wow ... dave mitchell has spoken to big dukes, thats a start haha

now thats sumone i would love to see at glory!

Lol I haven't heard about this belgian marquee yet, is it in today's paper?

nup its not ... this is the first time i've heard about it also ...

anyone have a source?

completely speculation but how bout...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Sonck

More likely to be Wesley Snipes........

Bones from Gloryboys.net noticed this guy has been released by WBA. Current Belgian international, CB/RB, 30 yo. Promising.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Hoefkens

It might be speculative but it's highly likely as Sonck and Sikora played together at Ajax, and Glory were keen to tap into Sikoras links in Europe. Is only 31 this year and would be a ridiculously good pick up if this was so.

I also get the feeling that Glory arent just waiting for Sterj, which is good they arent putting all there eggs in one basket like in the past when they tried to get Dadi but failed and ended up with nothing.

Edited by Rooster9: 27/5/2009 02:22:27 PM

finally found this http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25543220-5003460,00.html

"He said he would not be surprised if Viduka stayed with Newcastle to try to help it get back to the Premier League.

"I know a few of the coaches there and they have a huge regard for Mark ... they believe he has been one of the best players to come to the club," Mitchell said.

"I don't think he'll come back to Australia to play."

Mitchell said Perth would not be in the market to sign him, given it is close to securing a marquee deal with a Belgian international.

Sonck seems like he would be a great addition ... scored a goal against spain in the world cup qualifers, and still seems to be a regular in the national team set up.

gosh if we were to sign him ... dadi, jelic and sonck up front ... got a feeling that would mean total domination

Emile Mpenza is most realistic. Given he had an unsuccessful spell at Plymouth recently, it just seems we can snare him at the right time. He's 31 so a good age and was only playing EPL with Man City a season or so, ago. He seems realistic as the clubs he's been linked to recently are not all that superior to Glory or the A-League, I mean, they're good, but not great - Ergotelis, Braga, Anorthosis Famagusta, Le Mans & Grenoble

http://www.imscouting.com/global_news_item.aspx?id=2109

Coming to the fledging A-League as a big name Marquee may well appeal to him, given his alternatives.




I looked over him when considering who it may be. Yes, he is available and yes, he'd be a class addition to our defensive rotation. He's even realistic. But, is he marquee material? Not more than Victor Sikora would be. He's only VISA material and he'd only supplant Harnwell or fellow Visa player Todd anyway, unless he played RB and Neville switched to LB. But then, a RB Marquee? Doesn't sound right.



I don't find Sonck realistic. Firstly he's still central part of Belgium's NT set up and part of the team pushing to qualify for South Africa 2010.

But IF we HAVE managed to snare Sonck than that would be one of the best Marquee signings in A-League history - he's only 30/31 atm too!

Edited by gloryperth: 27/5/2009 06:34:06 PM

Awesome, a current Belgian international would be amazing for us.
i cant wait to hear more.

Got a story about the Windass rumour on the blog. Not sure about the Belgian international either...

I don't understand why people are against a marquee defender. Is it because nobody has ever won a title with a good defense :roll:

Besides, we NEED another quality CB.

Hey guys, preseason game between Perth and Gold Coast will be played in Bubury on July 25.

Sources:

http://southwest.thewest.com.au/regionals.aspx?MenuID=278&ContentID=143838
http://bunbury.yourguide.com.au/news/local/sport/afl/perth-glory-bunbury-bound/1524670.aspx

Glorywonderland, I would've whole heartedly agreed, more, would've advocated for it, had we not signed Andy Todd, or before we signed him. But now we have Todd, he along with Harnwell equal bucket loads of experience and leadership at the back. I don't think there's room, nor do we need, another guy like that, at the back.

He'd be a great pick up no doubt, Marquee or not, if we didn't have Todd.

Behind Todd, we have Brent Griffiths (Who can play CB and LB) and Scott Neville (Who can play RB and CB), as far as I can tell. We have Jamie Coyne too, who will probably slot back into the defensive rotation.

We might still short of a CB for the rotation, but the kind of guy we'd need is like an experienced A-League guy or some guy elevated from the state league. Not some big wage guy.

I thought that's why we brought in Todd, so he fills that lack of experience and leadership at the back? Now we have him, we don't really need much more experience or leadership, though a slightly younger and faster, 20 something CB for the rotation wouldn't go astray, whether he's from our state league, or over east.

We need to find 'the next Dino Djulbic.'

Edited by gloryperth: 28/5/2009 03:33:05 AM

This may sound callous, but I wouldn't say Harnwell must get a guaranteed spot - because he is so damn useful as a sub, you can play him either up front or down back. He's Glory through and through, but as a club we can't accept anything less than finals football and if he his role has to be a sub then so be it.

We also have shocking depth, Coyne has to find his old form - Neville and Griffiths are prospects, promising but still prospects. We're a club tyring to drag ourselves off the bottom two, Sage looks like he's gone all in so to speak, so it would be unfair to these kids to rely to them in the event of an injury crisis. Plus, how many seasons will we get out of Todd?

Velaphi
Neville - Hoefkens - Todd - Naum
Pelle - Shroj - Burns - Sikora
Dadi - Jelic

Vrteski, Harnwell, Coyne, Downey, Jukic

Look, I agree it would be preferable if we signed the next Dino, and the Belgian marquee turned out to be Sonck, Mpenza or someone. But if the marquee turns out to be Hoefkens, I wouldn't be unhappy.

Yeah I Would prefer that our marquee was an AM or another striker, some one exciting that will light up the field and peoople would be happy to come watch. The whole idea is the marquee is meant to be a crowd puller, increase the exposure of the club and the league.

In saying that our defence could definatly do with a bit of depth, and if there is a quality defender out there and the only way we can afford him is outside the cap its something Mitch will have to look at as long as he meets the minimum criteria for a marquee.

The marquee is something Im kinda glad is taking a while to finalise as it is very important especially this year, Glory are one real quality player away from being a genuine title contender. The squad at the moment is a definate for the finals IMO but the title is another quality player or two away. The side glorywonderland has put out is a title contender but if a defender gets injured our depth will be tested, we have plenty of young potential but it is yet to be proven as quality.I also think with Sikora on the wing there will be a lot more defensive pressure in the midfield and he will force plenty of turn overs like he did for Nikis goal last year.

Either way Il be stoked as long as it is a quality player.

we havnt heard any sources directly from glory or dave mitchell saying we're close to signing a belgian international as marquee? so god knows if this rumour is true or not.....

Theres an article in today's west about glory and sterjovski...

Glory edge closer to scoring second Socceroo
Perth Glory’s recruitment of Socceroos midfielder Jacob Burns and Derby County defender Andy Todd has increased the club’s chances of signing Mile Sterjovski.
Sterjovski, who played for Australia at the 2006 World Cup and is a regular in Pim Verbeek’s Socceroos squads, is being courted by several A-League clubs including Glory, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Central Coast.
He made 15 appearances for Derby County in England’s second tier Championship this season but wants to play in the A-League, which will be expanded from eight to 10 teams.
His relationship with Glory coach David Mitchell, who was Sterjovski and Burns’ boss at Sydney United and Parramatta Power in the old National Soccer League, could also play a part in the striker’s consideration.
“It’s getting closer but there are other options we are contemplating as well,” Mitchell said. “Whether it’s Mile or another player, I will keep looking until I’ve found someone who’s the right fit for the club.”
Glory’s acting chief executive, Lui Giuliani, said the presence at Glory of Burns, Todd and Mitchell could help sway Sterjovski to choose Perth over their A-League rivals.
Sterjovski could also be tempted to take up offers on the east coast where he would be closer to his Sydney roots.
Mitchell hopes to have most of his squad fit and ready for pre-season games in July when Glory face English Premier League clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham.
Glory take on Wolves on July 10 at Members Equity Stadium before a blockbuster double-header at the same venue five days later. Glory take on Fulham, while North Queensland Fury, featuring former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler, will play against Wolves.
Tickets go on sale on June 10.

The title hints that we're close to getting him but reading on mitch says “It’s getting closer but there are other options we are contemplating as well” .... i got a feeling dave mitchell wants to take a gamble and get somone else instead of sterjovski as marquee?

Yeah I seen that today too. That would be great but even that isnt certain. Great stuff though cant wait for the boys to run out. If we are excited imagine what the feeling at training must be, cant wait.

Even in that there was no mention of the Belgium player.

yeh ...

i think dave mitchell knows he may be able to get sterjovski ... but just wants to wait and see to how things go with other possibilities ....

the risk of this though is, he may go for others, then loose sterjovski, and then the other targets will get snared up by other clubs or say there not interested ... then we're in shit creek

Yeah you never know maybe we have enough money under the cap to sign Sterj and a marquee, maybe that is why we have signed 5 youth league players to allow for that possibility. But 7 HAL clubs are chasing him!! Sterj is my preference atm has been for awhile. They where talking about having Sterj and Recoba but maybe he wants ato be the marquee now.

i think we could only sign sterj as marquee ... would be extremely unlikely that we would sign him on normal wages, would be an absolute bargain if we did though. If we offered him normal wages he would most likely accept a normal wage offer from over east so he can be with his family.

I'm sure Mitch can manage more then one iron in the fire. He will be pursuing Sterj for as long as he believes he is a right fit for the squad and is available.

i wouldn't be surprised if sterjovski does move to asia. none of the current a-league clubs seem to be aggressively chasing him as their marquee. the money on offer over there and compared to england its a relatively short flight. i would still like to see him lace up for glory but i think our focus is elsewhere.

Want crowds? Then win games. It's the only solution that will work in this town.



And so if we didn't have Hoefkens, just Harnwell and Todd, we wouldn't be tested defensively? Apologies for being picky, but blokes like Zullo, Minniecon, Cole, Jamieson etc have shown that there are plenty of enthusiastic, talented attacking youngsters - we have our own in Jukic and Skorich. The unpredictability and energy of youth is a useful variable in your attack, not so much in defence.

3 competitive, good CBs and 2 competitive, talented GKs are a must for a solid defense which should result in few chances and more clean sheets. Last year we had 1 crocked defender, 1 half-crocked, 1 who didn't want to be here, 1 suspended for most of the season and of course Jamie and Naum = 6 defenders. That resulted in us conceding, on average, more than 2 goals a game last season! Now we have 4 - Jamie, Todd, Naum and Neville to be eased in.

So I ask: What's better? Having to score 3 goals a game or 1 to pick up the 3 points?

Mate I did mention that we do need more depth in defence, and I was refering to Neville and Griffiths when I talking about young potential that is unproven as they havnt really tested yet. So I do think we definatly need another quality CB maybe one that can push Harnwell to the bench.

I do agree the only way to get fans back to MES is to win, but the whole point of a marquee it to be a draw card in thier own right and whether you are winning or not is exciting to watch.
But I also mentioned that if there was a quality defender and I didnt mention any names but for example Hoefkens and the only way we could secure his services was outside the cap then that was something Mitch would have to look at..

If we get Hoefkens AND Sterjovski then we're more than set. Sterjovski would be great to have as a non-marquee, so too Hoefkens, though not sure signing the latter as a non-marquee is possible.

Hmm now that I think about it, their class aside, if we signed Sonck or Mpenza the strike rotation is suddenly quite crowded?

It could well be that Hoefkens character or that Left Winger, Bart Goor, mentioned by Euroos in another thread. The 36 year old Goor could play behind the strikers, as he's skilful enough and his career goal count shows he has an eye for goal.

Yeah Hoefkens is still quite young and playing at a reasonable level I think he would be chasing a marquee wage. Hes not the most well known player but if like you say we got Sterj aswell he would kinda take some unofficial marquee status if you know what I mean.

I dont care how crowded our strike force is Id love to see Sonck at Glory, even though he played with Sikora at Ajax it still seems a long shot. I thought he would be a likely marquee but I forgot he was still in the Belgium NT set up for world cup qualifiers, but Id be stoked to be wrong if we signed him.

i dont care who we get ... as long as its a name thats not to old, has an impressive record, and can make a difference to the already competive squad that we have, then im happy :)