Central Coast Mariners Squad for 2008/09 Season

[Omni]

Striker, as long as Nik Mrdja is sitting on his ever widining arse he is NOT our best striker.

I'm under the impression that to be a club's best striker you have to actually play for that club.

 

[bikinigirl]

Added to that the bounce of the ball and the bounce of the officials has been going against us.

. nowhere near enough bouncing of officials as fas as i can see

 

[pjennings]

Anyone have news on Mile?
If he goes to Bling it'll sting worse than battery acid on a papercut.

Todays Daily Terror reports that we have resigned Mile for another two years!!!!

 

[brett]

Today's forum reports that striker9 looks a right knob with hindsight

 

[Pete]

Striker if we had listened to you over the last three seasons as to who we should get rid of, we would not have a squad.

look here mate..... you saw the display last sat night....... apart from the goal keeper, Tommy, Jedi and  Gumprecht who would you retain?

even bloody aloisi had f**king air shots just outside the box.... and, our best striker, Nik Murdja #9 is a malingerer.... what f**king hope do we have winning either the premiership or the championship.

as Pete said in another post, there's some fishy issues at the club that distract the players.....

Whoa whoa there Striker!  You make it sound like I know something behind the scenes.

I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT ANYTHING BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE CLUB -FISHY OR OTHERWISE.

I have looked at the post you may have picked up on (sorry I can't figure out how to link it here it's under the 'So what's Plan B' thread in this section of the forum). It was in the review of the last Newcastle game and I said that I honestly thought the players are distracted by something, and then asked if it could be contract negotiations or the like. I then drew a correlation between how the team wasn't playing well at the end of last season too, and how we later found out that the club was releasing a few players. A lot different to actually knowing something, mate.

 

[Andy]

Couple of articles in the Daily Telegraph saying the Lawrie is interested in bringing in Jacob Burns. However an offer is unlikely because Burns is looking for another 2 years overseas before coming home and we wouldn't be able to offer what's available in Europe.

Also Alvin Ceccoli admitted that there is interest at the club to bring him back to the Coast following his stint at Adelaide. A move that would allow Dean Heffernan to play further up in midfield.

 

[bikinigirl]

. people have discussed the heff playing in the midfield in the past - is this part of the answer to the mysterious disappearance of our midfield in the last part of the game?

 

[uncleyellow]

Would Like to see checkers at the back, and Heff on the left wing. Would be a good combo IMO.
Alvin has also done a pretty good job for us in his short stay.

 

[nutmeg]

Nigel Boogaard, John Hutchinson, Mile Jedinak, Bradley Porter and Matt Simon have all re-signed for 2 years

 

[Deej]

Would Like to see checkers at the back, and Heff on the left wing. Would be a good combo IMO.
Alvin has also done a pretty good job for us in his short stay.

Heff has the pace and the scoring ability for a left winger but he needs to work on the most important aspect of that position...............crossing!

 

[Jesus]

Gorman wants mrdja to re sign. Mrdja will be back in full training in 6 weeks.
Gorman seemed to be suggesting Mrdja has other offers, and is hoping for some loyalty from Nik

 

[Deej]

Gorman wants mrdja to re sign. Mrdja will be back in full training in 6 weeks.
Gorman seemed to be suggesting Mrdja has other offers, and is hoping for some loyalty from Nik

There is absolutely no doubt that Nik is a talented striker, to have a fully fit Mrdja, Aloisi (if he stays) and Petrovski would be mouth watering!  3 years of continuous knee problems though is a huge concern, football players with major knee issues usually only leads to 1 thing, on-going problems and early retirement.  The fear I have (like most) is that Nik will go elsewhere and bang in 10 goals next year, depending on his wage demands and availability of other strikers is he worth the risk of another year?

 

[Deej]

So it's looking like :

CONTRACT EXPIRES END OF SEASON THREE:
#2) Matt Simon -  rumoured to be signing a 2 year deal
#4) Ian McAndrew - I imagine will be re-signed to fill an U20 spot
#5) Brad Porter - rumoured to be signing a 2 year deal
#6) Andre Gumprecht - strong chance of V3 being his last in Mariners colours
#9) Nik Mrdja - reports suggest Lightning may be used to prove the fitness of his knee? Also linked to Perth? Gorman keen to keep him?
#10) Tom Pondeljak - yet to be re-signed, rumoured to have a 1 year extention clause in his contract
#11) Damien Brown - strong chance of V3 being his last in Mariners colours
#13) Tony Vidmar - would have to accept a big salary drop to stay, 50/50 chance I guess depends if he fancies 1 more year?
#15) Andrew Clark - fitness freak, conditioning coach, we are light on the right side, I imagine he'll get 1 more year.
#17) Matthew Osman - Will surely re-sign and become our regular RB after his start to V3
#25) John Aloisi - CCM in negotiations, rumoured to want to stay, will have to wait and see.
#30) Andrew Redmayne (GK) - I imagine will be re-signed to fill an U20 spot

CONTRACT EXPIRES END OF SEASON FOUR:
#1) Matthew Trott (GK)
#3) Paul O'Grady
#7) John Hutchinson - 1 year extention offered perhaps?
#12) Greg Owens
#18) Alex Wilkinson
#19) Adam Kwasnik
#20) Danny Vukovic (GK)
#22) Sasho Petrovski

CONTRACT EXPIRES END OF SEASON FIVE:
#8) Dean Heffernan
#16) Nigel Boogard
#23) Mile Jedinak

So this means Brown and Gumps could be going? However in saying that Lawrie has always said if there is no other better options available he'll keep the same squad together.  Porter will also be over 20 so we'll need another U20.

Big question marks over Viddie and Mrdja?

Aloisi we all hope becomes our marquee

Transfer activity in the off season could be very quiet

 

[striker]

. people have discussed the heff playing in the midfield in the past - is this part of the answer to the mysterious disappearance of our midfield in the last part of the game?

Heff started out playing as a striker ....

DJ.... I think he can learn to cross as good a Beckham does.

 

[Deej]

. people have discussed the heff playing in the midfield in the past - is this part of the answer to the mysterious disappearance of our midfield in the last part of the game?

Heff started out playing as a striker ....

DJ.... I think he can learn to cross as good a Beckham does.

His decision making in the final third of the field this year has been below par IMHO, he likes to cut in a lot rather than whip in a good ball.......with his pace IF he can sort his crossing out he'll be a fantastic left sided midfielder

 

[Deej]

. people have discussed the heff playing in the midfield in the past - is this part of the answer to the mysterious disappearance of our midfield in the last part of the game?

Heff started out playing as a striker ....

DJ.... I think he can learn to cross as good a Beckham does.

His decision making in the final third of the field this year has been below par IMHO, he likes to cut in a lot rather than whip in a good ball.......with his pace IF he can sort his crossing out he'll be a fantastic left sided midfielder

Someone on here also mentioned Careres as a possible target? There's 1 who can go down the left and knows where the goal is? With the number of natural left midfielder in the HAL he'll be hot property I imagine.

 

[Deej]

TWG:

Five Central Coast Mariners players - including key midfielder Mile Jedinak and striker Matt Simon - have signed two-year contract extensions.

The A-League Premier has also tied up midfielder Mile Jedinak and Brad Porter and defender Nigel Boogaard until the end of the 2009/10 campaign.
"Nigel, John, Mile, Brad and Matt have each made noteworthy contributions to our A-League successes this season and Im certain that they will all play a major part in the future success of the Mariners."

Boogaard, 21, has been one of the club's unsung heroes this season and should be part of Australia's Olympic Games squad in Beijing come August.

The consistent performances of Hutchinson, 28, were rewarded with a Socceroos training camp call-up - although he has subsequently missed out on being part of Pim Verbeek's provisional squad for the World Cup qualifier against Qatar next week.

Defensive midfielder Jedinak, 23, is one of Lawrie McKinna's key men and has firny established himself in the starting XI after joining the club on a short-term deal.

Simon, 22, has impressed with his performances this season and McKinna has even used the Olyroos forward ahead of the more experiences Sasho Petrovski during the campaign.

Local product Porter, 20, has yet to crack it as a permanent first teamer but has time on his side - being the club's third youngest member of the Central Coasts current squad.

"As weve said from day one, the Mariners are not about instant success, were very committed to ensuring long-term success and stability and it is very much with an eye for the long term that weve re-signed these players," Gorman added.

The quintet join Dean Heffernan, Adam Kwasnik, Paul OGrady, Greg Owens, Sasho Petrovski, Danny Vukovic and Alex Wilkinson who has already committed their futures to the Mariners for season four of the A-League.

 

[striker]

DJ - Caceres would be a good choice, but can you  imaging us having Heff on left and Jimmy Downey on the right.  The kid has speed and McKinna can certainly improve his skills to make him one of the best...

 

[Deej]

DJ - Caceres would be a good choice, but can you  imaging us having Heff on left and Jimmy Downey on the right.  The kid has speed and McKinna can certainly improve his skills to make him one of the best...

I believe we have enough depth on the right side of midfield personally.......Downey is bloody quick but that's all he has (yes of course a good coach would help develop him), I believe given we may only have 2 or 3 spots to fill (and depending on who we keep) filling other positions would be more important........

 

[FFC Mariner]

Fantastic news about the boys signing up.

Also, wait till some more of the development squad come through.

Future looking v bright