Irrespective of whether Surat Sukha’s departure from Melbourne Victory yesterday was due to the stated compassionate reasons or the need to free up funds for other signings, there should be no doubt that the Victory or any other club should be looking for better quality imports from Asia.

That’s not to say the 28 year old Thai, who was released to join Bangkok based Buriram PEA, wasn’t a handy squad player in his two seasons in the A-League.

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Whether as a fullback or holding midfielder, he played almost 20 games each season. By all accounts he was extremely popular among the players, and Victory fans rarely had a bad thing to say about him.

But the reality is that any club wishing to utilise the spot available to a player from the Asian confederation should be looking for one that adds some serious first team value.

This, to my mind, doesn’t necessarily mean that the player has to be a front third hit, but he should be a key member of the team, among its major contributors on a weekly basis.

Some clubs might be looking for a marauding full-back, others an experienced central defender, or a ball-playing holding midfielder, or a tricky winger, while some might need a key striker or an influential number 10.

Others might even be after a keeper.

This would depend largely on the current gaps in the squad and the utilisation of the other key positions, such at the marquee, or local marquee.



The Victory, for example, have a plethora of attacking options next season. These include Jean Carlos Solorzano, Archie Thompson, Danny Allsopp, Marco Rojas, and Isaka Cernak.

Add Carlos Hernandez and Harry Kewell, either of whom may or may not be involved by the time the competition starts in October, and it’s clear that the Victory may decide to use an Asian spot elsewhere.

Two or three areas that stick out, where a quality Asian player would no doubt help, include in central defence, in one of the fullback spots or in the holding midfield, where Melbourne really need a ball-playing enabler who allows the front men to flourish.

Of course, if either Hernandez or Kewell aren’t on board, then the need for a gun Asian striker or playmaker might become more pressing.

Either way, the club must be ready to pounce, making the decision to release Sukha a good one.

In football, things change very quickly, and the key for any club is to plan, have contingencies and be adaptable.

While the lack of genuine quality signings from Asia, be they from the east or west, has been a bugbear of mine over the first six seasons of this fledgling domestic competition, there have been a few examples of clubs getting it right.

The first was in the opening season, with Adelaide United’s use of Shenqing Qu. In a team that was notorious for playing with a physical edge, in a physical first season of the competition, Qu was a hit, both as a provider and creator of goals.



This is how I described Qu’s contribution in my team of the first A-League season:

“What a success story this bloke has been. A former Chinese international, he has been a vital ingredient in United’s minor premiership run, scoring six, most of them quality strikes, as well as five assists in only 16 games. But it is not just his impressive work in front of goal that has impressed. Qu has a fantastic appetite to be involved in a game, working as hard as any midfielder to pressurise opposition defences from the front. A manager’s dream.”

Another notable Asian import in the inaugural season was the Queensland Roar’s Hyuk-Su Seo, or Harold as he became affectionately known, who also featured in my abovementioned team of the season, as well as my team of season three.

Also from South Korea, the other great success was the Newcastle Jets’ attacking midfielder Jin-Hyun Song, the technically proficient youngster who took over from Nick Carle in a key position and made a valuable contribution in the run-in to the club’s championship in season three.

For Song, the A-League was only ever a stepping stone to Europe, a fit that suited the Jets at the time.

Another developing his game well at the same club is Ali Abbas.

While competing financially with clubs across Asia remains a significant challenge for the domestic game, and there are more Australian players heading in the opposite direction, clubs should continue to strive for quality.

Like any players that come from overseas, Asian imports should be major contributors, significantly better than the players available locally.

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