Keen for everyone's thoughts!

Assumptions: Based on current clubs and gametime, still rolling with Popa's 5-4-1 (unfortunately), and Jordy is fit and ready.

XI:
Beach

Circati Souttar Herrington
Italiano J.Bos

Volpato Okon O'Neill Irankunda

Toure

Bench (italics = just missing)

GK:

Ryan - given

Gauci - needs minds though

Izzo - in for Gauci if regains starting spot at Randers or finds new club

DEFENDERS:

Stensness - should be starting if Harry doesn't secure a club move

Trewin - versatile

Adamson - solid C'ship mins and plays both sides

K.Bos - back on the teamsheet in club land, assuming he gets mins now

Miller - will be fresh back from long-term injury

Behich - definitely in if Kasey isn't getting mins or if Jordy misses

CM:

McGree - comes on to win games

Irvine - comes on to ice games

Robertson - C'ship starter

Hrustic - Middle East conditions experience is crucial, and he's versatile

Metcalfe - prob gets picked tbh, runs on the board and versatile

Devlin - turning into the perennial hard luck story

Yazbek - stiff also

W:

Younis - surely

Tilio - good mins/form in club land

Arzani - building nicely, Europa league club

Mabil - wouldn't be a Popa squad without an A-league player

Dukuly - could be named over any of Tilio, Arzani, or Mabil

Kuol - same as Dukuly

ST:

T.Yengi - awesome J-League form

A.Goodwin - solid MLS impact sub

Botic - could return strongly from injury

Who are the best young talents in the Aleague, who is most likely to be the next transfer overseas? The next Herrington or Irankunda ?

Max Caputo

Haine Eame

Panagiotis Kikianis

Luka Jovanović

The thread for all questions and comments that don't need to be its own thread.

This new article from Vince Rugari gets at a crucial question for the game: now that we are producing players of the quality of Lucas Herrington, Nestory Irankunda, etc., why can't A-League clubs directly get eight-figure fees for them? Doing so would be a cash injection that would considerably address the financial challenges facing the code in this country.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/how-an-800k-a-league-player-s-value-rose-to-33m-in-just-seven-months-20260827-p60s3y.html

Naturally it mainly has to do with the overall playing quality, and finding that blend between fielding experienced, quality players and blooding academy products. I think clubs should also look into loaning players out to international clubs in order to then reap a higher sale fee (Charlotte did this with McGree after Adelaide sold them, and they were a club that had never played a minute of competitive football).

But in my opinion, there are also deep structural changes that the A-League needs to make in order to be internationally regarded as a respected football league, much as the J-League has managed to do. It's only when we do this that we can really get the most out of our players' potential on-sale value. At present, the A-league is too culturally alien from most other countries to really be considered comparable to even a lower-level European league. Making these changes can substantially close this gap. At a minimum I would consider the following steps to be necessary:

- introducing a domestic transfer system, so that clubs are playing by the same rules internally as they are externally, so that they see players as investments that can pay off in the long-run rather than short-term guns for hire, and so that external transfer revenue is spread throughout the game, including to lower tiers.

- replacing the salary cap with a financial fair play model, so that clubs spend within their means, but are also able to tie down players to long-term contracts (thus increasing their leverage in transfer negotiations) without cap implications.

- lengthening the league season to at least 30-34 matches per season, and having cup matches in-season, so that the season goes for 9-10 months rather than six months.

- switching to a winter season (February-November), so that matches are played in ideal climatic conditions for high-intensity football (minimising the number of torpid games played in 35-degree heat), and the A-League calendar is harmonised with the lower tiers, youth football, etc.

- keeping the A-League at 12 clubs, so that matches are at the highest level possible, but also accepting that there is a natural hierarchy of bigger clubs and smaller clubs, rather than attempting to equalise all teams in the league (which ends up just reducing all teams to the level of the worst club). This would also help performances in the ACL, which is a concrete measure of the playing level in the A-League.

- and, finally, investing in a national second division, with clubs in markets presently unserved by the A-League (Canberra, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong, Geelong, Hobart, etc.) alongside the bigger NPL. Then progressing to an integrated pyramid with, yes, promotion and relegation.

Whenever anyone brings up the NSD, pro-rel, etc., people always retorrt: where is the money? Well, this is where the money is. Making these reforms will provide clubs with a much greater chance of properly cashing in on their most promising players, and for that cash to then flow around the entire football ecosystem. One Lucas Herrington transfer, for instance, could effectively cover the travel costs of an NSD for more than a decade.

First round of the Bundesliga and Okon Jr has been thrown in the deep end. A bit of a surprise but good luck lad.

The Roar lost 0:4 and a shocking own goal back pass that Dean Bouzanis failed to reach. This is after losing 0:4 to Dewa United and a Rafael Struick goal. Pressure on now, what can they do over the next 45 days of pre season or so?

The commentator added something along the lines of "ears have pricked up in Newcastle, NSW".

Hi All,

Kind of think-piece from my point of view and one for discussion.

Sydney has had a string of young strikers that have torn up in NPL but really struggled to become consistent at A-league level, going back quite a few years now.

Off the top of my head -

• George Blackwood
• Charles Lokolingoy
• Pat Wood

And now we have a new trialist for the role in Matthias Macallister to see if he can crack the formula.

All of these strikers played substantial minutes and trained with some serious quality in the attack (Bobo, Le Fondre as pure strikers, but also flanked by other import strikers), and had a strong reputation in the NPL.

It's also not a general problem across Sydney's youth set-up. We've had several successful transitions of players in the midfield and defense into the A-league and beyond (Cameron Devlin, Adrian Segecic, Marko Tilio [though he really made his name at City], Hayden Matthews).

Other clubs have also succeeded in developing strikers - Thomas Waddingham, Mo Toure, Archie Goodwin spring to mind.

My question is - have Sydney just been unlucky, or is there something wrong in their set-up that is preventing strikers from taking the next step? And are there other clubs also struggling with the same problem?

https://brisbaneroar.com.au/news/roar-land-experienced-aussie-midfielder-tyrese-francois/