Football Ferns

None of these players have been coached to play this way through the years. Not a single one of them. The whole ethos of womens and girls football from juniors to youth to seniors, school, club, federation or academy training has been to play pass and move football. 

If this is what imported coaches bring us, then I think we need to look at our own. I think NZF are a bit obsessed with “European credentials”. When was Austria last known for its footballing brilliance? 

#herafout

Coached by NZF Technical Director. Will be interesting to hear post match comments.

Post match comments very disappointing, basically said we aren't good enough to compete with teams like Japan and he went out there and set up so they didn't lose 8-0. No wonder there was rumours about what happen in women's camp and Erceg re-retiring, must be very disappointing for the players to have a coach that doesn't believe in you. 

Nobody in Europe plays football like this, it was 5-4-1, no pressing, after losing the ball they, they all ran back into their defense position. The counters where hopeless. Japan was a class above, they pass and move with confidence. Result is flattering.

An insult to the last decade of work in the women’s game. These players know how to play out from the back, through the thirds. They have been regularly competitive without getting as many wins as they should. In appointing the NZ technical director, was throwing out football agreed to as his preferred playing style, by whom? Heraf, in his post match comments, has shown zero respect for players or football culture of NZ. And he is implementing this negative football pile of shark across the U20s and U17s as well. Sack this guy now before he does irreparable damage.  #HerafOUT

PS. No thought given to all our young female footballers, who are coached to play the beautiful game, and rarely get a chance to watch the Ferns.

quite how any self respecting coach can set a team up to play like this is beyond me

and given the occasion and the crowd it's even more disappoinintg

what a dick

Just another NZ Football cock up hiring this clown

Get a load of this...

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/10...

New Zealand football is fudgeed if this is the guy in charge of our technical development, and the Football Ferns are already taking big backwards steps. You can tell by some of the quotes from players before and after the game that they aren’t behind him and are biting their tongues. No wonder Abby Erceg left.

again, how are up and coming players going to look to overseas prospect teams when they are playing dogshark football.

that was a real shame! Took my boy to the game - he's 8 and even he was asking "when do we start playing footy". This style of football died 30 years ago! If we'd play any kind of passing game today, like these women are used to then we may still have lost but I suspect we'd have challenged them.

Hearn was simply lost upfront, she doesnt have the pace anymore to chase long ball after long ball, we looked heaps better when we the subs came on. should have played a 4-1-3-2 shape if he wanted to be "defensive".

Wow. Reading his comments about the quality we have, insane that dude. His plan in a nutshell, every country bigger than NZ we will play for the smallest possible loss, not even trying to go forward. What an ass!

This was a home friendly, try to bring on a show, if it does not work and say you are three down, go to plan B and park the bus.

The other thing here is that, if you want to set your team up to prioritize your defence, sitting back and allowing the opposition to come at you is not the way to do it, unless of course you have a proper counter attacking plan. but this was just hoping for the best

The wife,(Vickmeist), came back, (I was looking after the foster kitten and mum), and said it was awful. A real shame I was looking forward to this. It's a massive sport now and needs to be embraced. Wife said "hoofball" and "did nothing"

I think while this was the female side of our game.(And they have been a great shopping for our country).

Today has set the whole development of our sport (both sexes) back to the days we played in rugby boots, with wet leather balls and a caveman as ref.

This joke should be dismissed by 9-00am if NZF has any regard for players and spectators. I doubt they will as it will involve a payout and we know how tight they are.

Parents and coaches now need to read bus driver manuels before gaining any coach licences

The punster in me is going to pretend you just made a pun about coaches and buses

Heaf's style is based around what he calls "Chip and Star", which is just a nice way of saying "lump it up top and pick up the pieces."

There has been a bit of chat here about the unsourced rumours that guys like Hyslop and Voerman have written about and the quotes in that article are exactly why he isn't liked. The federations don't like him, a lot of coaches don't like him, and now fans don't like him. And by don't like I mean "are completely at odds with his philosophy"  He doesn't actually believe in NZ's football development and it's bizarre that he got the job with the attitude he has.

Today I heard from 2 sources that current players in the Womens U20 and U17 teams HATE this approach from Heraf. Against everything they know as as young extremely good footballers. I have known both the sources and the players for years (I’ve coached one of them). Isn’t Heraf’s appointment one of the reasons behind NZF Congress rebellion? 

I don't know anything about the congress rebellion, but the speculation rings true. He came down to Wellington a couple of times right after taking over and left a nasty taste in a lot of mouths.

I know an U17 player who I imagine would have been appalled at what she saw today. I fear Heraf might think her too good a player to pick because she might actually try to play some football.

http://nzh.tw/12059374

I would rather see us lose 8-0 trying to play pass and move football than this. At least you can see what you did wrong. The only way to get better at pass and move on the international stage is to give it a go, keep trying. Playing the way we did doesnt improve, it simply practices that type of football. It doesnt progress anything.

NZF brought in the WOF plan, in among all the information and coaching given to coaches was the very clear set of plans to create players capable of playing pass and move football. Playing out from the back was a big part of it and at all Federation trainings and all NZF coaching courses these ideas are put forward.

I mentioned it before and I will repeat it, not one single player in our womans team has been brought up or coached in the various environments in the NZ football scene to play that way.  I remember watching Annalie Longo nearly 15 years ago being coached at an AFF training session by Andy Clay well before the WOF plan was in place and even then the training session was all about pass, technique and skills growth.

NZF identified for the WOF plan that not once in our entire history in the FIFA technical reports after world cups be they age group, male or female or senior or Olympic sides did we ever get mentioned for any sort of technical excellence. That was one of NZF's driving ambitions that the WOF was hopefully going to address over time. This sort of approach completely undermines those ideals and ambitions.

Heraf has a problem now and he can't blame on misunderstandings.

I listened to all the hullabaloo the last couple of weeks about the last camp, Erceg leaving and the other stuff. I largely didn't give two sharks what Erceg had to say because she has tossed her toys before so I just wrote it off as an amateur having a whinge about a coach thats been about longer than her

BUT

When you see what was on display today, it does not take a genius to put it all together and figure out where the disharmony comes from and then his comments reported in the post match presser are simply unacceptable especially with his role. I don't believe its in the Kiwi ethos to simply not try and the 'we would rather be ugly and lose 3-1 than try and lose 8-0' does sit at all well with our culture.

I was clearly wrong to ignore the noise and believe Heraf was not the issue simply based on his pedigree. Having seen what was on the pitch, its clear that he is the issue and NZF wont be able to gloss it over and spin it on Monday once further questions come

You can't tell me there aren't New Zealand (or New Zealand based) coaches with or without paper 'qualifications' that couldn't do a better job than this clown.  I don't know if this is a bigger indictment on him, or on NZF for hiring him as i'm sure he didn't hide his philosophy.  Makes me very worried about the future of the men's side if his mate Schmid shares the same philosophy.

Also, if NZ Football do go ahead with his plan of creating a NZF football academy, what would be the curriculum?  Fitness to get behind the ball at all costs, and leg weights to hump it as long as possible, with some set piece training thrown in?  I think i'd rather leave it in the capable hands of our multiple competing acadamies.

Was this a waste of NZF funds?.

Jeez.... That was shameful.

Agree with whats already been said by others but what a "clusterf**k"  NZF is in having this clown in his positions & with his attitude to the game in NZ.

Whilst its been said this team can play (if allowed), they were so far of Japan in terms of agility, technique, game awareness, everything...

Whilst I overheard some 10/11 yr old girls oohing & aaahing over Japans play which may provide them the inspiration to take up or keep up with the game, how sad that there didn't look like one local player who could (or was instructed not to) provide that inspiration to the future stars of the NZ game in what may be their only opportunity to see them play live in years.

If NZ had gone out there & played, lost by 5/6/7 (which they should have in this game) but the NZ team, a player had shown some spark & creativity or individual genius, that would have done so much more for the potential "Future Fern" watching in the stand than this garbage.

If Heraf, NZF cant see that & think this is acceptable progress....jeez. 

The only good thing out of that game was a new record attendance for watching a Women's international in this country. 7,000 or so showed up. Eat that QBE.

Well done to those whom could and did attend. Commiserations to those whom didn't finish work in time to get there - me. Saw some on a TV.

Who's to say we would have got spanked if we tried to play properly? Like a reporter said, when have they ever lost 8-0?

The term proactive football means a number of things, among them denying the opposition the opportunity to score. Sitting back gives the opposition every chance to score and gives yourself none.

Even the All Whites in South Africa played with 3 up top so they had a valid and dangerous outlet. Furthermore, once they had stretched the field they sough to play through Elliott in midfield. That dangerous Norway team of the 90's sat deep and hit long balls to a front 3. Even though they were defensive they were proactive

Quite simply, no one plays like this any more. Watch Saudi, Iran, Costa Rica etc at the World Cup, they will set up properly and they all have a plan to win matches even though they are so so so much weaker than the tournament favorites. And yes, within their formations playing styles etc they will be cautious, but they will do this by doing things like instructing the full backs to hold and the central midfielders to keep shape. Costa Rica play a back 5, but watch the full backs bomb forward and they often play a high line

Like mike above, i'm worried that this philosophy is going to be implemented nationally. Who's to say Fritz wouldn't have played this way if we were up against world class opposition last week?

More from Piney, appears this is Heraf style as it is what he had the Australian U-20s play in the past too. Worrying for NZ football. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12068215

Telling Kiwis they can’t compete with the best in the world is the antithesis of  the national character.

In my view, in the role he is in as national technical director, he has shown he is an unsuitable fit for the job. 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?...

Words fail me.  I can understand the negative football at senior mens national level on a case by case basis when outclassed (not women's, because I honestly believe our womens players are capable of still being competetive playing football against the top sides), but to embrace and TRAIN for it at youth level where results don't matter is just horrendous.

I never thought I’d ever say this but can we revolt and put Declan in as national technical director?

My views on the game:

1. Well done, Wellington!

Went with my wife and toddler in tow and had a blast - great to see almost 8k there!

2. Japan were class

Top side playing world-cup football. They were disciplined, talented and implemented a flawless game plan. Had it not been for Nayler, we would have shipped 5 or 6 easily.

3. May I join the Heraf bashing brigade please?

Not disputing the fact that a defensive approach was important in this game - we played SO POORLY it wasn't funny. Capital 14-style, ball to the right back and hoof it in the corner every single time. I expected better from a NT. Having watched the Ferns under Reading in the past, I saw a massive step backwards yesterday. It's still early times, but Heraf has a long road ahead of him.

4. Was pleasantly surprised by a couple of the subs (especially the curly-haired lady who came on mid-way through the second half) - a real live wire!

I can tell you my kid is not playing like this, neither any team they played against, they all play 'modern' style football. I think parents will revolt when they have to drive their kids to games and look at this crap. I guess my boy would just stop playing for the team, he is to smart to accept those old school tactics. Ferns should revolt like Erceg, I think we all support them!

Sigh. Always has to be a pissing contest in this country, huh! Grow up.

Yep because the Home of Football should not be on the shore anymore. Back to the Japan game. There are some big positives. If I was the NZ ladies, I would be taking note of how Japan played, what they played as a team and as individuals. They could use this as a frame in which to play their individual games as such.

The reality is, the women's game we want our young players watching at the weekend was Upper Hutt v West's in the W-League.

Our ladies have the talent as shown by the number playing overseas now. We just need them to be directed into a more constructive style and formation.

Took my women's team to the game, complete with Japanese exchange student. Was incredibly disappointed and even embarrassed by our approach to the game. The players don't like playing football like that, no one likes watching football like that and I question any coach who thinks that is an acceptable approach at any level of the game. NZF need to do better, Heraf will set the country back years if we leave him to continue to do what he has started.