Kiwi Players Elsewhere

Ryan Thomas (PEC Zwolle | Netherlands)

1846 replies · 587,290 views
06 Sep 03:26
imanixsupporter
When was the last time the All Whites played in a friendly outside.a window? The clubs have to release players in windows, even for friendlies. What are you even talking about?
Buffon II
imanixsupporter
My point is, we can wisely restrict minutes for the players' own sakes, but we shouldn't be doing it to appease clubs


Yes we should, otherwise as ballane correctly pointed out, we will end up not having those players made available to us in future windows where we are solely playing friendlies and not competitive fixtures.


Read Andrew Voerman's post in the match thread where he talks to Bazeley post match. Bazeley mentions talking to Wood's club about managing his workload/minutes when released for these windows.

But of course you think a minnow footballing nation from the end of the world should call the shots and do as they please. Incredibly naive.

Three for me, and two for them.

06 Sep 03:31
Darren Bazeley on Ryan Thomas

He was so good. We knew he was such a good player, so intelligent and just technically, so good. I think he showed what a shame it's been that we've missed so much of him playing football for the All Whites over the years. But it's great to have him back in and he came into camp – he hadn't been in camp for six years – and just gelled straight away. He knows the players anyway, and the players are all very close and tight, so he just fitted in straight away. Whilst the plan was to sort of gently integrate him back in, obviously, with Marko departing us early, I asked Ryan and he said, No, I'm good to go. Let's go. I thought he played very well. Tightened up a little bit in the second half, and sort of felt a little bit in his hamstring, so we got him off really quickly, and he's fine this morning.
06 Sep 03:43
The recent Nations Cup was in an extraordinary window especially for the tournament. Teams still had to release players for it. It is extremely rare for us to play outside windows, there is no prospect of it happening again in the forseaable future. 

You can maybe make that other argument for players trying to get into their club teams and who play at lower levels but the same does not apply to our frontline players. I highly doubt such inappropriate coercion is happening to any of the players who would make our best XI. 

Besides, clubs also know that the value of their assets (which their contracted players are) are improved by international appearances. More likely to get other teams paying fees (or higher fees) for them if they are making them. If I was Baze I would have good dialogue with them but would always make it clear that it is his call, international windows are few and far between and he reserves the right to put NZF first during the windows. 
06 Sep 04:15
Rusty Dunks
tablemanners
sensational. that maradona turn, the raking passes. the composure. we takes us up a couple of notches - where the hell does Marco Stamenic play now??

In place of McCowatt? Shift Thomas to 10 (or play Marko there), Singh on the left? 

I know McCowatt is out of love today, but he almost provided a game winning assist yesterday. 

He plays at a higher level than Singh and has done for some time. He is a more accurate distance shooter. He has a better record of goals and assists in recent years. He’s been settled and obviously had a coach that appreciates him.

I don’t think yesterday’s criticism is comparing apples to apples. He did an unbelievable amount of running. He did cough the ball up a couple of times, long after both Singh and Just were substituted.  He was absolutely gassed at that point and the fact he wasn’t subbed wasn’t entirely his fault. 

I think Marko probably plays in the ten for Singh. Or is kept in reserve so that if teams bring in Irankunda and Ballard in the second half we bring on Stamenic who puts Ballard in his pocket and picks up two assists as we win 2-0…

We were talking about the strength of the press, and part of that was the running everyone, including McCowatt did from the front. 

I think Thomas was great where he was and where he’s playing for his club.

I’m not saying things can’t be changed, just that McCowatt was part of the slick machine of that first half that gave Singh and Thomas a chance to shine, so there might be unintended consequences to tinkering with it…


06 Sep 04:32
Tbh despite yesterday’s performances Stamenić is an absolute lock in this team. I think it’s between Bell and Singh if anything and who you want to sacrifice depending on the opponent. 

I personally want to see the diamond formation come out where we can utilise all 4 of them. But I still think Stamenic is the best of the lot followed closely by Thomas. 

His height, athleticism and physicality along with his precise technical ability is second to none. Pretty much everything Swans fans adore him for. 

Look how far we’ve come as a nation though. We are having debates on where a 23 year old UCL level player plays in the team. How good! 
06 Sep 09:12
Thomas over Stamenic for now... but that is partly because one player is still in his infancy as a professional really.
13 Sep 13:40
Captain Thomas starts for Zwolle.
13 Sep 22:50 · edited 13 Sep 22:51 · History
Full game and a yellow in a 3-1 loss in Amsterdam.
I'm sure Thomas always gets a fond memory flashback when returning there.
18 Sep 23:51 · edited 19 Sep 00:22 · History
I've been looking at ways to watch the Eredivisie in NZ which is a league I like to watch with my Dutch heritage and Ryan playing etc.
ESPN on Sky TV have one game a week usually -  which you have to watch live or record because i think there's no on demand feature on Sky Go or ESPN for such content.
You can see which Eredivisie games are coming up on ESPN on Sky in this specific search here:
 TV Guide
But you can watch the 54 minute weekly official English languge Eredivisie Highlights Show for free on the Triller (legal) sports streaming site with a VPN set to "United Kingdom" (I use the free "Urban VPN" on my laptop).
Other content on Triller you have to pay for but the Eredivisie Highlights and Portuguese highlights shows are free.
Just register for free on the Triller website and create a password.
Watch here:
▷ Eredivisie Highlights - TrillerTV
All free football highlights shows on Triller - incl. weekly Portuguese (40 mins):
▷ Football Highlights - TrillerTV

You can also watch 6 minutes highlights videos of all Eredivisie games on the website of host broadcaster ESPN NL here without registering (with your VPN set to "Netherlands"):
Stream Vriendenloterij Eredivisie videos on Watch ESPN - ESPN

There is also a weekly Dutch one hour ten minutes Eredivisie review show "Dit Was Het Weekend" ("That Was the Weekend") with highlights and analysis of each game,news, panel discussion etc. (different to the Englsh version) on ESPN NL You Tube channel.
It's in Dutch but just click on settings for the video and select English subtitles:
(10039) 🗣️ Dit Was Het Weekend - YouTube

Big Pete 65, Christchurch

19 Sep 22:23 · edited 19 Sep 22:26 · History
If ESPN are showing the Eredivisie, they'll have it on Disney+ if you wanted to watch the games on demand. Believe they also have the Belgian Pro League as well?
Disney+ | Dutch Eredivise
Big Pete 65
I've been looking at ways to watch the Eredivisie in NZ which is a league I like to watch with my Dutch heritage and Ryan playing etc.
ESPN on Sky TV have one game a week usually -  which you have to watch live or record because i think there's no on demand feature on Sky Go or ESPN for such content.
You can see which Eredivisie games are coming up on ESPN on Sky in this specific search here:
 TV Guide
But you can watch the 54 minute weekly official English languge Eredivisie Highlights Show for free on the Triller (legal) sports streaming site with a VPN set to "United Kingdom" (I use the free "Urban VPN" on my laptop).
Other content on Triller you have to pay for but the Eredivisie Highlights and Portuguese highlights shows are free.
Just register for free on the Triller website and create a password.
Watch here:
▷ Eredivisie Highlights - TrillerTV
All free football highlights shows on Triller - incl. weekly Portuguese (40 mins):
▷ Football Highlights - TrillerTV

You can also watch 6 minutes highlights videos of all Eredivisie games on the website of host broadcaster ESPN NL here without registering (with your VPN set to "Netherlands"):
Stream Vriendenloterij Eredivisie videos on Watch ESPN - ESPN

There is also a weekly Dutch one hour ten minutes Eredivisie review show "Dit Was Het Weekend" ("That Was the Weekend") with highlights and analysis of each game,news, panel discussion etc. (different to the Englsh version) on ESPN NL You Tube channel.
It's in Dutch but just click on settings for the video and select English subtitles:
(10039) 🗣️ Dit Was Het Weekend - YouTube
20 Sep 19:09
Castar
If ESPN are showing the Eredivisie, they'll have it on Disney+ if you wanted to watch the games on demand. Believe they also have the Belgian Pro League as well?
Disney+ | Dutch Eredivise
Big Pete 65
I've been looking at ways to watch the Eredivisie in NZ which is a league I like to watch with my Dutch heritage and Ryan playing etc.
ESPN on Sky TV have one game a week usually -  which you have to watch live or record because i think there's no on demand feature on Sky Go or ESPN for such content.
You can see which Eredivisie games are coming up on ESPN on Sky in this specific search here:
 TV Guide
But you can watch the 54 minute weekly official English languge Eredivisie Highlights Show for free on the Triller (legal) sports streaming site with a VPN set to "United Kingdom" (I use the free "Urban VPN" on my laptop).
Other content on Triller you have to pay for but the Eredivisie Highlights and Portuguese highlights shows are free.
Just register for free on the Triller website and create a password.
Watch here:
▷ Eredivisie Highlights - TrillerTV
All free football highlights shows on Triller - incl. weekly Portuguese (40 mins):
▷ Football Highlights - TrillerTV

You can also watch 6 minutes highlights videos of all Eredivisie games on the website of host broadcaster ESPN NL here without registering (with your VPN set to "Netherlands"):
Stream Vriendenloterij Eredivisie videos on Watch ESPN - ESPN

There is also a weekly Dutch one hour ten minutes Eredivisie review show "Dit Was Het Weekend" ("That Was the Weekend") with highlights and analysis of each game,news, panel discussion etc. (different to the Englsh version) on ESPN NL You Tube channel.
It's in Dutch but just click on settings for the video and select English subtitles:
(10039) 🗣️ Dit Was Het Weekend - YouTube


Wow didn't know Disney+ has sport (we have it for the kids). They do have the eredivise on there, but limited.

If I search for Pec Zwolle they have a replay of last week's Ajax match and an upcoming for next week against AZ. 

Likewise theres only 4 replays for last weeks round 
21 Sep 10:45 · edited 21 Sep 13:01 · History
Thomas starts as Zwolle host Go Ahead Eagles.

Edit - Zwolle down to 10 men from the 2nd min!  They lose 0-2. Goals 80 & 96 mins. 
Full game Thomas.
24 Sep 23:57
Thomas off at 59 mins (2-2) in a 2-2 draw.
Hopefully just some load management with 3 games in a week.
27 Sep 22:28
Captain Thomas a full game in a 2-1 loss. Zwolle are 13th of 18.
04 Oct 22:32
Full game as 10 man Zwolle get thrashed 4-0
Already 2-0 when the send off happened (62 mins)
19 Oct 01:19
Thomas off at 61 mins (Breda leading 2-1) in a 2-2 draw.
Part of a double sub.

Socceroo Balard an unused sub for Breda.
25 Oct 20:33
Not in squad. Oh no! 
25 Oct 20:42
Pray it’s not too serious.
28 Oct 20:56
Zwolle an easy 4-1 win
Still no Thomas
29 Oct 11:46
Niche Cache.

........Ryan Thomas, who skipped the game against NEC Nijmegen... and then also the midweeker against Helmond Sport in the KNVB Cup first round (he might not have played that one anyway). They’ve been careful with how they’ve explained that absence, striking a balance between a minor injury and workload management, but there’s hope he’ll be back for the next match.

Zwolle coach Henry van der Vegt: “He has complaints that influence his fitness. We’re not going to take any risks.”

The report seems to be that he wasn’t entirely fit coming back from All Whites duty, having played 150-odd minutes across the Poland and Norway friendlies, and that they rushed him back into the side to face NAC Breda a few days later when perhaps they shouldn’t have. But this is nothing serious. He trained by himself prior to the cup game... which means that he still trained. 
02 Nov 10:27
Thomas on the bench, good to see him back in the matchday squad.
02 Nov 13:48
Oh dear, Zwolle smashed 8-2 by Heracles.

Thomas unused. That will have been very tough for him to watch, especially as the captain.
02 Nov 13:50
HattyCW
Thomas on the bench, good to see him back in the matchday squad.

Could be starting next week. 

Zwolle struck early to go 1-0 up.

However then then go down 4-1. They then lose a guy to a second yellow. Ten minutes later it’s half time. 

After the break they concede another 4(!) to Zwolle’s consolation.

And things finish in an 8-2 loss.


02 Nov 23:10
Heracles goalscorers included a hat trick from Marco Rojas' best named former teammate from his Heerenveen days, Jizz Hornkamp. Lovely little blast from the past.
Annual finals disappointment enthusiast.

09 Nov 00:02
Zwolle win 1-0.
Captain Thomas a full game and MOTM 8.0 Soccerway rating.
11 Nov 23:20 · edited 21 Nov 00:39 · History
For those who think that clubs have no say, in players being available for the AWs in FIFA windows. "You get paid here".

https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2025/11/12/why-midfielder-ryan-thomas-had-to-withdraw-from-all-whites-squad/
 
Why midfielder Ryan Thomas had to withdraw from All Whites squad
Efforts by All Whites midfielder Ryan Thomas to juggle club and national team commitments have backfired, he says.

Thomas says his eagerness to play for New Zealand and his Dutch club, PEC Zwolle, against rivals NAC Breda led to him glossing over the state of his match fitness.

“I wasn’t entirely honest with the medical staff at the time,” he told De Stentor.

“I was a bit overworked and should have taken it easier. I didn’t want to miss that NAC night. That set me back.”

Thomas (30), who has overcome a series of long-term injuries, returned from New Zealand’s October games against Poland and Norway, having played in both matches.

“We did a scan to check if anything was wrong. I hardly trained this week, and on Saturday I played while taking pills,” he said.

Thomas, who has 23 caps for the national team, has since withdrawn from the New Zealand squad to face Colombia and Ecuador in the November international window.

Zwolle coach Henry van der Vegt was not happy with the way his captain handled the situation.

“You get paid here,” he said. “I understand he wants to be at the World Cup, but I do have some concerns about him not being able to play for us.

“He finds that very upsetting as well.

“We’re doing everything we can to manage that as best as possible.”
23 Nov 21:15
Captain Thomas a full game in a 2-2 draw

Zwolle down to 10 men at 72 mins when up 2-1. Concede late in 90th min