Mainland Premier League

There's always lots of trash transfer talk in December. See who turns up to pre season training in January.

Well done The Pride. Well done to Tony Smith for ensuring the exposure. Let us hope The Dragons and youth teams can do as well. What a season 2013 / 4 will have been if that should happen.

Good to read of other clubs getting their act together with programs for the girls. Very important that as the top players move on to overseas scholarships that others are coming through to replace them.

Keeping the numbers healthy through the grades is very important, clubs that just focus on one squad, one age will not sustain from within their own ranks.

All these vibrant free thinking young coaches should be aiming to get the best out of what they have within their ranks, ensuring on going quality competition between players and clubs. I cant help thinking that an increased challenge to coastal this year lifted their focus, producing success for their club and the pride.

A good coach who can offer good opportunities will always attract players, a good club will also focus on ensuring their own get similar opportunities.

Players and their parents will chase opportunities, boys and girls. A lot of player movement is, I believe, short sighted but will always happen.

I wonder who the influences of these current coaches and players are and where they come from. I know in my younger days the majority of the influential coaches were from a UK background. There was the odd one with a European perspective but mainly UK.I am not sure much has changed.

Nationally, originally influenced by Armstrong then Truman, Jones, Moore, Fallon, Wilkinson, Clarke, McGath, Dugdale, Waitt, Pritchett, Smalley, Herdman and now Hodge, Emblem and Beizeley.

Locally, Evans then Bob, Conley, Stewart, Mann, Marshall and now it is probably Walker, Bateson, McCann, Braithwaite (s). McCosh, Howard etc. 

Lot of UK influence still in the game. Not saying there is not room for others, far from it.

First priority, like Gareth, young coaches have to get out there and prove it, just as we all had to. Enjoy the successes and work to keep them coming.     

Interesting reflecting at how exciting this year's successes have been. In my early years in Canterbury successes for our men and women were certainly more regular. Clubs like New Brighton, Woolston, Rangers, Technical and off course United seemed to reach the late rounds of the Chatham Cup regularly. AW can confirm but I can only think of a couple of years throughout the 70's and 80's when we did not have Canterbury clubs feature in the Semi Finals at least. Not always just United either.

And the women were always in the top 2 or 3 nationally.

I see Waimak are advertising for a new coach for Div 1 on their website and facebook. Should be an interesting gig.

Here is the link. http://www.waimakunited.org.nz/Page.asp?n=20963&org=waimakunited.org.nz

It isn't, I just thought it was funny.

[/quote]Methinks a bit of the green eyed monster and wishful thinking. Generally players who have been in a title winning team are fairly content to give it another go if they're asked. Besides, picking up Marquez, Morrison and Chrispy should help fill the gaps.[/quote]

Agree Ron.

Having talked to the imports I believe that they all will not be playing for Cashmere Technical, at this stage not ceretain if any will be playing for any ChCh clubs in the MPL as kiwifan90 has stated.

Is it written in the contract if you sign for Canty Utd you have to play for Tech?

2014 PDL will be renamed Reserve League otherwise unchanged. PDL will now be for u21 with strictly monitored allowance of 5 over-age players, 12.30 kick off. In essence a reserve league for div1, but with strong focus on retaining youth players. Makes sense?

No doubt CTFC have been very supportive of Canterbury United. Coastal similarly have been very supportive of The Pride. Hopefully it continues.

By supportive I take it you are meaning 'putting food on the table'?

Should I stop?

Not on my behalf.

By supporting I mean supplying players. Supplying coaches. Supplying Board Members. Selling raffles.

I am sure your club does as much, if not for Canterbury United then maybe for The Pride.

If you know different then let us all know.  

Ha ha. Check with Mainland. They administer Canterbury Utd.

Is it right that if you sign for Coastal you automatically make the Pride squad?

That would be good, as long as the players are left to continue playing at Selwyn and Waimak. Not been the case in the past.

Clubs with ambitions to get competitive at senior level have the best of their stocks filtered away by coaches from clubs with more to offer. Both boys and girls, possibly more so in the girls game.

If you look at the geographical residential spread of some clubs junior and youth player bases, it tends to tell a bit of a story.

Which players?

This year  the two Dans, Cory and Shaun are new to Utd. Played through last season for CTFC before being selected and playing for Utd. Not the other way round. As AW has stated do not know of any new players coming to CTFC. Who else are you thinking about?

Ron alluded to Marquez, Morrison and Chrispy (I guessing that's Bacon..... snigger) but that is probably just gossip. However it wouldn't be that unlikely would it?

And you didn't answer the comment regarding $igning players with a capital $.

I definitely think there is favouritism there. How many of those players started with Coastal. How many joined because of the opportunity to be involved with then Canterbury coaches. How many joined because they saw Coastal as the way into The Pride. I include one of the coaches in that. You think we are all as naïve as you Vim.

In every country in the world the top level of all sports (particularly male) involve financial reward. One of the reasons we are still a backwater is that we (football) in New Zealand do not recognise that.

Tell me what happened to the Sporting Futures progam,  $600 worth of support offered to any young player across the city targeted by Coastal. Was not this how your squads were built? How do you justify that. I do not have to I thought it very professional. I did not like the fact that once again your own club players were ignored. Maybe why Parklands now have a bigger player base than Coastal.

I really think you should look at why you are involved with such double standards you should be in politics. 

It would not surprise me that they and others were keen to sign for the countries top winter club. Best you check with some of yours. Whether they would be good enough to play is another question. If we are losing 8 we will need to replace them.

Pretty good crop in PDL coming through so not too worried. 

Not sure why all the critical comments towards tech/Canterbury.Tech are a well run club with good loyal people steering the club surely what they do there is good for Canterbury also. It is about time Kamo came back for a pay rise too.

My point (nothing sensational in it), or one of them is. New Brighton and Rangers were two of the bigger junior clubs, they had good people catering for good numbers of players and producing good numbers with quality from within their ranks, both mail and female. My perception is that maybe they have lost some of that base because maybe they looked too hard at players from further away and only at their top teams. Parklands have done a good job picking them up. Even two or three seasons ago Coastal had great numbers of girls in their junior ranks, not really reflected in last years draw and results or was it?

Coastal's success has been important for the profile of the women's game in Canterbury, long may it continue. My concern now is (as per this mornings Press report) where will the replacements for their top players come from? Can you name the 4 or 5 players from within CS that will replace those progressing, hopefully you can, then the clubs like Parklands, Waimak & Selwyn can continue to progress and Coastal's continued success will not be at their expense. 

No you are probably right, put it down to the new housing, makes a lot more sense.  

Yes the subdivisions might've helped grow numbers & that was a few years ago now, pre quake,  but the main reason numbers have grown is by putting an emphasis on upskilling the coaches & by creating an enviroment where the players enjoy football & can improve their skills. Why the need to not try & make it out to be a great story, a club trying to do their best & improving their players & getting more rep players (including 2 in the Pride squad), sounds like a great story to me!

Agree entirely. Hope you keep your Pride players and the club continues to progress.

Parklands girls 'success' also a result of coach nicking players from his FTC squad! But below that is there much quality or depth...?

Surely not !!

Deafening silence from the prickly one? It seems that no club has a clean account in these sorts of matters, so why continue with the baiting? If nobody brings it up, then nobody will get all stroppy and defensive about it I suspect. And I am including myself in that bit!

 Every time someone brings it up, there are always "Well actually in 2008, YOUR club did (insert heinous poaching incident of your choice here), so shut up etc..." comments from everyone else. 

All humans have agendas and motives. Thats just how we are made. Far too much energy is wasted on stressing out about them I find.

Deafening silence - sorry no! It was less than an hour ago. I have to feed this ample torso.

Continue if you wish. Stop if you have run out of arguments by all means, the sushi one.

I agree no club is innocent. Accepting new players is part of our role. As individuals though coaches should have more scruples. It is up to our Federation to monitor these things, they pay their wages. If unacceptable do something about them. 

If you don't like "the merry go round" don't get on.

I'm not sure if 'nicking' is the right word. Most of the girls in that team now were part of the ill-fated canty teams playing up a grade in the club competitions, when that disbanded after 2 years they decided not to go back to their original clubs, some of their clubs might have not had a team still going. They must've enjoyed the enviroment the coach created to stay with him.

Honest opinions with some facts to back them up, always appreciated. Not many coming from your direction at the moment. Just a lack of respect for your elders and betters maybe. Never mind I think it is the privilege of the young to make a fool of themselves occasionally. Keep reading you may learn something. Might be worth remembering this started with a smart remark from your young pal Vim.

Ouch.  

I think there is a difference to coming to a club for better coaching, prospects and culture than coming for the almighty dollar.  I have no problem with Tech as such, so don't take it too personally, however openly breaking rules regarding player payments, and then constantly sidestepping this fact is not only dishonest but cheating. 

In response to the accusation of favouritism in the Women's game I think the facts will speak for themselves. From memory of the many in the Pride squad, 2 players started at the Mighty New Brighton, and 2 others have only ever played for Coastal. 2 joined the club after the strange 'School of Football' and before they made the Pride squad. All of these became Pride players under previous coaches (not the Coastal ones) so the assumption of favouritism seems invalid. Only one player has come over (and why wouldn't you!) since making the Pride. I can't think of the other 2 but I'm sure there is nothing dodgy about it. 

Sporting Futures dates back many years, and was a carryover from Linfield who were doing things around the 'total athlete' such as nutrition and fitness etc. I don't think it was specifically football either. That wasn't how our squads were built. They have been built through countless ours of extra training by coaches, mainly to the elite however now we also do a participation group as well. Quite a few coming through from our 17s and PDL now too so it seems to be working. Not including our endless flow of Western players....  

Do Parklands really have a bigger junior base than Coastal? I don't know the facts. We have had an increase of 150 junior players since our first year, and this year had 58 Canty reps. Next year, all going according to plan we will also have girls teams in 12s, 14s, 16s and two in 18s. (And the Parklands coach did actively do the poaching scandal that has been talked about on here...) 

And that strange guilty plea about Western brings me back to my point eventually.  If players move club for better coaching, atmosphere, facilities then that is great.  If they move for money, what is that showing the others coming through the ranks and the general public. Are juniors/masters/others ok with seeing their sub money, or sponsorship money going into a players bank account or in a brown paper bag? I sure wouldn't be. And if that's the way some clubs want to do it, then put it out there, own up to Mainland, and declare it in your annual financials. I, as the worlds greatest player, fan and male model have a greater sense of (Mainland) Pride knowing that my team do it for the love of it, rather than looking for the highest dollar.

Wow, that was epic. 

And for the record, I would make a bloody good politician.