Adelaide United Director of Football, Bruce Djite, spoke to the media following James Troisi’s decision to terminate his contract with the Club.
Troisi played 13 games for the Reds, scoring one goal after arriving at the beginning of last season.
“It all came about on the weekend when we got an email asking for a mutual termination of James’ contract,” Djite explained to reporters at a press conference outside Coopers Stadium
“Things move pretty quickly, I think in 2020 everyone’s learnt to be a bit more nimble than what they’ve been in the past.
“We’ve had to move extremely quickly on this one.”
Djite revealed back in September, Troisi was granted permission to speak to other clubs following the ongoing uncertainty around the league, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, following the sales of Paul Izzo, Riley McGree and Lachlan Brook in October, and the transfer window closing, Troisi was told by both Djite and Head Coach, Carl Veart, that he was a required player.
“Obviously when we finished the season in the hub, we came back to Adelaide,” he said.
“At the time we hadn’t sold any players, we were unsure of the distribution from the TV rights deal to the clubs.
“So financially, we had to make some tough decisions on who we keep, who we don’t keep and at that time in September, we told James as one of our more expensive players that he was free to speak to other clubs.
“Because when you looked at the budget we have and the books, unless players were willing to take a collective pay cut which they weren’t, we had no choice but to try and move some players on.
“Subsequent to that, we obviously did very well in the transfer market. We sold Paul Izzo, we sold Riley McGree, Nikola Mileusnić went to Denmark, we had Lachy Brook go to the UK which really shored up the Club’s finances.
“Not only bringing in revenue but also some higher earners moving on. That was in October.
“And during October, we made it very clear to James, especially with Riley gone, that he was a required player and an important part of the team.
“I communicated that to him, Head Coach, Carl Veart, communicated that to him on numerous occasions.”
Djite admitted the most disappointing aspect of the situation was the timing with two weeks until the new A-League 2020/21 campaign commences.
The 33-year-old confirmed a replacement will be brought in to bolster the depth in the squad.
“… I think what hurts us the most is the timing of it, ten days out, two weeks out from the commencement of the A-League season,” he said.
“I love a challenge, but it certainly does make my job very difficult in terms of replacing the player but it’s something that we’re working furiously to do at the moment.”
Djite added while it is a frustrating situation, he conceded it is something that is a component of football.
“It’s disappointment, but it’s football also,” he continued.
“In football these things happen, and I’m not going to stand here and say we’re completely shocked, because it’s sort of part and parcel of the game.
“The most disappointing thing for us really is that we’ve put a real emphasis on bringing South Australians back and building a team around South Australians.
“And to have one of your own leave, cuts that little bit deeper.”
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