If Rufer is leaving I wouldn't be opposed to keeping Retre around. He was very ordinary for most of the season. But he's been very good in the last few games under Greenie, and without Rufer or Nagasawa the central midfield stocks look very thin.
or he's one of the first flooded car sales from Wellington. he signed a two year extension at the start of the season, so if he is leaving we should get some cash for him.
Looks like somebody’s let him know about this discussion as he has updated the listing on Facebook now. Could be a mislead, but it’s much more likely to be Mileusnic anywayIMG_4537.jpeg150.93 KB
With so many players leaving, this off season should be exciting - just glad we have the WC to enjoy to make up for our footy free weekends outside our own amatuerish attempts!
twdgscvx.jpg55.24 KBSo we have 14 expiring players, my quick thoughts: Sign if we can: Rufer and Eze for obvious reasons, Singh I think we can get him cheap and he's still in a prime age range to build a team around if we keep him fit, Armiento shown enough usefulness and spark to deserve another crack Maybe: Nagasawa has shown strong patches this season and can be versatile position wise but only 1 year deal because of his age, Edwards has been alright in his appearances and could prove himself with more gametime, Supyk struggling to break through but good with the ressies and is only 20 Preferably not: Josh is an okay keeper but not a high enough standard for a visa spot, similar for Kartum plus we'd have to pay a fee for him, Conchie has probably had enough time to impress and hasn't much Need to go: Najjarine end product and decision making continues to be poor and on his 4th A-L team has had his chance, Retre is over the hill and not the player he was, James has made too many errors and isn't visa standard for this league, Mileusnic hasn't hit form for us at all and also getting on in age.
MetalLegNZ wrote: Conchie has only played under Chief. Im curious what he does playing for someone else.
Hasn't offered enough over that time to warrent taking another youngesters place. Conchie has had his oppourtunities and really hasnt offered anything.
If we want change next year we have to strive for better or at least be willing to give other younger players a chance.
LT01 wrote: twdgscvx.jpg55.24 KBSo we have 14 expiring players, my quick thoughts: Sign if we can: Rufer and Eze for obvious reasons, Singh I think we can get him cheap and he's still in a prime age range to build a team around if we keep him fit, Armiento shown enough usefulness and spark to deserve another crack Maybe: Nagasawa has shown strong patches this season and can be versatile position wise but only 1 year deal because of his age, Edwards has been alright in his appearances and could prove himself with more gametime, Supyk struggling to break through but good with the ressies and is only 20 Preferably not: Josh is an okay keeper but not a high enough standard for a visa spot, similar for Kartum plus we'd have to pay a fee for him, Conchie has probably had enough time to impress and hasn't much Need to go: Najjarine end product and decision making continues to be poor and on his 4th A-L team has had his chance, Retre is over the hill and not the player he was, James has made too many errors and isn't visa standard for this league, Mileusnic hasn't hit form for us at all and also getting on in age.
Armiento should be a maybe. Mostly because he doesn't suit Greenie playing style. He does provide that spark and actually tries to score, but he also started falling off even before Cheif was sacked so a bit meh on getting him back.
Would move Josh to a maybe too. He has had many class moments throughout his time here which were sadly overshadowed by his massive howlers under Chiefy in big games. Don't think there are many better local options available so wouldn't mind keeping him for maybe a year with AKH challenging. Greenie style also puts less pressure on the GK so howlers are less likely.
Would put Conchie, Supyk, and Edwards in a category of "Sign for OFC pro league team" (if we get a team in 2027). Perfect league to see if they can step up and show what they can do with regular game time. All 3 are too good for reserves and not likely to get decent game time in A league to develop as we should be signing better players.
LT01 wrote: twdgscvx.jpg55.24 KBSo we have 14 expiring players, my quick thoughts: Sign if we can: Rufer and Eze for obvious reasons, Singh I think we can get him cheap and he's still in a prime age range to build a team around if we keep him fit, Armiento shown enough usefulness and spark to deserve another crack Maybe: Nagasawa has shown strong patches this season and can be versatile position wise but only 1 year deal because of his age, Edwards has been alright in his appearances and could prove himself with more gametime, Supyk struggling to break through but good with the ressies and is only 20 Preferably not: Josh is an okay keeper but not a high enough standard for a visa spot, similar for Kartum plus we'd have to pay a fee for him, Conchie has probably had enough time to impress and hasn't much Need to go: Najjarine end product and decision making continues to be poor and on his 4th A-L team has had his chance, Retre is over the hill and not the player he was, James has made too many errors and isn't visa standard for this league, Mileusnic hasn't hit form for us at all and also getting on in age.
Armiento should be a maybe. Mostly because he doesn't suit Greenie playing style. He does provide that spark and actually tries to score, but he also started falling off even before Cheif was sacked so a bit meh on getting him back.
Would move Josh to a maybe too. He has had many class moments throughout his time here which were sadly overshadowed by his massive howlers under Chiefy in big games. Don't think there are many better local options available so wouldn't mind keeping him for maybe a year with AKH challenging. Greenie style also puts less pressure on the GK so howlers are less likely.
Would put Conchie, Supyk, and Edwards in a category of "Sign for OFC pro league team" (if we get a team in 2027). Perfect league to see if they can step up and show what they can do with regular game time. All 3 are too good for reserves and not likely to get decent game time in A league to develop as we should be signing better players.
If, as has been mentioned Rufer ups stick and leaves, I would look to move Nagasawa up to be retained on a one year deal. Don't think there's much point in getting our hopes up over Eze staying either at this stage.
Armiento would drop down to a maybe for me. Not because I don't rate him, but because I don't think Greenie can fit him in to the setup that he wants to play. He won't want to hang around for a bench role in all honesty - But there will be plenty of suitors across the ditch based on his early season form too.
Interesting point re: Supyk, Conchie & Edwards. Would be good pickups for OFC Pro League if we get the team, but I doubt they'd want to stomach the drastic paycuts they'd have to take. Edwards would probably end up back in the better paying NPL if that is the option he's faced with.
Can't really disagree with the others though. Aside from Nagasawa, Eze, Rufer and Singh (if we can get him) there's not much on that list that I would be wanting to lock in for next season and beyond. I can see why people would want to keep Oluwayemi too, but honestly I've got so much PTSD over his past performances and some absolutely absurd howlers. But I will admit he's been far steadier and more confident since Greenie's been at the helm.
The only comment I would make is that we are in a peculiar situation with goalkeepers - all those currently on our books are relatively early in their professional development. The thing about Josh is that his good saves were really good and he is fast and athletic. His bad misses were spectacular, too. He is 1.85m tall, so not particularly short, although not in the category of Alby or Eamon, both of whom are probably prone to altitude sickness just by standing up (both around 1.95m tall). He offers something different than our Kiwi boys, so if he went we would probably need another backup keeper that is also more mobile and athletic, even if potentially well past his prime. I understand Josh has been given a contract extension very early in his season with us already, so the discussion may be a moot point. If this is not the case then it would make more sense to sign an older keeper as a back up while Alby (and also McCarron) are our long term development projects.
I agree with the sentiment re Josh, he's been superb in some ways but horrid in others, he's takling an import spot and is in all reality only a little older than the other keepers in the squad. I'd oprefer we let him go, bring in an older experienced Aleage keeper (not Sail) that can mentor Alby and support him, but also capable of doing the job if asked.
In his defence goalkeeping howlers have been a pretty constant feature across all the A League clubs (with the possible exception of Redmayne at CCM). The other import keeper, Smits, has made some bad errors and Kurto's form was so poor that he's been on the bench since Feb. Whoever ends up between the posts we can expect a few horror shows next season for sure, in which case it makes sense to just recruit locally, let Josh go and free up an import slot in the process.
Chiefy's extreme high line to start the season, would have been a challenge for most keepers to get to grips with. Oluwayemi struggled from the start, got injured then was rushed in first game back against AFC (after McCarron & AKH had both been up & down), and he had that absolute howler.
The whole goal keeping scene at the Nix this season has been very unsettled, including a new GK coach coming in at season's start. Be interesting to see if Chiefy's GK coach appointment Dylan Cope stays on.
All in all I would keep Oluwayemi (maybe a 1 + 1 deal) as he's looked far more settled since Greeny has been in charge. He is a quality shot stopper. At age 25 he's coming to stage where hopefully the howlers will be less, and he may yet have some good upside. Is no guarantee the Nix can find a non visa Aussie/Kiwi keeper better than Oluwayemi. AKH (21) and McCarron (18) can learn off Josh O and push him.
....a significant rebuild looms, with at least a dozen players off contract, including Rufer and all five imports.
There have been no re-signings since Greenacre took charge, but the club stalwart has made it clear Rufer is a priority amid speculation linking him with A-League leaders Newcastle Jets.
Rufer has previously expressed a desire to play overseas and, at 29, this may be his last opportunity.
He has made 189 appearances for the Phoenix since debuting against the Jets in 2014 and has captained the side for the past five seasons.
“He’s been fully focussed on trying to get us into the finals and he, like all the players, have been fully onboard with what we’re trying to do and he didn’t want any distractions personally and that’s a credit to him,” Greenacre said.
“We’ll let the dust settle [on the season] and hopefully we can get a signature from him.”
Also off contract are imports Ifeanyi Eze, Kazuki Nagasawa, Josh Oluwayemi and Manjrekar James, while Sander Kartum is only on a short-term loan.
Defenders Tim Payne, Bill Tuiloma and Isaac Hughes are the only regular starters signed for 2026-27.
“A lot of the guys, when their contracts are up, you’re in this industry and know how the land lies, but we’ll have discussions with players next week and hopefully we can try to look to build in the near future, whether it’s me in charge [or not].
“I’ve got some ideas [on who we want to keep], but if it’s not me then the club is going to be here long after us, so it’s important we give the best honest assessment for whoever the coach is going to be.”
While Rufer will miss the season finale, the Phoenix will be boosted by the return of All Whites playmaker Sarpreet Singh.
“Apart from fitness he’s fully ready to go, so hopefully we’ll get Sarpreet on the field and let him enjoy being a part of the last game.
“He’s worked extremely hard and hopefully we see his spark and we can get on him on that plane to America [for the World Cup].”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7AV6X1CHS8 As Coochiee said, if you listen it doesn't sound like it's a done deal, so fingers crossed they haven't left it too late.
Maaaaaaatt wrote: Jack Duncan is off contract at the end of the season. I'd rather him as a backup to AKH than have JO take up an import slot.
I reckon he might fight to start if he came to us. He never got to play a single game when here for a year with Alex Paulsen in front of him. Have to say i have been impressed with him when playing for MV
I think about that save Josh made against the Wanderers in Christchurch that kept it at 2-1. That’s a game winning save.
Tuiloma has made just as many horrible mistakes as he has this season.
I am a bit angry at the derbies, but look how they did over AKH. We were first in line. They focused on us and none our derby keepers looked good.
I wouldn’t be devastated if Josh was still around. I think we dropped points when he was unavailable that he might have saved. I also agree he was rushed back. The team, like Paul Adams, had found a way of playing with their resources and abrupt cutting and changing didn’t help.
Whichever keeper we get, we need a good left back and god help us if we lose Rufer and can’t replace him. Whatever the plan, a team with a strong settled defense and midfield with a game plan they can all follow from muscle memory, is going to help whoever is keeper.
Undecided about Josh take the drbies away and he certainly dosnt look as bad. While i agree with letting him go think James has been as bad as some suggest. You certainly couldnt say Bill has been much better because he has made some blunders and looked very ordinary at times. Think we are going to have real issues if Rufer goes he is going to be hard to replace with like for like. I see people suggesting Singh but isnt he contracted elsewhere.
I think if we were to keep Singh and Rufer then you keep Josh but if we don't theres just too many holes we need to fill with using all our import slots in the outfield.
kwlap wrote: Unless he terminates his contract in Europe, I don't think we are keeping Singh.
His current club signed him because Kalezic wanted him, since he got sacked (lol) they haven't had much use for him hence the loan, I would be surprised if they are that keen on keeping him. He could be ours for a very small transfer fee or even nothing, especially because his stocks aren't high atm not many others will be interested.
How about Nik Tzanev? Coming up to a good age for a GK, but has struggled to get gametime in England in recent years flitting between L1 and L2, and also struggled to get into the AWs setup lately.
Currently on a short-term deal at Huddersfield where he hasn't played a game and may not be retained, surely a decent option for the Nix to have a go at? Would solve the local GK issue and free up a visa spot, and he might be better than Josh too. Plus what's not to like about getting a good Kiwi in?image.png88.77 KB
What about Kraev? Excellent player but is going to be cut from WSW. Average season in a disfunctional team but still a top player IMO. I think his partner is a kiwi which might help. He would be on big money but would be a no brainer. Knows the club and the AL, no adjustment needed.
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