As speculation continues to surround the future of Shane Smeltz and Robbie Fowler at Perth Glory, two of the club’s confirmed signings for this season are simply happy to have some security under their belts after a difficult few years.
Goalkeeper Danny Vukovic (Wellington) and defender Evan Berger (Melbourne Victory) may have only arrived in Perth on Tuesday, but the two new recruits are already confident their move west will bring a change of fortune.
For Vukovic, last season was a particularly tough one. After 104 appearances for the Mariners, he was offered a dream two-year contract with Turkish club Konyaspor, only to discover the franchise had too many foreigners on their books as they subsequently let him go without playing a game.
Fortunately for the goalkeeper, who will be 26 next week, Wellington’s back-up stopper Reece Crowther had suffered a season-ending injury, allowing Vukovic to head to New Zealand as the back-up to regular keeper Mark Paston.
And when Paston also suffered a serious knee injury, Vukovic was in the right place at the right time to help Wellington make a late charge to the finals last season, even if he’d already signed on for the Glory in 2011-12.
“I actually signed here when I was sitting on the bench at Wellington,” said Vukovic on Wednesday.
“It was an opportunity to play first-team football. It was a three-year deal, so a bit of security there and coming back to Australia.”
“It was a bit up and down there (last season), has been for the last couple of years with me.”
“But I’ve got the security now … just can’t wait to get started.”
Vukovic was coach Ian Ferguson’s first signing as he looks to rebuild the side following a poor second-last finish in 2010-11.
But, despite all the controversy at the club in the past month after the release of the Hatt report into the club’s functions led to the sacking of football manager Dave Mitchell, Vukovic said there have been no second thoughts.
“You don’t know what’s true and what’s not when you read the media,” Vukovic said.
“I don’t really tend to read a lot into it, so I sort of take things on face value and wanted to make that opinion up myself.”
Like Vukovic, the Glory was an opportunity for regular first-team football for former Victory defender Berger, who was part of Melbourne’s championship-winning side in the 1-0 Grand Final win over Adelaide United in 2008-09.
Since then, a series of muscle injuries led to him being sidelined as other players superseded the diminutive Berger for the left-back role.
“It is a little bit frustrating,” Berger said.
“I just felt that I could offer their team (Melbourne) a lot but in the end it didn’t work out like that.”
“As a footballer, you want to be playing regularly. At Melbourne I didn’t quite achieve that, but I’ve got a brilliant opportunity here at Perth and thank Fergie (Ferguson) for showing a bit of faith in me and hopefully I can repay that faith.”
In a busy day for news at the club, the Glory were forced to deny a report this morning that Smeltz had signed with the club and, as a result, forced Fowler out.
A club spokesperson said German-born New Zealand native Smeltz had not been officially signed as the club’s international marquee player, but even if he was, the Glory could still offer Fowler, last season’s marquee, a reduced one-year contract under their salary cap.
Vukovic said he was hopeful Fowler would return to the Hyundai A-League for a third season.
“To play with someone like that would be just a dream come true,” he said.
“At the end of my career I’d love to say that I played with someone like Robbie Fowler.”
