Start planning for 2016-17 now

[moops]

They can obtain them if they get released early, ala Beachamp (spelling??) From Sydney to the wanderers.

[Murfy1]

There are 112 A-League players  (maybe a few less now, the article is several weeks old) coming out of contract at the end of this season:

 

Adelaide United (7 players)

Jake Barker-Daish, Daniel Bowles, Nigel Boogaard, Marcelo Carrusca, Antony Golec, Jon McKain, Steven Lustica.

 

Brisbane Roar (5)

Matt Acton, Besart Berisha, Diogo Ferreira, Dimi Petratos, Shane Stefanutto

 

Central Coast (9)

Zach Anderson, Marcos Flores (owned by Victory), Brent Griffiths, Daniel McBreen, Justin Pasfield, Liam Reddy, Trent Sainsbury, Matt Simon, Mile Sterjovski

 

Melbourne Heart (13)

Orlando Engelaar, Patrick Gerhardt, Jason Hoffman, Harry Kewell, Patrick Kisnorbo, Golgol ,Mebrahtu, Michael Mifsud, Dylan Macallister, Sam Mitchinson, Tando Velaphi, David Vrankovic, Jeremy Walker, David Williams

 

Melbourne Victory (7)

Jonathan Bru, Pablo Contreras, Gui Finkler, James Jeggo, Adrian Leijer, Archie Thompson, Adama Traore

 

Newcastle Jets (14)

Michael Bridges, James Brown, Connor Chapman, Joey Gibbs, Craig Goodwin, Emile Heskey, Kew Jaliens, Ben Kantarovski, Scott Neville, Jacob Pepper, John Solari, Adam Taggart

 

Perth Glory (12)

Jacob Burns, Jack Clisby, Travis Dodd, Chris Harold, Ndumba Makeche, Steve McGarry, Brandon O'Neill, Steve Pantelidis, Sidnei Sciola, Shane Smeltz, Michael Thwaite, Adrian Zahra

 

Sydney FC (15)

Ali Abbas, Tiago Calvano, Joel Chianese, Alessandro Del Piero, Slobodan Despotovic, Brett Emerton, Richard Garcia, Vedran Janjetovic, Matt Jurman, Mitch Mallia, Terry McFlynn,

Ivan Necevski, Nikola Petkovic, Blake Powell, Marc Warren

 

Wellington Phoenix (11)

Luke Adams, Leo Bertos, Michael Boxall, Josh Brindell-South, Carlos Hernandez, Stein Huysegems, Paul Ifill, Lewis Italiano, Vince Lia, Manny Muscat, Albert Riera

 

Western Sydney (15)

Michael Beauchamp, Shannon Cole, Ante Covic, Adam D'Apuzzo, Labinot Haliti, Youssouf Hersi, Dean Heffernan, Aaron Mooy, Shinji Ono, Jerome Polenz, Brendon Santalab

Matthew Spiranovic, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Jason Trifiro, Jerrad Tyson

 

According to this Herald Sun article by Davutovic: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/studs-up-blog-112-aleague-players-are-off-contract-and-can-entertain-offers-from-rivals/story-fnk6pqhd-1226757061190

Edited January 25, 2014 by Murfy1

[Rellum]

A quick glance through that list

 

Matthew Spiranovic

Sidnei Sciola

Connor Chapman

 Trent Sainsbury

Marcos Flores

Marcelo Carrusca

Michael ThwaiteMichael Thwaite

[theresonlyonebzamora]

A quick glance through that list

Matthew Spiranovic

Sidnei Sciola

Connor Chapman

Trent Sainsbury

Marcos Flores

Marcelo Carrusca

Michael ThwaiteMichael Thwaite

I'd take Sainsbury, carrusca, maybe thwaite but he's getting on i would imagine.

[Koerner4]

Miroslav Klose as marquee anyone? His contract runs out at the end of the season.

[Melburnian]

Eric Paartalu.

Josh Kennedy.

Brad Jones.

Aaron Mooy.

Work on getting these guys in and I'll be happy. All address significant needs in our squad.

Imagine the engine room of Paartalu and Mooy. The goalscoring abilities of Kennedy in this league. Redmayne is not a number one in this league. He has no commandment and authority he needs to go or get further developed. Brad Jones would be the best keeper in the league.

[Young Polak]

What about taggart? What do you guys think of him

Edited January 25, 2014 by Young Polak

[Koerner4]

Eric Paartalu.

Josh Kennedy.

Brad Jones.

Aaron Mooy.

Work on getting these guys in and I'll be happy. All address significant needs in our squad.

Imagine the engine room of Paartalu and Mooy. The goalscoring abilities of Kennedy in this league. Redmayne is not a number one in this league. He has no commandment and authority he needs to go or get further developed. Brad Jones would be the best keeper in the league.

Problem is I think Jones is contracted to 2016, may want to stay at Liverpool.

[alexli]

What about taggart? What do you guys think of him

love to have him

in case he score against us

[theresonlyonebzamora]

Taggart's a good player, but looks great in an average team. Shades of D. Williams but younger

[thedukeofhearts]

Taggart resigned recently didn't he. A few weeks ago.

[moops]

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/wanderer-aaron-mooy-in-hearts-sights-20140125-31ffa.html

Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder Aaron

Mooy could become the first big name to

join Melbourne Heart's radical

transformation next season.

The 23-year old has been linked with a move

to the club which will undergo the biggest

revolution in Australian football when the

plans of new owners Manchester City kick

into action.

While City's billionaire owners can only

invest so much in players given the

restraints of the salary cap, they are set to go

hunting for the league's top talent over the

next six months.

Mooy has made a name for himself as an

elegant ball player with the Wanderers but

has found himself in a three-way fight for

one of the two defensive midfield positions,

alongside Iacopo La Rocca and Mateo

Poljak.

Advertisement

His preferred position is as an attacking

midfielder but as Shinji Ono has been there

since the club's first game, Mooy has been a

victim of circumstances and wants to pursue

opportunities elsewhere.

Heart officials refused to comment on the

speculation but the Wanderers will be

hoping to keep Mooy given Ono's pending

departure. The ex-Japanese international

has agreed a move to J-League second-division side Consadole Sapporo.

Mooy, who has scored two goals in his 36

appearances for the Wanderers, has already

been linked with a move to the Newcastle

Jets, something that may still eventuate if

the Jets can match Heart's offer.

Meanwhile, Wanderers coach Tony Popovic

wants to get his side refocused on Sunday's

crucial match against Perth Glory at

Parramatta Stadium.

Perth go into the match as arguably the form

side of the competition, having climbed into

the top six following a resurgence under new

coach Kenny Lowe. They could move to

equal fourth with a win over the Wanderers.

''We've just got to concentrate on our

performance. Perth is doing well and Kenny

is doing a great job there and I'm pleased for

him,'' Popovic said. ''But they're coming to

our place here and if we can perform and

build on our last home game, if we play to

our capabilities then we should really be

confident to get the three points.''

Popovic has emphasised all week to his

players the importance of punishing their

opponents around goal, something they

failed to do in their defeats against Adelaide

and Melbourne Victory.

''They're doing well defensively certainly but

we know we'll get the opportunities,''

Popovic said. ''We were a bit disappointed

with our final ball and decision-making

against Adelaide where we got in some good

areas. So we know that we're good enough

to get in the areas regardless of who the

opponent is, and if we can get in those areas

again I'm confident with the work the boys

have done this week we can finish some of

those opportunities off.''

After playing three matches in an eight-day

stretch, the Wanderers have enjoyed a full

week to prepare for this game, which their

coach believes will make a significant

difference.

''We've had a good week on the training

ground, which is nice because we haven't

had a full week in a little while,'' Popovic

said. ''I think the boys have enjoyed that and

spirits are high.''

He said he was hopeful of getting some

players back from injury in time for kick-off

on Sunday.

''We've just got to be careful,'' he said. ''The

last time I said that, we lost three or four

players in a day. If everyone pulls through,

we'll potentially have a few more players

available for selection. Getting a couple back

would be nice.''

Popovic said Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Matt

Spiranovic were ''a chance'' of coming back

but that Jerome Polenz and Poljak would

remain sidelined.

Seems a bit premature to me, who knows?

[moops]

Miroslav Klose as marquee anyone? His contract runs out at the end of the season.

Yeah man I would love it, unless he's become a snail of sorts.

[Tommykins]

I think the most interesting spot to fill will be the Junior Marquee (Under 23) which could be a real statement of intent from the club to go out and grab a seriously good younger player. Leckie or Irvine would be good calls, as they're both from Melbourne.

 

Chris Herd is off contract, extremely unlikely to come back, but would make a superb Australian Marquee given the chance.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Tommykins

[Shahanga]

So tell me if JD and JVS aren't sure if they have a job next year, who is planning our squad for next season?

 

If we wait until next season we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

 

The squad needs to be planned holistically, by the manager and preferably built around our 2 marquees. (a midfielder and a striker).

[Rellum]

So tell me if JD and JVS aren't sure if they have a job next year, who is planning our squad for next season?

 

If we wait until next season we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

 

The squad needs to be planned holistically, by the manager and preferably built around our 2 marquees. (a midfielder and a striker).

I would rather a DM and an Attacking mid as marquees. If they do have access to quality scouting networks then we can hopefully find a berisha quality finisher or two. But we need real quality players to get our midfield going.

[Melburnian]

So tell me if JD and JVS aren't sure if they have a job next year, who is planning our squad for next season?

 

If we wait until next season we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

 

The squad needs to be planned holistically, by the manager and preferably built around our 2 marquees. (a midfielder and a striker).

That's my thoughts too.

[jw1739]

 

So tell me if JD and JVS aren't sure if they have a job next year, who is planning our squad for next season?

 

If we wait until next season we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

 

The squad needs to be planned holistically, by the manager and preferably built around our 2 marquees. (a midfielder and a striker).

That's my thoughts too.

 

I put something in another thread about that. The new owners took the reins at 10.00 on Thursday. I'm pretty sure that they would have had in place either then or very soon after procedures to deal with all aspects of club operations, including player releases, re-signings and acquisitions, and other staff changes etc. etc. They would not come in and then give Munn and Co. three months in which to possibly stuff everything up for them.

 

IMO the "listen and learn" period is more about finer details, such as fans reactions etc., rather than the business side of putting in place all that they have said they will do.

 

I would be surprised if they do not have decisions already made about the new CEO and other senior managers, and in terms of coaches and players various short lists already drawn up based on their established scouting network.

[Red or Dead]

What about Grant Holt? 

 

Faaaaark if only we had signed him instead of Mif-dud - could've been a completely different season!!

[ManCity51]

If the owners operate like they do with us (City) then they'll play their cards very close to their chest. You don't get the big grandiose statements of who you're going to buy, usually the first anybody, including the press knows about players joining is when the deal's done. They just quietly go about their business, and I'm guessing if a list of targets isn't already in place, it's being drawn up. It can be a pain in the arse waiting for news, but on the plus side, when a signing's revealed, it's a bit like Christmas. I can still remember when our neighbours, United signed Phil Jones from Blackburn it was kind of annoying for a few weeks, then we announced a press conference, and Sergio Aguero's stood there holding his new City shirt.  

[thedukeofhearts]

It's not like City saw a good deal on ebay and quickly put in a bid. No doubt they started working stuff out months ago.

[Matt]

Melbourne Heart (13)

Orlando Engelaar, Patrick Gerhardt, Jason Hoffman, Harry Kewell, Patrick Kisnorbo, Golgol ,Mebrahtu, Michael Mifsud, Dylan Macallister, Sam Mitchinson, Tando Velaphi, David Vrankovic, Jeremy Walker, David Williams

 

Looking at this list, I'd hope we keep Engelaar, Kewell, Kisnorbo, Vrankovic and Walker.

[Shahanga]

Mate Jeremy Walker needs to put in a hell of a lot more than what he did last time I saw him if he wants to fulfill his potential (and get a new contract). Its all very well to blame JA for him turning bad, but in the end its his own career that's at the cross roads.

If he's fair dinkum he's got to be the first to training and the last to leave now.

As for big Paddy K - I love the bloke's "no prisoners" approach to all things football but he doesn't really fit the play out from the back, ticka tacka etc model that our Blue Overlords are preaching.

In regards to Kewell I'd have him if he didn't retire. Engelaar we need to see more of, but if we could get as a non-marquee than yeah probably.

[HEARTinator]

While we're at it, I guess this would be appropriate on match days given our new owner. It's fine by me

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ

[Shahanga]

Goal song!

(massive clash fan here)

[Embee]

While we're at it, I guess this would be appropriate on match days given our new owner. It's fine by me

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ

 

Haha I was going to put this up the other day and forgot! Owe you a like!

[n i k o]

Mate Jeremy Walker needs to put in a hell of a lot more than what he did last time I saw him if he wants to fulfill his potential (and get a new contract). Its all very well to blame JA for him turning bad, but in the end its his own career that's at the cross roads.If he's fair dinkum he's got to be the first to training and the last to leave now.As for big Paddy K - I love the bloke's "no prisoners" approach to all things football but he doesn't really fit the play out from the back, ticka tacka etc model that our Blue Overlords are preaching.In regards to Kewell I'd have him if he didn't retire. Engelaar we need to see more of, but if we could get as a non-marquee than yeah probably.

I agree and I've said it before, walker was given a chance by JA and flourished. Watching him at some youth league games and the games he played for the first team I wouldn't have played him either. It's not always the coaches fault. The player has to show that they deserve the position.

[hakz7]

Melbourne Heart (13)

Orlando Engelaar, Patrick Gerhardt, Jason Hoffman, Harry Kewell, Patrick Kisnorbo, Golgol ,Mebrahtu, Michael Mifsud, Dylan Macallister, Sam Mitchinson, Tando Velaphi, David Vrankovic, Jeremy Walker, David Williams

Looking at this list, I'd hope we keep Engelaar, Kewell, Kisnorbo, Vrankovic and Walker.The problem with keeping Engelaar is that, unless he agrees for his marquee status to be removed and for his wages to fit in the salary cap, we won't be able to sign a high-profile marquee player as I assume the owners will be looking to sign one.

[NewConvert]

So tell me if JD and JVS aren't sure if they have a job next year, who is planning our squad for next season?

 

If we wait until next season we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

 

The squad needs to be planned holistically, by the manager and preferably built around our 2 marquees. (a midfielder and a striker).

 

The procedures for a successful takeover is that the buyer knows where the new org will fit in to the scheme of things. Since this was a friendly purchase they would have looked at the way the current management (Munn, etc) have dealt with challenges in the past during the diligence period. In this case it is more than likely that the Man City management are doing the planning phase and the current management doing the day to day stuff. My feeling is that they will keep Munn but ensure he understands the Man City philosophy. The reason being is that they need someone who knows the local market and there are few sports managers that can do that. As for the playing list management that will most likely be already under way in Man City. Who ever is selected to manage the team will be given up to 5 o/s players and they will need to build the local players list.

 

What about Grant Holt? 

 

Faaaaark if only we had signed him instead of Mif-dud - could've been a completely different season!!

 

the possibility that Heart mnay have won a game could also raise the porspect that JA would still be coaching Heart.

 

Mate Jeremy Walker needs to put in a hell of a lot more than what he did last time I saw him if he wants to fulfill his potential (and get a new contract). Its all very well to blame JA for him turning bad, but in the end its his own career that's at the cross roads.

If he's fair dinkum he's got to be the first to training and the last to leave now.

As for big Paddy K - I love the bloke's "no prisoners" approach to all things football but he doesn't really fit the play out from the back, ticka tacka etc model that our Blue Overlords are preaching.

In regards to Kewell I'd have him if he didn't retire. Engelaar we need to see more of, but if we could get as a non-marquee than yeah probably.

 

I suspect that if JA had been given Barcelona, RM, Man City, name a side, and within 18 months he would have had them playing like MHT. But you are right, players now have every incentive to train hard and improve if they want to have a professional career there won't be too many other clubs chasing the MHT discards.

 

As for Paddy K - I don't know. He does do some good defending, and even scored but he can also be too crude. Can he adapt? Not sure.

[Matt]

Think we should be looking to squeeze Engelaar under the cap, I'm sure getting rid of some of our highly paid underachievers like D.Williams would help that. Kewell is only getting better and might sneak into the World Cup squad and if he does play on, would be a good shout for the Asian Cup. Out of our current senior CBs, the only one I think we should retain is Kisnorbo, with all those scouts we have available now, we could do better than Gerhardt and Wielaert. Walker should be given one more year to see if he can recover from the Aloisi treatment, I'm sure losing your spot to Jason Hoffman would be no good for anyone's confidence.

[Embee]

To be fair, we haven't actually seen a lot of what Orlando's got at this point.

 

I think he's got the pedigree and the ability for us to keep him around but I'd like to see that backed up when he's match fit. It's going to be an important couple of months for guys like him, Kewell and Kisnorbo in regards to seeing if they justify a spot in the squad next season. Personally I'd like to see Harry and Paddy K stay on, and possibly Engelaar depending on how he goes once fit.

[jw1739]

 

The procedures for a successful takeover is that the buyer knows where the new org will fit in to the scheme of things. Since this was a friendly purchase they would have looked at the way the current management (Munn, etc) have dealt with challenges in the past during the diligence period. In this case it is more than likely that the Man City management are doing the planning phase and the current management doing the day to day stuff. My feeling is that they will keep Munn but ensure he understands the Man City philosophy. The reason being is that they need someone who knows the local market and there are few sports managers that can do that. As for the playing list management that will most likely be already under way in Man City. Who ever is selected to manage the team will be given up to 5 o/s players and they will need to build the local players list.

 

I would be astounded if they keep Munn. I don't think people have quite realised yet that the bar for performance at Melbourne Heart hasn't just been raised a couple of inches, it's been raised several orders of magnitude. People such as Ferran Soriano are operating on a global big-business level, not in a coffee shop environment. Everyone from Munn downwards at Heart HQ will be assessed on how well they fit the performance criteria demanded by ADG. I don't expect any of the senior management to survive except perhaps the community engagement staff, who do have the local knowledge that the club needs. And IMO it will need to continue this work because of the Westpac sponsorship.

 

It's interesting speculation about the players. I doubt that Engelaar will be retained. He'll be 35 before next season. I expect most of those who are out of contract to be released.

[thedukeofhearts]

in terms of munn I could see him being retained in some type of small roll, but not as the head guy. Be interesting on whether he would stay though. On one side he get another job elsewhere because he's been looking at by North Melbourne in the past, but on the other hand he might see doing a lower down role a good career move because of who he would be working with and the contacts he would make for the future and good for his resume down the track.

[Murfy1]

It might be instructive to look at how New York City FC are set up.

 

Ferran Sorinao (also the Man City CEO) is currently, and temporarily the NYCFC CEO. This suggests that some of Man City's expertise will directly be applied to Heart.

 

But the other, and permanent, positions pretty much seem to have gone to Americans:

- Tim Pernetti, who was formerly the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Rutgers University, is their Chief Business Officer

- Claudio Reyna was a United States International and a Manchester City player, and he was made the Director of Football Operations

- They have a Head of Recruitment, who is David Lee. I think he's a Brit. He was a Performance Analyst at New York Red Bulls for 3 years (since 2011 up until he joined NYCFC), and he was the Exeter City Head of Performance Analysis from 2009 until he joined the Red Bulls

 

Also, both coaches are American, namely Jason Kreis the Head Coach, and Miles Joseph, the assistant coach.

 

And curiously every one of their senior staff is in their 40s (not sure about David Lee though).

 

 

So I think they'd like a lot of quality local knowledge, if they can get it. Which means Munn and Didulica might be a chance to stick around at Heart next season. When Soriano was asked by Simon Hill if they would bring 'their own people' in to run the club, his answer was 'No.', that for the time being they will 'listen and learn', and he even surprisingly said 'Heart is actually a successful endeavor', pretty much because it's tough to create a new club. Although, in another interview I reckon Soriano might have taken a jab or two at Heart's current management when he was asked how Heart would attract more fans:

 

 

 I can say now that we will work very hard to play good football. Everything starts and finishes with that, and if we are able to play good football then we will win and attract fans and develop an identity.

 

In football, there's little space for marketing tricks - it's about playing good football [...]

 

 

 

I'm sort of hoping that both Munn and Didulica keep jobs at the club, and even do work pretty similar to what they do now (although Munn should probably be in a lesser role), BUT that the new owners also bring more staff to complement them. I'm not sure that they'll bring in really big names to run the club, as they didn't seek out such figures to run New York City, instead favouring best-in-their-area local talent. And given that Australia has a real lack of skillful football CEOs and Directors of Football Operations, I'm starting to think that Heart should retain Munn and Didulica. Really, what sort of other Australian options are there?

 

If they do bring in talented or well regarded non-Australians to run Heart, then that would probably be good too. But after looking at New York City, I wouldn't bet on it. And having Munn and Didulica, and maybe some new staff, with much greater resources is significantly better than any domestic alternatives I can think of.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Murfy1

[mus-28]

 

MARCELO Carrusca's priority is to remain with Adelaide United but the revered Argentine will leave the club if the Reds do not present a better offer.

 

Agent Maxi Pra revealed Carrusca had rejected Adelaide's maiden offer which was tabled just after the Argentine playmaker scored the winner in United's 1-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers on January 19.

 

Adelaide coach Josep Gombau and football director Michael Petrillo offered the extension which, according to sources, is less than Carrusca's original two-year deal when he signed for the club in 2012, with the CPI taken in account.

 

But Carrusca is not short on offers from A-League rivals and clubs abroad.

 

"Adelaide 15 days ago made a new offer for a new contract for Marcelo,'' Pra said from Buenos Aires.

 

"But it wasn't enough so we'll continue with the negotiations and they will give us a new offer in these days.

 

"At the same time we are talking to other clubs also from other countries just to have options for Marcelo.

 

"But the priority for Marcelo is to stay in Adelaide because he's very happy there."

 

It's believed Sydney FC is at least one A-League club willing to sign Carrusca in time for the 2014/15 season.

 

Adelaide is, according to sources, also considering signing another Spaniard to join Isaias and Sergio Cirio at the club, which may end the Carrusca negotiations.

 

Whether the targeted Spanish player is a former Barcelona first team player it's not known after Gombau, while he was still coaching Kitchee FC in Hong Kong's semi professional league, vowed to deliver a Barca superstar.

 

But securing Carrusca for the future may be a difficult task for Adelaide.

 

Adelaide's financial situation was not the same as 2012, Pra said.

 

This is despite all clubs having their entire $2.4 million salary cap paid for by Football Federation Australia this season.

 

Pra has some of Argentina's finest football products in his stable, including Carrsuca and Atletico Madrid's international Jose Sosa.

 

"I think the economics of Adelaide is different from two years ago,'' Pra said.

 

"We need a better contract to stay there.

 

"He would consider another club, he was very clear with Mr (Michael) Petrillo about the priority to stay in Adelaide but we need to consider all this and this is the same contract.

 

"If he is regarded as the best player in the team he needs a better contract."

 

Critics regards Carrusca as one of the top playmakers in the A-League alongside Sydney's Alessandro Del Piero, Brisbane Roar's Thomas Broich, Western Sydney Wanderers Shinji Ono, Melbourne Victory's Gui Finkler and James Troisi and Heart's Harry Kewell.

 

Finkler is another player who could be on his way, considering Victory is yet to renegotiate a new contract, according to his agent.

 

 

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/football/marcelo-carrusca-to-stay-with-adelaide-united-but-only-for-a-pay-rise/story-fnii0g1d-1226812379739

 

We've never had a quality left winger, Carrusca fits the bill perfectly.

[Tommykins]

Brendan Hamill being shopped around, should be brought back into the fold, still only 21.

[Murfy1]

Davutovic reported yesterday that Michael Marrone is interested in returning to the A-League (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/former-victory-star-billy-celeski-to-join-growing-number-of-players-to-return-to-aleague-from-asia/story-fnk6rmfi-1226811462141).

 

Erik Paartalu was also reported to be interested in returning to the A-League earlier this month (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/victory-considering-selling-mitch-nichols-with-asian-stars-looking-to-return/story-fnk6pqhd-1226796116474).

 

And Nathan Burns' Korean club reportedly would be 'happy to released him', and the Jets apparently aren't doing enough to sign him (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/gary-van-egmond-tips-nathan-burns-as-world-cup-bolter-if-he-can-stay-in-the-aleague/story-fnk6pqot-1226799668984).

 

Good players, and their ages are 27, 27 and 25 respectively, so we could get 4 or 5 (or maybe more) good seasons out of them.

 

I'm not quite sure what we should do regarding centrebacks next season, but I think there's a fair chance that most or perhaps all of Wielaert, Gerhardt, Kisnorbo (and maybe Vrankovic and Mitchinson) could leave. IMO, there's enough decent Australian defenders, so we shouldn't waste VISA spots on them. Right now, Eddy Bosnar, Adrian Madaschi and Sasa Ognenovski are all keen on returning to the A-League, and if we lose our experienced CBs we should look to sign up 1 of them IMO.

 

Hopefully we play Vrankovic a lot more before the season ends, if we don't sign him up for next season. He's only played about 7-8 full matches last season (along with a few substitute appearances), and he hasn't featured at all this season. I'd be pretty pissed off if he didn't get more opportunities to prove himself over 2 whole seasons at Heart, because IMO Aloisi more than anything else has held him back.

 

I'd also be pleased if we could get Brendan Hamill, if he's available.

 

The Man City staff acknowledged we'd need 17 or 18 Australian players next season, so hopefully they canvass some of the good Australian players out there, like the names above.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Murfy1

[tigerou812]

Would like to us go for a 18-20 man squad with quality than a full squad with players that aren't being used. If to many players are out injured we can get replacements in or give youth a try.

[cadete]

Would like to us go for a 18-20 man squad with quality than a full squad with players that aren't being used. If to many players are out injured we can get replacements in or give youth a try.

We could also use Guest Stints now that we have money.

[ae7smith]

Marquee for 2014/15 Juan Arango, out of contract at Monchengladbach.