Where’s Osama? Townsville, of all places
Roar Pro
By Jesse Fink, 5 Jun 2009 Jesse Fink is a Roar Pro
Kudos to North Queensland Fury. The Fisters might have come in for some criticism from me for their stupid name and wasting all that money on Robbie Fowler, but they’ve picked up one of the most promising young players in Australian in Osama Malik.
I really can’t get my head around how Aurelio Vidmar and his mates out the back of Bada Bing (sorry, the Adelaide boardroom) could let this kid – he’s 18 – go.
He’s been a breath of fresh air every time I’ve seen him play and was brilliant for the Reds in their Club World Cup match against Gamba Osaka.
Adelaide have a habit of letting go of players that other clubs are more than happy to pick up: Diego Walsh, Jonas Salley, Jason Spagnuolo, Matthew Kemp, et al. Not to mention the losses of players of the ilk of Bruce Djite and Nathan Burns, which were inevitable but hit the club hard.
Vidmar is playing down the team’s chances of replicating its success of 2008/09, which is a usual coaching ploy before the commencement of any new season.
But I have a feeling he’s bang on the money.
At this moment in time Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and (believe it or not) Sydney are my picks (in no particular order) for positions one through to four at the end of 2009/10, with the new “top six” for the finals rounded out by Brisbane and possibly Adelaide in sixth, at best.
Perth really impressed me at the end of last season and I’m shattered we didn’t get to see Eugene Dadi and Nikita Rukavytsya lead the line for Glory for another season. With Rukavytsya in Australia for another twelve months and finally hitting his straps, I truly believe the West Australian side might have had what it takes to become champions.
But he’s gone to FC Twente, which is good for him and good for Australian football, if not good for the A-League.
I don’t know enough about his replacement, former Energie Cottbus striker Branko Jelic, to really comment, but I really hope for Perth’s sake he’s even half as good as the young Ukrainian-Australian, who scored one of the best goals I’ve seen from an Australian striker, against Queensland Roar in January.
Which brings up the question of how Ruka wasn’t picked for the expanded squad selected by Pim Verbeek for the “Super June” World Cup qualifiers.
Surely a 21-year-old (he turns 22 on 22 June) picked up by a club that finished second in the Eredivisie last season under Steve McLaren and ahead of Ajax and PSV on the ladder, and which plays Champions League football next season, should have been a passenger to Dubai this week, even if just to hang around with the senior players and “bond” or put out the cones on the training paddock?
But, then again, there’s a fair few of those about on the FFA staff, isn’t there?
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Kazama said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:03am | Report comment
Jesse, as an Adelaide fan I’m very disappointed that we’ve let Osama get away. I agree, I think the kid is a super talent based on what I’ve seen of him in the NYL and the CWC. Honestly the signs so far are not good for Adelaide, but then again not many people thought we would get anywhere near silverware in Season 1 let alone win the Premiership. I certainly didn’t. I’ll be getting my season ticket regardless and I encourage all other Adelaide fans to do the same if we want A-League football to continue to be played in SA.
As for Perth, I’ve been impressed with their recruiting so far. I think if all of the signings come off (admittedly I’ve never heard of Jelic) for them they will be challenging for the title. I agree with your top 4 prediction Jesse, IMO it will be out of those four teams to decide who takes home the Toilet Seat in 2010.
whiskeymac said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:19am | Report comment
“the question of how Ruka wasn’t picked for the expanded squad selected by Pim Verbeek for the “Super June” World Cup qualifiers”
Yes, I agree it’s a shame and he is also a player I hope will realise great potential for the Roos… but at the same time there’s always someone who will miss out. the squad cant be 30 players+… there are also nathan burns, kilkenny, kisnorbo, minniecon, holland etc who have claims. For all Ruky’s game time in Perth, he didnt get much time in Holland on the pitch this season did he? So if he was to be playing who would you drop to put him into the squad (considering the players we have in midfield/attack) – dare i suggest maybe Carle. King Solomon would be proud of the outcome to that one.
As for Adeliade losing players who are still good enough for the HAL – from the outside it does seem strange. but from the outside the self proclaimed pissants do seem ‘strange’ anyway – success and drama and instability. Salley was lost from NZ, SFC and now Adelaide. He would have been good for CCM. In any event it’s great short term fun but surely cannot be good for the club. To lose a talented youngster is bad form, but I guess they could also point to there other great youth coups in the past (Burns and Djite from NSW- for which they made $$ and then Mullen, Barbiero, Griffiths etc) and in all honesty who knows what NQ put into the guys ahead to poach him… must be hard to pass up the opportunity to form a righteous partnering attack with God.
AGO74 said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:28am | Report comment
do you want a squad with 50 or 60 players in it? the other week, it was richard porta. this week it’s rukavytsa. ruka is a fantastic player in the a-league but he made a couple of subs appearances for twente. big step up from perth to dutch runners-up. for what its worth, i think verbeek has done him a favour. give him a good break during the northern summer and then let him have a full off-season so he can complete his settling in period at twente and then if he’s good enough start playing first team football from the start of the new season. if he’s as good as we all like to think he is, he should be able to do so. if he can’t crack it, then he shouldn’t be there.
Pippinu said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:30am | Report comment
Ruka will get his chance again – that much is certain.
On the question of AU letting these blokes go: Diego Walsh, Jonas Salley, Jason Spagnuolo, Matthew Kemp.
I’ve never liked Salley.
Walsh and Spagnuolo were ok, but not necessarily the best of the best.
Kemp took nearly two seasons to settle into a good MV squad – I would describe his as versatile and serviceable.
In short, we can have a go at Adelaide for a number of reasons (including coming from Adelaide and being finals chokers), but I don’t think letting these four go is anything out of the ordinary.
Ryan Steele said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:38am | Report comment
Apparently, Adelaide United did, in the end, put an offer on the table for Malik. Osama decided it would be better for his career to stay in Townsville (I believe the facilities available were one of the proclaimed reasons).
As an Adelaide United fan, I was also extremely disappointed to see him sign elsewhere. I was fortunate enough to see his Club World Cup performances in person, and very close to the action (particularly the pressure he put on Endo).
It would have been much better if the club had put the offer on the table long before the lad was even offered a trial with the Fury, but – as sad as it may be – these things happen in sports.
And, just to clear up what might be some haziness, Diego was released due to constant injuries that only allowed him minimal appearances over the two years, and Jason Spagnuolo was a mutual agreement to release, because Spags wanted to find game time elsewhere.
Jonas was probably the biggest shame of them all, as his “last hurrah” for the club was the first appearance in quite a few games, and after the release had been announced.
Vidmar’s decisions have been about finding the right players. He’s clearly been a great coach, and I have a deep respect for him, but (as a coach, myself) there are some major problems with that.
You should find a formula for the club, not a club for the formula.
That’s how I see things, anyway.
Tom said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:49am | Report comment
Haven’t seen much of this kid. Wish him all the best.
Apparently Adelaide offered him a contract and he chose to go to NQ so its not like they didn’t try to hang on to him.
Personally though I think Adelaide are in a reasonable position for the season. Apart from Ogenenovski, they seem to have held on to the bulk of their side from last season. Diego and Salley weren’t first team players by season’s end. (Though of course Salley was very useful in the prelim and GF).
They’ve added Fyfe to cover for Ogga and Owusu to supplement their striking stocks, which were their biggest problem, and they won’t have to play the extra games they did last season.
And this is a team that would have streaked to the title if they’d been able to break even with the Victory.
I think Vidmar is foxing a little bit. I think Adelaide will do just fine on the pitch this season.
whiskeymac said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:52am | Report comment
i actually like Adelaide and Vidmar seems to be a canny coach in the hal. So maybe it’s just Aurelio moulding a team to his designs, and not just that of his predecessors. If Owusu impacts for them like Dadi did for Perth (and i think he should) who knows where they will be next season? I liked the players Burns and Djite but like Ruky, Milligan and holland, these guys were never going to be at a club in the hAl for a long time.
(Re Salley played some good football for the Reds, but can understand why his style wasn’t to everyones tastes. i think he was a good player to break up the attacks and hassle the other side and was in good form at the end of the season when he finally got another run. not quite makele, viera or keane but good at this role in the HAL). None of the players were ultimately irreplaceable. there arent manyin the HAL that aren’t (well Jedinak maybe) – especially if the clubs recruit wisely (ie Hernandez finally eclipsed Fred). All clubs lose good promising players – Barca lost Fabregas, Man U gained then lost Pique. Arsenal gained then lost Anelka etc. sometimes a player leaves despite the clubs efforts – so, further showing my ignorance, do we know what the reasons for leaving were or what efforts were made to hold him? was it a younis, burns or a diego like departure?
I hope Perth havea good season at last. the comp would only be better if the glory can recreate the atmosphere and crowds of their NSL (can i mention those three letters here?) heyday.
Pippinu said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:53am | Report comment
Ryan
I understand what you’re saying with your last point. But with AU being so close and yet so far, it leaves Vidmar in a quandary.
Is it a case of just plugging a few holes?
Or do you start all over again?
It’s very easy to advocate the former – but that’s not necessarily the answer either.
In short, there’s rarely an obvious answer.
In Vidmar’s case the question that comes to me is this one: Is it a clean out that is following some grand plan (to fit the club to the formula as you put it), or is it a clean out necessitated by tough finances.
If it’s the former, you’d say, ok, fair enough – but if it’s the latter – then that’s a problem!!
whiskeymac said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:57am | Report comment
ah many questions answered pre last post.
seems not much fault can be put on AU if Malik wanted to leave and had better offers. further if he gets more gametime from this move then it will be good for his development, and therefore good for all of us as HAl supporters… so long as he doesnt score against my team.
StiflersMom said | June 5th 2009 @ 9:59am | Report comment
I can see your point about Nikita Rukavytsya but given he has only appeared 3 times for the senior team with a total of 17 minutes playing time I would assume he’s simply not being considered and to be honest he doesn’t deserve to be. Yes we know he is a good player but he’s not playing. Thats Pim’s policy, if he did pick him and left out say Richard Garcia would there not be some journlist muck racking about that.