Ryan Nelsen reconciled with 'naive' Herbert

By STEVE KILGALLON - Sunday Star Times
Last updated 05:00 23/05/2010

All Whites skipper Ryan Nelsen has revealed that a four-year absence from the national side was a protest at the "ostracising" of former coach Mick Waitt by his own coaching staff – including incumbent boss Ricki Herbert.

Nelsen told the Sunday Star-Times that Herbert was "young and probably a wee bit naive" as Waitt's assistant coach when the All Whites, amid internal turmoil, succumbed to a disastrous 4-2 defeat by Vanuatu in Adelaide in 2004, ending their 2006 World Cup finals hopes.

Herbert then succeeded Waitt as coach, with Nelsen in a self-imposed exile that NZ Football later described as a "recurring hamstring problem" before he returned to the national side in 2008.

But Nelsen says he and Herbert have mended any differences and now have a strong working relationship as they prepare for next month's World Cup finals.

However, he did appear to lay some of the blame for that turmoil at Herbert's feet, saying: "I felt really sorry. Mick Waitt was head coach and at the time, he got ostracised by pretty much the other coaching staff.

"It was a horrible situation – the players loved Mick and at that time, I was captain and I hated what I saw... our level just dropped, it was so obvious to see, it was pretty bad. And I said: `I can't carry on like this, I don't want to be involved."'

Asked about Herbert's role, Nelsen said: "It's a question you would have to ask Ricki, but I think he was young and probably a wee bit naive as an assistant coach at the time. I have spoken to Ricki about [it], and we are great now. He has matured about it and I have matured as well – I was probably a wee bit hot-headed back then.

"So we talked about it... and we are in a good spot."

Herbert declined to comment, but last week, Herbert's assistant, Brian Turner, told the Star-Times that Herbert had been "very concerned at some of the things" he saw as Waitt's assistant.

The dispute put Nelsen into international exile. He said NZ Football responded to his walk-out by saying: "We don't know if we want you involved either."

"Unfortunately for those guys, at the time, I signed for Blackburn in the Premier League. So a few months went past and I got a phone call asking me to come back. It was probably me being a bit stubborn [because he said no]. They had told me to start walking, so I turned my back for a couple of years and I really wanted to solidify myself in England: I didn't want to be a one-season wonder, I wanted a career in England, so I put my head down and focused on that."

One of the two other survivors from that Vanuatu squad, Simon Elliott, said he didn't play for the national side for some time after that game. He wasn't unavailable, but "I don't think it was a bad thing not to be around".

"The environment there and the environment here is night and day – the environment now is great, a lot of people have worked really hard ... and it just wasn't the case [in 2006], it wasn't an enjoyable experience. Those kind of goings-on didn't need to happen, it doesn't leave you with the best memories. But it was different people in charge, really a totally different regime."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/football/3728215/Ryan-Nelsen-reconciled-with-naive-Herbert