WPM 2025/26 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination

martinb

MetalLegNZ

No not new... but I really don't think I could stand another year of excuses and... we didn't have enough time together as a group chat from Chief.

Tbh I’ve been happy with both signings. Slightly less so hearing Armiento is going to be a LB rather than hitting howitzers , but still both fill position and skill deficits. 

It sounds like there’s two more in the pipeline. 

That’s around two months out from the season kicking off. 

To be honest I’d like another cup mid-season. That would be more exciting. Our cup run with Louis Fenton, Jaushy and Paulsen was really fun. Two games a week. This preseason business is aimed at the other clubs, not the A league. 

I’ve got a few worries, but so far the answers have been reasonably good and all recruitment requires a bit of luck, so wait and see from me.

Armiento at LB is not certain.

Our formation ain't certain, let alone new signings being play out of position. 

If we play one wide player each side, I think that's probably Armiento's role and LKH plays left side of a back 3. If we play a left back and a winger we could easily see both at once.

The better and more varied the collection of players we have, I guess the greater the tactical options we have at our disposal. Armiento certainly gives us a few more options and ways to change the game up if he starts from the bench. 

He has played LB before (he has played many positions apparently) and in the article about his signing, Chief said he was a "left-sided" player in the squad instead of specifically a LW or LB so he might rotate between them depending on formation or other factors.

Bullion

martinb

MetalLegNZ

No not new... but I really don't think I could stand another year of excuses and... we didn't have enough time together as a group chat from Chief.

Tbh I’ve been happy with both signings. Slightly less so hearing Armiento is going to be a LB rather than hitting howitzers , but still both fill position and skill deficits. 

It sounds like there’s two more in the pipeline. 

That’s around two months out from the season kicking off. 

To be honest I’d like another cup mid-season. That would be more exciting. Our cup run with Louis Fenton, Jaushy and Paulsen was really fun. Two games a week. This preseason business is aimed at the other clubs, not the A league. 

I’ve got a few worries, but so far the answers have been reasonably good and all recruitment requires a bit of luck, so wait and see from me.

Armiento at LB is not certain.

🚨 EXCL: Viktor Gyökeres has DECLINED Arsenal and joins Wellington Phoenix. Understood deal includes lifetime supply of L&P. 🇳🇿🔥#DoneDeal #Gyökeres #WellingtonPhoenix #ALeague #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/bNuYFlXOIZ

— Pitchside Design (@pitchsidedesign) July 27, 2025

Shout out to L&P

Hutcho137

🚨 EXCL: Viktor Gyökeres has DECLINED Arsenal and joins Wellington Phoenix. Understood deal includes lifetime supply of L&P. 🇳🇿🔥#DoneDeal #Gyökeres #WellingtonPhoenix #ALeague #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/bNuYFlXOIZ

— Pitchside Design (@pitchsidedesign) July 27, 2025

Shout out to L&P

How does that work with salary cap?  His lifetime supply at once or broken up over the years depending how much he drinks 

He'll take the caps off the bottles himself?

detoxin

Hutcho137

🚨 EXCL: Viktor Gyökeres has DECLINED Arsenal and joins Wellington Phoenix. Understood deal includes lifetime supply of L&P. 🇳🇿🔥#DoneDeal #Gyökeres #WellingtonPhoenix #ALeague #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/bNuYFlXOIZ

— Pitchside Design (@pitchsidedesign) July 27, 2025

Shout out to L&P

How does that work with salary cap?  His lifetime supply at once or broken up over the years depending how much he drinks 

Excellent prank, thanks guys.
Redefinition of a "salary cap", LOL

After watching the Wrexham and perfs games, I think we need to reinforce the midfield. With Rufer who can do Rufer things, Nagasawa is a mixed bag, retre is a bench option (at best), we need someone who can dictate the play and recycle the ball without it having to go back to the backline. Not necessarily an overly attacking creative player but someone who can see the tempo, retain the ball in tight areas and open up play. 

Who was the guy who came into central defensive midfield in the 2nd half of the Wrexham game? He looked promising - I kept thinking he was Isaac Hughes.

kwlap

After watching the Wrexham and perfs games, I think we need to reinforce the midfield. With Rufer who can do Rufer things, Nagasawa is a mixed bag, retre is a bench option (at best), we need someone who can dictate the play and recycle the ball without it having to go back to the backline. Not necessarily an overly attacking creative player but someone who can see the tempo, retain the ball in tight areas and open up play. 

Yeah, I was actually thinking the same thing from the Perth game and we should use the last import slot on CM. Although it does come with its issues. We'd need to sign a quality local CB unless we think Smith and Hughes is a good partnership? 

GSR/Armiento and LBS will be our starting wingers which I wouldn't mind too much from the Perth game, LBS should be a starter this season and maybe GSR/Armiento will be good enough as well I'd just question if we would get enough goals from them. 

But Ishige at CAM, Rufer and a quality import CM behind him would be a great midfield with Nagasawa backing them up.

Wibblebutt

Who was the guy who came into central defensive midfield in the 2nd half of the Wrexham game? He looked promising - I kept thinking he was Isaac Hughes.

 Anaru Cassidy?

Just posted in the other thread rather agreeing that we’d ideally like a top quality CB and a top quality midfielder- probably a box to box with strong defensive quality. And we’ve got one visa.

wilbaker

Wibblebutt

Who was the guy who came into central defensive midfield in the 2nd half of the Wrexham game? He looked promising - I kept thinking he was Isaac Hughes.

 Anaru Cassidy?

That might be him yeah. Thought he really put himself about well, looked calm on the ball and covered up some of the dodgy defending by some of the other players around him.

Fergus Gillion another Weenix midfielder that might soon be offered a scholarship contract. Looked good against Wrexham and Chiefy bought him on in ET yesterday for Conchie.

Liam's younger brother, looks also like he will be an important cog for the NZU20s at their upcoming World Cup.

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Possible formation based on current squad plus Munro (speculation based on praise from Italiano and a shortage of CBs).
No place for Conchie, who's the sixth choice DM IMO, though by a small margin. Rufer's the only one of the six who's convincing.
LKH would be better at LB or DM.
No pure 10 here but Ishige, LBS and Eze, if you trust the scouting video, are all creative.

kwlap

After watching the Wrexham and perfs games, I think we need to reinforce the midfield. With Rufer who can do Rufer things, Nagasawa is a mixed bag, retre is a bench option (at best), we need someone who can dictate the play and recycle the ball without it having to go back to the backline. Not necessarily an overly attacking creative player but someone who can see the tempo, retain the ball in tight areas and open up play. 

kwlap

After watching the Wrexham and perfs games, I think we need to reinforce the midfield. With Rufer who can do Rufer things, Nagasawa is a mixed bag, retre is a bench option (at best), we need someone who can dictate the play and recycle the ball without it having to go back to the backline. Not necessarily an overly attacking creative player but someone who can see the tempo, retain the ball in tight areas and open up play. 

An example of a "not overly attacking creative player", who can "recycle the ball without it having to go back to the backline". a player that comes to mind is Tim Brown in his heyday.
But if you are not against players who ARE "overly attacking".... I am thinking someone in the mould of Thomas Broich, in my humble opinion the best player we have seen in ALM (in my humble opinion (maybe apart from Alessandro Del Piero, but ADP was a striker) .

Try Piper at the AM position. we don't have to keep on playing down the wings, we can play down the middle too! 

LG

Try Piper at the AM position. we don't have to keep on playing down the wings, we can play down the middle too! 

I was surprised how well we managed against Perth last night without Corban Piper. I think he would have made a difference combining with LBS especially in the first half.

Piper is not the solution.

Love his energy and his fight, but he showed last year he is ok at finishing a move, but not great at creating one. Touch is too heavy and he doesn't have that killer pass.

I think he is a great impact sub in a good team - if we can get the players and systems right... otherwise, I think he will play further back.

Piper might score a goal or prevent one by slowing our ball speed down. 

I feel Timmy is maligned- he also scored goals, tackled and played good forward passes too. But maybe recycling backwards was a more common action? That’s the kind of thing highlights don’t show. 

Actually Nagasawa has a bit of the Browny about him. A guy who can do the incredible, but mostly plays the percentages. However, he’s a bit older too. 

And about my question about a deep lying DM or another midfielder - if you play with Hughes, LKH and Payne any of those 3 can step out of the back line to cover the space in front of the back line or make a run forward. We’ve seen it from Hughes and Piper last season. So maybe a 3 is okay if it sees attacks laid on in that manner? 

And I’d be tempted to try Ishige where Sheridan is, with Nagasawa further forward in one tactical plan. 

martinb

Piper might score a goal or prevent one by slowing our ball speed down. 

I feel Timmy is maligned- he also scored goals, tackled and played good forward passes too. But maybe recycling backwards was a more common action? That’s the kind of thing highlights don’t show. 

Actually Nagasawa has a bit of the Browny about him. A guy who can do the incredible, but mostly plays the percentages. However, he’s a bit older too. 

And about my question about a deep lying DM or another midfielder - if you play with Hughes, LKH and Payne any of those 3 can step out of the back line to cover the space in front of the back line or make a run forward. We’ve seen it from Hughes and Piper last season. So maybe a 3 is okay if it sees attacks laid on in that manner? 

And I’d be tempted to try Ishige where Sheridan is, with Nagasawa further forward in one tactical plan. 

Payne regularly makes forward runs.  But I was thrilled to see LKH making forward runs against Perth and scoring - and not a header :-)

Mainland FC

martinb

Piper might score a goal or prevent one by slowing our ball speed down. 

I feel Timmy is maligned- he also scored goals, tackled and played good forward passes too. But maybe recycling backwards was a more common action? That’s the kind of thing highlights don’t show. 

Actually Nagasawa has a bit of the Browny about him. A guy who can do the incredible, but mostly plays the percentages. However, he’s a bit older too. 

And about my question about a deep lying DM or another midfielder - if you play with Hughes, LKH and Payne any of those 3 can step out of the back line to cover the space in front of the back line or make a run forward. We’ve seen it from Hughes and Piper last season. So maybe a 3 is okay if it sees attacks laid on in that manner? 

And I’d be tempted to try Ishige where Sheridan is, with Nagasawa further forward in one tactical plan. 

Payne regularly makes forward runs.  But I was thrilled to see LKH making forward runs against Perth and scoring - and not a header :-)

Yep and Hughes did successfully several times too. All are capable of it. But Payne has mostly been from RB. And LKH LW or CM.

I'd be extremely surprised if Piper is not starting quite a few games this season provided he recovers from injury okay. To be fair that is not a certainty as I think he has the same Pubis injury Old had which basically put him out for a season. 

I feel like some of you above have forgotten how good he was and how much he improved from when he first appeared to when we finished the season. I don't know what it was exactly but he had 'it' compared to the rest of the team last season.

anaveragestem

I'd be extremely surprised if Piper is not starting quite a few games this season provided he recovers from injury okay. To be fair that is not a certainty as I think he has the same Pubis injury Old had which basically put him out for a season. 

I feel like some of you above have forgotten how good he was and how much he improved from when he first appeared to when we finished the season. I don't know what it was exactly but he had 'it' compared to the rest of the team last season.

Him and Rufer were the only ones playing for the badge at the end of the season. Hughes and Sheridan have got that mongrel in them too, I hope they show it this season.

I really like Piper's grit, strength and aerial ability but he has a relatively poor touch and lacks vision and the ability to execute what he does see. So he's great in the air, in 50 50s, and making barging runs.
But where do you put a player with iffy ball control? RB ahead of Payne, Loke or Sheridan? RW ahead of LBS?
Last year, there was not only a place for him, he looked good. By comparison.
This year IMO the squad will be better and I hope he is mainly used as a late attacking sub up front when a late goal is needed.

anaveragestem

I'd be extremely surprised if Piper is not starting quite a few games this season provided he recovers from injury okay. To be fair that is not a certainty as I think he has the same Pubis injury Old had which basically put him out for a season. 

I feel like some of you above have forgotten how good he was and how much he improved from when he first appeared to when we finished the season. I don't know what it was exactly but he had 'it' compared to the rest of the team last season.

anaveragestem

I'd be extremely surprised if Piper is not starting quite a few games this season provided he recovers from injury okay. To be fair that is not a certainty as I think he has the same Pubis injury Old had which basically put him out for a season. 

I feel like some of you above have forgotten how good he was and how much he improved from when he first appeared to when we finished the season. I don't know what it was exactly but he had 'it' compared to the rest of the team last season.

I think in summary, we were all suprised at how well the academy guys stood up against Wrexham & Perth. Yes I know some attend their local games but this was a different level. They look exciting prospects and delivered when asked. No real clangers and can only get better. OK, maybe one or 2 mistakes but I'll let it slide.

This has given me renewed hope that we might put in some decent shifts this year after all.

nixin

I really like Piper's grit, strength and aerial ability but he has a relatively poor touch and lacks vision and the ability to execute what he does see. So he's great in the air, in 50 50s, and making barging runs.
But where do you put a player with iffy ball control? RB ahead of Payne, Loke or Sheridan? RW ahead of LBS?
Last year, there was not only a place for him, he looked good. By comparison.
This year IMO the squad will be better and I hope he is mainly used as a late attacking sub up front when a late goal is needed.

anaveragestem

I'd be extremely surprised if Piper is not starting quite a few games this season provided he recovers from injury okay. To be fair that is not a certainty as I think he has the same Pubis injury Old had which basically put him out for a season. 

I feel like some of you above have forgotten how good he was and how much he improved from when he first appeared to when we finished the season. I don't know what it was exactly but he had 'it' compared to the rest of the team last season.

anaveragestem

I'd be extremely surprised if Piper is not starting quite a few games this season provided he recovers from injury okay. To be fair that is not a certainty as I think he has the same Pubis injury Old had which basically put him out for a season. 

I feel like some of you above have forgotten how good he was and how much he improved from when he first appeared to when we finished the season. I don't know what it was exactly but he had 'it' compared to the rest of the team last season.

Think it gives Uffie a chance to deploy Piper as a ball-playing CB, like he stated he wanted to before injuries forced his hand and Piper became a utility. Especially as 3ATB seems more likely

The Pied Piper should not be underestimated. There's a diamond hidden in that man. He could be a very good player.

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I’d play something like this with our current squad (plus the potential import 10).

You could also mix it up with a back 4 and get LBS on with Ishige forming a midfield 3.

I still have my doubts about this year personally in terms of... I'm not sure where the added quality is coming from - at this stage I still feel our replacements are less than what we have lost (Sutton vs Armiento, Kosta vs Eze) and whilst I expect individuals like Hughes/Sheridan etc to have grown as players I don't know if it will be enough to change our fortunes that much.

Against Perth we still only had 35 - 40% possession and relied on counter attacking footy. We were more aggressive defensively with the press, but again we looked weak in attack and isolated. Relying on individual brilliance to create something is not an attacking game plan.

I am however excited to see where the majority of this team is in 2 years time, once the youth are more established and battled hardened, and no offence to our Japanese players, but they have moved on and we have hopefully replaced them with better quality.

This year looks and feels like a rebuild to me still. I hope I'm wrong, but a couple decent shifts in pre season is not enough to convince me otherwise. We had by our standards a very good start last year and look how that panned out.

I think there is too much false hope currently. Our last 2 signings are critical!

mrsmiis

nixin

I really like Piper's grit, strength and aerial ability but he has a relatively poor touch and lacks vision and the ability to execute what he does see. So he's great in the air, in 50 50s, and making barging runs.
But where do you put a player with iffy ball control? RB ahead of Payne, Loke or Sheridan? RW ahead of LBS?
Last year, there was not only a place for him, he looked good. By comparison.
This year IMO the squad will be better and I hope he is mainly used as a late attacking sub up front when a late goal is needed.

anaveragestem

I'd be extremely surprised if Piper is not starting quite a few games this season provided he recovers from injury okay. To be fair that is not a certainty as I think he has the same Pubis injury Old had which basically put him out for a season. 

I feel like some of you above have forgotten how good he was and how much he improved from when he first appeared to when we finished the season. I don't know what it was exactly but he had 'it' compared to the rest of the team last season.

anaveragestem

I'd be extremely surprised if Piper is not starting quite a few games this season provided he recovers from injury okay. To be fair that is not a certainty as I think he has the same Pubis injury Old had which basically put him out for a season. 

I feel like some of you above have forgotten how good he was and how much he improved from when he first appeared to when we finished the season. I don't know what it was exactly but he had 'it' compared to the rest of the team last season.

Think it gives Uffie a chance to deploy Piper as a ball-playing CB, like he stated he wanted to before injuries forced his hand and Piper became a utility. Especially as 3ATB seems more likely

Uffie? ..... not only he leaves for Sydney FC but has designs on Piper?.... :-)

False hope? I’ll take it! It makes me feel as good as real hope and with an unbeaten preseason so far…It’ll last at least a couple of months. 

Plus I do think there are encouraging signs. 

Piper was fired up, but his touch and passing need to improve A LOT on what saw last season. He made breaks and then destroyed them. When pushed to 9 he couldn’t trap a short pass side foot. Still without Wootton at corners we might need him, Eze or Hughes to really set up. 

We’re fitter than last season. We’ve made some logical signings. Eze has different qualities to Kosta. He’ll have more aerial presence and he’s bigger than Kosta when it comes to playing back to goal if required. 
Armiento can be a play maker or perhaps a LWB. He’s a distance goal threat. He’s a young local player and a good backup for any visa creative midfielder. 

Smith looks like a unit. Loke (pronounced like oak or Lock-K?)looks very handy. All of the young guys took excellent penalties in the toughest conditions like they were Cole Palmer in a freezer in Antarctica. 

We’ve got Rufer and Payne to come back into the team. We’ve got one more visa signing. We got a big crowd against Wrexham. The reserves are keen as mustard. And considering the dispiriting season behind us the team on the pitch look very focused and united. 

It’s only false hope if it goes sideways at a point. So it’s a minimum of two months of hope and then who knows?

I am not one prone to schadenfreude, but if Perth win the championship this coming season, with Sail, Pennington, Wootton, Sutton, plus Adam Griffiths dispensing his coaching advice, I would feel aggrieved.

Very early doors but Jayden Smith has impressed. As above he's big beast of a unit. Still only 18, and will go off to the U20 WC in September.

I wouldn't be shocked if Chiefy & Co, postpone signing an experienced non visa CB. See how the next month or so goes. They might think with Hughes, Smith, plus defensive utilities Piper, LKH, Sheridan & Payne they have enough CB options in the squad. Chiefy also seems impressed by young Mac Munro (17 or 18?). Plus Dylan Gardiner (19) is on the periphery.

Hughes (still only 21) has started the season like he can be the leader/voice of the backline. He's contracted out to June 2028, but can see some UK clubs already looking at him. Warrington born so likely a tough edged North England upbringing (came to NZ as a teen?), and that valuable Blighty passport.

Chiefy & Co might think bringing in an older ALM journeyman CB, could now stifle the development/game time of the likes of Smith and Munro. Esp if they think Hughes maybe off after this season. It could be a very young Nix backline (sans Payne) that starts the season, but there does look to be plenty of talent there. 

I'll guess we will see how the next month goes, and what older free agent local CBs are available. Noting with Tommy Smith gone, Auckland with their bigger pockets are also in the market for same.

Yeh it’s a tough call. You don’t want to double count players like Payne and Sheridan too. Couple of injuries and a suspension and suddenly there’s a crisis at RB and CB! 

Got to think as well that as good as this Perth team are, they aren’t yet top 5. It’s possible that CB line up with good screening and a few goals in the bank will be okay, but we need to think not just can they handle the A league, but WSW, Sydney 
, Adelaide, Auckland, City and Vic. Not just when they’re preseason fresh, but 115 minutes into a finals game. 

It’s possible the answer could be yes. The young lads have done well preseason. 

Agruably there is already plenty of cover along the backline if young guys like Munro, Gardiner, Ryan Lee could step for a game or two in any injury crisis. 

Phil Parkinson made mention of the impressive fitness stats of the young Weenix kids. So maybe being at the NZCIS (EPL standard facilities apparently) is helping these kids be more ready for the ALM, than ever before.

Again what happens in the next few weeks at training, R16 Australia Cup game etc could dictate whether Chiefy wants that experienced extra CB or not.

More than most coaches Giancarlo does seem to love players that can play multiple positions, cue already talk that Arimento could sometimes end up at LB/LWB.

A heavily watered down version of 'Total Football'.

I was lucky enough to speak with one of the Wrexham training staff at the NCIS and he said the facilities were outstanding and that the concencis amongst the staff and players was one that they would've preferred to have had 2 weeks at the NCIS, rather than the games in Australia. They were genuinely taken back by the facilities and the way the Wellington football public treated them.

I don't think he was saying to keep us locals happy. They loved the time at the NCIS. 

it is and hopefully will remain a world class facility

I'm sure it will all be covered in 'Welcome to Wrexham'. 
Can't do the Nix's chances of attracting other European clubs downunder, in the Euro off seasons any harm.