Club level:-    We are deep into end of season in most European leagues, meaning tears of joy and tears of sadness.  Starting in England, Richard Garcia's Hull have been relegated. 

In the Championship, the Newcastle promotion is relevant for a few young Aussies there.  League One sees Leeds needing a win in the last game to achieve automatic promotion, a big day for for our Aussie contingent. At the other end of the table, Gareth Edd's Tranmere are in the drop zone but they can survive.

Dropping to League Two, Bournemouth and Scott Guyett have already got automatic promotion.  The playoff's will see several Aussies in action, while Dan Leach's Barnet will need a win to stay up. 

Finally at Blue Square, York City have a final at Wembley to go to league football. 

On the continent, Twente have celebrated winning the league in Holland.  Italy is full of intrigue for the Aussies.  Valeri's Sassuolo are well in contention for promotion with four games to go.  Adrian Madaschi needs an away win on the last day to secure automatic promotion.

While in Germany, a win to Nurnberg may not guarantee survival. Things are looking bleak at all levels in Scotland.  Invincible and Killie are struggling in the SPL, whereas Ayr have already been relegated for division one.

Basel are three points down with three games to go in Switzerland.  Finally in Turkey, Gala have now slipped to third with two games remaining.  Interestingly in the second tier, Ersan Gulum's Adanaspor need a result from their last game for a shot at automatic promotion.

National level :-     With the naming of the Socceroos squad only days away, the last few months has been fascinating in terms of form, injury and game time.  The guys that will make us proud over the next few months are set to be revealed, ending months of speculation.  

 In terms of injury, most players are back from mid season surgery, the notable exception being Mark Bresciano and Richard Garcia.  No doubt Kisnorbo is extremely unlikely to be hurt so close to the World Cup.

Socceroo watch for March (based on a potential 30 man squad): OUT:  Spiranovic IN:  Bosnar

 

 

Player

 

Club

Country

Notes

E. Bosnar

Shimizu S-Pulse

Japan

Has had a fantastic month in the centre of defence, managed a few goals along the way

M. Bresciano       

Palermo

Italy

Nagging back injury has kept him out of the squad.  Match fitness a worry.

T. Cahill       

Everton

England

Solid month in terms of appearances and goals scored

N. Carle       

Crystal Palace

England

Slipped back towards the subs bench after a good run

D. Carney

Twente

Netherlands

Warming the pine since returning from surgery

S. Chipperfield       

Basel

Switzerland

His form is a major relief, barring disaster, a certainty after returning from mid season surgery

S. Colosimo

Melbourne

Australia

Training in Holland

A. Covic       

Elfsborg

Sweden

Slipped back at his club over the past two weeks

J. Culina       

Gold Coast

Australia

Training in Holland.

B. Emerton       

Blackburn

England

In and out of the team, struggling to shrug the injury

A. Federici       

Reading

England

Very solid in goals, hard to imagine he hasn't done enough

R. Garcia       

Hull City

England

Unfortunately suffered a minor knee injury at the wrong time of year

V. Grella       

Blackburn

England

Returned to the starting line-up just in time

J. Griffiths

Beijing Guoan

China

Continues to perform well and consistently

D. Heffernan       

Huddersfield

England

Struggling a little for game time

B. Holman       

AZ Alkmaar

Netherlands

Coming off the bench most games with a reasonable impact

M. Jedinak       

Antalyaspor

Turkey

Consistent and reliable as has been expected of late

J. Kennedy       

Nagoya Grampus

Japan

A niggling back injury, but continues to score and have an impact

H. Kewell       

Galatasaray

Turkey

Just made his return, needs match time

S. McDonald       

Middlesborough

England

Has been solid, frequent appearances and frequent goals

M. Milligan       

JEF United

Japan

Becoming very dependable

C. Moore       

AO Kavala

Greece

Trying to get game time in QAFL to gain much needed match fitness

L. Neill       

Galatasaray

Turkey

Solid month

M. Petkovic       

Sivasspor

Turkey

Back in the starting line up, but not a regular

N. Rukavytsya       

Roeselare

Belgium

Playing friendlies and starring, playoff's loom for him

M. Schwarzer       

Fulham

England

Stand out month, playing a lot of games

M. Sterjovski

Perth

Australia

Training in England.

C. Valeri       

Sassuolo

Italy

Has had a few starts of late, in a tough side

D. Vidosic       

Duisburg

Germany

Back in the starting line up after solid performances from the bench

L. Wilkshire       

Dinamo Moscow

Russia

Mr Dependable at the back

R. Williams       

Middlesborough

England

Apparently carrying a groin injury, but doesn't show

Transfers :-     A quiet month on the transfer front as we are nearing the end of season for many leagues. Dominated by loan returns.

Additions/changes to database:  

Oliver Bozanic (08 Jan 1979) - loan return to Reading, England

Shane Huke (02 Oct 1985)  - transferred to Rushden and diamonds, England

Daniel Ireland (15 Dec 1990) - loan return to Coventry City, England

Daniel Leach (01 May 1986) - loan return to Barnet, England

Robert Stambolziev (26 Oct 1990) - loan return to Panathinaikos, Greece

Removed from database:-  Nil 

 Total Aussies Abroad (Male Outdoor) -    142  Players

Socceroos Player of the Month:     Mark Schwarzer.   With Fulham only defeated once in April, his form in both the EPL and Europa League has continued to be outstanding.  The reward for their efforts being a spot in the Europa League final.  Hoping he is not overworked in South Africa! 

April - Schwarzer, March - Chipperfield, February - Schwarzer, January - Cahill 

Youth Player of the Month:    Jason Davidson.    After transferring at the start of the European season, a steady run of performances in the reserves saw him get promoted to the seniors.  April was a great month in terms of making the break through in a big league, and being a regular in the squad.  Not always on the pitch, but thereabouts.  As an 18 year old, the future looks bright.

April - Davidson,  March - Inman, February - Stella, January - Visconte 

Under the radar:        Eddy Bosnar.     A journeyman over the years, he may not be under the radar come the announcement of the World Cup squad next week.  He has been a rock at centre back for league leading Shimizu S-Pulse this season.  Just to top things off, he has found the back of the net several times in the past month.  

April - Bosnar, March - Gaspar, February - Bozanic, January -  N. Burns