IT'S A MARINATED WORLD: A quick look at the new lads for 2015/16 and beyond

And thus competitive footy is almost upon us, the FA Cup has started and the boys have been back at Tuggerah for a little while now, Montys got the armband, Hutchos got a whistle and a stopwatch, Mickey Neil is fighting fit and raring to go...and we got a few new blokes donning our shirt....and here they are

Former Sunderland striker Roy O’Donovan has been a coastie since May and will be looking to become the next Irishman to make his mark on the Hyundai A-League. He comes to the Mariners with the glowing praise of his former Sunderland boss( and Man U legend) Roy Keane warming his soul.

O’Donovan made his name in the League of Ireland with Cork City and also made several appearances at youth and B level for the national side. He soon drew the attention of several English Premier League sides and his transfer fee to Sunderland in 2007 was the highest the League of Ireland had ever seen at the time.

After his stint at the Stadium of Light, O’Donovan went on to see time throughout England’s divisions as well as the Scottish Premier League, before rediscovering his touch with Brunei DPMM in Singapore’s S-League, where he went on a goalscoring spree before joining the Mariners.....O'Donovan has previously played for Cork City, Sunderland, Dundee United, Blackpool, Southend United, Hartlepool United, Coventry City, Hibernian, Northampton Town, DPMM FC and Mitra Kukar F.C..

My cousin in Holland pinged me the other day and said( and I quote) that" Venlo's Aussie boy is going by your club", and sure enough it was announced that Harry Ashcroft was now a Mariner....Ascroft was born in Sydney, and played youth football with Bankstown City before starting his senior career with Sydney University. In 2013, he moved to the Netherlands to play for VVV-Venlo in the Eerste Divisie, He was released by VVV along with fellow Australian Travis Cooper in early 2015 due to the club's financial difficulties ....He is also a Kidaroo, having repped for Australia at under-20 level.

Mitch Austin was born in Rochdale, Lancashire on 3 April 1991. His father is the Australian Rugby league & Union Player Greg Austin, Mitch left England at the age of 10 when his father retired from playing professional rugby and moved the family back to Australia.....

Austin was a Manly United junior in Sydney, Australia. He was spotted by the scouts of Rotherham United in 2009 whilst on a tour of the UK with Manly United and was offered a scholarship with the youth academy. It was after this that his personal one man tour of the U.K footall scene began....

In 2010, he joined Conference South team Stalybridge Celtic. After making 71 league appearances, in 2013, he joined Conference team Cambridge United. In 2014, he was loaned to Lincoln City to get more first team opportunities. After the loan spell was over, he signed for Brackley Town again on loan. On 31 January 2014, his loan was extended till March.....On 13 September 2014, he made his professional debut against Dagenham and Redbridge .....At the end of the 2014-15 season the club did not offer him a new deal when his contract expired.....In May 2015, Cambridge United announced, that Austin was one out of 12 players, who would leave the club in the summer 2015....On 1 June 2015, Central Coast Mariners announced that they had signed Austin to a two-year contract.

Adelaide Uniteds goalkeeper Paul Izzo joined the Central Coast Mariners hoping for more regular gametime, after making only a handful of appearances for Adelaide United in four years. Izzo has been to The Fortress previously, when he made his Hyundai A-League debut at Central Coast Stadium as a 17-year-old in Hyundai A-League Season 2011/12 and will be excited to learn off Liam and Nash as he develops his game.

Izzo is a product of the Australian Institute of Sport program and spent his junior years with Campbelltown City. Izzo has also gained solid experience at national youth level, playing at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey for the Young Socceroos, as well as with the Joeys at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico.

And coming back to The Fortress after starting here, then plying his trade in the Youth League with the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2013/14, midfielder Jake McGing will be keen to make an impact when Hyundai A-League season 2015/16 rolls around. The 21-year-old has been steadily building his CV at youth level, skippering the Wanderers FNYL side in 2013/14 and claiming their Player of the Season award, before moving north in 2014 to link up with the Mariners. Previously McGing made his way through the New South Wales Institute of Sport and has represented Macarthur Rams and Marconi Stallions.

Got a new CEO as well, formerly of Drive Bys, Shawn is now a coastie, here's to a amicable relationship with the masses..The former Wanderers' General Manager of Commercial & Consumer Business, Mielekamp will work as one of the club’s executives alongside Kathryn Duncan (Finance Director) and Tony Walmsley (Technical Director/Head Coach) who make up the club’s senior management, reporting directly to Executive Vice Chairman, Peter Storrie.

AND....our little boy is all growed up, Matty Ryan has jumped to La Liga and joined Valencia after some stunning success at Club Brugge and a cracking Asian Cup with the Socceroos