History for andrewvoerman

As promised...

Did you see a thing different to what I saw in Dublin and Vilnius at the games? eg management favouring certain players, or different formations/tactics being tried out?

I won’t reply to every single of Marto's takes, but I’d disagree strongly with him about Just, as posted earlier in this thread. Watching the Republic of Ireland game back he was the one player who grew in my estimations from watching live (when I still thought he was bloody good). He’s so comfortable on the ball and was brilliant at finding space and clearly better at those then many more older guys. Not as impactful coming into a more intense match in a deeper role as he did against Lithuania, for sure.

Also thought Rojas against Lithuania looked good – and like someone who’d do well with the full-strength team around him. Collier also showed glimpses in both matches, and would be ahead of de Jong and Mata to return.

When you’re trying to do things with two matches 28 months from now in mind, you have to take some risks in blooding/exposing players and seeing how they fare (though I think some of those you listed won’t be back in March, and those who do come back will be on the fringes as the focus turns to the core group).

Waine’s time will come, and I don’t think he’d earned a nod over Collier, de Jong, Mata based on their respective club efforts in 2019. If he kicks on for the Phoenix this summer, with those three likely not to play a lot between now and March, and none of them really demanding inclusion on this tour, that could be his chance.

I didn’t notice any stretches where it wasn’t 4-3-3, but one thing I expect to see being introduced is a bit more pressing/counter-pressing. There were periods against Lithuania where they did a bit, and the codeword ’shiver,’ which they use to highlight the need to counter-press, was audible, but that side of the game was a casualty of the limited time together.

It’s hard to really say about favouring certain players off two games with two different XIs, but I think the Republic of Ireland XI + Rojas + the centre backs who featured v Lithuania is clearly the start of a core group.

Also is Rory any good as a coach?

Given that his primary involvement was for cultural, off-the-field reasons, that’s hard for me to judge, as 90 per cent of what that entails took place out of sight of prying eyes. But in that regard, the feedback I got from some of the younger guys was that it was good to have him around.

On the field, his heaviest involvement at training was working on finishing with the forwards (and being the 22nd player in Vilnius so they could line up 11v11). Against Lithuania he was the coaching staff’s eyes in the sky, feeding back what he could see from a proper angle as well as what the team's analyst (Joe Moore (not the comedian)) was picking up; he probably did that v the Republic of Ireland as well, I just didn’t eyeball him doing it.

What exactly did Rory seem to be doing? What was his involvement at training sessions?

See above.

More broadly, Hay was very hands on in running the show, with Emblen the other man in the middle when they were doing tactical work.

For the moment does the relationship between Hay and Buckingham seem okay? They were rivals for AWs job, but is important going forward for NZ Football that they get on. Hay picking a number of young players, that would have gained more valuable international experience, prior to Olympics would have pleased Buckingham surely.

As far as I’m aware, they’re fine.

Now that this window is out of the way, the big thing re: the All Whites/OlyWhites relationship will be figuring out how things will work next June and July.

The OFC Nations Cup runs from from June 6 to June 20 in a country TBD, so May 25 to June 20 when you take in the mandatory release window. Don’t expect to see many top-tier European-based players or US-based professionals (who obviously have a clash) there. But if that's the case, there should be plenty of under-23 eligible players involved, yet...

The Olympics run from July 23 to August 8, and there is no mandatory release, whether for under-23s or overage players. I expect there will be a similar on-the-ground buildup as for the U20 WC this year, but nothing explicitly for the OlyWhites before that.

Plenty of negotiating between the two coaches, players, and clubs ahead – I’ve seen plenty of ‘add Reid, Thomas, Wood to the OlyWhites’ chat around here, but that’s very unlikely to happen, IMO. More likely to see de Jong, Payne, Roux.

Did older players like Smith, Reid, Boxall seem to embrace the change to playing less route one football?

Reid and Smith both seemed genuinely excited by it, speaking after the Republic of Ireland match. I’d figure Boxall is too, though he probably looked the least comfortable of the five CBs on the ball (not helped playing as a right-footer on the left).

Any indication that either Boxall or Tuiloma could be a starting right back option?

None. Tuiloma hasn’t played RB in years and is seen as the future senior CB once the Boxall/Reid/Smith trio are done. Boxall, IMO, doesn’t have the touch to play RB in this system. Roux was pretty good, I thought (having watched the Republic of Ireland game twice – live and the night after), except for getting beaten for the third goal. Will take a bit for Fenton, D Ingham or Payne to move ahead of him in Hay’s eyes at this stage.

Any rumours about Nando Pijnaker?

I last saw him at Vilnius airport on Monday morning, where he was about to board the same flight as Max Mata. Make of that what you will.

Who is in charge of updating the Wikipedia pages these days?

Not sure, but Hay’s could use a refresh.

Given the lack of contact time a coach has with players, what are trainings like to get the most of the short time and what is in place to prepare players between windows?

I didn’t see Monday’s, which didn’t feature the five Phoenix players or Storm Roux, but I gather it was very much a light session. Tuesday they focused on their shape and roles/responsibilities for when they had possession; Wednesday on shape and roles/responsibilities for when they didn’t have the ball. Those focuses probably took up 45 minutes to an hour of the 90-minute sessions, sandwiched by warmups/rondos and finishing (Tuesday)/defensive set pieces (Wednesday).

They then trained again on Vilnius on Saturday, which was lighter, given the travel, with a bit of tactical work for the new XI in the middle.

I imagine there’s a lot going on off the pitch in terms of tactical explanations/plans etc, but to my eyes (and it’s not like I’ve seen a heap of training sessions generally) they seemed to pack plenty into the short space of time, though not to the crazy extent I saw on a couple of occasions under Anthony Hudson, where everything seemed to be planned out to the minute.

What are the systems in place to evaluate the performance/form of players around the globe (especially considering the level some are playing, 4th and 3rd tier Scandinavian leagues, Baltic leagues etc.)

I’m not sure if there are ‘systems', per se – it just comes down to watching players and making judgments (like everyone on here does). Seeing how they do in the All Whites environment is the only way to really compare. This forum can get too caught up in judging players on the leagues they play in v judging them on how they play. I think the likes of Bell, Just and Pijnaker are all well aware they need to move up, but that's something which is far easier said than done, and there's a lot to be said for playing regularly v going too big too soon.

To pick up on the 2022 v 2026 chat – here’s an age chart for the Republic of Ireland/Lithuania squad, which I think shows a pretty good balance. Is there really anyone for whom 2022 is the last chance who's not involved?

87: McGlinchey (Turns 35 in 2022, 39 in 2026)