A-League 2011-12 + ACL 2011

[roofromoz]

These are the new strips for the Jets... the home one is the same colours as the Newcastle Knights, and I take it the away strip is a homage to the Newcastle EPL side. I note they've kept a connection to their past with the gold trimming.

[roofromoz]

Originally Posted by Wezza

I thought you were over the A-League last after last season?

Anyways, here's Brisbane's new kits:

Looks a bit Wests Tigers.

[Birkish Delight]

Originally Posted by roofromoz

These are the new strips for the Jets... the home one is the same colours as the Newcastle Knights, and I take it the away strip is a homage to the Newcastle EPL side. I note they've kept a connection to their past with the gold trimming.

I heard the B/W strips is actually a throw back to the Newcastle region reps sides wearing B/W, but I could be wrong.

[ross_the_man]

Home shirt looks like Barca.

[roofromoz]

One thing I've noticed is that all of the strips are no longer by the same sportswear manufacturer (i.e. Reebok).

Looking at the websites, it's the following:

Perth - Blades
Adelaide - Errea
Victory - Adidas
Heart - ISC
Sydney - Adidas
Central Coast - Hummel
Newcastle - ISC
Brisbane - Puma
Wellington - Adidas

I have an eye for these sort of insignificant details...

[Wezza]

Haha. It's been quite widely discussed in football forums.

Thank god the Reebok deal finally ran out, horrible kit manufacturer. Good to have some variety now.

On another note, apparently the takeover of Brisbane Roar is imminent. The Bakrie family group from Indonesia is supposedly one of the major investors. I've also heard the Clem Jones group may be part of a consortium of owners.

[Bump]

So the first coach to go is...... Branko Culina from Newcastle. Less than a week out from the start of the season. http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/21925...-in-doubt.aspx

[Birkish Delight]

Originally Posted by Bump

So the first coach to go is...... Branko Culina from Newcastle. Less than a week out from the start of the season. http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/21925...-in-doubt.aspx

As soon as he signed his son I got worried. There would be a lot to learn about avoiding nepotism from this.

[MS20]

Lol Jets. Good story for the A-League though. Another shot in the arm of what is building up to be the best season since season 2/3 (interest wise, not football wise). Will be in attendance at Etihad this Saturday.

Btw, why have the Jets abandoned the gold? I like the Knights/Barca/Basel/Crystal Palace colours, but it would be nice if there was some differentiation between the citys League and soccer team.

Also, even though they've already have a name change, please please please someone get rid of the Roar moniker. It's the one thing that still gets my goat in this league. And they have a fantastic kit now!

[Wezza]

Tinkler owns the Newcastle Knights & the Jets so wants them in the same colour strips. Jets are also trying to get rid of Jason "backpass" Choolina as well.

Also....

The takeover of A-League defending champion Brisbane Roar is complete and is set to be officially announced on Friday.

After breaking the story that the Indonesian Bakrie Group was set to take on the Roar franchise, The World Game can reveal the finer details of the arrangement, with the group to have a 70 per cent share in the club. Football Federation Australia will take up the remaining 30 per cent.

The Bakrie Group has an option to take another 20 per cent, with a stipulation in the agreement that should that happen, the remaining 10 per cent must be owned by FFA.

TWG understands the Bakrie Group paid $8 million for the license, which has a term of 10 years.

The Bakrie Group is the biggest exporter of coal from Indonesia, with a total of more than 100 million tonnes per annum. It also has an interest in gold and copper mining companies in Indonesia.

The Brisbane franchise isn’t the group’s first foray into football club ownership; it also owns Indonesian club FC Pelita Jaya and Belgium second Division club FC Vise.

Chairman of the Group is Mr Nirwan Bakrie, who is formerly Vice President of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI).

Representing the Group at the announcement will be Aga Bakrie, the eldest son of Nirwan.

The new chairman of Brisbane Roar will be Dali Tahir, a former AFC executive committee member and deputy chairman of the organising committee of AFC youth competitions.

It is believed the new owners plan to recruit some Indonesian players at Roar, as well as one or two marquee signings.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/...eover-complete

Hopefully the new owners don't go trying to dictate too much about who to sign & who not to sign. Otherwise, it's good news that the club now has some good financial backing.

[MS20]

I understand Tinkler owns both clubs but I still find it odd. They are two completely different clubs/properties. Again, the new strips look better than the gold, but it just seems odd that they are aligning it with the Knights strip. Anyway, its a minor gripe.

As for Jason, it makes sense from a Jets perspective, but I'm fairly sure Culina didn't have a clause in his contract stating that if he gets injured they're not liable to see out the contract. What exactly are the Jets trying to do by contacting the FFA?

Good news about Brisbane too.

[Wezza]

Re. Jets & Knights, I think there was some sort of plan to create a kind of "Sporting Newcastle" club. Not sure if that is still on the agenda or not.

[Bump]

I don't think the Jets are trying to get out of paying him his full contract. I think what they mean by putting it aside is that Culina will no longer take up a marquee spot on the roster. It will allow Newcastle to sign another player to that marquee spot if they wish.

[Wezza]

Yeah that's probably right. Though I wonder if he will wanna hang around after what happened to his old man. TBH, Jason Culina is not Marquee material anyway. He's not even a good player in my opinion. He was not bad back when he played for FC Twente, but that was long ago.

[Birkish Delight]

I have a feeling they might be trying to get out of paying Jason's wages as well and probably claiming that father and son knew the full extent of the injury, but signed a contract knowing there was little hope of Jason actually playing. Branco gets done because he effectively fraud's the club out of a usable player and lots of money wasted and Jason gets done because he provided false and misleading information or failed to fully disclosure the full extent of his injury to the club when signing the contract.

Interesting to note that Branco Cullina is trending on Twitter.

[MS20]

I don't think its just about the marquee spot. From what I read, it clearly has implications for JC's wages. Quite simply, Jets and Tinkler don't want to pay him.

and they had applied to Football Federation Australia to have marquee signing Jason’s reported $2.65million three-year contract ‘‘set aside’’, or effectively annulled.

Pretty straightforward. They don't want to pay him out. I've yet to see a club renege on a contract because of an injury - its totally absurd and is in complete violation of contract. There have been plenty of occasions in world football where players or ex clubs have failed to report the full extent of a players medical condition. None of them have resulted in a breach of contract.

It just won't hold up. And whats this nonsense about Tinkler saying JC could be out for 3 seasons? Tinkler may be a businessman, but hes showing himself as a right tit when it comes to sport.

Knights/Jets fans...live in fear of the inevitable.

[Aussie Bhoy]

Sacked before a single game. Obviously a lot going on behind the scenes. And a manager having his own son signed to a club is always going to be a bit of a banana skin. What if he plays bad and yet is still picked over other players?

Depending on the contract it may be pretty hard to shift an injured player. There's players in Europe who sit on the bench for years on big money contracts. Players seem to have all the power.

I've read the GC's Clive Palmer also speak out against lazy players who get a long contract and don't play as well. These big business guys are used to steamrolling to their own way. But they may have a bit of a point in some cases.

Should be an exciting season, hope Brisbane can keep the Barca style going. They have lost some good players, and not really recruited any big name.

[Bump]

Yep, looks like I was wrong. I don't see how they can cancel JCs contract. Surely it has to be the club's own fault for not scrutinising JCs medical situation enough.

Tbh I think they had to sack Culina Senior when they tried to do this to JC. Not saying he did anything fishy in this whole saga. But to have the club sack your son and try not to pay him is a pretty big deal.

Rumour is they might try and get Ange across from Brisbane to coach. I doubt it very much, but boy would that be interesting.

And it going alright for Perth Glory. Many predicted Ferguson would be the first to go. It will be a great first up match against Adelaide this weekend to see where we are. I'm predicting a better season from Adelaide this year.

[Wezza]

Originally Posted by Bump

Rumour is they might try and get Ange across from Brisbane to coach. I doubt it very much, but boy would that be interesting.

Nope, they've been talking with Gary Van Egmond. Also, Ernie Merrick & Laurie McKinna's names have been mentioned.

[Birkish Delight]

Words can't explain how excited I am for the start of the season. It's been so freaking long since the final. The amount of column inches has gone through the roof in the last week, I can't read it all!

Anyone want to have a SSC tipping comp for the season?

My bets are (winner in bold):

Jets v Heart
Victory v Sydney
Roar v Mariners
Gold Coast v Phoenix
Glory v Adelaide