Danny Hay (Auckland FC | A-League)

I nominate YoungHeart Manawatu

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/8283988/Maybe-its-not-Wellington-Phoenixs-fault-at-all

You guys read this shit ?

WOW! That takes the shite journalism cake. 

Come on, its not serious...

I agree that fantasy has more appeal than reality at the moment actually. I constantly find myself discussing with people along the lines of 'hypothetically if we signed this player and that player, how would you line up our starting XI?'

 DH tops himself for Epic Stupidity! Signing Hernandez is BAD because it makes it harder to SACK RICKI.

 What do you disagree with in the article Doloras ?

I agree with Doloras. 

The part where he quotes the commenter who said "Just what an ageing team needs . . . an expensive, injury-prone unfit player." was ridiculous for me. He's not overly expensive, he will fit under the salary cap. He's not injury prone, he played 121 games in 5 seasons, at an average of 24.2 games per season (not including finals), or 96% of the games that Victory played in the season he was there. Missing 5 games in 5 seasons is hardly justification to call him 'injury-prone'. I can accept that some commenters on this website have no concept of fact-checking, but I would expect somebody paid to write opinion pieces to do so. 

The negativity from some quarters about the Hernandez signing both pisses me off and confuses me. Not from Danny Hay though, he's pretty much paid to be negative. It gets more pageviews/sells more papers than positivity does.

I've turned on Adblock for stuff.co.nz, so they don't get any money from me reading their articles. Winning.

Sticking it to the man!

 Even JD and Steve-O, the leaders of the Sack Ricki Tendency, think that signing Hernandez was something that Ricki did right. Hay's argument is that it is bad that Ricki should have been allowed to sign anyone when he "should" be fired at the end of the season. So Hay would have to make the same argument if Ricki signed Messi or got Marco back or whatever. Absolutely stupid if your priority is "Nix winning games in 2013/14" rather than "Ricki Herbert unemployed in 2013/14".

 Yes there was the quote from someone which was lazy, and wrong, thanks Patrick for the correction

I am surprised in a way that Ricki is given licence to sign someone up for next year, that cant play for us right now.

I'm interested to know how usual this is. I wonder if he has had the word from the Welnix that he will definitely continue. By the way I like Karlos coming, almost regardless of who will be the coach, I mean which coach wouldnt be happy with him (apart from Ange ? )

I really can not believe the stupidity around this signing.

Its a simple question. Is the signing going to better the Wellington Phoenix? If you say yes then regardless of what agenda you have, STFU. Thats all that counts, regardless who is coach, manager, owner, referee, ball boy - does this signing make the Phoenix a better team? Its that simple.

This smacks of agenda and jealously from Danny and really makes him just look unpathetic and sophisticated like all Phoenix fans.....

 Nonsense JV. You can agree with signing being a good one, and also question what it means, specially with RH's precarious position

Hep - regardless who is the coach next year for the Phoenix, is this a good signing for the team?

I'm not talking about questioning what it means. I'm saying you can't say its a bad signing because it will mean Ricki will stay. I'm saying, forget your agenda, forget your prejudices whether you want Ricki or not, is this a good signing for us. Its immaterial who is coach for this to be a good or bad signing. Danny Hay has just written that he cannot do that.

If it had been Messi, RVP or Ronaldo, would that have been a bad signing? Danny is only saying that because he wants Ricki out. Even the hardcore Sack Ricki fans are saying its a decent signing (and kudos to them for being objective)

Imagine the furore if we didn't sign Hernandez, and it came out half way through next season Herbert elected not to due to managerial uncertainty.  Whether or not he was still around he would be crucified for it.  Absolute no brainer signing.  I just can't believe anyone is objecting to it.

QFT Mike

Yes that is true.

I will say this though, if CH is the reason RH stays as 1st team coach next season, I will be pissed off. I am def in the Ricki out camp now.

Technically, to be fair, what Hay is actually saying is that "it's a bad signing because a new coach might have a brilliant plan for recruitment which doesn't include Hernandez or similar players but now he's stuck with him. Ricki shouldn't be able to make signings for less season because that shifts the agenda in his favour". No, I don't agree with it.

Actually the main point Hay makes is this one:

"With the announcement last week that the Phoenix have signed Carlos Hernandez for the next two seasons, it appears that Ricki Herbert's job as coach is guaranteed."

And I've got a sneaking suspicion he could be right. Which is why all this talk about people not buying season tickets next season if Ricki is still in charge really bothers me.

Isn't he just saying that you should let next year's coach sign next year's players?  Pretty simple really and not massively controversial is it?  WHich leads to T-X's point...  

His criticisms of Hernandez as a player probably display his bias though.

I have no problem with next years coach signing the players for next year JD. You yourself have said that the Hernandez signing is not a bad one. Now if you were the coach next year, does that make him now a bad one? Like other players in the team that the coach/new coach is going to have to work with, Hernandez is one of them and I would suspect most coaches, would be glad he is signed and filling a traditionally problem role for the Phoenix, than not having him signed.

any coach wouldve signed hernandez so it really doesnt matter if herbert is there or not. hopefully hes not though and we never have to relive this season again

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/8374690/Time-for-Phoenix-owners-to-splash-the-cash 

A reasonable article I suppose, except for this bit: 

"Whoever comes in is not going to have a blank canvas on which to build their "dream team". They are still going to have to work with those already under contract, such as Steyn Huysegems, Vinne Lia, Ben Sigmund and others.

These are all solid, honest, journeymen style players. But just as a square peg isn't meant for a round hole, nor are these players suited to a fast paced, attractive, possession-based gameplan."

Aside from mis-spelling the first names of Lia and Huysegems, does Danny really think that Stein isn't suited to possession football? Ummm.... 

Yeah, pretty odd lumping Huysegems with Lia and Sigmund in that way.

I agree, pretty strange comment.

Suggests our Danny may not have watched quite as many Nix games as he might like us to believe

Am I the only one who finds any irony in Hay describing anybody as a solid journeyman?

 He just doesn't like the Nix because it's in Wellington.

Lee Norfolk would have written that column a lot betterer.

#norfolk4nix

Now he's got nothing to write about Sunday news must have sacked him

While i don't like Killen there either. Keat hasn't been playing anywhere since being cut by the Galaxy and Tim Payne has just returned from injury for Blackburns Reserves/Academy. 

Note: it wouldn't let me post the link to Hay's latest rant

 http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/8465635/Herbert-needs-to-rethink-All-Whites-strategy 

I'm not going to lie, there were elements of a Shakespearean tragi-comedy with Ricki Herbert running full tilt down the sideline to celebrate the winning goal over the world's 103rd best footballing nation, whose Football Federation CEO is also the team's captain

Awkward

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/8860157/Former-All-White-apologises-for-abusing-ref

Sideline Champs anyone?

Lee Norfolk would never do something like that.

Decent piece from Hay this time round, agree with a lot of it (although I know very little about Lowy and the FFA)

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/9577062/Hay-A-League-has-raised-the-standard-of-play

Sorry to clarify, I know very little about Frank Lowy and his personal journey with the FFA, rather than the FFA itself... am aware how the A-League is run etc etc etc

Perhaps I should read up about Lowy in particular, sounds like a bit of a revered fellow?

I'm normally the first person to give Danny Hay some shit when I think he's got it wrong so credit it where it's due, I think his article in the Sunday Star Times this week is spot on.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/9626110/Hay-No-end-to-domestic-decay-in-NZ-football

Great to see him pointing out that excessive player payments are the "dirty secret" of "amateur" club football in New Zealand.

Also good to see him allocating a fair share of the blame to franchises who "take a micro-view to the growth and progress of the game" and are "solely interested in their club and their teams being on top of the pile". I think we all know who he's talking about when he says "a lot of energy and money within some clubs goes on the pursuit of a couple of games, cash and a little bit of kudos at the Club World Cup".

Although NZF must take a large share of the blame for the ASBP's woes the lack of agency and self-determination exhibited by the franchises themselves (who let's not forget have a collective budget of approx. $3m) is something that is equally problematic and almost never acknowledged by critics.

If he had only gone a step further and pointed out the league's ridiculous reliance on pokie funding (and the obvious conflict that creates with paying players) it would have been an even better article.

Funnily enough, I thought the side-swat at player payments was an unnecessary diversion from the key issues of the article. If you want to have a ping at player payments, discuss it in a holistic manner and examine all the issues, cause and effects.

I would happily argue player payments go hand in hand with sports advertising/sponsorship - and ambitious clubs which seek revenue-earning advertising on ground hoardings need to invest a percentage of that income to ensure they have a product on the pitch people want to watch to make the advertising work... it is all part of the same dynamic.