Amini bound for Europe

[Deej]

Anyone else at the game yesterday think Musti was very ordinary when he came on? Wasn't overly impressed with Olly either playing as a DM.

 

[midfielder]

Anyone else at the game yesterday think Musti was very ordinary when he came on? Wasn't overly impressed with Olly either playing as a DM.

Agree...on Musty but not on Olly I tho he was about the best on the park..

I was hughly impressed by Bozanic & Nichols could not spilt them but they both had huge games in the centre of the park …. with Cernak (gee he was good) and Behich not far behind… Danning when he came on was just brilliant … Musty was average I tho ….

Hoffman scored two goals and set up one … but I still think he had an average game ….

Tho Yeman had the best of the first 10 minutes …. from then on it was one way traffic…

GA has an interesting choice … Bozanic IMO played the DM role as good as I have seen it played by an Australian player at international level for a while...

Gotta say I this because i appreciate a player who can see danger and make sure nothing comes of it…

First half both the left back and LM go down the line and lose the ball … Nichols was watching the play from his CM position and just tracked back a little.. we lost the ball and Nichols screamed back to a Left Defensive position and killed the play … very very impressed by his reading of the game and ability to impose pressure on the attacking side ….

Overall a very good display…

 

[Bex]

I think Musti did what he was told. You might have noticed he didn't try to run the ball at their back line buy rather chipped the ball for out wide men and strikers. I'm thinking at that stage of the game the focus was on avoiding holes in midfield which could leave us open to attack on the break rather than scoring more goals when we were 2 nil up with only 15 to go. Either that or I had my Fro coloured glasses on...

 

[Deej]

Musti appeared a little deeper than usual and his vision just wasn't there, but he did only get a short time on the park and you need a little time to get into it.

Olly was ok don't get me wrong but did give the ball up cheaply a few times, against better opponents that could get punished. Prefer him on the left personally.

I was impressed with Behich, thought he did very well.

 

[MagpieMariner]

Nice post Atomic, all good things! Personally I won't be following Amini or other players that come here for a bit and go overseas onto bigger and better things, but I will be following the Mariners every week.

I would understand if people said it's a developing series, we cannot compete with the rest of the world just yet, but we are putting things in place now so that one day we will be able to retain top players, and have some of the best quality football in the A-League. Until then it sucks to see all these talented players hang around for a season or two at the most!

But that isn't the case... I'm hearing how good it is to be "trusted" as a glorified training camp, and how good it is that our young stars are getting cherry-picked by the top leagues.

And check out the post voting! All the posts saying how cool it is to lose our best player(s) overseas are getting voted up. Wouldn't you rather see the best players stay in Australia and have a strong local league? If the A-League is going to tackle the other codes it's gotta do better than "feeder league to the world’s major leagues".

I guess I'm on my own on this one!

No, you're not on your own. I know it's going to happen, and there's nothing I can do about it, but I don't have to like it, and I don't.
I can live with a guy moving on when his contract expires, but it seems like in this sport contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on.

 

[dibo]

it seems like in this sport contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on.

That's where the misconception lies. Contracts (or more correctly, the termination of contracts) have a worth determined in the text of the contract.

There'll be certain conditions that trigger a release clause - $x as a transfer fee, the club being relegated, etc. $x might not be a fixed sum either, it might be a sum for negotiation.

There might be conditions around the release too - $x gets you a release, but if you only want to pay $y you have to pay certain other fees should the player be sold on, play internationals, win the league etc. There might be prohibitions about the player joining certain leagues etc.

 

[Muppet]

Was at the game. I think the general consensus is that Ollie is better placed on the left and not DM. I did ask Musty about the tranfer to BVB. He said it is out of his hands at the moment and he is just waiting one way or the other.

 

[scottmac]

Musti appeared a little deeper than usual and his vision just wasn't there, but he did only get a short time on the park and you need a little time to get into it.

Olly was ok don't get me wrong but did give the ball up cheaply a few times, against better opponents that could get punished. Prefer him on the left personally.

I was impressed with Behich, thought he did very well.

Musty has also just come from training and playing with the U/20 side which is more than likely utilizing him in a different way. Not out of the ordinary to be off the boil a bit especially given the circumstances he entered the game in.

 

[adz]

On the contract thing, I think they are pretty worthless... to a point. They appear to be written to protect the player and not the club. By that I mean if the player wants to leave for a better deal (or whatever reasons) all they have to do is say they want to leave, they (or their agent) could go to the media and tell everyone about it, then the club can either let them go onto bigger and better things, or hold them against their will.

If a club wants a player to leave, because they are not performing (or whatever reasons), they can't really go to the media and tell everyone how shit the player is and how they want them out, and the player will generally dig their heels in and force the contract to be seen out.

So... all these deals seem to be heavily in favour of the players, with the clubs and therefore the fans of those clubs losing out. Just the way I see it!

 

[adz]

Midfielder thanks for clearing that up mate.

Essentially I would love the day when we can develop a player like Musty and keep him like you said like Man U kept Ryan Giggs … like AFL can keep their best (however the AFL players have nowhere else to go)

Yep one of my points was a downside of being The World Game is The World gets to nick all the best players from us. AFL might be an insignificant wart on Football's arse to some people, but at least I know if I watch an AFL game I'm seeing the best of the best playing.

On one hand we seem to be all confused about why people don't want to go to A-League games, only come out to see big foreign clubs or watch overseas leagues on TV, and at the same time we say we are just a feeder league and good on the players that want to go overseas to better their careers.

Seems obvious to me. Perhaps I am putting 2+2 together and coming up with 5.

 

[giggsy]

I think Musti did what he was told. You might have noticed he didn't try to run the ball at their back line buy rather chipped the ball for out wide men and strikers. I'm thinking at that stage of the game the focus was on avoiding holes in midfield which could leave us open to attack on the break rather than scoring more goals when we were 2 nil up with only 15 to go. Either that or I had my Fro coloured glasses on...

I hope Musti has his head screwed the right way and takes all this adulation with a pinch of salt...He's not the next Lionel Messi and I would hate to see him sitting on the bench at a big European club for the next couple of years as has happened....stay at the Mariners for a couple of seasons and you'll see a much more complete player...ask Arnie what he thinks!

 

[midfielder]

Fox reporting Musty is off to the EPL...

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/premier-league/the-rumour-mill-all-the-latest-transfer-scuttlebutt-from-the-wonderful-world-of-european-football/story-fn8uzjqx-1226081232770

MUSTAFA AMINI TO BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Mustafa Amini is believed to be in a line for a dream move to "a high-profile Barclays Premier League club", just days after Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund were reported to have been "priced out" of signing the Central Coast Mariners teenager.

Amini's management said the young gun's dreams had been compromised when they claimed the Mariners were seeking a fee close to $1 million for the young attacking midfielder, who burst on to the A-League scene only last season.

Dortmund had initially offered to pay $135,000.

Borussia are still believed to be interested in the youngster, who might then be loaned back to the A-League club, but one of the EPL giants is thought to be waiting in the wings should the deal fall through.

Will Amini go to the Premier League in the coming weeks?

 

[Muppet]

Considering the last rant by his manager which was way off the mark I take this with a grain of salt. I'll wait till something is in confirmed

 

[BaysideMariner]

Considering the last rant by his manager which was way off the mark I take this with a grain of salt. I'll wait till something is in confirmed

I think his manager is just trying to keep musti's name in lights for the time being.

 

[elevated position]

Todays Telegraph quoted Celtic's manager (Lennon) as very keen on Musti

 

[adz]

Everyone's after him now! lol

 

[midfielder]

All that's missing is ... interest is being shown from Man U & Barca ...

 

[scottmac]

Poor Musty.

This might have been true if he didn't spurn the opportunity to trial at Newcastle.

 

[priorpeter]

More news:

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/news/1062703/Mariners-open-to-Amini-offers

Central Coast Mariners coach Graham Arnold resigned himself to losing midfielder Mustafa Amini to a European club, as he welcomed Celtic manager Neil Lennon to Gosford.

It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when, and Arnold hopes it comes about later rather than sooner.

"I'm not concerned with that because it is every player's dream to go overseas," Arnold told AAP.

"As a club we felt the original offer from (Bundesliga club) Dortmund of 100,000 euros ($A137,000) was not enough for a player of his talent.

"It has probably opened up the field for other clubs to have a look at him, it just shows where the A-League sits when the coach of Celtic, Neil Lennon, knows about the players that we have.

"It shows the reputation of the Australian players."

Socceroos Mark Viduka and Scott MacDonald both plied their trade with Celtic.

"They've done excellent at Celtic and everyone knows the mentality of the Australian players over in Europe is good," Arnold said.

"My opinion is that he (Amini) could do with another year here mainly because he's got the under-20 World Cup in August but also the kid came from nowhere last year.

"He's still developing, physically, technically he's got it, tactically he's learning and for a kid who last year played in 23 games, didn't complete 90-minutes once, it has been a big step so far and he's got a long way to go."

The 18-year-old will play against Celtic, as part of the Scottish Premier League giant's three-game pre-season tour, on Saturday at ANZ Stadium.

Lennon is keen to see the Afro-haired creative midfielder in the flesh.

"He's a player that's been flagged up to us," Lennon said. "I'll get a good look at him on Saturday hopefully."

Making his way down under a day ahead of his squad, Lennon joined Arnold and Mariners midfielder Michael McGlinchey at Bluetongue Stadium to help promote Saturday's game.

"This is a very important tour for us because it’s not really that long until we begin our season," Lennon said.

"Obviously we need to get good quality matches under our belt and that’s why we’ve brought almost our strongest squad to Australia.”

The Celtic squad arrived in Australia Wednesday night and will train at ANZ Stadium on Friday morning, with the 11am session open to the public.

 

[Atomic]

A little birdie told me not to be surprised if the Mariners confirm that a deal has been struck with Dortmund in the next few days. The fee will be in the order of $135K rather than $350K. And yes, we will have his services for the coming season.