Football United - July 2014 West Ham and Newcastle visit

I think both games would almost sell out beforehand.

I think pretty much every footballer in NZ would be keen to see a Prem team play.

I would prefer two separate teams to play maybe in a mini tournament or similar, but i'll take two games against West Ham.

And regardless of the first result (if in Welly) i'd still drive up to Aucks to watch.

Hmmm, I'm a football fan and (Still) a footballer, but seeing West Ham doesn't interest me.

I would rather watch the Nix in a competition game.

I'm undecided about how popular these games will be.

Chance for us to try out our tikka takka against the West Ham hoof and cross ball ;-)

I think price could make a big difference here. If it was team with a big global brand like Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea then you could probably get away with charging over $50 per ticket. Those clubs would attract some people with only a fleeting interest in football as a sport simply because they are so well known, regardless of whether you agree that it's justified or not. Go anywhere in the world and you will find shops or markets selling knockoff merchandise from those clubs. But a team like West Ham aren't like that and consequently you would have to charge accordingly. I'd say the ticket price for a midtable premiership team vs the Nix (well any midtable team that's not a massive brand, so excluding Man Utd) should be around the same price as a HAL game. Otherwise I think you'll find that you might struggle to seel as many tickets as you would want to.

I think they were pretty dear for Galaxy weren't they?

$80 for a ticket if I remember.

Winston > David Beckham surely!!

reid > carroll in terms of a draw card!

No other murmurings of another club apart from West Ham yet?

I'd go to see Kevin Nolan...

Ive got nothing against west ham. But id rather everton or Newcastle. I also doubt we have enough interested people to have two matches and have them financially viable.

not sure about 2 matches... but westham would be awesome

reid would surely play or it would be ridiculous

This is an idea I was thinking about and I'm not sure of the feasibility, but what about a 2 day event not dissimilar to Arsenal's pre-season 'emirates cup' (and also shades of the nines/sevens)? Have the following;

Phoenix

Westham 

Another A-league side

ASB all-stars team

Two games each day. Each team would only play 2 sides, no playoffs, and make each goal a competition point (those are the current emirates cup rules which work well for entertainment value). Structure the draw to have the biggest game last, but also have the Nix opening the tournament;

day 1: 

Nix vs ASB all-stars

Westham vs A-League side

day 2:

ASB all-stars vs A-League side

Westham vs Phoenix

ASB AStars would miss out on westham simply because we'd need that carrot to get the other A-League side. But if affordable we could also campaign for Boca or someone like that instead of the other a-league side - maybe even Toronto depending how it fits with MLS? Probably not possible but cast the net nonetheless... 

Circus atmosphere - lots of crap going on under the stands and on the concourse, get a couple of decent NZ bands to play between games, could be a huge event really if someone was prepared to go all out for it. Surely NZF would be keen to get the ASB players involved against quality opposition too, great way for the ASB prem to leverage off the Nix. Have heaps of cool sh*t going on like letting kids and everyone on the pitch at the end of day one for a big signing thing and some cool games and stuff. 

Football extravaganza FTW! Plenty of barriers to this but it would be great if they at least considered something like it.

oops sorry for huge long post

Would fans really give a shit about an ASB side though? Ive seen two Team W games at the stadium and youd be lucky if there was 30 people there. 

WetSpam should get a few through the gate though. Reid not playing would knock a couple of thousand off it though. Perhaps the  lub should see if someone like Bayern Munich would be interested in playing?

You'd think Reid would have a full preseason because of not playing in the world cup wouldn't you? Apologies if this has already been mentioned.

^ so this

Surely it's not even an argument - if Westham came here there is no way Reid wouldn't be a part of it. They will likely rest any world cup players they might have but you'd think everyone else would travel. 

We'd be mad to organise it without a promise from Westham on it and I'm sure they'd be all for it anyway. Winston's missed a huge chunk of this season too so will hardly be fatigued. A full pre-season will be crucial for him. 

This is quite an exciting prospect

#cantRevealThisScoopYet

Appears it could be Newcastle +1

Heard West Ham wasnt a goer but the media are running with it based on a throw away comment by David Dome and a comment by Veitch on radio sport that he's certain it's them 

West Ham still haven't answered the email I sent coupla weeks ago to their Media Dept., enquiring if they were coming here.

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West Ham still haven't answered the email I sent coupla weeks ago to their Media Dept., enquiring if they were coming here.

A good way to market this would be 'Your only chance to see Winston Reid in NZ for the next 4 years'

Everton would be ideal.

Decent name recognition, good history and they play an attractive brand of footy under Martinez.

The biggest problem I would see is just how many of the players that are recognisable in pretty well any team in the top half of the EPL would actually take to the park in these  matches, particularly in a World Cup year. I would suggest no one competing in the World Cup will be at any games in the Southern Hemisphere pre - season

How many West Ham players will be playing at the World Cup?

I thought Dome had ruled out the top teams coming here?

So we heard from David Dome three or four weeks ago that they were hoping to lock in a fixture within two or three weeks (from then). The latest word is that they hope to have something locked in by the end of the A-league regular season. Is anyone else feeling less and less hopeful that this is actually going to happen?

Lets get Bayern Munich here or One of the top Italian or Spanish teams. Aim high and who knows?

Toronto FC

Hasn't Domey got you working on a deal with the Bees tour downunder?

(nix, acfc, wharf 12 grade jpl)

They want too much dosh. Plus first class airfares. Plus 'hospitality favours.'