Wellington Phoenix Men

WPM R19 vs Adelaide United | Sun 3rd Mar | 5:00pm | RoF / Sky Sport 3

236 replies · 30,296 views
about 2 years ago
theprof
coochiee
theprof
coochiee
Italiano said this yesterday, post game. Old's ability will only be fully recognized in NZ, once he's overseas somewhere killing it.  

What i find impressive is this kid is supposedly carrying an ankle injury which needs rest to fully heal, yet he is still playing 90 and beating players for fun.
Pretty sure that Italiano said he's now fully over that injury (so the story has changed), and no rest is needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0lvIR8uNrY

i must have missed that, miracle recovery if that's the case. The physios deserve a medal.
Quotes in the middle of this article at the start of the month explain how he sorted it.

"Because of a couple of other injuries I had to travel and then I was on the bench, and then they were only going to play me if they needed, but I came off the bench in both of those games.

“Thankfully I wasn’t training during that period so that gave me enough time for my ankle to come right and these last couple of days we tested it and it felt fine to play and it pulled up well."
about 2 years ago
Anybody got Stats on Duels won, interceptions and KM's run? I've stopped subscribing (getting too expensive) but it's like having my eyes removed.
about 2 years ago
Often feel with attacking youngsters you expect them to have brilliant dribbling ability as soon as they get into the team, but they just make a few wrong decisions before they improve. E.g. Rojas was like that when he joined us.
But Old feels like he's only learnt how to dribble this season, and is suddenly really good at it!
about 2 years ago · edited about 2 years ago · History
Bevan
Often feel with attacking youngsters you expect them to have brilliant dribbling ability as soon as they get into the team, but they just make a few wrong decisions before they improve. E.g. Rojas was like that when he joined us.
But Old feels like he's only learnt how to dribble this season, and is suddenly really good at it!
 
Regarding Old, possibly but I think it's more likely that under Talay the stress levels were so so high that none of the boys could really express themselves. 
about 2 years ago
kungfu panda
Bevan
Often feel with attacking youngsters you expect them to have brilliant dribbling ability as soon as they get into the team, but they just make a few wrong decisions before they improve. E.g. Rojas was like that when he joined us.
But Old feels like he's only learnt how to dribble this season, and is suddenly really good at it!
 
Regarding Old, possibly but I think it's more likely that under Talay the stress levels were so, so high that none of the boys could really express themselves. 

That is a fair point. It's not just the youngsters; I also quite like the way Barbarouses expresses himself this season.

Actually, getting outplayed quite a bit these days

about 2 years ago
Mainland FC
kungfu panda
Bevan
Often feel with attacking youngsters you expect them to have brilliant dribbling ability as soon as they get into the team, but they just make a few wrong decisions before they improve. E.g. Rojas was like that when he joined us.
But Old feels like he's only learnt how to dribble this season, and is suddenly really good at it!
 
Regarding Old, possibly but I think it's more likely that under Talay the stress levels were so, so high that none of the boys could really express themselves. 

That is a fair point. It's not just the youngsters; I also quite like the way Barbarouses expresses himself this season.

In fact all of the 'older' players have played with a lot more self belief.

Oi Oi Edgecumbe... lets have a clean sheet

about 2 years ago
To change the subject completely re Sunday:

Why do they water the pitch so much after warm ups and before play?  Especially in the first half, players were slipping a lot so though they had the wrong boots on.  I recall Alex Paulsen doing so son after half time when he had the ball at his feet.  Thankfully no one near him.
about 2 years ago
Walsall Boy
To change the subject completely re Sunday:

Why do they water the pitch so much after warm ups and before play?  Especially in the first half, players were slipping a lot so though they had the wrong boots on.  I recall Alex Paulsen doing so son after half time when he had the ball at his feet.  Thankfully no one near him.

To help counteract the stickiness of the grass with passing along the deck afaik.
about 2 years ago
about 2 years ago
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!
*Sloane-Rodrigues
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Spell players' names right - or else.
about 2 years ago · edited about 2 years ago · History
Mainland FC
Someone mentioned that we managed to grind out the result. That usually means stout defensive work after scoring a deciding goal, doesn't it? And our defence was a bit average against an average team. 
Poor Fin Surman, who I rate highly, had a bit of an off day today - but his layoff for Ben Old for the decider was excellent, so all is forgiven.
Italiano proved a better tactician than Veart. Bringing four new players on in one clean swoop saved our game. If Veart brought Irankunda and Ibusuki on any earlier, before our changes, the outcome might have been different. 
*Finn Surman, only a free-kick.
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Spell players' names right - or else.
about 2 years ago
coochiee
billyspleen75
Kiwi Messi scoring 2 to beat Victory certainly helps.

2 horse race between us and CCM for 1st. And they're gonna have a bunch of Asian Cup games 

Mariners have at least two more AFC Cup games. H&A against Roy Krishana's Odisha. Home tie this week 7th March, and then away tie India 14th March. You'd think an ALM team should be too strong for an ISL team.

If CCM get past Odisha then next is a two legged tie against the winner of Abdysh-Ata Kant (Krygyzstan) verus Taichung Futuro (Taiwan). Dates 17th & 24th April. Would be a long haul to Krygyzstan.

Win that and it's the AFC Cup final against either an Oman team or a Lebanon team. And looks like either of the latter two West Asian teams will host the final.

So yes lets hope the Mariners get all the way to the AFC Cup final, with all that travelling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%E2%80%9324_AFC_Cup

Rufer said post game the Nix didn't play well today, and the travel back from Perth may have been a factor. Ain't nothing compare to what potentially awaits CCM.

*Krishna
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Spell players' names right - or else.
about 2 years ago
RR
Walsall Boy
To change the subject completely re Sunday:

Why do they water the pitch so much after warm ups and before play?  Especially in the first half, players were slipping a lot so though they had the wrong boots on.  I recall Alex Paulsen doing so son after half time when he had the ball at his feet.  Thankfully no one near him.

To help counteract the stickiness of the grass with passing along the deck afaik.

Yeah this, it helps with ball movement, and each home team will have their own preferences for how much watering is done. It's not the watering that's the issue its the choice of boot/sprigs the lads are using. They know the pitch is going to be wetter on a dry day, do use the actual sprigs not mouldies.

Queenslander 3x a year.

about 2 years ago
RR
 When is a corner considered to have ended?  I can't come up with a sensible set of parameters that would exclude that goal from consideration, I just don't think you draw up a corner routine that says, send it deep to Wootton who then bounces a pass to Old just inside the corner of the area for him to hit first time, and Hughes you make sure you jump out of the way to create the space 
about 2 years ago · edited about 2 years ago · History
reubee
RR
 When is a corner considered to have ended?  I can't come up with a sensible set of parameters that would exclude that goal from consideration, I just don't think you draw up a corner routine that says, send it deep to Wootton who then bounces a pass to Old just inside the corner of the area for him to hit first time, and Hughes you make sure you jump out of the way to create the space 

I'm guessing its counted as part of the set piece until the clearance has occured or the opposition has the ball under control.

Queenslander 3x a year.

about 2 years ago
The Opta definitions are shared here.

about 2 years ago
andrewvoerman
The Opta definitions are shared here.

 thanks, can understood looking at it from a defense point of view.  So when the defensive line gets outside the box, corner/free kick situation is over and back to open play,
about 2 years ago
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!

Not going to be around post June/July. His agent/parents see his future overseas.
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about 2 years ago
JUSTSAYING
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!

Not going to be around post June/July. His agent/parents see his future overseas.
image.png 304.67 KB


 Well here’s hoping he turns out more like Joe Bell than Eugenio Pizzuto.
about 2 years ago
JUSTSAYING
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!

Not going to be around post June/July. His agent/parents see his future overseas.
image.png 304.67 KB



how's that gonna work? can't officially complete an overseas transfer until he turns 18 (unless they can prove he moved overseas for familial/circumstantial reasons), and the first transfer window following that is January 2026
about 2 years ago
mrsmiis
JUSTSAYING
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!

Not going to be around post June/July. His agent/parents see his future overseas.
image.png 304.67 KB



how's that gonna work? can't officially complete an overseas transfer until he turns 18 (unless they can prove he moved overseas for familial/circumstantial reasons), and the first transfer window following that is January 2026

He could possibly play in Brazil.
about 2 years ago · edited about 2 years ago · History
His Brazilian birth father is a football coach in Hong Kong?  Raised by his Brazilian mum & Kiwi step dad in NZ?  Sort of a reverse Winston Reid!

But yeah Brazil could well be an option for him. His birth dad likely has some connections.
about 2 years ago
ClubOranje
mrsmiis
JUSTSAYING
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!

Not going to be around post June/July. His agent/parents see his future overseas.
image.png 304.67 KB



how's that gonna work? can't officially complete an overseas transfer until he turns 18 (unless they can prove he moved overseas for familial/circumstantial reasons), and the first transfer window following that is January 2026

He could possibly play in Brazil.
i'll need to check up on the legality of that (think the fact that he's crossing an international border for footballing purposes still matters, even if he has the prerequisite citizenship), but how cool would that be! 

Stamenic was approached by Flamengo after the U17 World Cup, but if I'm right we've never had a top prospect contracted to a Brasileirão club. Emman Rahimi (now with Eastern Suburbs) spent an extended period at Corinthians in 2012, when he was 14-ish, but wasn't contracted
about 2 years ago
mrsmiis
ClubOranje
mrsmiis
JUSTSAYING
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!

Not going to be around post June/July. His agent/parents see his future overseas.
image.png 304.67 KB



how's that gonna work? can't officially complete an overseas transfer until he turns 18 (unless they can prove he moved overseas for familial/circumstantial reasons), and the first transfer window following that is January 2026

He could possibly play in Brazil.
i'll need to check up on the legality of that (think the fact that he's crossing an international border for footballing purposes still matters, even if he has the prerequisite citizenship), but how cool would that be! 

Stamenic was approached by Flamengo after the U17 World Cup, but if I'm right we've never had a top prospect contracted to a Brasileirão club. Emman Rahimi (now with Eastern Suburbs) spent an extended period at Corinthians in 2012, when he was 14-ish, but wasn't contracted

Am I missing something? Why would that be cool? Nix lose a highly rated prospect for essentially nada? Genuine question, not having a go.
about 2 years ago
He has agent... doesn't mean he has an offer.

Of we offer him a contract and another team comes in and signs him aren't we entitled to compensation. Can't remember the rule... but to stop poaching etc.
about 2 years ago
Would be surprised if he has a deal... who has seen him play in the last 6 months?
about 2 years ago
Get the feeling poster JustSaying above knows something. He ain't signed with Nix on a youth deal? If not, when the sources in the club (Chiefy, Zawada) have openly highly rated the kid - then to me that means his agent/parents have deliberately avoided locking him in to the club. 

Maybe that was always their plan to get GS-R overseas early on. Again the fact his Brazilian natural father is a coach in Hong Kong, probably with different connections around the globe, makes such a move more likely than with a born & bred Kiwi kid.

about 2 years ago
WanderingSheep
mrsmiis
ClubOranje
mrsmiis
JUSTSAYING
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!

Not going to be around post June/July. His agent/parents see his future overseas.
image.png 304.67 KB



how's that gonna work? can't officially complete an overseas transfer until he turns 18 (unless they can prove he moved overseas for familial/circumstantial reasons), and the first transfer window following that is January 2026

He could possibly play in Brazil.
i'll need to check up on the legality of that (think the fact that he's crossing an international border for footballing purposes still matters, even if he has the prerequisite citizenship), but how cool would that be! 

Stamenic was approached by Flamengo after the U17 World Cup, but if I'm right we've never had a top prospect contracted to a Brasileirão club. Emman Rahimi (now with Eastern Suburbs) spent an extended period at Corinthians in 2012, when he was 14-ish, but wasn't contracted

Am I missing something? Why would that be cool? Nix lose a highly rated prospect for essentially nada? Genuine question, not having a go.

i’m first and foremost a New Zealand football fan and this is an incredibly interesting move. I’d love to keep him ideally but if he’s set on leaving, as has been suggested, Brazil is a very ‘cool’, bespoke destination
about 2 years ago · edited about 2 years ago · History
Bespoke? Heh. Interesting word! Maybe if it came from Slartibartfast or some such…The recently designed Amazonian rainforest put together by our hand engravers and organic weavers provides an amazing place for footballers to go in homage. 
Sounds like Dibley-Dias is talking about home being Brazil too…

Because I’m too lazy what’s the kid’s connection to NZ? He’s obviously lived here for sometime. 


about 2 years ago
Got good genes. His natural father Jorginho played for Brazil U17s, alongside a young Ronaldo - the one who became a Brazilian & Real Madrid legend.

Sloane-Rodrigues played his junior football at Auckland’s East Coast Bays club before joining Auckland United for the 2021 season, and moving to Wellington in 2022.

Born in Hong Kong (where his dad still lives) but been in NZ awhile??
about 2 years ago
mrsmiis
WanderingSheep
mrsmiis
ClubOranje
mrsmiis
JUSTSAYING
martinb
I remember rumours about this slight fellow Old being quite good. 

Now there’s a rustle or two about Sloan-Rodrigues. 

Deliver and take it home the attack! The defense has carried you enough this season!

Not going to be around post June/July. His agent/parents see his future overseas.
image.png 304.67 KB



how's that gonna work? can't officially complete an overseas transfer until he turns 18 (unless they can prove he moved overseas for familial/circumstantial reasons), and the first transfer window following that is January 2026

He could possibly play in Brazil.
i'll need to check up on the legality of that (think the fact that he's crossing an international border for footballing purposes still matters, even if he has the prerequisite citizenship), but how cool would that be! 

Stamenic was approached by Flamengo after the U17 World Cup, but if I'm right we've never had a top prospect contracted to a Brasileirão club. Emman Rahimi (now with Eastern Suburbs) spent an extended period at Corinthians in 2012, when he was 14-ish, but wasn't contracted

Am I missing something? Why would that be cool? Nix lose a highly rated prospect for essentially nada? Genuine question, not having a go.

i’m first and foremost a New Zealand football fan and this is an incredibly interesting move. I’d love to keep him ideally but if he’s set on leaving, as has been suggested, Brazil is a very ‘cool’, bespoke destination

That’s more than fair enough. Probably not the standpoint I take as I’m not a kiwi, so I’m nix first in this instance.  I’d certainly be more flexible if it was a Scotland player. But that said, I think I’d always want the club to get money. Doesn’t sound like the nix will be due much at all if he left.