How would you rate this season?

I said it was average. The reason for this is after almost winning the pre season cup (albeit not too serious) I expected the playoffs. We would have made the playoffs if not for a poor start and our defensive blunders of last season have all dissapared which are good signs. Clubs aren't about the successes they have anyway, they're about the fans who come out to support the team no matter what and the Phoenix can be proud that they have that.

all things cosidered a good season..particularly after the difficulties at the beginning of the season...good sign of character in the squad and the wider club...definite change once gao was put in his place and moved..costa responded when given the opportunity..likewise mckain once over the niggling injuries showed his undoubted ability at this level...moosy will be  abig loss as for shane i wonder if that will be the case..is he a little one dimensional...certainly fell off the pace when the pressure went on...ricky i think has shown hes a big enough to ask for assistance when he needed it
...lots of positives for next season..heres hoping some good recruiting adds the finishing touches...player of the year siggy closely followed by mossy for mine
didnt make it down this year but should be back in the saddle next season...big ups to you fever nutters..the league would be a very dull place without you 

Nix - 6/10 (thought we could have pinched 1 or 2 more wins than we did - expectations were though the roof after the pre-season but in hind sight, anything but last is an achievement.)

A good seasion where our fate was determined on the last game. next year will be better with our new signings.

William, you're obviously a "glass half full" kind of guy

Like others before me I would have preferred to beat all the other teams 5 or 6 nil but our attacking options were limited by often playing smeltz as the lone striker(and he still managed 12) Getting to the play offs was exciting but it was not to be and our season is now over, however for all the other european footie mad people out there the phoenix give us what we crave most....Football... We will support the phoenix through thick and thin and when we lose we will moan and complain but then we dust ouselves off and start thinking about the next game and what we are going to to the opposition. We stick together because the phoenix are our team and they will get our support win or lose...Im looking forward to next year and seeing all the guys in the yellow fever who I have had the pleasure of standing with this year..GO THE PHOENIX

....and I'm already in deep discussions with the missus about me buying a season ticket for next season. I reckon the fact that I was going to this season but couldn't for various reasons is a useful bargaining tool.

We did well considering the players we had this season. Slow start to the season didn't help us, but we picked up after some re-jiggling from Ricky and took it all the way to the last game of the regular season.

A definite pass mark from me.

Makes you wonder how much closer to the top 4 we might've got if Ricki hadn't taken quite so long over that re-jiggling. I'm not going to claim 20/20 hindsight but it was pretty obvious that none of Johnson, Mulligan, Kwasnik and Coveny were going to work out (nor Hearfield in my opinion). A quarter of the season was gone before the penny dropped.

Think the one biggy from Ricky is failing to play McKain in midfield from the start. I'd seen McKain in some pre-season games, and thought he just belonged in defensive midfield.

Though think you're harsh on Hearfield StopOut, I think he improved as he got more game time, and I'm actually looking forward to see what he's gonna bring to the pitch next season.

I lament our games wasted against Perth.  If we'd played well against them we could now be in the playoffs.

Sydney are winning 2-0. We'll be 6th. Everyone still happy?

Yup. All my thoughts on the season haven't changed.Jag2009-01-25 20:23:56

5th or 6th - doesn't matter. Whitby boy2009-01-25 20:45:39

thoughts from Adam Howard Feverish2009-01-25 21:35:15

I'm happy because our name is not in 7th or 8th place. Kwasnik will come good given some time on the feild instead of on the bench.

Too bad it will be for another club

No one should be happy with 6th place, a big minus goal difference, more defeats than wins etc.  Yes, we've made progress.  A sort of slow, stuttering progress but too often performances were well below par and unacceptable.  The boys did well to re-group after a shocking start but never looked like top four material and 1 point from the final 9 is nothing to be proud of.  Our crowds speak for themselves and are nothing to do with timing, weather, stat holidays or any other excuses that regularly get trotted out.  Now the novelty of a Wellington team has worn off, people's expectations are much higher and we simply have to do better to attract and keep new fans.  My teenage son has already lost interest and simply stoipped coming because he thinks the Nix are crap. 

Ricki is still the man for the job but he needs to show the same ruthless decision making he showed at the end of last season and make sure we bring five or six quality new signings into the squad.  If Draper isn't good enough he has to go and be replaced by someone who is good enough to get in the team.  Ditto Johnson, Mulligan, Christie and anyone else who hasn't contributed much this season.  It's not just replacing Smeltz and Moss.  We have to find better than we currently have and I reckon we have 5-6 vacancies to fill. 

I like where you are going with this post. The real key to next year I think will be our recruitment now. As you said, if they aren't good enough, then we have to find better and while its a nice comfort to resign Christie (I'm using him as an example not picking on him) just resigning him because its better the devil you know vs the one you don't is not the best way to go about it.

I would think that if I was Johnson I'd start packing, Kwasnik has proved he has been A League quality just hope its none of the 'has been' if he comes back. Christie is a jack of all positions and and master of none but then Lia does it better.. Draper is a project so why would you scrap it when you have vested 2 years in it. Mulligan is an interesting one. Couple that with Moss, Smeltz and Coveny gone. Dodd is in limbo... There are plenty of spots there to really change the make up of the squad for the better if they choose to do soAgent 472009-01-25 23:15:58

f**king harlem globetrotter fans on here are doing my cock in.

Frankie, when you have supported a team like QPR for 34 years, one learns what it is like to suffer!.

If you are referencing my post Frankie, I was merely looking at players who come off contract or have left/retired. I'm not saying we shouldn't keep them (in fact with Draper and Kwasnik I would resign and look hard at Christie) but I am saying IF they are looking at making major changes to the squad, then there a plenty of squad spots available to do so IF they choose to.

What is your issue?
Agent 472009-01-25 23:13:47

If you support a good team that happens to win often you obviously know nothing about football - great logic there

I have to say I don't get it.  Leaving after under 2 years ? It's not like you have another team and if you walk away leaving crowds and revenue low how do you expect it to get any better ?

It's avery Auckland attitude but I guess people are entitled to it even if I will never undertand it.

what the f**k has travel got to do with anything?  I live in the UK, where I have lived for nearly 10 years of my life now.

Frankie wants you to bring him solutions, not problems.

Easy answer to that. Don't support any team. Outside of the A League, All I wanna watch is good football regardless of the teams because I love football. Trite I know but at least with the EPL, I can just watch each game (when I do) purely to watch football with no care who the players/teams are.

Pot Kettle Black. Its a forum. Deal with it.

What are you refering to HN?? Leaving after 2 years?

I find it interesting that the people shouting about how crap the season was are delighting in telling us that the players aren't good enough, we need wholesale changes etc, etc.

I'd have thought with a team as bad as you guys seem to think we are, going into the last game of the season still with a chance of play-off spot wasn't a bad effort.

While I don't think that supporting Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea etc means you don't know anything about football, there is a certain instant gratification factor about some supporters of those teams. The Phoenix have been in existence for only 2 seasons. There has been improvement from season 1 to season 2. I have no reason to believe that improvement won't continue next season.