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The final 26 Panel for WC. PEOPLE'S PICK

429 replies · 20,195 views

2 days ago

The other aspect to consider is that, as mentioned in the article, players get a $250,000 bonus each for selection. That’s correct right?

Garbett and de Vries most likely to be ruled out? I think we need more FB cover.

If Garbett goes, it isn’t really because we need another creative midfielder/forward, but the strength of his character and past performances.

But I feel like we need as much cover at RB and LB as possible, both to do tactical switches and to cover for energy levels, injuries, form and provide intensity in training.

I guess I’d like to see both McGarry and Rogerson on the plane. I admit I don’t know much about Wilkins and it’s a bit late for him to settle in the team imo. Roux has been up and down in form and Elliot seems preferred to him. Or maybe McGarry and Roux…

Anyway, injuries, recovery and Baze will shape these last places!

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2 days ago · edited 2 days ago · History

Garbett apparently is very close to a return for the Posh. Libby sounds further away from playing at Wrexham. Latest update was getting another scan.

Overall Bazeley has been quoted as saying all the injured except FDV should be playing in April for their clubs.

If everyone (except Sail) is fit to be picked, as AV writes it likely leaves only 3 spots left open.
3rd GK - Sims/Gray/Woud
5th CB/defensive utility - Smith/Tuiloma/Stanger
Midfield squaddie spot - Bayliss/OPP/ADJ

Unless there are injuries none of McGarry, Roux, Wilkins or Rogerson are likely to be picked.

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2 days ago

Team culture is huge in determining results. If Smith strengthens that, then I would take him. The 5th CB won't play.

Plenty of teams pick older players for their experience and influence, why can't we?

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2 days ago · edited 2 days ago · History

I don't think Smith should be picked. But a clear precedent for the AWs is when Hudson was in charge. The playoffs against Peru, and Fallon was selected in the 23 man squad.

I remember transiting through BA Airport enroute to the away game in Lima in 2017. Everyone a bit jet lagged. Saw a table of AWs and went over to wish them good luck. A bunch of younger players (incl a very fresh faced Ryan Thomas). Father figure Rory was holding court, and was the one who thanked me for my fan boy approach. I also accidentally stood on Stef Marinovic's large foot entering the urinals.

Baze's first AWs involvement does go back to the Hudson era when he was an assistant from 2015-2017. So to be fair to him he does have 11 odd years around the national team environment, hopefully knowing what's needed & what's not.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/98563312/no-one-missing-as-all-whites-squad-named-for-world-cup-playoff-against-peru

Fallon's return has already raised a few eyebrows, which is fair, given that he currently plays for Dorchester Town, in the English seventh tier, and hasn't been seen in an All Whites shirt for more than a year.

Hudson wants him in the mix because of what he offers off the field, rather than what he does on it. The gaffer sees Fallon as the perfect teammate, a wise head who knows when to have a laugh and when not to, someone who can keep the mood light and ease the tension as the pressure starts to build, and he believes that makes him more valuable than a youngster who can offer none of that, and whose chances of playing are equally as slim.

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2 days ago · edited 2 days ago · History

I'm not sure we should be holding up Anthony Hudson's precedents as something to follow.

Im all for Smith traveling with the squad and filling that role. No boots required though.

Valley FC til I die?

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2 days ago · edited 2 days ago · History

It isn't a case of Tommy going for someone who wouldn't get gametime anyway.

In today's game, with 5 subs (with a 6th in extra time and also possible concussion substitutions), more players will get opportunities to play and it is more useful to have more options.

If he is going instead of Tuiloma for instance, if Payne does his hammy we are completely reliant on Elliot. And Tuiloma is an extremely useful set pice weapon, both taking and getting on the end of them, it would be great to have him as an option to throw on late when we are desperate for a goal.

If Tommy wasn't Chris Wood's best mate then no chance would he go. Nepotistic bullshit

Edit: hahaha, Payne out of today's Nix game due to his hamstring. Thanks for bolstering my point Tim

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2 days ago

And neither Tuiloma or Elliot have played 90 minutes a lot, especially at a WC intensity.

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2 days ago

Proper weird people in here having a go at Smith when it is Bazeley who picks the squad.

Can understand ire towards Baze, completely deserved. Smith is just another footballer doing his job. Saying he should turn down a WC spot is nonsense. You wouldn't, why should he?

Three for me, and two for them.

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2 days ago

Rufer and Tuiloma were terrific tonight.

Oi Oi Edgecumbe... lets have a clean sheet

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2 days ago

Buffon II wrote:
Proper weird people in here having a go at Smith when it is Bazeley who picks the squad.

Can understand ire towards Baze, completely deserved. Smith is just another footballer doing his job. Saying he should turn down a WC spot is nonsense. You wouldn't, why should he?

But you must understand that the fact that Tommy Smith is Wood's best mate is a factor here? Baze may feel like he almost has to pick him to keep Chris Wood happy. It shouldn't be this way, but Baze is not in a particularly strong position because he has no CV to speak of and got the job by being in the right place at the right time.

I blame all of Wood, Smith & Baze for the situation. But Smith could end this farce today by saying that he wouldn't accept a callup, he knows there are too many options that should be ahead of him etc. They should get him along for the World Cup campaign, he can train with the squad and be in the environment, they can get training kit with #27 on it made up for him, he just can't sit on the substitutes bench.

He of course has previous when it comes to not accepting call-ups. I'd perhaps be more willing to accept Smith as a culture/leadership guy if I had forgotten the dude walked away from the All Whites for years at one point when it suited him.

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2 days ago

Buffon II wrote:
Proper weird people in here having a go at Smith when it is Bazeley who picks the squad.

Can understand ire towards Baze, completely deserved. Smith is just another footballer doing his job. Saying he should turn down a WC spot is nonsense. You wouldn't, why should he?

To be honest its your acceptance that i think is weird. you seem to think its okay to select someone who is hardly playing and when he does its in lower levels.
Myself and others just dont see how his selection ahead of some ot the promising players we have who will get far more out of and offer much more for the future than Smith will or can.
I get his experience could be useful but that can be done on the sidelines because surely you cant be suggesting he is playing at a level that justifys his selection ahead of others.

GET YOUR SHIRTS OFF FOR THE BOYS

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1 day ago

There is no evidence Smith is being picked because hes Woods best mate.

Both are seasoned professionals as is Baz, it's a bullshit assertion with no merit.

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1 day ago

Sometimes the best and most honourable thing to do is retire from international football.

Auckland will rise once more

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1 day ago · edited 1 day ago · History

imanixsupporter wrote:
Buffon II wrote:
Proper weird people in here having a go at Smith when it is Bazeley who picks the squad.

Can understand ire towards Baze, completely deserved. Smith is just another footballer doing his job. Saying he should turn down a WC spot is nonsense. You wouldn't, why should he?
But you must understand that the fact that Tommy Smith is Wood's best mate is a factor here? Baze may feel like he almost has to pick him to keep Chris Wood happy. It shouldn't be this way, but Baze is not in a particularly strong position because he has no CV to speak of and got the job by being in the right place at the right time.

I blame all of Wood, Smith & Baze for the situation. But Smith could end this farce today by saying that he wouldn't accept a callup, he knows there are too many options that should be ahead of him etc. They should get him along for the World Cup campaign, he can train with the squad and be in the environment, they can get training kit with #27 on it made up for him, he just can't sit on the substitutes bench.

He of course has previous when it comes to not accepting call-ups. I'd perhaps be more willing to accept Smith as a culture/leadership guy if I had forgotten the dude walked away from the All Whites for years at one point when it suited him.

That's unfair towards Smith. Yes he was unavailable for the first few years of Hudson's reign, but he had been thrown under the bus as AWs captain for the Mexico intercontinental playoffs in 2013.

Those playoff games under Herbert were an incompetent clusterfuck of disorganisation by NZF, and the coaching group. No real quality games in the buildup, almost no proper preparation of analysis of the Mexicans, and no progress in playing style from 2010. Heave it forward and pray.

Couple that with some weird selections by Ricki - Jeremy Christie?? - and some of the starters like Roux, Tuiloma and Durante being basically on debut. The selections were all over the show building up to 2013. It was just an unwholly mess. Made worst by Herbert still be Nix coach (wearing 2 hats). Coaching a Nix game only a few days prior the AWs playing at the Azteca.

The poor players were set up to fail miserably. Twined with the equally piss poor prep for the Horror in Honiara, Smith just thought jack shit this mickey mouse football, I can't be fucked flying cattle class for 40 hours to do this crap, I'll just concentrate on my club career. Remembering this is a time when Ipswich were one of more consistent Championship sides going close to the promotion playoffs, during Tommy's time there.

It's all pretty similar to how Nelsen had a number of years out of the AWs when at Blackburn, as a protest at the mismanaged mess (Nations Cup fiasco in Adelaide) that NZ Soccer was.

The major reason why Hudson was popular with the AWs playing group (including eventually Smith) is that he fought NZF for much better funding and prep spending. And that rolled over to Hay and then Bazeley. There has been massive progression in that sphere compared to 2013. Ferns as well.

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1 day ago

Smith was a very wealthy footballer who could afford to upgrade himself to business class if flying cattle class to play for the national team was too unpleasant for him.

Fair enough that NZF was a shitshow but there are ways of addressing that that isn't just saying nothing publicly and refusing to play for the team.

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1 day ago

imanixsupporter wrote:
Smith was a very wealthy footballer who could afford to upgrade himself to business class if flying cattle class to play for the national team was too unpleasant for him.

Has to be a wind up.

Three for me, and two for them.

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1 day ago

Buffon II wrote:
imanixsupporter wrote:
Smith was a very wealthy footballer who could afford to upgrade himself to business class if flying cattle class to play for the national team was too unpleasant for him.

Has to be a wind up.

Must be. Smith was 23 years old when captain for those Mexican playoff matches. Why should he have had to pay for any flight upgrades back then.

Thankfully today the various national teams are well resourced, the preparation (senior teams anyway) is good, and the players pretty well looked after. No mickey mouse AWs/Nix job sharing.

But it wasn't always this way. Just ask Nellie, Smith and many others.

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1 day ago

Most players still fly cattle class

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1 day ago

If things have improved that much since those days. Its even more of a reason Smith shouldnt get an undeserved spot this time over players who it stand to gain a lot more from the experience than he would.

GET YOUR SHIRTS OFF FOR THE BOYS

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1 day ago

imanixsupporter wrote:
Most players still fly cattle class

From listening to Crocombe speak on Ben Foster's podcast it's normally Premium Economy.

Though maybe for big games like the the OFC WC qualifying semi/final March last year, it's at least one way Business Class??

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1 day ago

Economy, premium economy, whatever. It is also much easier now for NZF to give that modest upgrade to players when the world cup qualification windfall this time around was guaranteed, it wasn't back then. But again, I really see no reason why he couldn't have upgraded himself if it was that much of an issue for him. It of course wasn't, it was self-serving behaviour then to walk away from the team, just like taking away an actually deserving player's spot this time around would be.

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1 day ago

Is this too simplistic to view it this way?

26 players:
22 are 2 for each position (ignores flexibility of some of the 10s and wide forwards, or Old as LB/LW which offers more cover and options)
1 more is the third GK as the standard insurance policy (On experience seems to be Tsanev, Sims or Woud)
Room for three more squad players

Three more:
1. Could be more utility type players or something different. (Eg Owen Parker-Price brings something different)
2. Could be cultural architects like Tommy Smith with his experience and mana (Don't forget Marko calling out the attitude of the team after Finland game, perhaps with Wood, Smith, Cacace not there)
3. Could be next generation players to bring for the experience and no minutes, to feed their hunger and show belief in them they're the future (eg Henry Gray, Luke Brooke-Smith, Marley Leuluai, Ben Trenberth)

Supporting the supporters and love an away day anywhere in the world. Kiwis Can Fly!

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1 day ago · edited 1 day ago · History

imanixsupporter wrote:
Economy, premium economy, whatever. It is also much easier now for NZF to give that modest upgrade to players when the world cup qualification windfall this time around was guaranteed, it wasn't back then. But again, I really see no reason why he couldn't have upgraded himself if it was that much of an issue for him. It of course wasn't, it was self-serving behaviour then to walk away from the team, just like taking away an actually deserving player's spot this time around would be.

Smith's main issue wasn't what class of flights the AWs were getting, it was just that the whole 2014 WC qualifying campaign cycle was such a cluster fuck of disorganisation by amateur NZF. The Mexico playoffs being the nadir, as the players were set up to fail.

Herbert must shoulder a large amount of the blame, but then he didn't get the resourcing that Hudson and those who followed did. I remember Ricki commenting as much during the Huddo era. Also to have him going from coaching the Nix, to a few days later being in Mexico City preparing for those playoff games was in hindsight madness. He never really moved on from what worked in 2009-2010.

If you criticise Smith for walking away from the AWs for 1-2 years, then level similar at Nelsen who did exactly the same post the 2004 OFC Nations Cup debacle, Mick Waitt being supposedly undermined by Herbert etc. The team completely ill prepared in the build up.

I remember Nellie even lamenting in the 2010 WC buildup when the team were travelling around Europe playing Serbia and Slovenia, that NZ Soccer were still incredibly amateurish. He had to personally ring the NZS CEO and ask for some pretty basic resourcing stuff to help prepare for South Africa. Some story like that.

The culture war was you had guys like Nelsen and Smith coming from highly professional and well resourced UK club environments, then butting heads with tight arse part time NZ football administrators still stuck in 1982.

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1 day ago

ballane wrote:
If things have improved that much since those days. Its even more of a reason Smith shouldnt get an undeserved spot this time over players who it stand to gain a lot more from the experience than he would.

But we are not here to "give players experience."
We're here to do our best to get results in a game. How Baze manages that is up to him.

If he thinks there is more value in having Smith there as cover, with his experience in so many situations, and his proven footballing ability over the years, (he was in the A league winning team last year, remember), then its his call.
And if Smith feels like he can contribute in any way, of course he will go if picked.

Being best friends with Chris Wood is a great thing, not something to twist maliciously

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1 day ago

hepatitis wrote:
ballane wrote:
If things have improved that much since those days. Its even more of a reason Smith shouldnt get an undeserved spot this time over players who it stand to gain a lot more from the experience than he would.
But we are not here to "give players experience."
We're here to do our best to get results in a game. How Baze manages that is up to him.

If he thinks there is more value in having Smith there as cover, with his experience in so many situations, and his proven footballing ability over the years, (he was in the A league winning team last year, remember), then its his call.
And if Smith feels like he can contribute in any way, of course he will go if picked.

Being best friends with Chris Wood is a great thing, not something to twist maliciously

Nepotism is a bad thing, if thats what's happening here. Its not malicious to point that out.

Valley FC til I die?

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1 day ago · edited 1 day ago · History

I would level the exact same criticism at Nelsen, but he never expected to be picked when he was clearly past it and no longer deserving.

If Smith really cared about the All Whites he would have stayed at AFC this season (he was contracted for this season) so he could continue to be getting game time at a sufficiently high level so that he would maximise his chances of actually being able to contribute as a player, if he wanted a spot in the PLAYING squad. But he is entitled and thinks he can have his cake and eat it too, go into effective retirement in the UK and still get picked for an all expenses paid World Cup holiday experience.

Ironic that you bring up how improved NZF's professionalism is when this is the most obvious example of jobs for the boys nepotism ever, a player getting picked only because he is Wood's buddy.

But I should stop ranting about this, it is already decided that he is going to be in the 26 if fit. Voerman and Piney are predicting it, Baze saying he is under consideration when asked and even talking about him unprompted in the context of players who werent in the March squad who could be at the World Cup. I just hope it makes Chris Wood happy and enables him to deliver a meaningful goal for the All Whites at the World Cup, as he's never actually scored one for us.

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1 day ago · edited 1 day ago · History

I don't think Smith should be in the 26, but I also don't think he's playing the entitlement card either. It's open news his wife wasn't happy in NZ, and wanted to be back in the UK. He himself seemed content at Auckland FC and was getting plenty of playing time.

We wait to see what happens. He ain't fit at the moment.

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1 day ago · edited 1 day ago · History

If Wood needs his buddy in the squad - pick him. Because that means the Woodsman is in the squad. Who's Libby's best bud? Pick him too also.

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1 day ago

You boys hear we won in Melbourne?

Log off and go celebrate every moment of the day you aren’t working!

To the Johnny Cash tune

We beat the Vuctory in Melbourne
Just to watch them cry
Eze crossed the ball
Khartum the goal supplied!

I was just a young boy
When the telegram last come
Telling me the Nix had won in Melleeebun
At the park that’s known AAMI
And joy from my heart cried

9 long years ago
God lord be satisfied!

Okay that was average, but today was a good day.

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about 9 hours ago

Smith should not be in the 26. That's unfair to others. He's done well the past years but he's down the pecking order now.

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