So Harry Kewell is coming to Perth on Thursday with his family, and the rumour mill understandably has started turning rather rapidly.
This could be a great media stunt for Perth Glory to generate interest in the club around the country, but it is also no doubt a worrying time for the coach and those fans who know football.
If the club has signed Kewell, it may be great in terms of publicity, although his star is definitely on the wane as a player and it is in fact sad that he still generates so much media interest when his career is all but over. In fact outside of Australia it has crashed and burned, with no club willing to take a punt on signing him. Only in Australia does the Kewell name now have any mileage, and that is the million dollar question, does he have any mileage left in his legs?
Ian Ferguson has assembled a well balanced squad this season. A squad that so far is playing well, with structure and attacking options on either flank, so there is no need to sign a Harry Kewell in footballing terms. To bring in a player such as this without the coach’s say could unravel the season. Some may argue it could make the season. It is however likely to destabilise the team, and if the coach is forced to play him will disrupt the squad beyond belief.
The reasons for signing him are hard to fathom, if it is to attract fans, it is a strange one with NIB Stadium restricted to 10,000 at the moment. Tony Sage has been saying the cost of running Perth Glory is too high, so why sign a player past his best? If it is to boost memberships, the club just capped its membership at 1500 last week, so that would appear strange. It is therefore hard to work out why, the club would sign Kewell, if in fact they have.
It may transpire that Kewell has not signed and is in fact just passing through Perth, in which case well done Perth Glory in getting tongues wagging and gaining untold publicity around the country.
