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WPM 2026/27 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination

333 replies · 26,660 views

21 days ago

imanixsupporter wrote:
Roa conchie's contract is expiring but wasnt announced as leaving, which I find interesting.

Don't see what chiefy and greenie see in Ramy. He has moments but 90% of the time when he gets the ball our attack breaks down immediately. Always choosing the wrong option, taking too long or just losing the ball. Must be unreal in training.

If Ramy stays, substitute. Get a new foreign attacking midfielder starter. I have had enough of 2 seasons in a row of experienced attacking midfielders or similar always in and out of being hurt. Marco, Stefan, Chico, Nikola, Sarpreet. Let's see a new fit, fast always available attacking midfielder to replace Sander, and 1 other from Australia.

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21 days ago

PKB wrote:
imanixsupporter wrote:
Roa conchie's contract is expiring but wasnt announced as leaving, which I find interesting.

Don't see what chiefy and greenie see in Ramy. He has moments but 90% of the time when he gets the ball our attack breaks down immediately. Always choosing the wrong option, taking too long or just losing the ball. Must be unreal in training.
If Ramy stays, substitute. Get a new foreign attacking midfielder starter. I have had enough of 2 seasons in a row of experienced attacking midfielders or similar always in and out of being hurt. Marco, Stefan, Chico, Nikola, Sarpreet. Let's see a new fit, fast always available attacking midfielder to replace Sander, and 1 other from Australia.

Was about to post something similar.

If we're keeping Ramy, I really hope it's for depth/back-up to an import 10 and that Greenie isn't planning to have him be a main starter.

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comjPK+1

21 days ago

I wouldnt get too excited about the names missing on that list. Its just a list of the confirmed departures at this point in time. I would expect more announcements in June.
Eze was always open about the Nix being a stepping stone in his career and that he always wanted to play in Europe. Plus the Nix could never match the $$$ he would get. Kartoum is not on the list but he is not in NZ.
I really hope we get our imports bang on this season. They all must be starters and significantly better than any local players.
If we get any experianced Aussies we really must not repeat getting broken down ones like Mileusnic....86 minute season.
Looks like there will be quite a turnover of players and we will be...sigh, rebuilding again. Good luck Greenie!

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21 days ago

Rock Hopper wrote:
Edwards hard done by there. Unless we have some grand plans in the offseason for an LB signing, he's a domestic product I wouldn't have minded us having a crack at nurturing. Another season and he could have found his groove to become a steady and dependable member of the backline in a similar manner to Josh Laws.

Rough on Edwards, but I feel the only way we keep him is if we are starting LKH and he is backup/competing which I am happy is not the case.

If we sign a LB, they will likely be starter quality with LKH being a backup LB/CB. The ultimate goal would be LKH stepping up and earning the LB spot or stepping into CB when Hughes gets sold (hopefully) and then Loke or maybe Lee? becoming the new LB backup.

If LKH is the backup now, then Edwards would get no game time anyway and it's not like he is a developmental player whose value/quality will grow significantly overtime. Would get more benefit playing Loke over Edwards at LB when needed imo.

Hopefully Edwards stint at the Nix gets him a look at another pro club whether OFC pro league, A-league, or other leagues like Canada/Ireland/etc. Worth a shout.

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21 days ago · edited 21 days ago · History

Getting confused now by the lack of Eze and Rufer names on the list

Is this promising news?

or just a case of the guy who can’t handle a rejection and keeps on stalking his ex?

Auckland will rise once more

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21 days ago

AucklandPhoenix wrote:
Getting confused now by the lack of Eze and Rufer names on the list

Is this promising news?

or just a case of the guy who can’t handle a rejection and keeps on stalking his ex?

Neutral. Means they've not rejected us, but doesn't mean they've re-signed.

Promising news if you're a fan of Najjarine & Roa Conchie I guess.

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21 days ago

Its always funny seeing people complaining on social media about us always losing so many players and needing to rebuild every season where it is just the nature of the A-League with the salary cap but also this season only Eze and Rufer the only loses that matter and last season it was only Sutton and Kosta.
The 23/24 season is the one you can be upset about losing Zawada, Kraev, Old, Surman, Paulsen and Pennington.

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mj+2

21 days ago

Armiento is the only decent player out of that lot. I would have kept him. The rest I'm not fussed at all. None of them did much imo. Except Josh losing us 2 derbies

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21 days ago

YellowAndBlack wrote:
Would have thought Sander would have been on this list…… unless I missed his goodbye already?

Sander was a loan for part of the season, I did not think an announcement would be needed. Did not make a big impact; but thanks for your two nice goals Kartum, against difficult opposition.

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21 days ago

Nommag wrote:
WanderingSheep wrote:
Nommag wrote:
Eze and Rufer not in clubs departures announcement 👀
I’d ignored Rufer as we know his situation, but it was eze I was referring to. It’s the hope that kills you 😂
The hope is killing me, but it's super weird that they haven't announced it. I would have thought he would have been a lock to leave. Maybe a long contract extension with the potential for a visa for life after football is on the table. That has to be attractive, NZ is a nice place to live.

Careful, I began to imagine a scenario where we might keep him and got roundly told off for harboring it!

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21 days ago · edited 21 days ago · History

Rock Hopper wrote:
Edwards hard done by there. Unless we have some grand plans in the offseason for an LB signing, he's a domestic product I wouldn't have minded us having a crack at nurturing. Another season and he could have found his groove to become a steady and dependable member of the backline in a similar manner to Josh Laws.

I’m hoping this means we have a good left back lined up and another Manny Muscat-esque player who can cover a bunch of positions also ready to go!!

Edit:hmmm LKH or Loke is the backup. I have a horrible premonition LKH is being promoted to starter at LB. Hope to be proved wrong. Greenie needs a speedy dribbler with a range of good crosses and even a shot at LB. And impeccable defensive credentials first and foremost.

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21 days ago

Mainland FC wrote:
YellowAndBlack wrote:
Would have thought Sander would have been on this list…… unless I missed his goodbye already?
Sander was a loan for part of the season, I did not think an announcement would be needed. Did not make a big impact; but thanks for your two nice goals Kartum, against difficult opposition.

End of loans have been announced for other clubs though. Letting both Edwards and Armiento go is a strange one.

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20 days ago

wilbaker wrote:
Its always funny seeing people complaining on social media about us always losing so many players and needing to rebuild every season where it is just the nature of the A-League with the salary cap but also this season only Eze and Rufer the only loses that matter and last season it was only Sutton and Kosta.
The 23/24 season is the one you can be upset about losing Zawada, Kraev, Old, Surman, Paulsen and Pennington.

Faaaark me I'd forgotten how brutal that off season after 23/24 was, Jesus. Upsetting to read even now

Annual finals disappointment enthusiast.

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20 days ago

I would have kept Armiento - the kind of player to get fans and kids excited .

Oluwayemi and Retre I wouldn't have minded staying but if the club thinks they can find better options, then great.

Not sure why people are sad to lose Edwards; he wasn't really A-League quality.
Supyk never really got a chance in the first team ...

Don't expect to hear about Rufer's intentions until after the world cup.
If he gets reasonable minutes on the pitch there he could even go to Switzerland courtesy of his passport.

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20 days ago

Wouldn’t be upset if Armineto stayed in NZ and was the Randall replacement at AFC.

Think there is a baller there and a nice guy to boot,

Auckland will rise once more

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20 days ago

djtim3000 wrote:
Mainland FC wrote:
YellowAndBlack wrote:
Would have thought Sander would have been on this list…… unless I missed his goodbye already?
Sander was a loan for part of the season, I did not think an announcement would be needed. Did not make a big impact; but thanks for your two nice goals Kartum, against difficult opposition.

End of loans have been announced for other clubs though. Letting both Edwards and Armiento go is a strange one.

There's no rule that says all clubs have to announce at the same time, loan deals end when they end. Clubs announce things when they want to. This is the start of the clean out season for all clubs.
We'll have offers infront of those not yet announced, Rufer wont do anything until after the WC. Eze is expected to leave but maybe he doent gt an offer that he loves from elsewhere and decides to give us a second year? (god I hope)

Queenslander 3x a year.

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20 days ago

Bevan wrote:
I would have kept Armiento - the kind of player to get fans and kids excited .

Oluwayemi and Retre I wouldn't have minded staying but if the club thinks they can find better options, then great.

Not sure why people are sad to lose Edwards; he wasn't really A-League quality.
Supyk never really got a chance in the first team ...

Don't expect to hear about Rufer's intentions until after the world cup.
If he gets reasonable minutes on the pitch there he could even go to Switzerland courtesy of his passport.

Edwards is better defensively than our other options & didn't look all at sea when called on. It can take a season to adjust to the level.

We won 4 of the 6 games he started.

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comj

20 days ago · edited 20 days ago · History

RR wrote:
Bevan wrote:
I would have kept Armiento - the kind of player to get fans and kids excited .

Oluwayemi and Retre I wouldn't have minded staying but if the club thinks they can find better options, then great.

Not sure why people are sad to lose Edwards; he wasn't really A-League quality.
Supyk never really got a chance in the first team ...

Don't expect to hear about Rufer's intentions until after the world cup.
If he gets reasonable minutes on the pitch there he could even go to Switzerland courtesy of his passport.
Edwards is better defensively than our other options & didn't look all at sea when called on. It can take a season to adjust to the level.

We won 4 of the 6 games he started.

He was our best option for a conventional LB. We had four LB options all of whom were strong enough or better going forward, but suspect defending.

Hopefully the fact he’s been let go is a sign of ambition. But certainly he fairly won fans here.

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18 days ago

Jason Cummings and Dimitri Petratos leaving their Indian club. Any one interested in them?

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18 days ago · edited 18 days ago · History

Cummings was fantastic at the Mariners a few years ago (30 goals in 49 games).
He'll be 31 in August. Bit of a character. I'd pay to watch him play.

Looks like he won a few ISL trophies at Mohun Bagan, but goal scoring dropped away there after his first season.

Jamie Maclaren also at Mohun Bagan.

Note that this ISL season was a short one, due to financial problems.
https://us.soccerway.com/player/cummings-jason/hjUr7sYA/

https://us.soccerway.com/team/mohun-bagan/nu3kFdnl/squad/

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18 days ago

I'd take Cummings - good player, but the no dicks policy would be in trouble.

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18 days ago

MetalLegNZ wrote:
I'd take Cummings - good player, but the no dicks policy would be in trouble.

Is he a dick because he did these over the top yarns or was he just a mean dick. Because if it's just the yarns and the fans think it's funny and the players also were all in on the yarns than I don't see the problem. If he is mean then rule him out.

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18 days ago · edited 18 days ago · History

I like Jason Cummings - always came across as a joker to me rather than a dickhead. Would definitely like him at the Nix. Petratos was good and he's got bags of experience. He'll be almost 34 by the time next season kicks off but if he wasn't asking too much I wouldn't be averse to him either.

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18 days ago

Keep him off the drink, and he'd be potentially a great pickup.
But yeah the Nix would need to do some proper DD.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=778126684672293

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18 days ago

Random crazy thought- now they know we’ve got Tim Payne- is it worth trying for Raheem Sterling?
It’d be a circus or it might be a great call.

Heard he’s not best liked where he is.

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17 days ago · edited 17 days ago · History

martinb wrote:
Random crazy thought- now they know we’ve got Tim Payne- is it worth trying for Raheem Sterling?
It’d be a circus or it might be a great call.

Heard he’s not best liked where he is.

That sure is both random and crazy MartinB, certainly can't get ya for false advertising there. No chance in hell.

However... Sterling's salary at Chelsea was £325k a week, then when he moved to Feyenoord it dropped to a rumoured £23k a week. That's a 92% decrease - now if we apply that same decrease to his Feyenoord salary, that brings us to around $215k NZD a year - Bargain! Get him in the cap

Annual finals disappointment enthusiast.

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17 days ago · edited 17 days ago · History

Jazzy Jeff wrote:
martinb wrote:
Random crazy thought- now they know we’ve got Tim Payne- is it worth trying for Raheem Sterling?
It’d be a circus or it might be a great call.

Heard he’s not best liked where he is.
That sure is both random and crazy MartinB, certainly can't get ya for false advertising there. No chance in hell.

However... Sterling's salary at Chelsea was £325k a week, then when he moved to Feyenoord it dropped to a rumoured £23k a week. That's a 92% decrease - now if we apply that same decrease to his Feyenoord salary, that brings us to around $215k NZD a year - Bargain! Get him in the cap

Clearly by now he can afford to play for free, he'd sign up just for the fame of being in the same team as Tim Payne.

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17 days ago

Joe Lolley released by Sydney. Says he is not sure where going next but wants to stay in the A League. Hmmmmm

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niPK

17 days ago · edited 17 days ago · History

Mainland FC wrote:
Jazzy Jeff wrote:
martinb wrote:
Random crazy thought- now they know we’ve got Tim Payne- is it worth trying for Raheem Sterling?
It’d be a circus or it might be a great call.

Heard he’s not best liked where he is.
That sure is both random and crazy MartinB, certainly can't get ya for false advertising there. No chance in hell.

However... Sterling's salary at Chelsea was £325k a week, then when he moved to Feyenoord it dropped to a rumoured £23k a week. That's a 92% decrease - now if we apply that same decrease to his Feyenoord salary, that brings us to around $215k NZD a year - Bargain! Get him in the cap
Clearly by now he can afford to play for free, he'd sign up just for the fame of being in the same team as Tim Payne.

I would have the failure of Dan Sturridge at Perth in the back of my mind, & Nani at Melbourne Victory. Juan Mata in that 1 season with Melbourne Victory is an exception more than a norm here.

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17 days ago

Walsall Boy wrote:
Joe Lolley released by Sydney. Says he is not sure where going next but wants to stay in the A League. Hmmmmm

He did very well earlier with Sydney FC but recently hurt for half the season rounds and advancing into 30s. I imagine if he did 1 more A League season, then could play 65 minutes and substitute off, each round.

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17 days ago

Walsall Boy wrote:
Joe Lolley released by Sydney. Says he is not sure where going next but wants to stay in the A League. Hmmmmm

Was heavily linked to the Glory previously.

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17 days ago

Lachlan Bayliss

"You can never get a bloody tradesman at Easter, it's a wonder Jesus got crucified" - Karl Pilkington

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17 days ago · edited 17 days ago · History

Dougie Rydal wrote:

image.png 18.62 KB
Lachlan Bayliss

Annoyed at that.

I also put it out to my Auckland supporting brethren about the possibility he goes out and has some good moments at the World Cup, that I then wonder if he's got an out clause inserted in there... There was some overseas interest previously...

Sounds like several are being bumped up from their Pro League squad to A-League deals, so I'm expecting there will be a few more departures to come from up North.

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17 days ago

Jazzy Jeff wrote:
martinb wrote:
Random crazy thought- now they know we’ve got Tim Payne- is it worth trying for Raheem Sterling?
It’d be a circus or it might be a great call.

Heard he’s not best liked where he is.
That sure is both random and crazy MartinB, certainly can't get ya for false advertising there. No chance in hell.

However... Sterling's salary at Chelsea was £325k a week, then when he moved to Feyenoord it dropped to a rumoured £23k a week. That's a 92% decrease - now if we apply that same decrease to his Feyenoord salary, that brings us to around $215k NZD a year - Bargain! Get him in the cap

I don’t think he’s had a happy football home for several clubs now.
Thought he might like a sea change to where he could play and not be bothered too much on the street.

And it’d be huge marketing upside for us and the league.

Roll the dice!

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17 days ago

Any tips on who the OFC guys may be age wise?

Auckland will rise once more

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17 days ago

I think some of you have missed the recent news with Sterling... Got caught drug driving on the motorway, the video is pretty bad.. swerving all over the place. So he probs would be open to coming here as I don't think many clubs in the world will be wanting him and I don't think we should either.

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coPK

17 days ago · edited 17 days ago · History

wilbaker wrote:
I think some of you have missed the recent news with Sterling... Got caught drug driving on the motorway, the video is pretty bad.. swerving all over the place. So he probs would be open to coming here as I don't think many clubs in the world will be wanting him and I don't think we should either.

In a bad place, redemption arcs. He was really put through hell in Holland. The press, the fans, his manager…everyone just tore into him.

Chance here for a new start and a chance to enjoy a bit of football, away from the European tabloids.

Remember when the British tabloids tore into him for buying a house for his mother, weirdly accusing him of being some kind of class traitor or of not being good enough to spend the money he’d earned or something?

I certainly thought being at a low point might help seal the deal, but I didn’t realise it was this low.

Still I think he’s been a good servant for his country and a good pro and doesn’t deserve to be torn to shreds.

Put in his contract most money kicking in after a certain number of appearances and goal contributions and see how he goes.

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17 days ago

YoungHeartHM wrote:
Dougie Rydal wrote:

image.png 18.62 KB
Lachlan Bayliss
Annoyed at that.

I put it out to my Auckland supporting brethren if he goes out and has some good moments at the World Cup, then I wonder if he's got an out clause inserted in there... There was some overseas interest previously...

Sounds like several are being bumped up from their Pro League squad to A-League deals, so I'm expecting there will be a few more departures to come from up North.

Auckholes FC didn't even exist when his dad was alive. Guess Bayliss wasn't interested in helping the club from his dads hometown to win something. Don't understand why Milligan didn't want to keep him or at least go overseas.

I find the whole thing 🤮

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17 days ago · edited 17 days ago · History

YoungHeartHM wrote:
Dougie Rydal wrote:

image.png 18.62 KB
Lachlan Bayliss
Annoyed at that.

I put it out to my Auckland supporting brethren if he goes out and has some good moments at the World Cup, then I wonder if he's got an out clause inserted in there... There was some overseas interest previously...

Sounds like several are being bumped up from their Pro League squad to A-League deals, so I'm expecting there will be a few more departures to come from up North.

Not as annoyed as Jets fans will be if AFC get a transfer fee, without Bayliss even playing a game in Auckland.

Karma I guess after Cam Devlin's Newcastle-Hearts similar move, post leaving the Nix.

Still Bayliss does talk about as a kid he regularly visited Welly, his late father being a Wellingtonian. So a shame he didn't want to join his Kiwi cuzzie in the Hutt.

He'll be cheaper that Guillermo May, and likely a better performer.
Edit - or Brimmer if AFC can somehow unload him, as I read elsewhere tehy maybe looking to do.

And nice news that a few guys from AFC's OFC Pro League are getting offered ALM contracts. That's what I had hoped the new OPL league would provide, another pro pathway for young Kiwis.

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17 days ago

Procrastinixing wrote:
YoungHeartHM wrote:
Dougie Rydal wrote:

image.png 18.62 KB
Lachlan Bayliss
Annoyed at that.

I put it out to my Auckland supporting brethren if he goes out and has some good moments at the World Cup, then I wonder if he's got an out clause inserted in there... There was some overseas interest previously...

Sounds like several are being bumped up from their Pro League squad to A-League deals, so I'm expecting there will be a few more departures to come from up North.

Auckholes FC didn't even exist when his dad was alive. Guess Bayliss wasn't interested in helping the club from his dads hometown to win something. Don't understand why Milligan didn't want to keep him or at least go overseas.

I find the whole thing 🤮

Milligan did want to keep him.

Around about the time LA Rose signed for Dundee, Bayliss' agent (Tony Rallis) came out saying that offers from Newcastle were basically not on the same page as what 3-4 clubs from around the A-League were offering, and that there was unnamed overseas interest in Bayliss as well.

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coniPK

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