WPM 2023/24 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination

Our frustration is that Uffie’s teams, usually, could beat anyone, but when it mattered, didn’t. 

Yeah, could be a bumpy ride this year but I am not all too worried. Bit of a cost cutting season, coach who will be on seemingly lower wages as well as not spending big on wages. Not helped by the change in broadcasting revenue which has decrease – as it has for all teams.

In a league where there is no relegation we can afford the wooden spoon. 

Get a season in, developing youngsters who in turn (hopefully) will come back bigger and stronger in 2025 where will can starting form a decent side with imports slots becoming more freed up. Plus who knows, one or two of these young ones may have some sell on value and we can make a buck or two from them.

My only question which has been brought up above, is of the talent ID. I am hoping the young players we have signed are the best of the their age currently residing in NZ. I see where Domey (?) is coming from and saying it’s a business at the end of the day and they must promote within rather than sign an u-20 from elsewhere in the country – pretty much rendering their academy useless. But I hope that that means the Nix do have the best players in the country sub20 to choose from.

We really should have won the league at least once under Uffie.

Mainland Analyst

Yeah, could be a bumpy ride this year but I am not all too worried. Bit of a cost cutting season, coach who will be on seemingly lower wages as well as not spending big on wages. Not helped by the change in broadcasting revenue which has decrease – as it has for all teams.

In a league where there is no relegation we can afford the wooden spoon. 

Get a season in, developing youngsters who in turn (hopefully) will come back bigger and stronger in 2025 where will can starting form a decent side with imports slots becoming more freed up. Plus who knows, one or two of these young ones may have some sell on value and we can make a buck or two from them.

My only question which has been brought up above, is of the talent ID. I am hoping the young players we have signed are the best of the their age currently residing in NZ. I see where Domey (?) is coming from and saying it’s a business at the end of the day and they must promote within rather than sign an u-20 from elsewhere in the country – pretty much rendering their academy useless. But I hope that that means the Nix do have the best players in the country sub20 to choose from.

It's a business plan with an eye on the future and onselling players, not just the here and now. Can be quite a difference in future solidarity payments for an onsold player I understand, if that player came into the Academy as say a 14 yr old, as opposed to first joining the club at 19. Especially so if that player makes their way to a top 5 European League.

Domey quoted something like that Island Bay got as much in solidarity payments as the Nix, when Libby signed for Empoli. I've probably got the finer details wrong, but gist was that the Nix wish they had Libby with them at a younger age and so got more income as a solidarity payment. Nothing against Island Bay, they just wish they had got more of the Libby cash trail.

Nix have learnt from that experience, and hence that's part of the motivation to selfishly push their kids who came into Weenix at a young age. All of this when you are looking at all avenues to increase income, and make the club more financially sustainable.

coochiee

Mainland Analyst

Yeah, could be a bumpy ride this year but I am not all too worried. Bit of a cost cutting season, coach who will be on seemingly lower wages as well as not spending big on wages. Not helped by the change in broadcasting revenue which has decrease – as it has for all teams.

In a league where there is no relegation we can afford the wooden spoon. 

Get a season in, developing youngsters who in turn (hopefully) will come back bigger and stronger in 2025 where will can starting form a decent side with imports slots becoming more freed up. Plus who knows, one or two of these young ones may have some sell on value and we can make a buck or two from them.

My only question which has been brought up above, is of the talent ID. I am hoping the young players we have signed are the best of the their age currently residing in NZ. I see where Domey (?) is coming from and saying it’s a business at the end of the day and they must promote within rather than sign an u-20 from elsewhere in the country – pretty much rendering their academy useless. But I hope that that means the Nix do have the best players in the country sub20 to choose from.

It's a business plan with an eye on the future and onselling players, not just the here and now. Can be quite a difference in future solidarity payments for an onsold player I understand, if that player came into the Academy as say a 14 yr old, as opposed to first joining the club at 19. Especially so if that player makes their way to a top 5 European League.

Domey quoted something like that Island Bay got as much in solidarity payments as the Nix, when Libby signed for Empoli. I've probably got the finer details wrong, but gist was that the Nix wish they had Libby with them at a younger age and so got more income as a solidarity payment. Nothing against Island Bay, they just wish they had got more of the Libby cash trail.

Nix have learnt from that experience, and hence that's part of the motivation to selfishly push their kids who came into Weenix at a young age. All of this when you are looking at all avenues to increase income, and make the club more financially sustainable.

5% of transfer fees is set aside for Solidarity Payments. It then gets spread like this:

• Season of 12th birthday: 5%
• Season of 13th birthday: 5%
• Season of 14th birthday: 5%
• Season of 15th birthday: 5%
• Season of 16th birthday: 10%
• Season of 17th birthday: 10%
• Season of 18h birthday: 10%
• Season of 19th birthday: 10%
• Season of 20th birthday: 10%
• Season of 21st birthday: 10%
• Season of 22nd birthday: 10%
• Season of 23rd birthday: 10%  
• Total = 100% 

martinb

We really should have won the league at least once under Uffie.

Had it not been for covid, 2019-20 was the season.

We won't be financially sustainable if we get the wooden spoon. We will have no fans.

Ninja

We won't be financially sustainable if we get the wooden spoon. We will have no fans.

We are already not financially sustainable. And have never been. The owners lose money every year. 

AucklandPhoenix

It annoys me a little when the say they are going to do a CCM, when you look at their kiwis and their pacific island player.

Mcgarry, was on their books and they deemed not good enough.

Kaltak, in their back yard for years, they would have known of him but never thought him worthy

Storm - I’m sure they have had opportunities to sign over the years, but never have.

I don’t like saying so but if I was a betting man I would be very confident on putting a lot of coin on the wooden spoon.

has the club said they're doing a CCM? On the pod Gilly said something like CCM winning was something that happens every now and then but isn't something you can plan for. I wouldn't be surprised if we had a bigger budget then them this coming season.

Ninja

We won't be financially sustainable if we get the wooden spoon. We will have no fans.

There's probably a swing of about 2,000-4,000 fans per regular season home game, relative to the Nix having a poor season compared to a really good one. Of course securing a home playoff gives the coffers a nice boost, but that hasn't happened in a long time. If not for Covid it would likely yes have ocurred in 19/20.

But as has been stated a bit lately, Nix had their most expensive squad ever last season, and still only just squeaked into the finals playing poorly. And the crowds weren't very flash. So spending large, doesn't guarantee at all success, on or off the pitch.

There are other entries in the income & expense columns, likely more important to the financial stability of the club, than gate revenue. 

Death, taxes & the Nix going out in the first round of finals. Maybe this season will be different one way or the other.

In my opinion playing a lot of kiwis has very little impact on crowds. Unless you brought someone back home like Wood, Singh or Cacace I don't think you'd see much impact. On the flip side we also don't have anywhere near enough coin to afford a 'name' player who is not a kiwi who would draw a crowd. 

There are only really three ways you draw large crowds and those are:
1. Winning consistently. And no, only barely scraping into the top 6 is not what I would consider winning consistently. 
2. Playing attacking, exciting football. Simply put if you play an exciting brand and score nice looking goals people will turn up. Crossing the ball into the box and hoping Zawada gets on the end of it is okay but not exactly enthralling stuff.
3. A big occasion - the world cup is a clear example but also a home finals game for the Nix. 

Overall, none of those three points were met last season and so crowds were poor. Add to that the fact that the league itself was getting poor crowds and the economic situation was not great for anybody all season and well it was to be expected in hindsight. 

Our new coach Chief is saying all the right things about playing attacking, exciting football but I'm not sure it will look like that once we get into the season. He may just default to crossing the ball to Zawada every play because it is very attractive from a goal scoring point of view. I am personally not sure Chief has skilled enough players to play the crisp passing football he wants to, only time will tell. 

I am excited to see these young kiwis develop, I just hope their confidence isn't too damaged from being in what I believe will be a sub-par team. Maybe we can weed out the ones who don't cut it after this season and look to be more competitive the second season under this system. 

I wonder if we will ever find out if the club seriously tried to get Rojas. He's about as exciting as a realistic signing we could make could be. 

anaveragestem

In my opinion playing a lot of kiwis has very little impact on crowds. Unless you brought someone back home like Wood, Singh or Cacace I don't think you'd see much impact. On the flip side we also don't have anywhere near enough coin to afford a 'name' player who is not a kiwi who would draw a crowd. 

There are only really three ways you draw large crowds and those are:
1. Winning consistently. And no, only barely scraping into the top 6 is not what I would consider winning consistently. 
2. Playing attacking, exciting football. Simply put if you play an exciting brand and score nice looking goals people will turn up. Crossing the ball into the box and hoping Zawada gets on the end of it is okay but not exactly enthralling stuff.
3. A big occasion - the world cup is a clear example but also a home finals game for the Nix. 

Overall, none of those three points were met last season and so crowds were poor. Add to that the fact that the league itself was getting poor crowds and the economic situation was not great for anybody all season and well it was to be expected in hindsight. 

Our new coach Chief is saying all the right things about playing attacking, exciting football but I'm not sure it will look like that once we get into the season. He may just default to crossing the ball to Zawada every play because it is very attractive from a goal scoring point of view. I am personally not sure Chief has skilled enough players to play the crisp passing football he wants to, only time will tell. 

I am excited to see these young kiwis develop, I just hope their confidence isn't too damaged from being in what I believe will be a sub-par team. Maybe we can weed out the ones who don't cut it after this season and look to be more competitive the second season under this system. 

Winning consistently will bribng in the crowds, but that is harder than it sounds - especially in this league. You need to pay big bucks for good players who turn up week in week out - like City. 

Playing attractive, attacking foortball does not necessarily get you wins, just look at WU in the 21/22 season, they played dour, defensive football and won the big trophy.

Not sure what kind of regular big occassion you're wanting though, a big occassion like a world cup is big because it's rare. Havoing a regular "big occassion" that's forced or manufactured makes it a not big.
An Auckland franchise gives us the NZ derby game twice a season, but is that gonna be big enough to draw massive crowds?

I do agree that if you're not going to be champions than having a fun, attack focused style of football that's pleasing on the eye is the way to go. It makes people feel like they've got their moneys worth.

Consider the golden days of Super Rugby, until that one fateful year the Hurricanes never won anything at all, they still got crowds though because they were one of the most fun, free flowing teams to watch. They conceded a lot of points but they scored a lot too. You didn't always know if they'd come out winners but you did know you'd be entertained along the way.

I think we could use a bit of Hurricanes magic for the Nix. It's my opinion that one of the worst things for us last season was that we were boring, frankly Talays system was not enjoyable to watch. Let's hope that changes this year.

Monto

I do agree that if you're not going to be champions than having a fun, attack focused style of football that's pleasing on the eye is the way to go. It makes people feel like they've got their moneys worth.

Consider the golden days of Super Rugby, until that one fateful year the Hurricanes never won anything at all, they still got crowds though because they were one of the most fun, free flowing teams to watch. They conceded a lot of points but they scored a lot too. You didn't always know if they'd come out winners but you did know you'd be entertained along the way.

I think we could use a bit of Hurricanes magic for the Nix. It's my opinion that one of the worst things for us last season was that we were boring, frankly Talays system was not enjoyable to watch. Let's hope that changes this year.

I think the big difference between a rugby fan and a football fan is the enjoyment of a high scoring game. Whilst seeing lots of goals get scored can be entertaining, losing 5-4 is way more painful than losing 1-0.

theprof

Monto

I do agree that if you're not going to be champions than having a fun, attack focused style of football that's pleasing on the eye is the way to go. It makes people feel like they've got their moneys worth.

Consider the golden days of Super Rugby, until that one fateful year the Hurricanes never won anything at all, they still got crowds though because they were one of the most fun, free flowing teams to watch. They conceded a lot of points but they scored a lot too. You didn't always know if they'd come out winners but you did know you'd be entertained along the way.

I think we could use a bit of Hurricanes magic for the Nix. It's my opinion that one of the worst things for us last season was that we were boring, frankly Talays system was not enjoyable to watch. Let's hope that changes this year.

I think the big difference between a rugby fan and a football fan is the enjoyment of a high scoring game. Whilst seeing lots of goals get scored can be entertaining, losing 5-4 is way more painful than losing 1-0.

I completely disagree with that sentiment tbh. Losing 5-4 sounds far more appealing.

Monto

theprof

Monto

I do agree that if you're not going to be champions than having a fun, attack focused style of football that's pleasing on the eye is the way to go. It makes people feel like they've got their moneys worth.

Consider the golden days of Super Rugby, until that one fateful year the Hurricanes never won anything at all, they still got crowds though because they were one of the most fun, free flowing teams to watch. They conceded a lot of points but they scored a lot too. You didn't always know if they'd come out winners but you did know you'd be entertained along the way.

I think we could use a bit of Hurricanes magic for the Nix. It's my opinion that one of the worst things for us last season was that we were boring, frankly Talays system was not enjoyable to watch. Let's hope that changes this year.

I think the big difference between a rugby fan and a football fan is the enjoyment of a high scoring game. Whilst seeing lots of goals get scored can be entertaining, losing 5-4 is way more painful than losing 1-0.

I completely disagree with that sentiment tbh. Losing 5-4 sounds far more appealing.

Context is everything. A 5-4 loss is a LOT more galling when you were 4-0 by halftime, as opposed to a 1-0 loss where you had your backs up against the wall for the whole 90

To be honest dont think the number of goals bother me, the most painful for me are those games we give up points late in the game. They are just so god dam gutting. Not true but we seem to do it more often.
Given the crowds our so called national game is getting i sure hope Welnix dont bang on about numbers attending. Do a Warriors and there will be no problems.

dunnix

Monto

theprof

Monto

I do agree that if you're not going to be champions than having a fun, attack focused style of football that's pleasing on the eye is the way to go. It makes people feel like they've got their moneys worth.

Consider the golden days of Super Rugby, until that one fateful year the Hurricanes never won anything at all, they still got crowds though because they were one of the most fun, free flowing teams to watch. They conceded a lot of points but they scored a lot too. You didn't always know if they'd come out winners but you did know you'd be entertained along the way.

I think we could use a bit of Hurricanes magic for the Nix. It's my opinion that one of the worst things for us last season was that we were boring, frankly Talays system was not enjoyable to watch. Let's hope that changes this year.

I think the big difference between a rugby fan and a football fan is the enjoyment of a high scoring game. Whilst seeing lots of goals get scored can be entertaining, losing 5-4 is way more painful than losing 1-0.

I completely disagree with that sentiment tbh. Losing 5-4 sounds far more appealing.

Context is everything. A 5-4 loss is a LOT more galling when you were 4-0 by halftime, as opposed to a 1-0 loss where you had your backs up against the wall for the whole 90

Fair point. A 5-4 would be hard to quantify due to the number of ways it could unfold.

Really it had less to do with that and more to do with the Nix being more entertaining overall.

theprof

anaveragestem

In my opinion playing a lot of kiwis has very little impact on crowds. Unless you brought someone back home like Wood, Singh or Cacace I don't think you'd see much impact. On the flip side we also don't have anywhere near enough coin to afford a 'name' player who is not a kiwi who would draw a crowd. 

There are only really three ways you draw large crowds and those are:
1. Winning consistently. And no, only barely scraping into the top 6 is not what I would consider winning consistently. 
2. Playing attacking, exciting football. Simply put if you play an exciting brand and score nice looking goals people will turn up. Crossing the ball into the box and hoping Zawada gets on the end of it is okay but not exactly enthralling stuff.
3. A big occasion - the world cup is a clear example but also a home finals game for the Nix. 

Overall, none of those three points were met last season and so crowds were poor. Add to that the fact that the league itself was getting poor crowds and the economic situation was not great for anybody all season and well it was to be expected in hindsight. 

Our new coach Chief is saying all the right things about playing attacking, exciting football but I'm not sure it will look like that once we get into the season. He may just default to crossing the ball to Zawada every play because it is very attractive from a goal scoring point of view. I am personally not sure Chief has skilled enough players to play the crisp passing football he wants to, only time will tell. 

I am excited to see these young kiwis develop, I just hope their confidence isn't too damaged from being in what I believe will be a sub-par team. Maybe we can weed out the ones who don't cut it after this season and look to be more competitive the second season under this system. 

Winning consistently will bribng in the crowds, but that is harder than it sounds - especially in this league. You need to pay big bucks for good players who turn up week in week out - like City. 

Playing attractive, attacking foortball does not necessarily get you wins, just look at WU in the 21/22 season, they played dour, defensive football and won the big trophy.

Not sure what kind of regular big occassion you're wanting though, a big occassion like a world cup is big because it's rare. Havoing a regular "big occassion" that's forced or manufactured makes it a not big.
An Auckland franchise gives us the NZ derby game twice a season, but is that gonna be big enough to draw massive crowds?

I never said it was easy to win just that it is one of three ways to improve crowds.

If you play attractive football but don't win so much crowds will still come and watch. People like a positive team, even if they're just scraping into the 6. Just look at our last team that truly excited people - Uffy's first season with the likes of Cacace & Singh. People showed up to watch that team despite them finishing 7th.

I didn't say a big occasion had to be regular, just that it brings in crowds. I wasn't asking to create one artificially more just pointing out a fact that you'd get a crowd for a home wellington final. 

Depending on if the Auckland derby is marketed well it could be a big occasion. I'd definitely travel up to Auckland for it if all that chatter is true about how flush with cash this new franchise might be...

ballane

To be honest dont think the number of goals bother me, the most painful for me are those games we give up points late in the game. They are just so god dam gutting. Not true but we seem to do it more often.
Given the crowds our so called national game is getting i sure hope Welnix dont bang on about numbers attending. Do a Warriors and there will be no problems.

I hated watching that western United game last season when we choked. Was awful

dunnix

Monto

theprof

Monto

I do agree that if you're not going to be champions than having a fun, attack focused style of football that's pleasing on the eye is the way to go. It makes people feel like they've got their moneys worth.

Consider the golden days of Super Rugby, until that one fateful year the Hurricanes never won anything at all, they still got crowds though because they were one of the most fun, free flowing teams to watch. They conceded a lot of points but they scored a lot too. You didn't always know if they'd come out winners but you did know you'd be entertained along the way.

I think we could use a bit of Hurricanes magic for the Nix. It's my opinion that one of the worst things for us last season was that we were boring, frankly Talays system was not enjoyable to watch. Let's hope that changes this year.

I think the big difference between a rugby fan and a football fan is the enjoyment of a high scoring game. Whilst seeing lots of goals get scored can be entertaining, losing 5-4 is way more painful than losing 1-0.

I completely disagree with that sentiment tbh. Losing 5-4 sounds far more appealing.

Context is everything. A 5-4 loss is a LOT more galling when you were 4-0 by halftime, as opposed to a 1-0 loss where you had your backs up against the wall for the whole 90

Reminds me of the 4-3 loss to Brisbane when we were 3-1 up at halftime, before a geriatric Brett Holman rolled back the years and torched us. Yuck

Yet that dramatic measly 1-0 in Sydney last season was great theatre.
Kraev sent off, le Fondre missing 2 pens late on.

Definitely the high point of last season. So yeah you don't need goals to be entertained.

https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2023/01/07/australia/a-league/sydney-fc/wellington-phoenix/3896803/

anaveragestem

theprof

anaveragestem

In my opinion playing a lot of kiwis has very little impact on crowds. Unless you brought someone back home like Wood, Singh or Cacace I don't think you'd see much impact. On the flip side we also don't have anywhere near enough coin to afford a 'name' player who is not a kiwi who would draw a crowd. 

There are only really three ways you draw large crowds and those are:
1. Winning consistently. And no, only barely scraping into the top 6 is not what I would consider winning consistently. 
2. Playing attacking, exciting football. Simply put if you play an exciting brand and score nice looking goals people will turn up. Crossing the ball into the box and hoping Zawada gets on the end of it is okay but not exactly enthralling stuff.
3. A big occasion - the world cup is a clear example but also a home finals game for the Nix. 

Overall, none of those three points were met last season and so crowds were poor. Add to that the fact that the league itself was getting poor crowds and the economic situation was not great for anybody all season and well it was to be expected in hindsight. 

Our new coach Chief is saying all the right things about playing attacking, exciting football but I'm not sure it will look like that once we get into the season. He may just default to crossing the ball to Zawada every play because it is very attractive from a goal scoring point of view. I am personally not sure Chief has skilled enough players to play the crisp passing football he wants to, only time will tell. 

I am excited to see these young kiwis develop, I just hope their confidence isn't too damaged from being in what I believe will be a sub-par team. Maybe we can weed out the ones who don't cut it after this season and look to be more competitive the second season under this system. 

Winning consistently will bribng in the crowds, but that is harder than it sounds - especially in this league. You need to pay big bucks for good players who turn up week in week out - like City. 

Playing attractive, attacking foortball does not necessarily get you wins, just look at WU in the 21/22 season, they played dour, defensive football and won the big trophy.

Not sure what kind of regular big occassion you're wanting though, a big occassion like a world cup is big because it's rare. Havoing a regular "big occassion" that's forced or manufactured makes it a not big.
An Auckland franchise gives us the NZ derby game twice a season, but is that gonna be big enough to draw massive crowds?

I never said it was easy to win just that it is one of three ways to improve crowds.

If you play attractive football but don't win so much crowds will still come and watch. People like a positive team, even if they're just scraping into the 6. Just look at our last team that truly excited people - Uffy's first season with the likes of Cacace & Singh. People showed up to watch that team despite them finishing 7th.

I didn't say a big occasion had to be regular, just that it brings in crowds. I wasn't asking to create one artificially more just pointing out a fact that you'd get a crowd for a home wellington final. 

Depending on if the Auckland derby is marketed well it could be a big occasion. I'd definitely travel up to Auckland for it if all that chatter is true about how flush with cash this new franchise might be...

In Uffie’s first season (2019/20) we finished 3rd and Singh had already left…

We were exciting that season and we averaged an attendance of 8,477 (5th highest team).

Friar Tuck

anaveragestem

theprof

anaveragestem

In my opinion playing a lot of kiwis has very little impact on crowds. Unless you brought someone back home like Wood, Singh or Cacace I don't think you'd see much impact. On the flip side we also don't have anywhere near enough coin to afford a 'name' player who is not a kiwi who would draw a crowd. 

There are only really three ways you draw large crowds and those are:
1. Winning consistently. And no, only barely scraping into the top 6 is not what I would consider winning consistently. 
2. Playing attacking, exciting football. Simply put if you play an exciting brand and score nice looking goals people will turn up. Crossing the ball into the box and hoping Zawada gets on the end of it is okay but not exactly enthralling stuff.
3. A big occasion - the world cup is a clear example but also a home finals game for the Nix. 

Overall, none of those three points were met last season and so crowds were poor. Add to that the fact that the league itself was getting poor crowds and the economic situation was not great for anybody all season and well it was to be expected in hindsight. 

Our new coach Chief is saying all the right things about playing attacking, exciting football but I'm not sure it will look like that once we get into the season. He may just default to crossing the ball to Zawada every play because it is very attractive from a goal scoring point of view. I am personally not sure Chief has skilled enough players to play the crisp passing football he wants to, only time will tell. 

I am excited to see these young kiwis develop, I just hope their confidence isn't too damaged from being in what I believe will be a sub-par team. Maybe we can weed out the ones who don't cut it after this season and look to be more competitive the second season under this system. 

Winning consistently will bribng in the crowds, but that is harder than it sounds - especially in this league. You need to pay big bucks for good players who turn up week in week out - like City. 

Playing attractive, attacking foortball does not necessarily get you wins, just look at WU in the 21/22 season, they played dour, defensive football and won the big trophy.

Not sure what kind of regular big occassion you're wanting though, a big occassion like a world cup is big because it's rare. Havoing a regular "big occassion" that's forced or manufactured makes it a not big.
An Auckland franchise gives us the NZ derby game twice a season, but is that gonna be big enough to draw massive crowds?

I never said it was easy to win just that it is one of three ways to improve crowds.

If you play attractive football but don't win so much crowds will still come and watch. People like a positive team, even if they're just scraping into the 6. Just look at our last team that truly excited people - Uffy's first season with the likes of Cacace & Singh. People showed up to watch that team despite them finishing 7th.

I didn't say a big occasion had to be regular, just that it brings in crowds. I wasn't asking to create one artificially more just pointing out a fact that you'd get a crowd for a home wellington final. 

Depending on if the Auckland derby is marketed well it could be a big occasion. I'd definitely travel up to Auckland for it if all that chatter is true about how flush with cash this new franchise might be...

In Uffie’s first season (2019/20) we finished 3rd and Singh had already left…

We were exciting that season and we averaged an attendance of 8,477 (5th highest team).

Whoops lol, I think I'm thinking of the 20/21 season. The game in Auckland that season was awesome. That was the season Davila was there - sorry completely in the wrong dimension there for a minute 

I know it's not speculation as such, but I like this from Oskar Zawada.

Screenshot_2023-09-29-22-22-49-79_1c337646f29875672b5a61192b9010f9.jpg 326.44 KB

Just straight up honesty, when others might have given more of a generic or balanced answer.

Is that the Sloan kid?

MetalLegNZ

Is that the Sloan kid?

Screenshot_20230930_090054_Chrome.jpg 622.48 KB

I think so, came here to ask the same question coz I didn't recognise him. He wore 17 at the  2023 U17 tourney in Fiji

MetalLegNZ

Is that the Sloan kid?

Sorry, I should have stated it, but yes. 😅

Payne and Al-Taay the two RBs. Good to know we signed the new Devlin to play RB. 

I feel bad for Mo man. He comes over here looking for starting football after we lost our two starting midfielders and now he’s gonna be a reserve RB.

Dude should’ve stayed in Newcastle.

It all reminds me of how they talked up Payne as our starting right back at the beginning of last season, to be honest. 

What I learnt today. Instead of signing RBs, we are moulding CMs into make-shift RBs. 

Hmmm, interesting.

Ninja

What I learnt today. Instead of signing RBs, we are moulding CMs into make-shift RBs. 

Hmmm, interesting.

We've done this with fullbacks for a long time... so frustrating

Sam Sutton, James McGarry, Tim Payne, soon to be Mo Al-Taay, and a real flashback for you all (not a good one)... those awful days when we tried to play Adam Parkhouse as a left-back!

lthomas20

Ninja

What I learnt today. Instead of signing RBs, we are moulding CMs into make-shift RBs. 

Hmmm, interesting.

We've done this with fullbacks for a long time... so frustrating

Sam Sutton, James McGarry, Tim Payne, soon to be Mo Al-Taay, and a real flashback for you all (not a good one)... those awful days when we tried to play Adam Parkhouse as a left-back!

Even Libby was a midfielder way back when. Fenton a winger too.

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lthomas20

Ninja

What I learnt today. Instead of signing RBs, we are moulding CMs into make-shift RBs. 

Hmmm, interesting.

We've done this with fullbacks for a long time... so frustrating

Sam Sutton, James McGarry, Tim Payne, soon to be Mo Al-Taay, and a real flashback for you all (not a good one)... those awful days when we tried to play Adam Parkhouse as a left-back!

 The days of Adam Sharkhouse don't seem all that long ago, but I suppose they are now

How ready to go are Old and Sutton?

Kosta Barbarouses...not sure i can handle another year of what he dished up last season. Early release on the cards to free up a spot? Really hope a young lad with potential plays his minutes this year