in finding out what is supposed to happen and what is not. If it is technically not legal for Auckland to hold discussions with our players coming off contract and yet they do so then that could help spice up the rivalry.
9.3 Restrictions on Negotiations A Club that wishes to enter into a playing contract with a Professional who is subject to an existing playing contract must:
(a) if the Professional’s existing playing contract is due to expire in six (6) months or more, obtain the prior written consent of the Professional’s current Club and the Professional before it begins negotiations with that Professional; or
(b) if the Professional’s existing playing contract is due to expire within six (6) months, notify the Professional’s current Club and the Professional in writing before it begins negotiations with that Professional; and
(c) not enter into any playing contract with that Professional until his or her existing playing contract has expired or is due to expire within six (6) months
Well at least that will motivate the Nix to get talks going with Kosta if they hear from Auckland that they're keen to have a chat with him.
Unfortunately I think Kosta is a complete mercenary, no qualms going to Sydney, Victory's biggest rival when they wanted to retain him and despite all the love he got from their fans. He will go to Auckland if they want to pay him more and/or match/exceed the contract length we offer. We can only hope that they don't want to spend a lot on a 33 year old who could very easily decline dramatically and has blown hot and cold for Sydney & us.
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Nah, he's said he came back to Wellington because this is his home club and he's all about family, he's also praised the facilities and has said a couple of times that they will extend his career. He said recently he wants to stay. He's done about everything you can do in the A League apart from win the title with his home town club so the need to be a mercenary has gone and his priorities have changed.
Auckland will have to outbid us by a reasonable amount imo.
What exactly are these facilities lengthening his career? He came from Sydney and I would imagine their facilities should surely be the equal of ours. Does anyone have any idea of what we have that they don’t?
What exactly are these facilities lengthening his career? He came from Sydney and I would imagine their facilities should surely be the equal of ours. Does anyone have any idea of what we have that they don’t?
I’ve always wondered this. They look flash as hell and will clearly be more modern than theirs, but not sure what the starting point is.
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Think it's a mixture of a couple of things.
The Phoenix have some unique facilities, like they have a training studio which can simulate altitude, humidity, and temperature anywhere in the world at any time of the year. Or, they have pools with exercise equipment in them with windows where the trainers and physios can work with people while they're not under load.
They also have normal facilities which are just better than the other teams, like they have precise temperature controlled hot and cold plunge pools and multiple types of saunas and a room that gets really bloody cold.
In comparison, before City opened their new training facility they were using wheely bins full of ice water for their ice baths. IIRC Sydney use a universities facilities.
Edit: I just googled and in August last year Sydney moved into a new facility at Macquire University that they claim is the best in Australia (although all teams always claim that) - it cost $30 million Australian. Melbourne Cities new facilities also cost $30 million. Melbourne Victory trains on a public ground and uses commercial facilities (much like the Phoenix used to I guess), but tried to build an $18 million dollar elite training centre on another public park, but the council said no. CCMs facilities were supposed to be $100 million all up, but I don't believe they were ever finished. The Wanderers training facilities cost $15 million. The new Western United training facilities cost $25 million. Adelaide Uniteds cost $700,000. Perth Glory's cost $32 million. Brisbane should move into a $22 million dollar facility soon. The Jets use a public athletics centre. MacArthur is building a $38 million dollar facility. By comparison, the NZCIS facility that the Phoenix are in cost $150 million NZ so there's a substantial difference in budget that will flow on to quality.
Most of these facilities were funded by councils or universities (a lot were developed recently because of the world cup), so the Phoenix are bloody lucky to have CIS because the Wellington rate payer would probably prefer to spend that sort of money on water pipes. IIRC a lot of CIS was paid for by the government as it was a shovel ready project to keep the economy going during covid. Also, Victory, Jets, and Adelaide seem to be falling behind.
As I mentioned elsewhere, Zawada was very complimentary in his interview to Polish TV about the facilities at the Nix. After all is said and done, having very good facilities should translate into tangible results: perhaps greater fitness, or shorter recovery time, or fewer injuries? Do we see any correlation between winning performances (over time) and quality of facilities, across the A-League?
Actually, getting outplayed quite a bit these days
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What I found interesting with all the late night googling (had a bout of insomnia) was what priority the teams put on the facilities when talking about them in their press releases. For instance Sydney talks a lot about trophy rooms and branded entranceways but the actual playing side of things is just a bullet point saying "medical and rehab facilities". Central Coast Mariners talk about office space and business parks, a pub, a petrol station, a four thousand seat stadium, a public swimming pool, and a hotel, but the training and rehab side of things is a gym and a few football pitches, so with the budgets above the focus isn't always on training and rehabilitation either but might be on things which have the trappings and visibility of success without laying the foundations for it.
A team like WSW with a focused $15 million facility isn't necessarily going to have worse facilities than CCM who might have spent $100 million (although it seems like there were supposed to be four phases and they only completed two so the cost is likely less than half that) but seem to be trying to build more of a community and commercial hub that happens to also have a football team as a tenant.
There's a famous story about former Warriors assistant coach the late Mike Mclennan, when he was the head coach of the St Helliers Rugby League team in the UK. His team had terrible facilities and their locker room was drafty and leaked, yet the boardroom in the stadium and trophy rooms were expensively renovated. He got so fed up with the money being spent in the wrong place that he went into the boardroom, ripped up the new carpet, and put it on the ground in the locker room so that the players would have at least some comfort.
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As for CCM building the commercial hub, they might have taken a leaf out of the model that was very successful in its day for Marconi in Sydney South West which had a large and profitable social club with a large social club restaurant, pokies, a pub and the works. The social club was able to (partially) support the football club, much like Hakoah Club in Bondi funded Sydney City (with the great late Eddie Thomson as its eternal coach). Those were the pre-Aleague days. Those clubs were based on ethnic communities, but can be based on geographical ones if CCM plays its cards right.
Actually, getting outplayed quite a bit these days
As for CCM building the commercial hub, they might have taken a leaf out of the model that was very successful in its day for Marconi in Sydney South West which had a large and profitable social club with a large social club restaurant, pokies, a pub and the works. The social club was able to (partially) support the football club, much like Hakoah Club in Bondi funded Sydney City (with the great late Eddie Thomson as its eternal coach). Those were the pre-Aleague days. Those clubs were based on ethnic communities, but can be based on geographical ones if CCM plays its cards right.
yep but what CCM was attempting was on a much larger scale, although I think it's more complicated now as Charlesworth retained the centre of excellence when he sold a majority stake in the Mariners.
