Transfer Talk, Rumours and Speculation

[HeartOfCity]

4 hours ago, Thrillhouse said:

surely kosta isn't far off citizenship? 

I thought he was kiwi and therefore treated as aussie within the foreigner rules 

[Embee]

 

31 minutes ago, HeartOfCity said:

I thought he was kiwi and therefore treated as aussie within the foreigner rules 

As far as I'm aware Kiwis are treated as VISA players unless they play for the Nux.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Embee

[Imperial Pints]

1 hour ago, haz said:

The article is rubbish,  but there's a difference of signing Victory's rejects and their star players. 

 

Think of how we would feel if they signed Brown compared to if they signed Mooy from us 

Yeah if they signed Brown I'd feel good! Anyways imo Victory's stars are Berisha, Delpierre, Finkler and FBK. Barbarouses is good on his day but doesn't have the same class as the others.

[jw1739]

That article doesn't make sense to me.
1. We have three overseas players contracted for next season: Sorensen, Novillo and Fornaroli.
2. We've decided to replace Robi Koren with "a major overseas player. Thus taking up the fourth overseas player place, leaving one to go.
3. " Barbarouses is not a "major overseas player." Therefore signing him is nothing to do with the departure of Robi Koren.
4. "If Mooy stays, watch City to make a raid for Barbarouses." What's signing Barbarouses got to do with Mooy at all? Mooy is paid outside the cap, and is Australian. If Mooy stays and we sign the "major overseas player" that's our two marquee places gone and therefore Barbarouses would have to be paid inside the cap.

Perhaps I'm wrong but I can't see the logic.

[bt50]

23 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

That article doesn't make sense to me.
1. We have three overseas players contracted for next season: Sorensen, Novillo and Fornaroli.
2. We've decided to replace Robi Koren with "a major overseas player. Thus taking up the fourth overseas player place, leaving one to go.
3. " Barbarouses is not a "major overseas player." Therefore signing him is nothing to do with the departure of Robi Koren.
4. "If Mooy stays, watch City to make a raid for Barbarouses." What's signing Barbarouses got to do with Mooy at all? Mooy is paid outside the cap, and is Australian. If Mooy stays and we sign the "major overseas player" that's our two marquee places gone and therefore Barbarouses would have to be paid inside the cap.

Perhaps I'm wrong but I can't see the logic.

I’d suggest that whoever they have lined up for Koren’s marquee position is relatively settled or at least the type of player is. Probably a defensive style mid. Reading into that, it wont be an attacking mid a la Mooy as we already have that position nailed down.

Hence if Mooy stays, they’ll target Barbarouses as a winger with the spare visa place.

If Mooy goes, then the Marquee position, also likely to be a visa player with that opening up will be recruited as a direct swap. The onflow is that the visa position the new midfield marquee will take up will then leave no visa spot to attract Barbarouses. Make sense?

[NewConvert]

Just wondering - if Koren departs in January, the club would need to look for a marquee. Now, given that Chelsea are in all sorts of troubles and if Mourinho survives could a Chelsea player become available that could fit in for the remainder of the season or as a guest player? If so who would be most likely or best option? Fabregast? Oscar?

There could be issues with the FFA but given that they are desperate for a name player to ignite greater recognition I am sure that they could be persuaded to bend the rules a bit.

[strider]

8 minutes ago, NewConvert said:

Just wondering - if Koren departs in January, the club would need to look for a marquee. Now, given that Chelsea are in all sorts of troubles and if Mourinho survives could a Chelsea player become available that could fit in for the remainder of the season or as a guest player? If so who would be most likely or best option? Fabregast? Oscar?

There could be issues with the FFA but given that they are desperate for a name player to ignite greater recognition I am sure that they could be persuaded to bend the rules a bit.

Let's be honest, it will be a scrub marquee hitting the end of his career (Ronaldinho) 

[Dylan]

All things point to KaKa for me. Something must have happend at Orlando. I know he split from his wife but that's all I have

[AlbionLoveDen]

If Mooy leaves, would love to see that Oz marquee spot given to Mile.

[HeartOfCity]

11 minutes ago, AlbionLoveDen said:

If Mooy leaves, would love to see that Oz marquee spot given to Mile.

Certainly a much needed leader for the dressing room. Apparently it's something that has been lacking. 

[rass]

54 minutes ago, NewConvert said:

Just wondering - if Koren departs in January, the club would need to look for a marquee. Now, given that Chelsea are in all sorts of troubles and if Mourinho survives could a Chelsea player become available that could fit in for the remainder of the season or as a guest player? If so who would be most likely or best option? Fabregast? Oscar?

There could be issues with the FFA but given that they are desperate for a name player to ignite greater recognition I am sure that they could be persuaded to bend the rules a bit.

Hmmm I think it might be stretching it a bit for those two.

As for the FFA, that line of thinking would of helped when everything was rosy so they fukd us over all 'Lampard style'.

[AlbionLoveDen]

3 hours ago, HeartOfCity said:

Certainly a much needed leader for the dressing room. Apparently it's something that has been lacking. 

Looked into it further though, and he doesn't seem to be as much on the outer at Palace as I initially thought. Pardew had a glowing response to his first starting appearance a couple of weeks back, even if he did slot Zaha straight back in after his suspension. And at 31, he's probably still got the legs to put in a couple of more seasons in EPL/Championship. Still, worth a dream.

[drewmelbcity]

5 hours ago, NewConvert said:

Just wondering - if Koren departs in January, the club would need to look for a marquee. Now, given that Chelsea are in all sorts of troubles and if Mourinho survives could a Chelsea player become available that could fit in for the remainder of the season or as a guest player? If so who would be most likely or best option? Fabregast? Oscar?

There could be issues with the FFA but given that they are desperate for a name player to ignite greater recognition I am sure that they could be persuaded to bend the rules a bit.

Do you read over what you write before you post? I mean in what realistic world would fabrigas or Oscar who are currently playing at one of the big clubs in the epl be sitting there thinking "fuck it might give the a league a spin"

[Tonyboozeadams]

45 minutes ago, drewmelbcity said:

Do you read over what you write before you post? I mean in what realistic world would fabrigas or Oscar who are currently playing at one of the big clubs in the epl be sitting there thinking "fuck it might give the a league a spin"

to be fair, we'd probably beat Chelsea at the moment

[drewmelbcity]

7 minutes ago, Tonyboozeadams said:

to be fair, we'd probably beat Chelsea at the moment

I have no doubt we would, if you consider our last three results we are easily a top ten team in the fifa club rankings along side the like of Barcelona and Bayern.

[Tonyboozeadams]

1 minute ago, drewmelbcity said:

I have no doubt we would, if you consider our last three results we are easily a top ten team in the fifa club rankings along side the like of Barcelona and Bayern.

Tuna Novillo Mooy > Neymar Messi Suarez

[HeartOfCity]

28 minutes ago, drewmelbcity said:

I have no doubt we would, if you consider our last three results we are easily a top ten team in the fifa club rankings along side the like of Barcelona and Bayern.

LOL 

 

[Murfy1]

9 hours ago, bt50 said:

I’d suggest that whoever they have lined up for Koren’s marquee position is relatively settled or at least the type of player is. Probably a defensive style mid. Reading into that, it wont be an attacking mid a la Mooy as we already have that position nailed down.

Hence if Mooy stays, they’ll target Barbarouses as a winger with the spare visa place.

If Mooy goes, then the Marquee position, also likely to be a visa player with that opening up will be recruited as a direct swap. The onflow is that the visa position the new midfield marquee will take up will then leave no visa spot to attract Barbarouses. Make sense?

Yep, this is a good summary. I misread it last night.

 

It's not easy to find good players within the salary cap who are proven performers in the A-League, so I reckon that might be the appeal of Barbarouses. Furthermore he's a good age (25), plays in a position we could strengthen (right wing) and I'd say can't be far off getting Aussie citizenship (maybe 1 more season as a Visa player, at most 2 I'd reckon).

 

But there's a lot of Ifs in the article, so who knows what'll happen.

[NewConvert]

2 hours ago, drewmelbcity said:

Do you read over what you write before you post? I mean in what realistic world would fabrigas or Oscar who are currently playing at one of the big clubs in the epl be sitting there thinking "fuck it might give the a league a spin"

I was reading The Guardian newspaper before I posted. In their press it seems that the relationship between Mourinho and the team is in terminal breakdown and that both Fabregas and Oscar have been accused of undermining the team. They certainly don't seem to be playing with any enthusiasm for the coach, the team, the fans or themselves. It is not unusual for teams to go and shop in January and to release or loan players out. If Chelsea's owner backs Mourinho, it is likely that these two players could well be sent out on loan or sold and new players come in - which is where I thought that the A-League may come in as a guest stint. And given their current form, they are unlikely to command the salaries that they currently have. Of course if Mourinho is replaced the new manager may decide to keep them but it seems that these two are under the pump. Also, it still is in my mind that Ange said that the biggest name player in the A-Leagues history will come be announced in January - and yes it may be wishful thinking but wouldn't you mind having either of them playing for MelbCity?

[drewmelbcity]

2 hours ago, NewConvert said:

I was reading The Guardian newspaper before I posted. In their press it seems that the relationship between Mourinho and the team is in terminal breakdown and that both Fabregas and Oscar have been accused of undermining the team. They certainly don't seem to be playing with any enthusiasm for the coach, the team, the fans or themselves. It is not unusual for teams to go and shop in January and to release or loan players out. If Chelsea's owner backs Mourinho, it is likely that these two players could well be sent out on loan or sold and new players come in - which is where I thought that the A-League may come in as a guest stint. And given their current form, they are unlikely to command the salaries that they currently have. Of course if Mourinho is replaced the new manager may decide to keep them but it seems that these two are under the pump. Also, it still is in my mind that Ange said that the biggest name player in the A-Leagues history will come be announced in January - and yes it may be wishful thinking but wouldn't you mind having either of them playing for MelbCity?

I understand your wishful thinking. However I fail to see how fabrigas or Oscar would be a bigger name than del piero or David villa.

[malloy]

13 minutes ago, drewmelbcity said:

I understand your wishful thinking. However I fail to see how fabrigas or Oscar would be a bigger name than del piero or David villa.

Did Ange say the biggest name or the biggest signing? The two are very different. An EPL star in their mid 20s is a much bigger signing than a big name at the end of their career.

[drewmelbcity]

9 minutes ago, malloy said:

Did Ange say the biggest name or the biggest signing? The two are very different. An EPL star in their mid 20s is a much bigger signing than a big name at the end of their career.

David Villa had the potential to be big but was a flop because some parties were not understanding of the move.

[Tony999]

I just want Chelsea to go down a tier

[NewConvert]

53 minutes ago, drewmelbcity said:

I understand your wishful thinking. However I fail to see how fabrigas or Oscar would be a bigger name than del piero or David villa.

Right now the biggest names are probably Messi, Ronaldo the Portuguese one, Lampard, Terry and Zlatan. That is, the names that non-sports people have heard of. Considering names that sports people have heard of, but are not football people I would add Neymar, Fabregas, Oscar, Mueller, Klose, Silva, Aguero, Sanchez, Rooney, Vardy, ??? So given that neither Messi nor Ronaldo nor the rest will come to the A-League, that does not leave much for name recognition to the wider community.

So I don't think that either Fabregas or Oscar are outside the pool given where they are right now. Furthermore, I would sell the guest spot by not having Melbourne City signing them but having CFG signing them and then loaning them to Melbourne City so keeping them within the European frame till season's end. Additionally I would say that Melbourne is a world class city with two restaurants inside the top 50 in the world, the Royal Melbourne Children Hospital still being considered one of the best 3 children hospitals in the world, one of the lowest crime rates in the world, that ADP was impressed by Australia, that Melbourne City has the best Australian player who is now expected to move to Europe, that the A-League is now officially one of the best leagues in Asia courtesy of WSW winning the ACL, that Mark Janko was able to resuscitate his career in the A-League and is now captaining Austria into the EUFA cup, that the immediate pressure would be off and there may be many other reasons that I can't think of right now.

Locally, the West Indies are touring - one of the most underwhelming sides that have blighted cricket (thankfully since I loathe cricket). So selling Fabregas or Oscar will be easier and something  that Tim Watson at channel 7 (Melbourne City supporter) or Clint Stanaway (another Melb City supporter) can lead the sports report with.

So I don't think that it is outside the realm of reality. Right now Chelsea are vulnerable (as are CCM) so iff (for those not mathematically minded that means if and only if) Koren retires MelbCity has a visa spot available and CFG and the FFA are willing to play ball, why not make a pitch?

[morphine]

This guy ^ 

[drewmelbcity]

I like the enthusiasm but will not happen you are likely to see ronaldinhio here before you see any of the above. But in saying that no one would have ever imagined del peiro playing in the a league and it happened.

Edited December 16, 2015 by drewmelbcity

[Shahanga]

2 hours ago, drewmelbcity said:

I like the enthusiasm but will not happen you are likely to ronaldinhio here before you see any of the above. But in saying that no one would have ever imagined del peiro playing in the a league and it happened.

Agree.

Worth remembering that Del Piero was over the hill when he came as was Fowler & Romario    (The biggest of them all) Well he needed a Zimmer frame.

No superstar player in their prime will come here.

[jw1739]

Why are people taking any notice of Postecoglou? He's an FFA employee, and IMO was just trying to deflect discussion from the mistakes being made on a regular basis by his employer.

[Pete Heartspur]

3 hours ago, Shahanga said:

Agree.

Worth remembering that Del Piero was over the hill when he came as was Fowler & Romario    (The biggest of them all) Well he needed a Zimmer frame.

No superstar player in their prime will come here.

Wouldn't mind putting a cheeky tenner on zlatan!

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2015 by Pete Heartspur

[Tonyboozeadams]

Francis Jeffers 

[HeartOfCity]

Just saw that Robert Cornthwaite is finished with his Malaysian club. Possible injury replacement for Chapman?

[bumpyknuckles]

Well he did like one of my instagram posts last season from the game in Ballarat. So there's a link!

Edited December 17, 2015 by bumpyknuckles

[morphine]

6 hours ago, bumpyknuckles said:

Well he did like one of my instagram posts last season from the game in Ballarat. So there's a link!

ZLATAN?? haha

[Murfy1]

No guests allowed? A-League clubs battle with FFA to secure imports

 

December 17, 2015

Dominic Bossi

 

Many of the A-League's 10 clubs are frantically trying to raise the profile of this season by signing overseas guest players when the transfer window reopens in early January.

Their phones are running hot with calls from agents, as club administrators scour through contact lists for available players.

Some have already identified their targets, and others have even made moves to sign them, but there is one problem – they probably won't be granted guest player status by Football Federation Australia. 

A point of frustration between clubs and the governing body could become a dispute over the guest player criteria, which are by nature somewhat arbitrary.
Perth Glory have fallen foul of the governing body over the strict requirements after Republic of Ireland international Andy Keogh had his application rejected by FFA.

It didn't matter that Keogh had represented Ireland on 30 occasions or played in the English Premier League – the proven scorer's return to the A-League was not regarded significant enough to boost commercial, marketing and media interest in the competition.

He had already played in the competition, and as a returning player was deemed not to have the same level of appeal as last year.

Perth now have to offload one foreign player to have any hope of registering Keogh within the salary cap. 

Despite FFA relaxing the restrictions on guest players, who can now play for more than half the season, the requirements of a potential sixth international, registered outside the salary cap, are significantly higher than those of a marquee.

Socceroos winger Tommy Oar has been linked with a return to the A-League, having not broken into the first team at Ipswich, but according to sources inside FFA he would not satisfy the guest player requirements.

Although he would raise the standard of the A-League and attract some public interest, the publicity around his return would be short of that required by the governing body.  

Under the A-League rules "a club can spend an unlimited amount on one guest player who must satisfy the prescribed marketability criteria as approved by FFA. A guest player is restricted to a maximum of 14 Hyundai A-League matches."

To qualify, a club must bring in a player who captures the attention of the broader public, dominates the back pages of newspapers and leads nightly sports news bulletins. Performances, ability and conditioning are secondary to marketing factors.

Melbourne City are in the hunt for one, and may have found targets based in eastern Europe and Asia, but face uncertainty over their registration.

In the 11-year history of the competition, only five players have been granted guest status, and the list illustrates just how difficult FFA's criteria are to satisfy, and why it will take something special for one to arrive in the upcoming transfer window. 

 

The A-League's five guest players:

Romario, Adelaide. World Cup winner 1994, La Liga winner and twice Champions League top scorer.

Benito Carbone, Sydney FC. Former Napoli, Inter Milan, Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa star.

Kazu Miura, Sydney FC. Asian Cup winner in 1992, J-League 1 winner in 1993, Asian footballer of the year 1993.

Lucas Neill, Sydney FC. Australian captain at the time. Former West Ham, Blackburn Rovers, Everton and Galatasaray player.

David Villa, Melbourne City. La Liga winner, World Cup winner and UEFA Champions League winner. 

 

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/no-guests-allowed-aleague-clubs-battle-with-ffa-to-secure-imports-20151217-glq8v4.html

[strider]

Wtf is with the debacle at CCM?

I'll take 1 Cacares

[jw1739]

Francis Jeffers was a guest player with Newcastle in 2010.

[drewmelbcity]

Guest player is a shambles at the moment. FFA seem content on having little exposure and having the a league grow at a very slow pace. I would be happy for Keogh to be recognised as a guest player actually enjoyed watching him play and guess what he scored goals. Not as much as a flop as some of those guest players mentioned above.

Edited December 17, 2015 by drewmelbcity

[Kinnibari]

23 hours ago, NewConvert said:

Right now the biggest names are probably Messi, Ronaldo the Portuguese one, Lampard, Terry and Zlatan. That is, the names that non-sports people have heard of.

Correction:

• Names non-sports people have heard of: David Beckham.
• However, likilhood of non-sports people suddenly coming to a game: 1%

[jw1739]

8 hours ago, Kinnibari said:

Correction:

• Names non-sports people have heard of: David Beckham.
• However, likilhood of non-sports people suddenly coming to a game: 1%

Points very well made indeed. The other name Australians have heard of is Harry Kewell. And that's it. And likelihood of non-sports people coming to a game probably  0.25% - based on the roughly 10,000 extras we got to David Villa's first match (out of a population of 4,000,000).

Probably one of the best things Melbourne City's marketing department could do is randomly survey 1000 people in Swanston Street on a Wednesday afternoon and ask them a few questions about the club, players, and the A-League. I suggest that it would bring them down to earth with a very solid bump.

The more people get involved in a sport - whatever it is - the more they over-estimate the knowledge of and interest in that sport that other people have. I'm not going to give too much away by saying how long I've been following and watching football, but I confess that most of the players etc. mentioned on this forum I have to look up on Wikipedia.

[wfc_10]

Robinho. Contract ends end of the year, would surely get approved by FFA on a guest stint. 

 

http://www.transfermarkt.com/robinho/profil/spieler/15511