85 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.98 on the card, and the Perth Glory support went home talking about one name.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Nicholas Anderson on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Perth Glory have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Perth Glory moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Nicholas Anderson, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Perth Glory
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Simon Kennedy has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aidan Knight has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bradley Cooper has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Shane Gordon has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Trent Ostler is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Arion Sulemani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Scott Wootton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
SquadPerth Glory are still strangers to each other
48 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Trent Ostler falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 55 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Scott Wootton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Trent Ostler is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Perth Glory. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Position 6, 32 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Mark Birighitti reports back to Perth Glory with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Perth Glory asked and Liverpool said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Perth Glory are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Joey Garuccio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Perth Glory can pretend not to have heard.
He arrived for a fee and leaves for a fraction of it. $80.9K of what Perth Glory paid for Ben Warland is money the club will not see again, and the boardroom will be asked about it for two seasons.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 9 signed and 6 gone
That is the business done at Perth Glory until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The chase for Panashe Madanha ended with $750.0K changing hands and Western Sydney Wanderers out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Henry Gray has just signed for Perth Glory, and for once the answer mattered.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Panashe Madanha from Western Sydney Wanderers for $750.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Trent Ostler is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
SquadPerth Glory are still strangers to each other
The deal with Western Sydney Wanderers is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Mark Birighitti again, and this time the name on the line is Newcastle Jets. Perth Glory are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Perth Glory had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Wolverhampton, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Scott Wootton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Trent Ostler is on it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Perth Glory has been clear about where Mark Birighitti stands, which is more than many ever get.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Perth Glory people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Liverpool is saying, and nobody at Perth Glory is enjoying the guessing.
Arion Sulemani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Trent Ostler is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Wolverhampton have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Southampton keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The shirt still fits. Bailey O'Neil is back at Perth Glory, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Scott Wootton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Charbel Shamoon is on it.
The offer from Brisbane Roar for Andriano Lebib was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Trent Ostler was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 20, and nobody at Perth Glory signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Perth Glory will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Perth Glory have done the hard part with Liverpool, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
$84.0K on the table at Adelaide United. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
$100.0K was the most the club would pay and Central Coast Mariners were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
The name of Andriano Lebib has come up in conversations Perth Glory were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Trent Ostler falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Something was said to Stefan Colakovski and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Nobody at Perth Glory will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Perth Glory have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $111.2K — a club that wants Chris Donnell enough to be asked twice.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Liverpool is saying, and nobody at Perth Glory is enjoying the guessing.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
$95.0K on the table at Central Coast Mariners. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
$100.0K was the most the club would pay and Auckland FC were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Perth Glory asked and Wolfsberger AC said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The offer from Auckland FC for Arion Sulemani was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $111.2K — a club that wants Callan Elliot enough to be asked twice.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Perth Glory have gone to Auckland FC with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Western Sydney Wanderers wanted more than $100.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Perth Glory asked and Southampton said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Trent Ostler is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The words a physio says slowly. 32 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Perth Glory can pretend not to have heard.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $111.2K — a club that wants Dylan Scicluna enough to be asked twice.
$810.0K was the most the club would pay and Macarthur FC were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mainz 05 have kept their man, and Perth Glory go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Mark Birighitti again, and this time the name on the line is Newcastle Jets. Perth Glory are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Trent Ostler was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Joey Garuccio was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Leicester City have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Perth Glory can pretend not to have heard.
Perth Glory have gone to Macarthur FC with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The offer went to Western Sydney Wanderers this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Perth Glory offered $89.0K; Adelaide United said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Corban Piper is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Trent Ostler is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 50 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Newcastle Jets waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Perth Glory is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Perth Glory can pretend not to have heard.
$490.0K on the table at Newcastle Jets. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
$83.0K on the table at Adelaide United. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The chase for Max Vartuli ended with $28.0K changing hands and Adelaide United out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
$50.0K was the most the club would pay and Wellington Phoenix were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
The words a physio says slowly. 59 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $55.6K — a club that wants Fin Conchie enough to be asked twice.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Perth Glory have gone to Wellington Phoenix with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
$28.0K on the table at Adelaide United. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Perth Glory offered $38.0K; Central Coast Mariners said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
In brief
The terracesThe town asked, and Perth Glory paid $640.0K
67 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
$640.0K settles it between the clubs for Corban Piper
Wellington Phoenix have accepted the money. What Perth Glory do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Perth Glory, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Melbourne City have kept their man, and Perth Glory go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Colakovski is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Perth Glory has been clear about where Brandon O'Neill stands, which is more than many ever get.
76 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Perth Glory have had the benefit of it.
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Colakovski was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
93 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Colakovski was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Scott Wootton trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 100 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Perth Glory have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Stefan Colakovski has his answer from Perth Glory; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad10 May 2027
Trent Ostler falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
108 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Colakovski is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Perth Glory, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Perth Glory will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
117 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Trent Ostler is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
In brief
The dugoutHosine Bility knocks on the manager's door
SquadThe training reports on Archie Moore are not good
124 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Trent Ostler falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
131 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Charbel Shamoon is on it.
138 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 32 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.80 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Henry Hore at his very best
The words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Trent Ostler is on it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Lachlan Jackson’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Perth Glory needing him to play as if none of it matters.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Scott Wootton has written the date down.
Two goals and a mark of 8.23 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Matthew Sutton was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Perth Glory, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Perth Glory have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Colakovski was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Scott Wootton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Perth Glory can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nicholas Anderson after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Perth Glory can pretend not to have heard.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Perth Glory are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
0‑1 to Central Coast Mariners, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nicholas Anderson after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Colakovski is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mark Birighitti has his answer from Perth Glory; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Adelaide United defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Wellington Phoenix the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Perth Glory will enjoy reviewing.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Scott Wootton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Joey Garuccio’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Perth Glory needing him to play as if none of it matters.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Scott Wootton
Western Sydney Wanderers will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Perth Glory were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Two goals and a mark of 8.44 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Perth Glory asked and Central Coast Mariners said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Joey Garuccio was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Perth Glory close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Matthew Sutton and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lachlan Jackson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nicholas Anderson after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Hosine Bility is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
In brief
Looking aheadA test against the best for Perth Glory
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Macarthur FC had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Arion Sulemani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Perth Glory asked and Chania said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Scott Wootton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Nicholas Anderson to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Sam Sutton is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Position 3, 20 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Auckland FC left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Nicholas Anderson left the room before anybody could ask which.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Perth Glory have done the hard part with Adelaide United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Perth Glory had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Adelaide United, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Arion Sulemani and Perth Glory agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Newcastle Jets have kept their man, and Perth Glory go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Melbourne City have kept their man, and Perth Glory go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Henry Hore. 1‑0 against Newcastle Jets, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A loan enquiry to Newcastle Jets: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
A loan enquiry to Adelaide United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Nicholas Anderson could afford to be generous.
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lachlan Jackson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
0‑1 to Melbourne Victory, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Nicholas Anderson to a room that had heard them before.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Newcastle Jets in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
1‑4 to Sydney FC, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Position 3, 14 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Arion Sulemani, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.80
A mark of 7.80 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Colakovski is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Joey Garuccio and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom21 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Perth Glory dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Perth Glory told Stefan Colakovski something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Nigel Marengo has, at Perth Glory, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sebastian Despotovski and Perth Glory agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nicholas Anderson after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Adelaide United will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A brace, and Tom Lawrence takes the afternoon — 8.47
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Tom Lawrence provided it, and the 8.47 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A 3‑2 win over Adelaide United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Scott Wootton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 7.15 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Out, 1‑0 to Wellington Phoenix, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Charbel Shamoon has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 7.69 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Perth Glory had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Nicholas Anderson, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
Player ratingsThe pass was always on for Trent Ostler
The words a physio says slowly. 28 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
1 for Nicholas Pennington, marked 7.50, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Western Sydney Wanderers spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Scott Wootton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
35 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Scott Wootton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Perth Glory, and both men came out saying it was fine.
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Arion Sulemani provided it, and the 9.15 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Nicholas Pennington scored, was marked 7.68, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Colakovski is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Nicholas Anderson, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ben Warland
The words a physio says slowly. 49 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matthew Sutton, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Scott Wootton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Nicholas Anderson left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Tom Lawrence
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Tom Lawrence has come out of that comparison in the side, and Perth Glory have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The words a physio says slowly. 56 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom26 Oct 2026
1 academy players handed senior numbers at Perth Glory
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Archie Moore has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Scott Wootton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad26 Oct 2026
10 new faces, and Perth Glory are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
64 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
72 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brian Kaltak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
In brief
SquadWords at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
79 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Scott Wootton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Perth Glory lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Colakovski was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Perth Glory lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Scott Wootton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Scott Wootton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody has promised him anything and he has not asked. The coaching staff have noticed, which at this stage of a season is the only thing that matters.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 15 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
$550.0K was the most the club would pay and Central Coast Mariners were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Adelaide United have kept their man, and Perth Glory go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Arion Sulemani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Perth Glory ran out of time with Adelaide United. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $16.1K — a club that wants Vinko Stanisic enough to be asked twice.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Perth Glory have done the hard part with Adelaide United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
$550.0K on the table at Central Coast Mariners. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Perth Glory asked and Adelaide United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Brian Kaltak and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Scott Wootton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
SquadPerth Glory are still strangers to each other
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Notts County have kept their man, and Perth Glory go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Add another name to the list: Macarthur FC have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sam Sutton. The answer from Perth Glory has not changed — yet.
The offer went to Adelaide United this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
$26.0K was the most the club would pay and Melbourne City were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
The offer from Macarthur FC for Charbel Shamoon was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $27.8K — a club that wants Alessandro Lopane enough to be asked twice.
Matthew Sutton and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Perth Glory have gone to Melbourne City with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Perth Glory training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Colakovski is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Everything agreed with Brisbane Roar, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Perth Glory this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Perth Glory have gone to Adelaide United with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nottingham Forest have kept their man, and Perth Glory go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The name of Andriano Lebib has come up in conversations Perth Glory were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Adam Ward has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Kye Baker has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Matthew Sutton was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Plymouth Argyle have kept their man, and Perth Glory go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Colakovski was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad3 Aug 2026
7 new faces, and Perth Glory are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Lamin Sillah is in the works