We Are The Reds

So if the owners are looking to turn this into a money spinner, can we expect them to try and influence selections to get this kid on the park and in the shop window?

For all the really positive things that have gone on in the offseason, this seems like a fairly sizeable misstep on face value.

That was my initial concern when the chinese visa idea was originally floated, does this kid get priority over adelaide kids or is he just another member of the team fighting for a position?

I agree with blah blah, its worth waiting to see how this plays out before deciding. Im not sure the owners would have wasted the opportunity and sent a lowly rated player in their system over here. He is here because someone believes this kid can be an asset to chinese football.

My concern is not the players quality, Im making the assumption the chinese youths will be below standard but consider it a minor issue when you remember the extra cash in the clubs war chest now.

My concern is does this guy get priority above all other aufc youth? I doubt this will happen because I can imagine AUFC fans turning on Piet and this kid real quick.

Yeah, let's wait and see. Since we have no choice.
In the meantime, Wanderers sign a capped German who has played Bundesliga. We might just be missing out here....?

So if the owners are looking to turn this into a money spinner, can we expect them to try and influence selections to get this kid on the park and in the shop window?

For all the really positive things that have gone on in the offseason, this seems like a fairly sizeable misstep on face value.

That was my initial concern when the chinese visa idea was originally floated, does this kid get priority over adelaide kids or is he just another member of the team fighting for a position?

I agree with blah blah, its worth waiting to see how this plays out before deciding. Im not sure the owners would have wasted the opportunity and sent a lowly rated player in their system over here. He is here because someone believes this kid can be an asset to chinese football.

My concern is not the players quality, Im making the assumption the chinese youths will be below standard but consider it a minor issue when you remember the extra cash in the clubs war chest now.

My concern is does this guy get priority above all other aufc youth? I doubt this will happen because I can imagine AUFC fans turning on Piet and this kid real quick.

Yeah its an interesting situation. Especially as with the current HAL system opportunities for youth are hard to come by in the first place. I seriously doubt the owners and club would have gone thru with this if the kid is zero chance of making the first team.

I for one welcome the lad and hope he is successful and I'm excited this could be a boost to the Adelaide - Chinese relationship as we all broaden our horizons.

We are going to get hit hard by Olyroo departures during the season, so this kid is likely to get a run.

I'm not a fan of it, but we can wait and see how it plays out.

We are going to get hit hard by Olyroo departures during the season, so this kid is likely to get a run.

I'm not a fan of it, but we can wait and see how it plays out.

Surely a kid from the youth side will get picked over him.

This screengrab from the Red Army FB group has been doing the rounds on Twitter. I'm sorry but this is a disgrace. There is now way this guy will be good enough and there's no way he'll be selected and played on merit. Simply having this guy on the books is detrimental to the first team and stops us bringing in the quality DM that we desperately need.

Something suss about this. Why would Piet get a "poor" ametuer, who wins from that.

The only thing i can conclude IF the above us true is, rich daddy?

This screengrab from the Red Army FB group has been doing the rounds on Twitter. I'm sorry but this is a disgrace. There is now way this guy will be good enough and there's no way he'll be selected and played on merit. Simply having this guy on the books is detrimental to the first team and stops us bringing in the quality DM that we desperately need.

So this post is the undeniable truth now? The kid is rubbish before we have even seen him because some guy who says he is chinese said so...

Ill reserve my judgement, even if it turns out to be true im mostly ok with the situation assuming our other signings are more ambitious than with previous owners which has been so far.

Im neither sold one way or the other yet.

Apparently, the club has now fulfilled the minimum number (20) of players on a senior contract with this signing of Chen. However, what is the maximum number of players allowed in every A-League squad? It used to be be 23. The A-League clubs can now have 7 on the bench, so can United sign any more players? I feel that we still need defensive cover for Jacobsen and Elsey as we really only have Marrone as back up. My understanding is that clubs all around the world can still sign free agents outside the transfer window. If Adelaide can sign more players, they need to sign one of the following free agents. There are three Aussie free agents that stand out and which could do a job for the Reds. They are Matt Spiranovic, Chris Herd and Mile Jedinak. I believe that Matt Spiranovic would be perfect as he could be played principally as a defensive midfielder and provide cover for Elsey and Jakobsen if they get suspended or injured. Spiranovic is only 31 and has played as a defensive midfielder before. He is a classy player that can bring further experience to our midfield or defence. He has played for the Soccerroos not too long ago and would have us seriously challenging for honours. Of course, if there is no money left in the salary cap, they can use a marque spot. Chris Herd, too, is 31 and can play in defence or midfield. Of the three, it is unlikely that we can secure 35 year old Jedinak. C'mon United. Splash the cash for that one quality player that would complete the squad nicely!

This screengrab from the Red Army FB group has been doing the rounds on Twitter. I'm sorry but this is a disgrace. There is now way this guy will be good enough and there's no way he'll be selected and played on merit. Simply having this guy on the books is detrimental to the first team and stops us bringing in the quality DM that we desperately need.

So this post is the undeniable truth now? The kid is rubbish before we have even seen him because some guy who says he is chinese said so...

Ill reserve my judgement, even if it turns out to be true im mostly ok with the situation assuming our other signings are more ambitious than with previous owners which has been so far.

Im neither sold one way or the other yet.

Having done some research last night, it's clear he has never played for Qingdao's first team. Rob Greenwood confirmed this in his article today. Let's be honest, if he was any good there would be little to no chance of him not being snapped up by a CSL club.

He's rubbish and he'll take a spot from our youth.
We should have brought in a top player from Europe instead ... who wouldn't ... have taken a spot ... from our youth ... ummm.

Let me try that again.
He's rubbish and he's taking up the last available spot in our squad.
Now we'll have to sign an Aussie as a ... DM player ... instead ... ummm.

Let me try that again.
He's rubbish and I'll bet we've got him fro next to nothing as a squad filler.
We could have spent the same money on ... a good European ... player .... ummm.

Let me try that again.
He's rubbish and ... let's just leave it at that. Piet out !!!

The fact that the announcement was made by Piet and we haven't heard anything from Gertjan or Bruce speaks volumes.

I also want to give the bloke a chance, but it’s very hard to when we’re wasting a visa spot on him. There’s no other way to look at this situation. We have an abundance of attack minded midfield options already, and the forced signing of him has locked us out from looking elsewhere for a visa DM or CB.

I also want to give the bloke a chance, but it’s very hard to when we’re wasting a visa spot on him. There’s no other way to look at this situation. We have an abundance of attack minded midfield options already, and the forced signing of him has locked us out from looking elsewhere for a visa DM or CB.

That is what it all comes down to- Hoping for the best but it's a waste of a visa spot considering we have an abundance of Australian players in that position.

He's rubbish and he'll take a spot from our youth.
We should have brought in a top player from Europe instead ... who wouldn't ... have taken a spot ... from our youth ... ummm.

Let me try that again.
He's rubbish and he's taking up the last available spot in our squad.
Now we'll have to sign an Aussie as a ... DM player ... instead ... ummm.

Let me try that again.
He's rubbish and I'll bet we've got him fro next to nothing as a squad filler.
We could have spent the same money on ... a good European ... player .... ummm.

Let me try that again.
He's rubbish and ... let's just leave it at that. Piet out !!!

Now you're being disingenuous.

I was against the Troisi signing as I think he should be using McGree in that role with Brook as his backup. This would mean that Boland plays the box to box role where he's most effective and Nathan K would be his backup. I personally rate the latter and I'm surprised he hasn't played much in the last couple of games.

If Gertjan doesn't think Brook is ready yet which would be surprising given he was called up for the Olyroos recently, we could move Boland to the 10 role, Nathan K plays the B2B role and Brook gets mins off the bench.

That leaves a huge gaping hole at DM. Lia isn't good enough to be a regular starter nowadays but can do a job when called upon, D'Arrigo has lots of potential but clearly isn't ready yet while Boland clearly isn't a DM and shouldn't be playing there.

Surely you can see why people are up in arms about the club wasting a visa spot on a kid who was playing amateur football in China instead of bringing in a defensive midfielder?