It's such a mess that it's no surprise there's an Aussie happy to put the boot in.  TV pundit and ex international goalie Mark Bosnich is that guy.  He said, more or less, that the Phoenix are a waste of space and they should make way for an Aussie club gagging for their spot.  Cue the predictable outrage this side of the Tasman.

But looking at it through green and yellow tinted glasses, rather than our black and yellow ones,  you can understand where he's coming from. 

The A League is doing New Zealand a favour by including the Phoenix in their comp, but what's in it for them?  Not even the buzz of playing in front of a packed stadium against a seriously good team after flying, in Perth's case, half way round the world to get here.  

On their side of the ditch, crowds aren't particularly drawn to watching the Phoenix, either at the game or on the box.

Could the Nix argue that they're returning the favour to Australian football by giving jobs to Aussie players?  Not really.  

If the Phoenix were replaced by an Aussie team, the new team would have more Aussies on their roster than the Nix do.

Would New Zealand Football want a team from Suva in our own Stirling Sports National League?  Especially if there was a Kiwi team being denied a place by the Fijians?  When the job of New Zealand Football is to develop young Kiwi talent?

Probably not, but the Nix playing in an Australian league is even more bizarre than Suva playing here.  At least Fiji is in the same confederation as New Zealand.  The Nix playing is the A League is like the best team in Morocco playing in Spain's La Liga.  

Whatever. The Phoenix are in the A League and to get an extension to their licence they need to drastically improve.  Where to start?  From scratch.  They need a new culture, a new coach, a clean sweep of players, a better scouting and development system, and a backer with serious funds to bring in some top players.

Because nothing happens without good players.  Wherever teams have succeeded, they've had some of the best players in key positions.  Even Leicester City.  And when those players leave or get old, it doesn't matter who the coach is or how great the tactics, the team takes a dive.  At least until they can recruit more top players.

So first, the Phoenix need the funds to attract players good enough to make a difference.

And they need a coach who knows where to find them.  And who can also find and coach the best local players.  And who can put it all together on and off the pitch.

There's a coach who ticks those boxes, and Kiwi football fans wonder why he hasn't already got the job.  Auckland City coach Ramon Tribulietx.  

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/89714882/auckland-city-coach-ramon-tribulietx-is-the-man-to-fix-the-phoenix

Nothing happens without good players?

Sorry Nix but the FFA have killed your plan of standing out right there with a salary cap. But that doesn't mean you cant spend just as much money on 2-3 players

If the kiwi's are struggling to find good reasons for the Nix to be in the A-League you know it's only time till they aren't.  With the amount of Aussie bids vying to get into the league it's not going to be a hard decision from the FFA's end to get rid of them.

NZ needs auckland in the comp for the whole exercise to be worth while.

you have auckland and the willies and things will change.  they need a bit of internal competition.

fwiw wellington has..

400k in the city and 
500k in the region

interesting facts considering the weight some people like to put on the population base needed for a club.

Crowds will pick up when we keep playing well. As for Tribulietx fk him - king of Amateur football let Tassie United have him. 

unlikely and there would be loud protest if another NZ team gets in ahead of a local bid but is the only thing that would revive the phoenix imo

They need to invest to see a return but they do everything on a shoestring and it is reflected in the stands. They may as well give up on the A-league if it is beyond them.

They bought some good players this year, they still play drab football.

I'm all for including NZ, but for me Wellington, CCM and lately Newy have been utterly underwhelming the last few years and its all due to lack of funds coupled with no pro/rel competition.

There are problems right across the league, but the choice made by the FFA a long time ago to not expand until 2018 is killing the league.

Right now there are queues of clubs lining up to join and the FFA are sitting on their hands whilst trying to keep most the A-League revenue for themselves.

Personally I've had a gut full   

Kiwis and their proponents don't understand how great the opportunity cost of keeping them in is.

Kick em out now.

That article is obviously written by a rugby journalist because he has no idea what he's talking about :P

FYI Ramon doesn't have the right credentials to coach the nix, he may get them by next season and be the coach but as it stands he's not even eligible.

The A-League might be doing the Phoenix a favor, but that hasn't always been the case. Anyway, it's moot - we're one year into a ten year deal.

I think this is interesting from a NZ perspective but why haven't they asked the question whats in it for them?

Surely if they are going to pump all their resources into one professional team they would have an eye on creating their own and protecting their own assets. You cant grow when youre only professional team plays in another league. 

Be it semi pro or pro, the NZF need to look at establishing and focusing on their national league and pyramid and confed. Its the best for both feds. 

Another NZ team would be a great viable club to the FFA with more funds from SKY TV and a derby for the Nix's. 

200,000 to 400,000

Wow. What an inprovement.

The FFA look as if they're a tuned in, gung ho admin when compared to the NZ equivalent.

Having another NZ team while other Australian boroughs are crying out  to represent their local boroughs in an Australian comp. is pure madness. Get your main body to get off its arse and either give a decent amount to the FFA to run this league, or justify another NZ club by organizing and paying for a new mob so it actually is a NZ club through & through.
The experiments with the Nix playing in Auckland have been dismal, for obvious reasons.

Well said, another stable nz club bringing in steady funds from sky tv, win win for Australian football. The NZ derby would probably out rank the melbourne for attendance and viewership as well.

We helped keep the aleague from collapsing, it is our right to be first in line for expansion

There is a semi pro national league, the Phoenix reserves play in it. But you need pathways to professionalism which is what the Phoenix provides.

inala brah probably meant the urban area is around about 400k. It's true that Wellington is about 220k, however Lower Hutt and Porirua are all part of the same contiguous urban area with Wellington suburbs and suburbs of those cities right next to each other, they are 100k and 50k each. Upper Hutt and Paraparaumu are both near by as well adding about another 30k each.

The problem that Wellington has is the nearest city above 100k is Hamilton which is 530 km away.

I love how WaMackie has this incessant obsession with Kiwis.

-PB

No you are in the second year of a 4 year deal with OPTION to extend to 10 if FFA are happy with the improvement Wellington has made. Unfortunately going backwards doesn't earn you any credit. 

Expect to be booted by 2019.

LOL wrong its our first year of the 10 year squatters licence Nix's have. And the FFA only real metrics is TV money which SKY NZ will provide more of maybe an extra $50k in 3 years time - Metrics done!. FLMAO we are going to be around for the next TV deal too - Now go get me some of that FOX money!!!.

He's not the only one. There's a few on here who must have been hard done by in their time by a kiwi or two because they can't bring themselves to present an opinion that doesn't reek of hatred :laugh:

I like kiwis. I'd rather them than Sydnysiders which is basically a foreign country too these days,