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The Ivan Franjic thread


kingofhearts
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Spoke to his uncle who confirmed that we are very close to signing him. Russian club is playing hard ball.

Are we getting rid of someone like Williams? I thought we didn't have cap room

 

 

Not sure but from what his uncle told me that it will be on loan for this season with a permanent move next season

...which, if I understand the Lampard Loan Rule correctly, doesn't really make any difference in the wage that must be counted for salary cap purposes. So, if previous indications about how close we are to the cap were correct, then IMO we must be anticipating releasing another player before we can take Franjic on board.

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I imagine that when things fall through with City due to the 'Lampard' rule / salary cap restrictions, Sydney FC will make contact with Franjic, and shortly therafter FFA will change the Lampard rule so that it does not apply to ex-A-League players.  Then of course, Sydney FC will announce Franjic as a loan player for the rest of the season and all will be legit.

 

:lowy:

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What makes me think that a Franjic deal could happen is what Franjic himself told Davutovic 2 weeks ago:

 

“I might go out on loan after the Asian Cup and the A-League would definitely be an option, a very big option,’’ Franjic said.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/asian-cup-2015-socceros-star-ivan-franjic-eyes-a-league-loan-deal-after-tournament/story-fni2wcjl-1227174141179?nk=2cfbe8451a36e6b7560fef4ea978c5d4

 

SST saying what they are, and Davutovic saying today:

 

Hi Michael, there will be movement. But Juric did an 11th hour backflip on a decision to go to China, Burns is the one Shanghai Shenhua are after now. Franjic has 3-4 A-League clubs after him, including City. I reckon 3-4 Socceroos will move before the transfer window closes.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/asian-cup-2015-its-time-ange-postecoglou-unleashes-mark-bresciano-david-davutovic-says/story-fnqk652h-1227189876868

 

 

Are secondary reasons that complement what Franjic said, and make me think Franjic to City could happen. Although I agree that barring some truly remarkable business, the club will probably have to release a player before it can sign Franjic.

 

A final thing is that I expect any deal to be a week or longer away. I doubt a Franjic deal will happen whilst Franjic is still playing for the Socceroos at the Asian Cup.

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Melbourne City favourites to bring Socceroos right-back Ivan Franjic from Russia to A-League

 

David Davutovic and Matt Windley

 

January 20, 2015 

 

 

MELBOURNE City has emerged as favourite to secure Ivan Franjic, with the right-back one of several Socceroos to have fielded offers during the Asian Cup.

 

The Torpedo Moscow player’s form has attracted interest from several A-League clubs, including Sydney FC and his former side Brisbane Roar.

 

But City looms as the most appealing option after Roar signed fellow right-back and former Western Sydney Wanderer Jerome Polenz.

 

City’s full-back issues have been well documented and a recent resurgence sees them on track to play finals this season.

 

Franjic is contracted with the Russians until May 2017 and would join City on a loan deal until the end of this A-League season.

 

With Franjic’s Russian club already resuming pre-season, he will have to make a call within days of the Socceroos’ final Asian Cup game, which could be as early as Thursday, and as late as January 31.

 

Tim Cahill, Massimo Luongo, Nathan Burns, Mat Ryan, Alex Wilkinson, Tommy Oar and Tomi Juric are the others being watched by overseas scouts and club officials.

 

A huge global TV audience is expected for Thursday night’s quarter-final clash between Australia and China, with the transfer window about to slam shut.

 

Franjic, who recently told the Herald Sun that he wanted to return to the A-League, admitted he’d had a tough stint in Russia after signing from Roar last August, but refused to be drawn on his future.

 

“Right now my only focus is on the Socceroos,’’ Franjic said.

 

“I’m still a Torpedo Moscow player and I’m focusing on Thursday night and getting the Socceroos into the semi-final.

 

“I’ve had a few Roar fans speak to me, telling me to come back.

 

“But China’s a big game, that’s where all my focus is, Socceroos and the country.

 

“It was difficult (in Russia). Obviously I had an operation after the World Cup, then I came back and started playing a few games but then the coach got sacked.

 

“Then I had a choice between playing for my country or staying with new coach and doing 10 days’ preparation. I always put my country first before any club.’’

 

The European transfer window closes at the end of January, while the Asian one is open until late February.

 

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/melbourne-city-favourites-to-bring-socceroos-right-back-ivan-franjic-from-russia-to-a-league/story-e6frf4gl-1227191194377?nk=bd4f4fac7e8001233b0099ebab6c53b2

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I'd love franjic at the club. One of the best rb's in the league.

But surely we should get in a better cb and lb.

But like many have said before, in the a-league, you take quality when it is available

At LB we now have Clisby.

At CB we have Paddy, Chappy and Robbie.

At RB we have a Winger and whatever Hoffman is... so I think a RB is exactly what we need ATM.

Exactly. We have robbie and paddy

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With the Lampard rule in place how is it possible to get Franjic on loan as the article above suggests? Surely the salary paid by his overseas parent club would destroy our salary cap? 

 

"Franjic is contracted with the Russians until May 2017 and would join City on a loan deal until the end of this A-League season."

 

Or are there some behind the scenes deals, where FFA realised they panicked by introducing the Lampard rule and don't want to prevent overseas based Australians from being loaned back to A League clubs?

 

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With the Lampard rule in place how is it possible to get Franjic on loan as the article above suggests? Surely the salary paid by his overseas parent club would destroy our salary cap? 

 

"Franjic is contracted with the Russians until May 2017 and would join City on a loan deal until the end of this A-League season."

 

Or are there some behind the scenes deals, where FFA realised they panicked by introducing the Lampard rule and don't want to prevent overseas based Australians from being loaned back to A League clubs?

Quite so. The only interpretation we can place on the possibility of Franjic coming to us on loan is that because it's for half a season only there is sufficient room left under the salary cap to allow that, and that therefore there is more room left under the cap than we thought.

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It really depends on how much less he is willing to earn. If he has stated as reported City is his preferred club then I think we can assume he'd take less to play play here. Whether that lesser amount is still within the cap...?

That's if we are buying him. But if he is a loan we have to count 100% of his russian wages to the cap

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There's quite a few factors in Franjic coming to us that no one really knows:

How much do we have left in the cap? By the sounds of it not a great deal

How much will the new loan player rule affect this? Depends on how much he is willing to sign for and what his earnings are in Russia

What's his motivation for playing? Obviously he is looking towards having game time, but for what reason? Is it more so for the national team to make sure he is playing consistently, or perhaps that isn't a factor. Maybe it's just having consistent game time for when he returns to Russia, if he returns that is. Maybe he's looking for a different path through Melbourne City through CFGs connections eg. MLS. Perhaps this is his permanent return to play in Australia? Whatever his motivation is will greatly affect how much he is willing to sign for.

Is he wanting to play for us or us wanting him to play for us? As far as I know there have been rumours that he is interested in playing in Melbourne and that he is in contact with us. But whether we are trying hard to pursue him is another thing.

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It really depends on how much less he is willing to earn. If he has stated as reported City is his preferred club then I think we can assume he'd take less to play play here. Whether that lesser amount is still within the cap...?

That's if we are buying him. But if he is a loan we have to count 100% of his russian wages to the cap

 

Yes sorry you're right.

Creative accounting solution:

Russian club signs him to a new contract at a reduced wage (in line with our cap space) then immediately loans him onto us.

 

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It really depends on how much less he is willing to earn. If he has stated as reported City is his preferred club then I think we can assume he'd take less to play play here. Whether that lesser amount is still within the cap...?

That's if we are buying him. But if he is a loan we have to count 100% of his russian wages to the cap

 

not if he was to sign a 'mini-contract' that meant he would forego some of his wages for 6 months. 

Obviously not for everyone, but if $400k to $200k means he continues to play regular first team football and give himself every chance of national team selection then he'd probably do it.

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What do ppl think he was originally getting in Russia? Presumably there he's paid in rubles, and the ruble has collapsed in the past few months - worth something like half it was last year. Also if he does come here it's for half a season, so effectively a loan to us is for a quarter of what he originally went to Russia for. We probably have that space under the cap, especially if we've signed Clisby as the third "+3" under-23 player.

 

Everything gets reset once we release a number of players at the end of this season.

 

It's also just possible that FFA is reconsidering its knee-jerk Lampard Rule, which is now acting against the interests of Australian players and the national team just as much as it did against Lamps. In hindsight what a stupid over-reaction that was.

Edited by jw1739
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It's been reported multiple times that "several A-League clubs" are interested in Franjic, so clearly a lot A-League clubs believe they could fit Franjic under the cap. However exactly that's possible I'm not 100% sure.

 

Perhaps people are just grossly overestimating the wages that Franjic is getting from his Russian club? Russia does have a super-inflated market for footballers, but that doesn't mean every player is on heaps of money. Perhaps it's mainly star footballers lured from the west of Russia (from good European clubs) that make big bucks in Russia?

 

Also Franjic's club, Torpedo Moscow, was playing in the 2nd division last year, and Torpedo Moscow has been in the lower divisions for the past several years. Even though Franjic signed on last year just after the club was promoted to Russia's top flight competition, perhaps the club was unable and/or unwilling to pay big bucks to Ivan Franjic?

 

And I think the ruble point is a really good one, and might well explain why so many A-League clubs can sign Franjic. The ruble has roughly halved since Franjic signed up to Torpedo Moscow, and given that Melbourne City would probably only pay half a season's wages for Franjic it does seem that the club might only have to pay a quarter of what Franjic was going to get (in AUD) when he signed up with Torpedo Moscow last year. Just imagine if Franjic was originally meant to get half a million Australian dollars per season to be paid in rubles. That would mean that A-League clubs would now just have to pay $125,000 to get Franjic on loan for the remaining half season.

 

 

Anyway, my first point is my main point. Lots of clubs believe they could potentially fit Franjic under the cap, so it's not just special accounting by MCFC. I don't know how it works, but lots of clubs believe a Franjic loan back to the A-League can be done, so that's good enough for me.

 

 

P.S. On Franjic's motivation for returning to Australia. At worst, it looks like he'd want to play lots of football for the remaining half season and make a good impression so that he could get into the frame for both Torpedo Moscow in the lead up to the upcoming Russian season, and the Socceroos ahead of qualification for the 2018 World Cup. But I think there's a chance that the deal could be long term, as it looks like things haven't worked out as planned for Franjic with his move to Russia, so conceivably Franjic could sign a contract with Melbourne City after the loan move is up, which would be a real coup for the club.

Edited by Murfy1
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