Bradman99 wrote:
We have this obsession in NZ about scouring the pro leagues of Europe & to a lesser extent the US for players. Eze was a great find last year and who had even thought of the Iraqi league? What other gems are out there?
Or even closer to home...is someone like Monty Patterson worth a look.
NPL clubs are probably littered with players who developed in the A league academies but didn't get signed at age 20, so played NPL and developed a bit later.
Coaches just seem to have this obession that if they have signed somewhere once they must be good...it's certainly not always the case.
There certainly have always been some good players in the Aussie state leagues capable of stepping up to the A-League or higher whose ability was never spotted by A-League clubs.
One of the most prominent examples is current Scotland international striker Lyndon Dykes who appeared in the World Cup, who is basically an Aussie.
Born on the Gold Coast to Scottish immigrant parents but he never played above Queensland state league level though Brisbane Roar had ample opportunity to scout him, he left for Scotland aged 20 and was instantly snapped up by Queen of the South, soon moving on to Premier League Livingstone, then QPR, Birmingham City and Charlton in the Championship.
The Nix have signed some good players from the Aussie state leagues in the past who were neglected by their local A-League sides, principally club legend Manny Muscat.
Another was striker Mirjan Pavlovic signed from Sydney United.
Dylan Fox, Josh Brindell-South, Adam Parkhouse, Blake Powell, Lewis Italiano are other players picked up by the Nix from state league clubs whose talent wasn't appreciated by their local A-League sides.