Nichols vs Arnold: Perceptions of Japanese football

Perhaps Roarsome players should only sign one year contracts which would allow them to leave for free and have relative freedom of movement. But of course they won't do that because they want security. You see, they can't have it both ways. By signing a contract it means the club can keep then regardless of offers from elsewhere. It doesn't reflect badly on MV at all. In fact good young players will go there knowing it will improve them, and therefore career prospects.

Certainly the J-League is a recognised step up from the A-League, whereas I have some doubts about the lower and some of the mid level European leagues. Part of the reason is that AFC restrictions on imports means that foreigners are expected to be performing on the pitch, and if they are not then they are moved on. European leagues have less restrictions of this nature which often results in players being recruited merely to fill out a playing squad.

Although the the transfer fee offered by Cerezo Osaka was undeniably insufficient for a player of Nichols' quality, I still hope that he does make the move over to Japan. With any luck, Cerezo will come back with an improved offer and Mitch can be off to a club which I think a lot of people fail to appreciate has a GREAT reputation for developing players, more specifically attacking midfield players. Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), Hiroshi Kiyotake (FC Nurnberg), Kim Bo-Kyung (Cardiff City) and Takashi Inui (Eintracht Frankfurt) all came through the ranks of Cerezo Osaka in recent times before making the leap to Europe. Add to that Yoichiro Kakitani who many say will be moving over to the Bundesliga in the January transfer window and that makes 5 quality exports in probably just as many years. As a result, in the best interest of the strength of our national team, I really hope that Mitch and other Australian players like him start making these moves (only at the right age though of course). Sure, it may damage the A-league slightly but the less 6-0 losses by the Socceroos in the future the better.

Kruse was a different case i think...was he out of contract or about to be? They got compensation but not sure if that was technically a fee. Or maybe it was a clause in his deal? Either way it wasnt a straight transfer from memory.

Parrot says mv NOT a selling club. Robbie Kruse for $50k suggests they prefer to give them away!

The relationship between the salary and transfer fee is an interesting aspect of the whole process thats rarely highlighted in the reporting. Usually there would be a finite amount a club is willing to spend, spread between the two. Seems like the balance is shifting a little in recent years in favour of the transfer fee. And some push back from players and agents who would resist that...wanting to put pressure on the club and even lower expectations on the potential fee, talking down and leaking a low sale price. Clubs like MV are blazing a trail a little in Oz football and it is important they stick at it. The league as a whole will be better for it. Whether it affects the likelihood of some players wanting to go there is an interesting point. They are 'taking one for the team/league' if that is the case.

It is more complicated than that though. If this Japanese club has seen the way the CCM operates they may say "it is cheaper to offer the player an over-the-odds salary which will cause him to be "want away" than it is to pay the fair value to the club. Australian clubs always sell their "want away" players regardless of price with a 'we don't stand in the way of our players philosophy', we have seen CCM and Brisbane do it over and over." This not on-selling players to more lucrative contracts does send a message, and I feel it is a bit cheeky of the Japanese club to negotiate salary before transfer fee. But for a young player is it really enough to knock back a Victory contract offer? And does it send a message to purchasing clubs that when dealing with Victory they should throw their money into the purchase bid and then lower the salary offer to just enough to induce the player to want to move?

That's fine for the club and fans in the short term but sends a pretty poor message to the young players of the league if they refuse to let a player go for a 'fair' price, fair being the debatable point. The message is sends is that players looking to further their careers are welcome to do so until you sign with the Victory, then you're locked in. It's a difficult balance and yes, perhaps the Mariners are at the other end of the scale though one can hardly knock them given their success. Similarly with Brisbane, they have a good record of letting players further their careers and have been able to maintain success. To throw a blanket statement 'Melbourne are not a selling club' might hurt them with future scouting, perhaps Melbourne should look at the league they're playing in and consider that perhaps they're in a selling league.

Agreed. In the total scheme of costs/revenues for the 2013/2014 season, $200,000 is peanuts for Victory if it possibly unsettles the balance of the team given they have a team that is clicking with players bedded down into a system, sitting in 3rd place on the table with premiers ambitions, an AFC champions league campaign to take on, and a growing member base to satisfy through on field success. More on-field success equates to higher attendances which drives revenues far in excess of a piddling transfer fee. Especially since they are the A-league team most highly hamstrung by the salary cap because they are the largest and richest and haven't bothered with an international marquee of the Galas/ADP type. They also have an unproven (and cheap) coach still levering from the system the players learned from a more highly credentialed coach which is a situation not of their choosing. I can't see them wanting to sell. As much as Nichols might be "want away" because of the huge salary increase on offer, it is a bad piece of business for Victory.

"Melbourne might price themselves out of the market if they’re not too careful.." Absolutely irrelevant imo as it is NOT Melbourne Victory who are trying to sell off Mitch Nicholls or anyone else. Victory does NOT need the money. Victory does NOT consider themselves a selling club. If you approach Victory for a contracted Victory player, then as the bidder making an unsolicited approach, you either pay up or Victory will NOT sell - as it should be. Just ask Crystal Palace. And offering to pay up mid season may still NOT guarantee a purchase, as Victory's priorities for the rest of the season are more important than what Cerezo Osaka wants and Victory are NOT in the habit of selling key players mid season, unlike the Central Coast Mariners. It is Victory that is in the position of strength, NOT Cerezo Osaka. "Melbourne might price themselves out of the market if they’re not too careful.." Absolutely irrelevant.

Although I'm excitited by the possibility of Mitch going to Osaka next year, I'm moving there myself, I think the pace of J1 will pose a huge challenge for him. While Cerezo might be smaller than Gamba who played J2 this year, as mentioned, they're successful and would have had the opportunity to look at Mitch during his time in Brisbane, the ACL, and at MV. Melbourne might price themselves out of the market if they're not too careful, I can't see Cerezo paying overs for a player who has questionable fitness in the A-League.

Only one correction to an otherwise fine article: Lucas Neill did NOT play for Omiya..... At least not sufficient minutes to be considered a real squad member. He simply didnt have the talent to play at that level (to say nothing of the fitness level), and was dropped to the bench after just a handful of appearances. Videos of Manabu Saito dribbling past him three times on the same play are still making the rounds on Youtube. When he bailed on the club a week before the season was even over, a few people asked whether it should be viewed as an insult to the fans and team, who were still PAYING him for taking a jet off to Oz to "....deal with family matters". However the consensus response from Omiya fans was that he actually did the team a favour, as they would not feel obliged to let him take the pitch for a last time. FWIW I do not think Nichols would have as much trouble breaking into the lineup as Neill did, and I certainly agree that it would be a valuable experience for a still-fairly-young player like him. His calibre of player should indeed view the J.League (and Korea as well, for that matter) as a very useful test of whether or not he is ready for Europe. I think he probably would succeed, but its a sure thing that he would have to stay focused and motivated every single second. For a player with a reputation for slacking off, it might be the ideal tonic as you point out. But please, dont damn the J.League with the faint praise of calling it "a step up from the A-League", when the truth is that it is closer to an entire flight of stairs

I think it is great that Mitch Nichols might be signed by a Japanese club. Ned Zelic, Aurelio Vidmar and Graham Arnold played in that league when it was probably not as good as it is now. If it is good enough for them it is definitely good enough for Nichols. I do think Victory should get a decent transfer fee. The 200k amount is a bit of an insult. He should be at least 400 to 500k. Just pissed that we won't be getting the transfer fee.

Good read, i think u nailed it at the end there....the stature of MV means their fans expect more these days for a player in form. Nichols ambitions are somewhat secondary to the club feeling adequately compensated. Just hope he keeps the form up so as to impress Cerezo enough to bump up the fee....only way to approach it for him. No petulance that is for sure.....

The difference between the reception of the news of Arnolds move, and that of Nichols is that Australian coaches have never gone on to big clubs in Europe. Sure they go on to Singapore and Malaysia and that sort of thing, but Japan is a step up, and as a foreign coach in Japan when they can recruit from essentially anywhere in the world (and Graham Arnold speaks Japanese no better than an Argentinian or Brazilian or Spaniard or German) it is a compliment that he should have been scouted and signed. Given that Arsene Wenger started his career in Japan, it is also seen as a clear pathway. You can however be sure that the noise would have been louder had Arnold been recruited by a Dutch club or German club or to Club Brugge or any of the other clubs that Australian players are routinely signed to. You will also note that there are 11 players on the field for each coach, with more on the bench and more squad players any of which can step up to the first team or be demoted to squad players if the pressure overwhelms. So in simple demand terms it is easier to get into a playing squad in a respectable team that to get THE coaching gig. So that answers your question about the applause for Arnold and the yawns for Nichols. with regards to whether it would be a step up for Nichols. Yes. But to compare his situation to Lucas Neill is a bit facile. Neill was signed to Blackburn for a million pounds from Millwall before he had ever kicked a premier league ball. He played in the premier league under Souness, Mark Hughes, Alan Curbishley and David Moyes in a distinguished career before Galatasaray's Frank Rijkaard bought out the 8 months left on his Everton contract for a million pounds in 2010. This is a lot of votes of confidence from some of footballs most respected minds. It was only once in Turkey that he disappeared from our televisions and it was not that long ago, but people quickly forget. And Neill struggled to maintain the captaincy from Japan, and Kennedy is far from an automatic selection. Anyway, it is still probably an ok move as long as the Japanese club cough up the doe.

Good article with some interesting points. I agree completely that the J League is a big step up from the A League. This is just what Nichols needs. He has to this point been a lazy player who fades physically in the second half of games. He's had a mini resurgence at MV. Perhaps he's seen the error of his ways. Looking at it from a purely physical POV at Roar he looked like the fat kid surrounded by a team of ripped athletes. He just wasn't working hard enough, and to fulfills his potential needs to be challenged. On the other hand MV want a big fat transfer fee to allow then to recruit a better option. We shouldn't be a selling league unless the the fee is appopriate.