ramsej84 wrote:Keith Perry on the Del Piero, Gallas rumours
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To clarify this, Mr Perry did not deny that Sliema are after these players, but he wants to point out that this project has not been finalised yet. The players themselves have already signed contracts with this Italian company. What is left to be done is for Sliema to sign a contract with the company (there is currently a preliminary contract in place). Once that is done the players will 99% join the club, although they would still need to sign contracts with Sliema.
This is not a sponsorship or a takeover. Neither will the foreign company be a stakeholder. It is a project with the company and club working as partners. The club will use the company to hopefully improve. The company will use its club for its reality show. The show rumour is true and should we go through with the project it would be aired worldwide; a wonderful promotion for Maltese football in general. I believe there used to be a similar tv show with some Italian club in the past. The theme of the show will revolve around a small (relatively when compared to other countries, because in Malta it is a big club) club from a tiny country that is getting to live the dream with a number of legends nearing their retirement. The project was originally going to be done in Cyprus, but now their focus has switched to Malta.
The main question now is whether or not things will be finalised. If not, the club will continue down the same path of slow but steady improvement as the last few years. If yes, then we should see a whole transformation. The plan is to turn the club completely professional. All the players, including the Maltese ones, will be working full time with the club. They will also be living together, which is what makes the reality show possible. The club will also bring in a number of specialised coaches (goalkeeper coach, striker coach and so on). Preseason will also be organized in a way more similar to other big clubs. The team will go on a training camp and play a number of friendlies against teams in other countries as well. Hopefully we will also get to see some big names coming to Malta to play against Sliema as well.
The idea is to increase the squad size and have 12-15 foreign players. Only 7 or so will play regularly. The others will be there mostly for the show aspect, though they will play as needed. From the current foreign players, Stanley, Barbetti and Bianchardi are expected to stay. A decision on Abubakar has not yet been taken, whereas Muchiardi's agent has said that the player is unhappy and wants to leave. There will be discussions with him when he comes to Malta in a few days. The club plans to put a lot of focus on the Maltese players, and hopes that most of our Maltese players will be from the club's youth system. Safeguarding the interests of the Maltese players is the priority of the club in negotiating the contract with this foreign company.
Meanwhile, what we know for sure is that coach Alfonso Greco will stay 100%. Should the project succeed and a new coach be brought in, he will act as an assistant. Ivan Woods will also be staying on as assistant coach regardless of what happens.
As for players, Jacob Borg has been released and Michael Mifsud is expected to sign this week. 16-year old Aidan Friggieri (who shone at the u-17 Euros) might leave for a foreign club, but has in the meantime been promoted to the senior team. Del Piero and the rest depend on finalizing the project.
Meanwhile, the club's focus at the moment is not about the project at all, but about the u-17 final tomorrow and getting past the first round of the Europa League next month. In the long term, the club aims to win the league next season and break its record in the Champions League (second preliminary round so far). Hopefully we will eventually also make it further than any other Maltese club has ever done in the Champions League.
This summer the club also plans on finishing the ground so that the players can finally train in Sliema. Its turf will be different from that of other stadiums in Malta. It is the closest thing to real turf and it should reduce the risk of injuries. The ain is to open a medical centre inside the sports conplex. I believe it would be the first medical centre owened by a Maltese club. Again, the reason is to try and avoid having the injury problems that plagued us these last few years.