New Zealand U-23s - Quali Whites

Omissions are howieson and cory brown Guys thomas boyd and payne dont have to be released by clubs. Ridenton will bounce back Raniga good - solomons, higgins, colvey, dyer are horrendous - will live with rest

Howieson is going back to find a club in the UK his choice from all accounts

Brown played one game U20WC.. You think Hudson he would want first 11 players

1 game but best defender see portugal game. Howieson - yeah sounds about right. Why england tho. Such a black hole. Needs same agent as thomas, boyd

Fiji under 23s beat Wellington Phoenix reserves 2-1 today...still think it's a walk in the park in PNG?

Nix were playing some young kids but no it wont be a walk in the park in PNG. Anyone that thinks it will be should be made to sit down and watch the OFC Nations Cup again and again.

Wonder if Hudson has...

Looking on the bright side, regardless of the outcome of this tournament at least Hudson will have some experience in the Islands before he takes the AWs there for WC qualifying. If he is taking it lightly he might not next time around.

He's talked about doing it in great detail but never actually done it. 

As Hudson, himself, as said it's vital to the All Whites to qualify the U23's for additional "contact time".

It seems like Hudson could hang himself with his own rope if he doesn't qualify in PNG.

Oh yeah, the extra competitive games against quality opposition at the Olympics would be a great boost. I know Hudson has made a big deal about them but ultimately winning a WC qualifying tournament in the Islands is actually a necessary precondition for that whereas winning the Olympic qualifying might be nice but we can still qualify for the WC without it. So I guess my point is that either way this is a valuable experience, because the one you really want to win is the WC qualifying tournament.

And even if we lose this I can't see Hudson going yet.

Those of us a bit longer in the tooth remember the play-off between NZ and Australia on the path to qualify for the 1994 World Cup which was scheduled for mid May 1993 at the height of the European season resulting in no European stars being available for either side (apart from Fred de Jong who was released by his Dutch club Sittard  - clubs didn't have to release players back then, so that was a really generous gesture)  .

Wynton Rufer was keen to board a flight to Auckland but was told by the All Whites coach to stay for Werder Bremen's title decider against Bayern or risk being sacked by Bremen.  (Bremen beat Bayern and won the Bundesliga).

That Phoenix Premiers team was a bunch of young teenagers though wasn't it, much younger than the Fijian u-23's?

Not the reserve team that played in the ASB Premiership last year which had several older players.

Captain James McGarry is only 16. How old were the others?

I kind of back Hudson on this one:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/football-soccer/news/art...

"Hudson...has opted against calling back high profile youngsters Ryan Thomas, Tyler Boyd, Tim Payne and Cam Howieson.

"Individually there's a different case for all of them. Ryan Thomas is a player who is very important for the All Whites, at a very important stage of his career who had a lot of injuries last season and ended up missing a lot of our tours and for me, to bring him here, upset his club and have him play five games in 10 days could damage his relationship with the All Whites going forward. I feel we have enough in this group to get us to Rio.

"Tyler could come here and help us and be really good and give us that extra edge, but it could also jeopardise his first season overseas where he really needs to make it. And if that effects his club career, we might not have a player that we could have, cause he will end up bouncing around like players do."

though if I recall In the Solomons the New Caledonians beat us by playing triangles and 1-2s up front and we just booted the ball long all day for no return.

Does Hudson know what he's walking into? Also, some suggestion that we have screwed ourselves up by voting against Blatter.

Also what is up with Ridenton?

Is he really that off the boil? It seems that two quite good midfielders in Ridenton and Rufer can't get a game there at all. Ridenton looked good for the 'Nix last year and has better technique than many.

Do they think he's not physical enough?

Hope he can make the step up.

That's just people without a clue. This schedule was out ages before the vote.

I'm far more worried about a lack of any coaches familiar with the conditions, familiar with OFC refs or familiar with this sort of tournament in this sort of location.

from what my memory tells me and highlights on you tube (had to have a look) I don't think it was triangles and 1-2's in the traditional sense that we are used to seeing, ie like what Mexico did to us. Rather we allowed them to play balls into the front ball and held off to conserve energy and almost on the basis that they'd cough if up. I don't think we used the full squad well enough perhaps. 

I think the message is that all these teams, whilst extremely irractic and error prone do have individuals with the ability to beat a man and finish. Krishna is almost the perfect example. Easy to mark out of a game and when out under pressure loses the ball (as in the last half of the A League) BUT given time and space can hurt you ( ie the first half of the season).

So this will require fresh legs. The depth of the squad is almost more important than the key individuals. 

With such a new pitch it could be an absolute minefield by day 4 or 5

I'd say no. See lastest News item: All Whites Coach Shocked by Facilities..." I don't like the look of this myself tbh. Without Thomas, Boyd & a coupla others who can perform to a decent level, it's got all the makings of another fudging Honiara horror.

Burgess says pretty much the same in today's Sunday Herald.

I'd be happier if Emblen was going, even if it was just in a technical advisory role. Don't think any of our coaches have as much experience in these tournaments as him, although it was hosted at Owen Delaney in Taupo when he was in charge of the u23's.

Not what Sarah Harvey says in yf News [Auck StarTimes] item. She says their clubs declined to release them, "due to concerns over schedule and (playing?) conditions." i.e their clubs are afraid they'll return crocked.

Its a conspiracy to even up teams and make us slip up. If we want out of ofc then make it happen

I would be happier with Ramon was going

Bet Ramon's glad not to be.

I don't trust that Sarah Harvey - who is she anyway? She seems to always be looking for a negative angle e.g. her "disappointing ticket sales for the u-20 World Cup" stories.

She contradicts that assertion about clubs not agreeing to release players with the quote she has from Hudson immediately prior:

"I have never experienced this anywhere in world football. It is what it is. We are going to go, and deal with it. There is players that won't be picked because of that, it will be impossible to get them away from their clubs."

Sounds more like Hudson decided that the clubs would probably not be keen, so he didn't bother asking them. 

I think Harvey is one of the newcomers now employed by Fairfax since their recent "re-structuring" whereby they're phasing out their experienced (more highly paid) print journalists and replacing them with young kids who like to use the internet and that they can pay less. They're even doing away with sports editors for individual papers and having one "national' sports editor...

I'd trust Steven Holloway's report more  - after all he has some direct quotes from Hudson which seem to provide evidence that he didn't even ask for the players in question to be released:

"Ryan Thomas... for me, to bring him here, upset his club and have him play five games in 10 days could damage his relationship with the All Whites going forward. I feel we have enough in this group to get us to Rio."

OK. Good on you BigP. Bpositive.  #alignment.

Men's U23 schedule: v Solomon Islands, Friday, 2pm (NZ time); v Papua New Guinea, Sunday, 5pm; v New Caledonia, Tuesday, July 7, 4pm; Semi-finals, Friday, July 10; Final, Sunday, July 12.

Mid-day and mid-afternoon kick-offs  - don't worry, the local St John's Ambulance are providing four ambulances to cover all events in the entire Games.

I wonder what kind of live broadcast coverage there'll be? Maybe some live streaming courtesy of OFC TV?

Due to the peculiarities of the schedule, if NZ makes the semis, we already know they will play either Fiji or Vanuatu who automatically qualify from their group (the other two, Tahiti and Micronesia are not eligible for the Olympic football in Rio)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_Football_at_...

Three of the nations participating in the tournament are not eligible for the Olympics (Tahiti, New Caledonia and Micronesia) because they're not IOC members (the first two) or not a FIFA member (Micronesia).

Therefore:

"For the OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, only the five teams (Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu) which are FIFA and IOC members are eligible. The top two IOC member teams of each group advance to the Olympic Qualifying semi-finals.

For the Pacific Games Men's Football Tournament, the top two teams teams of each group advance to the Pacific Games semi-finals with the exception of New Zealand, who are not eligible as they are not a Pacific Games Council member. (Semis are  after the Olympic semis and Final - semis on the 15th and Final on the 17th)

There are two separate knockout stages, one for determining which team qualifies for the men's football tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and one for determining the Pacific Games medalists."

Hold on, that means that in NZ's group three teams are eligible for the Olympic qualifying semis and so one will miss out - but from the other group, Fiji and Vanuatu will automatically make the semis !!! 

So depending on if NZ finish first or second in their group, they will play either Fiji or Vanuatu in the semis.

I think player welfare is a huge issue for this tournament. Part from the 5 games in 10 days scenario you have games starting at midday and midafternoon...in the tropics!!!!!!!! There will be almost zero recovery time. Add in the poor playing surfaces....which will be cut up even more, add in the opposition, who will probably resort to rough house tactics against NZ, add in sub standard officials who won't give players protection. The whole thing is a farce. The probability of players picking up significant injuries is very high. Any professional club would have grave concerns for the welfare of their players.

The player I would have most concern over is Bill Tuiloma. He is out of contract June 30th from Marseille. Rumours are that he most probably will get re-signed.....but they are only rumours...the club have given no indication officially. The club is in a state of flux. Beilsa has not yet signed on as coach for this season. Preseason training has already started in Marseille......and Bill is not there. IMO he should be back in Marseille. This is a pivotal moment in his career. He needs to be where the action is.....the first preseason game is not far off.(because Bill played in the WC u20's he is not required to be back in Marseille until the 14th July???? all the OM internationals get an extra break...I still reckon he should be there).

The logic of not calling in Tyler Boyd applies equally to Tuiloma IMO.....probably more so. Boyd has a signed contract for 4 years. Bill is a free agent on Tuesday. It is absolutely vital for him to get a contract....it is also vital that if he does he gets in a good preseason(Marseille play Juventus in a friendly on August 1st......it would be amazing to see a kid from Birkenhead get some game time. 

I don't want to restart the "Oceania is shiite " arguement but this fiasco in PNG is yet again another clear indication that NZ football will never develop unless we are in a more professional Conference set up. The fact that this playoff has been approved by FIFA makes you realise how little regard FIFA have for Oceania(they would not get away with this in any other Confederation)

Relax about bill its not like the guy isnt going to get a pro deal somewhere

Relax about bill its not like the guy isnt going to get a pro deal somewhere

You think this is a farce.  Imagine this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_FIFA_U-20_Women's_World_Cup

All parts of Port Moresby have serious security problems with violent attacks by criminals, causing fences and walls to be considered necessary around houses and apartment buildings and security guards to be widely employed. The UN Global Compact Cities Programme, using a method called Circles of Sustainability has assessed the urban security of Port Moresby as 'critical'.[15]

I drove through Port Moresby at 5am in a van with a security guard and an Aussie miner. There were gangs of young guys carrying machetes at intersections just eyeing us up as we went past. The hotel I stayed in had razor wire and armed guards. It felt like I was in a war zone. Definitely didn't strike me as a good location for an international sports event. 

PNG is a borderline failed state. I doubt anything bad will happen with these tournaments but the location is definitely not a pleasant or welcoming place.

The whole situation is an absolute fudgeing joke.

Shark facilities, no recovery time, extreme temperatures, rigged draw, shark pitches, dangerous location.

It's just a complete farce. We are getting increasingly shafted by OFC. Important qualifying tournaments being played in crazy conditions over 10 days, it's insane. No one in the Pacific is equipped to host anything except maybe Fiji.

If FIFA think they have problems, wait until some young girl is raped whom is part of the tournament in PNG - then they will have fudgeing problems.

Excuse my candor but I think this has a serious chance of happening...

You have to wonder if it's all just a back hander to Chung for his support of the FIFA exec at the expense of footballers.  Really it should have as much scrutiny as the Qatar decision if you ask me.  It's potentially more questionable/catastrophic.

I spend a lot of time in Port Moresby for work, and while we do travel escorted at night, during the day time the city is 'relatively' safe. Some of the comments above about fears of getting into really serious trouble are pretty much unfounded, yes its a violent place by western standards but the problems are mostly tribal and rarely directed at foreigners (unless you're a chinese business owner).

With that said I hate the place. I've also played football there, including a training session with Hekari United and it is a terrible place to play football, particularly during the daylight hours. It will be hotter, dustier and drier than Honiara.

So less humid. 

Win!

Yeah I was only there overnight transitting to Bougainville and that was just my impression of it.  I don't think I said anywhere that I had a fear of getting into really serious trouble so maybe you are directing that at some of the other comments? Like you said, I don't think there will necessarily be violence against players or fans because the locals won't usually mess with foreigners but I found the whole atmosphere of the place menacing and didn't feel any desire to spend any longer there than I had to. 

Was at some other comments :) But yeah I know the feeling of what it's like in POM regarding the general atmosphere of the place and I don't like it there either.