Visa strikers are normally the most expensive players in an A-League team as they come with a pedigree of scoring goals consistently throughout Europe, Asia or South America.
Brisbane Roar fans over the past 17 seasons have seen two quality import strikers in Serginho van Dijk and Besart Berisha.
They have also witnessed their share of expensive busts, like last season’s Juan Lescano, who struggled with form and fitness throughout the campaign.
While off-season 2022 has seen the club become almost pedestrian in recruitment, they have announced an import hitman who has the predatory instincts to finish the large number of chances the side creates.
Former Premier League striker Charlie Austin has passed his medical after leaving QPR in the championship.
While not the biggest marquee signing, Austin is an out-and-out goalscorer.
As a labourer, Austin would have to leave his building site early to catch a ferry to get to the Isle of Wight to play non-league football with Poole Town. After plundering nearly 50 goals in 40 games, he was on the move to Division 1 with Swindon Town.
At Swindon he netted over 30 goals in 50 matches, which attracted the attention of several championship sides interested in his signature. He then joined Burnley, which saw the hitman average a goal every two games, before experiencing the bright lights of England’s top flight with QPR.
In his debut season in the Premier League he scored a remarkable 18 goals in 36 matches and was on-sold to Southampton, where he found the back of the net 16 more times.
Austin then dropped down a division to the championship, where he spent time with West Bromwich Albion and back at QPR.
(Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Over the years Charlie Austin has not been without his share of off-field controversy.
There was the unsavoury nightclub incident in 2013, followed by the 2015 public spat with West Ham owner David O’Sullivan over a failed transfer – O’Sullivan claimed Austin had “no ligaments left in his knee”. Austin labelled Sullivan’s comments as “outrageous” in the media and received an apology behind closed doors before getting the ultimate revenge several weeks later – scoring a goal against the Hammers in a 3-0 demolition.
A criticism levelled at Austin is that he’s prone to injury. However, he has adjusted his diet over the years to manage his body better. The days of having a few pints with a kebab or fish and chips after training are long gone, replaced with plenty of water and protein-rich meals coupled with yoga sessions. Now at 32 years of age, Austin appears to be in the best shape of his playing career.
Charlie was never blessed with blistering pace or the trickery to bamboozle opponents. He’s an old-fashioned English No. 9 in the mould of Les Ferdinand or Alan Shearer who will put in a decent shift.
While that might not sound exciting for Brisbane Roar fans, he is just the sort of striker that the club needs to get on the end of things.
Austin will pose a significant aerial threat while also being comfortable enough with his back to goal to hold off a defender and lay a pass on for his teammates.
He has a cannon of a right foot and the movement to be in the right position to sniff out a chance.
While players from England have generally struggled in the A-League, all he has to do for inspiration is look at Sydney FC’s Adam Le Fondre, who came to Australia at a similar age and became a goalscoring machine.
Austin has scored goals at every club he’s played for, and if he’s able to acclimatise to Queensland’s energy-sapping tropical conditions as well as Australia’s notoriously hard football pitches, he should be capable of scoring ten or 20 goals in the 2022-23 season.
Brisbane Roar have finally got a predatory No. 9 with the potential to have fans forget the names of ghosts of the past.
faustus
Roar Rookie
Cheers for the reply. Would be good to know who the top 10 earners for the season are. People like that sort of thing. Can make real comparisons to other codes as well...
coolncold
Roar Rookie
You mean 20K Pounds a month? That means 240K Pounds a year. That means 422400 AUD a year. That is a good buy. Is that correct?
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
he was in the ball park of 20K pounds at QPR
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
im not the be and end all when it comes to information on the roar, theres posters here who have posted things i didnt even know lol. i do have a very good knowledge of youth players across australia due to relationships i've formed overly nearly 20 years with clubs and agents - which also has given me access to wages/salaries/contracts and general behind the scenes news of a lot of clubs that average fans wouldn't know. i have become alot more selective of what i post in terms of 'news', because it has upset some players and clubs any news that may be of benefit, i always post on here (i dont have any social media) - i am aware that plenty of things i initially post have been picked up by social media posters as well as reporters several weeks after i actually posted it i would like to think i am a reasonably reliable source for news, however i freedly admit that i do get things wrong just like the next man does haha theres no site in particular that will help with your salary/wage question unfortunately. is it a player in particular you are looking for?
faustus
Roar Rookie
Have never been able to find a reliable source of coach or player wages in the A League. Transfer fees to foreign clubs as well. Very frustrating because I find that stuff fascinating. So getting snippets of insight and info in these threads from guys like you is great. Dont understand why its not easily available. You can get everything like that on the big leagues but we seem to hide it. Do you know of such a site?
coolncold
Roar Rookie
Do you know Charlie's pay?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Roar fan, I’m not pretending to know much about club academies and how they rate. It is a topic I would like to research properly and write an article about, but don’t have the time right now. A quick look however, reveals that Roar Academy is QLDs only two-star academy under the FA accreditation system. The FA accreditation system doesn’t seem to have picked up the NPL clubs yet, but they plan to. FQ has implemented the FQ Academy and accredits clubs to conduct various aspects of the national/state programme, like skills acquisition, talent support, QAS, etc. So when I said elite academy I wasn’t so much comparing it to others but rather stating the fact that it’s officially the top of the tree of football academies in Qld and as such it can be called elite. If so fact so, I believe it’s programme should include a whole lot more – mental, media, money, meals, mates, to name a few m’s for starters.
Sheffield WesDay
Roar Rookie
I liked Lescano, and you are right he played a very holding role. I would have liked to see how he played as more of a false 9 with Mileusnic and Ivanovic running off him more. Thought he was capable of creating more chances than scoring. I would also consider a pass on Kruse and Zulo. I agree they are probably the positions we need, but neither have been able to claw their way back into the pitch in recent years. Happy to be proven wrong if they do end up signing.
Sheffield WesDay
Roar Rookie
I suppose when you have Mileusnic on your left side and Ivanovic on your right, speed is maybe something he does not need. Those boys will get the ball there, he just needs the movement, experience and quality around the box to ensure he finishes them.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
stop wasting my time
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Thats not what happened. Aloisi had already tied up Oar and Holman into the marquee spots, though Oar was sold at the end of the year. His agent went public with Roars extension offer early in McLarens second season. Thats just setting the ground work for a move somewhere else. If you think a young striker who starts scoring 20 goals a season in the A-league is going to hang around your deluded. McLaren though he was hot stufff but he went to Europe and failed. Yaggart was even worse in Europe. Rowles spent three season at CCM where they conceeded heaps of goals, before they actually tightened their defence.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
They also have the Qld Cup with Aston Villa and Leeds in two weeks. I don't know how solid their training is, but they've posted videos back at training.
Roar Fan
Guest
Brisbane Roar Academy is elite in name only. It is NOT an elite program. Brisbane Strikers, Brisbane City and Lions currently have better programs in place for developing players atm. Hopefully this will change when they relocate to the council owned facility at Brendale next year. BUT….Investment is also needed to take it the elite level, so players have IDP for strength and conditioning etc…individual Hudl accounts ( or similar software, their current isport software doesn’t cut it ) so players can clip footage and submit to coaches for improvement feedback is also required. They need quality video cameras for this also. They need light gates etc for continued speed and agility testing and software analysis programs. And that’s before individual position specific training is mentioned. This can only happen with investment from the owners because the coaches are paid part time and as such can only commit a finite amount of time and effort in helping develop players. If Australian fans truely want future Socceroos capable of challenging for world cups, this is what’s required at a minimum at ALL a league clubs, because this is what the rest of the world is doing, until then we are all just kidding ourselves on.
Garry
Roar Rookie
oct 7 if link doesnt get thru! “There is also a placeholder between March 2023 and September 2023 for the establishment of a new men’s National Second Tier competition.”
Garry
Roar Rookie
I though Wow thats early at first but discovered that there's reputedly Australia Cup games 21/7 so maybe theyre merely training for those games?
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
A lot of the best value players would be players in their 20's who have moved up to a higher level and struggled, also some play only as subs. If Berisha is signed to a Bundesliga team early on and he has a good season in Denmark are signs he will be a success in the A-league. The secret is to watch the players before you buy them. I can remember watching Kennedy Bundesliga team and they weren't getting the ball over the half way line. When Kennedy went to Japan he played in some dominant teams that has no issues getting the ball to the other end. If you get a good player in their mid 20's then you have at least 5 years out of them. Signing players in their 30's is the big risk especially ones who show a pattern of decline, you dont know how many seasons they will go even if they succeed the first season.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I recall the press conference and news reports vividly. MacLaren wanted marquee wages and Aloisi told him that he wasn't worth a marquee wage. This is the guy who released Kai Rowles, among others who went on to play for other clubs, because he wasn't good enough for Roar. But yes, he did recruit the players you mention, Khaffala was a waste, way past his best.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
cheers JB. No I don't see them as a development team, but certainly in the past year or two I accept they have been, through necessity more than anything. In the current environment, with nowhere to develop young professional players and coaches other than the A League, I accept that Roar will be a development team occasionally. I know Roar can't buy titles, like the Melbourne teams, but we've proven we can win them with the right players and coach.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Maclaren got his big move to Europe after Roar, why would he have stayed in Australia, again reinventing history. Aloisi spent huge for Roar Avram Papadopoulos, Maccarone, Ben Khaffala from Victory. Imagine how much roar money was spent on those three almost 120 years of valuable experience.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
ohh absolutely, hes in his early 30s now - but never had to rely on pace or trickery that tends to go as you get older as a player. hes scored goals every clubs hes been to (even though his time at southampton was a little lean) if brissy can keep him fit, they should be capable of scoring a lot of goals