West's bid for 2019/2020 entry

https://olefootballacademy.co.nz/western-suburbs-talks-nz-football-join-national-league-2019/

Wests or Southern United...pretty easy if you ask me

With the Auckland region population of 1.6 m  you can see 3 teams. Wgtn region with population 0.3 m, can you see 2 teams.

Depends what's the measure of "success" of the national league? Player development? Spectator numbers? Financial Stability?

Three teams if you include the Nix NL team, btw.

Wests plus 4th Auck team. 12 team League.

Also Wests/Ole are an elite academy so no diff from having Wanderers/NZ U-20 or Weenix in our national league.

#precedence

Yup, I'll take the established team that gives representation to a decent sized area of the country too.

Who are always sharke. Cannon fodder. It's not a participation league. Southern have never done anything on the field to justify their existence. Get rid.

Great bit of spin from Declan and Wests tbh. Two seasons until licenses come up for renewal again and a lot to do in that time.

Likely drop outs - well, Hamilton might be the main one if you look at it. Could also see Birko make a bid for a license as well.

Shark, we better be getting those underperforming Phoenix out of the A-League then!

Its the NZ National League, the regions should be represented.

Aye, and I could see Southern getting a bit better if the South Island league that's been rumoured gets going in the next few years.

NZF isn't going to ditch a province.

Expand and split it into 2 conferences - Wellington and South Island/rest of the North Island

For me for the league to move forward we need promotion and relegation and if that happens teams like Southern are at risk.

In a perfect world we would have representation from every area but as we move rightly into a mostly club based national league I don't think you can manipulate the league to ensure this.

Maybe being dropped from the National league is the motivation required for the Football South board to improve their league and really push for this South Island league.

Plenty of people who think that and the Phoenix haven't been anywhere near as bad as Southern.

It's not a participation league. Well, it shouldn't be anyway.

Hey Smithy, can you send us back Stevens, Jackson & Molloy.

*ahem* Since 2010 there is no Auckland City. The whole region is in the Super City.

not so long ago dunedin had both tech and cavvy doing ok in the national league

is it the region or the franchise?

either way, the 'participation' nature of the competition means they can get away with being sharke

Ahh yes the compelling argument that "a good player was born here once." 

2003 was the only season that both Dunedin Tech and Caversham were in the National League - Caversham finished 8th and Tech 9th in a 10 team league

before that Tech did ok in the league, probably showing that Dunedin can only really support 1 national league team

I fundamentally disagree with that - we have representation from all over the country in our national leagues for rugby, cricket, netball, basketball, hockey and any other major sport you care to name. Football should reflect that, at least until promotion/relegation is viable and that's not for a while yet.

If you followed your own logic you'd be on the same page as the people who want the Nix gone, so your argument is quite hypocritical. There are far more reasons for the Nix to be out of the A-League than Southern out of the National League, and, while the situations have different nuances I think they're largely comparable - Kicking CCM out of the A-League is probably a better comparison though.

The only way southern will be competitive is if they get players in from outside the region or from overseas.  That completely undermines the "geographic representation" angle.

I was at some of the original meetings between the clubs to set up the entry and the whole goal was how to do it cheap.  They are the very definition of squatting on a licence

I'm all for further expansion I'd say a South Auckland team based in Mangere and a team in the lower North Island so yup I think Wests bidding for entry is a good thing. 

Southern are just the national league version of Waterside Karori #alwaysshark #Cannonfodder

MCAFC for National League! Big Kev still has what it takes!

Seriously, isn't Southern a make-work scheme for Irish migrants?

A few years ago I'd have agreed with you. But since FootballSouth took over the running of the team (about a year ago now), off the field there have been solid improvements. It's not a makeshift entity run by some goodwill. Now well run, with some success at Youth level, a solid pathway and players have gone onto bigger things. Bunch of players now working for FS as coaches (and actually coaching unlike  'coaching fees' at other clubs) and they're making a difference for football in the south. 

I know the give it time argument is shark one, so I won't use it, but things are progressing forward.

(For the record, I'm fully in favour of promotion/relegation going forward, and if that means Southern goes, then so be it. Don't think they will though).

MCAFC why not? Would soon become a shadow Fijian national side, which would be fine fun. Just what our league needs IMO. Bit more buzz. Plus Declan & Ole of course.

All I would say is they are starting from a long way back and I do question as well whether Federation run teams are the way forward.  Are the Federation really going to dedicate people to winning the league or just try and put together a decent side as part of what they are already doing?  I suppose Canterbury United are run by the Federation too?  

We are comparing apples with oranges. By the time Wests want to be in the league, won't it be a club based league anyway? Southern United won't be the representative, one of the local clubs will be.

These discussions are always really good at identifying where the logistical oversights have been made in terms of how the new structure will work in all parts of the country, not just in Wellington and Auckland. Down this way, the local competitions will take a huge hit if you take the best 20 players out to play somewhere else. South Island League would have to come in and also be at the same time. 

I am a fan of having a club based national league, but it would have to be during the same time as the local leagues, to reduce confusion and player cross-over and burn out. You would have to also ensure the promotion / relegation does cover the whole country, as it would kill football in the regions that do not have a team in the national competition. That doesn't help anyone. 

I think that the future of the comp review decided that either franchises or clubs can enter, no-one is going to do away with Auckland City for example

I don't think Fed involvement has been ruled out?

As a South Aucklander, I can't see any reason to have a South Auckland based team in the league.  There are no decent administrators in South Auckland.  We saw the failed entity of Auckland United in the national youth league a couple of years ago and that all turned very nasty and things were said when they did not receive a full license.  Manukau is currently the pick of the South Auckland clubs but don't really offer much more than a very good first team unit.