Mainland Premier League

Sadly not Oscars dad but better than a Sunday league hack. 

You guys keep supporting the current system. It ain't broken apparently, my bad we will keep letting our talent in mainland(females exclude) fall through the cracks

Agreed, the current junior and youth system is broken and utterly rubbish (see my other posts in the juniors forum) but CFA approach of trying to take all the best players at all ages and charging $3k + for youth teams is not really the answer either. Sure some that can afford it will get good coaching but the best will rise wherever they are.

Ouch, a hack. Jokes on you tho as I don't even tackle. 

I've never said the system is good, if you read through this forum you'll see that I was the first one calling out how broken it is, with my biggest issue being player payments. 

Which is why I'll call you out on your "the Chch Utd way is the way" theory when you have bought an entire team along with the coach. The one game I put myself through watching the coach, starting 11 and everyone on the bench minus 1 or 2 were new to the club this season. Is that what you are championing? 

Bloody hell. Why didn’t you say something sooner?!

Of course, while you are at it, perhaps you could enlighten us as to how much United charge to be involved in their academy structure? I heard you pay more if you want the flash pitches and coaches? Happy to be proven wrong.?

So you would define progressive as advancing the club essentially, which CFA may or may not have done. Short term possibly. Long term possibly not. 

I would define progressive as advancing the game, which when we come down to it is the bottom line for clubs. It is why we exist. CFA has no interest in advancing the game. It is all about the business and the ego of one man.

You are correct, money has been in the game for a long time and there are other clubs who have been drawn into that idiocy, to their detriment. However, CFA has taken it to a whole new level and no one can convince me turning an amateur (and it is that) environment into a marketplace is good for the game here. All it does is draw money from already cash strapped clubs into the pockets of players and away from where it needs to go - youth, infrastructure and community. It just isn't sustainable and will draw the ire of other clubs who just can't compete with those sorts of resources - nor should they even try. What a waste. The players aren't even that good (sorry guys).

You refer to the NZ model as broken, but take a look around fella. That is where we live. It would be more accurate to say the current model is broken. It is up to clubs and Mainland (and NZF) to develop a NZ model that works for our context and culture. Borrowing the current model used by some established football nations in Europe, and plonking it in the middle of rugby-mad Canterbury, with no regard for other clubs, simply will not work. We don't have the numbers, the resources or the capacity to sustain it.

So you can hardly complain when many of us may laugh when CFA suddenly comes asking for support when it suits them. What nonsense. Time for a reality check. It is just ridiculous. "We are collaborative". But we will head hunt all your top youth talent (sometimes offering money for god's sake) because we are arrogant enough to think we can do it better than everyone else. "We want your support", but we will buy all the best players we can at a price no one else can compete with "We want to help", but we will make the national league (even though no other club's support it) and then the A-League (lmao) come hell or high water. However we can. Because in the end, it is all about us.

And then someone from the club has the temerity to come on here and ask us to get behind them in the Chatham Cup! Please.

Great. So now we are talking about the current model not working. I have no problem with people disagreeing with my views or that of a clubs I just think it needs to be kept in discussion. One point though is the argument that we poach players, that may happen I ain't involve in the club to be of knowledge of this however other club are happy for Lee Padmore to take talent from Cash/tech, ferrymead, Selwyn and nomads and no one complains(including me). The players/parents make that decision on what they want, and that's what's happening at united, no gun to your head to make you transfer.

Mainland is broken throughout, one job closure will not fix ongoing loses. Since Mike Coggan left the books have gone backwards again. There is more to it than the development job. What club is going to challenge this? I doubt many will as it's not in there beat interests.

NZ football is a cot case, unable to organise games for our senior men's side regularly is just not acceptable but nothing changes. Players at youth level get little exposure to selectors unless you are based in Auckland(there are a few exceptions) but we accept it.

So while you may not agree with the United model and I did say it wasn't perfect I CHALLENGE you all to look at fixing what we have. Nzfootball and mainland don't own the game they facilitate it for the players and from reading here we don't think they do it well. 

And if you don't want to support united, fine watch the super rugby final instead and do nothing.

But also look at clubs like CTFC, Ferrymead and coastal and ask yourself where there players were developed. I don't believe the will be many who came through there development (I may be wrong but a quick scan says I'm not)

And if we don't keep talking about what's wrong with the game here it won't be fixed,

Oh and I'm not united through and through. My club heart lies else where. 

I agree. The discussion needs to be had.

Players move clubs at a senior level. That is a fact of life. They will stay if they value where they are - if it fits. My issue is creating a marketplace. That needs to be reined in considerably.

Not sure why you are mentioning Lee Padmore in that mix. Doesn't really make sense. However, I could give you numerous specific examples where CFA DOF has relentlessly pursued youth talent from other clubs, to the point of basically offering money. This is different to parents making a decision to take their kids elsewhere. That is fine and will happen if they don't feel their needs are being met.

My point is that most of players were offered scholarships to go to pheonix, no difference to been ask to come across to CFA. The youth players as far as I'm aware and I have spoken to players approach was they were offered scholarships not a playing incentive.

Seniors is a different story

WRONG THREAD,

I think we all are getting carried away here,

any CHCH UNTD chat please be done in the Mainland qualitfying league forum.... lol

You are way wrong. Like so wrong you may even be a husband. Bays especially seeing as how your orange mate nicked all their players and half their squad is now 18-19 years old. 

Oh so the past don't count only the current.

I could go further like when waimaks former fdo attracted a chunk of fc2011's best female players over. Thus fc2011 fell to bits in wmpl. This wasn't the only reason. I think having Mr Mcmann didn't help.

It's the nature of the game. The funding is an issue but the world around isn't a level playing feild. 

Can we take this chat to the Mainland Kids thread and/or the Mainland second division thread, as appropriate. Chur 

Can the comments be copied over too?

Bays vs Coastal English Cup tonight? Any score?

FT Coastal Spirit 4 Ferrymead Bays 2

Foot & mouth bagging Coastal? Trying to post to make friends and create hype for your club then bag us out? Douche move. I feel after getting promoted only 6 or so years ago and having been top 3 or in cup finals frequently means we have had some success for sure thank you. Newly promoted Selwyn has seen how hard it is to break into the top half. We got pretty banged up from the earthquakes and i am very happy to be going down to cheer my club on in cup finals and pushing Tech to penalties a few years on the trott. Loving it. Not easy out here in the lowest decile trying to get kids to afford to play. This licence club stuff costs alot of money. Much easier for affluent parents to pay for their kids to train.

Also Coastal current home grown players. Zac Gordon, Tristan Nicol, Jack Mitchell, Aaran Spain, Hemi Innes, Haris Zeb. Pretty sure even our Coaches Paul Hughes and Ekow Quaino were juniors and youth at Rangers. Ben Leith New Brighton. Our pathway has done great. Dont start me on the girls. 

So tell me Chch United, where the hell are your home grown players at? Who from your current squad are Chch United loyalists? 

Try your women's team over the past 8 or so years.

Friends from coastal, no thanks. 

Oh it's so easy to upset people

Harder when you have your head up your arse, but you seem to have nailed it. 

Tonight's Blackwells Holden English Cup:

Cashmere Technical 3 Nomads 0 HT 2 - 0

Mainland Premier Qualifying League - Round 1

Burwood 4 FC Twenty11 3

Ferrymead Bays 9 Parklands 1

Selwyn 6 Halswell 0

Waimakariri 1 St Albans Shirley 0

Christchurch United vs. Universities - deferred due to Chatham Cup

you would have to think it’s not just the players ching ching united are paying after that reffing. just wow

What happened?

that's why Mainland need to be investigating player payments. If United have breached amateur league rules they should be disqualified. And if you can cheat by playing players what stops you from cheating in any other way. Not football in my book. Good on those players who had to come down a grade to win something.Good luck next year.

Mainland know exactly what’s going on and what exactly are they doing about it? Surely someone from mainland was watching that game tonight and have to ask questions? 

lol what nonsense.  United won 2-1, it was a tough game with some pretty suspect tackling from both teams at times  with both teams receiving favourable calls at times. United seemed to handle the pressure a bit better than some of the Nelson players. The final goal was unlucky for Nelson but that’s football. 

As for wondering how they will do next year. United have played and beaten every MPL team this year except Coastal. Hopefully that game happens as part of the English cup.

 You know that trying to claim you now represent the region as the only remaining team won't get you very far. While I can't speak for every team, I am guessing that no other side in Chch wants you to win the next game. It's not even a tall poppy thing, it's just wrong. Amateur means amateur. Perhaps Mr/Mrs I Really Doubt-it should have a closer look ?

$230k season budget seems to get you to the top in Christchurch football now

MPQL Table:

Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
Christchurch United	12	12	0	0	57	5	52	36
Burwood	12	6	3	3	28	16	12	21
Waimakariri	13	6	2	5	29	29	0	20
Ferrymead Bays	15	6	2	7	29	34	-5	20
Selwyn	15	6	1	8	37	41	-4	19
Parklands United	13	5	0	8	21	43	-22	15
Halswell United	12	4	1	7	18	36	-18	13
Universities	12	3	3	6	12	25	-13	12
St Albans Shirley	13	2	1	10	10	32	-22	7
FC Twenty11	15	0	2	13	15	70	-55	2

Blackwells Holden English Cup - Semi Final Draw is out

16 July 7:30pm: Selwyn vs. Christchurch United

30 July 7:30pm: Coastal Spirit vs. Cashmere Technical

Blackwells Holden English Cup - Semi-final: Selwyn 0 ChCh United 3 HT 0 - 1

Tonight's Blackwells Holden English Cup Semi-Final

Cashmere Technical 2 (Aaron Chapham, Garbhan Coughlan) Coastal Spirit 1 (Ant Jones) HT 0 - 1

Cashmere Technical, the current cup holders will now play Christchurch United in the Final

Interesting article on stuff today with plenty of local content on sports betting. 

Link is here.

Would have been good if they mentioned that was possible to bet on other local sport as well as seen both rugby and league options as well over recent months.

Have heard rumours from a few clubs that they regularly get overseas based people asking private questions on their Facebook Page for information on games!

From what I am aware all of these people have been either ignored or blocked on Facebook but I’m sure it wouldn’t take much for someone to actually answer them if they really had the thought in them.

Yer I can confirm this. When I used to run the twitter I'd often get DMs asking for info, but more often than not it was for when our women's game happened to be playing the same team that our men were. The overseas betters were looking for an advantage and thought that by our tweets that the men's game had kicked off early, and they'd be able to make a quick buck. Stoopid.

Dates for play-off spot in Mainland Premier League for 2020 have been confirmed:

14th Sept: FC Nelson host 1st leg

21st Sept: ChCh United host 2nd leg

From FC Nelson's facebook page

Not sure that's Guppy Park?

Ken France RIP - From NZ Football Website

New Zealand Football is sad to hear of the passing of former All White Kenneth (Ken) France.

He passed away peacefully on Friday 30 August at home surrounded by his family and friends, aged 78.

France represented New Zealand from 1967 to 1973, playing in five internationals for the national team.

He played four games for New Zealand in 1967, the first as a substitute against Singapore at a Vietnam National Day tournament on 8 November. He started in the next game against Vietnam on 10 November.

New Zealand then travelled home via Kuala Lumpur and Perth playing Malaysia and West Australia. He played in both of these games, captaining New Zealand in the second.

He was a member of the New Brighton club – which later amalgamated with Rangers to form the present day Coastal Spirit – at the time and went on to transfer to Christchurch United.

While with Christchurch United, he represented New Zealand against New Caledonia in Noumea in 1971 and against Iran in Auckland in 1973.

The English-born France, who had a long career as a policeman, was a former Bolton Wanderers apprentice and England Youth and Schoolboys international.

France tasted Chatham Cup glory in 1972 when he captained Christchurch United to an epic, three-game final series victory over Mount Wellington.

In 2013, France reflected on this success, saying lifting the cup with Christchurch United was among the highlights of his football career.

“That’s a good memory. I remember coming back to the airport [after winning the cup in Auckland in 1972] and the place was packed,” he said. “It’s nice to look back and say that you’ve done it.”

He also played in the 1974 team which defeated Wellington Diamond United at QE II Stadium.

As well as his winning appearances for Christchurch United in the Chatham Cup, he was on the losing side in 1968 when Technical (now Cashmere Technical) lost 2-0 to Eastern Suburbs.

Ken was the much-loved husband of Marion and beloved dad of Ian and Gail.

100th time the English Cup is being played for today between ChCh United and Cashmere Technical, English Park at 3pm.

Blackwells Holden English Cup Final

Cashmere Technical 1 (Benji Lapslie) Christchurch United 0 HT 0 - 0

Steve Summer Memorial Medal MVP - Benji Lapslie