Brisbane Roar's teenage exodus not good for anyone

On Easter Saturday news broke that Brisbane Roar trio and Socceroo hopefuls Tommy Oar, Micheal Zullo and Adam Sarota had all signed three to five year contracts with Dutch side FC Utrecht after two week training stints with the mid-table club.

Though particularly disappointed with the moves my thoughts on the signings have nothing to do with the ability of either of the players in question. To be sure, Tommy Oar is probably the most exciting Socceroo prospect Australia has had in the last ten or so years while Zullo has always looked like a bright prospect with a similar game to Oar. Sarota was only twelve months ago named A-League Youth League Player of the Year. Their talent can't be questioned.

What can be however, and what should be, is why these guys have signed now, at such a young age and for such a middle of the road team in a league surely not substantially better than our own. The answer of course can be found within what's a highly corrosive and extremely dangerous adulation of Europe at the very top of the Australian football hierarchy. It's a problem that's existed for years and which has hurt domestic soccer in this country for too long. It got worse under Hiddink, it's spiraled out of control under Verbeek.

The fact is that if you're a young soccer player in Australia with above average talent and with Socceroo aspirations you're encouraged to leave. Players are convinced that the quality of play is markedly better in the likes of Russia and Turkey where the wages are of course far larger. What's rarely taken into account by either the national team or the player agents is the effect the departure has on either the A-League or the individual. The latter often often finding themselves either sitting on the bench or playing for that team's reserves. Rarely, if ever, has the instant success of Viduka or Kewell been replicated so quickly.

All three players that signed for Utrecht over the Easter weekend would have been better served playing for at least one more year in Australia. Their games could have improved while their highlight reel would have looked even more impressive to their European suitors as they carved up what we're continually told is such an inferior competition. The same competition of course which Zullo has played in 53 times and scored just twice and the same competition where Sarota has been selected to play just a handful of matches.

These guys should have waited. But then again, its not as though they would have been given the best advice. Maybe instead of listening to Pim or their agents they would have been better off talking to the likes of Adrian Leijer or Scott Jamieson who I'm sure would have told them to hold their horses.