Brisbane Roar player Kosta Barbarouses (r) reacts to a goal with captain Matt McKay (l). (AAP Image/Dave Hunt).
If for a moment we close our eyes and pretend the A-League has a fully functioning and vibrant marketing department, we have to acknowledge that it’s about to lose the face of its campaign.
By the end of the week Brisbane Roar captain and Socceroo mainstay Matt McKay is expected to sign a deal with Scottish champions, Glasgow Rangers.
It’s a surprise move from a player so steadfast in his loyalty to Brisbane and so integral to their recent success.
It’s a move that doesn’t exactly bode well for the A-League either, though it’s one that is understandable.
At 28, and playing the finest football of his career, Matt McKay has every right to pursue the biggest contract he can get his hands on.
Though he’ll receive some criticism for leaving the A-League at one of its most delicate times, the fact is McKay owes nothing to the league as he more than anyone else has helped build the brand’s identity over the years.
McKay is a shining example for the A-League and an embodiment of all that’s great about the league and all that can be gained by staying to play in Australia.
For six seasons he toiled away in a variety of good, bad and exceptional Brisbane teams, slowly developing himself into the elite player he is today.
Renowned for his exceptional fitness, McKay added a number of layers to his game over the years, developing his left foot into a more potent weapon and utilising his footballing nous to be of immense value in a variety of positions.
His development earned him a surprise call up to Holger Osieck’s Asian Cup squad earlier in the year, which at the time was seen as somewhat of a token gesture – a symbolic offering that the A-League had a role to play where the Socceroos were concerned.
However when Brett Emerton succumbed to an injury in the group stage of the tournament, McKay proved just why Osieck had selected him, instantly demonstrating his versatility at both left back and as a key midfield cog.
McKay’s memorable cross to Harry Kewell deep in stoppage time of their quarter-final against Iraq became the most indelible moment of the tournament for the Australians.
So with less than two months away from the A-League’s start it does come as some surprise to learn that McKay will be joining Rangers imminently.
Ange Postecoglou’s decree that he and his club won’t stand in the way of one of its players taking advantage of a better deal overseas is now undergoing its sternest test.
The Roar already lost Milan Susak to the Indonesian Premier League as well as Jean Carlos Solórzano to the Melbourne Victory earlier in the year.
The team’s top scorer last season, Kosta Barbarouses, recently departed as well, taking up an offer in second division Russia of all places.
With Postecoglou now about to lose his captain, perhaps cracks are starting to appear in Ange’s nascent empire?
However the most puzzling question to emerge concerning McKay’s departure is why Scotland, in a league surely not profoundly better than our own, and a climate substantially worse?
And while McKay doesn’t seem to be a player particularly motivated by oversized pay-cheques and endorsements, one would think he could have found a similar deal in second tier Italy or Spain, or perhaps somewhere in Germany, as a host of equally accomplished Australians have recently.
My guess is the Scottish move is more motivated by a part of McKay’s game which he feels needs particular development in, and which he’s determined the Scottish Premier League is best equipped to fulfil.
It is a mystery, though not of the sordid variety, and one which McKay’s accumulated credits should exempt from being investigated with any degree of malice.
But still, why Rangers?
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
It is a good point, apaway. If you are an accountant going to Hong Kong, a doctor off to Ethiopia or a diesel mechanic off to Antartica many will applaud you for your sense of adventure and the new experiences you will face. Few will query the professional wisdom of such a move. Why should footballers be any different? Sometimes new experiences and adventures are all the pull a club needs to offer, certainly Australian clubs use this as a draw card for foreign imports; and so they should.
j binnie
Guest
Punter - There is an underlying problem in this issue posing a question that demands an answer for the good of football in Australia. I first saw Matt playing on a council ground in Brisbane in an Under 13 junior match for Mt Gravatt & it was evident then to anyone with a modicum of football nous that the kid was a cut above everyone else on the field.That was in 1996,yes, fifteen years ago & apparently it has taken all that time for Matty to reach the standard he has today. Why? Why? Why? Find the answer to that problem and you will have the eternal thanks of all interested in Australian football. (As a matter of interest Nathan Coe,who is in the Socceroo pool of goalkeepers,also played for Mt Gravatt that day, not bad for a provincial club,2 Socceroos out of their junior ranks. Another 2,the Stewart brothers, came from the same stable, John playing in England for many years & Russell making the under 21 Socceroo team).
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I haven't heard any news of rioting in Scotland ... well, not since the last Old Firm Derby ;-)
Dave McD
Guest
Maybe with the riots moving to Scotland he may not go now.....
Martin
Guest
Yes Liverpool haven't been performing well, which is why they have bought Adams. Anyway that doesn't change the fact that Rangers have produced a player that a top EPL club rate at £7 million. You also haven't answered my point about Rangers developing Craig Moore in to an international central defender
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Big occasion for Australian Football you be the judge for which one.. Holger does it again well done Guys...
UK Steve
Guest
Getting desperate Punter? Looks like soccer fans find the national anthem more exciting than the game. Can't blame them for that.
nordozzz
Roar Guru
+1 Cattery ... lol 'delegation' is a wonderful word ... Frank put his name on the ASX statement, doesn't mean he directly handled it all ... though he may have, who knows! Good to the fella, hope he is recuperating well enough to direct energies into either! :)
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
Why Rangers? Why not? (I can think of a few reasons ;O) While the SPL is in decline (has been for many-a-year now), it is still a good league (a step up from the A-League) - Even for developing youths as most of the top Scottish clubs (especially the Old Firm) have very good youth and training facilities, along with very good coaches. As for McKay, being 28 his time is running out for him to fulfill his dream of playing in Europe. He has achieved all he can domestically in Australia, so now he feels the time is right to give Europe a go. Unlike a lot of players who go to Europe, McKay will get to experience playing in a continental competitions along with challenging for silverware to add to the titles he has won in Australia. He will be training and competing with/against other top players so he will still learn and improve his game. Also it will be a huge experience for him having his every move scrutinize by all fans and media a like as Glasgow is a goldfish bowl. Then there is the chance of perhaps playing in an Old Firm match. You don't get much/any bigger then that. So it is a very good move for a player like McKay. As for why are teams like Celtic and Rangers (along with the other Scottish teams) in decline? Simple - money. SPL clubs get between £1mil - £2mil per season from TV money, compare that to the top leagues in Europe and it is very poor, especially when you compare it to the league/leagues just over the border. While I wish McKay all the best in his European adventure (if the transfer goes ahead), I hope he isn't very successfully (winning silverware wise) ;)
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
Brisbane got some coverage in the print media in Scotland when the likes of Moore, Miller and even Malcolm played for them. It wasn't much but it was something. How much will be said in reverse?, not to sure. But there could be a reference or two here and there.
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
Hehe. Top post Dave. Well said :D
asanchez
Roar Guru
Still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! Awesome atmosphere.
Jupiter53
Guest
Yep, good call. At his stage of career not much point in sitting on the bench at a giant club.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Ahhh Midfielder - great memories and a video that doesn't lie .... pure G-O-L-D!
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Some A-League trial game results to hand: SFC 3 St George 0 GCU 1 Sunshine Coast 0
NF
Guest
lol nice one Midfielder liked the clip.
Midfielder
Guest
Lets not start a code war here guys but does football have a problem... For Football folk only [if from another code remember you were warned] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSXVOGoOFKo
aedan
Guest
I'm sure don't really think that the teams in the CL actually represent the top whatever teams in Europe, but regardless, yeah, something like top 50 would be about right. Could do a lot worse certainly. It's about the right level for him I reckon - a step above the A-league but not so much that he won't have a chance of a regular game.
asanchez
Roar Guru
Marty is on $330k a year at Brisbane. At Rangers he'll triple his wages, play at Ibrox in front of 30-40 thousand every week, and he'll have numerous cracking Old Firm derbies every season. As a MVFC member, I salute Matty, the guy is a star and I wish him all the best! Shame to see him go, but this is a step up (can't believe some people are disputing that on here), and you can't begrudge the guy of that. It's actually a compliment and glowing statement of the A-league. Just a shame that he has a $500k buyout clause, when realistically it should be at least $1m, but as we know, as the FFA are running the club at the moment, they will banking that money.
Jupiter53
Guest
Currently they are not in Europe's top 42 given that is how many teams remain in the Champion's League. And the football society website [thefootballsociety.ws] which ranks teams based on games between them in European and domestic games over the preceding 12 months has Rangers as number 68. Of course they will zoom up the list when McKay galvanises them to win the Europa League this season.