David Williams

[Tommykins]

He also really wouldn't have fit anywhere on the team, he doesn't fit in on the wing with our normal formation and there's absolutely noway he replaces Novillo or Bruno up front in a 3-5-2.

[malloy]

6 hours ago, Torn Asunder said:

If he played and got injured, swap with Malik doesn't happen, so I can understand why he wasn't selected 

If it is a done deal, the terms of the arrangement between the two clubs would highly likely prohibit Williams playing. I don't think it would come down to City being cautious rather a condition from Adelaide.

[Murfy1]

Melbourne City’s David Williams pulls out of Adelaide United swap deal

 

January 4, 2016

David Davutovic

 

MELBOURNE City’s swap deal with Adelaide United that would have secured defender Osama Malik is off, with David Williams pulling the pin on the deal.

Williams rejected an 18-month deal from United and now looks set to join struggling Newcastle Jets, who are desperate for attacking reinforcements.

City could make the first signing of the A-League January transfer window, which opens on Tuesday, with keeper Dean Bouzanis set to be unveiled.

Bouzanis is expected to sit on the bench against former club Western Sydney on Saturday at AAMI Park, with Tando Velaphi set to join a Japanese J-League club.

While City is keen to offload Williams and free up salary cap space, Adelaide was only prepared to release Malik if they secured a player in return.

Malik, who has been on the Socceroos radar, remains part of coach Guillermo Amor’s plans as United aim to qualify for the 2016 Asian Champions League.

Former Tottenham and Croatia attacker Niko Kranjcar, 31, is one of many overseas stars available to A-League clubs.

Kranjcar is on the outer at Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev after playing 22 games and scoring twice on loan to QPR in the Premier league last season.

Hamburg striker Ivica Olic, who’s scored 20 goals in 104 games for Croatia, is available.

Ronaldinho’s name has been floated to A-League clubs but there appears to be conjecture about his availability and his huge wage demands.

Greek international Giorgios Samaras is available and holds an Australian passport.

Irish striker Andy Keogh, whose contract was central to last season’s salary cap scandal, could make his Perth Glory return in Saturday’s clash with Adelaide United.

Glory officials will hold talks with one of their current visa players, believed to be Dutchman Guyon Fernandez, about paying out his contract to free up a spot.

Despite struggling both Central Coast and Newcastle could be losing key players, with gun attacker Anthony Caceres subject to offers from overseas and rival A-League clubs, while David Carney is on the verge of receiving an offer from the Middle East.

The availability of Socceroo James Troisi is subject to him being released by his Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad, while Fulham is seeking compensation for Olyroos striker Adam Taggart.

Sydney FC and Glory are among the few clubs with salary cap space and room to sign players, but loan, guest stint and injury-replacement signing options are still available to clubs.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/melbourne-citys-david-williams-pulls-out-of-adelaide-united-swap-deal/news-story/81b5698a6a245cfc8f4f61824ccadf48

[MHFC-FAN]

Damn there goes one of the more promising transfer (swap) this January. What are peoples thoughts on Bouzanis? Don't know much about him...

 

[belaguttman]

we released Redders because he was terrible

Bouzanis can't get a game because WSW preferred him over Bouzanis

They thought Redders was so good that they signed a plodder like Liam Reddy

We release Velaphi and want to replace him with Bouzanis?

I hope that Sorensen is bullet proof and never gets sick or injured or that Velaphi goes on loan with an instant recall clause

 

[haz]

Well that turned to shit, but what did I expect with this club? 

Like I mentioned earlier, if Williams doesn't leave then he shouldn't get near the squad because he obviously wants to leave 

[kingofhearts]

Instead of Malik we get bouzanis? 

WTF is going on?

Edited January 4, 2016 by kingofhearts

[strider]

... all signs point to Samaras 

[AntiScum]

Been offered more money and guaranteed starting time at the Jets. We are still going after Malik but this prick just make it more difficult to get him!!

[illeatyourheart]

9 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

Been offered more money and guaranteed starting time at the Jets. We are still going after Malik but this prick just make it more difficult to get him!!

Maybe we could give them Kuzi for him instead

[AntiScum]

4 minutes ago, illeatyourheart said:

Maybe we could give them Kuzi for him instead

if they were happy for Williams as a swap i think ticker might be half a chance lol

think id actually rather Ticker lol

Edited January 4, 2016 by AntiScum

[NewConvert]

What is our NYL keeper like? If we are contemplating Bouzanis then we should also contemplate the NYL bloke.

[raw10]

9 hours ago, kingofhearts said:

Instead of Malik we get bouzanis? 

WTF is going on?

Its Williams who is making life difficult for us. He declined offer from Adelaide so Adelaide pulls the plug. Damn! And why can't we find a better keeper than Bouzanis? It goes to show that our scouting dept is not up to scratch! 

Edited January 4, 2016 by raw10

[The Aardvark]

16 minutes ago, raw10 said:

Its Williams who is making life difficult for us. He declined offer from Adelaide so Adelaide pulls the plug. Damn! And why can't we find a better keeper than Bouzanis? It goes to show that our scouting dept is not up to scratch! 

Not really. It isn't as if there is an abundance of talented Australian keepers that we can bring across mid season.

[Embee]

1 hour ago, The Aardvark said:

Not really. It isn't as if there is an abundance of talented Australian keepers that we can bring across mid season.

Pretty much.

I think Bouzanis is terrible, but at the end of the day there's not a lot of Aussie keepers out there who:

a) Their club is fully willing to let go

b ) are happy to sit on the bench

c) wont demand high wages

Bouzanis is basically being brought in to warm the bench as Tando will be gone. Even if Tommy scored 5 own goals in a game he wouldn't replace him the next game.

[belaguttman]

1 hour ago, Embee said:

 

Bouzanis is basically being brought in to warm the bench as Tando will be gone. Even if Tommy scored 5 own goals in a game he wouldn't replace him the next game.

We would if Sorensen were suspended or injured

[neio]

To be fair to Williams he has to look after himself first, I can completely understand him wanting to take jets offer if it's worth more and more opportunity

[Shahanga]

2 hours ago, neio said:

To be fair to Williams he has to look after himself first, I can completely understand him wanting to take jets offer if it's worth more and more opportunity

It's a bit much for us to expect Willo to take the inferior deal so we get a better trade. Why would he do that? We are giving him the flick after all.

Im not advocating building a statue to him or anything but I think he's been a decent servant to the club.

[n i k o]

The fact he gave the tards stick after we beat them means he's gone up in my opinion. 

[Tommykins]

21 minutes ago, Shahanga said:

It's a bit much for us to expect Willo to take the inferior deal so we get a better trade. Why would he do that? We are giving him the flick after all.

Im not advocating building a statue to him or anything but I think he's been a decent servant to the club.

Not sure what the difference in the money is but I can't imagine why a player would go anywhere near Newcastle at the moment, they're barely able to pay their current lot.

[Shahanga]

A couple of things on that:

1. I get what you are saying but things at pissant ville probably aren't that great either

2. In the past he hasn't been the best judge (he joined us instead of others)

[Shahanga]

46 minutes ago, n i k o said:

The fact he gave the tards stick after we beat them means he's gone up in my opinion. 

And the way he called on us for support (it can be cliched but he knew they needed it, it was perfect timing)

[HeartOfCity]

1 hour ago, Tommykins said:

Not sure what the difference in the money is but I can't imagine why a player would go anywhere near Newcastle at the moment, they're barely able to pay their current lot.

Yeah and that's FFA run to. I was gobsmacked when I saw the list of clubs making late payments and Newcastle being on it. 

[n i k o]

1 hour ago, Shahanga said:

And the way he called on us for support (it can be cliched but he knew they needed it, it was perfect timing)

 That's why when he does leave things like this shouldn't be forgotten. Id be hugely disappointed if anyone at all in the crowd boos him when he returns for an away game.

Edited January 5, 2016 by n i k o

[SF33]

19 hours ago, n i k o said:

 That's why when he does leave things like this shouldn't be forgotten. Id be hugely disappointed if anyone at all in the crowd boos him when he returns for an away game.

Redmayne was a decent servant for a while too and nobody had any issues with getting stuck into him when he returned. I can't really BF booing anyone, but Williams has been just as bad as Redmayne, since we became Melbourne City.

[n i k o]

1 minute ago, SF33 said:

Redmayne was a decent servant for a while too and nobody had any issues with getting stuck into him when he returned. I can't really BF booing anyone, but Williams has been just as bad as Redmayne, since we became Melbourne City.

I couldn't understand the booing of Redmayne either tbh. If anything I was happy for him and us that he left. 

[Dylan]

in no way should we boo Willo. Great servant to the club and leads the goal scoring record at the moment. 

 

[Thrillhouse]

played in a practice game today v bentleigh along with james brown,espindola, dekker and kuzi
3-0 down at ht and ended up losing 3-2 dunno who scored for us
archibald played  too 

http://www.bentleighgreens.com.au/other/report-greens-defeat-city

Edited January 6, 2016 by Thrillhouse

[Jovan]

6 minutes ago, Thrillhouse said:

played in a practice game today v green gully along with james brown,espindola, dekker and kuzi
3-0 down at ht and ended up losing 3-2 dunno who scored for us
archibald played for gully too 

http://www.bentleighgreens.com.au/other/report-greens-defeat-city

That could have been his farewell testimonial match. 

I hope somebody carried him off.

[jw1739]

18 minutes ago, Thrillhouse said:

played in a practice game today v green gully along with james brown,espindola, dekker and kuzi
3-0 down at ht and ended up losing 3-2 dunno who scored for us
archibald played for gully too 

http://www.bentleighgreens.com.au/other/report-greens-defeat-city

Kamal Ibrahim played for Bentleigh as well.
The result doesn't say much for the senior City players who played - I can't see us re-signing Williams, Brown or Trifiro, and surely one of Dekker or Marino must also leave? Espindola is an injury replacement - reasonable player but physically small. If we just keep re-signing these fringe players we have no hope of being competitive next season.

Edited January 6, 2016 by jw1739

[tigerou812]

15 minutes ago, Thrillhouse said:

played in a practice game today v green gully along with james brown,espindola, dekker and kuzi
3-0 down at ht and ended up losing 3-2 dunno who scored for us
archibald played for gully too 

http://www.bentleighgreens.com.au/other/report-greens-defeat-city

I think you mean Bentleigh not Green Gully. 

[NewConvert]

33 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

Kamal Ibrahim played for Bentleigh as well.
The result doesn't say much for the senior City players who played - I can't see us re-signing Williams, Brown or Trifiro, and surely one of Dekker or Marino must also leave? Espindola is an injury replacement - reasonable player but physically small. If we just keep re-signing these fringe players we have no hope of being competitive next season.

Not sure what to make of this. If you have a settled starting XI with a settled bench that adds up to 16 players. The rest by definition would be fringe and if they are not and other clubs believe that they are not, then they will come along and offer them better deals. So these players would leave and we will end up with fringe players. Now regarding the list you posted: Williams a servant of the club but has yet to find consistency so I would not have offered him a new contract; Brown has been mostly injured and was rarely available for selection - no I would not offer a new contract; Trifiro is a mid-fielder where we lack some depth and depending on who is available and how much he could be a back up player and in any case I doubt that other clubs would poach him. Dekker, Espindola and Marino are youth players who could develop but both Dekker and Marino are true No.9 where El Tuna has cemented his spot; either could be handy but I would sign Dekker ahead of Marino purely on injury history. I don't know enough about Espindola.

[Murfy1]

I don't like the idea of any former player being booed. However, I can't blame people for wanting to express criticism of players, as the club's players haven't exactly covered themselves in a lot of glory over the club's trophy-less (and grand final-less) first 5 years. And it's probably more an issue of questionable attitude rather than performance that makes criticism of former players understandable, which the players themselves (including Williams) have even confessed:

 

- Matt Thompson on the first 2 seasons: "When we played the better sides, we did well. The games we struggled in were the ones we should have won. That may have been a bit of complacency from the team, I don't know."

 

- David Williams on the 3rd season: "I think we were a bit complacent last year. We would travel to away games with an attitude that if we win, we win, and if we don't, we don't."

 

- Massimo Murdocca on the 4th season: "We've got to take pride in where we are, and we do. Last year, that pride just didn't exist and that probably showed on the field which is a sad thing, but that's the reality and we hope that never happens with any other A-League club ever again"

 

 

7 hours ago, Dylan said:

Great servant to the club and leads the goal scoring record at the moment. 

If David Williams leaves this month I really won't know what to make of his 4 and a 1/2 years at the club. Yes, he is currently our leading goal scorer with 23 goals, but I reckon that's a criticism of our club's recruitment of goal scorers/attackers as much as anything. Just look at the list of top 10 appearances for the club; the only other attacker is Dugandzic:

1. David Williams - 99 games

2. Aziz Behich - 89  

3. Matt Thompson - 82

4. Jason Hoffman - 80

5. Mate Dugandzic - 75

6. Clint Bolton - 70

7. Michael Marrone - 70

8. Nick Kalmar - 69 

9. Simon Colosimo - 64

10. Jonatan Germano - 56

 

Williams goal scoring record by season: 2011-12 - 15 games - 1 goal  |  2012-13 - 24 games - 5 goals  |  2013-14 - 26 games - 12 goals  |  2014-15 - 26 games - 3 goals  |  2015-16 - 8 games - 0 goals

 

The only exception is the 2013-14 season, when he was coming out of contract and the team finished dead last. Exclude that season and Williams has scored 9 goals over 73 games.

And as a writer at thefootballsack.com pointed out, this season David Williams has: played 8 games, had 1 shot on target [and 6 shots off target] and scored 0 goals.

 

 

As for David Williams commitment/loyalty, I find that hard to judge. David Williams was our best paid or second best paid player for 3 of Melbourne Heart's 4 seasons, being our Australian marquee. The contrast couldn't be bigger with a player like Velaphi, who signed up on minimum wage on a 1 year contract, then re-signed on another low wage 1 year contract, and only this pre-season did Velaphi get a decent contract of more than 1 year (a 2 year deal. A bit ironic with him leaving mid-way through the season to play in Japan).  

 

 

So it's tough to sum up David Williams' time at Melbourne Heart/City. I'd say he's had a pretty mixed time at the club.

 

 

7 hours ago, jw1739 said:

Kamal Ibrahim played for Bentleigh as well.
The result doesn't say much for the senior City players who played - I can't see us re-signing Williams, Brown or Trifiro, and surely one of Dekker or Marino must also leave? Espindola is an injury replacement - reasonable player but physically small. If we just keep re-signing these fringe players we have no hope of being competitive next season.

Agree the match report isn't very informative. Importantly Brown played a match for the first time in several months. Also Kuzmanovski still seems to be in the picture (after rumours that he was on the way out) and Dekker is maybe edging towards a return as well. All good news IMO, and the match was probably more about testing individuals then getting a result against Bentleigh.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Murfy1

[Luke]

7 hours ago, jw1739 said:

Kamal Ibrahim played for Bentleigh as well.
The result doesn't say much for the senior City players who played - I can't see us re-signing Williams, Brown or Trifiro, and surely one of Dekker or Marino must also leave? Espindola is an injury replacement - reasonable player but physically small. If we just keep re-signing these fringe players we have no hope of being competitive next season.

Height generally doesn't affect a players ability to pass and control the ball 

[Jovan]

6 hours ago, Luke said:

Height generally doesn't affect a players ability to pass and control the ball 

I think the reference was more his slight frame. From his senior game time he has looked noticeably small and easily knocked off the ball. Hopefully he's watching and learning from El Tuna. 

[Luke]

10 hours ago, Jovan said:

I think the reference was more his slight frame. From his senior game time he has looked noticeably small and easily knocked off the ball. Hopefully he's watching and learning from El Tuna. 

I kinda get that, i just hate judging players by height rather than technical ability 

[Jovan]

34 minutes ago, Luke said:

I kinda get that, i just hate judging players by height rather than technical ability 

Same here. That's why soccer is so great, size isn't really a major ingredient in becoming a super player.

[Shahanga]

1 hour ago, Jovan said:

Same here. That's why soccer is so great, size isn't really a major ingredient in becoming a super player.

No but pace is.

[Luke]

13 minutes ago, Shahanga said:

No but pace is.

Generally speaking, the best players in the world are ones with great technique 

[Shahanga]

8 minutes ago, Luke said:

Generally speaking, the best players in the world are ones with great technique 

Well yes, but pace is a "gate keeper".