I find the whole 'lets put our faith in Paulsen' thing a bit disquieting. Although in theory every position in a team is equally important I've always thought you should start with the very best keeper you can get and then build from there.
A top quality keeper inspires confidence throughout the team and provides crucial solidity and organisation. The lesser keepers can still make the flashy saves but they often lack the skills and common sense in the more mundane aspects of goalkeeping, and over the course of a whole season that's where they often get found out. To a certain extent you can get away with a lack of quality as an outfield player but for a keeper you are totally exposed.
Paulsen did the job perfectly well when asked. Same as when Sail came in all those yuears back and held the #1 spot. No reason to assume Paulsen has gotten worse! Marinovic, as others have said has been in woeful form of late, why would he be seen as a better option than a young gun we've been working with for two or more seasons? I'm confident that Paulsen will make a good showing of being #1. If the plan is to bring in a back up of similar experience to challenge that then it will make for an interesting season watching the two grow and scrap for the spot.
Hope you are right. I still think you should start with the very best keeper money can buy, but that said I'm really looking forward to seeing how he goes. It always adds an extra level of interest when a young kiwi player steps up to the big time.
Personally reckon that regardless of who we sign, Paulsen should be treated as the number 1 to begin with. He’s been waiting for the spot, pushed Oli very hard and was excellent when given the opportunity.
That’s not to say Alex should be undroppable. If his form is poor the reserve keeper should definitely be given the opportunity to take his spot.
In terms of who I’d like to see us sign, there’s a few options. Marinovic would still be my first choice. He’s a known quantity, an experienced veteran at this point, has been excellent in the past and knows the club. If getting him makes financial sense then he’s definitely my pick.
If it’s not Stefan though, then there are some other options:
Michael Woud - Needs to be released by his club in Japan but is a young, talented kiwi. Would fight Paulsen tooth and nail for a starting spot and it’s good for the future of NZ football whoever earns the number 1.
Connor Tracey - The standout keeper in the national league. Still fairly young for a keeper at 26. Would be cheap.
Aidan Munford - Another young kiwi at 23 years old. Was a stand out in NPL QLD and has been involved in an ALM set up. Known to the club as he trained with the nix in Wollongong.
Jordan Holmes - The rumoured signing. Solid enough aussie ALM keeper.
Ryan Scott - Very solid ALM reserve keeper. Not sure why Western have released him. Pulled off some heroics for Bentleigh Greens when they beat the Nix in the FFA cup.
Tom Heward-Belle - Another solid aussie ALM keeper. Not sure why Sydney have released him. Young and good enough to be starting.
Interview with chief on YouTube, he sees a midfield squad of Rufer, Mo, and Pennington being the right balance, reiterated a change in formation and has said he wants experience at the back so that's where he'll use the import slot. He wouldn't confirm or deny if he was going to have dual 6's
Interview with chief on YouTube, he sees a midfield squad of Rufer, Mo, and Pennington being the right balance, reiterated a change in formation and has said he wants experience at the back so that's where he'll use the import slot. He wouldn't confirm or deny if he was going to have dual 6's
https://youtu.be/lTRjumES9HA
So they *want* Pennington back; but it sounds like he's playing hard to get, or has a better offer
Interview with chief on YouTube, he sees a midfield squad of Rufer, Mo, and Pennington being the right balance, reiterated a change in formation and has said he wants experience at the back so that's where he'll use the import slot. He wouldn't confirm or deny if he was going to have dual 6's
https://youtu.be/lTRjumES9HA
I just watched that interview now. I like the way Giancarlo talks, he clearly puts a lot of thought into what he is trying to do with the team. I love the fact we are likely to see some young kiwis from the national league and from overseas in the team again!
I think he is clearly working to a tighter budget than last year and the midfield does have me worried. I think a midfield of al-taay, Pennington and rufer will have massive issues with distribution and passing unless you bring in the likes of Da Silva or someone similar. That being said, with an import centre back (if recruited well) and that midfield we will be conceding far fewer goals than this season just gone.
I think if we do have distribution issues it won't be all that bad as long as we have a bit of excitement and speed up front. Eli Just or Rojas please Chief! 🙏
tim payne 'hybrid' most likely means centre back or (defensive, narrow) right back. definitely a back 4, so possibly also a right back role that also plays next to a DM, which would be interesting.
interesting that he said 'hybrid, similar to sam sutton' i'm not sure what that meant. i'm guessing not hybrid between left back and the bench, possibly hybrid between left back and left midfield?
the elliott situation is interesting. offer on the table for a long time, not signed, chiefy appointed, still not signed, so feck off then
rojas on the list, great news
a couple of local players on the radar, great stuff
Interview with chief on YouTube, he sees a midfield squad of Rufer, Mo, and Pennington being the right balance, reiterated a change in formation and has said he wants experience at the back so that's where he'll use the import slot. He wouldn't confirm or deny if he was going to have dual 6's
https://youtu.be/lTRjumES9HA
I just watched that interview now. I like the way Giancarlo talks, he clearly puts a lot of thought into what he is trying to do with the team. I love the fact we are likely to see some young kiwis from the national league and from overseas in the team again!
I think he is clearly working to a tighter budget than last year and the midfield does have me worried. I think a midfield of al-taay, Pennington and rufer will have massive issues with distribution and passing unless you bring in the likes of Da Silva or someone similar. That being said, with an import centre back (if recruited well) and that midfield we will be conceding far fewer goals than this season just gone.
I think if we do have distribution issues it won't be all that bad as long as we have a bit of excitement and speed up front. Eli Just or Rojas please Chief! 🙏
He did say they're interested in Rojas. I don't know if it's clear what the budget is yet, we've kept our most expensive players so it can't be that much smaller than last season. We'll see what sort of calibre of player we're targeting for CB.
That's a great interview. Very articulate with a strong thought process (which you'd ideally want considering his analytical background!) along with sound, common sense reasoning.
Struck the nail on the head with his thoughts on the guys coming through the Academy pathway, but also talking about the National League players too. We're the only professional club (well at this stage anyway) and we need those pathways to funnel from the 'grassroots' through Northern/Central/Southern leagues and progress the game as well as show there is opportunity at the top in football in this country.
Was it Rollo in the interview who was asking about the national league players who said 'dare I say Southern League?' 😆😆
Interview with chief on YouTube, he sees a midfield squad of Rufer, Mo, and Pennington being the right balance, reiterated a change in formation and has said he wants experience at the back so that's where he'll use the import slot. He wouldn't confirm or deny if he was going to have dual 6's
https://youtu.be/lTRjumES9HA
I just watched that interview now. I like the way Giancarlo talks, he clearly puts a lot of thought into what he is trying to do with the team. I love the fact we are likely to see some young kiwis from the national league and from overseas in the team again!
I think he is clearly working to a tighter budget than last year and the midfield does have me worried. I think a midfield of al-taay, Pennington and rufer will have massive issues with distribution and passing unless you bring in the likes of Da Silva or someone similar. That being said, with an import centre back (if recruited well) and that midfield we will be conceding far fewer goals than this season just gone.
I think if we do have distribution issues it won't be all that bad as long as we have a bit of excitement and speed up front. Eli Just or Rojas please Chief! 🙏
He did say they're interested in Rojas. I don't know if it's clear what the budget is yet, we've kept our most expensive players so it can't be that much smaller than last season. We'll see what sort of calibre of player we're targeting for CB.
Would be nice if Rojas came back to the club that gave him his professional debut after returning to Victory a few times now but I’m sure he probably sees Melbourne as a second home now and they’ll probs be after him as they released Ikonmidis.
Interview with chief on YouTube, he sees a midfield squad of Rufer, Mo, and Pennington being the right balance, reiterated a change in formation and has said he wants experience at the back so that's where he'll use the import slot. He wouldn't confirm or deny if he was going to have dual 6's
https://youtu.be/lTRjumES9HA
I just watched that interview now. I like the way Giancarlo talks, he clearly puts a lot of thought into what he is trying to do with the team. I love the fact we are likely to see some young kiwis from the national league and from overseas in the team again!
I think he is clearly working to a tighter budget than last year and the midfield does have me worried. I think a midfield of al-taay, Pennington and rufer will have massive issues with distribution and passing unless you bring in the likes of Da Silva or someone similar. That being said, with an import centre back (if recruited well) and that midfield we will be conceding far fewer goals than this season just gone.
I think if we do have distribution issues it won't be all that bad as long as we have a bit of excitement and speed up front. Eli Just or Rojas please Chief! 🙏
Eli Just is on contract until 2026, and I see no reason for Horsens loaning him out.
Other guys mentioned like Pijnaker, Adams and Rogerson will only be available halfway through the season, and that's relying on them leaving/not being re-signed at clubs where all three are essential players.
Longer contracted players I've seen mentioned are Mata (Dec 2024) and McCowatt (June 2024), so unobtainable. That's assuming the Phoenix wouldn't try any transfer fee.
I'd suggest if we can look at Connor Tracey, and he is a good keeper, we should also have a look at Scott Morris. Was at Christchurch with Ifill but has been trialling in the UK I believe. Also, please "no" to Woud.Friar Tuck
Thought I’d weigh in on the keeper debate.
Personally reckon that regardless of who we sign, Paulsen should be treated as the number 1 to begin with. He’s been waiting for the spot, pushed Oli very hard and was excellent when given the opportunity.
That’s not to say Alex should be undroppable. If his form is poor the reserve keeper should definitely be given the opportunity to take his spot.
In terms of who I’d like to see us sign, there’s a few options. Marinovic would still be my first choice. He’s a known quantity, an experienced veteran at this point, has been excellent in the past and knows the club. If getting him makes financial sense then he’s definitely my pick.
If it’s not Stefan though, then there are some other options:
Michael Woud - Needs to be released by his club in Japan but is a young, talented kiwi. Would fight Paulsen tooth and nail for a starting spot and it’s good for the future of NZ football whoever earns the number 1.
Connor Tracey - The standout keeper in the national league. Still fairly young for a keeper at 26. Would be cheap.
Aidan Munford - Another young kiwi at 23 years old. Was a stand out in NPL QLD and has been involved in an ALM set up. Known to the club as he trained with the nix in Wollongong.
Jordan Holmes - The rumoured signing. Solid enough aussie ALM keeper.
Ryan Scott - Very solid ALM reserve keeper. Not sure why Western have released him. Pulled off some heroics for Bentleigh Greens when they beat the Nix in the FFA cup.
Tom Heward-Belle - Another solid aussie ALM keeper. Not sure why Sydney have released him. Young and good enough to be starting.
Marco Rojas would be a bit of a statement signing. In the history of the nix we have had very few. Taylor, Hooper, Kosta (on his first return, everyone knew he had regressed at Sydney before signing for us this time) are the only signings in recent memory that I was excited by. Would be so cool to show some ambition for a change and outbid Victory for him. I think he would mean more to us than the Victory, and so we should be willing to pay slightly more than they should, if they weren't willing to pay over the odds for him, but of course they're wealthier and so if they make him a priority and want to pay more than he is worth to outbid us then they will. It could of course be the case that he would much prefer Melbourne and sees it as "home" but the fact that he never stuck around for more than 2 years there means I can dream he'd consider returning to his first club instead.
Interview with chief on YouTube, he sees a midfield squad of Rufer, Mo, and Pennington being the right balance, reiterated a change in formation and has said he wants experience at the back so that's where he'll use the import slot. He wouldn't confirm or deny if he was going to have dual 6's
https://youtu.be/lTRjumES9HA
Yes like that comment at the end that is looking at a couple of NL players. If it is to be a bit of a rebuild/tighter budget next season (notwithstanding 4 visa players returning), I think the fans are prepared to be a bit more patient if some Weenix kids and National League players are given an opportunity.
Covid border restrictions and 2.5 seasons based in Aussie made it hard, but Uffy didn't seems to show a lot of interest in domestic Kiwis outside Weenix. Oli Whyte & maybe Myer Bevan early on offered trials??
Very early days, but Cheify certainly seems a more relaxed character than the sometimes surly Uffy.
After learning of the club's intention to sign another import CB, and hearing Chiefy discuss some of the things he's looking for in that player, I've taken the time to do a bit of internet scouting. I've come up with a list of potential candidates to fill the role, who I think fit most of the criteria outlined by Chiefy.
The criteria I've considered are: Must be off contract in 2023, must be left footed (to compliment Wootton/for ease of searching), can't be valued too highly, and must fulfil most or all of the following: Explosiveness/Speed, Headering ability, 1 on 1 ability, and Leadership.
Here's the list: Dave Bulthuis (Netherlands) Age: 32 - Height: 192cm - Current Club: Suwon Bluewings (K-League 1) - Not super quick but reasonable pacy for his height and age. - Great headering and 1 on 1 ability - Solid leadership, sometimes captain - Issues: May be too good to leave Korea yet, contract expires in December
Erik Pieters (Netherlands) Age: 34 - Height: 183cm - Current Club: West Brom (Championship) - Average pace (played LB until recently) - Excellent headering despite his height - Great 1 on 1 ability and excellent leadership - 200+ games in the EPL - Coming off a very good season for West Brom, he wasn't expected to play much but became a stalwart under Corberan - Surplus to requirements now as WBA look to reduce their wage bill - Issues: Old, a little short, probably expensive
Clark Robertson (Scotland) Age: 29 - Height: 188cm - Current Club: Portsmouth (League 1) - Average pace/explosiveness - Excellent headering, decent 1 on 1 - Excellent leadership, Pompey captain - Has just been confirmed released by Portsmouth - Issues: Probably expensive, in demand by League 1 and 2 clubs
Marco Bürki (Switzerland) Age: 29 - Height: 185cm - Current Club: FC Thun (Swiss 2nd Tier) - Decent pace/explosiveness - Excellent headering, decent 1 on 1 - Excellent leadership, Thun captain - Was nearly signed by Norwich and Nottingham Forest in 2019 - Issues: Club has a 1 year extension option
Robin Jansson (Sweden) Age: 31 - Height: 187cm - Current Club: Orlando City (MLS) - Average pace/explosiveness - Decent headering, excellent 1 on 1 - Great leadership, sometimes Orlando captain - Experience in Sweden and the MLS, highly rated by Orlando fans - Issues: May be too good, December contract expiry
Timothee Kolodziejczak (France) Age: 31 - Height: 183cm - Current Club: Schalke 04 (Bundesliga) - Average pace/explosiveness - Excellent headering despite height, great 1 on 1 - Good leadership, 188 games Ligue 1, 52 La Liga - Has had a poor last two seasons - bad at Saint Etienne and unused by Schalke - Issues: Probably expensive, feel like he could be a bit of a Lacroix
Nermin Zolotic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Age: 29 - Height: 189cm - Current Club: Casa Pia (Liga Portugal) - Average to decent pace/explosiveness - Excellent headering, decent 1 on 1 - Decent leadership - In career best form after helping Casa Pia get promoted - Casa Pia have a wealth of contracted CBs - Issues: Would he leave Portugal/Europe? Leadership skills potentially unproven
Eneko Satrústegui (Spain) Age: 32 - Height: 187cm - Current Club: Racing Santander (LaLiga 2) - Excellent pace/explosiveness - Average headering, decent 1 on 1 - Decent leadership, somewhat unproven? - Played exclusively as a LB this season - Issues: Not an outright CB
James Lawrence (Wales) Age: 30 - Height: 188cm - Current Club: FC Nürnberg (2. Bundesliga) - Poor pace (returned from a massive knee injury) - Decent headering, excellent 1 on 1 - Excellent leadership - Playing about 50% of available mins at the moment - Issues: Is he still decent after surgery? Unclear if his contract actually expires in 2023
Kevin Wimmer (Austria) Age: 30 - Height: 187cm - Current Club: Rapid Wien (Austrian BuLi) - Poor pace/explosiveness - Decent headering - Excellent 1 on 1 and leadership - Decent German Bundesliga and Premier League experience (54 & 32 games respectively) - Issues: Would likely be expensive, not very quick
Danny Wilson (Scotland) Age: 31 - Height: 187cm - Current Club: Colorado Rapids (MLS) - Poor pace/explosiveness - Excellent headering, decent 1 on 1 - Excellent leadership - Neil Emblen kiwi connection - Issues: Probably a bit expensive, slow, December contract expiry
Ted van de Pavert(Netherlands) Age: 31 - Height: 194cm - Current Club: Roda JC (Eerste Divisie) - Poor pace/explosiveness - Decent headering, decent 1 on 1 - Very good leadership - Seems to be on the outer at Roda (~25% available mins played) - 200+ games Dutch 2nd tier, 102 games Eredivisie - Issues: Slow, perhaps not as dominant as others
Marcin Flis (Poland) Age: 29 - Height: 185cm - Current Club: Stal Mielec (Ekstraklasa) - Excellent pace/explosiveness - Decent headering and 1 on 1 - Average leadership - Loves a shot from the edge of the box - Recent former teammate of Zawada (10 games together for Stal) - Literally the CB version of Zawada (just look at the guy) - Really wants to play overseas, had to pull out of a move to China last year when his wife became pregnant - Issues: Potentially unproven having only ever played in Poland, questions about his leadership skills without doing more research.
If you have a look on Transfermarkt, there's many, many more available players, especially if you allow right footed players too. It's almost impossible to say who the club will go for, but it was fun to pull together a list and conduct a brief analysis. If I could pick anyone from the list, I'd probably go for Marco Bürki, although Erik Pieters is probably the closest Taylor replacement.
Maybe Marcin Flis is the best choice though, we all want a team of Zawadas after all.
Potential line up using Bielsa style tactics. Pretended that we’ll manage to snag Matt Millar and Al Hassan Touré.
Switch between a 4231 and a 3313 to create overloads near the ball. IMG_5056.jpeg226.72 KB My big concern would be a Rufer/Al-Taay midfield, but that’s up to Chiefy to figure out I suppose.
Potential line up using Bielsa style tactics. Pretended that we’ll manage to snag Matt Millar and Al Hassan Touré.
Switch between a 4231 and a 3313 to create overloads near the ball. IMG_5056.jpeg226.72 KB My big concern would be a Rufer/Al-Taay midfield, but that’s up to Chiefy to figure out I suppose.
I honestly think Rufer and Al-Taay could work quite nicely, they seem like they can complement each other in the way the Devlin/Steinmann pivot worked well. Especially if Kraev is more central and drops in to pick up the ball, he always seems most effective when he picks up the ball in space and runs at defenders.
And the answer to that, is not RB. I like him but Christ, even our defensive-minded players shark their pants when up against a guy like Craig Goodwin. Imagine what war crimes he would do down a wing marked by JHS
Callan Elliott on ZB saying it was only the release clause that was the problem, he thought it was too high, wanted it reduced but the club wouldn't budge, and is quite disappointed in the way the offer was retracted and the way that was announced. Obviously had no faith that the nix might let him go for less in a situation where that might make sense for all parties. Also says he's had no other A-League interest and doesn't sound like he has much in the way concrete offers.
Wellington Phoenix fans; All Whites fullback and under-23 player of the year Callan Elliot on air with me shortly to explain why he and the club couldn't reach agreement on a contract extension and therefore why he's leaving.@NewstalkZBpic.twitter.com/wxQmljwDab
Callan basically said him and the club couldn't agree on the buyout clause and the 'Nix pulled their offer the day before the departures were announced. Also said he didn't sleep for four nights after the Adelaide game. Definitely sounded a bit unsure as to who his next club will be.
sounds to me that if either party wanted it that much, they could have made this happen
my take of cheify's description was that he expected elliott to want it a bit more with perhaps a bit of boss/worker ego thrown in the mix, which is probably quite normal in a sports environment
sounds to me that if either party wanted it that much, they could have made this happen
my take of cheify's description was that he expected elliott to want it a bit more with perhaps a bit of boss/worker ego thrown in the mix, which is probably quite normal in a sports environment
I agree, surely in the best interest of both parties to agree on the buyout clause, no?
sounds to me that if either party wanted it that much, they could have made this happen
my take of cheify's description was that he expected elliott to want it a bit more with perhaps a bit of boss/worker ego thrown in the mix, which is probably quite normal in a sports environment
I agree, surely in the best interest of both parties to agree on the buyout clause, no?
i would have thought so. besides, transfer fees are not that common at this level, especially for defensive players. how many transfer fees have we collected over the years? i do understand the phoenix wanting to implement this strategy, but the hit rate is low.
we have jettisoned a good player for something that was probably not going to happen
Where does his Dad live now? Still Wellington/NZ?imanixsupporter
Marco Rojas would be a bit of a statement signing. In the history of the nix we have had very few. Taylor, Hooper, Kosta (on his first return, everyone knew he had regressed at Sydney before signing for us this time) are the only signings in recent memory that I was excited by. Would be so cool to show some ambition for a change and outbid Victory for him. I think he would mean more to us than the Victory, and so we should be willing to pay slightly more than they should, if they weren't willing to pay over the odds for him, but of course they're wealthier and so if they make him a priority and want to pay more than he is worth to outbid us then they will. It could of course be the case that he would much prefer Melbourne and sees it as "home" but the fact that he never stuck around for more than 2 years there means I can dream he'd consider returning to his first club instead.
Goodwin is probably too good to be around in the A League for much longer. Edit: maybe not, just saw his age and he has been overseas already but I think he is still one of the top Aussie A League players.Jazzy Jeff
Friar Tuck
yellowsite
It's time for Jack-Henry Sinclair
RW or RB is the question
And the answer to that, is not RB. I like him but Christ, even our defensive-minded players shark their pants when up against a guy like Craig Goodwin. Imagine what war crimes he would do down a wing marked by JHS
Wellington Phoenix fans; All Whites fullback and under-23 player of the year Callan Elliot on air with me shortly to explain why he and the club couldn't reach agreement on a contract extension and therefore why he's leaving.@NewstalkZBpic.twitter.com/wxQmljwDab
Callan basically said him and the club couldn't agree on the buyout clause and the 'Nix pulled their offer the day before the departures were announced. Also said he didn't sleep for four nights after the Adelaide game. Definitely sounded a bit unsure as to who his next club will be.
Kinda dumb from us to price out the buy out clause unless he wanted a ridiculous low number but I feel we were probs wanting 750k-1m and maybe he was after 400-500k? But even with a low buyout clause that could entice clubs to use it and with a sell on clause you could still end making a decent amount? Instead he’s leaving on a free so we get nothing and don’t get to have him for another season. Really makes no sense tbh
Wellington Phoenix fans; All Whites fullback and under-23 player of the year Callan Elliot on air with me shortly to explain why he and the club couldn't reach agreement on a contract extension and therefore why he's leaving.@NewstalkZBpic.twitter.com/wxQmljwDab
Callan basically said him and the club couldn't agree on the buyout clause and the 'Nix pulled their offer the day before the departures were announced. Also said he didn't sleep for four nights after the Adelaide game. Definitely sounded a bit unsure as to who his next club will be.
Kinda dumb from us to price out the buy out clause unless he wanted a ridiculous low number but I feel we were probs wanting 750k-1m and maybe he was after 400-500k? But even with a low buyout clause that could entice clubs to use it and with a sell on clause you could still end making a decent amount? Instead he’s leaving on a free so we get nothing and don’t get to have him for another season. Really makes no sense tbh
What if the Nix wanted $350k and Elliot wanted $20k?
See how the narrative changes based on the numbers we make up?
It's actually very common for player contracts to have no buyout clause at all, or for clauses to be set at an unrealistic price, and very common for players to be sold below the clause. The clause doesn't mean the club cannot sell for less than the clause. The club could have and should have said that if a reasonable offer comes in at some point and it makes some sense for us then we won't stand in your way and block a potentially career defining move, but we just need to have some leverage, and I think that that should have been enough for Callan. If they had said such a thing then I do not blame them for sticking to their guns on this.
The Nix have said they're out of the cutprice sale game and want to sell players at market value. Thats also the rumour why we lost Sail. This only works if they don't make exceptions and set precedents unfortunately.
it seems the issue is the value of the release clause. i think the real question is whether there should be a release clause at all.
aside from player valuation, any release clause allows players to disrupt squad planning with a sudden departure and like a poster above said, potentially for one club to swoop, mark up, and on sell.
i'm glad the phoenix are not in the release clause business. players talk, eliott may have been after a peice of what some other players had and the club have stood their ground. cheify seemed defiant. i quite like that.
Wellington Phoenix fans; All Whites fullback and under-23 player of the year Callan Elliot on air with me shortly to explain why he and the club couldn't reach agreement on a contract extension and therefore why he's leaving.@NewstalkZBpic.twitter.com/wxQmljwDab
Callan basically said him and the club couldn't agree on the buyout clause and the 'Nix pulled their offer the day before the departures were announced. Also said he didn't sleep for four nights after the Adelaide game. Definitely sounded a bit unsure as to who his next club will be.
Kinda dumb from us to price out the buy out clause unless he wanted a ridiculous low number but I feel we were probs wanting 750k-1m and maybe he was after 400-500k? But even with a low buyout clause that could entice clubs to use it and with a sell on clause you could still end making a decent amount? Instead he’s leaving on a free so we get nothing and don’t get to have him for another season. Really makes no sense tbh
What if the Nix wanted $350k and Elliot wanted $20k?
See how the narrative changes based on the numbers we make up?
I see your point but it’s not really a good one because you can safely assume any player would try negotiate a buy out that low, it would just be insulting to the club. Even with a buyout that low they’d probs add at least 20% sell on clause with it so even selling Elliot for 20k with a sell on is a much better deal than letting him go for free. It’s just poor business from the club unless they weren’t really that arsed about keeping him next season
I will say good on Callan for going on the radio to give his side of the story. I would rather the club had given him a proper take it or leave it deadline before pulling the offer, even though it sounds like Callan had been umming and ahhing for a quite a while.
