Who said the A-League did boring? A busy off-season so far has seen the launch of a new club in Western Sydney and the departure of a Socceroo marquee man from one of the A-League’s most successful clubs, Melbourne Victory, and this was only to start the week.

Intriguing developments have begun to come together over the past week at Victory, with the signing of foreign players and the sudden departure of Harry Kewell. As a Victory fan, I enjoyed watching Harry play every week in my backyard, AAMI Park. I was even more enjoying the prospect of Kewell playing under Ange Postecoglou, but now we won’t know how that would have turned out. As an Australian football fan, it is disappointing to see Kewell now lost to the A-League. You’ve all probably heard the reasons explained by Kewell and his wife, Sheree for the departure, I understand why and accept that family is always first. I wish him and his family well throughout this time.

Maybe I’m paying too much attention to trolls, but I was even more disappointed by some of the reaction in forums and in particular from Victory fans with short memories. Everyone has to make decisions in life and if Kewell thinks this is best for him and his family, wish him well and move on. I get it is all quite sudden and people are wary of the sagas Kewell has had with Victory, so maybe there was always bound to be reactions. But at this stage, all you can do is accept the situation he is in and understand his and Sheree’s reasons. There has been talk of linking up with Blackburn Rovers, but seems to be just rumour and nothing is certain. If he is, it would make sense. If Kewell needs to be in England, it would make sense to play there.

Victory (and all clubs) should always be bigger than one player and will get on with life beyond Harry Kewell. This means finding a replacement. Postecoglou has said in past days that he will look to buy another foreign player, and intimated a centre-forward or centre-back will be the replacement for Harry. Marcos Flores has been a natural cause for speculation, following the news last week that he was mutually agreeing to part from his contract with Chinese club Henan Jianye. Flores would be a class replacement for Victory, and was a player I enjoyed watching when he was here with Adelaide United. I think he should be considered by Victory, I wasn’t sure if they should but sudden developments have swayed me somewhat. I hope to see Flores back in the A-League, be it at Victory or at another A-League club.

In other developments in the past two weeks, the signings of ex-Adelaide and Brisbane midfielder Spase Dilevski, Mauritian international Jonathan Bru and journeyman Brazilian Guilherme Finkler have been confirmed. I find the best signings are the ones that make the least fanfare and the least noise. Mainly because there are little expectations involved from fans. I don’t know much about these players, they seem to come from unconventional recruiting grounds and Ange has seemed to cast the net wide when it comes to bringing new players in, we saw that at Brisbane. I don't know what exactly these players will bring, but wish them well at their new club.

Add to that, the announcement on Monday of the arrival of Paul Trimboli as the Football Operations Manager. Trimboli was widely tipped to return to Melbourne after the arrival of Ange Postecoglou on April 26 and was made official on Monday. The sacking of football director Francis Awaritefe early in the 2011/12 season wasn’t covered for, and was a big problem for Victory throughout the whole season. There won’t be any such problems now for Victory, Trimboli has had success as of late with Ange at Roar and will look to do the same here at Melbourne. I'm confident they can do that, both have a successful working relationship and a history with them at South Melbourne. Support for Ange on the coaching staff/football department is imperative, and the appointment of Trimboli is a good one.

I was and still am of the thinking that change at Victory isn't going to come in the season ahead, but over seasons. Postecoglou doesn't seem to think that way, saying in an interview with David Davutovic about the need to be successful in the coming season and the upcoming year isn't just about stabilisation. That should instil a bit of confidence in fans. A lot of unknowns seem to be around Victory, who will replace Harry Kewell? Carlos Hernandez? how are these signings going to go? and of course how are Victory going to play? I like the way Ange is going about business just months into his tenure here. He seems to be looking to build the balanced squad Victory desperately needs and thats happening through the signings he has made, youth and players leaving. There is three months to go until the season kicks off with the Melbourne derby, I'm looking forward to watch what Ange builds in that time with a full pre-season under his belt.