Heidelberg United coach George Katsakis has called for greater measures to protect NPL clubs from having their players poached by prying opponents without mutual consent.
It came after the club unwillingly lost utility Jakob Williams to Oakleigh Cannons in the mid-season transfer window, concerning Bergers’ heirarchy who believed the youngster featured in the club’s long-term ambitions.
READ MORE > Young gun Williams swaps Bergers for Cannons
The Warriors coach said he was most disappointed at losing a player so easily – after less than a season – despite expending lots of time and effort to court him to Olympic Village.
“In the case of Jakob Williams, I’ve invested lots of resources over the last year to bring him over from Canberra, find him a very vital part of our structure and what we’re putting together, and someone can walk in because he hasn’t got a professional contract and they take him,” Katsakis said.
“He was a required player, a player I invested a lot of time and money in.”
One of the Heidelberg mentor’s concerns included the player points system during the mid-season transfer window, saying it should be closely monitored so clubs wouldn’t lose track of each player’s points value and encroach the limit, potentially jeopardising the short-term future of both club and player.
“I don’t want to go out criticising the way they’re [Oakleigh] conducting themselves, however, my point would be there may need to be more assessment into the transfer system overall,” he said.
“The points system is very important in this window, because coaches can sign players left, right and centre, but what may happen is players will sign for a club and find they may not be able to register themselves.
“The FFV will need to police this very well, because a club’s [playing stocks] can get raided [mid-season] and that’s not very fair.
Williams joins Jonathan Voulgaris, Chris Maynard and James Goulopoulos to depart from Heidelberg this month, with Jason Koutsodontis signed from Manningham United Blues in State League One.
While Katsakis admitted transfers were part and parcel of football, he called for greater protection for clubs from having important first-team players approached by rivals so soon after joining their new surroundings.
“This is what upsets me. If I do all the investigating, I do all the searching, all the ground work, and someone comes and takes them off you, then there’s something wrong with the system,” he said.
“I’m going to have to bring somebody new in because you can’t have less than 20 players on your [senior] list.
“The FFV need to have a look at how they can change that, so they have a bit more guarantee to the clubs that if you go out and search and find a player, there’s some system between player and club other than a contract, that somehow you can tie them in and say ‘for the next year or season you can’t move unless it’s mutually agreed’, or something along those lines.”
Despite the setback, Heidelberg United remain on course to challenge for honours this NPL Victoria season, with Katsakis and his men looking to put the issue behind them as they travel to face 7th placed Pascoe Vale, where another three points will be the expectation.
Image credit: Smile for Peter