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Posted January 10, 2013 05:11 · last edited January 10, 2013 05:12

how many times have coaches been hired mid-season especially in the MLS so if he cant link up with the team until May/June then so be it. anyway im sure he will get an early release. people are running away with this story

I can just imagine the angst if the Phoenix ever pulled a move like this though. Consider the amount of shit Ricki's been given just for missing parts of the pre-season while away with the AW's. Turns out what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

I'm loving this story, it has so many interesting angles.

There's no doubt Ryan is going to be under huge pressure. This piece seems to be typical of many coming out of Toronto...

Ryan Nelsen hiring must be a ruse

What's fascinating is that this may be the first time in Ryan's career he's had any real hostility directed towards him. Right now he potentially faces a big backlash in the UK, especially from QPR fans, scepticism verging on ridicule in Toronto, and unease in New Zealand about what it means for the All Whites.

That last one could turn nastier for him if he doesn't handle it right. What he appears to forget is that it isn't just about him and NZF, it's also about the wider NZ footballing community and the NZ public. If he appears to not care about the impact of his international retirement in that context then he could really damage his reputation here.

I really hope this move works out for him but it's a massive challenge.

My thoughts exactly. In fact I've always been a little bit unsure of Nelsen's relationship to NZF and football in NZ in general. There's no denying that when he's played he's played his heart out but too often he made up bogus injuries to avoid the trips. And yes I know all that stuff everyone says about playing in the EPL being more important and his club not being happy and blah blah blah but in the media he's constantly presented as the shining saviour of the All Whites and it's just not true. He plays when he wants to, not every game. And sure matches against the Solomon Islands and Vanuata aren't glamourous but if you really want to play in a World Cup you should damn well help your team qualify. New Zealand football partly lacks credibility because of the way overseas players like Nelsen pick and choose the games they want to play. It's fine to skip friendlies, I don't care about that but if you want to play football for you country you should play every competitive game you can. I wonder what sort of message that attitude sends to young guys in the squad - what if Reid, Smith, Wood, Rojas, Barbarouses, Payne, Howieson are all playing in Europe in a few years and they all decide to fake injuries to avoid playing OFC qualifiers because this great NZ football legend made it seem okay to do that - what then?

Now the way he's handling this whole situation just makes him look like like a d*ck - to us and to QPR fans.

Not cool, Nelly, not cool.

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ConanTroutman edited January 10, 2013 05:12

terminator_x wrote:

tripvincent wrote:

My thoughts exactly. In fact I've always been a little bit unsure of Nelsen's relationship to NZF and football in NZ in general. There's no denying that when he's played he's played his heart out but too often he made up bogus injuries to avoid the trips. And yes I know all that stuff everyone says about playing in the EPL being more important and his club not being happy and blah blah blah but in the media he's constantly presented as the shining saviour of the All Whites and it's just not true. He plays when he wants to, not every game. And sure matches against the Solomon Islands and Vanuata aren't glamourous but if you really want to play in a World Cup you should damn well help your team qualify. New Zealand football partly lacks credibility because of the way overseas players like Nelsen pick and choose the games they want to play. It's fine to skip friendlies, I don't care about that but if you want to play football for you country you should play every competitive game you can. I wonder what sort of message that attitude sends to young guys in the squad - what if Reid, Smith, Wood, Rojas, Barbarouses, Payne, Howieson are all playing in England in a few years and they all decide to fake injuries to avoid playing OFC qualifiers because this great NZ football legend made it seem okay to do that - what then?

Now the way he's handling this whole situation just makes him look like like a d*ck - to us and to QPR fans.

Not cool, Nelly, not cool.