Football media needs to stand up over Musty transfer fiasco

Havent read all the comments so forgive me if I'm repeating but as i understand it Amini was only in line for a youth team contract... is that right? $135k might be too low but $300k sounds about right to me. Langerak went for a lot more but he is the first teams backup keeper. no comparison in my opinion. CCM holding out for more than $300k is over the top. And they'll lose him on a free transfer next year anyway. Take the money and run CCM.

They'd be able to keep him for one year. I can't see him signing a new contract with the Mariners. He'll wait it out and leave for free.

Could they get someone of his ability on a 1 year loan deal for $135k or less? If not it's worth keeping him.

The Cattery. Interesting point you make with the Actor's going to Hollywood,why is it that if an Actor goes to Hollywood makes it big they sudddenly become "Our Nicloe" or "Our Hugh" in the general mainstream media, though if a Footballer goes to Europe it's always seen as a bit shady / weird unless it's to Man Utd or Real Madrid ( which doesn't happen) does the general sports media get confused with Australian's who have to travel abroad to get to the biggest and best, i believe so. I remember when Greg Norman decided to base himself in America to be a full time pro golfer the Australian sports media turned on him and said he was disloyal to Australia ( he wanted the big time) . They the entertainment media dont do that with Actors do they. My overall point is the general sports media get confused and disorientated with Australian sportspeople when they leave for grenner pastures abroad and thats down to the fact they cannot really make a connection with the rest of the world because they primaraly follow A.F.L. or N.R.L. and a bit of Cricket between less than a handful of nations.

This is what agents do. I don't know why you are surprised. The agent earns more if Musti moves so that is what motivates him. We look down at such behaviour but the unfortunate truth is that most people act in their self-interest first and look at the greater good second (or even further down the track). Most people that criticise agents would do exactly the same thing if they were in that position.

I agree that the FFA is right in making it more attractive for players to stay in Australia, but the very best they can probably achieve is to have players go to Europe at a later age. Ultimately, professionals go where the action is. Actors want to go to Hollywood and aoccer players want to go to Europe.

Thats why we are trying to build a professional domestic league. A salary cap similar to League or AFL would keep a lot of the best prospects here for longer and only the very best or those that can't make it in this league will need to head overseas. At the very least we will be able to keep good young players longer, give them better development and get a better deal when they head OS.

1. Maybe he should have been re-signed by now, but the key issue is that he isn't. 2. Even if CCM offer him another contract, he's on $40k per annum now, what can they offer him? $80k per annum? maybe $100k per annum? 3. He's going to be like every other young soccer player in Australia - they want to go play in Europe, especially in a top 4 league (but most will play in any damn league). Every single one, without exception, have their eyes on Europe, it's silly for anyone to build a case about staying in Australia because it's the right thing to do, because it's good for our local league, etc, etc

Spot on Mid, The Mariners should have resigned him to a longer term contract, and I hope they still will! $300K is not enough, even for a 17yr. And if he has a good U20 WC, he will be even more sought after. As we all know, the World Cup is not only a shop window for clubs and scouts, but players values got up by at least 50% if they perform rely well. The kid sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders, I hope he repays the club by re-signing. He can have certain clauses in his contract where once a certain value is reached, both parties can start talking. If the kid goes for free in 12 months, i really hope the FFA learns their lesson from this. The MLS have rejected a heap of offers for Landon Donovan in recent years due to the fact that he is one of the figure heads of their league, and even if they got good coin for him, his departure from the MLS would cost the league and the code in America a lot more than they would gain in cash. I'm not comparing Amini to Donovan, but like the MLS, there must be a way for the FFA to make sure that our best young kids stay here for a certain period of time, or if they leave at a young age, that the clubs get compensated appropriately.

You miss understand I have no problems with Musty leaving ... I have a hue problem with an Agent blowing up and saying the Mariners should accept the offer and the TerrORgraph running the story as if we are a bunch of bastards ...

I think the Mariners have done the right thing and no one really takes any notice of the Daily Rugby League Telegraph anyway., From an A-League perspective I'm glad Mustafa is staying for at least another year. He's got a good attitude so he will take it as he should and continue to focus on developing his career in Australia. Another year in the A-League would do him well instead of sitting on cold hard German steel benches in the northern winter.

Tough cookies. The Mariners should have realised that and signed him to a longer deal. Instead they were short-sighted and now Dortmund will get the best of both worlds. Armini plays another year of first team football and becomes a better player and then they get him for free or as little as $20,000 in January (the cost for Armini to buy himself out of the last 6 months of his contract of which I'm sure Dortmund will happily foot the bill). Nobody will pay more than Dortmund have offered for a player who will available for next to nothing in January. Their only option is to hope that he has a blinder at the World Youth Cup and that creates a bidding war with other clubs.

The cost to replace Amini and the revenue he will generate will far exceed the revised $ 135, 000 to $ 300, 000... A player of this class will make a number of clubs and a number have shown interest.. Assuming he has a good U 20, WC then his price will only get higher... He is rare ... very rare... very few central mids attack tho the centre of the park tending to go wide... Musty puts lovely balls tho the centre of the park and his touch and speed on ball is something to watch... AS I said earlier for players of this class Football in Australia needs to demand what they are worth... and I hope the media get behind the club...

Seriously, the offer was fine. Amini has only 1 (!) year left on his contract.

I didn't know Amini only had a year left on his contract. I'm not sure why people are arguing that Dortmund should pay a lot more for a kid with potential who is in the final year of his contract. Are people here seriously arguing that CCM should expect more than $300,000?

The 135k$ were a first initial offer. I'm quite sure that our club would have went as far as 300-350k$. The problem is simply his contract. If he would have two or more years left, I would wholeheartily agree with you that a higher fee seems to be right. But with only 12 months left the Mariners cannot expect to make big money out of him. By the way - what do you mean by "Amini should be going to a half decent club anyway!"? Borussia Dortmund is the actual german champion in the 3rd best league in the world! Who else should sign him? Barca? Manchester? Sorry if my next sentence may sound disturbing, but Amini is simply not good enough for the top five clubs in europe. He is a talent, nothing more. Someone who may or may not become a good player, depending on the level of experience he gets during the next years. And if he would have signed at Dortmund he would have played champions league next season.

$300,000 seems pretty good for a player that only has 1 year left on his contract. If the Mariners play hard ball over the fee, Dortmund will happily let Armini play one more season of first team football and sign him for free. They'll just make Armini sign a pre-contract agreement for when his Mariners contract ends. That way, the only way they don't get him is if the Mariners sell him to someone else. It's the Mariners fault. They should have tied Armini to a longer deal in January when it was obvious that big clubs would come calling. The kid's on $40,000 a year. Armini can actually wait till January next year and buy himself out of his contract for $20,000 (under FIFA regulations). I'm sorry, even though his talent warrants more than $300,000, the contract situation means $300,000 is more than fair. If I were the Mariners I would have said $135,000 is ok if we get 20% of every transfer fee involving Armini in the future. The Melbourne Knights did something to this affect with Viduka. They got paid handsomely when Viduka went from Croatia Zagreb to Celtic and from Celtic to Leeds (might have even got paid when he went from Leeds to Middlesborough though I'm not sure whether that was a free transfer or not). Anybody who's played enough FIFA Manager could have handled this situation better than the Mariners did.

Amini isn't good enough to be holding the Mariners to ransom. $135K is peanuts, and a massive slap in the face to the club. Without them giving him the chances that he's had, he wouldn't have even been noticed, or been spoken of! He is only young, but he should repay the club the faith that they've shown in him, and resign for 3 years with clauses, with a minimum $500K release clause, so that if any club offers this or more, negotiations can then start. 300-400 euros is peanuts for European clubs, even smaller clubs, and let's be honest, Amini should be going to a half decent club anyway! We need to start respecting ourselves and our league, and not just be dictated to by anything or anyone from overseas! You get what you pay for, and we should be making sure that we don't give away our talent. Amini is 17, he's only going to get better. He's value is only going to increase!

Does the Bosman rule apply to non-European clubs? And also, I'm pretty sure that free transfers do not exist for players under the age of 24 in any case i.e. a fee is decided by a tribunal.

It's really quite simple. For 700k we can get any young talent, even better players that actually play for the german U-19 squad. I really like Amini from the little I have seen so far from him, but that's no reason to pay fantasy prices. And yes, it may be right that someone will bid more, but keep in mind that the guy only has one year of contract left. Meaning, next season he is a bosman transfer and can go whereever he wants to. For free! So, why bother with the club's unrealistic demands when 12 months later we don't have to pay anything?