I’m happy to be disabused but I think King is one of if not the best left back in the league. Davidson & Jamieson are better offensively and I think King does need to improve on that front but defensively he’s very good. Maybe I’m not remembering very well but I don’t recall him being overly shaky when he first came into the side.
Either way it’s hard. It’s a massive pity if Nieuwenhof isn’t physically ready to come into the first XI yet.
Corica was somewhat forced into playing King because of Zullo’s perpetual one-week injury.
If Brattan’s out long term, he still has more senior options in CM than Hoff. Like it or not, it’s likely he goes with one of them over Hoff.
Having said all this, I hope Hoff kicks on, gets plenty of minutes and becomes a star. Nothing would please me more.
Yeah for sure. I just don’t think a Caceres/Retre axis keeps us in the top couple of teams in the league. I would be very, very happy to be proven wrong though.
Potentially, but it’s a risk. A risk I don’t think the club would be willing to take when we’re looking to achieve silverware and Champions League, rather than be a footnote come seasons end.
I’m more pushing for not putting CN in the deep end after such a bad injury. He will need to be nursed back in. I want to see him crack on and become a future star. But not at the risk of destroying his body at 20.
King has come leaps and bounds, especially last season. He has esentially bossed the shit out of the LB in the last 12 months, and totally deserved to win Young Footballer of the year last season. There weren’t too many complaints on that front, even from other clubs.
The season before, where he was thrown in because there was no other option when Zullo went down, he was OK, and a lot of his mistakes got cleaned up by WIlkinson and McGowan. Put it this way, he was better in his first half-season than Marc Warren and Fabio ever were for us.
King is a very good footballer but he gets a huge help with having league best CBs next to him (positioning and cover) and Ninko ahead of him. Ninko tracks back AND opposition right sided players will always be nervous about leaving too much space for Ninko and pushing all the way up.
He is still a top quartile LB at this level but he has had the best apprenticeship possible.
He was also probably our best player in the GF win a couple of seasons ago
I think I’ll be watching from the couch. Jubilee on a weeknight is problematic.
Gersbach was amaaaaaaazing in that break out year he had. Unfair comparison to King but he was so obviously ready for Europe after about a month and Joel is great but not quite there.
Gersbach played like Shannon Cole when he had that really hot streak and got a NT cap but looked 14. Pace, engine, defensive work, crossing, etc from a few games in were all right up there.
Having a roof over the cove was nice wasn’t it? A huge difference from Kogarah where their noise just dissipates into the sky above.
Result, stoked it’s not Leichhardt.
Why has gersbachs career stalled so dramatically? He seems to be a nomad these days. Did he get injured?
I don’t think so? He’s pretty regularly made the bench, appeared in reserves and cup games, and gotten league minutes here and there everywhere he’s gone.
Suspect there might have been some issues adjusting to life abroad, and maybe some confidence issues after losing his starting spot at Rosenborg to a new signing?
Interestingly, transfermarkt now values Joel King much higher than it ever did Gersbach.
I think he picked up a nasty injury at Rosenborg, and when he came back they had a new manager, so he went out on loan. At his other clubs he was signed but was down the pecking order and never really looked like slotting into the first XI.
Credit to him, he had offeres to come back to the A-League but turned down those offers to stay in Europe. So good on him for sticking through some tough times and not coming back home with his tail between his legs.
Hopefully he gets some good game time at Grenoble in France. Would like to see him push for a Socceroos spot again in the near future.
Those old blokes who say its too easy to come home have a point. Craig Goodwin and Stefan Mauk are 2 really obvious examples (they also seem like absolute dickheads too, coincidence?) but they get an opportunity in Europe, struggle in the first 6-12 mths and come straight back. Gersbach has had a real crack. Whenever he does come home noone can say he didnt give it his all and there always a chance he does break through to a top, top club. I’d love for him to swap in when King leaves for Europe.
He’s played 14 times this year, hardly struggling for game time.
Yeah seems to be getting games in France, but had barely played for the last three seasons.
Marco Monteverde confirming the worst 
Oh no. Stating the obvious but that is a huge blow to our title chances.
I’m happy for us to play the kids in that Mickey Mouse comp in future.
