.:.August 2010 .:.

Club level:-

With the European leagues kicking off during August, we now have over 100 Aussies suiting up on match days. Starting in England, the number of Aussies playing Premier League has dropped off. Only Cahill, Emerton, Grella and Jones appeared during the month but expect to see Schwarzer and Carney during September. At Championship level we have better representation with Scott McDonald, Federici, Garcia and Kilkenny all seeing game time. A mention to young Bailey Wright (18) who made his senior debut at Preston. League One and Two saw several Aussies start in their clubs fixtures. Aussie numbers in Scotland have also decreased but both Ryan McGowan and Danny Invincible took to the fiend during the month. From the continent, young players Kerem Bulut, Tommy Oar, Nikita Rukavytsya and Ersan Gulum have already made starts for their new clubs. The Aussie presence is strong in Turkey with Gulum, Jedinak, Kewell, Neill and Troisi all in starting line-ups during August. Elsewhere in Europe, our goalkeeping stocks remain high with Nathan Coe (Denmark), Ante Covic (Sweden) and Chris O’Connor (Ireland) all the first choice keepers at their clubs. Keep an eye on Serie B in Italy this season with Carl Valeri and Adrian Madaschi already featuring, and young defender Adrian Ucchino being promoted to the senior squad at Frosinone. The number of Aussies playing club football in Asia also seems to have swelled. China in particular sees the three Griffiths boys all starting most weeks, along with Jonas Salley and Chris Coyne. The Socceroos (or fringe) presence in Japan is also strong with Kennedy, Spiranovic, Milligan and Bosnar all appearing in August. Finally to the USA, where Danny Allsop is starting to score more frequently. On the long term injury front, Rhys Williams, Patrick Kisnorbo and Aaron Downes are the senior players who remain out. Thoughts are with young Christian Esposito who broke his leg in his first training session at this new club..

A friendly against Slovenia during the month that was not overly memorable given the result and missed opportunities. Good to see younger players Holland, Djite, Federici, Rukavytsya, Nathan Burns and Vidosic all get some game time. We have two friendlies in September against Switzerland and Poland. A few of the younger players may also get a run here and we see the new manager, Holger Osieck for the first time. The Under 17′s played three games in England, giving a squad of around 20 players an opportunity to get some international experience…

Transfers:-

With the transfer window closing on 31 August, the listing of players moving clubs is longer than usual. Added to that are those that have been released at the end of the 2009/10 season and are looking for new clubs. ..
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Additions/changes to database:-

David Carney (30 Nov 1983) – transferred to Blackpool, England
Anthony Costa (18 Jul 1986) – transferred to Rhyl FC, Wales
Ante Drazina (TBC) – transferred to Hertha Berlin, Germany (youth)
Christian Esposito (23 Jul 1990) – loan to Pro Vercelli, Italy
Nick Feely (9 May 1992) – transferred to Celtic, Scotland (youth)
Daniel Georgievski (17 Feb 1988) – transferred to HNK Sibenik, Croatia
Joey Gibbs (13 Jun 1992) – transferred to Olympique Charleroi, Belgium
Andreas Govas (21 Jul 1989) – loan to AEP Kozanis, Greece
Scott Guyett (20 Jan 1976) – transferred to Yeovil Town, England
Brad Jones (19 Mar 1982) – transferred to Liverpool, England
Nicolas Le Rouco (25 Sep 1988) – transferred to Rhyl FC, Wales
Jamie Maclaren (29 Jul 1993) – transferred to Blackburn, England
Sasa Macura (28 Nov 1991) – transferred to MTK Budapest II, Hungary
Theo Markelis (24 Jun 1992) – transferred to Vicenza, Italy (youth)
Trent McClenahan (04 Feb 1985) – transferred to Scunthorpe, England
Simon Miotto (05 Sep 1969) – transferred to Tranmere Rovers, England (player/goalkeeper coach)
Pasquale Polistina (18 Jan 1989) – transferred to Rhyl FC, Wales
Richard Porta (01 Aug 1983) – transferred to Nacional Montevideo, Uruguay
David Scarsella (2 Oct 1982) – transferred to Guiseley, England
Christos Tomaras (14 Jan 1989) – transferred to Eordaikos 2007, Greece