Quote Originally Posted by Macca View Post
Would be a shame if Pato does go as he's a super talented player - but it does make sense from a squad point of view. If we are hanging onto Joey and looking to develop him and have him play a bigger role in the coming season(s), then I can definitely understand it. I view them as very similar types of players - direct, wildcard, like to dribble, create goal scoring chances. No doubt Pato is better - but also a foreign / potentially marquee spot, and significantly more salary. I'm not sure you start both of them together very often, as I think you may need a different mix of skills and aptitudes coming from the other wing for some balance.

Squad wise, they may be better off letting him go as we already have Joey - and looking for a similar quality player elsewhere, perhaps central midfield or a striker. Attacking midfielder also a must if Ronny is not resigned.
Quote Originally Posted by Wilso8948 View Post
Sentence in today's Herald saying it's likely Pato won't be retained. I'd be very disappointed if true. Decent preseason for imports is so important here.
Quote Originally Posted by white city View Post
agreed, he has had really no chance to really prove his worth, a full pre-season would really prove his ability.

is brown being released?

hopefully we can bring in quality imports, in line with what we achieved with Vargas
We will be in the ACL Qualification stage next year so need to balance the Visa positions to bring an Asian player onto the books. As it stands, we would be in the same position as Victory and Sydney this year where they could not use their full allocation. We need to plan further ahead.

Also makes a great opportuniy for Martin Lee to find a high quality Asian player to come in and increase the club profile overseas.