We Are The Reds

We need defenders not wingers.

There is no LB in the squad if Goodwin is going to play LW, we need two.
Only 3 centre backs, need a 4th.
Then we need a quality number 10.
As far as I can tell to even get these 4 players one of them needs to be a mature age rookie or designated player.

agree a specialist LB would be good, though Strain has shown enough last season to believe he could be a starting RB and Marrone should be experienced enough to play LB fairly decently if we can't find a reasonably priced LB.

I expect Strain would play LB ahead of Marrone if the need arose but when Strain played on the right he offered something going forward, put in some decent crosses. If he plays LB then that is greatly limited and he is primarily a midfielder and it would be good to see him play there instead of full back. However if he is going to play fullback it should be RB and perhaps he might do so ahead of Marrone.
We need a quality left back would can overlap and put in good crosses, especially if our striker, Baba or someone else, has one of their main strengths being heading.

Fabio Ferreira is done at Sydney FC.

Fabio Ferreira is done at Sydney FC.

So is Carney, definitely don't want either, but Carney could play LB, so I would take him first.

O'doherty to WSW

O'doherty to WSW

Another sad day to see such a promising local go elsewhere. Can't argue with him getting a 3 year deal. Great move from WSW.
I'd personally rather see the new owners look at making signings like this than seek out HAL experienced players from rivals. Lock in promising talent for a long contract so they are afforded time to develop. Then if the have a break out season mid way thru the contract the club is in a position of advantage as to whether to keep them (and hopefully encourage them not to go abroad too early like so many others have done) or cash in on a decent transfer if the offer is too good to refuse.

One thing I have noticed this off season already is that players being signed are being signed for 3-4 year contracts. This is what needs to happen. I.e Mauk 4 years, Goodwin 3 years and now O'D for 3 years, gives stability, but also means transfer fees if players want to leave mid contract. Hopefully AU can start doing the same thing instead of giving youngsters a start and them moving on once they start to establish themself (usually to another A-League club for nothing...)

O'Doherty needs to be playing regularly, he wasn't last season, so he had to leave. There are too many young players being produced by the club for them all to stay and get the game they need to develop.
Konstandopoulos won the battle for game time last season, he needs to be starting this season and also put on a long contract so if he continues to improve and wants to go overseas we get a good transfer fee. Then him leaving will give an opportunity to the next player, perhaps D'Arrigo, Brook, Armeinto to come into the side.

Anything happening?

I assume that Isaias is getting his citizenship sorted out, maybe that will hold up signing players for a little while.

still plenty of time. If we can get our imports signed and training before september i would consider that a win.

One thing I have noticed this off season already is that players being signed are being signed for 3-4 year contracts. This is what needs to happen. I.e Mauk 4 years, Goodwin 3 years and now O'D for 3 years, gives stability, but also means transfer fees if players want to leave mid contract. Hopefully AU can start doing the same thing instead of giving youngsters a start and them moving on once they start to establish themself (usually to another A-League club for nothing...)

Yeah long term deals are a positive sign.
I guess with the new clubs definitely coming on board club's need to lock down players and ensure they are holding on to more of their players.
That and I would say the HAL is in a pretty decent position as far as club ownership goes so with that stability should mean that more clubs can make more long term plans.

Keep in mind that A-League clubs will be able to conduct loan deals between themselves as of the 2018-19 season.

I'm guessing the longer contracts are due to the liklihood of two new teams entering the comp.
1. To avoid poaching from the newcomers
2. Salary cap may rise, thus devaluing existing deals

Either way, im all for it.

I'm guessing the longer contracts are due to the liklihood of two new teams entering the comp.
1. To avoid poaching from the newcomers
2. Salary cap may rise, thus devaluing existing deals

Either way, im all for it.

The 4+1 rule may also be a factor if FFA are serious about implementing it.

I have a feeling we wont hear much from the clud about signings until after the world cup purely for PR purposes

I'm guessing the longer contracts are due to the liklihood of two new teams entering the comp.
1. To avoid poaching from the newcomers
2. Salary cap may rise, thus devaluing existing deals

Either way, im all for it.

The 4+1 rule may also be a factor if FFA are serious about implementing it.

I have a feeling we wont hear much from the clud about signings until after the world cup purely for PR purposes

Yeah there isn't going to be a huge amount of air time available. WC will take up all the time football will be allocated outside of AFL.
I hope the club makes more effort to announce every signing they make though. Last season youth signings received little to no media coverage. Hopefully this season the new owners allow the media team time to write articles on every signing. Personally I think more effort needs to go into youth signings so fans can really take to our youth players so when they make debuts or get called up to youth NT squads we as fans feel we know the player well enough to care about that and feel like they are part of the journey. The HAL is very much a feeder league to a lot of leagues around the world, I think we need to celebrate the fact that a lot of the kids coming thru are going on to bigger and better things.

The club absolutely must, no excuses, do better than last year. Nathan Konstandopoulos did not even get announced as a signing, he just appeared in the squad list and then played a large part in the midfield.