Aus U-20's who deserve A-league Contracts

[Socceroo_06]

In light of the recent tournament, i thought i would go through the list of U-20 players and see which ones deserve to be playing at A-league level.

GK
Tando Velaphi - I thought he kept really well throughout the tournament, the goals he let in were not his fault, he looked really solid and should be a back-up keeper for an a-league team. Since he is a Perth boy and Petkovic is gone, he should be signed up and be a reserve GK for Vrteski. If Perth go for Galekovic instead, i reckon Melbourne should have a look at him.

Mitchell Langerak - Didn't see enough of him to warrant a judgement.

Defenders
Stephen O'Dor - He didn't have the best of tournaments, but this could be down to the fact he just has not played much football. He is a Melbourne boy, and i would welcome his signiture in replacement of Mark Byrnes or Geoffrey Clayes for the following season.

Peter Eleftherakis - Also did not see much of him, but he seemed to be quite reliable apart from the dubius penalty he gave away against thailand. He is from SA and would be a good inclusion for United, considering both Constanzo and Valkanis are getting on a bit.

Sebastian Ryall - A bit dissapointing too, but would benefit being at an A-league club too. He is at NSWIS at the moment, and a move to either Central Coast or Sydney FC would be good for his development.

Midfielders
Shaun Ontong - He really didn't impress me. Probably the biggest dissapointment considering he was named captain. I don't think he is good enough, but he may prove me wrong.

Evan Berger - He has great pace and skills to be a great winger if he is coached correctly. He is however very short, only 166cm. However i think he can make it and being a NSW boy, he could be a good inclusion at Central coast as they are in need of a good winger.

Chris Grossman - I would love this boy to come to Melbourne. For me he was the standout together with Burns, Williams, Patafta, Hearfield and Spiranovic. He is very commanding in the MF and has a great strike. He was the best aussie on the field against Sth Korea.

James Downey - Showed a lot of potential, similar to Berger. He looked very frustrated though, because he was playing in a system which was not conducive to his style. He is a natural winger, with pace and a good cross. He is a QLD boy and should get a look in at the Roar.

Troy Hearfield - He is currently in the "train-on" squad at Newcastle Jets, and if he isn't signed up by the end of the season, i think Melbourne should have a look. He has good technique and the right physique to mix it with the big boys. He looked very calm on the ball, and was one of our best in the tournament. I think he will get signed by NJ though.

Strikers
Bruce Djite - Did not get into any rythem, due to suspensions, but we all know what he is capable of. He will either get snapped up by Adelaide on a long-term contract, or will go overseas to either Bremen, Ajax or Hamburg.

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So how does it look?
Tando Velaphi --> Perth Glory/Melbourne Victory
Stephen O'Dor --> Melbourne Victory
Peter Eleftherakis --> Adelaide United
Sebastian Ryall --> Sydney FC/Central Coast
Evan Berger --> Central Coast
Chris Grossman --> Qld Roar/Melbourne Victory
James Downey --> Qld Road
Troy Hearfield --> Newcastle Jets/Melbourne Victory
Bruce Djite --> Adelaide United

thoughts?

[MVFC_Lad]

burns --> Melbourne :D

[Hugie]

Berger was terrible! Bozanic is much better in my opinion.

I'd want Melbourne to look at Hearfield and Grossman and no others. (Sorry and Djite!)

Velaphi let the ball bounce over his head...what was he thinking? Why Vrteski and Kennedy weren't taken to India I just don't understand!

Spiranovic is likely to be the only defender to make it out of this team so why bother with the others.

I'd also like to see Melbourne sign Giannou.

[El Zilcho]

I thought Velaphi was definatley at fault for Korea's 2nd goal - he should have had the confidance to come out and claim in, as the forward was being held off by one of our defenders.

[Joshua]

Read in an article a bit back that Downey is off to England at the end of the year (after IAS is up) to trial at premier league clubs and championship clubs. Grossman is training at the Roar full time i think, so he will probably be going there.

Only know about the qld boys

[futuremelvicstar]

Is this would you sign them if we had a reserves league or just if we had the 20 man squad i will do it for both.
20 man squad- Grossman and Djite for sure definatly have to look at then. Unfortunately Djite looks ethier to go to Adelaide or overseason Dam. Also Grossman>Vidosic by a long way controled that area and was a stupid sub Vidosic was barely in the game. With the 20 man sqaud i think they are the only two i would like to see at melbourne.
Youth league
Bozanic,Berger,Downey all those wingers have potential and we greatly benefit from training with players like Caceres,Alessandro,Fred.Out of those three i think Bozanic is the standout but you never know. Also Djite and Grossman but i am pretty sure those two can crack into the first team.

[~LUFC~]

Is berger the left winger? because what i saw from him was that he's relitively quick, has a bullet of a left foot, but it dumb as anything. Get him a good coach and teach him how to play a proper (non aussie rules stlye) game and he will be a good player (ie- a handy a-league player).

[futuremelvicstar]

Is berger the left winger? because what i saw from him was that he's relitively quick, has a bullet of a left foot, but it dumb as anything. Get him a good coach and teach him how to play a proper (non aussie rules stlye) game and he will be a good player (ie- a handy a-league player).

yeah thats him. He was quick but just one of those players who goes to quick and loses the ball. With the right direction and playing with players who have combined speed and skill e.g Alessandro,Caceres.He will benefit alot same goes with Downey. Sometimes those guys needed to use there brains they would try and take on players with just speed it doesn't work.

[Hugie]

Is this would you sign them if we had a reserves league or just if we had the 20 man squad i will do it for both.
20 man squad- Grossman and Djite for sure definatly have to look at then. Unfortunately Djite looks ethier to go to Adelaide or overseason Dam. Also Grossman>Vidosic by a long way controled that area and was a stupid sub Vidosic was barely in the game. With the 20 man sqaud i think they are the only two i would like to see at melbourne.
Youth league
Bozanic,Berger,Downey all those wingers have potential and we greatly benefit from training with players like Caceres,Alessandro,Fred.Out of those three i think Bozanic is the standout but you never know. Also Djite and Grossman but i am pretty sure those two can crack into the first team.

If it was for our "youth/reserve" team then maybe a couple more. Hearfield, Grossman and Djite could all play first team I reckon.

If we had to get a youth team together though, I'd also be looking at the U-17s, Giannou etc

[azza]

Good post and fair analysis

I agree Berger and Downey although didn't have good tournaments they showed they had potential. I saw some good indications

Grossman MUST be picked up by someone or else it would be a crime

[futuremelvicstar]

If it was for our "youth/reserve" team then maybe a couple more. Hearfield, Grossman and Djite could all play first team I reckon.

If we had to get a youth team together though, I'd also be looking at the U-17s, Giannou etc

Agreed. I havn't seen enough of Hearfield to comment but by all reports he sounds like he did well.

[Hugie]

Agreed. I havn't seen enough of Hearfield to comment but by all reports he sounds like he did well.

I'd sign him based purely on his one-two with Burns against Thailand. Class!

[SydneyTillIDie]

Hearfield is an apprentice at NJFC (i.e. they are paying him a pittance but he's not a registered player, etc) and is expected to sign for them next year.

[futuremelvicstar]

I'd sign him based purely on his one-two with Burns against Thailand. Class!

I didn't see it. I saw him abit in the game last night looks like a very solid boy same guy??

[Socceroo_06]

Hearfield is an apprentice at NJFC (i.e. they are paying him a pittance but he's not a registered player, etc) and is expected to sign for them next year.

Good news, he deserves to be at an A-league club. Much better than that hack ozbey!

Sydney should have a look at some of the NSW boys, namely ryall and berger.

[Jungle]

whats the players name who plays for Brondby in Sweden.

I know a guy who just came back from Sweden(he's swedish) and he reckons their league is way worse than the A-league so he could come back

[Victory 4 Life]

David Williams plays for Brondy, and it's in Denmark

[futuremelvicstar]

Good news, he deserves to be at an A-league club. Much better than that hack ozbey!

Sydney should have a look at some of the NSW boys, namely ryall and berger.

Not a fan of Ozbey? I havn't seen much of him to comment but i have heard good things and didn't he get NSWPL player of the year.

[Socceroo_06]

I didn't see it. I saw him abit in the game last night looks like a very solid boy same guy??

yeh thats him. go to www.theworldgame.com.au and click on the highlights box on the main page. They have the highlights there.

[Jungle]

David Williams plays for Brondy, and it's in Denmark

i swear the commentator said sweden

[~LUFC~]

in a youth system i'd say all of them would probly get gigs at A-league clubs. Can you imagine now if we took roughly the best 56 under 17/s (8 per aussie a-league club) and put them into a proffession club, training and playing regualirly, well imagine how much better prepared our 20's team would be compared to now.

[~LUFC~]

i swear the commentator said sweden

the sbs comentator said Sweden, he (like a lot of SBS football people) had no idea what he was talking about.

[Socceroo_06]

i swear the commentator said sweden

He did, and it was a mistake.

[golazo]

i swear the commentator said sweden

I heard that too, he was wrong.

[Hugie]

i swear the commentator said sweden

He did. It's Denmark though. The commentator was rubbish! He also called Spiranovic, Spiranelli! Seriously, SBS could at least get someone to do it who knows what they're talking about. It was embarrassing!

[Jungle]

thanks everyone for that group effort to answer my querie.

that the first time I've bee quoted in about 4 successive comments ever.

[Jungle]

whats the danish league like?
compared to A-league?

I don't know much about the lower leagues in europe

[futuremelvicstar]

in a youth system i'd say all of them would probly get gigs at A-league clubs. Can you imagine now if we took roughly the best 56 under 17/s (8 per aussie a-league club) and put them into a proffession club, training and playing regualirly, well imagine how much better prepared our 20's team would be compared to now.

Exactly right.

[futuremelvicstar]

yeh thats him. go to www.theworldgame.com.au and click on the highlights box on the main page. They have the highlights there.

Thanks mate Bozanic seems an even better player then what i thought he can hit a pretty good free kick and crossed in the ball for Williams which was a classy header.

[golazo]

whats the danish league like?
compared to A-league?

I don't know much about the lower leagues in europe

Not too sure, wouldn't be THAT much better than the A-League but the top couple teams would blow apart anything we have i reckon. Brondby havn't finished outside the top 2 for around a decade and they are struggling this season. And FC Copenhagen beat Manchester United only a week ago.

[azza]

Not too sure, wouldn't be THAT much better than the A-League but the top couple teams would blow apart anything we have i reckon. Brondby havn't finished outside the top 2 for around a decade and they are struggling this season. And FC Copenhagen beat Manchester United only a week ago.

I know Brondby and FC Kobenhavn have been the traditional giants and dominated the league

Both teams have had some pedigree in Europe... meaning they have had respectable performances, Brondby once knocked out Liverpool in the UEFA Cup

In terms of the league, I think the league isn't all that good in terms of standard, but this is partly because the best players go overseas and any remaining top players go to one of the big 2

[Hugie]

I know Brondby and FC Kobenhavn have been the traditional giants and dominated the league

Both teams have had some pedigree in Europe... meaning they have had respectable performances, Brondby once knocked out Liverpool in the UEFA Cup

In terms of the league, I think the league isn't all that good in terms of standard, but this is partly because the best players go overseas and any remaining top players go to one of the big 2

The Danish league is probably about on par with the A-League's higher clubs. I think Victory would sit about mid table, although obviously we'd also have more players if playing in Denmark.

I think Melbourne Victory would give Brondby and FC Kobenhavn a run for their money but would probably lose just. The lower teams in Denmark are pretty terrible. FCK and Brondby are the only two teams who really perform well in European competition and they're often no where near as good as the top teams from countries like Belgium or the Balkans. FCK in the Champions League this year is pretty rare for Denmark.

Brondby is a traditional power, not quite sure why they're struggling this year but I think they've sold quite a few players. FCK have been better recently but aren't a "traditional power" per se. They are the result of a merger only about 10 years ago.

Williams at Brondby isn't a bad move but he'll want to move from Denmark later in his career if he wants to be considered a top player.

[Jungle]

Not too sure, wouldn't be THAT much better than the A-League but the top couple teams would blow apart anything we have i reckon. Brondby havn't finished outside the top 2 for around a decade and they are struggling this season. And FC Copenhagen beat Manchester United only a week ago.

ahhh yeah forgot about them

[Lefty]

Is it Patrick Bergers son?

[box]

Steve o'dor is a sth melbourne player
he played with us for about 5-6 games earlier this year then went to AIS and only played one more game for season
he is a very talented young defender.
needs to play football on a weekly basis against men to improve i believe.
he has the talent to play a-league in future no-doubt.

[Socceroo_06]

Steve o'dor is a sth melbourne player
he played with us for about 5-6 games earlier this year then went to AIS and only played one more game for season
he is a very talented young defender.
needs to play football on a weekly basis against men to improve i believe.
he has the talent to play a-league in future no-doubt.

exactly. I can see he has what it takes, it's just that he needs regular competitive football. It's very unfair to judge him as a player on his performances just in this competition.

I would prefer him at Victory than Mark Byrns.

[vichead]

exactly. I can see he has what it takes, it's just that he needs regular competitive football. It's very unfair to judge him as a player on his performances just in this competition.

I would prefer him at Victory than Mark Byrns.

same as for most of the other kids. 3 games in their life (admittedly big ones though) isnt really enough of a picture to write a kid off or say hes the next best thing....and its been said a million times before but until we see them regularly ala youth/reserves comp or hopefully crack an A-league senior debut, not a hell of a lot judgement can be made on them....would love to see them all play regularly against each other and get a real picture of what they can do

[mayze88]

Hearfield is a very calm player on the ball with a killer left and right foot (dominate)...Ive known him my whole life and played in same teams with him until bout 16...he has always been a great attacking player that will also without asking be back in defence..always wants the ball..

Has bulked up alot since going to the AIS which has helped with his footballing i think, being able to mix it with the best..has also matured..tackles have cooled down, etc...
Has the committment to go further...

Has signed as on a scholarship with the JETS..means he I spose he is a last resort...which is stupid coz as u say he would be better option then Ozbey..Also i think better option then Coveney.. Word is that he could be on the team after the games in India...cant confirm it, he doesnt elaborate to much due to this modesty...so hopefully will see more of him..

the one two with burns was awesome but nothing mentioned about it really, it was all about the finish and that burns scored over the papers..

The backs for Under 20s have always been relatively slow which is a problem...well hopefully they look at it and go from there...

Also Hearfield was leading goalscorer for Under 20s coming into India but only started one match and off the bench in others....whats happening there??