Shame on the Phoenix

what would they rather say to their grandchildren as they flick through their photo albums: "Here's me playing at the Olympic Games", or "Here's me receiving my wages from the Phoenix."?

This is the thin end of the wedge[/QUOTE]
That's a big concern for me, and many people can't see beyond this being "two essential players being kept back from a meaningless competition". As you say, I don't see NZF doing us any favours any time soon. Also, when it came up at after work drinks on Friday (ie the general public, not feverites), the view on it certainly wasn't very popular. But mostly I feel for the players.

[QUOTE=terminator_x]But some of you already have your heads inserted way up too far up Terry and Tony's backsides to work that one out for yourselves.

Next we'll see Phoenix players mysteriously getting "injuries" before legitimate FIFA windows and then amazingly being fully fit for the next club game. And look out for the Phoenix putting pressure on Ricki Herbert to also choose between club and country soon. From NZF's point of view you can also expect them to be a lot less forgiving anytime the Phoenix genuinely want a player rested rather than being released for some meaningless international friendly that happens to be in a FIFA window.

Werent they in Fifa Windows though? So we kind of had to release them...hardly counts.





Im not saying we dont want to help NZF...just that it looks that way by not releasing Lochhead...and that you cant use the AWs game as a valid argument because those games fell into Fifa windows

cant claim injury then play the player on the same date anyways.

Billy Harris is right. It's a lazy, short-sighted decision by the Phoenix especially when only one (and maybe neither) of Smeltz and Lochead would have been picked at this stage anyway.

This is the thin end of the wedge. Next we'll see Phoenix players mysteriously getting "injuries" before legitimate FIFA windows and then amazingly being fully fit for the next club game. And look out for the Phoenix putting pressure on Ricki Herbert to also choose between club and country soon.

From NZF's point of view you can also expect them to be a lot less forgiving anytime the Phoenix genuinely want a player rested rather than being released for some meaningless international friendly that happens to be in a FIFA window.

The very fact that a significant number of people in this forum (even if it's still a minority) believe the Phoenix have got this one wrong, which has also been reflected in a lot of the press reporting, shows just what a PR cock-up this has been. NZ football is just too small to not have NZF and the Phoenix working closely together.

But some of you already have your heads inserted way up too far up Terry and Tony's backsides to work that one out for yourselves.

Yeah very distasteful to suggest the phoenix would ever do that,i agree.

I thought you were more saying that you cant say we dont release players for NZF sides, because we did last season. My bad.

"phoenix snub leaves youngsters with no hope as they go down to brazil" ??

there seem to be two arguments here,

1. oh the poor players don't get to go to the Olympics, which is kinda dumb (who plays football for a chance to go to the Olympics?!)

 and 2. if we send Smeltz and Lochead we'd have a good chance of doing well, thus raising football's profile in NZ...which is EXTREMELY fanciful, on both counts.

there seem to be two arguments here,

1. oh the poor players don't get to go to the Olympics, which is kinda dumb (who plays football for a chance to go to the Olympics?!)

 and 2. if we send Smeltz and Lochead we'd have a good chance of doing well, thus raising football's profile in NZ...which is EXTREMELY fanciful, on both counts.

1. Heck, I'd love to go to the Olympics. The sport played is irrelevant; if there is an Olympic competition for it at the highest level, then the best players deserve to go. Smeltz and Lochhead have been named the best, so they (Lochhead anyway) should get to go.

2. So should we only send the players if we are drawn against Oceanian nations?
They weren't needed during the qualifiers against Oceania.
Here they are needed and will make a difference.
The quality of the opposition NZ are drawn against at the Olympics shouldn't matter; it's the event that matters.

that's true, but can you imagine the headlines if what normally happens happened?

We're gonna get dicked in the Olympics. I don't see how that's gonna help raise football's profile in NZ. The Nix, however, have a chance to do well.

A loss and a couple of draws are not impossible by any means.

a lot of the arguments on here seem to suggest that because olymipc football is a meaningless tournament no-one will care, not true i think. Football people wont care, but non-footballers will.