Lovemore was poor at the u20 WC and has been training with the 'Nix for a lot of the last two seasons. Ricki knows a bit about him, Clapham wasn't even player of the last season in the ASB premiership, he needs to stand out by some margin on a consistent basis however I do think he would have been more useful than Toto last season.

Tim Payne would be a good player to sign if his trial with Blackburn doesn't work out. Chettleburgh I assume is still training/trialling but buzz about him has cooled down. Bran is still in the mix, not sure about Thurtell. I would imagine we sign at most 21 players but expect the minimum before registration closes, so that means 2 youth (Bran as CB cover, and then Payne/Chettleburgh/Thurtell) and a gun striker. If we sign 21, could be an extra youth player or if we get some $ a better CB than Sigmund.

well if some of his predecessors from western suburbs (Dan Keat, Craig Henderson) are anything to go by he's worth a try. It amazes me Ricki has'nt given Dan Keat a chance with the all whites he's always been an excellent midfielder and he's been drafted by LA Galaxy.

Would love to have Payne in the team if the trial goes badly. As I asked earlier in the thread, what about Musa? I think he'd be worth having, especially if we don't get Bran as a cover.

but Ricki's only given him one chance on the pitch that was against Sydney and he looked pretty good then, very quick and skillful

Maybe he'll be in future plans? He's still young, and if he's good enough for MLS, then he's good enough for us.

IIRC Dan was originally called into the All Whites squad when in Mexico but due to injury didn't play.

im with you on this, Tim Brown...absentee midfielder. Is not a great creator of chances. does not hold the ball up and will release at first opportunity, often to rush into the box leaving the midfield empty and slow to track back..if at all. If we can get a half decent midfielder this year it might be time for Ricki to give Tim a back seat

We definitely need another striker. Preferable a Rojas-like guy that has epic pace and can get behind defenders. Paul Ifill is great and I think Pavlovic will have his breakout season this season, and if someone teaches Chris Greenacre the offside rule using salt and pepper shakers he'll be useful as well, but we are lacking pace/other options in case of injury.

As for midfield, hopefully Downey and Sanchez will step up. Lia needs to calm the hell down and not conceed as many fouls as he did, and what the rest of you said about Brown is similar to my thoughts on him. I think Pantelis will fit in well but I don't see him getting many assists.

On that note, any speculation over the three experienced overseas strikers?

:o

-PB

Well one has Premier League action, so I'm assuming one of the relegated teams from last seasons strikers. Blackpool FC's Gary Taylor-Fletcher is the first that comes to mind. I don't keep up to date too much with in and out transfers in England so I wouldn't have a decent idea xD

Please all Kiwis check out the job I posted! :)

Live Chat With Rob

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5680587/Live-chat-Rob-Morrison-co-owner-of-the-Wellington-Phoenix

Important points IMO


"Yes he will have the full salary cap and he is looking at a range of options in terms of player signings."

Exhibition games - "The Beckham game was clearly successful, so we will look at that possibility."

"To be clear, over the next two years, we will not play more than one regular season game per season as a "home game" away from Wellington. We understand that the Hyundai A-League plan to expand the league giving us more games per season and if that happens that will give us the flexibility to look at playing more home games away."

"clearly we need to work hard at marketing and part of our budgeting is to give the marketing people wherewithall to expand the marketing coverage."

"Our clear aim is to make sure that the Phoenix is profitable after five years and therefore has the ability to self-generate capital. If we can achieve that then the need for external funding is clearly reduced. Obviously, no promises, as experience tells us these things are never easy, but that's our aim."

That all sounds fantastic :D Let's just hope they stay true to their word! I'll read through the rest of it later.

I assume the Phoenix shop would be changing location since it's currently in one of Terry's buildings (?) . Are they going to move it?

I think Rob said Westpac stadium offered them office space, I remember reading something along those lines

Ahh ok, I'd really like it to be in an easily accesible, public place like it was for the first couple of seasons.

Think you are confusing Phoenix offices with the shop (currently both in the same building). I am not sure if a Phoenix shop is that important, it would have to be justified in terms of revenue/advertising it produces. Maybe one of the 7 investors owns some property they don't mind sticking the shop into.

The shop probably isn't the highest priority right now. More like:

1. Filling the playing roster
2. Strengthening the coaching staff
3. Strengthening the backroom staff
4. Getting a marketing campaign up and running
5. Selling memberships

I know, but I was just curious to see if anyone knew anything about it.

A new spring in their step.

The Wellington Phoenix have spent the last six days training with the knowledge their club is safe in the hands of a new consortium of owners.

Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert says he's already seen a boost in spirits in the time since the ownership change.

Herbert says the players are out and about and they're very buoyant.

Herbert says they've also made progress in their bid to have 20 contracted players by the start of the season.

He says they should have three new players on their books by Tuesday.

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/10375525/spring-phoenixs-step/

Hopes that's actually true this time about the signings, it's being left too late as is.

People talking to Lucas Pantelis at TW vs Nix game yesterday say he is out for the season with torn ACL.

apparenly there is more sheep in nz then football players :lol:

You guys have a fan forum on October 6 and the new owner dude, Ricki, and others will be there. Should be a nice opportunity to ask where the club is headed

players have always lost their speed when they come back after ACL surgury

Really :( ?! I'm assuming we're definitely going to be getting an injury cover for him then.



Do you know any more about this?

Lucas lost his speed years back after he had knee reconstruction.
He knew he wouldn't get a look in at Adelaide and was urged to retire - but you guys seemed willing to pay him & now he's out for the season. Easy money for him hey?

At least now you guys can get a fast, young guy as an injury replacement.