Thursday, August 12, 2010
Starting from scratch
According to reports in local media Dutch coach Robert Alberts is finally going to sign on the dotted line for PSM Makassar after the longest wooing since Mabel opened her heart to a well known Singapore football personality.
If the man who won the title for Arema last year does go ahead and lead PSM he won't have much time to start building a squad with most clubs, even Persija, just about finished.
If he keeps goalie Syamsider and midfielder Syamsul Chaeruddin he still has a big squad to puff out in a short space of time
He may look at former PSM defender Djayusman who signed for Persebaya last year. He's a bit of a no nonsense Row Z type defender whose career seems to have stalled to such an extent that he has been overlooked by Alfred Riedl for the national team.
Persebaya may prove a happy hunting ground for Alberts. As far as I'm aware playmaker John Tarkpor and tidy striker Andi Ondang are clubless and may not be too thrilled at the thought of playing IPL next season.
Another relegated player is the exciting Yongki Aribiwo. After making waves during the second half of the season will he be content to slip off the radar for a season? He has already seen team mates Mahyadi Panggabean (Sriwijaya) and Saktiawan Sinaga (Semen Padang) move on. Will he soon follow?
Alberts may also be looking at Sriwijaya cast offs. Players like Ponaryo Astaman, Rahmat Rivai, Anoure Obiora and Pavel Solomin could tempt. Wages may be off putting for Ponaryo but Rivai may look an attractive option. The small pacy striker is from nearby Ternate, nearby is a relative term in Eastern Indonesia, and may be open to a move east.
Another player from out east that may be of interest is TA Mushafry. The former Persiba man had a depressing time last season with Persija and may well jump at the chance of restoring his fortunes a little closer to home.
And what about Herman Abanda? It looks like he has not been re-signed by Persija so he could well be available.
One foreigner that may have been of interest is Thai Teerathep Winothai but he has gone and signed with BEC Tero till the rest of the season. Perhaps an option for the second half of the season?
After his success with Singapore duo Noh Alam Sham and M Riduan last season it won't be a surprise if Alberts again looks to the SLeague. Last year though he dealt with a favourable Tampines Rovers management who were happy to release players early. Will he be so lucky this year?
Of course this whole article is a bog standard English media invention based on the assumption that A) Alberts will sign for PSM and B) the players mentioned above are still available!
# posted by Me @ 4:09 PM 
