Melbourne City have explained some of their off-field changes ahead of the new Hyundai A-League season while Newcastle Jets look to invest in a new attacker and a Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder shares some good personal news.
It's all in the latest Hyundai A-League Paper Talk!
Melbourne City's off-field overhaul
Melbourne City have made a significant overhaul to the club’s off-field operations in an end-of-season change geared towards going another step better in the 2018/19 Hyundai A-League season.
The Australian detail the steps City have made to take their off-field processes to the next level, including bringing in new systems to bring them into line with City Football Group's other clubs.
“Our transformation over the past two to three years has been incredible,” explained chief executive Scott Munn.
“To see the integration we’ve got going on now at every level is something that not only is welcomed internally, but it’s a credit to all of our staff across the board.”
Munn added: "The biggest [change] we’ve implemented [at the training ground] is a fixed- camera system.
"Every training session we have, we have the same camera system globally ... The footage is then downloaded by our technical analysts who can review them in line with what the players’ output is. It’s all stored in the cloud and overseen by our high-performance team.”
Newcastle after attacking options
Newcastle Jets have underlined an attacking option as the club’s main priority following the departure of talented youngster Mario Shabow to Central Coast Mariners.
According to The Newcastle Herald, the Novocastrians are uncertain whether Riley McGree will remain at the club following the midfielder’s arrival in a mid-season injury replacement loan deal from Belgian giants Club Brugge.
The exit of Pato Rodriguez and 10-match suspension handed to forward Roy O’Donovan mean last year’s Grand Finalists are right in the thick of their off-season transfer plans.
“This gives us a chance to bring in another attacking player that we think can add to the squad,” said chief executive officer Lawrie McKinna.
“It’s just like a jig-saw puzzle. You take some pieces out and put other pieces back in. That’s what it’s like in pre-season with the squad.
“You think you’re all secure and then all of a sudden you might sell someone unexpectedly and then you have to start moving people about again.
“It’s not final until it’s final. It’s very loose and very fluid.”
Newcastle bolstered their defensive ranks in early May with the signing of Wellington Phoenix’s Matthew Ridenton.
Wanderers' star ties the knot
Finally, a big congratulations to Western Sydney Wanderers' midfielder Steven Lustica and his partner, who were recently engaged!
