John Kosmina certainly thinks so.
The Sydney FC coach has a struggle on his hands to keep many of his stars who are attracting lucrative offers from not only other A League clubs, but overseas too. [Kosmina slams signing system]
Under the current system, any player who is out of contract at June 30 in the following year can be approached in October the previous year. In many other overseas leagues a player cannot sign for a club until his contract has expired.
The problem with having this ‘window’ open from October is it is just five games into the A League season, thus causing a rift and uncertainty throughout teams for the majority of their campaigns.
A perfect example of this is Jade North, who is the current captain of the Newcastle Jets. He has already committed to the North Queensland Fury next year as their marquee player. Although the North Queensland Fury are one of the expansion teams set to debut next year, the question is raised as to should a player still be in such an important role if they have already signaled their intention to leave? What effect will this have on the team?
Three of Kosmina’s Sydney FC players have already been approached. Robbie Middleby has been offered a better deal by the aforementioned Fury, Iain Fyfe is being pursued by Adelaide and overseas clubs, while Brendon Santalab is in talks with another new team, the Gold Coast.
Kosmina has said he won’t let this get to him and that if a player isn’t showing 100% commitment then he’ll simply be dropped. [Kossie blows up over early-season trading]
This move by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) was seen to help the new clubs strengthen their lists so they are prepared for their inaugural season. However, in some cases it has been seen as a disruption and a hindrance to the overall operations.