Hamstring, flu, cousin visiting.... this guy is starting to remind me of Scott Cassie back in 2004.
Cassie was the big signing that summer. Never got on the pitch.
The WaiBOP United Thread
Penalty was weak, but had to be given. No chance the peno would have been given the other way. Ref seemed almost scared to pick Auckland up for anything.
He gave Auckland an indirect freekick in the box after 17mins for Andy Mcneil apparently holding on to the ball longer than "6secs".. Never seen this given before other than in the last 10mins of a game.
Watching the highlights, it looks like he held onto it for 8 secs. Very tough.
Penalty was weak, but had to be given. No chance the peno would have been given the other way. Ref seemed almost scared to pick Auckland up for anything.
He gave Auckland an indirect freekick in the box after 17mins for Andy Mcneil apparently holding on to the ball longer than "6secs".. Never seen this given before other than in the last 10mins of a game.
Watching the highlights, it looks like he held onto it for 8 secs. Very tough.
In fairness to the referee, he gave at least one, if not 2, calls to the keeper to play it.
Was watching on mute so didn't hear that.
I do wonder where the 6 seconds came from. Always seems short and wouldn't give either team a chance to reset their strucure
Agreed.
As long as the referee does give a 'play the ball keeper etc' call, No major issue. And i think most referees are pretty reasonable. If it came from a corner for example and everyone is running back to position, most aren't gonna be too pedantic. Common sense is key.
Waibop were very poor today.didnt play any football , just route one football without much thought. They hardly strung two passes together all day which is really disappointing
looks like a good crowd at cambridge
The Cambridge club did an excellent job hosting the game. The problem with the venue are the changing rooms, they are worst than Fred Taylor and that is saying something
The crowd numbers were overflate. A number of the 422 would have been actual Cambridge club members
It doesn't really matter where the spectators come from, what we need is an audience at ASB matches for all sorts of reasons, even if only to grow the perception that it is a competition worth watching.
To that you might reasonably counter that too many non-paying spectators has an unavoidable impact on the gate.
The good thing with the Federation now administering the national league team is if there is any financial shortfall, the cost will effectively be socialised across the whole game in the Waikato-BOP, rather than a single club as such. And at least that way, those who don't support national league still, er, get to support it. :-)
I agree it wasn't pretty to watch but as Smith said if they'd of taken their chances at 0-0 they would of won. Milos should of scored and bredveldt wasn't involved at all and then strutted off when he was subbed in disbelief! Mcnabb looked more threatening in the 20 minutes he was on. Heard from a close source that there is nothing wrong with Slefendorfas just not made squad, always late for trainings and puts in no effort, all players not in the match day squad were meant to play for the youth team in the morning but he didn't show. I think Waibop will do ok this season they have some good solid players but inconsistency could cost them play-offs in my opinion. Ill be there backing them to the end either way!
All credit to Waibop/Cambridge what a great set up that was, look forward to returning in 2 weeks time.
Good article in the Herald from Bruce Holloway regarding the set up at Cambridge.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11162510
awesome article bruce
Very accurate article from Bruce. The Cambridge club did a fantastic job hosting the game, it was a great atmosphere. The people at Cambridge are good people
The harsh reality is the playing surface and changing rooms are nowhere near up to National League standard. I was very surprised to hear NZF approved the venue
Lets face it, one week you play at Forsyth Barr , then Kiwitea and then Cambridge. !
Think we see Slefandorfas this week. Bredeveldt not in the squad, that might be the end of him.
When's Jake gonna play?
Not sure he will tbh, WaiBOP actually have a really strong defensive unit and depth, if he was a CM or a striker then he'd waltz on in, but WaiBOP have some very good cover in the defensive side of things.
Well done Cambridge, the setup was fantastic, although it was a strange situation only having three Waikato players in the team. I found myself torn between supporting a team I can hardly associate with and one from the bay where I started my senior football career. For all the preseason talk about building a team with local based players, it is yet another season of having a team full of out of towners for what purpose? It isn't demonstrating a path for our local kids, and if you aren't interested in giving local players a chance now when it is being run by our own federation, it's never going to happen. Why does Waikato football make the same mistakes year in year out? The current team just adds weight to the argument that Auckland could field three national league teams.
Jake - not in the team so said "sod it"
Bredeveldt - After what I saw Saturday im guessing hes packed it in. ( Good for the team In my opinion )
Very true regarding Auckland based players, Waikato changed to WaiBOP to bring 2 areas together but has anything changed? I can count 1 BOP based player who hardly plays so what has changed between Waikato to WaiBOP? Next 2 games will make or break the season. So im guessing Slefendorfas straight back in the team after his "selection issues". Im a big fan of back my local team but as stated above its Auckland 3rd's with a handful of others.
The Federation critised the hell out of the old Waikato FC administration for not having enough local players. A bit ironic when our our Federation fields a team full of out of towners
The real problem is there is not enough quality local players. You have to question if the Federation development programme is working because the quality is not coming through
Virtually same discussion (number of local players, development programmes) happening across TW, Canterbury and Otago threads (plus of course ACFC), so it really begs the question: what is the ASBP really all about and what is being done about the state of elite junior player development? Gareth Morgan's blog site has more to say on it too.
I know what you are saying, Soley. I wold have loved Scott Hilliar, a lad from my winter club, to have got a run at Cambridge.
But then again it is sobering to remember a couple of seasons back when Waikato fielded just about all homegrown players - and everyone complained like hell (especially on this forum) that Waikato were treating the NZFC like "a development league".
However I would like to see the balance redressed more towards those who are part of our football community all year round. I once proposed the idea that if you played for Waikato FC in summer you should also make yourself available for registration with a Waikato club the following winter. (There was no enthusiasm).
As for BOP players, we should not be surprised there are few players from there in the national league squad, given that there has only been one (second division) northern league team from there for many years now (Fury as well in 2014, of course). Time was when BOP had Rotorua Suburbs, Rotorua City, Ngongotaha, Kawerau, Otumoetai, Tauranga, Mt Maunganui, Taupo, and even Whakatane in the northern league. (On this subject, Scousekiwi, if you are reading this, Tokoroa is a WAIKATO club, not BOP, as on your otherwise excellent club database at ultimatenzsoccer.com)
When Waikato FC started in 2004 - when Tauranga was in the northern premier league - Waikato FC players from there included Cam Jones, Garry Board, Craig Flowerday, Brett Derry, Colin Gardyne, Nathan Fry, Anees Khan, Cole Tinkler (transferred from Melville), Michael Mayne, and Brent Mayhew. Throw in gaffer James Pamment and you had a whole XI.
On another note, Soley, you looked like you could have still done 90 minutes at Cambridge.
Peter Smith did all the right things in his recruitment to try and get that good Waikato core, but simply there isn't enough quality there in the midfield and forward positions to justify a huge Waikato/BOP core.
A large portion of the original squad named did come from Waikato/BOP sides - from memory there was Luque, Molony, Konings, Hilliar, Jones, How, Drake, McNab, Nelson, Latham, Marquez, Varela, Scott - well over half the squad - but at the end of the day, Smith is the one who watches them in training, and he really has to put out the team he thinks has the best shot of winning.
The argument reminds me of a guest post I wrote for a blog a while back - the All WaiBOP XI: http://in-the-back-of-the.net/2013/08/14/guest-post-the-all-waibop-xi/
With Irving and Marquez not obviously going to be able to play for that hypothetical team - that team would struggle immensely to pick up points in this league. Is that worth the chance to put out a bunch of local players? I don't know, but I do know that the organisation really has tried to include as many locals as possible, but there just isn't the depth of talent there to be competitive.
On another note, I really do think Slefandorfas will play - from what Peter has told me he's a really key member of the group personality wise, and obviously for what they want to do - I was beginning to think I was being lied to a wee bit, but he was so up front about Mikhail and why he wasn't in the squad that I do trust what he says 100%, and I think he could be very very handy for the game tomorrow.
Virtually same discussion (number of local players, development programmes) happening across TW, Canterbury and Otago threads (plus of course ACFC), so it really begs the question: what is the ASBP really all about and what is being done about the state of elite junior player development? Gareth Morgan's blog site has more to say on it too.
The Wanderers, being elite youth eligible for NZ, and currently preparing for the 2015 U20's World Cup, is I guess one way NZF in endeavouring to improve the state of elite junior player development.
I know not everyone is in agreement that Wanderers should be in the ASBP in the first place, but at least there is a group of 20-30 players getting regular game time against the best NZ has to offer - together with a selection of overseas players who are in NZ on a holiday, short term job or whatever of course.
I agree that another way NZF could help foster the growth and development of NZ eligible players is to review and rewrite the regulations around imported players. If we were to limit each franchise to 2 imports, (and extend the timeframe before which an import is considered "local" to 3 seasons, immediately a large number of spaces open up to NZ representative eligible players.
I'm from Auckland, so I'm not knowledgeable about Waikato BoP youth players, however I am aware that a Cambridge (?) based team made the semi's of the Schools Nationals in Taupo in early September (breaking the Auckland monopoly from 2012 in Nelson when Auckland Schools filled places 1-6 in the Premier Pool) and the Hamilton Wanderers were unlucky to their 1/4 final at the U19 Nationals at Napier over Labour Weekend, (their striker missed a second half penalty which would have won them their 1/4). Given the strength of the local school and U19 teams, surely some of those players would have been in the reckoning for the WaiBoP squad?
Virtually same discussion (number of local players, development programmes) happening across TW, Canterbury and Otago threads (plus of course ACFC), so it really begs the question: what is the ASBP really all about and what is being done about the state of elite junior player development? Gareth Morgan's blog site has more to say on it too.
The Wanderers, being elite youth eligible for NZ, and currently preparing for the 2015 U20's World Cup, is I guess one way NZF in endeavouring to improve the state of elite junior player development.
I know not everyone is in agreement that Wanderers should be in the ASBP in the first place, but at least there is a group of 20-30 players getting regular game time against the best NZ has to offer - together with a selection of overseas players who are in NZ on a holiday, short term job or whatever of course.
I agree that another way NZF could help foster the growth and development of NZ eligible players is to review and rewrite the regulations around imported players. If we were to limit each franchise to 2 imports, (and extend the timeframe before which an import is considered "local" to 3 seasons), immediately a large number of spaces open up to NZ representative eligible players.
I'm from Auckland, so I'm not knowledgeable about Waikato BoP youth players, however I am aware that a Cambridge (?) based team made the semi's of the Schools Nationals in Taupo in early September (breaking the Auckland monopoly from 2012 in Nelson when Auckland Schools filled places 1-6 in the Premier Pool) and the Hamilton Wanderers were unlucky to lose their 1/4 final at the U19 Nationals at Napier over Labour Weekend, (their striker missed a second half penalty which would have won them their 1/4). Given the strength of the local school and U19 teams, surely some of those players would have been in the reckoning for the WaiBoP squad?
Honestly, I'd say not - firstly, not many players play for any ASPB side while they're in school, there's usually only a few exceptions each year, while in the HW side you particularly mention, the best players in that squad and age group are either going overseas, or already play for Waitak, play for Southern, having offseason surgery etc.
Sounds like Liam Higgins is going to miss the game due to sickness, be interesting to see who takes over at left back, potentially Ben Latham, maybe Mark Jones will be moved back if they're desperate.
Waikato teams have done well or did do well fora. Few years at national secondary schools tournaments. I think Hamilton boys were runners up to Mags two years running a few years back and a few of those players have come through to ASB level, Barlow, Margetts, Latham, Davies-Cambell etc
The point I am trying to make is until we have a coach willing to give our local players a crack in the national league and stick with them for a number of seasons there is no "pathway" Waibop were spouting on about for our kids to aspire to. Lets be honest, we will never compete with Auckland, Waitak and Wellington while we continue to have a totally different team each year and largely based on non Waibop players. I have no issue with the core being Waikato/BOP based with 3-4 quality additions from out of town. I feel we would still compete with the other franchises.
Robbed of a win. Absolutely robbed, Mirko unfortunately with two awful decisions and Wanderers sneak a last minute draw.
The point I am trying to make is until we have a coach willing to give our local players a crack in the national league and stick with them for a number of seasons there is no "pathway" Waibop were spouting on about for our kids to aspire to. Lets be honest, we will never compete with Auckland, Waitak and Wellington while we continue to have a totally different team each year and largely based on non Waibop players. I have no issue with the core being Waikato/BOP based with 3-4 quality additions from out of town. I feel we would still compete with the other franchises.
In my opinion it's a bit of a chicken and egg problem - as pointed out somewhere earlier in this thread some of the Waikato's most talented are playing for other ASB sides (and not because there wasn't opportunities, but in my opinion because they didn't rate the Waikato franchise), so on one hand WaiBOP needs to provide opportunities for Waikato and BOP players but on the other hand they need to be immediately competitive so that in the following seasons more and more Waikato/BOP based players WANT to play for the franchise. In a perfect world you would just pick the best players from your region but I don't think it's that simple.
The point I am trying to make is until we have a coach willing to give our local players a crack in the national league and stick with them for a number of seasons there is no "pathway" Waibop were spouting on about for our kids to aspire to. Lets be honest, we will never compete with Auckland, Waitak and Wellington while we continue to have a totally different team each year and largely based on non Waibop players. I have no issue with the core being Waikato/BOP based with 3-4 quality additions from out of town. I feel we would still compete with the other franchises.
In my opinion it's a bit of a chicken and egg problem - as pointed out somewhere earlier in this thread some of the Waikato's most talented are playing for other ASB sides (and not because there wasn't opportunities, but in my opinion because they didn't rate the Waikato franchise), so on one hand WaiBOP needs to provide opportunities for Waikato and BOP players but on the other hand they need to be immediately competitive so that in the following seasons more and more Waikato/BOP based players WANT to play for the franchise. In a perfect world you would just pick the best players from your region but I don't think it's that simple.
It was mainly a money thing for most of them.
Ship 3 to the Wanderers. Gotta get Jake in the team now.
Two of the backline were out, so he probably would have played if he was still around. The other lads who usually start are better.
One goal was Probert's fault (the replacement) and the other was a terrible penalty decision, so when everyone is fit they'll be fine.
On the other hand, if they lose to Southern, all hope is lost.
Two of the backline were out, so he probably would have played if he was still around. The other lads who usually start are better.
One goal was Probert's fault (the replacement) and the other was a terrible penalty decision, so when everyone is fit they'll be fine.
On the other hand, if they lose to Southern, all hope is lost.
Not gonna disagree with this. But at least you're guaranteed 2 sets of positive quotes. One from the winning team and the other from Luiz...
Who is Jake?
since buff is pushing his case so much one has to think he is from Birko?
I'm gonna guess it's Jake Hall given that it's Buffon touting him
Jacob Hall? Is that serious or sarcastic?
I could be well off the mark and I didn't check WaiBOP squad but I can't think of any other Birko defender named Jake