Sunday, December 8, 2013

Aussies Abroad - November 2013

This most excellent update is compiled by Damian  Please contact damiandavies@ymail.com for any updates or changes.

Focus is certainly shifting to the World Cup.  We have seen the manger issue resolved, the team has played a friendly against Costa Rica, and now we watch intently what our Aussies Abroad are doing. Lucas Neill has been released, Mat Ryan continues to keep clean sheets and Carl Valeri is nearing a return to Serie A.  What does this all mean for our Socceroos squad?  In club football, the Asian Leagues are winding down and some European leagues are entering winter breaks, still plenty of action in November.  The number of Aussies overseas is now close to 200. A steady flow of more Aussies continue to move abroad, and we are in group stages of the European Champions League.

Transfers:-  Malaysia is in pre-season now, and has become a go-to destination.  When the season starts in January, we look like having half a dozen Aussies playing in the Super League. A number of players with A League experience have headed abroad as well.

Additions/changes to player database:
Harry Ascroft (1 Jul 1995) - transferred to VVV Venlo, Netherlands
Marc Belteky (28 Dec 1997) - transferred to Puskas Ferenc, Hungary
Richie Cardozo (28 Mar 1986) - transferred from Rockdale City Suns to Waitakere United, New Zealand
Jonathan Farber (15 Mar 1988) - transferred to FSV Erlangen-Bruck II, Germany
Matt Foschini (19 Oct 1990) - transferred to Salgoacar, India
Brendan Gan (3 June 1988) - transferred from Rockdale City Suns to Kelantan, Malaysia
Pasquale Gioffe (1 Jan 1995) - transferred to Reggina, Italy (Primavera)
Mario Karlovic (29 May 1984) - transferred from Persebaya Surabaya to Terengganu FA, Malaysia
Neil Kilkenny (19 Dec 1985) - loan to Preston North End, England
Harley Orr (28 Mar 1995) - transferred from CFR Cluj II to APS Zakynthos, Greece
Savas Ozdemir (11 Oct 1988) - transferred to 1930 Bafraspor, Turkey
Steve Pantelidis (17 Aug 1983) - transferred from Perth Glory to Selangor, Malaysia
Adriano Pellegrino (9 Jun 1984) - transferred to Kedah, Malaysia
David Rowley (6 Feb 1990) - transferred from Chumpon FC to Nara United, Thailand

Removed from player database: 
German Cabrera ( Vasco SC) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown
Kofi Danning (CS Vise) - transferred to Brisbane Roar
Dino Djulbic (Al Wahda) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown
Sasa Macura (MTK Budapest II) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown
Nicholas Tarasenko (Portsmouth) - uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Club Level:-
England (Premiership) – Mile Jedinak is clearly highly regarded at Crystal Palace.  Not only is he club captain, but he has now signed a 3 ½ year extension at the London club.  Two recent wins, with Jedinak still playing every minute of the season, has seen them move off the foot of the table. Keepers Mark Schwarzer and Brad Jones remain on the bench at their respective clubs.  Chris Herd’s lack of game time at Aston Villa is a concern, he may need to look to a loan deal if he is to get a look in at national level.

England (Championship) – a little light on this month.  Rhys Williams has just returned to the starting eleven at Middlesbrough, hopefully now we will see an injury free run of good performances. Our Aussies at Millwall had a mixed month in November. Scott McDonald is now seeing more game time, while team mate Shane Lowry made just one start during the month. Goalkeepers Adam Federici (Reading) and Alex Cisak (Burnley) spent the month on the bench. 

England (League One) – several very positive stories at this level. Bailey Wright continues his great season, not missing a minute for Preston North End as they remain in the hunt for automatic promotion. James Meredith is a mirror image from a stats perspective, but his club have dropped a few points of late.  Could this two be paired in the Socceroos defence in the future? Young midfielder Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town) had an outstanding month, scoring another 3 goals in a campaign that has seen him start every game. Fantastic to see James Wesolowski having a good run of starts at Oldham Athletic, while Bradden Inman has been critised in the media for his attitude of late and has dropped out of the squad at Crewe.

England (League Two) - veterans of English football, Shane Cansdell-Sheriff (Burton Albion) and Aaron Downes (Torquay United) are starters each week for their respective clubs.  Fulham loanee Ryan Williams is hitting his straps at table topping Oxford United.  Now featuring regularly in the starting eleven and scoring twice during the month.

Germany (Bundesliga) – no doubt Robbie Kruse is benefitting from his experiences at Bayer Leverkusen, but would be great to see him get more game time as he seems to excel when he starts.  Mitch Langerak continues on the bench at Dortmund.  Both clubs are chasing Bayern Munich who have only dropped 2 points nearly halfway through the season.

Germany (2.Bundesliga) – not a huge month for Leckie and Rukavytsya at FSV Frankfurt with a combination of international duty and minor injuries.  Promising though to see Ben Halloren crack the starting line-up at Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Germany (3. Bundesliga) - worth noting the solid month from Mustafa Amini in the reserves at Borussia Dortmund.  A big ask to get into the seniors, but he is making good progress.

Netherlands (Eredivisie) – pleasing also to see both Tommy Oar (Utrecht) and Jason Davidson (Heracles) both firmly entrenched in their respective starting elevens.

Austria (Bundesliga) – although James Holland had a suspension to serve during the month, he still managed to see football in the domestic league, Champions League and the Socceroos.

Belgium (Pro League) – arguable the bolter in terms of the Socceroos this year, Mat Ryan has been a rock in goal with a huge number of clean sheets.  After getting a start against Costa Rica, has he rocketed to our number one keeper?

Scotland (Premier) – both Dylan McGowan (Hearts) and Celtic loanee Jackson Irvine (Kilmarnock) continue to start each week. Very limited minutes for Tom Rogic at Celtic may see him look for a loan deal in the lead up to the World Cup.

Switzerland (Super League) –after a blitzering start to his career at Luzern, Oliver Bozanic has had to settle for 90 minutes each week but no goals, not a bad result.  A recent injury will see him sidelined for a few months. Dario Vidosic (FC Sion) also continues to progress well.  Having taken his goal tally to four this season.
 
Croatia (1.HNL) - Adelaide born centre back Tomislav Mrcela is now starting each game at Hrvatski Dragovoljac. While 19 year old Sydney born Steven Ugarkovic has made 7 appearances at Osijek, after appearing in the Croatian U19 team earlier in the year.

Greece (Super League) - Apostolis Giannou has been progressing well, scoring his first two goals at his new club Panionios Athens.  Dean Bouzanis waits patiently for his chance in goal at Aris.

Greece (Gamma Ethniki) - mention to tall striker Billy Konstantinidis who leads the Golden Boot in this league.  He is now at Panserraikos.

Cyprus (1. Division) – unheralded young striker Robert Stambolziev has now started 10 of his clubs 11 fixtures this season in a season where his team are struggling.

Russia (Premier League) - Luke Wilkshire is back playing 90 minutes of club football each week at Dinamo Moscow.  Will be interested to see if that is enough to force his way back into the Socceroos.

USA (MLS) – all our Aussies made the playoffs, but unfortunately were knocked out before reaching the final.

Japan (J League) – Josh Kennedy has quietly played over 2000 minutes and scored 12 goals this season at Nayoga Grampus. 

Korea (K-League Classic) - with the season just ending, need to acknowledge our Aussies. Rob Corthwaite (Chunnan Dragons) 22 appearances, 692 minutes, 1 goal; Luke DeVere (Gyeongham) 9 appearances, 543 minutes; Adrian Madaschi (Jeju United) 9 appearances, 592 minutes; Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai) 25 appearances, 2165 minutes and 2 goals. Neither Brendan Hamill or Nathan Burns played a minute.  Fair to say, expect a bit of turnover here.  Wilkinson was the standout.

India (I-League) – our Aussies in this league, Rooney (Bengaluru), Colosimo (Dempo), Meyer (Pune), Foschini (Salgoacar) and Ozbey (Mohammedan) all continue to play good minutes.

Phillipines (UFL) - several Aussies find themselves playing in the Phillipines these days, Jesse Martindale has been a frequent scorer for Green Archers United while Scott Baginski is starting for Kaya FC.

Qatar (Stars League) - the biggest news is the FIFA suspension and subsequent appeal by Mark Bresciano.  Fingers crossed this doesn't impact his WC preparations. Sasa Ognenovski (Umm Salal) is back playing after serving a suspension.

U.A.E (UFL) – the Aussie contigent of Brosque and Holman will need to start having more of an influence if they are to get back into World Cup calculations.  While Billy Celeski (Al Shaab) and Milan Susak (Al Wasl) have been experiencing injury interupted campaigns. 

New Zealand (Premiership) - having just commenced the new season, Richie Cardozo (Waitakere United) is leading the Golden Boot with 3 goals in his first 4 games.  While young midfielder and former US college player Jamie de Abreu has started every game at Team Wellington.

Injuries:-   "getting closer" has to be the key for the month with Carl Valeri and Adam Sarota nearing their returns to senior football. Other notable injuries are Nikita Rukavytsya with a minor knne injury, Oliver Bozanic suffering a serious ankle injury and Eli Babalj continuing to struggle with a groin problem.

Club Competitions:-
Europe                             
(UEFA Champions League) – limited game time for Robbie Kruse at Bayer Leverkusen and more time on the bench for Mark Schwarzer as Chelsea moved top of their group. Similar for Mitch Langerak but their next tie will decide if they progress to the knockout games. James Holland saw another 2 ninety minutes games out, which was great experience, but Austria Wien will not progress. Tom Rogic saw a few minutes against AC Milan but also won't be progressing.
(UEFA Europa League) – no Aussies appeared.

Reserves and Youth:-
This month worth acknowledging the progress of several up and comers. At Aston Villa, Thomas Strain has found himself in the U21's as a seventeen year old. Welsh junior Getin Jones is winning MOM awards at Everton U21's. Brad Smith has been standing out at Liverpool U21's, with rumours he may switch his allegiance from England to Australia. At Blackburn, Hyuga Tanner is seeing game time in the U18's.
While Ryan Go continues to progress in his apprenticeship at Feyenoord.

International level:-  the Socceroos face a massive 8 months as players jostle for spots on the plane.  We could only have 4-5 positions up for grabs realistically, so will be enthralling to see who prevails.  On the goalkeeper front, Schwarzer's international retirement opens the door for not only another keeper, but spices up the battle for number one. 

Socceroo (capped) of the month –another player to have transferred to Europe during the Eurpoean off-season, Mat Ryan won't be at Club Brugge for too long if his current form continues.  Eight clean sheets in seventeen league starts is amazing for a guy that was no certainty to be first choice keeper.
Sept – Cahill, Oct - Vidosic
Under (uncapped)  - pleasingly for the Socceroos, several players could be mentioned here, but the standout for the month would have to be Massimo Luongo.  Captain of the Tottenham Development Squad last season, a brave move to transfer to a League One club.  He has featured prominately this month, and has banged in a few goals as well.
Sept - Wilkinson, Oct - Konstantinidis
Young player (U21) of the month – based purely on his impact at a senior level, Ryan Williams is making the most of his loan deal at Oxford United.  Recently turning 20, he is started and scoring at the league leaders.

Sept - Ikonomidis , Oct - Ugarkovic

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Aussies Abroad Month in Review -September 2013

Compiled By Damian Davies
All systems go across Europe with club competitions hotting up and the group stages reached for the Champions and Europa Leagues.  The leagues in the Middle East are back in season as the football in Asia nears the end of their seasons. Fairly quiet on the transfer front given the window is closed, but a few more players that were released over the northern hemisphere summer were able to find a new club during the month.  The Socceroos played Brazil in a forgettable game as the WC squad starts to takes shape.   

Transfers:-  some players with European experience moved to new clubs. Interesting to note the transfer of young forward Matthew Fletcher to current EPL club Hull City. Will see how he progresses in the Development Squad as he looks to get back into the national picture.  After playing his junior international football with Australia, Ersan Gulum has now debuted for Turkey.

Additions/changes to player database:
Shane Cansdell-Sheriff (10 Nov 1982) – loan from Preston North End to Burton Albion, England
Matthew Fletcher (12 May 1992) – transferred to Hull City, England
Billy Konstantinidis (21 Apr 1986) – transferred to Panserraikos, Greece

Removed from player database: 
Ersan Gulum (17 May 1987) – represented Turkey Sept 2013, congratulations.
Daniell Zeleny (19 Oct 1988) – uncontracted, whereabouts unknown

Club Level:-
England (Premiership) Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) continues to be the only Aussie starting in the Premier League at the moment.  He has been playing every minute each game.  Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea) and Brad Jones (Liverpool) continue on the bench waiting for their opportunities.  Chris Herd is yet to play this season at Aston Villa.

England (Championship) a fairly disappointing start to the season for our Aussies with their clubs generally sitting in the mid to lower places on the table.  Adding to that is the red cards recently received by Shane Lowry and Rhys Williams, resulting in some missed games.  Scott McDonald opened his scoring account at Millwall, hopefully the first of many as he tries to cement a starting position.  Not much else to report with Cisak (Burnley) and Federici (Reading) also on the bench.

England (League One)more positive for our Aussies in this league with Bailey Wright continuing to get rave reviews for his performances in defence at Preston North End.  James Meredith has continued his strong start to the new season at Bradford City.  Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town) had a dream cup tie against Chelsea and continues to play 90 minutes each game.  Similar game time for Bradden Inman at Crewe Alexandria.  James Wesolowski (Oldham Athletic) has been also seeing good minutes while Neil Kilkenny is in and out of the Bristol City team.

England (League Two)Ryan Williams made his debut at Oxford United during the month and marked the occasion with a goal.   

Germany (Bundesliga)the big story in September was the Robbie Kruse brace for Bayer Leverkusen.  His performance in his debut start was outstanding and will hopefully translate to more game time in the coming weeks. Mitch Langerak continued on the bench at Dortmund.

Germany (2.Bundesliga) – Mathew Leckie’s good form at FSV Frankfurt was rewarded with a Socceroos call up. After scoring his debut goal at the same club, Rukavytsya was also rewarded with a call up.

Netherlands (Eredivisie)continuing on that theme, Jason Davidson’s strong start to this campaign at Heracles Almelo saw him get the nod for the national team.  Tommy Oar has continued to grow at FC Utrecht were he has cemented his starting position.

Austria (Bundesliga) – James Holland is starting each game at Austria Wien, who are finding the going a little tougher this season.

Belgium (Pro League) Mat Ryan remains as first choice keeper at Club Brugge.  Keeping an impressive number of clean sheets and being named in the team of the week on several occasions.

Scotland (Premier)two young players receiving good minutes in this league are Jackson Irvine (Kilmarnock) and Dylan McGowan (Hearts).  Both are playing in the midfield.

Switzerland (Super League) the conditions in Switzerland appear to be favourable to Aussies with Oliver Bozanic (FC Luzern) and Dario Vidosic (FC Sion) carrying on the success that Scott Chipperfield and Ljubo Milicevic experienced in that league.
 
Greece (Super League) – young keeper Dean Bouzanis made his debut for Aris during the month, hopefully the first of many appearances this season.

Cyprus (1. Division) – Robert Stambolziev is impressing early in his new club career at AEK Kouklion, starting most games and scoring as well.

Iceland (3. Deild) – a mention to Victorian keeper Kile Kennedy who took the chance of moving to Iceland.  He played every minute in a season where his club KF Fjardabyggd gained promotion.  Hopefully that form will see the former US college player transfer to a higher level.

USA (MLS) the legend that is Tim Cahill continues to grow.  His scoring feats at New York Red Bulls over this season continue to be crucial in the run up to the finals.  David Carney is getting his match fitness back as he starts each game at the same club.

China (Super League) the Aussies in this league continue to play full games and impress.  Most notably over September being Eddy Bosnar (Guangzhou R&F), Jonas Salley (Guizhou Renhe), Michael Marrone (Shanghai Shenxin) and Erik Paartalu (Tianjin Teda).

Japan (J League) importantly for the national team, Josh Kennedy remains fit and playing each week at Nagoya Grampus.  Lucas Neill has made his way into the starting eleven at Omiya Ardija which is also great news for the Socceroos.

India (I-League) – this league has just commenced the new season, but plenty of Australian interest with ex A-League players Sean Rooney, Simon Colosimo and James Meyer all joining Tolgey Ozbey on opening day.

U.A.E (UFL) – also resuming a new season, Brett Holman, Billy Celeski and Milan Susak, all debuted for their new clubs.

Thailand (Premier League) journeyman Danny Invincibile has returned to the pitch at Army United after injury delayed his start to the season.  Joining Kyle Nix (Chiangrai United) and Goran Subara (Bangkok Glass) who are both starters and frequent scorers in that league.
  
Injuries:-   World Cup hopefuls Carl Valeri (Sassuolo) and Adam Sarota (FC Utrecht) are both nearing returns after long periods out.   Kofi Danning (knee) continues his rehabilitation under the watchful eye of the Brisbane Roar medical staff. We are yet to see Eli Babalj make an impact at AZA Alkmaar with his groin injury sidelining him for several weeks now.

Club Competitions:-
Europe                             
(UEFA Champions League) – several Aussie players featuring in this competition.  James Holland (Austria Wien) was the only starter, but Mitchell Langerak came off the bench for the red-carded Weidenfeller. Tom Rogic (Celtic) and Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea) sat on the bench for their respective teams.
(UEFA Europa League) – no Aussies appeared.

Asia
(Asian Champions League) – no Aussies remain.
(AFC Cup) – no Aussies remain

Reserves and Youth:-
A fairly decent represention of Aussies in the English U21 league again this season.  Starting with Aston Villa, and after appearing in the NextGen Series last season, 17 year old midfielder Jordan Lyden now finds himself in the U21’s.  Alex Grant has transferred to Stoke City and has been playing 90 minutes each game for the U21’s.  The recovery of Dylan Tombides is gathering momentum as he now starts for West Ham U21’s.  Players like Aaron Lennox (QPR) and Rob Paratore (Leicester City) continue to progress.

International level:-  A 6-0 drubbing from Brazil was not the greatest result, but seems to have forced a bit of a shake up to the squad.  Several new faces to the Socceroos squad for the upcoming friendlies against both France and Canada with numerous players rewarded for demonstrating strong club form.  The World Cup squad is certainly taking shape, and these games will be a great opportunity to assess the abilities of the likes of Davidson, Langerak and Leckie.  The U20’s have gathered in Malaysia for an upcoming tournament in October.

Socceroo (capped) of the monthI talked him up but why not, Tim Cahill continues to amaze.  He is an Everton legend, and will be forever be prominent in their history.  His recent performances for New York Red Bulls continue to defy those critics that thought he was aging and slowing down.  He is creating a legacy there, and his ability to recovery quickly from injury and return to make a significant impact was demonstrated again in September.  Not bad for a 33 year old, and will have a huge role in Brazil.  
August –

Under (uncapped)  – seems to be a lot of former Central Coast Mariners doing exceptionally well abroad.  This month I want to highlight former skipper Alex Wilkinson, now in Korea at Jeonuk Hyundai.  After a fairly slow start, he has hit his straps recently and put in numerous quality perfromances.  May be too late for the WC squad, but the next Asian Cup would have to be on the radar for the 29 year old.
August -

Young player (U21) of the month – the talent that is Chris Ikonomid is is starting to get some deserved recognition.  After progressing through the youth teams at Atalanta, Italian giants Lazio saw enough potential to sign im up.  Now featuring in their Primavera team each week, he is touted to move through the ranks quickly. Fantastic that the FFA have also acknowledged this by bringing him into the national set-up.  Like the rapid rise of Jackson Irvine, watch this space

Monday, September 9, 2013

WANTED: New Socceroos Coach and Players

Can we all feel the flood that is going hit the Socceroos and their fans aspirations at the World Cup in Brazil next year?  Like we didn't already know from the Socceroos laborious World Cup qualifying that we are going to get our collective arses kicked for the entire world to see.

But did we have to see it in the flesh and so soon in full view of the football world?

Which FFA Muppet decided to play Brazil in Brazil in their capital Brasilia   (I thought the capital was Rio didn't you) on Brazil's national day? Like with the Anzac's landing on the wrong beach Gallipoli the logistics of this campaign was a complete fuck up. 

Some of the pre-game talk was centred around the Socceroos perfect opportunity to get some experience of what the World Cup will be like in Brazil.

I don't understand the thinking or the logic behind the idea of putting the Socceroos in a position where they would get an absolute hammering.

It was a defeat we should have avoided not the one we needed to have. What a bunch of football sadists we are sometimes.

WTF are you going to do about it Frank Lowy and Co?
The time is NOT now for analysing and assessing and breaking down of what went wrong. Now is the time for change. No NOT Barack Obama aspirational change but real change. Like a coaching change and a whole bunch of new players change. 

The Socceroos Opus  "shit on a stick"
We have heard all the excuses by the Socceroos boss and players many times and the same ones are repeated by Journalists and Bloggers alike to the point of ad nauseum, everyone on the same stage singing  in unison like an Ancient Greek chorus.  
  
The Golden Generation
We haven't been able to replace the Golden Generation. Jebus I’m so sick of hearing this. We have no faith in our younger players and are focusing too much on our older players.

The Lost Generation.
This is another excuse that gets trotted out. No football for a year between the old NSL and A-League and a whole generation of footballers got lost. Bullshit think again.

Aspiration vs Reality
We must rid ourselves of this aspirational thinking and dreaming with regards to the way we want our Socceroos to play. If you want to play beautiful football, with attacking intent and to win go and buy the latest FIFA game on Play station or XBOX. Or watch re-runs of Dutch Total football from the 70’s.

Development vs. Results.
At the moment it feels our whole coaching structure from the bottom to the top is based on excuses and fairy tale nostalgia.

On the weekend Craig Foster the false prophet of Australian football quacked that “Brazil 2014 should not be about results but approach and development”

By my count that makes the under 17 and the under 20 national teams, the Olyroos and now the Socceroos all “sacrificing results” so they can "focus on development". How noble our coaches are?  I didn't know the FFA curriculum called for a Quixotic approach to coaching.  Quixotic comes from the book Don Quixote and means “Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical:”

  
Miss Danielle and Miss Sarah
Does anyone play to win anymore? I know when kids play the focus is on fun and no-one keeps count of the goals, perhaps the Socceroos would feel more comfortable in this environment. 

Why even go for development? Let’s focus on having fun and achieving aspirational goals.  My three year old nephew Kristian who goes to pre-school is taught this way by Miss Danielle and Miss Sarah.

The Scapegoat
Of course each disaster needs the finger of blame and I’m pointing four fingers and a thumb at you Matt Mckay. Mat McKay at Left back is now becoming a regular dependable liability.

The overused magic trick of converting left wingers into left backs is getting old and tired. How about we stop that and do something novel and use a specialist left back. Shane Lowry and Jason Davidson been in Europe long enough now.

Vote for Change?
Frank Lowy went from Gus Hiddink to Pim Verbeek to Holger Osieck talk about diminishing returns! Lots of talk about Ange Postegoglu and even Graham "we have short memories" Arnold as possible replacements for #Holgerout! but the ideal scenario would be for Australia to get a coach with World Cup experience one that will invigorate the team, there are too many passengers who are on free rides in the squad. 

The Socceroos need a coach that will scare the players into thinking no position is safe. A new coach would surely try new players bring new ideas but most importantly the coaches name would not be Holger Osieck

C'mon Mr Lowy I know you have one more inspirational decision in you, A Nation of Soceroos replica wearing peoples is counting on you!


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Aussies Abroad: Month in Review - August 2013

Hello All 
 Compiled by Damian Davies 

A lot to reflect on in August with most of the European leagues kicking off the 2013/14 season.  That also means the big club competitions of UEFA Europa League and Champions League have commenced.  A busy period for transfers with the window just shutting. A very successful few months at international level as we start the countdown to Brazil.
Transfers:-  a huge amount of movement as to be expected at this time of year.  A mixed bag in terms of destinations, but India has become a popular destination and we have seen a few players return to the Swiss market after the Chipperfield era. A few loan deals have also been negotiated.  Plenty more to come as uncontracted players search for a home.  With HAL squads filling up quickly, will be interesting to see who returns to Australian shores.  
Additions/changes to player database:
Panos Armenakas (5 Aug 1998) - transferred to Watford, England
Scott Baginski (28 Feb 1983) - transferred from Saraburi to Kaya FC, Philippines
Michael Baird (1 Aug 1983) - transferred to Universitatea Craiova, Romania
David Carney (30 Nov 1983) - transferred to New York Red Bull, USA
Anthony Carter (31 Aug 1994) - transferred from CFR Cluj II to CFR Cluj, Romania
James Demetriou (14 Aug 1995) - transferred from Sydney Olympic to Nottingham Forest, England
Christian Esposito (23 Jul 1990) - transferred from ACD Valle d'Aosta to FBC Savona, Italy 
Iain Fyfe (3 Apr 1982) - transferred from Adelaide Reds to Mes Kerman, Iran
Apostolis Giannou (25 Jan 1990) - transferred from PAOK to Panionios Athens, Greece
Ryan Go (28 Sep 1995) - transferred to Feyenoord, Netherlands
Max Haubus (8 Mar 1993) - transferred from Atherton LR to Tus Koblenz, Germany
Bradden Inman (10 Dec 1991) - transferred from Newcastle United to Crewe Alexandria, England
Jackson Irvine (7 Mar 1993) - loan from Celtic to Kilmarnock, Scotland
Calvin Lovric (12 Sep 1992) - loan from Parma to Hercules Alicante, Spain
James Meyer (28 May 1986) - transferred from Brisbane Roar to Pune FC, India
Tomislav Mrcela (1 Oct 1990) - transferred to NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac, Croatia
Lucas Neill (9 Mar 1978) - transferred from Sydney FC to Omiya Ardija, Japan
Sean Rooney (1 Mar 1989) - transferred from Blacktown City to Bengaluru, India
Nikita Rukavytsya (22 Jun 1987) - loan from Mainz to FSV Frankfurt, Germany
Sebastian Usai (28 Feb 1990) - transferred from Blackburn to AFC United, Sweden
Dario Vidosic (8 Apr 1987) - transferred from Adelaide Reds to FC Sion, Switzerland
Frane Vladislavic (9 Jan 1994) - loan from Hajduk Split to NK Dugopolje, Croatia
Ivan Vujica (20 Apr 1997) - transferred from NK Lokomotiva Zagreb to GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia
Ryan Williams (28 Oct 1993) - loan from Fulham to Oxford United, England 
Removed from player database: 
Patrick Antelmi (Leeds United) - released, uncontracted
Alex Baird (Dundee) - transferred to Stockport Sports FC, England (non-league)
Jacob Borg (Sliema Wanderers) - appeared for Malta national team, congratulations
Matt Byrne (FK Teleoptik Zemun) - transferred to Olympic FC, Qld
Daniel Caccamo (Kaposvari Rakoczi) - released, uncontracted
Matthew Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday) - released, uncontracted
Alex Gardikiotis (Blackpool) - transferred to MIFA, UK
Dean Gardikiotis (Blackpool) - transferred to MIFA, UK
Andreas Govas (AEL Kallonis) - released, uncontracted
Liam Jacob (Oldham Athletic) - released, uncontracted
Patrick Kisorbo (Ipswich Town) - released, uncontracted
Billy Konstantinidis (Ethnikos Gazoros) - released, uncontracted
Daniel Leach (Eastbourne Borough) - released, uncontracted
Matthew McKay (Changchun Yatai) - transferred to Brisbane Roar
Brent McGrath (Brondby) - released, uncontracted
Ben McNamara (Nuneaton Town FC) - released, uncontracted
Ante Rozic (Suphanburi FC) - released, uncontracted
Michael Rutherford (Amicale) - transferred to Hurstville City, NSW
Brendon Santalab (Chongqing Lifan) - transferred to Western Sydney Wanderers
Matthew Spiranovic (Al Arabi) - released, uncontracted
Chris Sullivan (Odysseas Kordeliou) - transferred to Para Hills, SA
Christos Tomaras (Paniliakos) - released, uncontracted
Dean Tomeski (Vardar)- released, uncontracted
Chris Vartaci (Kaposvari Rakoczi) - released, uncontracted
Aryn Williams (Burnley) - released, uncontracted
Jamie Young (Aldershot Town) - released, uncontracted
Club Level:-
England (Premiership) – a significant decline in the number of Aussies starting in the Premier League this year.  Mile Jedinak led Crystal Palace through the promotion playoffs and has continued as club captain.  Jedinak playing full games in his clubs first three fixtures.  Mark Schwarzer made headlines during the offseason after winning a deal at high flying Chelsea.  The biggest concern was always going to be the amount of game his plays.  To date, he has been watching Petr Cech from the bench. Brad Jones remains at Liverpool as the number two, and unfortunately may see similar amount of game time as Schwarzer depending on injuries.  Chris Herd is in the mix at AstonVilla but also yet to get off the bench. Pleasing to see Curtis Good make his senior debut for Newcastle in a Cup tie.
England (Championship) – with Scott McDonald making the move south to Millwall, they have arguable become our “Aussie team” with Shane Lowry also there.  For those with good memories, Lucas Neill and Tim Cahill both played over 150 games at The Den.  McDonald is yet to break his scoring duck, but is in the starting eleven. Shane Lowry hasn’t missed a beat, playing every minute of the first five games. Rhys Williams remains as captain at a Middlesbrough team looking to have a stronger season this campaign.  They are yet to suffer defeat and encouragingly, Rhys has also played every minute.  Alex Cisak (Burnley) is the only other Aussie to make an appearance in this league to date, coming off the bench.  Alarmingly, Adam Federici does not appear to be first choice keeper at Reading.
England (League One) – a reasonable representation of Aussies playing senior football.  The form leader to date would be Bailey Wright (Preston North End), playing every minute and scoring once.  James Meredith has started the season strongly at newly promoted Bradford City.  Massimo Luongo celebrated his permanent transfer to Swindon Town with a goal while Bradden Inman has finally got his transfer to Crewe Alexandria so will monitor his progress closely.  Kilkenny (Bristol City) and Wesolowski (Oldham Athletic) are working to cement their starting spots. 
England (League Two) – little Australian interest here beyond Aaron Downes starting each match for TorquayUnited and young Ryan Williams coming off the bench during his loan period at Oxford United. 
Germany (Bundesliga) – limited Aussie starts in the Bundesliga.  Mitch Langerak filled in at goal for Dortmund’s first game, but is now back on the pine.  Robbie Kruse is just starting to see some minutes off the bench at giant Bayer Leverkusen.
Germany (2.Bundesliga) – the prominent Aussie story so far has been the impressive form of Mathew Leckie at FSV Frankfurt. Two goals in his first five games of the campaign. Will be interesting to see how well he works well new loan signing Nikita Rukavytsya. Ben Halloran has not yet featured for Fortuna Dusseldorf, instead turning out for their reserves team.
Netherlands (Eredivisie) – two players to note in terms of their early season performances.  Tommy Oar has been prominent providing assists for FC Utrecht, while seeing Jason Davidson getting a good run in the Heracles Almelo team is also encouraging.  He recently scored his first league goal in five seasons.
Austria (Bundesliga) – James Holland is another player to resume where he left off last season, having started the club’s first seven fixtures.  He has also played a role in qualifying for this seasons Champions League.  
Belgium (Pro League) – the off-season transfer of Mat Ryan to Club Brugge seems to be paying immediate returns for both player and club.  They are undefeated after six games with Mat Ryan the first choice keeper in each of those games.
Scotland (Premier) - Midfielder Dylan McGowan has started the season in the starting eleven at Hearts.  U20 captain Jackson Irvine made the loan move to Kilmarnock and has been rewarded with senior football.  Tom Rogic has been struggling to overcome injury in the first month of the season, but with his club also qualifying for the Champions League, we expect to see his name in the starting eleven shortly at Celtic.
Switzerland (Super League) – Oliver Bozanic has made a fantastic start at his new club, FC Luzern. He has now scored five goals in his seven appearances to be second on the Golden Boot charts.  Dario Vidosic has just jetted in to FC Sion and made his debut immediately.
Croatia (1.HNL) – Adelaide born defender Tomislav Mrcela is finding his feet in the top flight.  Having now made four appearances (three starts) early in the season.  Another youngster unknown to many pundits is Steven Ugarkovic, who has now made his senior debut for NK Osijek while just 18 years of age.
Russia (Premier League) – over the month of August, Luke Wilkshire has worked his way back into the starting line-up at Dinamo Moscow. 
USA (MLS) – two big pieces of news from an Australian perspective, both from the NY Red Bulls. Tim Cahill has returned from injury to scored his eighth goal in 22 starts.  Although his injury is keeping out of the upcoming Socceroos game, can’t say I am too disappointed.  The other is the debut of David Carney after a long period out of the game. Yes he was rusty first up, but would be great to see him return to form before the playoffs in November.
China (Super League) – a huge nine Aussie players starting each week in China.  Hard to pick out highlights given they are all seeing good minutes, but Ryan McGowan continues to receive rave reviews at Shandong.  Erik Paartalu is scoring reasonably frequently for Tian Teda and the form of Daniel McBreen at Shanghai SIPG has one questioning if he will be back for the Mariners campaign.
Japan (J League) – Josh Kennedy has now had a decent injury free run.  This has resulted in him moving to 10 goals for the campaign and a club run that sees Nagoya Grampus well clear of relegation.  Joining him in Japan is Socceroos captain Lucas Neill.  After a few appearances from the bench, he finds himself in the starting eleven.  A position he hopes to hold for the remainder of the season.
Korea (K League Classic) – the Aussie contingent is slowly finding their way back on the pitch.  Alex Wilkinson has been a stand out for the rapidly improving Jeonbuk Motors, while Adrian Madaschi has returned from injury at Jeju United.  Luke Devere is in and out of the Gyeongham FC line up.
Thailand (Premier League) – this league has suddenly become relevant from an Australian perspective.  With Goran Subara (Bangkok Glass) and Kyle Nix (Chiangrai United) starting each week, and recent arrival Rocco Visconte making his debut at Suphanburi FC.
Uruguay – not to be forgotten, is marksman Richard Porta.  Now in his fourth stint at Nacional, two goals in his first three games is a good start.
Injuries:-   the off-season didn’t seem to be long enough for the medical rooms to be cleared.  Kofi Danning (CS Vise) is back in Brisbane recovering from his knee injury. Carl Valeri (ankle) is nearing fitness and hoping to make his Serie A debut shortly.  Rising Ascoli defender has cruelly been struck down, suffering a knee reconstruction during pre-season.  Adam Sarota (Utrecht) continues his knee rehab as he races the clock for a berth to Brazil. Several of the younger brigade are hoping to be back on the pitch in September.
Club Competitions:-
Europe
(UEFA Champions League) – with the qualifying period now complete, both James Holland (Austria Wien) and Tom Rogic (Celtic) have got to the main draw.  Holland appearing during the qualifiers, but not Rogic.
(UEFA Europa League) our Aussies in this competiton (Lustica – Hajduk Split and Mat Ryan – Club Bruge) did not progress beyond the qualifiers.
Asia
(Asian Champions League) – no Aussies remain.
(AFC Cup) – no Aussies remain.
Reserves and Youth:-
Having just commenced their season, will wait for September for a review of our young stars performances.
International level:-  No fixtures for the Socceroos during August, but on the back of the World Cup qualifiers and then the EAFF Cup, we have seen plenty of the team to start forming our squad for Brazil.  Speaking of which, the friendly against Brazil is just days away and the stakes are as high as possible for those players looking to go to the World Cup.  An interesting squad, and certainly nearing our best, with another opportunity against France coming up. 
Socceroo (capped) of the month – a very even month with Leckie, Cahill and Ryan all having good claims, but in terms of importance of his role, this month would have to be Rhys Williams.  Coming off a fairly average season by his standards, he is back the vengeance.  Leading his team, putting in solid match performances, and ultimately being rewarded with a Socceroos recall.

Under (uncapped) the radar – a transfer from HAL Winners Central Coast Mariners to Switzerland would have raised a few eyebrows. Oliver Bozanic has hit the ground running, scored five goals since the start of the season.  His name may well have been considered for Brazil, but given Holger's admission that numerous fringe players are being seriously scouted, perhaps his opportunity will come over the next few months.  Arguably playing in the most competitive Socceroos position, will be an interesting selection dilemma.

Young player (U21) of the month -  a little easier to pick this one, but Jackson Irvine has had a massive few months.  Captaining the U20 WC team, a preseason clash with Steven Gerrard, then a loan deal to Kilmarnock where he has slotted straight into the starting eleven.