Not sure Peel Thunder is a good comparison - they've only been the Dockers "reserves" this year, but 16 seasons before that, they've literally NEVER had a season where they haven't lost more games than they've won.

The absolute definition of a basketcase.

Not really worried if Glory youth lose to teams like Sorrento. Fair to say, that the Glory use these matches for different reasons to other teams in the league. The youth guys are playing these games mainly for fitness and development. Whereas most of the teams in the NPL are gonna be treating the games against Glory as their biggest match of the season and will have extra motivation to knock them off.

And yet they still find a way to produce a huge line of AFL-quality talent.

Smeltz faces pay cut to stay at Glory

Shane Smeltz will have to take a significant pay cut if he is to remain at Perth Glory next season as the club abandons its domestic marquee spot.

The New Zealand international is out of contract at the end of May at nib Stadium after suffering an injury-interrupted 2013-2104 season which reduced him to 13 appearances and four goals.

Signed initially as the club's international marquee three years ago, Smeltz has been offered a one-year extension by Glory as owner Tony Sage seeks to cut the wage bill by opting to now ditch the Australian marquee slot.

News of Glory’s stance on a player, whose A-League goal tally of 77 is just one behind Melbourne Victory’s Archie Thompson, will alert several other clubs as Smeltz weighs up his future in the coming weeks.

Smeltz had been touted as a possible replacement for new Melbourne Victory signing Besart Berisha at Brisbane Roar – but it appears now that Roar may be looking at an overseas option.

“Shane Smeltz has been offered another contract but the situation is now that we will not have an Australian marquee position at the club next season,” said Sage. “Shane will have to decide whether he wants to accept the offer or not.

“With the marquee position not available now, he will have to fit under the salary cap. That is obviously going to be his call but of course we would like to keep a player with his proven goal record at the club.

"He was unlucky with injuries last season but is still a potent goalscorer."

Smeltz has struck 28 goals in 58 appearances for Glory, and his injury problems last season were a major factor in the club’s under-achieving campaign.

Glory finished eighth on the ladder but still appointed caretaker Kenny Lowe as its full time coach.

The door, meanwhile, remains slightly ajar for international marquee William Gallas, according to Sage, with the French star0 heading overseas this week amid ongoing negotiations over a possible return for a second season.

“He does want to stay at the club and he loves it here,” Sage said of the 36 year-old defender.

“But I think there won’t be any decision until a lit later on whether he returns to the club or not.”

Glory is also likely to confirm Western Sydney Wanderers' Ethiopian-born Dutch star Youssouf Hersi as its latest recruit next week after his final game for WSW against Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

While there is also interest from elsewhere, Glory is confident there will be no late hitches and it has its man.

Lowe will soon be heading to South America and Europe to scout potential visa players.

Heh...



http://notthefootyshow.com/2011/03/21/who-paid-the-piper/

Zahra's not getting a new contract, not really fussed about losing him, didn't really seem that great when he played, looked okay sometimes but Lowe obviously doesn't like him

Forgot to make a formation in that other post:

Striker
Sidnei-Marinkovic-Hersi
Midfielder-Griffiths
Jamo-Thwaite-Gallas-Risdon
Vukovic

Bench: Duncan, Smeltz, Garcia, AM, Djulbic

:shock:

GP, you have 6 Foreigners in your starting line up.

Zahra's not getting a new contract, not really fussed about losing him, didn't really seem that great when he played, looked okay sometimes but Lowe obviously doesn't like him

I think what tends to happen is that if you put a bunch of youngsters together like that and play them against seasoned teams, the best players will eventually rise. In the AFL you can also look at Gold Coast and GWS... what you see is that they started out throwing a team of youngsters onto the park and getting belted every week, but eventually the best players established themselves while those not up to it were replaced.

The key thing is that no matter how talented a group is for their age, some of them have effectively gotten better quicker and have no real scope for improvement. They eventually get left behind.

The benefit of having something like the NPL team, or the Peel/East Perth examples, is that this process isn't done to the detriment of the first team. Ali Edwards (through either planning of because the squad was not very deep and he copped injuries) ended up throwing too many kids on the park and even if they all go on to be stars, it's not going to be pretty to watch while they develop.

By having a solid first team and allowing just the most likely to succeed youngsters to come through means you don't sacrifice your results and the kids probably develop faster by virtue of learning from and being guided by proven senior players. It *should* be a stable and continuous process, but with Glory it just never is.

I hope Lowe proves me wrong and we are in the top 2 (Edit: Or 4) next year....

What is it, with the demand for Hersi over here?! Must be fueld by Lowe then, all-along? The talk started months ago when Lowe was interim, so can only be from him.

He may be seen as a like-for-like Nagai replacement? Harold may be relegated back to the wing/wide players rotation, as too an option upfront...

So that means, IF the re-signing of Gallas is confirmed too, then it will be like ATE says and a kind of back to the bad old days - Even with Burns and McGarry gone, Glory/Lowe will still logically chase VISA quality there too. Risdon and Jamieson back - not a spot free for the promising youngins including the likes of Harold (Who's 'not soo young' now!), O'Neill, Clisby, Woodcock and would be Roma signing and returning 'loanee' Danny De Silva?

'Would be' Full strength line-up:

R>L

Vukavic
Risdon Gallas Thwaite Jamieson
Griffiths ?/VISA
Hersi Marinkovic Sidnei
VISA/Smeltz

The 'Youth Revolution' officially over - bar another injury crisis - which is always possible with three thirty somethings there - all with poor fitness records this past season!

Edited by GloryPerth: 9/5/2014 07:36:35 PM

I personally don't see the need for two defensive midfielders. We have four backs do they really need another two defenders?? I would suggest a more central midfielder (further up the field) would provide better linkage to the forwards and attacking mids (unless Markinovic provides that ... he neither showed the ability or stamina to carry out that role last season).

We really need a playmaker IMO, Mooy is probably the best young prospect going around in the A-League ATM ... wasn't there talk he was off contract next season too?? He can play defensive midfield if needed or further up the field too. Also a young Australian player.

I would interested to see if Sidnei could play more central too ... everytime he was on the ball for Glory this season something looked like it was going to happen. He probably holds the ball to much for a central player but can provide a spark which is something that the Glory really need to link the midfield to the forwards.

As much as I was largely unimpressed by the squad Edwards put together and the performances under him, I can't deny that his brief tenure was the only time when I felt genuine hope for the club's future.

My biggest problem with Edwards was the very theoretical nature of the formation and attacking movement that he built into the team. It was exactly the same as watching the U20 World Cup team, and therefore I assume it's something ingrained in the FFA Curriculum... and I don't like it.

Combined with the lack of an absolutely dominant attacking midfielder (i.e. because we didn't have a Del Piero or Broich in the number 10 role), the result was that for all the theory of playing out of the back and releasing your creative players in the final third, our attacking moves ended up being repetitive pumps up the line for the wingers to try and win a one-on-one contest and get a cross into the single striker. It was just ineffective, and especially in games when REdwards was given the defensive marking role on the opposition DM.

Whether after 2 or 3 years it would've started getting results, I don't know. I think the future probably would've been better than it looks at present. But at the same time, as a football fan, I didn't enjoy the actual performances any more in the games Edwards coached than I did in Lowe's games. I would, in fact, go so far as to say that every season since the HAL began Glory have been probably in the top 2 or 3 most boring teams to watch in the league... *that* has gotten very tiresome after nearly a decade.

We are going for Neil Kilkenny and James Welsowski.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/neil-killkenny-james-wesolowski-sit-on-top-of-perth-glorys-aleague-wish-list/story-fnk6pqhd-1226915684049

I do hope we get Kilkenny, I've always rated him. Composed and creative.

I dont know too much about James though however I've seen his name pop up a few times here and there, plus he got player of the year so he can't be too bad.

We are going for Neil Kilkenny

Is there any point to a news article linking a player to the club? They're almost always fever-dreams of Dear Leader.

PERTH Glory has its sights set on English based players for the upcoming A-League season with Socceroo Neil Kilkenny and Sydney born James Wesolowski on the top of their shopping list, as they look to bolster Kenny Lowe’s squad.

The duo are just two of a host of players from the Championship down that the club is assessing in an attempt to replenish their stocks with top end talent.