Mid-Season Review: Rydalmere FC

Position after 10 rounds: 4th
Wins: 4
Losses: 5
Byes: 0
Competition points: 14
Differential: -7

Given their disastrous grandfinal-place finish in 2010, chances are Rydalmere coach Peter Basha would have been ecstatic had someone guaranteed his side a spot in the top four at the midpoint of 2011. But after winning 3 of their first sixth.

Rydalmere exploded like a shot out of a gun in 2011 with victories over the Dundas,Bualkham Hills before stalling with back-to-back defeats to the Granville and Castle Hill. But losing to those two sides is certainly no disgrace.

However, subsequent losses to the Granville,Castle Hill (again) and last week they won aganist dundas, plus the aberration of being monstered by the lowly Granville in Round 5, has cast a shadow of doubt over the Rydalmere’ resilience, not to mention their ability to compete with the top sides. (They have yet to beat a side in the top three, with their biggest scalp the seventh-placed dundas.)

Are Things Going To Plan? Sort of. The biggest unknowns for the Rydalmere at the end of last season were whether new buy Elie Faraj could make an immediate impact in the No.7 replacing the retired Ray Frangi, and whether Jescar Doueihi would sink or swim replacing Australian born Mark Abou-mehrez at striker/centre mid. Both have been sensational, with Jescar’s  6 goal elevating him to Granville Association top goal scorer.

One of the keys to Elie faraj’s smooth assimilation has been halves partner Charbel Basha who has been solid in the No.5.

Justin Doueihi has stamped himself representative quality and would have been in the mix for 1st grade If had he not been injured.

But despite the plusses the Rydalmere FC seem to lack focus and drift in and out of games, as the high number of points scored against them after halftime would indicate: their -7 points conceded in the soccer comp. Understandably, putting themselves under this much pressure has required a stern last quarter.

Injury Front… Nothing too much to complain about here. The Rydalmere have called on just 5 players to date – the five all but new faces. Their biggest blow came in Round 4 when workhorse Matthew Frangi injured his neck, which is expected to see him sit out another month before a return.

Former Mt Druitt striker  also had achillies problems that have restricted him to six games. And right-mid thomas rizzo has played only five games with great form.

But their spine of striker Doueihi, defensive centre mid Basha, attacking mid Faraj and left wing besart has been left mostly intact, except for Faraj’s match injury from Round 9.

Predicted Finish… It’s tough to know what to make of the Rydalmere FC until they start beating top-notch oppositions. They get their chance to do that in the coming three rounds with return clashes with the Granvile and Lidcombe, plus the Castle Hill United. They also have stern away tests against the Dundas and Baulkham Hills. Still, they appear above the class of the teams milling around the middle of the competition so it would be a considerable surprise if they were to finish any lower (worse) than their current fourth spot.

RUMOUR: Paul Zacharia signs with Caslte Hill for 2012

Paul Zacharia labelled suggestions linking him with a return to Castle Hill as ”rubbish” while fellow Rydalmere outside back Besart isn’t going anywhere since he has signed a 5 year deal with his current club.

The pair yesterday laughed off recent media speculation suggesting they planned to leave Rydalmere at the expiration of their current contracts, both which finish at the end of next year.

”I’m happy where I am at the moment and I’m looking to stay here for awhile, that’s all rubbish talk by the media, not by me,” Paul Zacharia said.

Besart has already but put pen to paper when he signed the 5 year deal with rydalmere fc which will keep him at the club till 2016 and never eyed a return to castle hill united.

Rival Granville clubs aren’t allowed to start circling until a player is in the final year of his contract, but even if he was courted next season, the 20-year-old couldn’t imagine leaving Rydalmere’s talented young group.

”As far as I’m concerned all the boys are happy together and we know what we can do as a group,” Besart said.

”We’ve just got to stick together and get that done.

”I’m here until 2012 and that’s what I’m going to be doing. I haven’t really looked into it [external interest] too much to tell you the truth, I don’t read much papers or watch much of the news.”

Read more: http://rydelmare-fc.blogspot.com/2011/06/rumour-paul-zacharia-signs-with.html

Rizzo denies Auburn FC talk

Rydalmere FC captain Thomas Rizzo has denied rumours that he is planning to leave the club at the end of the season.

The 21-year-old had reportedly asked Rydalmere to release him from his contract one year early so he could follow outgoing coach Mohammed Ghaddar to Auburn FC

The Auburn FC Club are searching for a new captain to mature their side  and the former Lebanese player would appear to fit the bill.

But Rizzo brushed off suggestions that he wanted to return to the EPL and says he will evaluate his options when his contracts expires at the end of 2012.

“I heard that I had asked to leave this morning,” the Lebanese vice-captain.

“I didn’t know anything about it. It’s all speculation and when people asked me if I was leaving I thought it was pretty funny.

“Rydalmere FC is a great club and it’s a privilege to play with them and play hard for them. I’m off contract next year so we’ll see what happens then.”

In other news, Off-contract "Jescar Doueihi" has been offered a staggering 35$/m on a 3 year contract, he is also the youngest in the team. Further news in the next few days. It is rumored that jescar will decline the offer and stay out of the granville association to continue on his religious followings.

Elie Faraj to play on with Ryde

Crowd favorite "Elie Faraj"  is poised to re-sign with the Rydelmare FC Club after being won over by the prospect of forming the club’s own Lebanese “dream team” with star recruit Jescar Doueihi.

Elie’s manager Ressy Bessy will fly to the Rydelmare for Saturday's clash.

Basha needs to sign off on veteran player Justin's contract extension and look to complete a deal for Faraj's for 2012 after the former toongabbie loser realised he still has the urge to test himself against the best in the world in the Granville Association.

Rydelmare FC Owner Peter Basha says he has left enough under the finical allocation  for the club’s foundation player and, while he will be 20 this year, Faraj appears set to shelve retirement plans.

“At this stage he’s ready to go around again and he wants to,” Peter Basha stated.

“The idea of playing with Jescar really appeals to Elie. It’s something he wants to do.”

A clean-out of players at the Ryde Club will give the club a new look in 2012.

The recruitment of Doueihi from Mt Druitt will see him become the face of the Rydelmare as the club looks to gain an edge over Toongabbie's players in the battle for Rydelmare sports fans.

Rydelmare planning to dump Bruno

Bruno is facing the sack as the Rydelmare FC coach – possibly even before the end of the season.

The Rydelmare FC Blog learned after Saturday's game demoralising 4-1 loss to the Parramatta City that Bruno had lost boardroom support and his position was under immediate review.

The Rydemale Club plummeted to their fourth loss from seven matches and looked a disorganised and disinterested rabble.

Even the club’s CEO Peter Basha conceded Bruno was under pressure after one of their worst losses in recent years.

“I’m not surprised you’re writing the story – I’m sure after a performance like ours today, any coach is going to be under pressure,” Basha said.

“But it’s not just Bruno – it’s all of us. There’s no internal drama, or anything like that, but we’re just not playing well enough considering we recruited all the players we needed.

“There were very high expectations for this year.”

As the days go on we will finally find out what could happen to bruno's future as coach of rydelmare fc and so far it doesn't look too good.

RydelMare hang onto Haliti

With the recent signings of Edwin Tran,
RydelMare FC have held onto one of the Granville’s most promising young attacking-foward, extending the contract of attacking sensation "Besart Haliti" on Thursday Night.

Halitis’ new deal will keep him at the club until the end of the 2014 season, while the Ryde Club have triggered an option in Andrew’s contract for the 2012 season..

Haliti has enjoyed an impressive debut season in 2011, making himself a valued member of the RydelMare pack and playing seven games to date.

“I feel very privileged to be playing first division and being surrounded by all of these great players

“Being a local junior I’m extremely proud to be now playing for the elite squad, it’s a dream come true really,” the Rydelmare junior said.

Rydelmare FC chief executive Peter Basha was delighted to retain one important piece of future Ryde's attacking pack.

“Besart is showing maturity beyond his years and he is a perfect example of the depth we now have throughout our player roster,” Basha said.

“His had lot more game time this year which will only benefit their development and the club in the long run.”

Asked about the possibility of becoming a one-club player, Besart replied, ‘‘That’s the goal, but who knows what could happen.

‘‘I call Rydelmare my home now. This is where it all started for me.

‘‘I was here the 3rd season in my career and this is my 13th  season, and I really love it in Rydelmare.

‘‘I’m looking forward to being here for many years to come.’’

Besart said he had a ‘‘lot of respect’’ for Peter Basha, who phoned him after learning the 20-year-old had agreed to terms.

Edwin Train to remain a Ryde FC

The Rydalmere FC today received a massive boost ahead of their Saturday day clash with the signature of boom youngster Edwin Tran on an extended two-year deal.

After securing the services of young center mid Elie Faraj  last week, the Rydalmere FC Club have continued to wrap up their young guns, with Tran signing on until at least the end of 2013.

The Toongabbie junior, who made his U/21's grade debut against the Castle Hill United last Year, never seriously considered leaving the Toongabbie Club but with Rydalmere FC offering a EXCELLENT $13/game, He couldn't say no.

“I’m a local junior through and through and have grown up supporting the Rydalmere FC,” Tran said.

“I’ve always wanted to pull on the red and white, and I had my chance last week… it was a massive honour for me and now I want more of a taste.”

Coach Peter Basha was very happy with his latest re-signing and admits he’s also looking forward to seeing Tran develop.

“Edwin is a dynamic keeper and I think we all saw what he is capable of last weekend. He is like a ninja in my eyes. The team just love the way he injects himself in the games.” Basha said.

“He still might only be young, but he’s solid, fast, athletic and can certainly leap for the high ball.”

RUMOUR: Besart signs two year deal with Castle Hill

Twitter verse is abuzz with rumors that Rydalmere FC off-contract left-mid/left-back Besart Ha has signed with the Castle Hill on a two year deal starting next season.

With the recent signings of Jescar Doueihi and Elie Faraj, the Rydalmere FC have an abundance of options in the playmaking area and it has been speculated that Besart would move on.

Even with Besart leaving, the Ryde Club still have an over supply of playmakers with Charbel Basha, Justin Doueihi and Thomas Rizzo all off-contract.

If the rumour is true, Besart will likely partner young castle hill star Mohammed Ghadar in the playmaking area, leaving Ahmed moving to the right-mid position. Besart can also play striker the rumor.