WPM 2021/22 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination

Poach Nisbet and Nieuwenhof, Uffie could turn them into prime Xavi and Iniesta.

I think that it would be the biggest waste of money ever to bring a DM in on a visa spot. If you're spending that kind of money in this keague, you either need to bring in a 10 goal a season center forward (at least) or a quality goalkeeper to replace Oli.

It's the high scoring center forward that this club has missed this season. I know that's clear to all of you.

kungfu panda

I think that it would be the biggest waste of money ever to bring a DM in on a visa spot. If you're spending that kind of money in this keague, you either need to bring in a 10 goal a season center forward (at least) or a quality goalkeeper to replace Oli.

It's the high scoring center forward that this club has missed this season. I know that's clear to all of you.

Does Albert Riera mean nothing to you

kungfu panda

I think that it would be the biggest waste of money ever to bring a DM in on a visa spot. If you're spending that kind of money in this keague, you either need to bring in a 10 goal a season center forward (at least) or a quality goalkeeper to replace Oli.

It's the high scoring center forward that this club has missed this season. I know that's clear to all of you.

Well the plan would be to bring a 10 goal + striker to replace Hooper and if we keep Sandoval we'd still have an import spot available which would be best used at DM with Rufer out and we have cover at ST with Waine and most likely bring in a local Sotirio replacement 

kungfu panda

I think that it would be the biggest waste of money ever to bring a DM in on a visa spot. If you're spending that kind of money in this keague, you either need to bring in a 10 goal a season center forward (at least) or a quality goalkeeper to replace Oli.

It's the high scoring center forward that this club has missed this season. I know that's clear to all of you.

there's 5 visa spots...

Hard for any striker to score goals if we never have the ball and can't get it forward.

kungfu panda

I think that it would be the biggest waste of money ever to bring a DM in on a visa spot. If you're spending that kind of money in this keague, you either need to bring in a 10 goal a season center forward (at least) or a quality goalkeeper to replace Oli.

It's the high scoring center forward that this club has missed this season. I know that's clear to all of you.

Not if he was to help in stopping us leaking goals and it meant our attacking players didnt have to continually drop back into defence to help out. Could be money well spent. Steinman an example and doubt he would have cost that much. Have to hope that with Talay able to offer incoming players more surety he might be  able to finally assemble the squad he wants.

Ryan

Marto

theprof

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

to be fair to Coochies he's not been wrong by having Rufer as his scapegoat. I've not been Alex's biggest fan and I'll admit this season saw a dramatic improvement in his play. BUT, even with him playing well he still made some catastrophic errors during games including the overly zealous tackle that lead to his injury. 
Steinman under Uffie could be brilliant, so I'd definitely be giving making contact and offering him a gig.

I agree with most of this but if my memory serves me right Uffie did not seem that keen on extending Steinmann's contract and he seems to have gone backwards in his play, much like Fenton.

Steinman wanted to stay but things were up in the air with the club with covid and what not. Taylor, Hooper, and Steinman all left and no one could say when the next season would start, how much money the nix would have (they needed and emergency cash injection from the government if you remember), where they'd be playing, or even if the A-League itself would survive (this was before the new TV deal and the equity sale of  the league).

If things were normal perhaps Steinman would have been re-signed.

He was re-signed, just not announced.  3-4 year deal iirc. Then covid hit and we couldn't afford to keep him.

RR

Ryan

Marto

theprof

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

to be fair to Coochies he's not been wrong by having Rufer as his scapegoat. I've not been Alex's biggest fan and I'll admit this season saw a dramatic improvement in his play. BUT, even with him playing well he still made some catastrophic errors during games including the overly zealous tackle that lead to his injury. 
Steinman under Uffie could be brilliant, so I'd definitely be giving making contact and offering him a gig.

I agree with most of this but if my memory serves me right Uffie did not seem that keen on extending Steinmann's contract and he seems to have gone backwards in his play, much like Fenton.

Steinman wanted to stay but things were up in the air with the club with covid and what not. Taylor, Hooper, and Steinman all left and no one could say when the next season would start, how much money the nix would have (they needed and emergency cash injection from the government if you remember), where they'd be playing, or even if the A-League itself would survive (this was before the new TV deal and the equity sale of  the league).

If things were normal perhaps Steinman would have been re-signed.

He was re-signed, just not announced.  3-4 year deal iirc. Then covid hit and we couldn't afford to keep him.

Was that under Uffie as well?
He might be a bit cheaper and more affordable now, after his season in Brisbane. He might be sick of the humidity, rain and soggy pitches also. And realise how good Wellington actually is.

Ranix

RR

Ryan

Marto

theprof

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

to be fair to Coochies he's not been wrong by having Rufer as his scapegoat. I've not been Alex's biggest fan and I'll admit this season saw a dramatic improvement in his play. BUT, even with him playing well he still made some catastrophic errors during games including the overly zealous tackle that lead to his injury. 
Steinman under Uffie could be brilliant, so I'd definitely be giving making contact and offering him a gig.

I agree with most of this but if my memory serves me right Uffie did not seem that keen on extending Steinmann's contract and he seems to have gone backwards in his play, much like Fenton.

Steinman wanted to stay but things were up in the air with the club with covid and what not. Taylor, Hooper, and Steinman all left and no one could say when the next season would start, how much money the nix would have (they needed and emergency cash injection from the government if you remember), where they'd be playing, or even if the A-League itself would survive (this was before the new TV deal and the equity sale of  the league).

If things were normal perhaps Steinman would have been re-signed.

He was re-signed, just not announced.  3-4 year deal iirc. Then covid hit and we couldn't afford to keep him.

Was that under Uffie as well?
He might be a bit cheaper and more affordable now, after his season in Brisbane. He might be sick of the humidity, rain and soggy pitches also. And realise how good Wellington actually is.

Steinmann was all Uffie, we played Mandi as our DM under Rudan

we are also financialy stable now, back then no one knew what the future was. If you remember we even shut down the academy

mrsmiis

Paulsen is easily good enough to start in the A-League. That's not even a question in the slightest. We should focus on bringing in a backup rather than stunting the growth of likely the greatest goalkeeping prospect New Zealand has ever seen - zero hyperbole. Would much rather he leave if he's not guaranteed the starting role

Can't say I agree. I think he's alright and has potential, but not starting-level quality. I think his height is actually a factor too, he's quite small for a goalkeeper. But hopefully he goes through a bit of a growth spurt.

Ninja

mrsmiis

Paulsen is easily good enough to start in the A-League. That's not even a question in the slightest. We should focus on bringing in a backup rather than stunting the growth of likely the greatest goalkeeping prospect New Zealand has ever seen - zero hyperbole. Would much rather he leave if he's not guaranteed the starting role

Can't say I agree. I think he's alright and has potential, but not starting-level quality. I think his height is actually a factor too, he's quite small for a goalkeeper. But hopefully he goes through a bit of a growth spurt.

1. He’s 6ft, only 2 inches shorter than the world average for pro keepers 
2. He was hands down the best domestic keeper in New Zealand at 18 years old
3. He was extremely impressive in the pro games he played this season

He’s definitely not on the same level as Sail yet but he’s way better than some of the keepers (e.g. Italiano, Velaphi, Smith, late career Moss) that we’ve had in recent years

If we play anything remotely like we did this year we need someone operating Sail level to keep us in it! 

Friar Tuck

Ninja

mrsmiis

Paulsen is easily good enough to start in the A-League. That's not even a question in the slightest. We should focus on bringing in a backup rather than stunting the growth of likely the greatest goalkeeping prospect New Zealand has ever seen - zero hyperbole. Would much rather he leave if he's not guaranteed the starting role

Can't say I agree. I think he's alright and has potential, but not starting-level quality. I think his height is actually a factor too, he's quite small for a goalkeeper. But hopefully he goes through a bit of a growth spurt.

1. He’s 6ft, only 2 inches shorter than the world average for pro keepers 
2. He was hands down the best domestic keeper in New Zealand at 18 years old
3. He was extremely impressive in the pro games he played this season

He’s definitely not on the same level as Sail yet but he’s way better than some of the keepers (e.g. Italiano, Velaphi, Smith, late career Moss) that we’ve had in recent years

All of this. He's definitely taller than listed, too. I'd guess 6'1", even discounting the hair. I'd say he's a top 10 goalkeeper in the league - comfortably in the top 15. Better than guys like Glover, Duncan, Heward-Belle, either of Victory or Roar's keepers, maybe Margush, etc etc.

Sail's meteoric, no doubt about that - it'll take some time for Paulsen to reach his level. However, if it becomes a tossup between blooding our one-of-a-kind young talent or taking a punt on an experienced Aussie being better than him, I know what option I'm taking.

mrsmiis

Friar Tuck

Ninja

mrsmiis

Paulsen is easily good enough to start in the A-League. That's not even a question in the slightest. We should focus on bringing in a backup rather than stunting the growth of likely the greatest goalkeeping prospect New Zealand has ever seen - zero hyperbole. Would much rather he leave if he's not guaranteed the starting role

Can't say I agree. I think he's alright and has potential, but not starting-level quality. I think his height is actually a factor too, he's quite small for a goalkeeper. But hopefully he goes through a bit of a growth spurt.

1. He’s 6ft, only 2 inches shorter than the world average for pro keepers 
2. He was hands down the best domestic keeper in New Zealand at 18 years old
3. He was extremely impressive in the pro games he played this season

He’s definitely not on the same level as Sail yet but he’s way better than some of the keepers (e.g. Italiano, Velaphi, Smith, late career Moss) that we’ve had in recent years

All of this. He's definitely taller than listed, too. I'd guess 6'1", even discounting the hair. I'd say he's a top 10 goalkeeper in the league - comfortably in the top 15. Better than guys like Glover, Duncan, Heward-Belle, either of Victory or Roar's keepers, maybe Margush, etc etc.

Sail's meteoric, no doubt about that - it'll take some time for Paulsen to reach his level. However, if it becomes a tossup between blooding our one-of-a-kind young talent or taking a punt on an experienced Aussie being better than him, I know what option I'm taking.

That's fair. Perhaps I got it wrong regarding his height - I just recall looking at him and Sail when we played in Welly and thought he was quite a bit smaller, but could just be because of Sail's height in comparison.

martinb

If we play anything remotely like we did this year we need someone operating Sail level to keep us in it! 

We won't, without MIQ we'll actually be able to sign players.

Friar Tuck

Ninja

mrsmiis

Paulsen is easily good enough to start in the A-League. That's not even a question in the slightest. We should focus on bringing in a backup rather than stunting the growth of likely the greatest goalkeeping prospect New Zealand has ever seen - zero hyperbole. Would much rather he leave if he's not guaranteed the starting role

Can't say I agree. I think he's alright and has potential, but not starting-level quality. I think his height is actually a factor too, he's quite small for a goalkeeper. But hopefully he goes through a bit of a growth spurt.

1. He’s 6ft, only 2 inches shorter than the world average for pro keepers 
2. He was hands down the best domestic keeper in New Zealand at 18 years old
3. He was extremely impressive in the pro games he played this season

He’s definitely not on the same level as Sail yet but he’s way better than some of the keepers (e.g. Italiano, Velaphi, Smith, late career Moss) that we’ve had in recent years

If we go to pens then, based on the FFA Cup Quater Finals against City, I wouldn't mind it if Uffie did a tactical sub in extra time and brought in Paulsen. 

Friar Tuck

Ninja

mrsmiis

Paulsen is easily good enough to start in the A-League. That's not even a question in the slightest. We should focus on bringing in a backup rather than stunting the growth of likely the greatest goalkeeping prospect New Zealand has ever seen - zero hyperbole. Would much rather he leave if he's not guaranteed the starting role

Can't say I agree. I think he's alright and has potential, but not starting-level quality. I think his height is actually a factor too, he's quite small for a goalkeeper. But hopefully he goes through a bit of a growth spurt.

1. He’s 6ft, only 2 inches shorter than the world average for pro keepers 
2. He was hands down the best domestic keeper in New Zealand at 18 years old
3. He was extremely impressive in the pro games he played this season

He’s definitely not on the same level as Sail yet but he’s way better than some of the keepers (e.g. Italiano, Velaphi, Smith, late career Moss) that we’ve had in recent years

Does that height include the hair? (This is actually a serious question... he doesn't look 6 foot to me unless hair is included.)

siac

Friar Tuck

Ninja

mrsmiis

Paulsen is easily good enough to start in the A-League. That's not even a question in the slightest. We should focus on bringing in a backup rather than stunting the growth of likely the greatest goalkeeping prospect New Zealand has ever seen - zero hyperbole. Would much rather he leave if he's not guaranteed the starting role

Can't say I agree. I think he's alright and has potential, but not starting-level quality. I think his height is actually a factor too, he's quite small for a goalkeeper. But hopefully he goes through a bit of a growth spurt.

1. He’s 6ft, only 2 inches shorter than the world average for pro keepers 
2. He was hands down the best domestic keeper in New Zealand at 18 years old
3. He was extremely impressive in the pro games he played this season

He’s definitely not on the same level as Sail yet but he’s way better than some of the keepers (e.g. Italiano, Velaphi, Smith, late career Moss) that we’ve had in recent years

Does that height include the hair? (This is actually a serious question... he doesn't look 6 foot to me unless hair is included.)

No, his officially billed height does not include his hair…

In the NBA, #1 draft pick Anthony Edwards grew 2 inches in the summer just after his 20th birthday. Paulsen is just about to turn 20, so him having a growth spurt is very possible.

Current shortest EPL GK is Villa's Jed Steer, who is also 6'0.
Claudio Bravo and Victor Valdes were also 6'0

Shortest ever apparently was a Paraguayan guy called Pedro Benitez. He was 166cm or 5'5

theprof

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

to be fair to Coochies he's not been wrong by having Rufer as his scapegoat. I've not been Alex's biggest fan and I'll admit this season saw a dramatic improvement in his play. BUT, even with him playing well he still made some catastrophic errors during games including the overly zealous tackle that lead to his injury. 
Steinman under Uffie could be brilliant, so I'd definitely be giving making contact and offering him a gig.

Have only just seen this so cant let it pass by. Yep admit im a Rufer fan but think "he still made some catastrophic errors during games"  is being unfairly harsh. EVERY player at some stage does them but for some reason Rufers are highlighted more . How about the easy misses by a striker or the number of times Piscopo  loses possession or even Oli makes a mistake dosnt mean they have played badly but for some reason that dosnt apply to Rufer. 

ballane

theprof

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

to be fair to Coochies he's not been wrong by having Rufer as his scapegoat. I've not been Alex's biggest fan and I'll admit this season saw a dramatic improvement in his play. BUT, even with him playing well he still made some catastrophic errors during games including the overly zealous tackle that lead to his injury. 
Steinman under Uffie could be brilliant, so I'd definitely be giving making contact and offering him a gig.

Have only just seen this so cant let it pass by. Yep admit im a Rufer fan but think "he still made some catastrophic errors during games"  is being unfairly harsh. EVERY player at some stage does them but for some reason Rufers are highlighted more . How about the easy misses by a striker or the number of times Piscopo  loses possession or even Oli makes a mistake dosnt mean they have played badly but for some reason that dosnt apply to Rufer. 

for me the key difference between Sail/Reno making mistakes or losing the ball is primarily that their overall performances have been way better than Rufer's. He's a solid player who no doubt put his all on the field, but his flaws outweigh his good points for mine. This season was a massive improvement on his entire career at the nix, it's a shame that it got cut short by injury - having said that, the injury could have been avoided had he not had a rush of blood and thrown himself into a needless tackle. His passing has always been horrific, this season has been better, but every game he'll try many killer passes that are just never on, or even worse he passes it to no-one behind him. I've always though of him as a lazy defender, often just jogging around the middle of the park, not really tracking back or chasing his man. He has the pace, just never struck me as wanting to put the effort in. Then you add his inability to score a goal! He's a central midfielder, he should be scoring even if it is a lucky freak goal, our most scapegoated midfielder managed to score 4 in 197 games (V Lia), Rufer has 94 games before being worse.

theprof

ballane

theprof

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

to be fair to Coochies he's not been wrong by having Rufer as his scapegoat. I've not been Alex's biggest fan and I'll admit this season saw a dramatic improvement in his play. BUT, even with him playing well he still made some catastrophic errors during games including the overly zealous tackle that lead to his injury. 
Steinman under Uffie could be brilliant, so I'd definitely be giving making contact and offering him a gig.

Have only just seen this so cant let it pass by. Yep admit im a Rufer fan but think "he still made some catastrophic errors during games"  is being unfairly harsh. EVERY player at some stage does them but for some reason Rufers are highlighted more . How about the easy misses by a striker or the number of times Piscopo  loses possession or even Oli makes a mistake dosnt mean they have played badly but for some reason that dosnt apply to Rufer. 

for me the key difference between Sail/Reno making mistakes or losing the ball is primarily that their overall performances have been way better than Rufer's. He's a solid player who no doubt put his all on the field, but his flaws outweigh his good points for mine. This season was a massive improvement on his entire career at the nix, it's a shame that it got cut short by injury - having said that, the injury could have been avoided had he not had a rush of blood and thrown himself into a needless tackle. His passing has always been horrific, this season has been better, but every game he'll try many killer passes that are just never on, or even worse he passes it to no-one behind him. I've always though of him as a lazy defender, often just jogging around the middle of the park, not really tracking back or chasing his man. He has the pace, just never struck me as wanting to put the effort in. Then you add his inability to score a goal! He's a central midfielder, he should be scoring even if it is a lucky freak goal, our most scapegoated midfielder managed to score 4 in 197 games (V Lia), Rufer has 94 games before being worse.

Sorry again cant agree nearly all our players pass the ball back just maybe they are operating under instructions there are many teams playing out there that  pass it back on a regular basis for some reason Nix fans love to focus on this. Yes it does my head in but its way wrong to lay the blame at one player more than another.  Seem to recall Lia and some of our other midfielders  wernt immune to spraying  passes at times. Recall clearly one game where Rufer had played a couple of sublime long passes one leading to a goal yet it wasnt that that people focused on.
Just find it interesting here we have a Kiwi player who has managed to forge himself a decent career at the  Phoenix under a succession of managers  eventually being made club captain yet all along the way he cops at times unjustified criticism from fans. Any wonder why some Kiwi lads dont want to sign with us.
Talay must see something in him or he wouldnt have made him his skipper and im inclined to trust his judgement. 
Just have to agree to disagree. LOL 

So everyone seems to think sail is going. Does anyone know the port where he is sailing?

AucklandPhoenix

So everyone seems to think sail is going. Does anyone know the port where he is sailing?

No inside knowledge or rumours but a lot of people seem to think the MLS is the logical next step. I guess because of the exploits of Marinovic and Gleeson, plus Boxy, Tuiloma and Nelsen from a wider defensive standpoint. The standard of goalkeeping in the MLS seems relatively high so it could be a good step up. Otherwise Belgium/Netherlands/Championship kind of European level could be pretty sweet.

It's generally a safe bet that anyone who has a standout season for the Nix will be somewhere else next year. We can't keep players, we just have to keep finding/developing new ones.

Doloras

It's generally a safe bet that anyone who has a standout season for the Nix will be somewhere else next year. We can't keep players, we just have to keep finding/developing new ones.

 That's been Brentford's modus operandi for a long time; it hasn't stopped them from being successful.

AucklandPhoenix

So everyone seems to think sail is going. Does anyone know the port where he is sailing?

In this interview Spoonley seems to think he has interest from Europe

https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=993010

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

Don't choke on your cornflakes but I've just bought the Home & Away Rufer Fan shirts.

Tom Rogic leaving Celtic, apparently plans to come home. Potential signing for us perhaps.

LG

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

Don't choke on your cornflakes but I've just bought the Home & Away Rufer Fan shirts.

LG has been hacked.

Doloras

It's generally a safe bet that anyone who has a standout season for the Nix will be somewhere else next year. We can't keep players, we just have to keep finding/developing new ones.

What a load of rubbish its a safe bet most had contracts that were running out or as in recent seasons due uncertainty about A League and Covid they asked to be released and THEY chose not to stay at the Nix. Shark it must be miserable always being negative about the team you claim to support.

Napier Phoenix

Tom Rogic leaving Celtic, apparently plans to come home. Potential signing for us perhaps.

I'd be surprised if he comes back to the a-league, but even if he did there's zero chance he comes to the nix. Will be a bidding war for him so he'll go to City, Victory or Sydney. 

Maaaaaaatt

Napier Phoenix

Tom Rogic leaving Celtic, apparently plans to come home. Potential signing for us perhaps.

I'd be surprised if he comes back to the a-league, but even if he did there's zero chance he comes to the nix. Will be a bidding war for him so he'll go to City, Victory or Sydney. 

Yeah he ain't coming to Wellington. Still only 29. Too young I would have thought to return to Aus. But yeah he'd basically be a marquee (if that is still a thing).

https://us.soccerway.com/players/tom-rogic/226304/

ballane

LG

coochiee

LG

Steinmen & Lewis.

LG, Rufer could be player of the season, and you'd still scapegoat him.

Don't choke on your cornflakes but I've just bought the Home & Away Rufer Fan shirts.

LG has been hacked.

Nope. For the second when Rufer had found his feet and his form, he got injured and yes we have missed him. But like most players, they need some competition for their place to keep them at peak form. I shall wear my shirt with pride!

Last game of the season then. Let’s give it a good go!

ballane

Doloras

It's generally a safe bet that anyone who has a standout season for the Nix will be somewhere else next year. We can't keep players, we just have to keep finding/developing new ones.

What a load of rubbish its a safe bet most had contracts that were running out or as in recent seasons due uncertainty about A League and Covid they asked to be released and THEY chose not to stay at the Nix. Shark it must be miserable always being negative about the team you claim to support.

 I don't know where you read in there that she said anything about the club not wanting to keep them.