Could the argument be “the owners aren’t going to pay anything to a player who has been on a ridiculous shitloads of money for 2 years and has not received ANY return on the investment, while at the same time, potentially costing his team a place in the Grand Final?”
It’s an utterly depressing thought to me to again be updating this thread again next season. Good banter for all other clubs though.
Paying even reduced money for a guy who would be a dice roll as to whether he’s available on any given week after our own actual experience would be ridiculous. This is football, not AFL or NRL. There is a world of players. There are hundreds of competent CBs out there in our price range in the McGowan/Buijs kind of ability level, never mind our own young players.
McGowan you say? Wonder what he’s up to
62 appearances in two seasons at St Johnstone, who are staying in the top flight for another year. I dare say he’s doing really well!
Maybe if we reinforce the lifestyle factors haha
With the state of the APL, the level of the AUD, and the strength of gulf leagues/china we do not have a worldwide pool of players to choose from. Our pool is extremely limited. Australians and foreign rejects with only 1 or 2 exceptions (Lolley/Mak). We are not going to get 5 brilliant foreigners (this year is a case in point). My thinking was always based on Rodwell accepting a squaddie wage. If that’s not the case then of course we won’t take him. But if he is…. I think when fit he is a class above what else we would get for that money and with the youth we have coming through I don’t think the 5th visa spot is make or break.
Football in China collapsed a few years ago, nobody is going there anymore.
But he’s not fit. He’s literally not fit. He has been more injured than not in the past 5 years
This. This. This.
The few times he does get on the park, he’s not physically match fit enough to be a step above anybody else, local or foreign. He’s got a lot of on field intellegence, but in the event he does play enough minutes to garner a level of match fitness required, he’s then gone and re-injured himself, and is out again for an indefinite period of time, leaving us back at square one.
Driving a nice fancy European car is great, but if it breaks down every couple of months and spends more time at the mechanics than on the road, you’re better off just getting a cheap alternative that gets you from A to B.
It’s his missus which is keeping him there
More than offset by the Gulf leagues going from mid-level retirement leagues to CR7-level retirement leagues with the sudden power play of the Saudis. Plus the amount of foreign capital getting injected into the lower English leagues over the past few years is insane, Welcome to Wrexham being the most obvious. Players can now stay close to their families/support networks and still earn decent coin, who might have previously decided to give it a go relocating.
Looks like the Saudis are losing their big name players as well
With their money, though, you’d back them to find other high-profile footballers who are willing to take money in exchange for dignity.
The Saudi league will never have a shortage of oil money to throw at quality players.
However there are already cracks appearing that were forseeable.
A lot of players just don’t want to live in Saudi Arabia. Many commute in for training and matches from less restrictive countries like the UAE.
Whilst the Saudis can afford to offer more money, many players are choosing to stay in Europe on less money, because its not Saudi fucking Arabia.
St Johnstone currently occupy the relegation play off spot with one remaining game tonight. No sure thing to stay up.
Also worth remembering, in Europe, they earn enough to be considered to be wealthy. In Saudi Arabia theyre probably on middle income at best
So with our protagonist announced as officially gone as this season ends, it’s time to thankfully put this thread to the grave. The full week by week numbers:
| Round | Minutes this week | Cumulative Minutes | 2022-23 Comparison | Minutes per game | To 828 | To 946 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before Season | NA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 828 | 946 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 828 | 946 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 828 | 946 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 828 | 946 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 828 | 946 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 828 | 946 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 828 | 946 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 828 | 946 |
| 8 | 69 | 69 | 45 | 9 | 759 | 877 |
| 9 | 67 | 136 | 45 | 15 | 692 | 810 |
| 10 | 90 | 226 | 122 | 23 | 602 | 720 |
| 11 | 45 | 271 | 212 | 25 | 557 | 675 |
| 12 | 0 | 271 | 212 | 23 | 557 | 675 |
| 13 | 0 | 271 | 212 | 21 | 557 | 675 |
| 14 | 0 | 271 | 212 | 19 | 557 | 675 |
| 15 | 0 | 271 | 212 | 18 | 557 | 675 |
| 16 | 0 | 271 | 212 | 17 | 557 | 675 |
| 17 | 0 | 271 | 212 | 16 | 557 | 675 |
| 18 | 0 | 271 | 212 | 15 | 557 | 675 |
| 19 | 0 | 271 | 233 | 14 | 557 | 675 |
| 20 | 0 | 271 | 244 | 14 | 557 | 675 |
| 21 | 18 | 289 | 316 | 14 | 539 | 657 |
| 22 | 0 | 289 | 406 | 13 | 539 | 657 |
| 23 | 0 | 289 | 496 | 13 | 539 | 657 |
| 24 | 45 | 334 | 586 | 14 | 494 | 612 |
| 25 | 0 | 334 | 676 | 13 | 494 | 612 |
| 26 | 0 | 334 | 676 | 13 | 494 | 612 |
| 27 | 45 | 379 | 676 | 14 | 449 | 567 |
| 28 | 75 | 454 | 766 | 16 | 374 | 492 |
| 29 | 63 | 517 | 856 | 18 | 311 | 429 |
| 30 | 0 | 517 | 946 | 17 | 311 | 429 |
In terms of headline numbers, he leaves the league (waves at Auckland) with a record of 2290 minutes over 85 eligible matches, or just under 27 minutes each game, under a third of the possible time.
| 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| League | 828 | 676 | 378 |
| Finals | 0 | 270 | 138 |
| Total | 828 | 946 | 516 |
At least his time in the A-League was an improvement on recent seasons in Europe, with his 2020-21 tally of ZERO minutes, and 2019-20’s FIFTEEN minutes, albeit at Premier League level (which as all Eurosnobs can testify, is equivalent to 1500 minutes A-League level).
In Conclusion
You may be thinking that this points in the direction of a humiliating failure of absolute novice proportions for our club’s recruitment personnel. However, that is backwards “old soccer” thinking.
In terms of socials engagement, the Jack Rodwell thread is metrics gold. Scanning the past 4 years of the forum for threads dedicated to an individual, the only 2 Sydney FC identities with more posts were Corica - and that’s basically all for his time as a coach - and Ninkovic, which required an act of unprecedented treachery to get the numbers really climbing. Taking JR’s 495 replies and looking at the Ninkovic thread, by post #495 we were already all well into the negative recriminations.
Other than that, JR beat them all. Cradle to retirement home via the Socceroos good guy Rhyno? Nup. Andrew “Longest serving SFC keeper plus WC qualifying shootout hero” Redmayne? Try again. Captains/Club Legends Wilko and Bratts? Meagre crumbs. Bobo? No update in the last 4 years. Caceres, no thread I could find in that time.
| Player | Replies | Likes |
|---|---|---|
| Rodwell | 495 | 14400 |
| Mak | 63 | 2800 |
| Lolley | 25 | 663 |
| Redmayne | 203 | 10900 |
| Grant | 380 | 22500 |
| Uffie | 180 | 3400 |
| Ninkovic | 1100 | 35000 |
| Corica | 1700 | 44500 |
| Alfie | 134 | 9800 |
| Max | 31 | 776 |
| ABJ | 57 | 3400 |
| Bratts | 25 | 2000 |
| Buhagiar | 8 | 1100 |
| O’Neill | 47 | 5400 |
| Wilko | 23 | 1400 |
| Hof | 21 | 1600 |
So it’s not about games played, trophies won, magic goals, amazing scenes or any of that guff. It’s about the anger, the finger pointing and bitter arguments. It’s the goo feasting, relentless negativity and beefs we had along the way. And on that count, Jack Rodwell is one of the finest signings in our clubs history.
Enjoy the golf, sweet prince.
Sir, you have clearly completed both a degree in creative writing and M365 Excel Associate certification. I tip my hat to you.
Truly pathetic numbers form Rodwell. Not sure what’s worse, his arrogance in thinking he can play or or our stupidity for signing him
Great thread though. At least he has that going for him
(Tears some abdominal muscle getting the driver out of the bag in the 1st tee).
At least he made it to the first tee.