Don't get me wrong Ronaldino, I felt you made a couple of good points in that yes your league is much tighter then Dunedin's. I would much rather Dunedin adopt an 8 team format and feel that is probably the way forward, pending Canterbury's almost inevitable rebuttal to a South Island league (don't you think this would do both federations good?).
However, shouldn't your top teams as a result of playing tough games week in week out in what is supposdly a tight, high standard league simply run all over our Dunedin based clubs? My theory would be that a strong league should breed strong teams however what I have seen over the last 4 or 5 years hasn't been so.
The fact is both Otago and Canterbury NZFC teams don't have the depth for an U19 team. If they are any decent they will find themselves in the senior squad.
I think what Otago has done with regard to it's Milk Cup ventures etc is outstanding and is unrivaled by every province in NZ. If you ask any young footballer I think they would take that over the national league in a breath.
For me both Canterbury and Otago need to work together to make a strong South Island league which will benefit both NZFC franchises.
Kennedy2009-09-07 17:32:09
Don't get me wrong Ronaldino, I felt you made a couple of good points in that yes your league is much tighter then Dunedin's. I would much rather Dunedin adopt an 8 team format and feel that is probably the way forward, pending Canterbury's almost inevitable rebuttal to a South Island league (don't you think this would do both federations good?).
However, shouldn't your top teams as a result of playing tough games week in week out in what is supposdly a tight, high standard league simply run all over our Dunedin based clubs? My theory would be that a strong league should breed strong teams however what I have seen over the last 4 or 5 years hasn't been so.
The fact is both Otago and Canterbury NZFC teams don't have the depth for an U19 team. If they are any decent they will find themselves in the senior squad.
I think what Otago has done with regard to it's Milk Cup ventures etc is outstanding and is unrivaled by every province in NZ. If you ask any young footballer I think they would take that over the national league in a breath.
For me both Canterbury and Otago need to work together to make a strong South Island league which will benefit both NZFC franchises.
Kennedy2009-09-07 17:32:09