Mariners Squad - HAL 11 - 2015/2016

[practically_floored]

Hi Everyone, stray Everton fan here. If you're wondering about McAleny, I can tell you a bit. I was surprised to see him linked with you because he's quite close to the first team, although he hasn't got any playing time recently other than in the preseason games. Osman (one of our midfielders) reckons he's one of the best finishers at the club, but he's had injury problems from a young age that stopped him breaking into the team when you would expect him to. Now he's 23 and it feels a bit like he's missed his opportunity, although you never know. The club seem to have faith in him after giving him a 3 year contract last summer.

As for him as a player, people say he's a striker but he plays as a 'number 10' a lot of the time. Maybe 2nd striker would be more appropriate, but he doesn't seem to be the type to lead the line. He's got good vision for a pass and a good shot on him, people were saying in pre-season that if he can stay fit he's likely to play a role in our first team so I think he could be a good asset for you.

If you fancy watching him play, here's Everton vs Swindon where got 2 assists, created the 3rd goal and then scored the 4th
He scored the first goal here
And here's the U21 game vs Liverpool from the other day where he assisted one goal and scored one.
Those highlights are long so if you don't fancy watching them all the way through, his assist is at 6:35 and his goal is at 8:55
Something to note about that Liverpool game is that our U21s are very young (3/4 are probably 7 years younger than McAleny) and they tend to have times throughout the season where they get overwhelmed, which happened in the first half here. Basically, don't judge him entirely on that game.

 

[VicMariner]

Hi Everyone, stray Everton fan here. If you're wondering about McAleny, I can tell you a bit. I was surprised to see him linked with you because he's quite close to the first team, although he hasn't got any playing time recently other than in the preseason games. Osman (one of our midfielders) reckons he's one of the best finishers at the club, but he's had injury problems from a young age that stopped him breaking into the team when you would expect him to. Now he's 23 and it feels a bit like he's missed his opportunity, although you never know. The club seem to have faith in him after giving him a 3 year contract last summer.

As for him as a player, people say he's a striker but he plays as a 'number 10' a lot of the time. Maybe 2nd striker would be more appropriate, but he doesn't seem to be the type to lead the line. He's got good vision for a pass and a good shot on him, people were saying in pre-season that if he can stay fit he's likely to play a role in our first team so I think he could be a good asset for you.

If you fancy watching him play, here's Everton vs Swindon where got 2 assists, created the 3rd goal and then scored the 4th
He scored the first goal here
And here's the U21 game vs Liverpool from the other day where he assisted one goal and scored one.
Those highlights are long so if you don't fancy watching them all the way through, his assist is at 6:35 and his goal is at 8:55
Something to note about that Liverpool game is that our U21s are very young (3/4 are probably 7 years younger than McAleny) and they tend to have times throughout the season where they get overwhelmed, which happened in the first half here. Basically, don't judge him entirely on that game.

Great first post. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Rowdy]

Daniel Heffernan will be playing for his VPL side Heidelberg at home when they take on Sydney United 58, coached by former Sydney FC captain Mark Rudan, in next Wednesday nights FFA Cup Rnd of 16 fixtures.

The game wont be televised but will be streamed live on "foxsports.com.au".
Adelaide v Sydney is the televised game on Foxtel. Pre-game starts @7pm - K'Off @7.30pm.

Will be interesting to see how he performs, I'm sure he'll be putting in the performance of his life knowing he's playing for an A-League contract. Walmsley is probably using the game as the final test before making the decision on whether to sign him or not.

Heidelberg sit 4th on the VIC NPL ladder with 1 round remaining before the finals.

Rudan's Syd Untd's performance's have been pretty poor in the NSW NPL failing to make this years finals after finishing 7th on the ladder. They came close to beating SYD FC in last years FFA Cup so I'm sure hell be firing up the boys from Edensor Park to reddem their season with a win away from home.

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/heffernan-heidelberg-history-adds-spice-cup-quest

 

[pjennings]

Thanks for the rundown practically_floored and welcome to the forum. He certainly looks a handy player - probably a better showing by McAleny with the first team around him against Swindon Town.

 

[Rowdy]

Then again, after Evertonian P-F's post (Welcome to the forum mate!) about McAleny........Daniel Heffernan may have to wait patiently & hopefully to get that call.

Either one of them take a visa spot & we still need another CB who might need a visa spot as well

 

[pjennings]

I'd take McAleny as a #10, Heffernan as a target man and line up Wilko for the end of his contract as a 'marquee' CB when the K League finishes this year. No visa problem then and a ready made captain when Monty retires (something we need to think about with Monty, Bosnar, Josh and Reddy all closer to the end of their career than the beginning and a very young squad besides).

 

[Rowdy]

Would Charlesworth spend the coin on Wilko? I think the extra CB spot we need to fill could quite possibly be more pivotal than the extra striker we need.

If the 2 new youngster's wilt under pressure when called upon, Josh Rose gets shifted back into the back 4 with either Bosnar or Posco.

Worse case scenario's:
● Micky Neil gets injured Josh Rose moves from CB to his old position of LB
● Storm Roux gets injured Posco moves to RB which is where he played previously when Roux was away with NZ/injured/out of form & dropped.

Factor in Bosnar's form last season got him dropped from the side a few times & to me it becomes even more evident that signing a quality CB (like Wilko) will kill many of these 'black-birds with just one stone'.

The "7 P's": Prior Planning & Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

As PJ said, throw in the option of Captaincy &/or extra leadership in a side who's average age is decreasing. Fan's would love to have him back. Charlesworth earns some kudos.

"Mike, it's a NO BRAINER" all you need to do is ..............

And remember, like Cuba say's
"it's NOT show you, it's SHOW ME"

 

[Big Al]

Hi Everyone, stray Everton fan here. If you're wondering about McAleny, I can tell you a bit. I was surprised to see him linked with you because he's quite close to the first team, although he hasn't got any playing time recently other than in the preseason games. Osman (one of our midfielders) reckons he's one of the best finishers at the club, but he's had injury problems from a young age that stopped him breaking into the team when you would expect him to. Now he's 23 and it feels a bit like he's missed his opportunity, although you never know. The club seem to have faith in him after giving him a 3 year contract last summer.

Welcome
Yeah we are also surprised to hear him linked to us while being mentioned as close to the 1st team.
We can definitely offer him a gallop, which by the sounds of it he needs a consistent run. Although if he a fringe player he might not need to be that match fit for you guys.
Not sure what sort of coin he on or would be on as we offer playing time over cash ( we probably the poorest club in the a league ATM).
Will be interesting and might go down till the end of the transfer period to see if you can get someone else.
The fans were starting to think we weren't getting anyone from your club this year as relationship builds and we don't have an attractive pay packet . We were probably expecting younger players but our league won't let us take anyone under 20yrs old as an import. So the next Rooney won't becoming here. We are known for producing quality youth.

Hope you hang around for who ever we get we'd love some insight.

 

[Big Al]

Then again, after Evertonian P-F's post (Welcome to the forum mate!) about McAleny........Daniel Heffernan may have to wait patiently & hopefully to get that call.

Either one of them take a visa spot & we still need another CB who might need a visa spot as well

Agree, will have to wait until we see what Everton offer up if anything. Being an import will be hurting him. I reckon a few might have been interested as a mature age rookie if he was Aussie.

 

[Big Al]

I'd take McAleny as a #10, Heffernan as a target man and line up Wilko for the end of his contract as a 'marquee' CB when the K League finishes this year. No visa problem then and a ready made captain when Monty retires (something we need to think about with Monty, Bosnar, Josh and Reddy all closer to the end of their career than the beginning and a very young squad besides).

While we'd all like it we know there is no such thing as a marquee this year and therefore it would be better Wilko doesn't come back because if he did it would be for the sky blue Mariners

 

[pjennings]

While we'd all like it we know there is no such thing as a marquee this year and therefore it would be better Wilko doesn't come back because if he did it would be for the sky blue Mariners

TBH - you would only be talking half a season and Bosnar's wages would go some way towards his for the next season.

 

[midfielder]

practically_floored

Thanks for the link

 

[Rowdy]

As I posted prev. Dan Heffernan will be playing for Heidelberg in this Wednesday's FFA Cup game against Sydney United 58, which will be of interest to us in whether we sign him or not.

Also interestingly is Heffernan will be up against former Mariner Panny Nikas. Nikas won the 2009/2010 'NYL Player of the Year' when he was with CCM that season, despite this he was released in March 2010.

Below is an article I saw on FourFourTwo that I thought was, shall we say ......... ...........interesting.

Quiet confidence for ' Socceroo's nursery' in FFA Cup:


In a clash of two former NSL clubs, Sydney United 58 travel down to Melbourne for a nostalgic voyage to play Heidelberg in Wednesday’s FFA Cup round of 16 game.

Formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, the Western Sydney based club has been a long time nursery for the Socceroos, with names like Ned Zelic, Zeljko Kalac. Graham Arnold, Mark Bosnich, Robbie Slater, Tony Popovic and Mile Jedinak coming through the system.

In the last 32 game against South Hobart, United advanced on penalties thanks to the heroics of former A-League player Panny Nikas.

Even though the game was decided by spot kicks, the skilled midfielder, who is considered one of the best players outside the A-League, told FourFourTwo that the result was never in doubt.

“With all due respect I don’t think they played outrageous football,” the 27-year-old said.

“However they scored two nice goals. It was a combination of finishing their chances and our mistakes.

“I thought we were always in control. We just remained calm and focused and knew that once we got the first goal, things would turn around.

“I was happy to get two goals and an assist for my team. But overall the team should be credited on the way they played and turned it around in the second half.”

Looking forward to the game against their former NSL rivals, Nikas is optimistic United can get the right result.

“We understand what Heidelberg is about,” he said.

“Hopefully I can put in a good performance and we can play some good football and get the result and progress into the next round.

“It’s a one off game, we’ll go there with a positive mindset.

“The NSW NPL season is done for us after we just missed out on the finals.

“The boys have been training well and it’s only going to be positive travelling down to Melbourne together. Preparing for the game together.

“We are preparing the best we can so we can get the job done and we are quietly confident that we can do that.”

Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/quiet-confidence-socceroos-nursery-ffa-cup#yOzXIC4eR2D4gHxT.99

 

[Rowdy]

O'Donovan reassured by Irish connections:

When Roy O'Donovan wanted to get the lowdown on the A-League, he contacted fellow Irishman Liam Miller.

Miller, who played for Perth Glory, Brisbane Roar, and Melbourne City, had only positive things to say, which made O'Donovan very comfortable about accepting an offer to play for Central Coast Mariners this season.

O'Donovan was also well aware another countryman, Andy Keogh, scored plenty of goals for Perth Glory last season.

30-year-old O'Donovan demonstrated his own confidence though, when he said he didn't need to know Keogh had done well, to be confident about his own chances of succeeding.

"Even if he hadn't been here it would have been my natural reaction anyway to believe I will succeed," O'Donovan said.

"But I'm always glad to see people I know do well and he had a great season last year."

Miller was the perfect adviser for O'Donovan, given he played 75 A-League games in his time here. He is now back home and playing for Cork City, in the League of Ireland Premier Division.

"I did my research and saw that Andy Keogh had done very well out here," O'Donovan said.

"I also had a good conversation with Liam Miller, who spent quite some time over here.

"I got a good idea from Liam about what it was like over here, what the clubs were like and how the league was progressing. I got a good idea of what I was stepping into and I haven't been let down by the information. I've been impressed so far.
___________________________________________

"Liam said it was a good league, they play some good football and it's progressing all the time. And it was mainstream, all the games were on TV and the competition had a good fan base. He said the game was in a good place over
here."
______________________________________
O'Donovan played for numerous clubs in England, including Sunderland in the Premier League.

Keogh, 29, played for many clubs in the UK as well. They played against each other in club football as well as together in the Republic of Ireland national team set-up.

O'Donovan also said he and his wife, Ellen, loved what they had seen of Australia so far.

"He's a good lad," O'Donovan said. "He's gone to Thailand now and I've come here after a season in Asia. I was looking for something more mainstream and it's a good step for me and my career."

"I've been in Australia now for a couple of months.

"The Central Coast is a beautiful place. Very quiet, beautiful beaches, and the Mariners is a good family club.

"There are some very good young players in our squad. There's a lot of hunger among the players and that could provide the basis for a good season.




"I'm very impressed with the location and the club and it's been very enjoyable. So far, so good."

Central Coast is badly in need of a striker who can score regularly, and O'Donovan has given the club good reason to believe he can fulfil that task with his early form in the pre-season trial matches.

He scored two goals in the first six minutes of a 3-1 win over Canberra club Gungahlin United last Thursday.

"We probably could have had a few more, but we kind of took our foot off the gas a little bit," he said.

"It was a decent week for us down in Canberra, with a couple of games and some good training. We got a lot of work done and everyone in the first-team squad got a game each and there were no injuries, so hopefully we can kick on in the next few weeks.

"We're still a work in progress. The pre-season is about working out combinations and building confidence. We've got a new team and we're getting the combinations and the rhythms right with each other and a new kind of system the team is playing.

"Come early October we should be ready and raring to go."

O'Donovan said he embraced the challenge of coming up with a good number of goals for his new club.

"I think that comes with the turf and it's the sort of pressure you come to know in this position from way back when you were a kid right through to playing professionally," he said.

"I'll be judged purely on goals by many people and I realise that.

"I fancy myself around the penalty box and if there are chances there to be sniffed at then I'm in there trying to finish them off. I'm out to score goals."

 

[Rowdy]

O'Donovan said :
"I'll be judged purely on goals by many people and I realise that"

'Striker' & a Psychic', read my mind perfectly!

 

[Rowdy]

Although some on here were hoping.

Ollie might be coming 'home' but NOT to the Central Coast........

A-League interest in clubless Socceroos midfielder Bozanic:


Australia midfielder Oliver Bozanic could be on the cusp of making a return to the A-League after holding initial discussions with Melbourne Victory.

It's also believed that Bozanic has attracted interest from Adelaide United.

After missing out on selection for September's FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Tajikistan because he is clubless, Bozanic is being considered by Victory as a replacement for its departed Australian marquee Mark Milligan, who signed for Dubai club Baniyas in June.

While Victory would not be willing to offer Bozanic the same lucrative terms as Milligan, it could easily outbid the Reds for the 26 year-old former Reading and Central Coast Mariners man.

Bozanic has been linked with a number of clubs since parting company with Swiss Super league outfit Luzern at the end of last season. It was an impressive two-year spell in which he racked up 51 appearances and scored six goals.

The move to Europe propelled the energetic and versatile Bozanic into the national team fold and he had a taste of last year's World Cup, coming off the bench as the Socceroos went down 3-2 to the Netherlands, before starting in the 3-0 loss to Spain.

He returned to Australia earlier this month to sort out his future, with the quest for a new club becoming a matter of some urgency for a player who has shown he can cut it in Europe, as well as the A-League.

Bozanic paid the price for his recent inactivity by missing the cut for Postecoglou's most recent squad, along with Socceroos attacker James Troisi, who is also looking to sort out his immediate club future after ending his loan spell with Belgium’s Zulte Waregem in May.

Free agent Tommy Oar, who left FC Utrecht in May, was the one exception made by Postecoglou for the clash against Bangladesh at Perth’s nib Stadium on 3 September and in Tajikistan five days later.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

Plenty of Brisbane Roar players are murmuring that they want to move away because of the Bakrie groups failure to pay on time on multiple occasions. We could get someone decent for cheap if we play our cards right. Who do people think we should target?

 

[practically_floored]

Welcome
Yeah we are also surprised to hear him linked to us while being mentioned as close to the 1st team.
We can definitely offer him a gallop, which by the sounds of it he needs a consistent run. Although if he a fringe player he might not need to be that match fit for you guys.
Not sure what sort of coin he on or would be on as we offer playing time over cash ( we probably the poorest club in the a league ATM).
Will be interesting and might go down till the end of the transfer period to see if you can get someone else.
The fans were starting to think we weren't getting anyone from your club this year as relationship builds and we don't have an attractive pay packet . We were probably expecting younger players but our league won't let us take anyone under 20yrs old as an import. So the next Rooney won't becoming here. We are known for producing quality youth.

Hope you hang around for who ever we get we'd love some insight.

I doubt we'd be asking you to pay his full wages, we send a lot of young players out on loan to lower division clubs in England and I'm pretty sure we cover most of the wages in exchange for giving them a run in their first team.

If you're only allowed players over 20 then McAleny is probably one of the best, depending on what you need. We have a few over 20 centre backs but our best attackers other than McAleny are all either younger or in the first team (ie Ross Barkley).

Hopefully you do get someone, I've heard about your qualities at producing young players before and it would be a great opportunity for our players to play on a bigger stage.

 

[JoyfulPenguin]

I doubt we'd be asking you to pay his full wages, we send a lot of young players out on loan to lower division clubs in England and I'm pretty sure we cover most of the wages in exchange for giving them a run in their first team.

If you're only allowed players over 20 then McAleny is probably one of the best, depending on what you need. We have a few over 20 centre backs but our best attackers other than McAleny are all either younger or in the first team (ie Ross Barkley).

Hopefully you do get someone, I've heard about your qualities at producing young players before and it would be a great opportunity for our players to play on a bigger stage.

Unfortunately the FFA (the Australian governing body) put in place restrictions on loan deals saying that clubs who loan players the full wage of the player contributes to the cap (even if said club isn't paying that wage) (because it was being used to get better players without using the salary cap) his wage would most likely be more than half of our salary cap putting us over cap most likely. The only way I can see it working is if he gets registered as our "marquee" and Everton pay his wages or a majority at least of them.

 

[Wombat]

As I posted prev. Dan Heffernan will be playing for Heidelberg in this Wednesday's FFA Cup game against Sydney United 58, which will be of interest to us in whether we sign him or not.

Also interestingly is Heffernan will be up against former Mariner Panny Nikas. Nikas won the 2009/2010 'NYL Player of the Year' when he was with CCM that season, despite this he was released in March 2010.

Below is an article I saw on FourFourTwo that I thought was, shall we say ......... ...........interesting.

Quiet confidence for ' Socceroo's nursery' in FFA Cup:
View attachment 406

In a clash of two former NSL clubs, Sydney United 58 travel down to Melbourne for a nostalgic voyage to play Heidelberg in Wednesday’s FFA Cup round of 16 game.

Formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, the Western Sydney based club has been a long time nursery for the Socceroos, with names like Ned Zelic, Zeljko Kalac. Graham Arnold, Mark Bosnich, Robbie Slater, Tony Popovic and Mile Jedinak coming through the system.

In the last 32 game against South Hobart, United advanced on penalties thanks to the heroics of former A-League player Panny Nikas.

Even though the game was decided by spot kicks, the skilled midfielder, who is considered one of the best players outside the A-League, told FourFourTwo that the result was never in doubt.

“With all due respect I don’t think they played outrageous football,” the 27-year-old said.

“However they scored two nice goals. It was a combination of finishing their chances and our mistakes.

“I thought we were always in control. We just remained calm and focused and knew that once we got the first goal, things would turn around.

“I was happy to get two goals and an assist for my team. But overall the team should be credited on the way they played and turned it around in the second half.”

Looking forward to the game against their former NSL rivals, Nikas is optimistic United can get the right result.

“We understand what Heidelberg is about,” he said.

“Hopefully I can put in a good performance and we can play some good football and get the result and progress into the next round.

“It’s a one off game, we’ll go there with a positive mindset.

“The NSW NPL season is done for us after we just missed out on the finals.

“The boys have been training well and it’s only going to be positive travelling down to Melbourne together. Preparing for the game together.

“We are preparing the best we can so we can get the job done and we are quietly confident that we can do that.”

Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/quiet-confidence-socceroos-nursery-ffa-cup#yOzXIC4eR2D4gHxT.99

Panny never made the step up to HAL level.
I'm hoping Heffernan scores another hatrick so we can no longer ignore him.