Can anyone tell me what Heraf did wrong again? was he just trying to change the culture and tell a few home truths.This group of women must be the most overrated over funded and under performing team that Nz Football has ever put together.Quite a large number of these players have surely played their last game for New Zealand, Oh but hang on the Olympics are coming up lets stick together as a family and not worry about the future and if they don't pick us lets stick together and moan to NZ Football about unfair treatment and waste more money getting Pip Muir back to tell us that the environment is wrong.When its the culture these ageing players want to maintain.so tell me again what was it Heraf did wrong. Not to worry Andy Boyens will sort it for us God help us in that regard.
I can kind of see your point. Heraf culturally was the wrong choice as coach. Dictatorial Germanic European coach meets laid back kiwis....However his assessment of the Ferns was bang on. i watched all their WC games and they were very very poor and very limited.. They set up defending in two banks of four and hoofed any possession up field. It caught the Dutch out in the first half of the first game but after that it was all one way traffic. The second game they were dreadful. Some of the worse football I have ever seen from any NZ team. They were dominated by a very weak Cameroon team in the last game but did better in the last 20 minutes as Cameroon pushed forward for a winning goal. The NZ side was the only team not to score a goal in the whole tournament.
I cant help think there is a culture of entitlement that has crept into the NZ football scene. Hudson, who said a lot of dumb things was actually bang on when he criticised the poor attitude of some young NZ male players. When you look at social media of some of the Ferns and some of the NZ age group teams you would think they were global football stars.
Personally I think NZ football has got the cart before the horse with the womens game. The Ferns got an elite program with loads of clinics and warm up games but they are no way elite level. Rather than fly people around in business class and stay in nice hotels they should use this money to try and grow the womens game at grass roots level. Better youth coaching and facilities for the girls might just start producing some players, that as a group can do better than a 55% pass success rate. The under 17 girls would be a good place to start
His assessment of the Ferns was miles off target. He got his assessment of their mentality completely wrong by telling everyone we shouldnt try but should do our best to limit damage. The players absolutely hated that and thats what set them off, it was pretty widely reported so not sure why you appear to have missed it.
Where does this laid back Kiwi bollocks come from? Have a look through NZ's sporting history and it is chock full of intensity, skill, courage, hunger, drive and all those sorts of adjectives. Just because we are generally friendly as a country has never meant we lack drive and intensity in sport.
He was also miles off in his assessment in the Ferns ability, beautifully illustrated by our recent win over England. yes it was against the run of play and yes we did play on the counter and yes it was a warm up friendly game but then the Japanese game where he made his ignorant comments was also a friendly. The thing which bothered the players was the idea that they shouldnt even try or think about competing.
With respect to the WC its the coach that set the team out to play on the counter attack, ask any of the players if they would have been comfortable attempting to play another style or tactic and you will hear a resounding yes. Thats because they have the exact opposite mentality of being laid back in their efforts. The important point being that Heraf effectively said dont bother trying because your shark.
Heraf was an absolute fudgewit and nothing he said or did is worth merit, he fully deserved to be sent packing. It has nothing to do with German/Austrian triats etc but all to do with being clueless.
With respect to funding etc the Ferns are at the end of a cycle that started sometime around 2007 and they fully deserved the level of support they got through the last 10 years despite never quite getting to the targets they themselves set. Their current slide down the rankings and perceived position in international womens football has a lot to do with the fact a large number of the traditional football nations who previously didnt give a sharke about womens football have changed tune and woken up to the importance of womens football in the bigger scheme of things and are now taking it seriously. We have stagnated in our development and need a jump start and hopefully this end of cycle will get things moving again. Yep move some of the funding for the Ferns to the younger sides by all means, its time to do so.
Hudson was also a fudgewit and his comments about the younger players having a poor attitude is nicely made to look moronic by Buckinghams efforts with the U20s' Attitude, team culture, hunger, desire, workrate, skill technique etc etc etc are all driven by the coaches. Buckingham who quietly went about his job produced a thrilling team of young NZ players whilst blowhard big mouth Hudson produced some of the very worst football I have ever seen from the AW's and blamed players attitudes.... Actually I first started watching the AW's in the early 60's and Hudsons AW's played without doubt the worst football I have ever seen the AW's play.
