Tasman United

think he was an assistant at TW back in the day?

Yes he was.  Assistant to Mick Waite.

Hot take, Tasman for top 4 next season

A lot is going to depend on signings, and I think it will be a significantly different looking team this season.

Tasman United announce Tom Hickey as their first signing. Previously played for Richmond Athletic a couple of years ago and recently finished a stint as captain of the Met Police England 7th tier).

Bit of background from Philip Rollo:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/sport/93637311...

Joey Turner is currently playing for North Wellington who Matt Campbell is involved with, so expect him to sign as well.

Is Turner actually playing for North Wellington too? He scored a goal on July 28 in the UK.

Huh, guess not. Must've had my wires crossed.

New Tasman United signing

@TasmanU filling up that import quota quickly, with confirmation English midfielder Ryan Worrall has signed for the upcoming season. Joins previously confirmed signing and North Wellington team-mate Tom Hickey.

Tasman squad to date:

Ryan Worrall (import)

Jordan Yong (import)

Tom Hickey (import)

Fox Slotemaker 

Alex Ridsdale

Bertie Fish

Chester Gaskin

Corey Wilson

Matt Tod-Smith

Starting to take shape, some good local youth supplemented by some quality imports, 2 of whom have played in the region before.

PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT:

FOX COMES HOME!

Tasman United is excited to announce the return of Fox Slotemaker to the region for the 2018-19 National League Season.

After a successful college career in the US with Buffalo and Old Dominion University, Slotemaker has just completed the Queensland NPL season with Cairns FC. A talented and gritty defender, Slotemaker shapes to play a key role defensively for Tasman in the upcoming season.

TU Head Coach Andy Hedge had this to say, “Fox is one that we wanted straight away. A quality player on the pitch and a good character off it. I am delighted to sign him for the club this season, as he is still a young footballer, but with experience behind him now. And it’s always nice to bring top Nelson talent back to the region to play for their hometown.“

Slotemaker played against Sydney FC in the FFA Cup.  Cairns lost 2-1 after taking a surprise early lead.

"A good character off it". We'll see, that's not the experience I had playing with/against the dude. Must've improved at football a shark ton as well.

We must know different people? Fox was involved in NZF National Talent Centre's from a young age (so he's always had talent), was outstanding at MAGS under Kevin Fallon, then went to college in the States and by all accounts he was exceptional over there. Always been a good footballer.

You might also want to note that the quote "a good character off it", refers to his personality off the pitch. So referencing that, then backing it up with memories from playing against him ON the football field are a bit questionable?? From my experiences with Fox, he is a quiet, humble man.

I genuinely wonder if your thinking about the wrong guy. Lol

I know who I'm thinking of. I was a couple of years older but played against him quite a few times and with him a little bit when he was at Richmond for a while. 

On the pitch he always came off as arrogant (many good players do) but it grated especially because I didn't think he was particularly good. The word was that he was involved in those talent centres because of who his father is and it made sense at the time because he seemed like a very ordinary player. We're talking about 13yo though, I haven't had any involvement with him since but if he hadn't grown up that would be cause for concern.

I was really surprised when he was picked up by MAGS and I watched the tournament that they (won? made the final of?) in Nelson (2013ish?) when he was year 13 and remember thinking he looked out of place on the field in a couple of games. This is all a long time ago and I don't doubt a long standing dislike of his father plays into my memories as well.

Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing him get the job done for Tasman this summer as by all accounts he's become quite a player and I am more than happy to be proven wrong.

When he was 13? So that was 9 years ago when he was a kid.

I think Slotemaker ticks every box. He's a Nelson lad who has gone away, got good experience overseas, and come back a better player who will now be looking to be a regular performer in the national league. He is still young enough that he could have a professional career. Living with family and working as a barista means he will settle easily too, which helps.

Yes, I said that. I even acknowledged that hes probably changed and my memories of him are likely not that accurate. I remember playing Alex Ridsdale and thinking he was sharke as well, teenage me's opinion is turning out to be pretty fecking useless.

Suburbs midfielder James McClay signed - anyone know anything about him?

he’s Irish I believe. After putting the call out for Irish signings last year Nelson Suburbs got Corey Wilson and Kristian Gibson. This year they got McClay. 

PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT:

MCCLAY EXTENDS STAY!

Tasman United is excited to announce the next member of the squad for the upcoming season with Nelson Suburbs midfielder James McClay signing on.

McClay is a versatile left-footed midfielder who played for Maiden City FC before transferring to Nelson Suburbs for the winter season.

TU Head Coach Andy Hedge had this to say " James is a talented, hard-working midfielder that adds to our squad quite nicely. Suburbs rate him highly on and off and the pitch and we are delighted to have him for the summer "

first training for the team tonight , looked like a big group.

You wont have seen Dan Allen or Cam Linsday there, Saw them at HBU training lastnight

Damn, those will both be big losses. Good pickups for HBU.

The Ifill effect?

Yeah Ifill has bought them over from Rapa

lindsay was always gonna follow Ifill but surprised about Allan considering he is a Nelson product

Watched a bit of the Tasman training tonight. Two groups, about  one 30 in total and one group younger. Had some bite to it. 

Lad Worrall looks like a serious player!

I hear Ben Harris is back in NZ

I'm sorry Tasman fans, but if he's back to play I hope it's for Team Wellington, they are going to need him!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiernan_Hughes-Mason

Tooting scum!

Well he played for Slough Town on September 24 ...

Hmm, oh well. I saw a video posted on facebook of him talking to a youth team but must'nt have been current.

We only have an Oceania spot left open for a foreigner anyway after signing Hughes-Mason

I wonder if he ever gets down to Chasers

worrying signs for Tasman after they were pumped 7-0 by Canterbury in preseason. They have not recruited well at all. As a collective the imports seem a step down on the last two seasons and there’s no new players with national league experience. 

borrow some of Nelfoo's optimism

I just think its far too early to make any judgements whatsoever. Incomplete squad, first preseason match, new coach - the score means nothing. Biggest loss is definitely Ifill as opposed to any of the imports though. It could be a dire season, it could not be, TU are better resourced than many sides in the league.

Season starts in 10 days for most teams doesn't it? Not much time for more signings getting up to speed with Hedge's style of play and team direction/culture...

Yeah that's fair. Still, its the first match they've played. I don't think we'll be getting spanked 7-0 each game.

Hedge was appointed ages ago yet they had a total of 12 players involved against Canterbury. They seem to be about 8 players short and have failed to attract a single NZ player with national league experience that is from outside of the region. While Bertie Fish and Matt Tod-Smith are good promising players you need to complement that with players such as the Al-Kalisy brothers, Kaltack, Lindsay etc from last season. Surprised too that Hedge hasn’t raided the WeeNix , surely Jake Williams who is a Nelson boy would be better served playing for Tasman than TW NYL now that he’s out of the Phoenix system. Also if Sam Ayers and Labu Pan aren’t involved, it’s an early loss for Tasman because they’re two of the best Nelson players and if they don’t want to be involved then something is seriously wrong.

Tasman United: Corey Wilson (GK) (Ireland), Sam Ayers, Ed Sillars, Tom Hickey (United Kingdom), Fox Slotemaker, Bertie Fish, Corey Larsen, Matt Tod-Smith, Ronaldo Wilkins (Vanuatu), Kiernan Hughes-Mason (United Kingdom), Alex Ridsdale, Ahmad Othman (Syria), James McClay (Northern Ireland), Ryan Worrall (United Kingdom), Max Winterton, Ben Kiore, Chester Gaskin, Nick Stanton (GK), Jordan Yong (United Kingdom), Keegan Smith (GK) Coach: Andy Hedge

Also notable ex-tasman players playing in the league: Kaltak (Auckland City), Burns (Waitakere), Marowa (Eastern Suburbs), Lindsey, Allan, Chettleburgh, Britton (HBU), Kowel (Canterbury), Al-Kalisy (Southern)

First win of the season: 3-3 over the WeeNix. Goals to Ahmad Othman, Kiernan Hughes-Mason and Corey Larsen (apparently a long range screamer)