2014/15 Transfer Speculation

It's the offseason so it's time for transfer speculation....mods take control.

Drogba to nix

Lampard is off contract.

Chris James

Kosta Barbarouses

Cam Howieson

Add Tim Payne, TFC hasn't signed him yet.

OK...there seems to be universal approval that Stein is going.....can't score , slow, no right foot etc.

It is quite likely that he will be snapped up by another A-League side and then probably ending up scoring A-league goals again next year. So if everyone is happy us ditching our leading goal scorer and probably our technically best player then what makes us so confident that we can attract a better player?. Because it seems to me that we are just as likely to struggle to find someone very similar to Stein i.e someone plus 30 y.o who has some defects that keep them from getting signed at a better level and we will end up paying more to get them here.

The reality is that coming to Wellington NZ to play for a club that is consistently at the bottom of the Australian A-League is not a major career move for any player on the planet. We got Stein because he had a glitch in is contract in Europe and wanted a complete change of scenery. And was he that bad a player?  sure he missed goals but when the team was on song midseason and Riera and Carlos were on fire Stein scored  8 goals in 12 games???? and would  have probably pushed for the Golden boot if  the team had not fallen apart for the final third of the season. Was he at fault for the last third of the season?  Because IMO the problems were further back  in midfield. He was a great pro, had a good attitude, was rarely injured and offered good experiance when a large chunk of the squad are still schoolboys.

In addition it is highly likely that Carlos will go rogue next season. Post World Cup and last year of his contract I expect big problems from him. If we had kept Stein at least he can do a job in that creative midfield position....he has all the skills to make a success of that role. Others may be optimistic about our ability to recruit quality for next season....I don't share that optimisim. IMO we have ditched one of our better players with absolutely no guarantee that we will find a better replacement. 

Agreed for the most part. Imagine Stein getting picked up by Brisbane, I could see him scoring more than Berisha. Would fit into the Roar style of possession, short pass football very well.

My theory on Chris James - 

It does seem strange that we never gave him a shot after the Mexico games, even if just on a short-term injury replacement or something. Even stranger when you consider that Ernie has been much more open-minded than Ricki (too open-minded?) to giving players like Riera, Timmins, Krishna etc the opportunity to prove themselves.

So there must be something else going on and my theory is that the All Whites at the Nix are the ones who've told Ernie to pass on James. He has a bit of a rep for being "difficult" and I'm wondering if that's something that's got back to Ernie from guys who have spent time in All Whites camp with him.

Pure speculation of course, but if you look at it the other way - if the Nix All Whites were raving about him, he'd be playing for us already wouldn't he?

We have 1 visa spot and huge holes in our midfield that can't be fixed locally. Its less about what Waffles brings to the table & more about concerns elsewhere on the park.

If another A-League club can afford to/want to sign a striker with Stein's scoring rate in this league then good luck to them.

His record pales next to Berisha's and by all account s he wnats more money that Berisha does.  Bye.

The Huysegems situation is an interesting one too. I bet if he had been offered a 1 year contract extension at the end of last season when he had only scored 5 goals he would have jumped at it and been quite happy. He's still a good player but the reason he wants 2 years now is because he knows his career is on the slide and in a year it will be much harder for him to pick something else up. The Phoenix know this too, and when you factor in a reduced number of import slots then yeah, I think on balance it is not worth keeping him. But that's not really a judgement on where he's at right now, rather where he's likely to be in another 18 months, aged 33.

From his point-of-view, if he can get a 2 year contract somewhere else then the gamble pays off. But if he wants to stay in the A-League, I can see him maybe having to settle for a year somewhere like Perth.

Wanting more than berisha seems a little extreme no...? Where did that come from

Shane Smeltz is off contract :)

Oh dear. Berisha is several classes ahead of him

Big call on Carlos
Re Stein, how would he make a pass with his right foot. I think Ernie has seen his limitations

Would be in my team tomorrow

If Carlos can settle down and behave himself, I want him next year. If he doesn't, I hope that there are plenty of loopholes in his contract which can be used to reinforce the good old NO COCKS policy.

I wouldn't want to lose our most productive player just after losing our leading goalscorer. Even if he is a cock (so is nixie but we don't hold it against him)

Well I certainly do.

Hamish Watson to Rapa based on Capital Football website, guess hes not getting his contract extended

 

Wants to stay professional?

I'm assuming this is just to get some football in immediately. I wouldn't say he has missed a contract for next season quite yet.

Rule out Howieson....

http://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/burnley-fc/latest-news/burnley-young-professionals-earn-deals-1-6560256

I too am fearful of a hernandez attitude implosion next season

Archie.

Long in the tooth but still has pace and knows where the goal is. Proven A-League performer. Merrick knows him well. Exactly the type of striker we need. Not an import. Offer him a 1+1, based on appearances and/or goals.

 

Can we see anything happening? Can we see anything happening next season better than this season? In the absence of Gareth Morgan being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve, are we in for exactly the same mix of over-the-hill journeymen and green kids next year?

And if the answer is yes - is the Phoenix a no-future team, and how long before the FFA pulls the licence?

When they find another market of 4 mill who share / buy the same products / services ....

Has everyone gone off the idea of Michael Eager? Not the most exciting signing but a kiwi in a position we need.

Bring back (Tiny) Tim Brown?

God bless us everyone!

I haven't. Proven VPL player. Kiwi. Still young. CB who could fill in at DM.

Whether South Melbourne would let him go (either transfer or trial) might be an issue.

Where is the defence going to come from? We had the worst defence last year and all anyone wants to talk about is who to replace Huysegems with. We made our bed when we signed Krishna who is just clearly not good enough to be an import. The final import spot should either be for a top quality defensive midfielder  or a top quality defender. Krishna, Boyd and Brockie will have to do and it would obviously be a major plus if we could sign someone else. Maybe the Victory won't be too keen to hold on to Barbarouses as he does take up one of their import spots?

I think most people are fairly realistic that Siggy and Durante are staying put, but with possible movement on the full back positions, but with Boxall, Fenton, Caira, etc I can't see to much going on in the off season.

The reason people are talking about Stein is that he's gone as is Bertos and theoretically they leave gaps in the squad, I say  theoretically as I'd not bat a eyelid seeing Siggy and Adams playing up front as a new strike partnership they way this squad has had to make do over the season.

So even though nobody holds out to much hope of a radical overhaul of the entire squad, folk feel even Welnix will replace those that have gone.

Pretty much agree with Krishna and the import spot, we have to hope he can really step up though.