Thomas Broich set to leave Brisbane Roar

Waz - There is a lot of assumption in this comment and when you take out all the ifs and buts there is nothing much left that could be deemed "new". Thomas Broich is aging ,no man can beat that, but is he fit enough to play in the HAL? According to the teams being picked every week it would appear the management team appears to think so even though they continue to use him in a position that normally is looked upon as a position where speed is regarded as a necessity. Thomas has s football brain that is probably superior to the vast majority of players in the HAL ,so one has to try and imagine how would he perform if he were tried in a position where physical "speed of foot" was not a prerequisite in performing to ones optimum. Could he be used as an unorthodox central striker/target man where his close skills would cause great unrest among most of the centre backs in the HAL He is also probably the best header of a ball among the Roar front men which would also help in getting to the numerous crosses that go straight to defenders in the Roar's attempts at attack. Or could he be played as a play maker in the middle of the field where,given time , he could "up" his skills to move the ball more accurately through to runners like McLaren.Borrello or even Holman.???? These are questions you and I have discussed over and over again all season and yet what did we get ?, with the arrival of Tommy Oar ,Broich was given a run or two, on the right wing of all places, where his pace was still suspect. I think serious questions have to be asked about where Thomas could still supply some class into this team's performance but there has been little or no imagination used in trying him out where he could be a success. Will we ever know???? Doubtful!!!!. Cheers jb.

Pretty much Lionheart. And on language used by Broich.....well Thomas would talk like that wouldn't he? Don't make a fuss. Everything is cool. That's his style.

Good luck with the statue. The only statue I've ever seen of a footballer is Johnny Warren on the Moore Park Rd end. Anyone know of any others?

Turns out that salary cap relief is being used on other players as well. So it's not sat there unused.

Waz your dedication to defend the club is admirable but you need to abandon it here good sir because you dont have a leg to stand on. This has been appalling treatment by the club of the greatest player who has ever played for the club and if they don think this will cast a pall over potential future players deciding on a club to join they really need to do some navel gazing.

Mate, Well written. And I hear you. I've done a copy n paste and sent your post on directly to Kingsman this arvo. So he's at least heard you.

Yes we've asked them to comment to club members or broadly via their website. No they haven't explained to us but we were contacted last night when the story broke on social media and they explained they were not expecting it until after the finals. This time last month Broich was retiring this winter, he changed his mind, the question is what do they that satisfies fans?

My understanding is this story was not sanctioned by the club so they were completely blindsided. Let's see if they get anything out.

You miss the point Waz, of why fans like me are angry. It's not about whether Thomas Broich should be signed on again. Nor is it about whether Thomas should be utilised in another role, that many all think he is highly suited to. Those are decisions for the club, and tough ones. No matter their decision, angst will result for fans as Thomas Broich is held far more highly by fans than any other club player in our history, or any coach or manager for that matter (yep, he out pedistals Ange). The fans expect to be kept informed about Broich. This has been brewing all year. And now the club goes silent. All the fans can do is read media reports, or some assumptions by the fans federation For all the talk and all the promises, our club continually proves itself to be incapable of communicating to its most important group, its fans.

they must do better Waz they should have worked very late last night to draft a statement for release this morning. It's already too late to undo much damage

ok, I was just reading the cap system on the HAL website. It's collective but only a few players would contribute, Broich and Theo now, Hingert next year I think. It starts at 25% at 5 years and goes up 5% per year to 50% at ten years. Plus there's banking from two preceding years, where I know we've been under. Of course we all know this is the club's bread and butter stuff, but so too is managing their pr and information flow to fans, and understanding fans expectations. Most fans expect better than what they're getting right now.

I think Broich is planning on returning to Germany to complete his coaching qualifications and gain some experience before looking at returning to the Roar in a coaching capacity.

I can see why fans would be in shock over this but I don't connect with the hysterics on this, an old player leaving a club, err, yeah it happens. Let's assume Roar have sat down with him, that they have asked what a fair offer is, and that he's looking for something over $250k possibly as high as $300k for one year. Let's also assume that Roar know his medical history, the guy gets through games with regular injections, let's assume he's having his ankle operated on this winter, that was always saud to be a major operation the next time it was required. Then let's assume Roar/Aloisi look at the squad they want for next season with all the usual limitations you have. Roar need a new striker, that's priority No. 1, they need to sign Avraam up (Victory, City have been in contact with him), Caletti is off contract and his agent recons he's worth more than minimum wage, Theo is 37 so maybe they need a new GK are they going cheap and backing Young or investing money in a top keeper? So where's the cap money best spent?? Then you look at the language Broich himself is using, he's nearly leaving on good terms, he's always been a good club-man and if he's accepted this as the right decision for the club that's telling. Sentiment doesn't win you titles and let's see if wanderers, Victory or SFC snap him up. I suspect they won't. Jets (now they have O'Donnovon) would be wise to have a look at Broich, but whoever does they need to be prepared to put him in the top earning bracket, he'll be one of your top 6-7 paid players on $250k+, if he has a great season everyone will say Roar made a mistake, if he's missing most of the season "everyone" will say nothing and be conspicuously absent in their commentary. But everyone who's commenting isn't in Aloisi's position today - what are my options for building a title winning squad for next year? I'd rather he stayed, I love the bloke, but I wouldn't get bent out of shape a 36 year old player is moving on. When it's time, it's time. Archie Thompson wanted one more year, the great players always do .

Yep. Sentimentality and winning rarely go hand in hand. It's JA's job to get wins, simple as that. If he makes tough decisions and that equals wins, they are the right decisions. If he makes controversial decisions and they back-fire, they are the wrong decisions. Sacking Ranieri was the right decision also in hindsight once the emotion settled down.

The club should get something out but let's face it, the news broke about 8 last night so if they get something out today that's fair enough (if they do)

I'm not sure what the percentage is but I think it's something like a 10% salary reduction for year 6, 20% for year 7 and so on. So Broichs salary would be reduced for cap purposes by no more than 30%. Asking for $300k that's still $200k of the cap gone.

Waz, if we can't fit him in our 20 senior players we have a serious problem. I can name at least 15 who I would rate way lower than Broich. Plus I don't get your cap comment, if it reduces the salary that counts to cap, isn't that cap exempt salary?

give them a chance? holy understatements Batman, their silence is totally cruelling them. Has the Federation asked the club to explain, or maybe issue a statement to tell us what has happened? Has the club explained to the federation what's happened?

I agree Lionheart. If Thomas wants to give an interview that's his choice. Being left hanging on 'not sure what we can offer you' or if we can is poor. And Thomas wants certainty. I hope he comes back to coach in some capacity.

I wholeheartedly agree Lionheart the club have not handled this at all well. I am also disappointed with responses from the leader of our Supporters Federation as this is not a way to build a club culture. There are players in the squad that are not good enough to tie Thomas Broich's boot laces that are still getting game time. I have heard talk about the cap relating to a new centre back, a new goalkeeper and a new striker being more important than signing Broich, well a new centre back will not put bums on seats and in any case we have Devere, North, Bowles and Crestani without signing Pappadopolous. The goalkeeper situation is much clearer Theo is a liability and by all accounts costs too much so Young gets the gig with a youngster as back up. A new Striker is the only area that needs strengthening and could well be a visa player. So the excuses don't wash and I sincerely hope that Brisbane Roar pull out all the stops to sign Broich for next season.