The WaiBOP United Thread

Hows the recruiting for my team coming along?

Have they managed to lure the best players in the BOP and Waikato into the squad or is it going to be another season of ACFC/WU rejects?

its basically half of east coast bays 1st team

From last weeks stuff article
Waikato FC current squad for the ASB Premiership, with more players to be named: Mark Jones, Alex Barlow, Alex Carr, David Smith, David Samson, Tewi Te Pou, Alexei Davies-Campbell, Ryan Zoghby, John Fletcher, Dan Peat, Nathan Palmer, Tim Pilkington, Jason McKeown, Jack Beguely, Jason Hicks, Nicholas Branch, Milos Nikolic, Sam Margetts.

There is a nice mix of players in there although looking at the team sheet, there is no obvious captain and they will probably take some lumps as there is no experience in there to settle them when things get tough. Its very young so this will probably be a team thats going to come near the bottom and look to stay together for two years.

The Aucklanders signed aren't retreads and I don't think have ever played at any other Premiership club so when you consider they have no money, probably need an injection of Auckland players to fill in the spaces and they are willing to travel for their club coach, its a nice choice of players considering the retreads available (Prince anyone?)
I would advocate signing someone like a Jeff Campbell/Nick Hyde/Graeme Pearce type player. Bit older, bit smarter and calm. They also lack a bit of bulk and just a mongrel in there to win ball, which is not really Willys style so I'm guessing they are going to try and outpace the other sides and do it with agility and ball movement.

Gutted, another season of Waikato mediocrity ahead...

Em.  Jeff Campbell adding a bit of "bulk" and "mongrel" seems a little hard to beleive.

Yeah thats quite true. I did say the team lacked it, not that those players will provide it (smarter, calmer and older), but I think you understand where I am coming from

Lost to HBU 3-1 in a Pre-Season game in Taupo

Good performance and goals today against AllStars

Strom looked good and young Sam Margetts from a few years ago was top quality!

BUT very few WAIKATO players on show...?

the two trialists in midfield were poor, jack beaguley looked v good and if milos is able to keep fit he willl be a good signing

We should just put out the Melville team, it'd probably perfom just as well

Um, you have a good dose of the Bays side that obliterated the Northern League. I'd say you have a squad capable of making the top 4.

Yip they should do - a second striker beside Milos and something else in midfield and should be a solid team

Milos is not much of a streiker unfortunately but agree a solid midfielder is required

am about to go out and watch, hoping for a solid perfomance, think a win might be a bit too much

Hoping Waikato can do well. With the all the youngsters in the team I think they may struggle. 

Interested to see how Mully goes, first competitive fixture in over 2 years!

1 nil waikato atm 19mins gone
http://www.nzfc.co.nz/index.php?id=1104

1-1 38minsEverton FC2010-10-16 15:43:04

2-1 waikato at half time

Mully shows that hes been working on he free kick over the past 2 years.  now 3-2 to auckland.

Holy sh*t. Mully scores 2 goals from 2 free kicks in the space of a few minutes

3-2 to Auckland

I just got a Twitter update that made me lol.

"Two stunning freekicks from Dave Mulligan put Auckland in front".

3-2 it ends to Auckland. Pretty unlucky for Waikato 

Mulligan!!

Sounds like Mulligan had a great debut.  Always felt a bit sorry for that guy and didn't think he was given a fair run at times when I thought we could have done with him at least on the bench.

Hopefully he does well and picks up an A-League contract with an Aussie club.  Unlikely, though.

I think Mulligan would be a huge benefit of another New Zealand A-League team, he's clearly not good enough to start for the Phoenix, and wouldn't warrant being an import for an Aussie team. I think he'll be too good for the ASB Premiership, which would be a very annoying situation to be in, a star in an amateur league that's not televised. Maybe he should try the second tier of the MLS, surely he's better than someone like Cameron Knowles, and close to Plodder.

I think that is where he is heading much like what Plodder did last year.

Mulligan's a class above this league. Not bad for Waikato, no goals conceded from open play, and some soft decisions went against us leading up to goals. Fletcher looked good in goal, and I though Branch and Begely looked good, also Jones when he came on, one of the few Waikato guys.

Mulligan was simply brilliant on Saturday. Fully ran the game and so he should. Was very one sided, Auckland City dominated possesion and created alot more. Waikato counter attacked a few times as it may have been their tatics and this created two chances for them and and grabbed two goals. Waikato should have targeted Citys centre backs because they were awful.

I agree about Mulligan.

Bruce the referee was so over weight and unfit he wouldnt be able to keep up with an over35's game. He needed binoculars to see most of the action.

Yes the referee was overweight, however i dont think this had an adverse affect on his game. I thought he kept up, made mostly correct decisions, and used his cards at the correct time.  However i thought those two freekicks leading to goals looked very soft, especially the second. Would have loved a second look at them.

Well if he had kept up then maybe he would have not given those soft freekicks that led to those goals. So you could say his decisions had a very strong affect on the proceedings.

Who was it, Jamie Cross?

Kerr, not sure of first name.

Wayne, I think is the refs first name...?

The free kicks were soft but were free kicks. It was more a case of naive defending as opposed to poor refereeing! (And yes I am a Waikato fan!)

Very upset that more Waikato boys not getting the chance to play!

Aaron Scott - playing for Waitakere
Alex Barlow - played for WFC
Mark Jones - late sub for WFC

BUT

Alex Carr - sub GK for WFC
Adam Thomas - on bench for Auckland (I would imagine unlikely to play much)
Sam Margetts - not selected for game day squad for WFC
Tewi Te Pou - not selected for game day squad
David Smith ?
Dave Samson - ?
Steve Holloway ?
Jason Chewins ?
Matt Williams ?
Mathew Gibbons ?


                            Alex Carr

     Scott      Samson    Bunce    Chewins/Gibbons

Te Pou     Smith    Thomas   Williams        Barlow

                           Margetts/ Holloway       
MrWaikato2010-10-19 23:05:04

Wayne Scott? Well he is a fat numpty so that figures.

I read somewhere on Stuff that Chewins pulled out for the year and that Samson failed a fitness test before kick off. Holloway would be at the beach where he normally is?

Jason Chewins, northern league player of the year, has elected to sit the summer out, but will be back for next winter.

Bruce you are talking bollix. He is not well liked.