Josh Nisbet, at 1.6 metres is very short by professional football standards.

There are have been other short players having successful professional careers – for example Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, N’Golo Kante and god knows how many others.

They weren’t Australian though and that is, probably, Nizz’s main shortcoming (ahem).

The best A League player of the last two seasons is struggling to woo suitors when numerous others – with lesser accomplishments – have happily made the switch to Europe (including several of Nizzy’s erstwhile teammates).

It’s not fair, I hear you cry. Why isn’t Nizz (a Socceroo FFS) not being swamped with the offers he deserves?

He’s been (literally) overlooked his entire career but has always risen above by proving to his coaches that he is just impossible to drop. If he does go to the SPL – one of the hardest and most physical leagues in world football – I have no doubt he’ll thrive. He’s as tough as old boots and absolutely the most technical player with a current Australian passport.

Despite the physicality of the SPL, Nizz has the footspeed, the vision and the ball-winning prowess to be successful. His biggest challenges will be the weather and the soft, slow pitches but as soon as he gets used to that he’ll take that league by storm.

About a week ago I had a long chat to a famous Australian coach who is an admirer of Josh Nisbet. He doesn’t want to be named.

He said: ‘I’m sorry, but Nisbet’s just too short for most foreign leagues. He could do a job in Japan … or Spain … or even Italy. I’ve no doubt at all. But they’ve already got any number of players who do exactly what Nizz does. They don’t need him. If they sign an Australian they’re looking for athleticism, strength, speed and power. Something different to what they already have.

‘There’s no way he’d survive in the Championship … for all his technical ability … and they’d eat him alive in Scotland.’

Personally, I disagree.

If the likes of Sammy Silvera, Jacob Farrell and Kusini Yengi can play in the Championship, why not Nisbet? He's been head and shoulders above those players in recent years.

The SPL and Championship are very physical leagues, but so is the A League. It’s slower than most Euro leagues (because we play in summer) but it is far more physical than the so-called technical leagues of Continental Europe.

Nizz has shown constantly that he can cope with the physicality of the A League and I’ve no doubt he would do well in most Euro leagues as soon as he gets used to the very different conditions.

I’ve said it before but Australians always take a while to get used to the soft, slow pitches and freezing weather. There are soft tissue injuries to avoid but also the ball behaves differently, and because the conditions are colder the game is inevitably faster. Players have much less time to make decisions than they do in the A League.

There is also the unrelenting pressure and scrutiny that is a total eye-opener in Europe.

Players can wilt under the microscopic gaze of fans and media, even if the standard is not that much higher than what they were used to back in Oz. (Get over it Scotland – your league is no better than the A League outwith the cheeks.)

So, in fairness to Nisbet, I hope that he does go to Ross County. He’ll tear the SPL apart (despite playing for one of the minnows) and be a genuine litmus test for the quality of Australian players in Europe.

No matter the size.

 

Adrian's books can be purchased at any good bookstore or through ebook alchemy. His first sci-fi novel (Asparagus Grass) was published by Hague Publishing in July 2023. The ebook can be purchased here and the paperback can be ordered here or at your local store.