Just not good enough: Dutchy fears Zura won't make grade in A-League
BY JAMES GARDINER
16/10/2008 9:08:00 PM
NEWCASTLE Jets coach Gary van Egmond has run out of patience with under-performing marquee striker Edmundo Zura.
Van Egmond unloaded on the Ecuadorean yesterday, declaring the high-priced recruit had had ample time to adapt to the A-League but was still not contributing enough to the team.
"Zura is finding it difficult to finish a game," van Egmond said.
"Even at training he is finding it difficult to understand what is needed of him.
"He has been here for a period of time which should be fine for him. The amount of training he has had, the amount of information he has had, he should be OK.
"But he is still not providing what we want.
"It comes in short bursts here and there.
"That is not good enough. We need him to play 90 minutes and provide a real foil for the rest of the team at the point of the attack."
It was hoped Zura, 25, would help erase memories of last season's disastrous experiment with Brazilian veteran Mario Jardel. Club owner Con Constantine signed Jardel, but van Egmond was responsible for bringing Zura to Newcastle as his marquee man.
The coach was glowing in his praise after watching Zura train with the Jets for the first time in early August.
"He's definitely going to be very good for us," van Egmond said at the time.
"He's very quick, he sees things, has a good weight of pass and he's only going to get better with him training week in, week out."
But van Egmond has since grown frustrated with the Ecuadorean.
Capped seven times by his country, Zura averaged a goal every two games in domestic football in Ecuador. He engineered both Jets goals in the 2-all draw with Wellington last round but has not hit the target himself.
In four starting appearances, the longest he has lasted is 79 minutes against Perth in round two.
"It may be a case that what we see with Edmundo is the best we are going to get," van Egmond said. "If that is the case, he may be an impact player for us that can last 30 minutes.
"I have seen players similar to him. Esala Masi comes to mind very quickly. Another boy, Michael Prentice, who was very similar. Fantastic skills, fantastic ability, but they cannot push themselves physically to a level they need to get.
"We have gone over it many, many times what his role is. Where he needs to be. What he has to do with and without the ball. It is not sinking in. Eventually something has to give."
So where does that leave Zura?
"There are a few ways to look at it," van Egmond said. "You start him and see how long he lasts, you bring him off the bench or you don't bring him in at all.
"I watched Ecuador play Chile the other night. You think to yourself, maybe that is the way they play in Ecuador. I watched them play and they did not have problems closing down, running and moving and being very effective in the front third.
"I just think, right at this moment, it is as good as we are going to get from Edmundo and we need to see how we can utilise him the best we can."
Zura's chances of starting against Melbourne at home on Saturday are likely to hinge on the fitness of Joel Griffiths, who will take over the role of marquee player from next season.
Griffiths will have a fitness test on his hamstring today.
"This morning he got through the sprint session, he got through some change of direction and we played a game and he got through that as well," van Egmond said. "I still think it is an even-money bet."
There was better news on captain Jade North, who has recovered from a slight hamstring strain he sustained in camp with the Socecroos in Brisbane.
"He had a few issues up in Brisbane which was unfortunate for him because I believe he was going to be in the Socceroos squad [which beat Qatar 4-0]," van Egmond said.
"He trained fully on Wednesday morning and has trained every day, whether that was cross training or training with the team.
"I know he is very keen to lead the team against Melbourne."
