Another item from that podcast is that Bazeley & Co monitor about 60 NZ mens players. And when picking a squad he will often ring those who were either dropped, or were close to being picked but weren't. Give them some honest feedback on why they missed out.
The coach he most admires is Graham Taylor, who coached Baze at Watford. He reckons Taylor was far more honest than most coaches back then, and he made a real effort to connect with all the players, know their wife's/partner's names etc etc. Not common at that time, and players really responded well to that. It felt like their coach cared.
It's also clear that the way the AWs are setup now, and how they plan to play going forward is very player driven. A strong self belief now that they can get results against sides like Ukraine & Ivory Coast (teams in that 20-50 ranking range), which will likely be two of their pool opponents at the WC. A win & a draw should be enough to go through to the knockouts.
The coach he most admires is Graham Taylor, who coached Baze at Watford. He reckons Taylor was far more honest than most coaches back then, and he made a real effort to connect with all the players, know their wife's/partner's names etc etc. Not common at that time, and players really responded well to that. It felt like their coach cared.
It's also clear that the way the AWs are setup now, and how they plan to play going forward is very player driven. A strong self belief now that they can get results against sides like Ukraine & Ivory Coast (teams in that 20-50 ranking range), which will likely be two of their pool opponents at the WC. A win & a draw should be enough to go through to the knockouts.