Northern Leagues

I'm hearing more rumours that the Prem expansion to 12 teams will be in effect from 2014, no relegation from 2013 divs. Surely a decision due on that and the Fury protest soon.

I'm hearing as normal next season, then will be 12 teams in all 3 league's 2015....

Chopah?

i havn't heard either way to be honest.

i just hope they make a call soon.

just got an email from AFF, 10 teams in 2014, 12 in 2015

oh and 1 team down in prems and div 1 and 3 teams up from div 1 and div 2.  two from the conf and one from waibop into the div 2.

Birko obviously won't be near relegation.

Season tentatively scheduled to begin on the 5th of April.

Could this be the year that Waitak's slow start catches up to them (assuming W.U make the O-League)?

are they not already in the O-League due to last years league campaign? isn't that how it works?

Oh true right you are, actually it'll be interesting - will Krishna still suit up for them, or will he go to Central/not take part at all in the NRFL? They may lose a few players this year, so yeah, Waitak could be in trouble. Similar with Narra, they may go straight back down if they can't get all their ASBP guys back on board, depends on how the new coach goes.

Ngaruawahia for sure 

For anyone that is interested - Pre-season at Ellerslie starts on the 21st of Jan and is on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30pm sharp for the rest of pre-season at Michaels Ave # 1 (on the turf).

New people to the club are more than welcome - any questions etc can be sent to nrflmanager@ellersliefootball.org.nz

Cheers

Only if you can match Wellington Olympic rates - $500 p game plus $100 for win plus $50 per goal. (See Zoro on Central League thread).

Auckland footballer jailed for 17 years for lead role in cocaine ring

"Kindness Agwu, ex Mangere Utd, was yesterday convicted on 15 counts of importing and supplying cocaine ... Agwu told the court that money transfers of 1/2 million dollars in cash to Argentina, Ecuador, Australia, Brazil and Togo were to pay for 'certificates' from the Nigerian FA to allow players to transfer overseas...." cont. (with King Cobra connection, etc.

see today's NZ Herald (or google Kindness Agwu)

Where am i going to get my coke from now?

^ Try Nigella.

Doubt she could get it to me here in Auckland.

^ She needs a holiday.

Chris Bale? Regional area manager for coke NZ.

Herald front page scandal. Top footballer in coke deal...Oh wait.

fury out - kura in.

At least they set an appropriate precedent. Kinda stupid that they find it so difficult to enforce or action their own rules.

Chop ah

How is Ellerslie looking for the coming season. If you keep the same squad as last year you should come straight back up

I like the culture of the club. How are the other teams looking

not entirely sure of the makeup of our squad at this point - we have def had two players leave for Premier League but there is a number of others who havn't decided what they are doing next year yet.  it was a tough season and some are still licking their wounds and taking a bit of time off football and getting a fresh perspective before deciding.

That said I think we will be competititve in Div 1 - there is enough of the guys confirmed to know that - i don't think we will be one of the favourites - i think that honour goes to Springs and Melville - but I think we will be a bit of a dark horse and get stronger as the season continues and hopefully we can be in a promotion spot (or better) at the end of the season.

Having the turf makes a massive difference - it means pre-season will be really settled and we will be able to start working on things right away so we are greatful for that.

I'm not sure about the other teams - I have heard a few rumours but it's too earlier to really start talking about that i think.

It'll be interesting to see if Melville can keep the core of their squad together, as well as some of the overseas players who did so well for them last year - it's certainly possible some of them could be interested with playing at the top level for HW or Narra.

The outcome of the Fury appeal will create some interest among football administrators as far as process is concened.   

A telling comment in the article from Bruce Holloway.   I wondered why the decision regarding the Papakura protest had taken so long - Bruce has given me the answer.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/sport/9574988/Taurangas-AFC-Fury-seek-support-over-appeal

Hi Graeme, nice to see there is someone long enough in the tooth around here to appreciate the irony of me being the only other voice in the northern region to supply comment in support of Dave Cook after half a lifetime of criticising his admin of football at Mt Maunganui... :-)

Funny old world.

Bruce

This whole affair - the Papakura protest and subsequent decision - has an odd smell to it.   I don't know hell of a lot about it but it seems that Cooky has been screwed here.   I have known Dave long enough to know that he knows his way around, but something just doesn't seem right.   I would love to get my hands on the Papakura protest.   I might submit a request to NZF under the Official Information Act - yeah right.

I think this whole thing goes further than the Northern League administration and perhaps involves the WaiBop Federation and their actions, or apparent lack of them.   I want to know how a WaiBop team can play a full season without any problems and then get thrown out when they beat an Auckland side in a promotion play off with the players they have used all year..

I will make disclosure - my son played for Fury this past season, but he's not able to shed much light on the proceedings and I have deliberately left him out of my musings.

The whole saga smells of NZF trying to screw Cooky. There are some fundamentally issues that need to revealed. I understand Tauranga informed Papakura to protest but one of players came transferred from Tauranga so why aren't they been penalised

There are limited resources for clubs to check if a player was affiliated to an oversees club. This is especially the case for South American players. The Waikato Football Federation does not support clubs in obtaining ITC so the clubs are on their own. I don't know what happens in other Federations

I think NZF are in for a real fight with Cooky. 

the fight is going to be with FIFA because all NZF has done has apply the international player rule as requested by FIFA - there were some particular competition regulations for the playoff which may be the reason why WaiBOP never had an issue with the fury during the season.

At the end of the day Cook knew the rules - he told everyone he knew the rules - and his defence the whole time seems to be that the rule is obsolete - well it might, be but you play to the competition rules until they are changed and then no-one can ever label you a cheat...

The essence of the Fury appeal, as far as I understand it, rests on matters of process concerning the Papakura protest and notions of natural justice...

As far as I can see, Papakura has alleged Fury played ineligible players (as is their right) and basically gone on a bit of a fishing expedition.

But they have then relied upon the AFF (and its parent body) to dig up the evidence to prove the case.

Essentially - from a Fury perspective - you have an administering body being both the prosecution (ie they are the ones who demanded player passports, affidavits etc) and the adjudicating body.

Of course the Auckland Football Federation would argue they were simply using their resources to fully and properly investigate a complaint.

But in doing so, they have utilised resources not available to volunteer administators in retrospectively establishing player status.

In the amateur game I think that is quite different to a protesting about a player when you can - at the time of complaining - put forward the evidence and/or reason you believe a player is ineligible.

I would be interested to hear the view of other volunteer administrators on whether they think it is fair that NZF uses resources to source information overseas about player status that is unavailable to clubs themselves (ie, we can't ring up and get Federation to research player status at the time of signing)

Not something I would die in a ditch over, but I do sympathise with Cook.

Welcome other views though.

You have raised some interesting points Bruce and some need further clarification.   In the BOP Times, Dave Cook has stated (and I now presume that he has been quoted correctly) that the matter is over two ex-Tauranga City players who played for Fury.  
 "Tauranga City United have long had a policy of not seeking ITCs for players from South America according to one former coach of theirs who said they had found it just too difficult.   Two South American players signed by the Fury from Tauranga City United had not yet sought a clearance, Cook said."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503345&objectid=11180068

Correct me if I am wrong - these two players transferred from Tauranga City to Fury.   Their initial registrations were approved by WaiBop and the transfers were then approved by WaiBop.   After the second play-off game, I believe that Tauranga then suggested that Papakua should put in as protest regarding these players and the protest, after extensive enquiry using resources not available to Clubs, was upheld.   If this is so, I would also be jumping up and down and asking for an explanation from WaiBop.    Tauranga City haven't done a lot to help themselves but what goes around will come around.  

If AFF have acted on a sweeping generalised and non-specific protest, they now leave themselves open to all sorts of bullshit coming into their office.   Back in the day (and I make no apology for saying this) when I was involved, the Club making the protest had to be specific and present evidence to substantiate their claim - if not it was thrown out and the protest fee was retained.   Stopped a lot of frivolous complaints coming in.

Bruce, like you and many others in the area I was often scathing of Dave Cook and his methods in the days of the Mount.   I must have mellowed as I now feel as though he is not getting a fair deal here.   I wish him well with his appeal.

In my days with Capital Football, when a club requested an ITC for a player from some of the South American counties the reply would always come back as “player is unknown to the national body” unless he was a Pro with a contract registered with their National Body.

One interesting case was where this player said he was a pro goalkeeper in Brazil, however the reply came back that he was not known in that country.

But because it was a National League club that was requesting the ITC, further enquires were made and the player was finally traced to a amateur club in war torn Sarajevo.

Some will know his name “Andre Lenke” the same gentleman who wanted to sponsor the National League for 6 million, only if he and his backer were offered a team in the league.

If the players were incorrectly registered by Tauranga, why has there been no penalty on Taraunga by their Federation, or is that to come?

Ah, Critter.... memories of one of the most bizarre Walter Mitty episodes in NZ football history....

In October 1998 German-born Andreas Lenke was unveiled as the mystery man behind Alpherville’s $17.5 million bid to finance a national league competition.

But the 31-year-old  was deported after being arrested on 27 charges related to child pornography, then of falsifying a passport.

Lenke, wanted by German authorities for failing to complete a two and a half year jail sentence, arrived in New Zealand in 1996 claiming to have been a successful professional goalkeeper in Brazil. He worked as a part-time teacher and soccer coach at a Wellington college, and using the Alpherville name, put forward a proposal to sponsor the national league in return for which the company would have a team in the league.

Chopah, in reply to your earlier post, I guess what is firstly required is clarification is the detail under which the 2 players were ruled ineligible to have played.

If it was for breaching the "3 guest players" regulation, that is of course not actually a Fifa regulation.

I note that in its statement, AFF did not go into the detail of why the players were ineligible.

If Fury are only being prosecuted in terms of guest player transgressions that might explain a few other side issues (such as why weren't other clubs pinged)

With respect, whether Dave Cook knew the rules or not is largely irrelevant... It is the responsibity of clubs to ensure players are eligible to play, but in the case of players from overseas the nub of the issue is they had not been provided with the means to do so.

Players made written declarations saying they had not played affiliated football, and there was no database of information or process available to club administrators to verify otherwise.

One of the interesting sidebars about this issue is it would appear that Papapkura only protested about one playoff match - but points were withdrawn from both.

Which raises the issue of whether, for consitency's sake - all points should be lost right down the food chain for all players caught in a similar situation - and you may just find  a chain involving Manukau City, Onehunga Sports, Hamilton Wanderers and even Waikato FC (last summer) for these South American players. 

Against that you could say there is a statute of limitations... In which case should there also be a limit on taking points off BOTH playoff matches?

In my view it will be a tough fight for Fury - it always is in such matters. But it will be one of the more interesting ones of recent times, and one which should concentrate the mind of all administrators. 

Believe me a signed declaration 'statutory' or otherwise isn't worth the paper it's written on, unless there's are legal recourse for the statements. May be I'm looking at it the wrong way - but in the first instance it should come down to the players honesty. they would know if the club they played for is FIFA or nationally affiliated. If they don' know then it is up to the club and player to find out - and they don't play until they do. If they can't find out (really?) then they submit all their information and case to the Federation to clear them to play not before. I thought it was any player who was not a Permanent Resident had to get an ITC anyway...?