January transfer window

[Heart of Melbourne]

1 hour ago, Jovan said:

Relax. 

Definitely will be announcing at least 1 international this week. Probably Wednesday or Thursday. 

Source?

[morphine]

2 hours ago, GreenSeater said:

Because we need an extra defensive player a lot more than we need what would now be a second or third choice midfielder. That's why we let Mauk go, to get Malik, who is at the minute more valuable to our side.

Fair enough then. Is it confirmed that it's a swap deal? Serious question. Because if we truly are in it to win it this year, and we know Mauk is leaving at the end of the season, I would've hoped that we'd exhausted all options prior to pulling the trigger on this 'trade'. 

[n i k o]

We obviously wanted Malik. The fact that Williams was reported to be going there as a trade off and now Mauk has gone there says Adelaide always wanted a player for a player.  Secondly I loved having Mauk here, but assuming the rumours of him wanting to leave at seasons end are true it makes sense that he'd be the one you would trade. Theres little doubt one of the main objectives for our club going from this season into next is to form a consistent base of players that will be here mid to long term. So if Mauk is off at the seasons end its a logical decision that he'd be the player to go. He seems happy with it as well. 

[raw10]

I read somewhere that Mauk's contract runs out this season and he has been delaying signing a new one, which goes to show that he wants to move.  

[Deviant]

I'm sure he's got more opportunity at Adelaide

[Jozzy]

What a dumb thing for JVS to say, surely it's a load of crap?!

[jw1739]

I still think we're one solid mid-20s defender short.

[heart_fan10]

If JVS says this squad can win the league then I expect us to win comfortably

if we don't then he should be sacked. 

[mattyh001]

too be frank here, JVS is just spinning shit as a means of trying to keep the media off his back.  personally, i question the point of axing Koren with a near full pay out if the club doesnt have a replacement or list of replacements in line.  the only pressing issue would have been if he had been toxic towards club attitude, but if so then i question if he would have truly dug his heels in to get a full payout.  

i'd say the club has a fair list of players already lined up and possibly deep into discussions with one or two and are just biding time.  given the epic size of the failure with Koren, i'd think CFG would do their due process way more thoroughly this time.

so no need to get your knickers in a knot here lads and ladettes (unless you really like to go for that shit - each to their own!!)

Edited January 24, 2016 by mattyh001

[n i k o]

9 minutes ago, mattyh001 said:

too be frank here, JVS is just spinning shit as a means of trying to keep the media off his back.  personally, i question the point of axing Koren with a near full pay out if the club doesnt have a replacement or list of replacements in line.  the only pressing issue would have been if he had been toxic towards club attitude, but if so then i question if he would have truly dug his heels in to get a full payout. 

Reading between the lines, clearly there were issues there. As I stated in my post a page ago the worst thing to have in any team/group environment is toxic relationships. To your last point why wouldn't he try to get a full payout regardless that he's got a problem with JVS? He simply says to the club he has issues with JVS but won't leave for anything less than the desired amount. 

[mulhollanddrive]

Our owners haven't really gone out of their way to spend to win trophies.

Villa was on NYC books already, apart from that nothing that other teams don't do.

I understand the risk in getting in a big name and hoping there's no risks in it, similar to a Villa, but we have a massive financial advantage and if they can do what they do with their other teams, 1 signing out of the regular stuff is no problem for them.

[silva10]

21 hours ago, Thrillhouse said:

did assist tuna from the right one game didn't he?
fitzgerald had the fluke from distance against us but apart from that he's done fuck all 
1 goal in 23 apps for brisbane and 7 in 70 for ccm, both had successful years there and he still didn't do much

need to be strengthening for the 2nd half season, not getting weaker (rest of transfer window to play out)

Yes one game! He didn't nothing in the rest. I wouldn't call a 30 yard strike a fluke. Also, I have always been impressed whenever Fitzgerald as played against us and the couple of times I have seen him against others. 

I will wait on the others to see what they can contribute. The only place at the moment where I think we are weaker is back up keeper. 

I would rather Mauk stayed, but we have enough in the forward line to compensate for his loss.

 

[mattyh001]

42 minutes ago, n i k o said:

Reading between the lines, clearly there were issues there. As I stated in my post a page ago the worst thing to have in any team/group environment is toxic relationships. To your last point why wouldn't he try to get a full payout regardless that he's got a problem with JVS? He simply says to the club he has issues with JVS but won't leave for anything less than the desired amount. 

i get both your points and agree about correcting negative behaviours, overall i just dont see the toxic side happening overnight so it seems strange that it has taken this long to get rid of Koren now when (if the issues were that bad) they could have paid him out a long time ago.  given that they didnt i would think that in some way shape or form the club thought they could manage it until they were able to replace him more readily.

my point about the full payout is that it goes both ways.  the club can make life shit.  and if Koren is making things toxic there are means in that (through portraying his actions in the media but most importantly amongst the playing group) that the guy is being a dick.  the more he acts up the more he isolates himself from the group, which itself should push that desired payout down so that Koren can find at point that all the stress he is going through is no longer worth it.  as the figured quoted for the payout is mostly in line with what was expected, i dare say that the club didnt push this as far as they could have if they were trying to get him out early.  reading between the lines for that part i'd say the club's motives ran more around squeezing the most out of a manageable situation until they were certain they had their replacement.  

could be wrong here, who knows! remember (and i know it applies to me as much as others), we are all just pissing in the wind here due to the speculative nature. so i wont be getting my knickers in a knot. still a full week of transfer dealings to go in Europe, and a little longer here IIRC

Edited January 24, 2016 by mattyh001

[n i k o]

15 minutes ago, mattyh001 said:

i get both your points and agree about correcting negative behaviours, overall i just dont see the toxic side happening overnight so it seems strange that it has taken this long to get rid of Koren now when (if the issues were that bad) they could have paid him out a long time ago.  given that they didnt i would think that in some way shape or form the club thought they could manage it until they were able to replace him more readily.

my point about the full payout is that it goes both ways.  the club can make life shit.  and if Koren is making things toxic there are means in that (through portraying his actions in the media but most importantly amongst the playing group) that the guy is being a dick.  the more he acts up the more he isolates himself from the group, which itself should push that desired payout down so that Koren can find at point that all the stress he is going through is no longer worth it.  as the figured quoted for the payout is mostly in line with what was expected, i dare say that the club didnt push this as far as they could have if they were trying to get him out early.  reading between the lines for that part i'd say the club's motives ran more around squeezing the most out of a manageable situation until they were certain they had their replacement.

remember though (and i know it applies to me as much as others), we are all just pissing in the wind here due to the speculative nature. so i wont be getting my knickers in a knot. still a full week of transfer dealings to go in Europe, and a little longer here IIRC

I doubt the club ever wants to be the type to make life shit for players. It doesn't seem like it's how they want to run their clubs. Secondly I believe the reason this has happened now is most likely because Koren for a majority of this season was out due to injury. He returned back from injury coming on as a sub and simply didn't perform well enough to earn a staring position, which triggered a response from JVS to drop him due to his performances. I agree the club has tried to make the situation work as well as possible. But I'd wager this was the tipping point and had Koren not been injured his release may have happened even earlier in the season. 

Edited January 24, 2016 by n i k o

[Falastur]

When does the Aussie transfer window close?

[Deeming]

Transfer window closes 2nd Feb

[Luke]

1 hour ago, Deeming said:

Transfer window closes 2nd Feb

Its already too long 

[Deeming]

Just now, Luke said:

Its already too long 

Agree. Its fun speculating for a week or two, after that I just want whatever's going to happen to happen.

[The Aardvark]

32 minutes ago, Deeming said:

Agree. Its fun speculating for a week or two, after that I just want whatever's going to happen to happen.

I've never understood this. In the AFL people complain about the trade window being too long too (it's just over a week), with the general opinion being "it's too boring", or "not enough is happening", as if it's something which is meant to be as entertaining as possible instead of a period where clubs and players make huge decisions involving money and lifestyle which can significantly affect their family and long term career prospects.

 

[jw1739]

9 hours ago, n i k o said:

I doubt the club ever wants to be the type to make life shit for players. It doesn't seem like it's how they want to run their clubs. Secondly I believe the reason this has happened now is most likely because Koren for a majority of this season was out due to injury. He returned back from injury coming on as a sub and simply didn't perform well enough to earn a staring position, which triggered a response from JVS to drop him due to his performances. I agree the club has tried to make the situation work as well as possible. But I'd wager this was the tipping point and had Koren not been injured his release may have happened even earlier in the season. 

Even before the change in ownership Heart did not wish to be that kind of club. In fact IMO we've been pretty generous to players - no case a better example than Tando, where we've clearly weakened the squad by letting him go when we didn't have to. As for Robi Koren it was pretty clear that from an injury and a playing perspective he was not going to deliver as the club had hoped, and it was prudent that he be released (even if it was at full cost) simply to free up both a visa and a marquee place so that if the right player came along he could be signed immediately. It doesn't seem as though that will happen, but at least the club is ready if an opportunity does arise.

[mattyh001]

10 hours ago, n i k o said:

I doubt the club ever wants to be the type to make life shit for players. It doesn't seem like it's how they want to run their clubs. Secondly I believe the reason this has happened now is most likely because Koren for a majority of this season was out due to injury. He returned back from injury coming on as a sub and simply didn't perform well enough to earn a staring position, which triggered a response from JVS to drop him due to his performances. I agree the club has tried to make the situation work as well as possible. But I'd wager this was the tipping point and had Koren not been injured his release may have happened even earlier in the season. 

 

26 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

Even before the change in ownership Heart did not wish to be that kind of club. In fact IMO we've been pretty generous to players - no case a better example than Tando, where we've clearly weakened the squad by letting him go when we didn't have to. As for Robi Koren it was pretty clear that from an injury and a playing perspective he was not going to deliver as the club had hoped, and it was prudent that he be released (even if it was at full cost) simply to free up both a visa and a marquee place so that if the right player came along he could be signed immediately. It doesn't seem as though that will happen, but at least the club is ready if an opportunity does arise.

By all means I'd be surprised if the club did go all negative towards players around contracts (agree that they never have been that sort of club) just wanted to point out Koren could have found life life difficult if he wanted to be a complete arsehole about things. Wasn't trying to imply that the club would be or actually was being difficult.

Hopefully we see a new marquee come through very quickly. With the recruits we've send come through and most injured players from the start of the season becoming fit and available, it would be fair to say that the club saw Koren as no longer required. As JW points out though, releasing Koren opens a visa space up - surely CFG group understands the value of having all five spots filled in terms of being able to cast a wide net abroad to fill a role with talent significantly better than any talent available locally. 

Given the financial limitations of the salary cap, I just don't see the club releasing Koren without (a.) a plan in place to make the most of the corresponding visa space, and (b.) actually having the cap space to put any new player contract in when there's a marquee spot available.

[n i k o]

4 minutes ago, mattyh001 said:

 

By all means I'd be surprised if the club did go all negative towards players around contracts (agree that they never have been that sort of club) just wanted to point out Koren could have found life life difficult if he wanted to be a complete arsehole about things. Wasn't trying to imply that the club would be or actually was being difficult.

Hopefully we see a new marquee come through very quickly. With the recruits we've send come through and most injured players from the start of the season becoming fit and available, it would be fair to say that the club saw Koren as no longer required. As JW points out though, releasing Koren opens a visa space up - surely CFG group understands the value of having all five spots filled in terms of being able to cast a wide net abroad to fill a role with talent significantly better than any talent available locally. 

Given the financial limitations of the salary cap, I just don't see the club releasing Koren without (a.) a plan in place to make the most of the corresponding visa space, and (b.) actually having the cap space to put any new player contract in when there's a marquee spot available.

Ok just to understand, you believe the club have released (or should release) Koren with the plan of signing a visa player, most likely a marquee?

If that's the case that's where we don't see eye to eye. I do agree with the club releasing him simply on the basis that the team will be better off without him there. His contribution alone has been so minimal, not to mention this ongoing unease between him and JVS sometimes its better to cut ties for the good of all concerned. 

The other thing, from the clubs perspective, is they failed not once but twice with the two major positions, one being Koren as marquee and two being Villa in the guest spot. The club cant take a chance bringing someone in simply to fill a position, because its such a pivotal decision and one they can't afford to fuck up again. Quite frankly I'm more than happy with this.

In saying all that I'd love nothing more than for the club to have found a fantastic replacement marquee and one that will be an instant success for our club.  

 

 

[Deeming]

4 minutes ago, n i k o said:

Ok just to understand, you believe the club have released (or should release) Koren with the plan of signing a visa player, most likely a marquee?

If that's the case that's where we don't see eye to eye. I do agree with the club releasing him simply on the basis that the team will be better off without him there. His contribution alone has been so minimal, not to mention this ongoing unease between him and JVS sometimes its better to cut ties for the good of all concerned. 

The other thing, from the clubs perspective, is they failed not once but twice with the two major positions, one being Koren as marquee and two being Villa in the guest spot. The club cant take a chance bringing someone in simply to fill a position, because its such a pivotal decision and one they can't afford to fuck up again. Quite frankly I'm more than happy with this.

In saying all that I'd love nothing more than for the club to have found a fantastic replacement marquee and one that will be an instant success for our club.  

 

 

I don't want another wasted Marque spot and if we can't get what we want now its better to wait til sign one next season but I can't see any reason for not signing a Visa player unless the reason is keeping a visa spot up the sleeve in case of any injuries in the run home

[JC22]

Would have liked us to sign someone like Benayoun as a guest this window.

If he kills it, move him to marquee spot next year. If he doesn't, let him go.

[n i k o]

1 minute ago, Deeming said:

I don't want another wasted Marque spot and if we can't get what we want now its better to wait til sign one next season but I can't see any reason for not signing a Visa player unless the reason is keeping a visa spot up the sleeve in case of any injuries in the run home

Agree, Id be happy to wait as well and for the club to absolutely nail that position. However, the main reason we wouldn't sign a visa player under the cap would be how much cap space we have left.   

[mattyh001]

25 minutes ago, n i k o said:

Ok just to understand, you believe the club have released (or should release) Koren with the plan of signing a visa player, most likely a marquee?

If that's the case that's where we don't see eye to eye. I do agree with the club releasing him simply on the basis that the team will be better off without him there. His contribution alone has been so minimal, not to mention this ongoing unease between him and JVS sometimes its better to cut ties for the good of all concerned. 

The other thing, from the clubs perspective, is they failed not once but twice with the two major positions, one being Koren as marquee and two being Villa in the guest spot. The club cant take a chance bringing someone in simply to fill a position, because its such a pivotal decision and one they can't afford to fuck up again. Quite frankly I'm more than happy with this.

In saying all that I'd love nothing more than for the club to have found a fantastic replacement marquee and one that will be an instant success for our club.  

 

 

That's a fair way to put it, yes I'd expect that for the club to decide to cut ties with Koren during the January transfer window that they then would in some way shape or form be planning to replace him.

I agree that they can't afford to screw this up for a third time.  Which is why I suspect that the minute they thought Koren had to go (at least by the start of 2016, probably much earlier) they commenced a thorough search. Doesn't mean they will absolutely sign someone - more that they wanted to give themselves as much time as they could to get it right.  

The fact that the two monumental dick ups were done when CFG first came in and that they have signed a few gems since (Novillo, Fornaroli, et al) makes me somewhat confident that the club is capable of signing quality foreigners.

Don't get me wrong here either.  Like you I don't want to see the club rush this.  Getting it right is paramount. If they don't find someone we are better off going without

I just see the whole process being timed with the January window as a fair coincidence.

Edited January 25, 2016 by mattyh001

[bt50]

There's no reason to suggest that the club couldn't sign a marquee for the remainder of the season though and then reassess at season's end/go for someone better.

[Dylan]

28 minutes ago, bt50 said:

There's no reason to suggest that the club couldn't sign a marquee for the remainder of the season though and then reassess at season's end/go for someone better.

Yeah for example say we went and got Troisi.....although some think that's already a done deal.

[JC22]

2 minutes ago, Dylan said:

Yeah for example say we went and got Troisi.....although some think that's already a done deal.

I've heard Troisi is heading to China.

[rass]

Just a question (sorry if answered elsewhere ). Is the transfer period only limited to transfers? 

I.e. if we find an uncontracted player in 3 weeks, can we just add them to our squad as it's not actually a transfer, just a new signing?

[jw1739]

IMO it's all tied up with a decision on JvS going into next season. Replacing a marquee and getting in a guest could buy us some silverware, but perhaps CFG think enough is enough and it's now time for JvS to see what he can deliver with what he's got for the 12 remaining matches? 

[Embee]

33 minutes ago, bt50 said:

There's no reason to suggest that the club couldn't sign a marquee for the remainder of the season though and then reassess at season's end/go for someone better.

Exactly.

It doesn't need to be a long-term solution. As far as I'm concerned that's likely what we'll aim to do unless we find someone the club feels is absolutely perfect for the role ongoing. I highly doubt we'd pay Koren out 400k just because he was disruptive/had a shitty attitude. If that was the case you could have essentially sent him away to train by himself and refused to play him at A-League/Youth/NPL level.

[Dylan]

Just now, jw1739 said:

IMO it's all tied up with a decision on JvS going into next season. Replacing a marquee and getting in a guest could buy us some silverware, but perhaps CFG think enough is enough and it's now time for JvS to see what he can deliver with what he's got for the 12 remaining matches? 

I still think the only way JVS will save his job is if he wins the championship. A bar that I think was set deliberately high so they could use it as an excuse.

we all know we ain't going to win a thing under JVS....

[jw1739]

3 minutes ago, rass said:

Just a question (sorry if answered elsewhere ). Is the transfer period only limited to transfers? 

I.e. if we find an uncontracted player in 3 weeks, can we just add them to our squad as it's not actually a transfer, just a new signing?

According to Wikipedia  "Free agents can be signed by a club at any time during the season, if they had been released by their previous club before the end of the transfer window."

[rass]

Just now, jw1739 said:

According to Wikipedia  "Free agents can be signed by a club at any time during the season, if they had been released by their previous club before the end of the transfer window."

Cheers mate. 

[billyheart]

I love how there's all this talk about squad depth & competition for positions... Yet they'll release their most experienced player (yes who's shit but still provides depth and competition) and not be actively seeking a replacement. Just CFG foxing I reckon. 

[jw1739]

Malik's number changed to 33. I wonder why...

[playmaker]

25 minutes ago, billyheart said:

I love how there's all this talk about squad depth & competition for positions... Yet they'll release their most experienced player (yes who's shit but still provides depth and competition) and not be actively seeking a replacement. Just CFG foxing I reckon. 

And spent $400k doing so instead of dumping in a paddock with a ball and say "This is where you train for now on"

Doesn't make sense.

[Dylan]

7 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

Malik's number changed to 33. I wonder why...

Vidic. Obviously 

[drewmelbcity]

39 minutes ago, Embee said:

Exactly.

It doesn't need to be a long-term solution. As far as I'm concerned that's likely what we'll aim to do unless we find someone the club feels is absolutely perfect for the role ongoing. I highly doubt we'd pay Koren out 400k just because he was disruptive/had a shitty attitude. If that was the case you could have essentially sent him away to train by himself and refused to play him at A-League/Youth/NPL level.

I suspect the payout would be less than the remaining contract.