Your squad on paper is strong in defence too - plenty of good solid, A-League experience. Covic, Beauchamp, T-S, Cole, Elrich, even D'Apuzzo had a good hundred games or so with the Jets.

I might try for a line up, going by your reports:

so 4-2-3-1

R>L

Covic
Elrich Beau T-S Cole
Polenz - Poljak
Mooy - Ono - Hersi/Taj/Kwabena/Late signing
Kresinger

Hmm will be interesting to see who your last few signings will be, considering all teh rumoured rule changes to accommodate Wanderers' circumstances and what not. There's been some extra-ordinary speculation.

Ono AND Ballack would be insane, for a start.

That RM spot I think could be Haliti's or maybe even Taj depending on his fitness.

You mean where I have Mooy? Mooy HAS to be a starter, right? Unless they signing Ballack too, at this rate!

But the side opposite where ever Mooy plays - yeah, going by what you guys say, sounds like it's still open.

Ono is the kind of player too - IF Wanderers do end up bringing in a Ballack, then Ballack could end up behind Kresinger and Ono could easily push wide and take that possie?

Then it's a front four/half of Mooy, Ballack, Ono and Kresinger.



In all this, the importance of Kresinger is massive. Should he get injured or suspended - Is Bridge the only back up?

It's exciting to see that players like Cole can't even find a spot in the XI in a largely makeshift/reject squad.

The starting XI is starting to look competitive with Ono there!

Mooy will be a starter, but will be in the CM position next to either Polenz or Poljak with Ono just ahead of them. At least that's what I think they'll do.

I thought Mooy was a more advanced, attacking half sort of midfielder? In a 4-2-3-1 the '2' tend to be deeper lying midfielders and in your squad I see Polenz and Poljak slotting neatly in there?

I recall Mooy was utilised this way with the Young Socceroos in 09 and from what I've read he's often been utilised in the attacking half, even a attacking midfield/#10 kind of role like again with the Young Socceroos. In a 4-2-3-1 I can see him playing in any of the positions in that '3' behind Kresinger.

Have no idea how Poppa has been using him though.

Edited by gloryperth: 28/9/2012 11:20:12 AM

Suddenly seeming like a half decent squad.

Very sturdy looking defence and good central midfielders. If Ballack, Culina or Grella are signed it will give some serious selection headaches. Mooy has to be a starter, he's basically the poster boy for the club.

The wings look alot less impressive though.
If another Marquee were to come in.. Kewell would make alot more sense than the names we're hearing who are all central midfielders.

Anybody done a list of the western Sydney players that will be coming off contract at the end of this season. It would be interesting to know how much stronger the local element in the squad could be if we could snare the best of them.

Seems like Poppa was trying to do that, this pre-season, well best they could, with time they could. Hence some of the players they signed, like Trifiro (sp)? Poppa has certainly trialled alot of players, including the VISA ones. Gorman and co also stated, prior to Ballack talk, that they would be tight on the player wage budget, pushing the 85% minimum and not offering contracts beyond a single year (Though I presume options to extend those contracts down the line were included).

So IF that's the case, then most of their present squad could be up for re-neg by mid this season? But by that time Poppa should mostly know who he wants to re-sign or not.

And luckily, many players in the present squad ARE local, West Sydney products/prodigal sons like Beauchamp, Cole, Elrich, Covic, Kawbani, Mooy, Haliti, Trifiro, D'Apuzzo, Bridge and a couple others? I think the local count is a dozen of them and that's quite an achievement given the short time - many of them are proven A-League quality too, especially amongst their defensive options.

Then again, given the amount of West Sydney products around the league and even overseas, including Kewell, it's hardly that surprising I guess, lol.

Edited by gloryperth: 28/9/2012 12:17:37 PM

I was more thinking of western Sydney products that are playing for other A-League clubs that might be coming on the market. There are around 30 if I recall correctly that are playing in the League but I don't know how many have contracts expiring.

Ono has been officially announced. Will arrive in Sydney on Monday.

Truth about Ballack: http://www.westsydneyfootball.com/_/wanderers-club-articles/ballack-the-truth-why-he-is-not-coming-r156

Edited by macktheknife: 28/9/2012 04:02:17 PM

And who, pray tell, wrote that opinion piece?

You do realise there was a medical arranged by Wanderers for Ballack with an Aussie doctor based in the UK s heduled for yesterday which was postponed by the Wanderers?

You do also realise the quoted figure is wrong...

You do realise all the info in that piece has come directly from the club, infact it's all come from Lyall himself.

I don't doubt it, if you go by what is written in the papers, mentioned by the pundits and then communicated by the club they all seem to contradict each other, so buggered if I know how any of them can no what is going on with any degree of certainty.

Who wrote it? The guy that had a phone conversation with Lyall Gorman, as he does almost weekly on behalf of the WSW Supporters.
I take his word any day of the week over unconfirmed media reports Joffa.

The 2.2M is in line with the reports that Ballack wanted 1.6M net.

The quoted fee is what the club would pay in total to get Ballack.

Anyone who plays Football Manager would know that a players wage isn't the only thing you pay to sign a player.

Mr Moneybags Greedy Asshole Prick McAgent takes his fair share as well. Not to mention that in mondern football the player is looking for x dollars after tax, not x dollars before tax. They in effect have the club pay their tax.

So player wage does not equal cost to club.

ABC Radio just now is saying WSW is still going after Ballack. Have to say with all the conflicting reports going around its hard to know what to believe. The only consistent thing has been that Ballack was asking for $1.6m after tax and there were even reports early on that he had compromised on that.

I think the signing of ono is fantastic for your club and will reduce the embarrassment if wsw don't sign ballack.

If true Ballack is asking for $1.6 million a season after tax then we would be stupid to sign him. As much as i wanted him signed that fee is simply too much.
There was a little rumour of Riquelme which i would have over Ballack anyday if his fee was under the $1.6 million but before tave not after.

Wanderers have their budget, as too club culture, squad harmony, young coach's discipline/squad control etc... They know it's important to 'keep on task' with the bigger objective and not risk alienating many and making the club go bust, chasing another marquee for $1.6M where it will see less Aussies in the line up, a ridiculous up to 7 VISA players and less younger players given a shot and West Sydney products/locals.

Ono was signed to compliment Poppa's squad going by Gorman's quote etc and indeed that should be the focus.

Ballack may have alot of pros and indeed he's a great option, but the timing isn't great and while normally alot of other clubs would be keen too, including a SFC, they have either signed their own super stars, have the marquee slots filled or full VISA quotas/squads.

IF Ballack was around an interested in July/early August, when Wanderers had a smaller squad, hadn't decided on their foreign acquisitions yet and the JALSC were just introducing these rule exemptions for Wanderers - then maybe it might've been a different story.

And Ono only because available recently too - so again, all timing.

you also get the sense - Alot of this has come in the wake of SFC and ADP. If it weren't for that Wanderers wouldn't even be doing this, able to do this? So it's perhaps good they haven't 'gone too silly' either and if Ono is alot cheaper, then the risk could be less, even if he spends half the season injured and leaves end of season? Expectations and even hype are alot lower for Ono too (Esp in comparison, rightly or wrongly, with Ballack and ADP) - so should he deliver to a reasonable degree, then Wanderers will have made some gains and could be a slightly more successful club on the field, shorter term, for it.

Just to quote a worthy conversation from the closed thread connected to the blog posted here:



I discussed this too in one of the many threads about this - There's the inevitable let down and what not and it creates an unnecessary negative where it should only be a positive. It CAN be argued while it's great for the league to be connected to players like Ballack, the way it dragged on and hung over Wanderers' head - it did nobody any favours except Ballack and his agent. If it dragged on any further it risked undermining, short term, quite a bit of what the Wanderers were striving for in their start up phase including building that club reputation for local engagement, values etc... This is part of Wanderers point of difference too, it's not just geographic, it's obviously more than that and the Wanderers risked becoming early era SFC mk II in this marquee circus. They're supposed to be learning from the mistakes of other clubs'/neighbouring clubs' past, not repeating them.

Atleast with Ono sorted now, in this late stage pre-season and within the July dispensation, they can get back to their slow and steady, understated build up - building from ground up.



x2 Confusion is the buzz word.

Edited by gloryperth: 29/9/2012 02:42:57 AM

Can I just check, for the sake of completeness - is the name Mr Moneybags Greedy Asshole Prick McAgent applied because Ballack didn't come? Is Lou Sticca excused the label because his player DID come here? Does Ono's agent get a negative name or a positive one, despite taking a similar fee for his work?

Meanwhile, if WSW were never in negotiations with Ballack, why didn't they deny it? Why did Popa go on tv and say they were negotiating with him?

anyone know what onos wage is?

if he isnt a marquee its a massive coup for the a league

He is a marque and i think its $500k a season.
Just got back from Penrith Westfields and just bought both the home and away Wanderers jerseys. I love them even more in person and they are so comfortable more then any other jersey i have ever owned.
I first walked into Rebel not knowing the Nike shop had the jerseys and bought the away strip ( Rebel still doesnt have the home kit ) and then i went into the Nike shop and noticed they had both home and away and also 2.30pm there was going to be Elrich,Kubi,NTS,Haliti and one more player i forgot who that is at the store.
They were $100 at the Nike shop so i got ripped off $19 at Rebel lol...Thats what i get for not being patient.

Ballack's agent was the one leaking all the information, was the one pushing the deal into the media when the Wanderers did not want it, and the leaks conveniently only included the basic wage for Ballack, not that the club would need to pay more money because of tax, and the agents very high fees.

That is why.

It feels better because it's 'your' team. As people begin to recognise the kit I hope like when I wear my AU kit around Adelaide when you wear yours it becomes a conversation starter.

Have you guys signed an under 21 player (youth) yet? Who are the front runners cause I know that you still need one more before the season starts.

I believe the are Kabs, Trifiro and Gibbs.

has gibbs been signed?

yep