The Foreign Lads – Part 1

There is already some excellent previews to the season out there, I especially recommend jumping over to Australian Football where they have provided a fantastic breakdown of each team.

As I couldn’t possibly improve on that analysis I am going to take a different tack. The four visa squad spots in each team is always a hotly debated item. The quality of the foreign players and their ability to adjust to Australian conditions can determine success or failure of a campaign and it appears this year that clubs have done an outstanding job to up the ante here.

In previous seasons the success of the foreign players could be a crap shoot. There have been many more failures than successes. For every Fred there has been Jadel and Love to tip the scales on the negative side.

So lets go through the teams and see what we can expect from the foreign brigade


Newcastle
A week ago the jets were looking very light on up front but with two new signings they have they certainly have the potential to go back to back.

Edmundo Zura
1.82 metres tall, extremely quick and judging from the U-Tube videos not afraid to have a crack outside the box. Zura has excitement written all over him but he is still a big IF. He is going to be much more tightly marked here in Australia and his ability to adjust to Australian is unknown. And as we all know the Jets have been burned before, signing foreign players on good faith and finding them less than hoped for when they step off the plane.

Jin-Hyung Song
From the little we saw of him late late season I was extremely impressed by Song, he has the ability to find space and his passing is first class. He should continue to provide the Jets that creative element that they lacked early in last years season.

Jesper Håkansson
A Danish international who has lots of experience in the “Viking” Leagues (though has been hit severely by injury over the last three years). He comes straight from playing in the top division in Denmark and the cold weather start here will not bother him (he may find the summer later in the season an issue though). The question will be weather Van Egmond will play him up front with Zura or out wide. Either way in Zura, Griffiths and Håkansson the jets now appear to have one of the most formidable strike force in the league.

A week ago I would have tipped them to come 7th as I couldn’t see how they were going to score goals now I can’t see how they cannot score a bucket load. They will take time to jell but I suspect come January they will be there abouts.
League Position Tip : 3rd



Sydney FC
With their big Australian signings over the break, there had to be something that suffered in the Salary cap and on paper Sydney look very underdone in the foreign stakes.

Terry McFlynn
I think his stats tell the story. 54 games played, 3 goals and 1 assist. For a player listed as a attacking midfielder hardly a record to strike fear into the opposition. Now truth be told he hasn’t been used much as a attacking midfielder but the question mark remains.

Michael Enfield
The biggest problem with the American is we have hardly seen him. He seems to be constantly injured (and is again this preseason). If he can make it onto the field and obtain some match fitness he might prove to be handy on the right hand side where Sydney appear to be lacking at the moment but I am not holding my breath.

Their reliance on the Australian signings and their severe lack of depth is going to hurt. Enfield and Aloisi won’t make it onto the field until Mid-September. I going against the bookies as I cannot see them making the finals.
League Position Tip : 5th



Queensland Roar
On paper the Roar have the most balanced side in the competition, a nice blending of experience, raw young talent and foreign skill.

Sergio van Dijk
A Dutch Brazilian, now that is a combination that makes you sit up. A 185cm powerhouse forward who has been showing signs in preseason that he will be the most dangerous man up front bar none this season.

Charlie Miller
By all accounts this Scotsman can play. The question mark is his application and ability to get his fitness to a level where he will be dangerous across the whole season. Early signs are good though and Farina seems very confident he can get the best out of a player who has the latent just waiting to be unlocked.

Hyuk-Su Seo
Tough, dependable and very solid. He will continue to play a large part of a very solid defence this year. Can’t say much more, his not the best Foreign player in the league but he is extremely reliable.

Reinaldo
This came out of left field. I certainly wasn’t expecting a return of the big Brazilian. It’s an interesting choice, he wasn’t exactly a star during his previous stint at the club but then again late last season he started to looked like he was finally settling in and knocking some important goals in. Will Farina play him and van Dijk up front? With the wide players the Roar have, they could prove to be a lethal combination.

Overall the Roar are very well balanced, Farina has a solid defence and an excellent strike force. Can see them going close this year.
League Position Tip : 2nd

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