Tasman United

I think it's both. While it's important to give Nelsonians chances, we have to look outward in order to be competitive, which is what Anderson is doing.

well there aren't many other options other than a bad thing or a good thing. I think it's a must in the first season. There's still a few local guys, but it's more about establishing this team for the next generation to progress into.

I think it is a good thing. Nelson have got some great players but they lack depth. If you look at when Nelson Suburbs played in the Chatham Cup they would hammer local teams by 8 or 9 and the score would likely be the same these days.

What Anderson is doing is building a squad, which is what they need, what happens when Ifill gets injured or Coey loses his head and gets sent off? All Anderson is doing in ensuring there is cover for that I reckon Tasman could be a surprise to many this season.

Interesting, I vividly remember Nelson Suburbs second to last Chatham Cup campaign, I watched from Richmond's bench as we ran all over them. 

Then we got dicked by Coastal Spirit and everything was back to normal.

Suburbs dominated for quite a while, its true but there were definitely times where they weren't the best team in the region, RIchmond when we had Ben Wright, Joe Green, Sam Mason-Smith, Jordie Yong and Che Wilson springs to mind.

That would have been the resounding 2-1 win then :-) (and Suburbs still finished 2nd in the MPL that season)

I wasn't trying to say which club was better, I was saying Nelson \ Tasman needs more depth to compete at National League level, the fact that of the 5 players you mention above, at least 2 are imports sort of backs up my point. 

BTW Is Ben Wright on Tasman's signings list or is he getting too injury prone the older he gets?

He hasn't signed, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign on as a squad player. Injury prone or no, I don't think his legs would be up to playing any significant time in the SSP. 

Sure was, but we dominated the game. Suburbs came 2nd in the MPL and weren't even the best team in Nelson that year.

All 5 of those guys were English imports bought over by Rick Gower to play for us - I think we're making the same point here though.

There's definitely more depth required - we saw in the mid 2000s that the region couldn't really sustain 2 MPL teams, although there were also concerted efforts by Suburbs to hinder Richmond's success and Phil Whitley pulled his shark as well, and the Richmond team was made up largely of imports anyway.

We've already seen the national Youth League team be competitive, and having the full mens team can only be good for football in the region, I can't help but think that with any success in the next few years the quality of football in Nelson will skyrocket, as experienced playuers like ifill coach kids and especially now that they don't need to leave to play high quality football.

I haven't seen Ben play since I moved away so I'm not sure if he's still up to that level, he certainly was in 2011 though. From what I've seen he's still banging them in in the MPL when fit and I'm sure as co-coach of one of the regions top teams that Anderson will be in contact with him, much as I'm sure he's talking to the coaching team at the other clubs in the region with players that look capable of stepping up. As Q-Boyd says though he hasn't been signed yet.

Does anyone have any idea of what positions we're still looking to fill?

You mention Richmond Athletic's five quality imports. Throw in Ben Harris last year and you must wonder, if Richmond, a division one team, can bring in that caliber of player, why can't Tasman, a national league side? I hope Richmond's contact from back then is involved with Tasman in some form.

Ben Harris was bought in by current 1st team coach Matt Campbell after he did a stint as a video analyst at Hampton & Richmond Borough FC in London and he found out Ben had family in NZ.

The other 5 were all one of Biggsy's mates who was acting as team manager at the time - Rick Gower. I'd be disappointed if we weren't in contact with Biggsy (and by extension Rick) given his current coaching position but there's no guarantees. I know Joe Green was looking at coming back to Nelson for the season just gone to play for Richmond but it fell through, something to do with his kids I think. So there's an option there. He'd probably still be the best CB in the region if he came back, best player I've played with, but Ben Wright isn't far behind.

*penny drops*

That's where I'd see Ben Harris before. He was a bloody nightmare up front for Hampton & Richmond against Dulwich in the 2013/14 season - scored a penalty at our place.

What are your realistic expectations for the season?

I personally think that in a few seasons, Tasman Utd will be a force. They look to be getting it right off the pitch & that will in time translate into on the field success. I think you'll get some really good crowds down there.

I expect us to have around the biggest crowds in the league from the get go - the support for the Falcons was immense and I can't see that shrinking. With good coaching and recruitment I think we coul;d become a strong midtable side but I'm not sure we have the population/financial pull to attract much talent from other places in NZ, we'll be better off looking overseas.

Bottom half finish this year, but unlikely to get the spoon (Southern/WeeNix are frontrunners for that I think) but a solid season to build on.

Ben Harris... scored a PENALTY?! I guess there's a first time for everyhting!

Yeah, I agree.

It's hard to get a good feel for everything until we know the full squads of each side.

I wouldn't write off the Phoenix kids. There should be enough quality in there to worry Tasman

There's photo evidence!

http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2014/09/record-breaking-crowd-of-2856-at-dulwich-hamlet-witness-exciting-2-2-draw-with-hampton-richmond-borough/

Pay what you like day eh? How much did you pay?

A tenner, the normal entry price. No point not putting money into your local club if you're a regular.

Could've spent it in the club bar. Same diff. I suspect that's one of the reasons why Birko are such a succesful club. Bar turnover.

Oh, don't get me wrong - I put three times the entry fee behind the bar as well! Bloody London beer prices.

A little surprise this is: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/domestic/840...

Great signing with good intentions and some experience too. Now just need one or two more defensive signings and they will have a playoff contending squad!

This signing  is far beyond what I expected, we must be offering some OK coin! Super optimistic about this season!

hell yeah

do you rate him? he was very crappy at Auckland City

Very good signing imo. Playing in a Tasman team where he will be among the stars may do the world of good for him. Am ecstatic.

I know it'll be a big effort but Tasman could yet reach the top four in their first season. They're building a squad that could rival Canterbury, Waitakere, Hamilton Wanderers.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/domestic/842...

An interview with Hajdari. Good read, I think he'll do well for us, he certainly has the pedigree.

On an slightly related note, I'm really enjoying what Philip Rollo has been doing for Nelson sport, and football in particular. High quality coverage of local leagues with well written articles and good photos. Hopefully he keeps it up, he looks to have a future in sports journalism.

Agree. Rollo is excellent. Along with Andrew Voerman for the Waikato Times

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/domestic/84411794/tasman-united-defender-tyrrell-barringertahiri-ready-to-take-the-next-step

Not looking good when the first team can only draw with the youth team on the weekend. 

Preseason friendlies mean very little, remember when the Phoenix beat West Ham?

An average result is not unexpected given the team has only been training together a matter of weeks and the squad isn't finalised.

surely an inter squad result is irrelevant this early on

What is the score going to be vs the Weenix? Spot the kids a 2 goal lead?

Yeah I expect the WeeNix to do it comfortably. I think they'll be quite a bit better this year, just for the fact that most of them are bigger,  year older and have spent winter playing in a fairly physical men's league. Add on the fact that they've been playing together for a way larger chunk of time, which counts for a lot.

3-1 WeeNix for me, then the Nix to put up a similar score vs CCM.

The Weenix have been playing together for a longer time but only scored 1 goal in their last 6 games as Wellington United in Central League, their defence is never great either I reckon it will be something like 3-2 or 4-3 either way

expect Nix top beat CCM again, as Nelfoos say 3-1 probably a reasonable guess

see you all in the Sprig and Fern on Hardy Street

Mate, I wish. I booked ticket to Nelson for the weekend after for a bit of a holiday before the fixture was announced yonks ago, can't really justify the expenditure of going down 2 weekends in a row.

Interesting. I thought it might be 3-1 to Tasman and 3-0 big nix.  Thought Tasman might boss the juniors? Be interesting to see the lay of the land in both the SS & A league after these matches.

So far I'm wrong. 1-0 to Weenix. C'mon Tasman.

Final score 1-0 WeeNix through a Hamish Watson goal.

Anyone able to give a rundown of the game? I understand Tasman United were intending to give 22 players a run, did that happen?