Eastern Suburbs AFC

it is 6 - and yes he did say 5 - it's not quite the opposite though is it?  feels like your making a bit of a meal of this. 

I was at the suburbs game yesterday and have some conclusions:

Lucky to win, I thought Hawkes Bay played the better football and were unlucky to lose.

Tim Payne may be captain but all he does is whinge and moan and I noted that a few of his teammates were not happy with him and his continual moaning.

Sam Burfoot is probably one of the most talented players in the league but seems to be employed solely to chase down the ball (which Payne and Ekpo do far less frequently), break up the opposition attack and rarely get on the ball himself- seems a waste of a good player

Moses Dyer playing out on the wing. One or two good touches in the first half but forgot he was there after half time. Either play him as a midfielder or leave him on the bench

defensibly solid but far to many long balls - and not very good ones either

Derek Tieku and Ross Havilland stand out players for me

Auckland City will not be at all worried at the moment - Suburbs need to buck their ideas up and start playing as a team!

Lovely day, crap football. All those old Suburbs guys that were watching must have felt a bit smug about how much better the footie was back in their day.

it's a bit rough to mention whinging at officials and not mention the HB coach to be fair.

Even though it wasn't. 

It wasnt whinging at officials that I was talking about to be honest, it was continually moaning at his own players! he is always throwing his hands up in the air when they dont pass to him or a pass doesnt quite land perfectly at his feet. Even though he continually gives the ball away himself...I noticed a few of the players shouting back at him and that cant be good for team spirit!

having said that the Bay coach is certainly good entertainment thats for sure!!

Thought it was a pretty ordinary game - wind did not perhaps help.

HBU unlucky not to get anything although wonder about their goal scoring capability .

Payne appears to me to have gone backwards  since I last saw him . Good football brain but execution lacking .

What is the quality of pitches like?

We all want the quality to improve, but we need the pitches to keep up.

Artificial turf at Bill Mckinley but not the best to be honest. Ball seems to bobble when running along the ground

I hate the artificial ones, horrible bounce and not good to play on. Was at Kiwitea yesterday and the surface was a bit cut up in places and not the best. I was also at Porrit in Hamilton Saturday at it's amazing, perfect surface and complemented by the Waitak staff as the best in the league. But I guess it's not had a lot of wear and tear from the winter.

Bill McKinley has had a lot of use on it as well so it's nearing it's replacement window I reckon - ironically most turf fields play better in wet conditions, in summer they get a bit sticky and bobbly.  Still it's what E/S have so I guess better get used to it.

I'm counting the days till Hawkes Bay play in Christchurch. Always non-stop entertainment with that guy. 

I saw it more as people getting annoyed at Dyer, Strange for him to play out wide.

Hawkes Bay dominated possession wise but have nothing up front. If Suburbs could shoot they would have won by a few more goals.

With Suburbs having Ekpo, Burfoot, Payne and Dyer they have to many central playing players and can't fit them in.

Who was the keeper?

Rodic was the keeper

Plus they have Mario Ilich and Jordan Vale waiting in the wings. Trouble is I dont think that Dyer can play instead of Payne or Burfoot - not good enough - which makes it a bit of a joke considering they have both been over looked for NZ! But I suppose at the end of the day it is a game of opinions and Hudson is entitled to pick the team/squad that he wants!

This guy might disagree. He was there.

Not bothered, it simply wasn't better back in the day in any way shape or form.

Do you  know who the guy is in the white?

I'm not surprised by your stance - but what a pointless discussion, who cares?

Billy De Graff

Lol that is my Uncle

It is not your fault. :)

I know its not my fault and he was a quality player!!!!

NZ's Charlie George.

Billy was a lot bigger than Charlie.

Tweet of the week candidate here. Patrick might get told off by SB's Dad if he's not careful.

Tweet of the week

I'm not sure that's what Andy Martin meant when he said more banter?

To be honest, it isn't the first time Burfoot's misbehaved while playing away though, is it? 

From the one camera angle on this highlights show it seems like a really harsh red card.

Looks like a red to me.

Auckland and Waikato peeps!

Any suggestions for charities or clubs to donate some memberships too, where the people would be likely to go to the games in the North half of the Island?

Also Matt is arranging for some one off Welly tickets to be donated to good causes too.

If you're a bit better off than most drop a couple of $$ in here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/phoenixnorthernmem...

Cheers!

Trying to keep some SSP appearance records and nothing that I can see admits to Tieku taking part against the Wellington Phoenix (although 1 does give him credit for an assist on Lovemore's goal)...anyone know who he came on for, and at what time?

I'm checking the NZF website (haha, yes I know, the details there are pretty hopeless), soccerway and transfermarkt - are there any other good ones out there?

I can find out who and what time but for now he def played as proof check out these pictures on twitter.

Check out @ESAFC's Tweet: https://twitter.com/ESAFC/status/817925837655678976?s=09

Burfoot has been released, where is him now? Australia?

I've long thought Eastern's 4-4-2 meant that Payne and Burfoot were both getting overrun in midfield, which really didn't suit either of them. Burfoot was never going to play his best football at Eastern.

he wasn't released he transferred to a club in Australia - was a valuable member of the team.

Chopah - Luke Adams is the same deal? I see Hobbs is playing in the Cook Islands

And I wouldn't be concerned about the term 'released,' with no transfer fees being paid, it's by far the most accurate.

Luke Adams was always only going to play until the window - just wasn't something that E/S wanted known.

Hobbs I'm not sure - he was a good partner with Adams and with both of them gone it's left a bit of a hole.

how much rubber on that pitch!