local cynics

So former All White and now newspaper commentator Sam Malcolmson thinks the ASBP is "dismal". Has he in fact been watching any recent games? The 4-4 draw at Kiwitea Street between ACFC and HBU was a real Christmas cracker. I thoroughly enjoy watching the national league and think it often produces better football than some of the so-called football commentators suggest. No wonder the ASBP struggles for attention when those charged with writing about the game just dismiss it out of hand. Easier to be cynical than find positives I guess, which would require at least some attention to detail.

Get him a few VPL tapes to watch. A very similar quaility/level to ASB although more money available to VPL.

his accuracy and intelligence  is unerring ...an A league team at Albany !!

How could that possibly fail !!

Yeah he's  one boring negative cock.

got a link?

i normally don't mind people like malcomson and hay throwing their opinions around as long as they can back them up

but i'd like to hear big sam justify this call. 

if he'd been watching the comp since it's inception, and if he'd been watching closely, he'd see that it's actually in quite a good state right now

As an objective question, have you gentlemen considered that you could be in the minority about the quality of the competition (and conversely am I?)

you bet i have and i also admit that i have a bias in so far as i want to believe that it is ok

but i do think that it isn't too bad

i can watch games and enjoy them.  a decent level of skill is on display, which admittedly is assisted by the sloooowness of the play and the deep defenders

i've just found sam's article:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/soccer-football/news/article.cfm?c_id=86&objectid=11178575

there's no attempt to justify his statement, which is disappointing, but i do, by in large agree with what he is saying in regards to auckland needing an a-league franchise

whether it would work or not is another question

and one should consider that brandon campbell et al are willing to spend $12m on buying out the melbourne heart franchise and presumably they consider this to be a better option on spending half as much to set up base with a new franchise in auckland.

i think if the sport is to progress, there needs to be more professional clubs here.  if the national league can[t provide a proper platform for this, then australia is our only option

Someone needs to tell Sam that Sydney City haven't played in the national league since the 1980's. And yes, Ryan Giggs as assistant coach and player. That'll work....

I can watch ASBP games but only really when I know someone playing or maybe (at a stretch) if it's a game that is more significant that usual (1st v 2nd etc) and even then only if I don't have something else on. In my opinion the ASBP isn't a big enough step up from some of the winter leagues. Probably because of the money being spent by clubs in CL/NL etc. I watch more games at that level because club vs club is generally more interesting with rivalries and promo/relo on the line. It's not the product that attracts me to ASBP games, it's whether I have a personal interest in a team/s or not.

Also you ACFC supports would have to admit that the league as a whole isn't actually that good at all. Your team on the other hand is quite good and exciting to watch.

I wouldn't say I'm agreeing with Malcomson because I think he is a tool but if he elaborated on his opinion of the ASBP his comments might have held a little more weight. Maybe.

What's with these former All Whites thinking they know everything about the game? Steve Sumner, Sam Malcolmson, Leggy...

TIME TO GET SHOT OF ALL THE 82's

Total agree.  Move on

thats such a poor article. 

That last paragraph was a shocker

My main argument against Malcolmson lazily putting down the ASBP as "dismal" is it insults the tremendous effort supporters and players put into keeping our national league going with little NZF support. The standard may vary but the best games are inevitably entertaining with not a little skill. I think it was a poorly thought out article that reflected badly on the writer. I just wish our so-called football commentators would give credit where it's due because a lot of hard work goes into the ASBP.

a lot of hard work could go in and the standard still be dismal. 

my gripe is that to build successfully  one starts from the bottom/foundations

wanting more A League  whilst believing  the next tier down is "dismal" seems counter-productive. 

good point

if the next level down is so dismal, we won't be able to produce a second a-league team

unless we fill the team with foreigners like he has criticised the phoenix for doing

there are a few uninformed contradictions in there

and like feverish said, that last paragraph is dismal

I think we can all agree that giving Mr M a  newspaper column is pretty near giving a baby a razorblade .....[ for giving a baby a plastic bag , refer to Billy Harris   ]

Yes, they are a pretty rum lot when it comes to thoughtful analysis. Mind you I recall "dismal crap" being used in referring to the ASBP by a certain prolific poster on this forum so it's not just the newspaper commentators who are being mindlessly pessimistic at times.

I think ACFC have a good side, but other than that it is dismal crap. Perhaps you only see the good side (your team dealing to other teams every weekend in an unevenly funded league must be pretty fun). 

I get out and support it when I can, and enjoy watching football. But I'm under no illusions as to the quality. A lot of the Olympic Chatham cup games I managed to get out to were miles better and more exciting than any TW game I've been to. One central league game between Upper Hutt and Wellington united that ended 4-3 and meant WU were relegated stands out as a particular highlight. 

I'd be much more interested in a team made up of all those best players from Wellington clubs, than watching whoever has ended up playing for TW this season. 

One of the (many) issues of a 2nd A-League team that has not been mentioned here but touched on in another thread is the fan base. The Phoenix has fans from across the country including Auckland. What are those fans going to do if there's a new Auckland team - throw away all their Phoenix stuff or support two teams? I wonder how many ASBP games Malcolmsen has been to? I, for one, agree - dismal! Can't wait until The Phoenix next play in Auckland... Until then I suppose I'll just have to watch some quality football on the television.

hmmm ....thinking sarcasm ....but probably not ....

To be fair, having watched the highlights, the referee did have a shocker. Krishna literally got kicked off the park and ACFC were denied a dead set penalty.

Groan - another stupid ill-informed dig. Williams and Koprovic are Kiwis and Milne a resident. Do you even know where Morocco is?

Berlanga was missing but he was really the only one.