Socceroos pair loom for West Sydney
By AAP, 2 Jun 2012
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Socceroos Scott Chipperfield and Mark Bridge have emerged as potential marquee signings for new A-League club West Sydney after both made significant moves.
Bridge on Friday asked for a release from the final year of his three-season deal with Sydney FC, while Chipperfield will go from beating Manchester United with Swiss club Basel to taking on the likes of Dapto Dandaloo and Wollongong United.
Chipperfield will return to where it all began after committing to a short-term deal with Wollongong club Tarrawana in the Illawarra Premier League.
He’s indicated his desire to secure an A-League deal as he winds down his impressive career, but is unlikely to find a home at Sydney FC who have recently signed former Melbourne left-back Fabio.
New West Sydney coach Tony Popovic has connections with both players, which could be a decisive factor in any future contract negotiations.
Bridge, who was granted a release by Sydney FC, is familiar with Sydney’s west, having played for Parramatta in the old NSL and, at 26, has proved he has the maturity to lead any attack.
He cited a desire for a new challenge as reasons for wanting to leave the Sky Blues, and being involved with a new club from the ground up could appeal to the talented striker should he choose to pursue his career in Australia rather than overseas.
Chipperfield has had a successful decade overseas and he’s come a long way from his days of driving a bus in Wollongong to supplement his then meagre football income.
Basel knocked out Manchester United in this year’s European Champions League before losing in the round of 16 to eventual runners-up Bayern Munich.
When he returns to Australia, he will trade Old Trafford for the more humble suburban grounds of the south coast.
Tarrawanna secretary Phillip Porter was delighted to have Chipperfield back at his junior club.
“Scott has been very involved with our club, he was our shirt sponsor a few seasons ago. It will be good for our fans to see him play,” Porter said.
“He has indicated that he wants to play the whole season, and we’re confident that he will be available for a minimum five games even if he secures an A-league contract.”
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June 2nd 2012 @ 8:31am
j binnie said | June 2nd 2012 @ 8:31am | Report comment
Don’t know who wrote this article or for that matter produced, the headline. Socceroos????, Scott retired from international football 2 years ago & I think describing Mark as an ex-Socceroo is stretching credibility a bit far for no fan of the game would ever describe him as anything other than a “fringe” player in the international side. That brings us to the article. “Sign both as marquee players”????, that is stretching the credibility almost to breaking point.A player, who at 38, a hard working,hard running,”workhorse” at the peak of his career & another who has been struggling to get a place in a not too well performed Sydney FC last year, as marquee players???. The writer would have to be kidding.This is not a criticism of these 2 players ,it is a critique on the contents of this article. jb
June 2nd 2012 @ 9:20am
Realfootball said | June 2nd 2012 @ 9:20am | Report comment
+1
the writer must have been working under the influence of something
Bridge a marquee????????
June 2nd 2012 @ 5:36pm
Midfielder said | June 2nd 2012 @ 5:36pm | Report comment
The article writer…. smoking he should share around and not keep it all to himself…
June 2nd 2012 @ 6:24pm
Griffo said | June 2nd 2012 @ 6:24pm | Report comment
Agreed.
Bridges’s form has been stop-start even during his Jets days and hasn’t really improved at Sydney.
While Chippers could offer a newborn club some insight in addition to what Tony Popovic can bring to the club, I wonder what the discerning footballing public out west of Sydney would make of a SFC cast off and a player with perhaps one good year left?
June 4th 2012 @ 12:43pm
Matt F said | June 4th 2012 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
30 goals from 128 games should be enough to question whether Bridge should be an regular A-League player, let alone a marquee player
June 2nd 2012 @ 9:09am
rob said | June 2nd 2012 @ 9:09am | Report comment
Lucas Neill is without a club ? West Syd next?
June 2nd 2012 @ 5:25pm
The Cattery said | June 2nd 2012 @ 5:25pm | Report comment
Would be an excellent fit for the new team.
June 2nd 2012 @ 5:37pm
whiskeymac said | June 2nd 2012 @ 5:37pm | Report comment
agreed. Neill would fit the marquee tag as per Kewell last season. Chippers is a good, experienced player and would be great to include in the team with a view to imparting what he has learnt overseas in some good “theatres”. Bridge would be a good HAL player to have incorporated in the team, but would need to refind his form of yester-season to be the asset the media suggests he will be. Same goes for Topor Stanley (another solid, senior/ experienced HAL player) and Beauchamp. Competitive players but not the sensations this and similar stories tend to suggest =)
The first name(s) on the West Sydney team will be interesting – who?
I hope they have a few creative types to fire the team past solid HAL mediocrity (ie SFC v2.0).
June 2nd 2012 @ 2:21pm
Atawhai Drive said | June 2nd 2012 @ 2:21pm | Report comment
It’s an AAP story and it looks like an AAP headline too.
They also serve who only toil anonymously in the furnace of agency journalism.
It’s a fact that both Chipperfield and Bridge have played for the Socceroos, Chipperfield 68 times and Bridge twice.
I agree it’s a bit of a stretch to describe Chipperfield (who is 36, not 38) and Bridge as marquee players. But I’m sure the western Sydney team would welcome them on board, “marquee” players or not.
June 2nd 2012 @ 3:05pm
SportsCandy said | June 2nd 2012 @ 3:05pm | Report comment
That’s good news.
Chipperfield, like Emerton is an amazing athlete even at 36 and has proven himself on the Euro stage.
Bridge is a Socceroo allright, having played for the Socceroos twice.
He’s not a marquee at SFC and won’t be a marquee at West Sydney FC.
The fact that he’s come back to play for a local Wollongong team to keep fit, shows he’s genuine and Chippers is happy to sign on under the salary cap to return to Australia.
Both players will probably sign with West Sydney FC and won’t even be marquees.
June 2nd 2012 @ 6:32pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | June 2nd 2012 @ 6:32pm | Report comment
It’s also been announced that Vinnie, Richard Garcia & Kiwi, Ryan Nelsen are all free agents.
If they all decide to return to play under the salary cap in the HAL, the buzz leading up to the HAL season – speculation about which clubs they’ll join, interviews when they arrive, anticipation before the opening game, scrutiny during the year, etc – will be fantastic.
We could be watching these blokes competing against each other every week n the HAL next season.
H, Lucas, Emmo, Bresc, Culina, Vinnie, Garcia, Chippers, Smeltz, Ryan Nelsen, Broich, Archie, Ifill, Rogic .. mouth-watering stuff!
We’ll need every single day of the next 4 mths to build the biggest HAL season.
June 2nd 2012 @ 9:45pm
Realfootball said | June 2nd 2012 @ 9:45pm | Report comment
As a matter of interest, Fuss, do you know when Grella last played a full or part game of first team football?
Or how many first team games he has played in the last 2 years?
Incidentally – quite apart from his inability to actually play a game, Grella has made his contempt for Australia and the A League well know in his interviews. A return is highly unlikely, even if he did somehow make it back onto the park again. Frankly, Italy is welcome to him.
June 2nd 2012 @ 10:11pm
The Cattery said | June 2nd 2012 @ 10:11pm | Report comment
Nelsen is nearly 35 years old. We don’t want a Dad’s army comp!
June 4th 2012 @ 12:21pm
Matt F said | June 4th 2012 @ 12:21pm | Report comment
Grella has said that he intends to play in Italy next season.
Garcia and Nelsen would be great signings and would further improve the already increasing quality of the A-League but I don’t think that either of them are big enough names to get the amount of pre-season media attention you’re thinking of. Actually, Nelsen would get good coverage in NZ, particularly if he went to the Phoenix, which would be a big positive for the league.
June 4th 2012 @ 9:31am
Qantas supports Australian Football said | June 4th 2012 @ 9:31am | Report comment
The FFA and West Sydney are only offering 1 year player contracts…. Well how many football supporters here think that’s going to work..? Especially as you were so abusive towards GCU’s contractual arrangements with their players…
June 4th 2012 @ 9:54am
Lucan said | June 4th 2012 @ 9:54am | Report comment
I would expect quality players would be wanting for than 1yr. If this is true and set policy, I believe its an error in judgement. Just like what we saw at GCU.
How many years did TP sign on for as coach? He should be able to build a core around him.
June 4th 2012 @ 10:03am
Qantas supports Australian Football said | June 4th 2012 @ 10:03am | Report comment
Yes it’s true http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1108241/West-not-best-for-deals
June 4th 2012 @ 12:04pm
Kasey said | June 4th 2012 @ 12:04pm | Report comment
Hardly a beleivable source QSAF, they are telling you what you want to hear, kinda like Clive did? see the pattern?
June 4th 2012 @ 2:07pm
Qantas supports Australian Football said | June 4th 2012 @ 2:07pm | Report comment
And they are only spending 85% of their cap—looks like it’s going to be a basket case without kicking a ball in anger…. Frank Lowy written all over it.
June 4th 2012 @ 2:24pm
Kasey said | June 4th 2012 @ 2:24pm | Report comment
And they’re only spending 85%? Are they really, can you point to an independent source for this, like a leaked document from the club/FFA accountant, or even a tweet from a respected journalist confirming ? Have you heard the expression if “ its too good to be true then it probably is” . This is the principle SBS have been operating off in reverse for years in trolling football fans in this country, spin a yarn about how badly things are going and people who desperately want to believe that Frank Lowy/FFA is an incompetent will swallow it hook line and sinker…and so continues the negative cycle of football in Australia, more hits for SBS on their increasingly irrelevant webpage. Irrelevant because all they do is talk down to HAL fans and we all find our news from more reliable sources without the condescending tone elsewhere. Shouldn’t you guys have learned by now from the Les “but Lucas said to Pim….” saga and more recently, the “new team is going to be called the Soul or the Pride” epic trolling effort? Frankly it’s pathetic how easy it is to get a rise/reaction out of football fans in this country.
June 4th 2012 @ 2:36pm
Qantas supports Australian Football said | June 4th 2012 @ 2:36pm | Report comment
What’s up Doc feeling a bit peeved… Stop reading SBS then… You know Frank has a habit of putting the kibosh on a good club—thank god he has gone from SFC where he nearly destroyed the club after its first successful year..
June 4th 2012 @ 2:46pm
Kasey said | June 4th 2012 @ 2:46pm | Report comment
I stopped reading the garbage SBS prints years ago. Its desperados like you desperate to believe that football is doom and gloom that find comfort in their ramblings. Then you post the crap here as if it is undeniable fact which requires me to go and read it to see just how SBS are trolling gullible fools like you. Frank has a habit of putting the kybosh on good clubs does he? Is this where you pull a rabbit out of your hat and magically refer to GCU as a ‘ good’ club? Tip for you mate, there’s a lot more to being a good club than just paying your bills on time. GCU were a terrible club that spectacularly failed toconnect with the community. It was best that FFA killed them off, best forthe long run of the game in this country. Harsh on the AGCU fans? yes, perhaps, butyou have to scramble some eggs to make an omlette.
June 4th 2012 @ 5:40pm
Qantas supports Australian Football said | June 4th 2012 @ 5:40pm | Report comment
Yes and I stopped reading FOX reports when Slater and Cockerill wrote absolute trash about Harry Kewell—all based on lies and hear say during the 2010 world cup.. It’s desperados like you who jump on board with such garbage reporting spewing forth out of FOX—all because they don’t have the FIFA World Cup rights… I’ll stick to what SBS report thank you very much..
June 4th 2012 @ 5:48pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | June 4th 2012 @ 5:48pm | Report comment
“Yes and I stopped reading FOX reports when Slater and Cockerill wrote absolute trash..”
I think you’ll find Slater wrote his diatribe in the News Ltd’s, Daily Telegraph; Cockerill attacked H in Fairfax’s publications (SMH &/or Age).
QsAF from what I’m reading lately, it seems you’ve stopped supporting Australian Football and now you prefer to attack Australian Football with the same venom as NRL or AFL fans … what a shame.
June 5th 2012 @ 9:13am
Qantas supports Australian Football said | June 5th 2012 @ 9:13am | Report comment
Fuss—I only follow Australian Football nothing else, Slater and Cockerill work for Fox they do not work for SBS TWG which has been Australian Football for more than 30 years.
June 4th 2012 @ 12:01pm
Kasey said | June 4th 2012 @ 12:01pm | Report comment
Oh dear, this ‘story’ regarding 1 year contracts first appeared where? SBS The World Game of course. I wonder if his is good old SBS trolling football fans in the West/Australia desperate to hear bad news about the new team? (you know the types)
One year contracts? SBS exclusive? Is this like their ‘exclusive’ that the new team was to be called the Soul or Pride?..A rumour later quashed by the football writer from the Tele who actually bothered to ring the New Team principals and ask them the direct question.
Excuse me if I wait for an official announcement from the actual people involved. If it is true and I personally find it hard to believe given the experience of a bloke like Lyall Gorman in building a club as he did with the Mariners; then I will be very surprised for one. Nature abhors a vacuum and in the absence of any concrete news regarding the new club, potential fans are ravenous for any news, so much so they’ll swallow any half baked semi-believable line like a starving man at a UN food depot.
With Popa only back in the country as recently as the past weekend, I would expect this week to be the beginning of the window for initial announcements.
June 4th 2012 @ 10:00am
Fussball ist unser leben said | June 4th 2012 @ 10:00am | Report comment
Looks like The Skipper will be back in his home region – if Gorman can get Lucas’s signature it will be fantastic news & a huge boost for the Club & the HAL.
June 4th 2012 @ 10:06am
Qantas supports Australian Football said | June 4th 2012 @ 10:06am | Report comment
SFC will offer Lucas a 2 year deal to see off WS and Gorman’s one year deal…
June 4th 2012 @ 12:27pm
Matt F said | June 4th 2012 @ 12:27pm | Report comment
I don’t know how that would work, given that Carle and Emerton are taking up the marquee spaces. I doubt that we could convince the FFA that he’s eligible for the Under 23 spot either! Besides Crook has said that we’re now prioritising recruitment the front third, now that we’ve signed Adam Griffiths.
June 4th 2012 @ 2:14pm
Qantas supports Australian Football said | June 4th 2012 @ 2:14pm | Report comment
Adam Griffiths will do nicely
June 5th 2012 @ 11:55am
Mato-Bateman said | June 5th 2012 @ 11:55am | Report comment
I think Chippers mentioned somehwhere that he isn’t going to be a marquee player. Would be nice if he turned out for West Sydney for at least a season. But would have to see how he plays in the Ilawarra comp.
Poppa and Gorman better hurry up and sign some players. His been in charge for like 3 weeks. Some decent players are all moving to Sydney FC and other clubs. There isn’t many good, young Gold Coast players left. Jerrad Tyson will more than likely sign with Sydney FC, so there goes a decent young keeper. But Covic has to be a priority for goalkeeper position. Wouldn’t be surprised if Reddy signs but I hope not. Maybe that young Sydney United goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic who played with the Sydney FC youth team.
June 5th 2012 @ 12:17pm
Kasey said | June 5th 2012 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
Poppa has been in the job for 3 weeks as you say, but when you consider he spent the last 2 weeks in the UK coordinating his family moving from London to Sydney, it’s not like he has spent 3 actual weeks at his desk. Now that he is back, I expect this week to be the first week where any announcements could be made. I understand the anxiety of fans that are desperate for news, but into this desperation is where trolling has been taking place and as an outsider, it has been rather funny to watch. I notice the fans have already amongst themselves met up to begin a supporters group/active support organisation. That bodes well IMO.
June 5th 2012 @ 12:53pm
Mato-Bateman said | June 5th 2012 @ 12:53pm | Report comment
Yeah he hasn’t had much time and it certainly is not his fault. He has to look at every player available to sign. You would probably see Mark Bridge and Ante Covic as the first signings with possible marquee position in Lucas Neill but that won’t be known till at least next week.
Well done to the supporter groups, it’s good their out and about. Bodes really well.
June 5th 2012 @ 1:07pm
Midfielder said | June 5th 2012 @ 1:07pm | Report comment
Kasey
The WS team has the potential to be Australia biggest sports club… Gorman has been holding talks with the key State teams & Associations… Always remember registered park players in winter competition close to , 100, 000 … 10 I think former NSL or major State teams, five associations…
Year one will be about establishing itself …. no one given the short time frame will expect success overnight… what they will expect is a hard working skilful team that has potential…
Gorman & Popa if they can unite the former NSL teams and current Sate teams behind them, and get support of the associations they will achieve what no one else has done before … me thinks the softly softly approach taken at this stage is smart .. I wish them luck and I think everyone in football does the same…
June 5th 2012 @ 1:16pm
Kasey said | June 5th 2012 @ 1:16pm | Report comment
I don’t think there’s a positive thinker in football that can’t see the potential WS has. It has the potential to absolutely blow MVC out of the water for supporter numbers, but it is plainly obvious to realists that the short time frame means season 1 for the unicorns is going to be a rough one. S1 should be about laying down foundations so that s2-8 can be about fixing the little things and growing the club into the behemoth that it should be.
Mistakes will be made, that is a consequence of the rushed gestation period, but even with years to plan, it is doubtful to me if a team could be created that is all things to all people(ie perfect). Right now it should be about not making any major errors that would hamstring the team and prevent too many potential supporters from throwing their weight behind the new team. This is where the fan forums have been a master stroke. The trick now is to wait to see just how much they were listening to the fans. Unfortunately it is always easier to be negative and to be destructive rather than constructive and there are a noisy minority in Australian football that seems to enjoy the chaos of failure and seem unable or unwilling to operate in anything other than that chaos. I for one hope they knock MVC off the pedestal as best supported team in the comp. If that takes 10 years, then so be it. Nothing worthwhile is easy or quick.
June 5th 2012 @ 1:09pm
Midfielder said | June 5th 2012 @ 1:09pm | Report comment
Just on WS in general a Roy Masters article in today’s SHM on GWS …
http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/lonesome-giants-endangered-in-wild-west-20120604-1zs5b.html#ixzz1wsrC9Dv3
June 5th 2012 @ 2:37pm
Mato-Bateman said | June 5th 2012 @ 2:37pm | Report comment
GWS will take a LONG time. I know heaps of people from out west and I’m telling you, not one of them follow AFL. Not even a Western Sydney team could change that. A Western Sydney A-League team will be MUCH more better and successful than GWS in AFL. For starters, the football community is huge in WS.
June 5th 2012 @ 1:32pm
Futbanous said | June 5th 2012 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
I confidently predict that if West Sydney become a succesful club the A-League will flourish.
I wont predict the opposite ,were all having a pleasant day aren’t we?
June 5th 2012 @ 1:44pm
Kasey said | June 5th 2012 @ 1:44pm | Report comment
Of course the opposite isn’t true
we’ve survived this far without a WS team. I agree with you though that if WS is successful, this could be the start of a golden age for our fledgling football competition.