Canterbury United

Thats a good signing. Young, talented. I hope the Mainlanders appreciate it for what it is and drop this whole 'its an outsider' bullshark.

Haven't they signed Nelson Suburbs Coey Turipa? - which one will be number 1?

Andre & Brock both play for Willy at ECB

Shock horror if he chose Canty over ACFC or Waitak because of his relationship with the coach rather than not being good enough.

As an outsider looking in, you have 2 choices. Pick locals or win. There seems to be a lot of whinging about locals not picked but yet you want to win. If you look at the history of the comp, you can't have both so pick your poison and deal with it.

You are intimating that having de Jong junior in the squad will result in a better chance of them winning?  Personally I think this is big BS and NZ football is in a sorry state (like we didn't know). Pick a young local over massaging de Jong senior any day IMO.

The reality is that Andre is a good player, not sure how he will go at Canty but he was consistently one of the better players for Wanderers.

I think he has more pressure on his shoulders because of his last name and I would say so far has succeeded without much assistance.

It's good that you've chimed in Chopah. Ellerslie and Fred and all - no sense of bias. But I'm being facetious and no harm is meant.  Taking a step back and looking at your words.." without much assistance.." -  what are you on? Freddie and Willy are tight as.  Can I quote the Specials?  "Are you so blind that you cannot see?"  And then you say "Andre is a good player"  Yes he is.  But is he really that gooder than what's down here?  Return to the Franchise model and how it was rolled out by NZF way back when.  And see how far NZF have caused us to stray - that's what I say.  We have a situation where an Auckland coach is bringing down Auckland players to a strong football region at the expense of local players.  You might sit up at Michaels Ave sipping on your whatever and just loving that - but for us down here it's just another nail in the coffin of football outside of Auckland and Wellington.

How much $ are Canterbury putting in to get the likes of de Jong and the others down here.

Digs provided, internet, phone, meals or food vouchers, car and petrol money.

Do Mainland/Canterbury U still have the housing estate in Cranford St.

All the kids levies that go to fund this. Hum.

Do you want to win or do you want to pick locals. Its as simple as that.

1: Willy has zero love for the class of 82 of that, you can take to the bank.

2: We have seen De Jong play in Auckland consistently. Both of us think he will be a good player for this team. He will take pressure of Clapham and make you less of a predictable one man band (and lets be honest, with out him, your team has struggled). How often have you seen him play?

3: If was what was down there was working, you would have made more than 1 final, right? It may not work. Cool. Maybe Stu Kelly is the answer but I got a whole bunch of seasons that suggests that as much as Stu Kelly is a good player and has got a lot of player accolades, like every other CU player before him, he has zero rings. Is this the right move? Maybe not, but doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the epitome of stupidity. Do you want a different result or do you want to be sitting at home watching the final on Sky with all the other losers?

I know that Cantabrians love their people and their province and I respect that parochialism because its stronger there than it is up here and that is indisputable. In the cold light of day, do you want to pick locals and be all cool with the rah-rah Canterbury line or do you want to win? When you think about that, figure it out and make a choice, then comment objectively on these players coming in.

It's funny that your basically saying that something I happen to know a bit about doesn't count because I am bias?

So let me in turn say to you that maybe your bias about just how good the locals are because you have some knowledge of the area - stupid right?  I am not championing Andre over your locals I am simply saying he is a good player and I think he may do ok down there.

And yes I believe that having the last name de jong has harmed his chances of being a good footballer in NZ than helped - you can disagree if you like but he has had to prove himself at EVERY turn and still come up good so far.

unlikely we don't have much seating....

if it's true that o'brien hasn't been approached, i think that is quite bad.

and, after the past few seasons, i think the locals have every right to be sceptical about the use of good money on unproven outsiders

to me there just seems to be something going wrong down there.  there are good players based in christchurch, but when have they all been put together in the one team at the same time?  they all seem to be in or out; taking turns, sometimes keen sometimes not.  it smells of player apathy?

or is this simply a case of coaches wanting the familiarity of those they know around them so that everyone says yes all the time

The main issue i see and from what i hear is it is ok bringing players in that are better or from a  more experienced level like Auckland City do etc.

But to have local players who have won/perform  (most of the Cashmere Squad) and to see these players offered sharkty deals when they have merited the right to play for Canty based on winter competitions.

Willy has not even watched a winter league game but says he is picking the regions best performers??! he has players who cant even play regular in the 4th/5th/6th best teams in his squads.

You then see players of same age coming into Christchurch from Auckland and other places,so i think players/supporters in the region have every right to have a moan.

On the De Jong signing,decent player but was not a regular at U20 level and during the tournament caused unrest along with his father when he was not selected.

On the Stu Kelly non selection he was told he was too old despite playing every game at winter and national league level since his return from playing professionally overseas and has played in 2 finals and won a Oceania Champions league so from my point of view a bit odd to leave him out given he is fit and always injury free but maybe he does not want to be part of it after last seasons mess.

Last seasons poor form was based on the coaches Devine and De Bono, terrible decision from the board,all out of towers left after Xmas and as you have seen Miles John and Boss are good players as they have shown after leaving Canty.

But lets see what happens when the season starts! I hope to be home late November and take in a few matches!

Er no  - I'm not basically saying that what you happen to know about doesn't count.  You've just chosen to invent that.  You are biased and you can't help but be - I think most people would be in your position.  That's not a crime in my eyes - just something worth keeping in the back of people's minds when they read your opinion, which I think is valuable BTW - quite the opposite of what you said. And we must beg to differ on how very hard it must have been for young Andre with Freddie as his dad.  My opinion is that he has enjoyed privileges that most other players haven't even at the most basic level, such as having an old man that knows quite a bit about the game.  Sure he still had to put the work in - and good on him for that.

How parochialism works (in the mainland). 1. we hate Auckland and what you represent; 2. we have a long history of real and imagined wrongs due to our geographical fate; 3. how you win is more important than winning (these values are a key difference between any big smoke town and any regional town, anywhere in the world) - we may have a winning team with out of towners but whats the point in that if this competition is all about developing home grown players that little kids playing for a local club can look up to. 

Also, there is a whiff that NZF is managing a national player base into top tier national league teams, which takes away an opportunity for a local. Young de Jong, per se, is not the issue.

That's a decent rant, but you missed my point and didn't answer my question.  Maybe you should consider a career in politics - but perhaps you are a bit too naive and a bit too binary for that.  You reckon Willy doesn't get on with Fred, but why does that even matter?  Willy is smart - and a political beast himself.  And he's very ambitious.  Taking Andre down to CU further strengthens his ties to NZF.  Well that's what I think.

But back to my question - so somehow you think Andre will give CU a stronger chance of winning?  I like him as a player.  You assume too much BTW, for all you know I might live in Auckland and work in Christchurch on the re-build.  Assumption is the mother of all fudge ups they say - which makes you a bit of a fudge up king.

And perhaps other readers would like to discuss your interesting thesis. So it's 'pick locals or win' with nothing in between is it Mr binary?  And if we pick one local out of a squad of 22 and bring the rest in from Barcelona are we still going to lose because of that one crap local?

Oh yeah and when you reply - think before you type because what you said is just plain ridiculous.

Sounds like Michael White, who was named as the MPL Player of the Year earlier today at the Mainland Awards, as well at the MPL Striker of the Year and Golden Boot Winner will be added to the Dragon squad.    

great stuff - good player

i can't help but disagree - your whole argument against Andre is based on the fact that because he has connections he must have used them to get ahead - and then because i know him that my comments are void.  You have given no credit to the fact some people (not everyone) can actually make level headed calls even when there is a minor conflict of interest.

I'm not saying I am one of them but on the other hand you are saying i don't have the ability to give an opinion without letting other things cloud my judgment - i don't think you know me so you must be just basing your argument on the fact that since i know him i am incapable of giving an honest opinion.  

I hope he does well - because he is a nice kid and i think he will fit in well based on his personality.  I have no idea if he is better than whats down there already - i am unable to comment on that as i don't know.

^ now if that's a bias point of view i may as well give up.

so why is it different for the crusaders?  happy to take Auckland players there?

Given Michael's playing history, he must be a XIer every season for most teams.  Piss poor of any coach to leave him out of the ASBP if he wants to play (Canty, Southern, Wellington, Waibop whoever).

I did not say that Willy does not get on with Fred. What I said was that there was no love for the class of '82. Perhaps it is you that is the politician that is twisting my words to suit your narrative. The point about Willy picking Andre to strengthen his ties to NZF, you do remember he got let go from the U20s squad right because of a difference in coaching philosophy right? You are also aware that De Jong Snr is most likely to be the fall guy for the eligibility fiasco too right? Explain to me how this theory of your works because right now, its extremely thin that he is picking Andre to strengthen his ties to NZF.

To the question you finally posed about whether or not he will give CU a stronger chance of winning, I honestly don't know but again, I go back to my previous position. If the locals you have are good enough, you would have at least 1, maybe more titles. The team does not have any and thats a fact. I guess its a bit cheeky saying that because ACFC have proven themselves to be the strongest team around when Waitakere have not won but then surely they would consistently occupy the 3rd place right? They have only made 1 final. Again another cheeky point but I think most other teams with the exception of WaiBOP and Southern have made one. Weenix are new to the comp but they get a little slack because they are largely a development vehicle. The point I am making is that CU have largely picked local players over the years from memory and its simply not worked. So I go back to my previous position once again. Do you want to pick locals (and thus the statement I made about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome) or do you want to try other options. It may well not work but then if the players that were there were good enough, you would have won something.

If you have something else that largely refutes that, then go ahead. The facts are that CU have not won anything and have struggled to at least be the 3rd best team in the comp over the years. Keep picking the same local players but then don't expect a different result. I personally would like to see CU get up and hammer ACFC because it would be great to keep the competition interesting in what has been a mirror of the Scottish Premier League.

As for your other writings, well you come across as just a twit. I made no assumptions about your background cause I was playing the ball not the man... until now. Perhaps you might learn to do the same if you want to be taken seriously.

Funny, De Jong just "resigned". So tell me how this works again for Willy in your opinion?

Would like to see the updated version of all time goal scorers in the mainland league. To see how many have played or not played because looking at squad not a lot of strikers from MPL in there. I can see why the number of players decide to stop playing in the winter if they going continually be over looked for Canterbury.

I recall seeing this posted somewhere where it said Ben Wright took just four seasons to reach 50 goals.

none of the players there have currently been named in the squad. Obviously some don't play anymore! Surely some deserve a chance and with the problem Canterbury have had in past of not scoring enough 

It works like this.  Willy (aka Dr freeking Who) was in his Tardis and just so happened to travel forward in time to 28 Sep 2015.  "WTF!", he says, "Freeking Freddie just resigned!!!  mmmmm", said the Wily Willy, "I'm gonna go back in time and sign Andre.  That way I get to rescue the evil Vader's butt from that hole he dug himself into on yellow fever.  'YOU OWE ME VADER'!", yelled Willy through the channels of time. "A simple, 'You are gonna win the ASB premiership with those out-of-towners' will do Vader.  Go quickly - post it now!"

I enjoyed the 000000000000000000000000000 (silence in case you couldn't guess).  And this is a much better post, I'm glad you took time to have a think before typing this time.  And, yes, thanks also for the backflips and retractions - all in the name of cheeky; I'm not so sure what that even means to be honest. It's a bit of a pity you can't get beyond your binaries, but listen do this - take some time to look at the logical extension of your words and where they take you.  You know the 'pick locals or win' thing.  Where does that lead you? Where does that lead Canterbury football? And where does it lead NZ football.  Oh deary me, that's right - that's where it leads us!  Up shark creek! Are you Anthony Hudson in disguise?  But look - go have a think; if you do there's hope for you yet.  And by the way, I don't mind coming across as a twit - it's much better than being one.

How's Jude getting on down south Mike?

That is correct Ben's 50 goals have all come in the last four seasons.

Here is a list of the top 20 scorers in the last four seasons of the Mainland PL - I have removed Gagame Feni - (14 goals) as he has not played in the MPL the previous two seasons. Players shown in bold italics either currently off shore, retired or in Gareth Turnbull busy due to coaching.   

Er..you tell me I've not seen him play for ages.  Will he make the SU squad?  But look this is a CU thread - let's discuss it in the appropriate place.

Certainly think top 2 should be there. Especially Michael White. Dan Ede maybe but been playing div 1 and don't know what goes on there. Stu kelly for me is a dead certain starter for me

Canterbury have made 2 finals , 2006 we were a whisker away from beating Auckland in the final . 

So you could say outside of the 2 Auck teams they have had the best chance of wrestling off them