Signings Struck, Bidders Denied

In case you weren't aware, David Carney has re-signed with Sydney FC for at least another year. Sydney now have a full complement of twenty players ready for next season, although they are entitled to add one more given that Dwight Yorke is a marquee. With such a strong squad assembled, and at quite a premium when you consider the huge salaries of David Zdrilic and Ufuk Talay, it seems they might not bother.

Surprise, surprise, fellow Grand Finalists the Central Coast Mariners are the next closest to sorting out their playing staff for the commencement of the second A-League season. If it turns out that stability proves one of the keys to a successful campaign, both teams have made good progress for 2006-07 already. Adelaide, the Minor Premiers, have made far more changes than either Sydney or the Mariners, but many of the players who have departed saw very little action last season. Most importantly, the Reds will be searching for a top striker to replace Shengqinq Qu. It would be astonishing if they manage to sign primary target, John Aloisi. It has been all quiet regarding Paul Agostino, lately, which has me wondering what Adelaide secondary options are?

At the other end of the scale, the New Zealand Knights still require five new signings if they intend to start the season with a full squad. On paper, the team they have brought together looks more competitive than last year's abominable outfit. They ought to slide some strikers into the picture soon, since the notion of Sean Devine prowling singlehandedly across A-League backlines next season is preposterous. Hopefully there's room under the salary cap for at least a couple of decent forwards, otherwise the Knights will be staring down the barrel of another fruitless A-League odyssey.

The transfer market has to come to halt during the World Cup, but in a couple of weeks the European market will open and the tournament will be over. No doubt, transfer activity will heat up and the majority of A-League clubs will come complete their squads soon after.

I guess the other big news over the past few days has been the non-announcement of Perth Glory's new owner. Citing a lack of satisfactory ownership bids, the FFA has decided to continue overseeing the club until a suitable buyer can be found. Apparently the only consortium interested in purchasing the club is unwelcome. Now all the FFA has to do is ... well, anything really, to suggest that their involvement in the club is more than cosmetic. Like New Zealand, Perth require five new players but unlike the Knights have made made no new signings for several weeks. Furthermore, their only significant acquisition since last year is Leo Bertos, a New Zealand international who still has a lot to prove at the domestic level. If the FFA fail in their bid to attract Stan Lazaridis to Perth, which seems quite likely at this point, it will raise a few concerns surrounding the extent of their efforts to help Perth remain competitive. Perhaps signing Lazaridis shouldn't even be the top priority, which surely has to involve the hopeless lack of form of Simon Colosimo last year. Signing a new coach who can improve Colosimo's attitude and help bring him back to the level of Australia's elite defensive midfielders would be a good next step for Glory and the FFA.