This time last year, you could have been forgiven if you thought that A-league clubs were forbidden to negotiate during the January Transfer Window.
Excluding players signed by the Melbourne Heart (who were busy preparing their squad from scratch for their inaugural season) there were just two signings made in January 2010 in the A-league. For whatever reason, clubs did not bolster their playing stocks.
In terms of players leaving the A-league, Dean Heffernan made headlines when he signed what turned out to be a successful short contract with Huddersfield town, even though he fell short of his goal of World Cup selection.
This January, however, has been and will continue to be a lot more intriguing. In terms of players exiting the A-league, Andy Todd and Lloyd Owusu have left to pursue careers back in England, with the latter already signing with Luton Town.
Korea has been a popular destination for Aussies this month, with Brisbane Roar’s Luke DeVere and Adelaide United’s Iain Fyfe both snapped up by K-league clubs.
In fact, Fyfe’s new club, Busan l’Park, also signed his Adelaide teamate Insoeb Shin and Dutch defender Bas Van den Brink, although the twenty-eight-year-old will see out the remainder of his contract with Gold Coast United before making the move.
Alex Brosque has been heavily in the media lately, with J-league club Shimizu S-Pulse believed to be in negotiations with Sydney FC, with a lucrative offer said to be waiting for Brosque.
Ljubo Milicevic has been released from Newcastle Jets so he can pursue a career in Europe, with Brisbane Roar losing Brazilian striker Reinaldo, moving to Qatari club Al-Ahli.
In terms of imports to the A-league, Adelaide United have made a triple signing, with Andwele Slory, Diego Estrada and Francisco Usucar all now at the disposal of coach Rini Coolen. Danny Allsopp has returned to Melbourne Victory after stints in the MLS and Qatar, reuniting with strike partner Archie Thompson.
Twenty-six year old German defender Peter Perchtold has signed for Gold Coast United, who debuted against Melbourne Heart last week, as well as prolific goal scorer Shane Smeltz returning from Turkey. Newcastle Jets signed Ryan Griffiths on an 18 month deal, returning to the club he left in 2004.
Michael Baird made a shock move to Central Coast Mariners, with Perth Glory claiming the restraints of the salary cap were the reasons for his release.
Sydney FC have started preparing for the Asian Champions League by signing Finnish player Juho “The Surgeon” Makela, with the tall striker already scoring 2 goals in 4 appearances for the sky blues.
So what does this spike in transfer activity tell us?
Well, I believe it shows the growth in quality and respect for the A-league. This is shown in particular by the large exodus of players this month. Many people have looked at the negatives when reading the news that we are losing players such as DeVere and Brosque, however, I believe this shows how far the A-league has come.
Scouts are now heavily assessing the A-League stocks, and talented players (especially young ones) now have a bigger opportunity to move to a big club e.g. Mitch Langerak, Mathew Leckie (Leckie is joining Borissia Monchengladbach at season’s end). Players can now perform on the park knowing that more than likely there are other clubs keeping an eye on their performances, whether they be another Asian club or a European club.
I believe A-League clubs, and their owners, have yet to discover the need for producing and selling young, talented players, and the benefits that come with it. It is the only way A-League clubs can possibly make high profit, well certainly at this stage anyway. You can only sell so many tickets and have so many sponsors on a shirt. The big bucks will be made through youth.
Look at Brisbane Roar for example; the trio of Oar, Sarota and Zullo were sold for a reported $1.8 million dollars. That’s over 70% of the total salary cap for the season paid. It’s also the same cash boost that the signing of two or three major sponsors would bring to the club.
Because of this smart piece of business, Brisbane have been able to lower their ticket prices, spend more on advertising, and they have brought in a higher number of quality players e.g. Broich and Solorzano. All these factors have turned into major benefits.
Brisbane’s crowds are now higher and the team is on top of the A-League table, playing beautiful, attractive football (although a lot of that is to do with the smart work of Ange Postecoglou). However, would they have been so successful this year if not for the massive cash injection? We will never know.
For those wondering who the two players were signed by A-League clubs in January 2010, Ivorian striker Eugene Dadi was one, making the 7 hour flight across the ditch to play for Wellington Phoenix after being released by Perth Glory.
The other was young goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, who left the Mariners to join the Brisbane Roar. Exciting stuff, I know.
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