Classy…
But isn’t the biggest problem there (Tsatsimas) leaving in 5 minutes anyways?
Interesting that he mentions only missing the Academy coaches and players?
Has he really done a good job with them though? Still in NPL 2 and hardly a production line to the first team
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Someone posted this combined club championship thingy in that Twitter thread, so they’re doing well results-wise between U14’s and U18’s.
Still means fuck all for their first team as long as they’re in NPL2 though. Surely the best in those younger age groups will jump ship and accept a gig at an NPL1 U20 side if they’re good enough.
Also worth noting our policy for kids to play up age groups, better for their development along with a better pathway to the A-League. Their fabled $3M academy built with players prize money on Spartan’s turf has produced zilch.
More insider news from our friends in U20s Scum Squad, who I caught up with today…
Obviously Crook leaving was the big talking point, and also that “he couldn’t stand Rudan” (Ok, so maybe that’s not much of a bombshell)
Rudan has apparently taken a few extra youth to WA this weekend, because a number of first team players won’t get a 3rd jab.
I’m not sure why that would be an issue, as I understand WA no longer has any entry requirements, so maybe it’s an APL thing? Or it could be bullshit…
Anyway, good to hear it’s all rainbows and unicorns out there in the west.
It’s alright though, Lawrence Thomas is coming in.
Margush deserves better.
Ibini, petratos, hemed, ziggy and meijas all gone,
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Ogawa too so that’s 4 free foreign spots (Rodwell the only one occupied). Hemed the only mildly surprising one from that bunch, didn’t seem favoured by Rudan but I’d assumed he was on a 2 year deal. The rest of them were monumentally shit.
The Vedran announcement must be imminent also. 
Doesn’t Vedran still have like 5 years left on his deal?
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I would be astonished if Ibini received another a-league contract, he was below the standard every time I saw him
Have they ever signed good, non-Ono foreigner?
Jerome Polenz must be their next best?
You could say that about quite a few Wanderers players, though. There aren’t many players who have gone there in recent years and fully delivered on their abilities or potential. I’d actually back him to do much better at another club, preferably one that doesn’t just play him as a target man.
He was ok for us though right? What happened?
Well he had a very specific role for us; come on in the 60th when big Fil was tired and just run at tired defenses. I dont think Bernie can run as well anymore, and he was never amazing ON the ball. He’s the Proto-Trent who scored some bangers.
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Maybe Riera, though he remained under-appreciated there, or Castelen? Polenz, Poljak and La Rocca were effective enough hack merchants to enforce Poppa’s cynical foul on halfway tactics, and all went on to be picked up by other A-Liga sides. But they have had some hectic misses.
Ultimate A-League lets you filter by confederation so they’ve had Adeleke from Africa. 4 other Japanese failures in Jumpei Kusukami, Keijiro Ogawa, Yojiro Takahagi and Yusuke Tanaka (I think the latter two did a sumo celebration as their one contribution of note). Apparently Carrusca for 5 minutes (?), Poppa’s favourite hipster barista and ACL Champion Vitor Saba, plus a Nicolas Martinez and Bruno Pinatares (I barely recall either) from South America. Then this cavalcade of absolute incompetence from Europe:
Ultimate only list by last club played for, so above UEFA list excludes ABJ, Muller, Mutch, Andreu and Hersi (both later played for Perth) that I can think of.