International Players-Its time Glory used it.

Glory are currently on a seven game losing streak. On Wednesday it could become eight. Many Glory fans have been left bewildered and utterly confused at how a five game unbeaten streak can turn into a terrible losing streak. I'm not going to. Instead, I am going to look at a feature that hasn't been used as well as it could be.

That (as the title suggests) is international players. Currently, A-league teams are allowed up to five international players, and one additional player from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). (I believe this is due to Asian Champions League (ACL) rules which state they must have one (or something like that)) There are currently 43 international players plus four in AFC spots. Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets have two of them and also have another player from the AFC that are in one of their regular International Spots.

Being a Perth Glory "expert" I am going to have a look at Glory's current international players, current internationals from around the league as well as a few past players and, finally, what next for Glory. As said, Glory just haven't had quality international players. Our current internationals include Robbie Fowler, Andy Todd, Victor Sikora, Steve McGarry and Branko Jelic. At first glance, they don't seem to be a bad lot of footballers to have on your squad. Two have experience in England, one is the man dubbed "God," who terrorised defences, and goalkeepers when he was at Liverpool. The other is an uncompromising defender. Victor is a former Dutch International. Steve has played with and against the best teams in Scotland. Jelic has regularly scored goals in Germany. Yet it seems, only Todd and Jelic are deserving of a spot in this Glory squad.

Fowler: Fowler is a great name to be associated with. Not many people haven't heard of him. Yet at the moment, that's all he is; a name. Constantly being isolated up front with only useless long balls for service its no wonder he is down. He still has that great touch, great shot and great football brain but is clearly not as good physically. Easily outpaced by younger, faster opponents. He should be a coach.

Todd: One of our best players but has been exposed by youth. We should play youth, alongside him. Will help them as much as it helps him

McGarry: Works hard but gets no reward. Like everyone else is really struggling. His generally good skills have deserted him.

Sikora: There are a lot of question marks surrounding Sikora. He is out with a seemingly never ending injury. Has impressed when fit but if he isn't going to be available then we simply can't afford him to take up a spot.

Jelic: Needs to get more chances. Put him alongside Jukic or Skorich. He is a smart player and will find the goals. But not if he isn't playing.

Glory fans will remember the many unsuccessful players who have come over and failed. So called "duds" and "flops." Mate Dragecevic and Henry Fa'arado were two such players. Yet in my view we have had a number of "good players" that just had a bad spell here. The player that immediately comes to mind is cult hero Eugene Dadi. "He's big, He's black, we want our Dadi back" was the chant from the faithful when he got cut. Things could be different had we kept him. Next, for me, comes the Japanese player Hiroyuki Ishida. Glory fans reading this will be saying "wait...what?" He only made 16 appearances with only about 1/4 of them starting on the pitch. Yet I believe he showed potential and could have developed into a solid player. Yes his skill level may have been down, but his effort always made up for it but still got cut. Why then is Jamie Coyne still on the team, has no skill, has no effort, and is the cause of at least 1/2 the goals Glory has conceded in the A-league. Then you start to think of the failures. English trio Brian Deane, Steve McMahon Jr and Stuart Young headline it. Deane was a shadow of the player he once was (he wasn't even that great to start with), Young had never had any talent and had plenty of chances to convince us that he isn't useless. He failed miserably. McMahon Jr only got into the squad because his dad was coach. The fact that Jamie Coyne is better than him is a testimony to how bad he really is. Then there was James Robinson. Another useless English striker who couldn't find the back off the net if the opponents played without a striker.

But, there is a bright spot. Former Brazilian international lit up ME Bank Stadium before injury ruined his time here. One of the best playmakers Glory have had. Adrian Trinidad was great when he (a) got game time and (b) got given the freedom to drift between an attacking midfielder role and on the wing. Yet ended up with no game time.

The A-League, in general has had some good overseas players. The quality has gone up this year. Here is my view on some of the best:

Marcos Flores (Adelaide): While I don't think he is as good as people say he is, there is no doubt how influential he is. He is still a reason why Adelaide are on top.

Thomas Broich (Brisbane): The German has been in fine form. Scoring goals, assisting goals, beating defenders left, right and center. Wonderful addition to the A-League

Carlos Hernandez (Melbourne Victory): Has been dominating the A-League for years. If I could pick any player to join Glory (from the other A-League teams) I would pick him

Paul Ifill (Wellington Phoenix): Been a top goalscorer and has been a star.

Glory Next Season
I think the only players Glory should keep are Todd and Jelic. I believe that they need to look at filling the spots like this:
Spot 1: Andy Todd
Spot 2: Branko Jelic
Spot 3: South America-Brazil. There is no doubt that we could find either a Striker, attacking midfielder or play maker in Brazil. The best will move to Europe, but underneath there are plenty waiting to be discovered.
Spot 4: Eastern Europe-Russia/Turkey/Ukraine. Skillful players are in abundance in the countries that produced Arshavin, Turan and Shevchenko. Look for Wide Players.
Spot 5: Western Europe-Italy/France/Spain/Germany. Well take your pick at which position you want to look at. I would suggest a strong center back or a full back
AFC: Well Glory will have to send out the scouts. They should look at Japan or China. The current AFC players have generally been good so keep the hopes up that more can be found.

Todd is coming towards the end of his career and Jelic doesn't have long to go. We will have to find solid replacements. Not just put blind faith into players who might be good or might not be.