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| Matt McKay Celebrating The 2010-11 Final Win |
The A-League lose two quality young players in former Brisbane Roar captain and now regular Socceroo Matt McKay & one A-Leagues most exciting players in Marcos Flores. Who do the A-League pick up you say? The injury-prone Harry Kewell and the reliable Blackburn Midfielder Brett Emerton.
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| Marcos Flores |
Both aged 32, one, the most injury prone player I think I have ever seen and the other a Blackburn Rovers and Socceroos hard-worker. I do not have any major complaints about either; I have more with Kewell than Emerton. My problem is that they have been dubbed the messiahs to raise the A-league from the pits to a world-class league.
I'll start with the departures mentioned earlier. Matt McKay, a 25-year-old Brisbane Roar founding father playing 131 games over his 6 year stint at the club. He led them to their first ever A-league title in the 2010-11 season. He has also played 11 games for Australia in the last 2 seasons which includes 8 games so far this year and is tomorrow set to star in his 9th in Australia’s world cup qualifier against Thailand. Sadly however, this great player, grown and manufactured in Australia has left, Gone abroad, to star for Scottish league giants Glasgow Rangers and is now at long-odds to return to the A-League which brought him to stardom. McKay has always maintained that he wanted to stay at Brisbane, and so it is my assumption that money is the issue. In my opinion, Matt McKay would be a much better investment and servant to the A-League than that of Harry Kewell.
Secondly, Marcos Flores, the Argentinian international that had Adelaide and rival supporters alike on the edge of their seats in anticipation who more often than not delivered with stunning goals such as Goal 1 & Goal 2. Flores is yet another player that maintained their desire to remain in the A-League, yet has left chasing what they're worth. Once again I feel he would be better for the A-league than Harry Kewell.
Now for the Imports, I feel Brett Emerton will do a good job and be a success. My only issues are his age and also where the A-leagues priorities lie. Is it revenue or is it the future of the competition? Emerton will help but he is not going to put the A-League on his back and run them through the fire and flames to the Promised Land. He will be consistently good for Sydney, he will earn them a few more ticket sales and a few more jerseys and probably give a few tips to some of the younger players but that's about it. No miracles here I'm sorry to say.
Harry Kewell, where do I start? Don't get me wrong, I feel Harry is a great player and has contributed a lot to putting Australian football and footballers on the map. However, where has he been since he left Liverpool? Let me tell you… predominantly on the sideline. Since he left Liverpool in 2008, mainly because of injuries and lack of playing time due to his prolific injury record, Kewell has played only 61 club fixtures, those being for Turkish club Galatasaray. Without sounding harsh or blunt, he is a waste of time and money for Melbourne Victory, which should have been spent much more wisely. How many games will he be fit for? And what do you expect of him?
In closing, I hope for the sakes of Harry, Brett and the A-League that I am proved to be wrong with egg on my face as the A-League needs something, anything to lift the standard and bridge the gap between Australia and the many successful leagues abroad.
I'll start with the departures mentioned earlier. Matt McKay, a 25-year-old Brisbane Roar founding father playing 131 games over his 6 year stint at the club. He led them to their first ever A-league title in the 2010-11 season. He has also played 11 games for Australia in the last 2 seasons which includes 8 games so far this year and is tomorrow set to star in his 9th in Australia’s world cup qualifier against Thailand. Sadly however, this great player, grown and manufactured in Australia has left, Gone abroad, to star for Scottish league giants Glasgow Rangers and is now at long-odds to return to the A-League which brought him to stardom. McKay has always maintained that he wanted to stay at Brisbane, and so it is my assumption that money is the issue. In my opinion, Matt McKay would be a much better investment and servant to the A-League than that of Harry Kewell.
Secondly, Marcos Flores, the Argentinian international that had Adelaide and rival supporters alike on the edge of their seats in anticipation who more often than not delivered with stunning goals such as Goal 1 & Goal 2. Flores is yet another player that maintained their desire to remain in the A-League, yet has left chasing what they're worth. Once again I feel he would be better for the A-league than Harry Kewell.
Now for the Imports, I feel Brett Emerton will do a good job and be a success. My only issues are his age and also where the A-leagues priorities lie. Is it revenue or is it the future of the competition? Emerton will help but he is not going to put the A-League on his back and run them through the fire and flames to the Promised Land. He will be consistently good for Sydney, he will earn them a few more ticket sales and a few more jerseys and probably give a few tips to some of the younger players but that's about it. No miracles here I'm sorry to say.
Harry Kewell, where do I start? Don't get me wrong, I feel Harry is a great player and has contributed a lot to putting Australian football and footballers on the map. However, where has he been since he left Liverpool? Let me tell you… predominantly on the sideline. Since he left Liverpool in 2008, mainly because of injuries and lack of playing time due to his prolific injury record, Kewell has played only 61 club fixtures, those being for Turkish club Galatasaray. Without sounding harsh or blunt, he is a waste of time and money for Melbourne Victory, which should have been spent much more wisely. How many games will he be fit for? And what do you expect of him?
In closing, I hope for the sakes of Harry, Brett and the A-League that I am proved to be wrong with egg on my face as the A-League needs something, anything to lift the standard and bridge the gap between Australia and the many successful leagues abroad.
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