Central League

That's real rich mate. Wait and see ay

I'd say O'Keefe, Fa'arodo, Pevs are the only ones to come to mind as being Mar players.

I've only repeated info given to me by Miramar people.

I saw a photo in another thread and saw Hogg, Scott, Bale, Butler, Lovemore and Feneridis starting for TW. Not many Wellington footballers in that line up.

Time has certainly already told that Wellington players can't or don't want to play O-League.

I do not know which it is, but there are only a couple of Wellington juniors in that whole squad. (Clarke, Gulley...I think that's it).

Something's going wrong somewhere between Central League and ASB Premiership in this town. But I have no idea what it is.

What's the ASB Prem supposed to be though exactly? Some people expect it to be a rep team of sorts where only top local players should be selected, others expect it to be as close to a professional league as possible where you just get the best players in that you can (eg. ACFC). Its caught awkwardly between these two ideas, where some sides reflect the prior, and others the latter.

The main problem is ACFC and the absurd amount of cash they're able to throw around. So much so that if anyone wants to compete with them, they need to forget about the local lads and just ring in the 'best' players possible.

But yeah, another discussion for another thread ... 

Fair question. And I don't know. But you would think (just on the law of averages) that there would be players in the Central League capable of playing ASB Premiership, but very few of them are. And a fair number of the ones that are play for Hawke's Bay. This is weird and (in my view) indicative of a problem.

But I don't know what the problem is exactly.

is it a closed Miramar shop? 

Not many of the franchises have been a great representation of the regions for awhile. The fact most of them are run by a single club (rather than how it was to begin with) probably has something to do with that. So essentially some are run like clubs rather than representitive teams. But like Smithy I don't really know what the problems or solutions are. Is it broken enough to warrant big changes?

Game to watch Rd 6 May 3  Road trip north 

Thanks Blew2 - you have just brought to my attention that I blew it!!!

Will be in Australia then - didn't plan that at all well.

Like usual, hearing some things coming out of the greek camp that Haidakis tried to jump ship the week before the season started but Mr Ifill was not interested

that must have been awkward for him. 

a couple of interesting games for the weekend i feel.

maybe some form maybe forming and maybe some form has been just the luck on the day.

4th round should start to show if there is any real outstanding teams and also any real struggling teams.

wests at home might give Rapa a shock but i hope not.

and tawa might have a new game plan and get points on the board because NCR see no threat and miss the boat but again i hope not.

as for the other games i think it is sorting time for some consistent results to be top half and clear of tawa and miramar.

shame i cannot make 230 at endeavour to see the ole experiment up against the Ifill experiment.

Yes and upon return to the greeks a bit of animosity from players also

If i read it right off twitter, Wests up 3-0 over Rapa inside 26 mins!

[Edit: 5-2 now]

Big win for Stop Out I see on the Capital football results page. Great result. Anyone at the game who can give us a bit of a report? Dairyflat?

Cracking game at Endevour Park.

Wests 3-0 up after 30 minutes.  Then 3-1 only for Rapa to concede an own goal for 4-1 within two minutes.  Then Paul I gets one just before half time for 4-2.

Wests up 5-2 early in the 2nd half before Rapa got another back with about 15 to go. 

Final score 5-3.  Could though have been 7-6 either way.  Both sides guilty of missing gilt edged chances.  Wests good for their win but Rapa deserved at least a point in my neutral opinion.

O and I thought Peter Linney contributed to it being a good spectacle for the neutral fans with his refereeing performance.

I'm on the spot now. Your lightweight match reviewer here...

Good match I thought. First twenty was very even and cagey. With lots of possession football from both sides. Once Stop Out scored the first one (about 30' in) they stepped up the intensity and took control.  Martin Packer had a great game scoring two and generally being every where.  His second goal was very good.

James McPeake made one VERY good save in the first half.

I felt, that there was some tension between a few of the Olympic players. More so after the second went in.

Stop Out well worth the win.

Lower Hutt 0 Miramar 2. Programme note says this is LH's last ever home game on grass.

Turf (shared rugby-football) opens shortly.

Big win for Napier today over Tawa 7 - 1.   Score tied at 1 - 1 at half time.

Goals to Karl Romijn (Tawa) after 14 minutes, then Angus Kilkolly at 35 mins. - - that was the first half action.

Chris Greatholder, the stand-in coach while Bill Robertson is away, must have had a few things to say at half-time.

Second half Napier goals to Ryan Tinsley (47, 70, 88), Angus Kilkolly (46, 64) and Tom Biss (60).

Mike Ramaekers saw red after a stupid challenge in the back of Greatholder with about 10 mins to go.

The beer tasted great in the Clubrooms after that result.   Will be a long trip home for the Tawa boys.

so tawa did have a new game plan and played well in first half?

then NCR coach pulled out there game B,C and D game plans and tawa were wiped from the field?

or where NCR just bad in the first half and got given the riot act by the coach at half time and woke up?

can you clarify for me Ol'sole

I don't think that Tawa had a new game plan - I just think that NCR didn't utilise theirs and I think that they looked a bit complacent in the first half.   It seemed that whatever NCR did, Tawa managed to get a foot in and thwarted the action.

Boy, things changed after half-time and there was only one team in it.  Could have scored a couple more - Tinsley hit the post once and there was another incident where the Tawa keeper couldn't hold the ball from a shot, the ball hit the post and bounced back to the keeper.   Tawa had very few chances and didn't look like creating many.

 Found NCR vs Tawa Highlights on youtube 

I cant seem to get the link to upload onto the forum

but if you type in  TSB Napier City Rovers vs Tawa AFC it should come up

who is Gowan Stares?

Tough day at the office for the Tawa keeper.

so NCR has the shield…

i was wondering where it was these days.

might be there a long time by the looks of that performance in the second half.

i think tawa might of lost the plot a bit after scoring and celebrating like they did.

and forgot there keeper not Mr Moss

Sauce yellow fever Kiwis in UK

Gowan Stares grew up in England but didn't play football.

Now the 15-year-old Tawa College pupil is preparing to return to the mother country for a crack at the big time, having earned a trial at English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion.

Stares, a central midfielder for Western Suburbs' reserve team, was one of three young Kiwis to impress West Brom's academy head coach Ryan Maye during a camp in Auckland this week.

Maye saw potential for the 1.83m Stares to be converted into a modern-style centre back who is comfortable with the ball at his feet.

Stares, who speaks with a maturity beyond his tender years, will fly to England in the Easter holidays with a view to breaking into the club's academy on a fulltime basis.

"Even though I was born in England, I never actually played football over there," Stares said.

"So it'll be good to go over there and test myself against the other kids and see where it takes me. I grew up in Brighton, then moved to Australia in 1999 and Wellington in 2005.

"They said they don't have any defenders at West Brom that can take the ball out of defence and are good on the ball. So they want me to play there because with my midfield background I'm a more attacking option. I work quite hard and if you work hard enough, good opportunities happen. I see it as a good experience, training with a Premier League team."

West Brom, who are 16th in the Premier League, already have a Kiwi presence in the form of 19-year-old All Whites striker Chris Wood, who is on loan at League One club Brighton and Hove Albion. 

Must be approaching 20 now. Central midfielder who was a Wests junior. Went back to the UK (English family) to give it a nudge for a while, not sure where he is now. Why do you ask? 

Edit - I'm a bit late to this party. Hell of a nice kid Gowan. 

ah Yep just thought I had heard the name before. scored  Prem and CL

Was involved at Wanderers in the ASB Prem as well from memory.

A heads up for anyone tweeting Central League games. The hashtag is #mcl15

frustrating when club accounts don't even use it. It's looking empty today, think only game I've seen on it is NCR game