Who's signed for next season

[shinAUFC]

Regan is still contracted for next season so surely it's either Elsey or Gulum staying.

I've just heard that Jordan O'Doherty may be off to Perth next season.

He still wont be close to first choice at sydney but may find some game time during sydneys acl commitments

[The Claw]

Well he has gone to a club that actually exists to win things, so it's good for him to sit on the bench there. I'd love to know what AU exists for these days?

[shinAUFC]

Good to see we are still a feeder club that gives young players a chance to develop before moving on free transfers to rival clubs.
Tongyik coming to us to replace Warland? Yeah right.....
Good to see we've weakened the squad this window, kovacevic is a friggin disaster.

I dont see the point of developing youth in this league there is just no incentive.

Look at the quality we have recently produced that are playing for other clubs due to a combination of a league structure that does not support retaininh home grown products and a seemingly reactive recruitment policy.

If odoherty goes to perth i think it will be the nail in the coffin for many aufc fans.

What exactly is the club identity ?

[Old Gregg]

Well he has gone to a club that actually exists to win things, so it's good for him to sit on the bench there. I'd love to know what AU exists for these days?

Yep, me too.
I don't even care if we're not winning trophies. But we call ourselves a 'club' - 'the people's club' no less! That would surely imply some kind of ongoing connection between players / management / supporters.
Some sort of continuity of identity & community is absolutely crucial, especially if we're not actually winning anything. Cutting loose good young players and club legends does not help this at all.

I agree Shin - the structure of A-League transfers means there is no incentive at all to develop young players. It's bittersweet seeing anyone do well at Adelaide because it usually means they'll be gone at the end of the season.
There's also a culture of chasing a buck (or an opportunity) among players in this league. They're fickle, but there's no loyalty or incentives shown by clubs so why shouldn't they be?

Maybe supporters just need to demand more. Let's stop patting Mauk or Kamau (or whoever) on the back for pissing off as soon as something slightly bigger comes along.

[shinAUFC]

So i heard gulum is negotiating to buy a business in adelaide..... good news atleast

[otto62]

Yeah we should be trying to win trophies. I mean how many trophies have we actually won in the last few years!
(Oh ..... really? .... oh, well I'll shut up then.)

Bunch of whingers on hear.

Our culture is pretty clear, I thought?
- play football rather than lump it forward;
- give local youth a great chance to break into the first team;
- bring back local players from overseas or interstate when we can;
- try and find low key (cheap) imports who can make an impact (accepting that means taking risks on them).

That's good enough for me.

-

[Old Gregg]

Yeah we should be trying to win trophies. I mean how many trophies have we actually won in the last few years!
(Oh ..... really? .... oh, well I'll shut up then.)

I don't care about trophies. Once the euphoria of winning them has passed, they're meaningless. What I care about is maintaining a stable club culture without the stupid implosions every other year. That's what creates a sense of community, identity & connection.

Bunch of whingers on hear.

well yeah, it's a football supporter forum

Our culture is pretty clear, I thought?
- play football rather than lump it forward;
- give local youth a great chance to break into the first team;
- bring back local players from overseas or interstate when we can;
- try and find low key (cheap) imports who can make an impact (accepting that means taking risks on them).

That's good enough for me.

- Almost every team in the league tries to 'play football', we might do it better than most, but if that's part of our identity why dismantle the (successful) Gombau revolution with no explanation or clear direction?
- Yes... but what's the point if we then let them walk as soon as they get stars in their eyes? What do we get out of it?
- 'When we can' does not seem to be very often.
- Agree on this one. Our imports have generally been carefully chosen, humble & hardworking guys that fit the mould of what this club SHOULD be.

[shinAUFC]

My mail is Gulum is buying property here including the alma hotel, potentially wants to finish his career here.

Elsey was made captain on the weekend and kurz said “ Elsey needed it more than Gulum” even val mentioned captaincy is likely a part of the contract talks.

It would seem Gulum and Elsey have either signed or are very close with Reagan one more year on his contract.

If this is true then i can wear losing warland and put it down to an unfortunate reality of lited games and a salary cap.

[Reds4Life]

Gulum taking Dangerflogs stake in the Alma??

[bpowell454]

There is a rumor that CCM are meeting with O'doherty's agent this week.

Fabio Ferreira has been training with Sydney for the last 10 days and is likely to sign with them also.

[otto62]

Yeah we should be trying to win trophies. I mean how many trophies have we actually won in the last few years!
(Oh ..... really? .... oh, well I'll shut up then.)

I don't care about trophies. Once the euphoria of winning them has passed, they're meaningless. What I care about is maintaining a stable club culture without the stupid implosions every other year. That's what creates a sense of community, identity & connection.

Bunch of whingers on hear.

well yeah, it's a football supporter forum

Our culture is pretty clear, I thought?
- play football rather than lump it forward;
- give local youth a great chance to break into the first team;
- bring back local players from overseas or interstate when we can;
- try and find low key (cheap) imports who can make an impact (accepting that means taking risks on them).

That's good enough for me.

- Almost every team in the league tries to 'play football', we might do it better than most, but if that's part of our identity why dismantle the (successful) Gombau revolution with no explanation or clear direction?
- Yes... but what's the point if we then let them walk as soon as they get stars in their eyes? What do we get out of it?
- 'When we can' does not seem to be very often.
- Agree on this one. Our imports have generally been carefully chosen, humble & hardworking guys that fit the mould of what this club SHOULD be.

There was a comment above Sydney being a club that wins things - as if we aren't.

I don't think we've had any implosions at the club for a while now. Sure we may not be active in signing new players and we may not be engaging with the supporters as much as we could, but it's a damn sight better than the implosions we used to have. Compared to the upheaval at WSW, the ridiculous 'numbers' fiasco at Brisbane, and the Cahill circus at City, we're doing fine.

I'll accept that most team tries to play football. The exceptions are MV who are just a bunch of thugs, and WSW who were worse until Gombau arrived (let's see if Santalab et al can stop their thuggery over the long run).

Your're right, this is a football forum. What on earth was I thinking?

Locals - what do we get out of it? Creating opportunities for our local boys to make a career in the game. Local players (generally) play with greater passion (so you get more from them than an equivalent player from elsewhere). The possibility of selling players overseas. I think having locals is also one of those things where supporters can feel closer to the club (I know I do, when we have local players).

[The Claw]

Bunch of whingers... I guess we should just be satisfied that we have a club eh Otto. Sport is about opinions and forums especially so. I think that it's only far to question wtf AU are doing as it's been questionable every season bar the GF win.
We don't sign experience and can't retain our youngsters from other A-league clubs, I think it's normal to question this as it actually goes against what the club has told its supporters it wants to do.

[The Claw]

The comment was exists to win things. Compare that with AU, do we or do we hope to win things?? There is not much ambition and continually losing some of your best youngsters to other a-league clubs seems like a shit recipe for successs when you can't attract any decent experienced Aussies most of the time. I don't see SFC losing required players to other Aussie clubs like we do most years!

[sub007]

Good to see we are still a feeder club that gives young players a chance to develop before moving on free transfers to rival clubs.
Tongyik coming to us to replace Warland? Yeah right.....
Good to see we've weakened the squad this window, kovacevic is a friggin disaster.

I think Tongyik leaving City is very realistic. He's sixth choice at City behind Schenkeveld, Jakobsen, La Rocca, Delbridge and Malik. Whether he signs for us or not is another question.

[RedsUnited]

I'm good with Warland leaving... as long a we tie Elsey down.