Weekly Wrap (10/5) Part 2

By: Kieran | May 13th, 2009

Ok, so here is a more in-depth round up of last weeks going ons. Sorry for the short article yesterday, but I had school work to finish, but nevertheless, here is some more news from the intriguing world of the A League off-season.

So what to talk about first, so much has been going on. Jacob Burns has come to Australia (to Perth to be precise), the Aussie FA Cup has been shelved for another year (to be honest I hadn’t even heard about and FFA Cup, so this is all news to me), the FFA take over Adelaide United (is there anyone left who isn’t owned by the FFA, next thing you know they’ll be buying the A League Offside out ), and the Jets players are threatening to boycott their next ACL game due to unpaid match fees. Ohh and lastly, football website across the country are going crazy writing A League Transfer wraps, its almost as if their going out of fashion, so maybe I’ll have to write one.

But firstly, fringe Socceroo player Jacob Burns has left Romania to join Perth Glory. According to the World Game, this move was made possible by the support of Pim Verbeek, with Burns “Before any decisions were made I spoke to Pim, and various other people who have ventured back, about my intentions and he gave me his full support.” So while he may think the A League is dodge, at least he doesn’t mind Burns coming back home. Even more promising for Glory fans is the hint of more big name signings, with the names of Socceroos striker Mile Sterjovski, former Uruguay international Alvaro Recoba and former Arsenal and Barcelona star Marc Overmars all being thrown around.

FFA Cup delayed
Ok well I will admit it, I had no idea about this until the main guy behind The Offside, Daryl, sent me an email pointing it out. So, according to The Brisbane Times, the Australian version of the FA Cup, the FFA Cup, has been shelved for another year. This shelving is mainly due to the FFA still deciding on the format for the cup, and the massive logistical organisation which would be required to run such a competition. According to the Brisbane Times, FFA CEO Ben Buckley has recently said, “Our current priority is ensuring the long-term sustainability and success of the A-League, but an FFA Cup is something we’re keen to pursue at the right time.” Now personally, I think it would be a great idea, especially if some Canberra teams got into the advanced rounds. So look out for this in a few years time.

Jets in crisis
The Newcastle Jets will meet tomorrow to sort out grievances brought up by the players. It is believed that unpaid match payments and bonuses, and poor travel plans have caused upset among the players. Unfortunately, Jets chairman Con Constantine was rather boring when replying to questioning about the meeting “I do not want to inflame the situation with premature comments.” BORING!! But the Jets to need to get this sorted out, because according to The World Game, the Jets would risk being kicked out of future ACL games if they forfeited (its hard to play with no players ) and they would lose the prize money they have so far won from participation in the ACL (estimated to be around $130,000 USD)

A League Transfer Wraps
Well right now it seems as its all the rage to be writing transfers wraps for the A League, so maybe I’ll have to be doing one soonish. But until then you can check out them from, Goal.com’s, Fox Sports’ , or The World Game’s

So that finishes my slightly overdue Weekly Wrap, look out for another one over the weekend, and hopefully once I finish my damm History seminars I can finish my article on Dean Bouzanis

And lastly, COMMENT!!!