The journey of a player such as Harry Kane, who had loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester City before he blossomed into one of the world’s best strikers for Tottenham Hotspur, cannot be replicated in Australia.

The eight-game Y-League schedule that runs concurrent to the A-League season is not an effective means of developing players. The NPL campaign that runs across the winter varies widely in quality across the nation and – as demonstrated by Ivanovic – players on the cusp of A-League selection often receive sparse chances to play in it.

In the wake of a tweet I sent highlighting the plight of Ivanovic, Sydney FC CEO Danny Townsend reiterated that there were plans on the way from both his club and the newly independent A-League to improve developmental pathways.

Let us hope they come soon enough to benefit the likes of Ivanovic, Najjar and Akbari.

Melbourne City 6-6 Perth Glory

An astounding 25 goals were scored across the opening four games of the A-League last week but in the opening fixture of round two it appeared as though City and Glory were intent upon setting a tone that would see that figure passed.

Solo efforts from Raphael Borges Rodrigues – FTBL’s Player to Watch from City this Y-League season – and Trent Ostler got both sides on the board before Ciaran Bramwell fired the visiting Glory ahead in the 40th minute.

However, hinting at the madness to come, goals to Najjar and Kerrin Stokes in the remaining five minutes of the first half ensured that City took a one-goal lead into the dressing room.

That lead was then stretched to two goals just moments into the second half when recent A-League debutant Stefan Colakovski pounced on a ball knocked back into the area by Josh Langdon.

Daniel Walsh turned in a Glory free-kick routine to bring the game back to 4-3 in the 56th minute but Borges Rodrigues’ second and a strike from Jordi Valadon quickly put Head Coach Richard Garcia’s side in a 6-3 hole.

Garcia’s group, though, refused to be denied.

Bramwell’s second and third goals of the game reduced the deficit to one by the 74th minute and Bryce Bafford struck with just six minutes remaining to ensure the spoils were shared at C.B Smith Reserve.