Putting myself in Sterjovski's shoes, it would be really hard to deny the opportunity to my own kid. As parents we want our kids to have the best opportunities possible. Football is such a tough career to pursue, any advantage can be the difference.

With the reduction of the A-League salary cap along with less clubs spending on marquee players the gap is way smaller when compared to the early days of the then FFA Cup. The gap is even closer with it being off-season for the A-League meaning the squads are incomplete with many off contract...

For an undisclosed fee. Haha, that is interesting. Sorry, my brain didn't make that connection. Can't blame me for not thinking of memberships when "Sold out" and "package" is used in a sentence about MC. Probably why @Kitwally asked "who was that?"

I assuming he's referring to the Patrick Beach transfer to Ligue 1 club Troyes.

He still has another year on his contract. There is still a bit under a month left in the transfer window, so there is always possibility he gets picked up up overseas, but if nothing happens before Sep 15 he'll be in the squad.

Your not wrong there. I think the infrastructure thing would be the biggest hurdle. Reality is that the only nations that have existing suitable sized grounds are cricketing nations. None of those have any interest in AFL and no-one else is going to sink money into some weird Australian sport.

Per capita, I think it is the highest and has been for some time. I always wonder if that would change if another nation adopted the sport and their AFL league became the top tier for the sport. Let's say USA adopted the sport and it caught on. All of a sudden, the best AFL players are no longer...

It really highlights just how much of a mess WSW is. Not only did this guy deliver on the pitch he's now invested in the club. Talk about missed opportunity.

https://melbournevictory.com.au/news/juan-mata-to-join-ownership-group-at-melbourne-victory-in-landmark-commitment-to-australian-football/ Juan Mata to join ownership group at Melbourne Victory in landmark commitment to Australian football

"While the Club explored a number of options to bring the fixture to Melbourne, scheduling and logistical considerations associated with Palermo’s Australian tour ultimately meant Perth was the only feasible location for the match. " Read into that how you want, but it sounds like Melbourne is 4...

No idea. I doubt either of them would pull out at the last minute though. I did hear from someone involved with the club that it really was a last minute decision. Apparently they had already informed other candidates that they were unsuccessful. There was the rumour they were talking to...

I dunno, this guy was not the plan. We know there was someone else that pulled out at the last minute. We don't know if this guy was 2nd, 3rd or 10th choice. That being said, I'm happy they got someone relatively quickly. He'll have plenty of time to prepare and sign players. Like any coach, I...

Yep, if you are a 17-18 year old with an A-League pro contract, the wages are going to be low. Could be as low as $45k. However, that is a full time contract, that means no day job. They train and prepare during the day, 5-6 days a week. Football is the day job. I'm sure some of them probably do...

I doubt they have the last season or two. In the past, whenever we see an A-League club making profit it's almost always the direct result of some good transfer fees. Same story at MV, even back when they had 20k+ members/attendances they still needed a big international transfer fee or two to...

I guess it depends on how big the list is. Top 10 greatest. No. Top 20 greatest. No Top 50 greatest. Maybe Top 100 greatest. Yeah, probably.

I wouldn't at all be surprised to see MV negotiate some sort of deal. They already have plans to build multiple training campuses across the state, may as well save some money and utilise one that is effectively vacant.

It helps that many of the rooms are forbidden and never get used.

Not sure if it was the case here, but I've heard in the past that it's pretty common for the 1st pick keeper to have quite a bit of leverage over who the 2nd and 3rd picks are. My understanding is that it's not so much about competition but rather a preference of who they train better along...

I don't care about the turncoat side of things, any advantage we can get the better. Wish him the best. I will say this though. I really would not want to be in his shoes if he puts a shot wide in front of an open goal, or misses a pen, or cops a red, or concedes an own goal, or even just coughs...

I wouldn't at all be surprised if Vergos did do well at another club. I don't think he is necessarily a bad player, he did pick up 7 goals and an assist this season. That might sound just ok, but he only started 11 games. The rest he was subbed on. That's a goal every 177 minutes. For context...