I've wondered if both the Ball and OVH situations might be one and the same – the club adjusting to a new financial reality and an increasingly strict adherence to a business model in which future sales potential is held as a priority over even fielding the best possible matchday squad. There may be an imposition upon Chief that he'll have to work with in which minutes might be dictated on the basis of age and contract status, where Ball and OVH being off contract at the close of the season leaves them behind prospects like Walker by default and even in the case that the former two might be viewed as objectively preferable selections on the day. It's all speculation, of course, but there may be metrics forcing tough choices in terms of which of the more experienced players he can deploy.
I would really hope there's a plan B in there with Rojas out. We need one.
Also is it really suprising to anyone that he's ended up like this already? It was a really silly idea to build around him in the first place imo and I'll be surprised (I really hope I am) if we get much of anything out of him this season.
Really need both of out J-league imports to step up and show why they're here.
a leg fracture is not something you would expect, soft tissue injuries are something that could be more likely to reoccur.
No Ball in the squad remains a mystery to me, sure his goal scoring has been non-existent for us for a while but control of the ball and link play with the attacking trio was key last season. Surely he can do the Rojas/Colacovski role better than the younger guys who havent been up to it thus far?? Ball is fit and not injured so it's purely a Cheify call at this stage - I'm surprised noone in the media has asked about Ball so far, he has been a key component in the squad since his arrival.
At this point surely there must've been a falling out right? Clash of personality or something. It's the only reason I can think of that Balls not even making the bench. Yeah he's getting on a bit but he offered a lot of value last season without goal scoring so surely there something to be had even with limited minutes.
not sure about a falling out, but chiefy in interviews seems very focusses on developing the next gen of players possibly at the expense of Ball.
In hindsight (a lot of people pointed this out) it probably wasn't the best idea to have someone as injury prone as Rojas to be who our attack was based around. Hopefully Chiefy is reconsidering that approach.
Exactly right. Rojas was never certain to be fit enough to start consistently. If he was available on an average wage deal, he should have been signed as a player to come off the bench when fit. I hope that they aren't paying him too much. It would have been better to pay Kraev whatever his agent was after if it was reasonable and retain him.
I know young Brooke-Smith has been the talk of the town recently, but I am getting a hunch GSR might feature today. Or maybe both, why not...they are the most talented youngsters on our bench, given the situation, why not give them an opportunity?
ananaveragestemdunnixLT01Mainland FC+7Monto, newzealandpower, Oi Oi Edgecumbe, Scrivy, WanderingSheep, wilbaker, YoungHeartHM
over 1 year ago
YOUR STARTING XI AGAINST THE JETS 👊
🟡 Brooke-Smith makes his starting debut 👏 🟡 Payne, who was ruled out yesterday, has passed a late fitness test to take his place in the XI 🟡 Sheridan makes his return to the starting line-up#COYNpic.twitter.com/qpeu9LJyfK
Hope we see Payne at CB and not Sheridan. I think Payne is much worse as a CB than as a right back, but I do not trust Sheridan there at all. Chiefy thinks Sheridan can play anywhere, but I've never been impressed with him anywhere but RB. Payne can do a job at CB and he has a fair bit of experience there at A-League level.
And hope to be proven wrong but I expect very little from LBS. He's very raw. Would much rather have OVH or Ball starting.
Kraev, meanwhile, scored a nice goal against Adelaide last night. I miss Kraev.
Think most of us do but the Nix also cant be expected nor should they pay overs just to keep players when their contracts expire.
If the player has anchored our best ever finish, we might want to try to keep him, when a bunch of his peers of similar pedigree joined top ten leagues and started…
