All Whites v Egypt | Sat 23rd March | 9:00am | FIFA+

Nice bonus of the tourney being transferred to Egypt. Hopefully they were escorted away from the annoying camel ride renting touts.

The teams at the ACUD cup were all invited by @EgyptNT_EN to do an official visit to the Pyramids today which was an amazing experience 🇳🇿🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/FqeKvSAsRa

— New Zealand Football 🇳🇿 (@NZ_Football) March 24, 2024

Not sure if you can see this but someone’s uploaded the whole game: 

I have no valid way of proving this, but my belief is that this squad of players would be producing better and more effective football if coached by Des Buckingham.

Khalil Media

I have no valid way of proving this, but my belief is that this squad of players would be producing better and more effective football if coached by Des Buckingham.

I think the U20 World Cup performance is proof enough.

Danny Hay is a flog for forcing Des out and NZF are idiots for siding with Danny.

If Buckingham had beaten Hay to the AWs job in 2019, I doubt he would still be coaching the team 5 years later. For young coaches with ambition the holy grail is a head job at a pro club. Oxford United gaffer job is probably paying more than coaching the AWs, and their competitive games are more interesting than Fiji, PNG & Vanuatu.

Post 2022, and AWs either going to Qatar or not, most likely that Des would have left for the next rung up the ladder. Even Hudson got a quality club gig (Colorado Rapids). The Canadian FA, better resourced than NZF couldn't keep John Herdman post Qatar. Whether Buckingham would be getting better out of this current squad is all pretty moot now. He's not in the job, and even if in a different universe he was given the role in 2019, he wouldn't still be there.

It's just depressing talking about Des too. No use crying over spilt milk.

Based on Oxfords results since he took over, he may not be the messiah so many people have made him out to be.

Don't get me wrong, I liked him and what he did with the team, but coaching a u20 side made up of mainly amatuers is very different to a senior side full of pros.

MetalLegNZ

Based on Oxfords results since he took over, he may not be the messiah so many people have made him out to be.

Don't get me wrong, I liked him and what he did with the team, but coaching a u20 side made up of mainly amatuers is very different to a senior side full of pros.

Yip. PAFCs new manager proves this point. Successful England youth manager but garbage club manager who might get the club relegated from a mid table position when he took over.

Khalil Media

I have no valid way of proving this, but my belief is that this squad of players would be producing better and more effective football if coached by Des Buckingham.

It’s hard to say- he’s struggling at Oxford and had mixed times at Mumbai. 

My question is- with all our footy knowledge- what would he or a different coach be doing? What would be the differences of focus or tactics? 

I wonder if one less player at the back and one more in the midfield might be a start. Rufer/Bell, Lewis, Stamenic, Singh is where our strength and form is. It would also allow Payne and Libby to bomb forward in theory. And creates a formation to potentially fit Conchie, Dibley-Dias and Leuluai in the future.

And thinking back to Mark Richardson- rampagers rampage better given a secure foundation. So Old, Waine, Mata, Garbett, Libby, Payney, Singh, Wood, Kosta, Just, McCowatt, Sloan-Rodrigues and any other rampagers would perform better with a more secure keep.

martinb

Khalil Media

I have no valid way of proving this, but my belief is that this squad of players would be producing better and more effective football if coached by Des Buckingham.

It’s hard to say- he’s struggling at Oxford and had mixed times at Mumbai. 

My question is- with all our footy knowledge- what would he or a different coach be doing? What would be the differences of focus or tactics? 

I wonder if one less player at the back and one more in the midfield might be a start. Rufer/Bell, Lewis, Stamenic, Singh is where our strength and form is. It would also allow Payne and Libby to bomb forward in theory. And creates a formation to potentially fit Conchie, Dibley-Dias and Leuluai in the future.

And thinking back to Mark Richardson- rampagers rampage better given a secure foundation. So Old, Waine, Mata, Garbett, Libby, Payney, Singh, Wood, Kosta, Just, McCowatt, Sloan-Rodrigues and any other rampagers would perform better with a more secure keep.

One less player at the back? Last few games Bazeley has gone with a back 4.

coochiee

martinb

Khalil Media

I have no valid way of proving this, but my belief is that this squad of players would be producing better and more effective football if coached by Des Buckingham.

It’s hard to say- he’s struggling at Oxford and had mixed times at Mumbai. 

My question is- with all our footy knowledge- what would he or a different coach be doing? What would be the differences of focus or tactics? 

I wonder if one less player at the back and one more in the midfield might be a start. Rufer/Bell, Lewis, Stamenic, Singh is where our strength and form is. It would also allow Payne and Libby to bomb forward in theory. And creates a formation to potentially fit Conchie, Dibley-Dias and Leuluai in the future.

And thinking back to Mark Richardson- rampagers rampage better given a secure foundation. So Old, Waine, Mata, Garbett, Libby, Payney, Singh, Wood, Kosta, Just, McCowatt, Sloan-Rodrigues and any other rampagers would perform better with a more secure keep.

One less player at the back? Last few games Bazeley has gone with a back 4.

 
Yuh, just realised. Felt like a back 5! One less player forward and then you’ve got Stamenic playing box to box. I’d still argue another defensive player might be more attacking..!