The Black Cap XI - today, tomorrow and three years time.

Victory in Australia is great but unfortunately it probably didn't answer any of the questions we have about our top XI, oddly enough it probably threw up a few more.

We did learn a couple of things though that we can bank for the years ahead.

1) Between Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee and Trent Boult we have quick bowlers that can win us test matches for the next six or seven years. Behind them sit a group including Neil Wagner (come April), Hamish Bennett and Adam Milne. That group can win us test matches.

2) Chris Martin can still lead this attack. Martin was outstanding this whole series, making Phil Hughes his bunny was memorable but I could make Phil Hughes my bunny by bowling underarm if I was taking the ball across him. The way he lead a group of youngsters and kept showing up was testament to what experience and heart can achieve. Sure he may only have a year or two left (terrorising A Strauss and A Cook next summer in NZ might be a nice finish to the careeer) but in that time the group of bowlers I discussed in point 1 will learn a lot from Tommy!

3) Dean Brownlie is a middle order rock that you can build a batting line-up around.

There are also things we already knew

1) Ross Taylor is world class.

But what are the questions?

1) Is Kane Williamson a #3.... yet? Kane Williamson will be a world-class cricketer and will earn that reputation as a #3 but I am not convinced he is there yet. The best #3 of my lifetime is Ponting (well maybe Dravid but it being Ponting suits my argument) spent the early years of his career at 6 where he learned how to be a test batsman. Everyone knew he would always be a 3 but they gave him time to grow into it and look at the results! Should that be what they do with Kane? I guess it depends if you have another batsman to put there which maybe we do in Dean Brownlie.

2) Is Reece Young international quality? People who follow/watch first class cricket closely say that Young is the best keeper batsman in the country by a distance. Unfortunately that hasn't translated into quality on the test stage. Runs in Hobart were hard to come by, absolutely but players that are supposedly not as good managed to graft through it and provide support to the guy at the other end. Young wasn't able to. His contributions in Brisbane with the bat were poor. I am not a wicketkeeping expert so can't comment on that really, obviously he dropped Clarke in Brisbane with a ball that swung back late so was a tough chance but you would still want your keeper to take those in a test match. The difficulty is though, do we have anyone better to take his spot? Kruger Van Wyk isn't available yet, Derek De Boorder is running up some good numbers with the bat but do you pick the guy to debut against the best pace-attack in the world right now in South Africa? Tough call. Very very tough call. My opinion is that I would give Young the Zimbo test, let him find some confidence and hope he takes that into the South African series. My off-season if I was Wright/Buchanan would be spent turning BJ Waitling from a part-time keeper to a test quality one because then the problem is solved.
- Brendon McCullum does not come into this equation because I believe the guy when he says his body will not let him keep in the long form.

3) What role does Daniel Vettori play in this team? Is he a bowler that bats? A batsman that bowls? I think these days he is probably the latter. In my team I would pick him to bat at 6 and expect runs from him while knowing that he is good for 30/40 overs a test match but is unlikely to rip through an international top-order anymore (lower orders are a different matter for the rabbit hunter though!) Having him as this means we can play four quicks or three and another spinner in the right conditions. Don't ask me who the other spinner is though because that is for a completely different conversation. If Vettori bats 6 it probably means no place for Jesse Ryder at the moment (unthinkable 12 months ago) but if Ryder gets back to a place where he can bowl 10-15 overs a day then you can pick him and have Vettori batting at 6/7 with the keeper and 3 quicks behind him.

I do genuinely think the future is bright for the Black Caps, this is a talented generation of cricketers we have coming through and who are maturing into good international cricketers at the moment. Most pleasing though is not that we have a good 11 but that we probably have a group behind these guys who are not far off or who are international standard and can push for a spot over the next five or so years.

So here is my talent pool, I would pick an 11 but I can't honestly make up my own mind on how I would fit everyone into a fully fit lineup.

Top Order group
McCullum, Guptill, Flynn, Waitling, Nicol, Williamson
Middle Order group
Taylor, Ryder, Brownlie, Vettori, Williamson, Flynn, Franklin, Broom
Keepers
Young, Van Wyk, De Boorder
Spinners
Vettori, Astle, Patel (at a push)
Quicks
Bracewell, Southee, Mills, Bennett, Milne, Wagner

We won something.... else!

So we were always going to win a Rugby World Cup, however long it took the odds were on the fact that we would probably do it.

Winning a cricket test in Australia though, I wasn't entirely confident that would ever happen in my lifetime. In fact winning a cricket test against Australia fullstop was always going to be difficult. On Monday however, we did it. Did anything suggest it was likely to happen? No. Did people give us a chance? No. Was it fucking mean? Yup!

I watched the last 30 minutes in a round about kind of way, after remembering that parking in an undercover carpark doesn't do good things for radio reception I set off in a mad-dash around an Auckland shopping mall to find a television. Luckily, I found a pub and enjoyed this historic moment in NZ sport with a group of people who seeminlgy have nothing better to do than drink on a Monday afternoon at 4 o'clock. There isn't a sport that I follow which can take you on the ride that test cricket can and this was certainly one of those test matches.

Many of my favourite sporting moments of the past five or six years come from watching great test matches; various Ashes tests stretching back to 05, a couple of Aussie v Africa tests and one or two of the Aus v India clashes. Unfortunately for NZ cricket fans we don't play enough test matches nor are we good enough at them to get close to good teams. This time though, we got close to a good* team and boy was it wonderful to watch, torture for sure but sporting theatre at its very best.

It's such a great feeling watching a team that you have invested so much mental energy in over the years at last repay some of that faith. The Black Caps are a tough team to follow, anyone who does it knows that but we all do it because we know that behind the inconsistency and the frustration is a really good cricket side. To win a test match you have to be better than the other team across all three disciplines of the game, in Hobart we were that. It means so much to us because we know they can be better than the good* teams, it is just that they have to show it more often.

Maybe this is the beginning of something, not a golden era but certainly an era where we have a good cricket side that can compete with the best teams in the world at home and abroad. Here's hoping, because to watch test cricket is great, to watch great test cricket is amazing and to watch great test cricket that your teams ends up winning is one of the best feelings I have ever expereinced.

good* - note: this Australian team are not a very good cricket team but it is still Australia and they are still a team of dead set fuckwits!

We won something..... at last!

On the 18th of March this year I wrote an entry titled "I just want to win something". I had just watched Brisbane win the A-League and I was left to lament the complete lack of success on the part of any of the three thousand odd sports teams I support.

Well, at last, on the 23rd of October my thirst for success, glory and the ability to belt out a Queen song in the pub was finally quenched. We were Rugby World Cup champions. At last we had won the crunch game in the big tournament and there was Richie lifting up that little golden cup we had lusted after for so long.

Thanks to some work contacts I had managed to secure a ticket, originally I had only planned on going to the 3rd/4th playoff and the semi the week before but as the tournament progressed and the hype grew I knew that any opportunity to get my hands on a ticket to the showpiece should not be passed up. So it was thanks to a RWC 2011 staff member that I ended sitting at Eden Park with four sheilas from work witnessing one of the greatest nights in our sporting history.

Everyone knows the story of the game, the fairytale that was the Beaver, the drama that was the French actually showing up to play. I can guarantee it was as horrible to watch live as it was to watch on Television.

So how did it feel at the end? Honestly, I can't really remember. The last 10 minutes were all such a blur; I think I spent a good deal of time with my head in my hands, some laughing nervously with my mate sitting next to me and presumably some of it shouting at the field (I should probably ask the girls if any of the language I was using would have been offensive to the 8-year old sitting next to me) The feeling at full time though wasn't esctasy, I dont even think it was the unbridled joy I remember feeling watching BOP win the Shield or watching Pasty save the penalty against Bahrain. It was relief, just relief. We had done it! After all the years of hurt and what should have beens we had done it. They didn't matter anymore because for the next four years there would be no elephant in the room, no hollowness in our yearly dominance of everyone else. We had won the William Webb Ellis trophy.

My only letdown of the night was how long it took for anyone to play "We are the Champions" Some may think it is naff and cheesy but for me that would be the moment I had waited for for so long. Unfortunately though, no-body played it at the ground and for at least two hours at the pub I was in post-game no one played it. It wasn't until perhaps 2am, at about the same time as I was having a rant to a NZ Television star and his father that no one had played it yet, that The Clare Inn came to my rescue and allowed me to warble Freddy's lines.

We are and will be the Champions for the next four years. I won something and life is good.

A Weekend in Hawera

I spent this last weekend in Hawera, South Taranaki. The reason for this is that the New Zealand Davis Cup team has played their last two home fixtures there (the reasons for this seemingly strange venue can be found here), and this weekend they had a home fixture against the Philippines.

New Zealand tennis is often talked about as being a bit of a joke. Especially the men’s game, which is in a dire situation. Our top-ranked player, Michael Venus, comes in at 305 in the world. Our Davis Cup team suffered the ignominy of being relegated to the Asia/Pacific Group Two (essentially the third division – after the Group One and the World Group) in 2005, and we spent five years playing such tennis superpowers as Pacific-Oceania, Kuwait, and Indonesia.

However, since then, the Davis Cup team has shown signs of a bit of a turn-around. Last year we emerged from Group Two after defeating Pakistan (our first tie in Hawera) and then beating Thailand away, in Nonthaburi. Incidentally, Group One is the same division as Australia and China. In the Group One this year, New Zealand lost 3-2 in Uzbekistan, sending us into this crunch clash with the Philippines. If we had lost that, we would’ve been in a one-off clash that would've meant relegation for the losing team. So this was an important fixture to win, to secure our spot in Group One for next season.

So to win 5-0 was more than a pleasant surprise. On Day 1 Rubin Statham won in straight sets over Ruben Gonzalez, the Filipino number two (who by accounts plays in similar sorts of tournaments as our guys), before Venus beat Cecil Mamiit in the best match of the tie. Mamiit was a former top 50 player, but at 35 wasn’t the force he once must’ve been. You could tell his game was still relatively sharp – just a very good player on the wane. So I thought the theme of the rubber was about our guys in their (erm) peak, against a guy who was much better than them once upon a time, but had lost some of his powers.

Venus won in five sets and did really well to hang in there. It was a positive sign for a guy who probably doesn’t play a lot of long five setters that he managed to maintain the intensity of his serves and groundshots throughout. In the tie against Pakistan last year he went through a similar experience, losing to the veteran of the team in a marathon (13-15 in the final set). So I think he probably learnt from that experience and used it against Mamiit. It was thoroughly enjoyable viewing.

Other than that performance, the most pleasing aspect of the tie was the performance of the doubles-pairing of Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak on Day 2. They played Gonzalez and Mamiit, and looked the better team throughout. The first set went to a tiebreaker, but they closed that out 7-0, before winning the other two sets easily. And easy as that, the rubber was settled, 3-0. New Zealand were safe in Group One for another year.

Day 3 and the wins kept coming. Given they were dead rubbers the organisers shortened them to the best of three sets; which we dominated. Given the fact we had won the tie, the two final matches went to Daniell and Sitak, the two less experienced guys. The first was Daniell playing Jeson Petrombon, the young up-and-comer in the Philippines side. To be honest, he was pretty ordinary I thought, but he battled to win the first set before Daniell came right and won it in three. As the Kiwi said afterwards, he was poor until he “got angry enough to fire up” and pull through. It certainly was the lowest quality match on offer over the weekend.

For some strange reason, Mamiit decided to back up and play his third match in three days, and played the last rubber. This was despite the Filipino squad having Johnny Arcilla in the squad, who didn’t get on the court at all. Artem Sitak did well to beat the veteran. Artem is actually a very solid player, a big guy with a decent all round game. He's a good addition to the team. I did think Mamiit was definitely tiring by this stage; but I certainly can't blame the guy. He still had class about him, but it was too much for him to do alone. After Sitak had won in straight sets, New Zealand had their first clean sweep of a Davis Cup tie for two years.

So New Zealand is safe in Group One for the year. We don’t have any relegation playoffs this year, and our next rubber in the Davis Cup will be in next year’s competition. Depending on other results, it may even be a dream tie against the Australians. While I'm not going to go around claiming the state of our men's tennis is suddenly in great nick, more weekend's like this will help bring back a bit of faith. I don't think any of our boys will be challenging the world's elite players, but maybe things are on the improve after what has been a fairly dire few years.

Stu Musialik - next Nix signing?

As I was looking through the news last week I saw one piece of information that intrigued me. It said that Stuart Musialik, former Newcastle and Sydney player, two time A-League champion, was off-contract and struggling to find a club, either in the A-League or overseas (link).

Musialik was not retained by Sydney last year – he, nor the team, didn’t have a great season. At the end of the season, he was offered a contract extension with the club, (link) but it was withdrawn after he demanded more money. He played 22 games last year, and even captained the team on occasions (link). Since being released he has been training alone in Newcastle, hoping to find a contract somewhere.

"A-League clubs are either fully loaded or only have a minimum-wage spot left for an under-20 player," Musialik told the Newcastle Herald yesterday. "I have a couple of people putting feelers out for me overseas, but there is nothing concrete in the pipeline.” Well Stuart, I know one A-League club that hasn’t filled its roster too much – in fact at last count we only had 14! Do you fancy a year or two over here in Wellington?

I can only presume Ricki has looked into this possibility – but for me it’s a no brainer. The guy has played Olympic level footy for Australia, and played (and won) two grand finals. He captained Sydney at times last year. Surely he’s worth bringing over. The only thing I presume holding Ricki back is the fact he’s a central midfielder, possibly the only position on the field where we have a bit of depth (Muscat, Brown, Lia). But if all three are playing week-in week-out, like last year, another central midfielder will need to be signed up.

Ricki has said he wants to sign a goalkeeper, striker, and attacking midfielder, as well as the mandatory three under-23 players (fullback, central defender, and midfielder) to fill out the twenty player squad (link). Ok, so Musialik doesn’t fit into these categories. But last year, when guys like Danny Vukovic and Nick Ward were made available, we snapped them up, even if we had those positions (relatively) covered. Maybe this is one of those instances. In any cases, bringing in another quality and experienced A-League player can hardly hurt.

A decent signing like this would also help bring more stability around the perception of the club. The media seems to have gone a bit quiet on the demise of Terry Serepisos recently, and my personal policy on this is a mixture of positive thinking and no smoke (for a while at least) equals no fire. I honestly don’t know how much impact this uncertainty has had on the club’s recruitment, but with another ten weeks of the preseason remaining, it is my personal view that there is still absolutely no rush to finalise the squad, even if other teams have.

The Warriors development - a new path.

When it comes to the Warriors one thing has never been in question; they have a possibly unmatched ability to tap into a pool of natural talent quite unlike any other. The natural athleticism of Polynesian and Maori in New Zealand has always been evident and for many of them Rugby League has always been the sport of choice. It isn’t a coincidence that when you talk about the Warriors golden years it was the style of play they exhibited that many remember, a style of play driven by the likes of Ali Lauititi and Logan Swann, Stacey Jones and Francis Meli. Polynesians that played the game in the Polynesian way. Ray Warren famously said of the Warriors that ‘they were playing Basketball’ as Sione Faumuina and Ervarn Tuimivave combined to score one of the great Wariors trys at Suncorp in 2003. Tempering this belief however was that this natural flair needed to be tempered by ‘Australian solidity’, the great Warriors teams were littered with Australians that could quite comfortably be classed as workhorses or journeymen. Campion, Cleary, Carlaw are all good players and were great Warriors but they filled a void in that team.

This was the development dynamic the Warriors tried to build on in the years following, with mixed success. Some years they got it right, others they didn’t. But for most of those years, from the outside anyway, it seemed as though the template was the same. Get some natural Polynesian flair and mix it with some solid Australians and hope the mix works. It seems in the last 12-months though that this thinking has begun to change, driven largely by the huge success of the Junior Warriors in the NYC.

There is a school of thought that says (and this could be applied to a number of teams for whom I support) if you have success at developing talent at the Junior level eventually you have to start trusting it, especially if it has been as successful as the Warriors Junior Development programs. It seems this is the path the Warriors have decided to follow. The best example is around the halves. James Maloney has been a revelation since he joined the Warriors and continues to develop, but he question of who would partner him in the halves has been one hanging over the Warriors head for the last 18-months. For much of the previous four or five seasons the Warriors chased a high profile 7, they tried to bring Casey Maguire back from England and by all reports aggressively chased Cooper Cronk by throwing some pretty big dollars at him. In the end they got Brett Seymour, probably on the cheap, a guy who had a proven record in the NRL but came with obvious baggage. When the Warriors have been able to put this combination on the paddock consistently they have looked like developing into a quality halves combination, however probably not a title winning combination.

Sitting behind Seymour and forcing disclaimers on any discussion around the Warriors halves combination though was the development of the halves that were leading the Juniors to a title in the NYC and carving teams apart in the process; Shaun Johnson and Isaac John with Carlos Tuimavave floating around behind those two. Andrew Johns once said about Shaun Johnson that he could be one of the greats to ever play the game. Big pressure on a young kid. But it is this talent that the Warriors have decided to trust and have signed; Johnson, Isaac John and a local product Pita Goodinet to contracts for the next 2-3 seasons, all this means that Brett Seymour, who has a proven NRL record, has been let go.

Already the trust placed in the development programs have seen Russell Packer and Ben Matulino emerge as international class front rowers filling the void left by the retirements of Wiki and Price. Elijah Taylor seems to be the natural successor to Michael Luck, Sione and Sam Lousi are the next ball-playing second rowers in the form of Lauititi and Swann. In the outside backs it has taken a season but we are beginning to see why Kevin Locke was a superstar in the U20s and with Glen Fisiiahi floating about as well the Warriors are well served in the outsides. Throw in Alehaana Mara, Isaac John and Bill Tupou and you have the core of the U20 sides for the four seasons of the NYC all making contributions at the senior level (Sonny Fai also had begun to show the talent he had before he was tragically killed in a swimming accident).

So the Warriors have all this talent, they play like New Zealanders but they have the added bonus of having cut their teeth in a competition against Australian players that previous generations did not have. Do they continue to pad out the natural talent with workhorse Australians? I think in some situations absolutely, I wasn’t convinced by the signing of Nathan Friend as I would have trusted Alehaana Mara as the man to lead the Warriors round the park from 9. Players like Lillyman and Latimore are playing a role at the moment but should eventually be phased out so the young players of this country can be bought through.

The great question remains though, can success at U20 level translate to success at Senior level, does it take different kind of players to succeed at U20 and Senior level? Who knows, Josh Dugan was the best player in the first season of the U20s and he has turned out alright. Like I said before, there is not point investing in player development and not trusting it. So I’ll back the Warriors as they move forward, trusting young Kiwis. There may be some moments spent hiding behind pillows or throwing things around rooms as the ridiculous off-load is thrown but boy it will be fun!

The Numbers - Nathan Friend

Today has been a big day for the NRL, with the Wayne Bennett signing up to coach the Newcastle Knights, Jamal Idris signing with the Gold Coast Titans, and Lance Hohaia confirming he will leave the Warriors after ten years of service. Yesterday, however, it was a Warriors signing that was in the news: The Titan’s hooker, Nathan Friend for the next two NRL seasons, with an option for a third. As soon as I heard this I thought this was a pretty exciting signing. Friend is one of the most consistent players in the whole competition, and is renowned for his tough defence and solid passing games. He has always seemed like an absolutely key part of the Gold Coast team. As a result, I thought I would do a bit of breakdown of some key stats concerning his importance to the Titans.

Friend was a foundation member of the Gold Coast Titans when they entered the NRL in 2007. In 2009 he was named their player of the year. Since their inception, they have played 105 games. Friend has played an incredible 97 (93%!) of those. In one of the most physical competitions on the planet, that is ridiculous durability. Four of the eight games he has missed have been at the start of this season – he has only come back from a shoulder injury. The fact he has played such a high proportion means it is hard to use statistics to investigate just how effective he has been to the Titan’s cause. Such has been his impact however, that it is possible to do just that.

In their four and a bit year history, the Titans have only won once without Nathan Friend; that was this year, two rounds ago, when they scraped a golden point 23-22 win over the Canberra Raiders. They have lost all other six games where he has been absent. The Titan’s win percentage is 53.61% when Friend plays, compared to the 50.9% win rate over their history. Obviously these aren’t vastly different – the sheer proportion of matches that Friend has played a part means they are unlikely to be. Still, the fact they have won only once, and that was against a struggling Canberra team, is interesting enough.

Points scored and conceded when Friend does and doesn’t play is more telling; although the same issue with the proportion of games he’s played is obviously still a hindrance. The numbers are still interesting. When Friend plays for the Titans, the stats are almost even: 20.3 points per game (ppg) for, and 21.7 ppg against. For those eight games where he hasn’t been on the park, the Titans averaged just 11.6 ppg, while conceding 30.1 ppg. Those are some fairly substantial figures, and are definitely worth noting. Obviously with a larger sample size these stats would most likely even up (unless of course he really is that effective...).

Friend’s individual statistics offers a bit of insight into what appears to be the Titans inability to both win and defend without him. Most people know of him as a tough tackling player. The fact is last season he had more tackles in the NRL (1120) than anyone, compared to the league average was 264. But it wasn’t all defence: he also had more touches on the ball than any other player – 3001. Without arguably the most involved player in the competition, maybe it’s not so hard to see how the Titans have struggled without him, on the few occasions he has been missing.

So the question has to be, what numbers can we expect when Nathan Friend suits up for the Warriors in 2012? Every teams set up is different so it’s impossible to know exactly what impact he will have, and what his stats might look like. The Warriors already have one of the most consistent tacklers in the NRL in Micheal Luck. So what will happen when both are on the same side? Will anyone else in the team have to make a tackle? Hopefully his ability to stay fit will stay with him and he can play a major role in the side.

All in all, I think this is a very tidy piece of business for the Warriors. His numbers at the Gold Coast Titans are very impressive, and I look forward to seeing what he can produce over here in 2012.

Well I'm Keane!

The big rumour from the A-League over the past couple of days is the potential new manager of the Melbourne Victory could be Roy Keane. Without putting too fine a point on it, personally I think this could be fantastic for the competition.

This morning, while basking in the delight of Manchester United’s win over Chelsea in the Champions League, I read a post on the excellent Manchester United blog, redflagflyinghigh.com, which called into question what Keane could possibly achieve by managing in the A-League. I did respond in the comments section; however I thought I would flesh it out a little here.

I certainly don’t mean to have a go at the post or anything – like I said I read the blog often and it is always a good read. I guess I’m trying to add a unique perspective on things – as a fan of both United and a team in the A-League.

First of all, Keane can gain a lot out of managing down here. I think the general style that managers seem to adapt over here a will suit him. His record as Ipswich manager wasn’t great; this could be a great chance for a totally fresh break start. The A-League is improving massively, and at Melbourne he would have some real talent to work with; players like Carlos Hernandez, (Costa Rican international), Marco Rojas (everyone’s favourite turncoat) and Archie Thompson (all time leading league goal scorer) are well-known for being very tidy players.

The vast improvement in the A-League was highlighted by the way the champion Brisbane Roar played this season. They were fantastic to watch with their passing game. Captain Matt McKay became a real star for the Australian national team. Other teams struggled to compete with them all season. However, as always, the top teams go all out after them next season – searching for ways to level the playing field. You don’t get a bigger club in Australia than Melbourne Victory. Keane could be a real ace for the Victory. His experience and drive to win football matches is almost second to none.

I don’t think this is a nail in the coffin of Keane’s future prospects in top-flight Europe; at least no more so than what he achieved at Ipswich Town. Both Terry Butcher and Pierre Littbarski have managed Sydney F.C. in the past, and are currently coaching top flight football in Europe (Inverness in the SPL for Butcher and Vfl Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga for Littbarski). The point is Keane can use his time in Australia to develop further, away from the pressure that comes from constant media attention, and focus on winning football matches. A return to Europe can come after guiding one of the A-League’s most successful sides back to success.

There almost a paradox here: Keane will become the biggest star of the competition, especially if Robbie Fowler isn’t playing next season, but the media scrutiny will miniscule compared to what a comparable figure in Europe would. The A-League is still growing its identity and struggling to compete for media space with other sports like the AFL and NRL. While the attention he gets will no doubt increase the spotlight on the A-League, it will still be so much less scrutiny than what has followed him around during his career. As well as this, his famous press conferences promise to be quite the entertainment!

And if nothing else, can’t I just have Keano sitting on the sidelines, not far from me, when I go along to watch Wellington play Melbourne? The great man was one of my idols growing up. Can’t we have him over here for a couple of years?

Follow Chief on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Chieftain86

All Whites vs China match review

The All Whites were very good last night.

Apart from the opening 15 minutes, when they looked all at sea and conceded that goal that is. After that though, though they didn't dominate possession, I thought they dominated large portions of the match - save for a few Chinese raids. They also managed to shrug off the immense pressure when we had the ball that the opposition exerted in the opening stages. And that allowed our best player on the night to start to shine - Michael McGlinchey.

I thought McGlinchey was class last night, and well deserved the equalizer. He managed to get good time on the ball and played the right kind of passes almost every time. He is a quality player and will be a huge asset to the national team for years to come. Man of the match in my opinion.

As for the players, well starting from the back Glen Moss did a good job in goal for us. Everyone knows he is a class shot stopper and he showed that last night. He doesn't hold many shots on the first occasion, and sometimes his clearances are a bit dodgy, but he certainly did a more than decent job between the sticks.

The defence was solid last night. Tommy Smith and Ivan Vicelich were fair enough - the Chinese attacks did seem to come down our left hand side and Vicelich was a little slow at times (understandable given his age), but they were solid enough. Andy Boyens, who only played the first half, probably wasn't as solid as the other two, and did score that own goal, but he did ok. The real surprise was when Michael Boxall came on for the second half - he looked mighty impressive in his first appearance for the national team. Cool, calm and very assured on the ball, he looked comfortable at the international level. A great find. Considering the options we have at the back, we are starting to get real depth at centre back. Smith, Reid and Boxall are all very young and there is still life in Nelsen and Sigmund yet.

The two wide midfield players/wing backs were fair - after the initial onslaught Jeremy Brockie and Tony Lochhead got forward on numerous occasions and offered width to our attack. Their crossing wasn't great, and Brockie himself should have scored with the final touch of the first half, but they offered enough. Marco Rojas made his much awaited debut, but wasn't really on the pitch long enough to show us what he is capable of. Another debutant, Michael Fitzgerald, looked very lively down the right hand side. More cameos like that and he could be yet another very good addition to the squad.

I've already said Michael McGlinchey was my man of the match. He is becoming a very good player very quickly. What was suprising was how useful his partner in midfield - David Mulligan was. I shouldn't say suprising. We all know he's a much better player than what we saw (or didn't see) when he was at Wellington Phoenix. While he was overrun a little in the first half, he had plenty of time on the ball in the second, and passed the ball well enough. He was our defensive midfield presence and he wasn't particularly convincing doing that, but on the ball looked good enough to be a decent option for Ricki going forward.

Going forward has quickly become our strong point and this showed again last night. Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz worked tirelessly - Killen especially without much reward. In the second half, a previously invisible Smeltz moved out onto the left hand side and steadily became an influence on the match. Chris Wood played the first half and had a go of it - two half chances and plenty of running around. But his replacement helped change the game - Kosta Barbarouses showed how he has improved immensely during his first year in Brisbane. There are still signs he has a wee while to go yet, but in general he was very good last night.

If I had to give the players a rating out of 10 for the game last night against China:
Starting XI:

Glen Moss - 7
Andy Boyens - 5
Ivan Vicelich - 6
Tommy Smith - 6
Jeremy Brockie - 6
Tony Lochhead - 6 1/2
Michael McGlinchey 8 1/2
David Mulligan - 6 1/2
Shane Smeltz - 6 1/2
Chris Wood - 6
Chris Killen - 6

Substitutes:

Michael Boxall - 7 1/2
Kosta Barbarouses - 7
Marco Rojas - 5 1/2
Michael Fitzgerald - 6
Aaron Clapham - N/A

All in all, a very positive experience for New Zealand football. A good result, three debutants (including an excellent one by Boxall), a first goal for New Zealand for Michael McGlinchey, and what's more, a good, attacking performance (save the first 15 minutes) where we soaked up the pressure, defended when we needed to, and attacked relatively often and with good penetration.

It would have been nice to have another match in this tour, but obviously the circumstances in Japan have meant that isn't possible. However, the next time the All Whites do play, Ricki Herbert will have a great range of players to choose from, of all ages and stages of their careers, as he looks to build a squad to take us to Brazil 2014.

I just want to win something!

As I sat and watched Brisbane Roar players and fans celebrate their miraculous comeback and victory in the penalty shootout of last weekends A-League final I was left with a sense of emptiness. A sense of longing and wondering…. What would that feel like? What would it be like to support a team that actually won something?!

Years of supporting the Chiefs, Bay of Plenty, The Nix, Black Caps, Warriors and of course Arsenal leaves me with a serious sense of emptiness. Maybe the All Whites qualifying for South Africa qualifies but that was more of a one enough moment as opposed to season long euphoria of supporting a dominant side or the ecstasy of a playoff run and a grand final victory. Bay of Plenty’s Ranfurly Shield victory was perhaps the greatest day of my life and came on the back of a catalogue of Ranfurly Shield tragedies, that can only be matched by Wellington, but again it was a one off victory that lacked that long term feeling of contentment (not that I haven’t been dining out on it ever since!).

I can’t imagine what it would be like to watch the captain of your team lift a trophy that has for so long eluded us. I’ve dared to believe with the Warriors before, the Phoenix of 09/10 gave me a fleeting moment of dreaming but dreaming and believing that amounts to nothing is oh so painful.

So where will a trophy come from? The obvious one is Richie lifting up a little piece of gold in October. Every World Cup I picture myself standing amongst hundreds of countrymen, hands in the air belting out a rousing rendition of “We are the Champions” but as we all know that’s never come through. Surely this year, Party Central in Auckland will resound with the sounds of binge drinking Kiwis being completely ungracious winners???? Surely, it has to…… Because I really want to win something!

The All Whites squad - my thoughts

First off all, I would like to say that calling the game off in Japan was unquestionably the right decision. Two awful natural disasters have hit over there, and there is a further disaster unfolding with the nuclear plant problems. To send our boys over there, for what is an irrelevant match (especially under the circumstances), while so many people are still suffering, and the disaster is still unfolding, would be unnecessary, insensitive and really shit timing. Sport is just not important during something like this.

The good news for the All Whites is they still have a fixture to play, in China on the 26th. The squad was finalised today. There are three new faces (in bold):

Goalkeepers: Glen Moss, Jake Gleeson
Defenders: Tony Lochhead, Ivan Vicelich, Ryan Nelsen, Andy Boyens, Tommy Smith, Michael Fitzgerald
Midfielders: Michael McGlinchy, Jeremy Brockie, David Mulligan, Aaron Clapham, Marco Rojas
Forwards: Shane Smeltz, Rory Fallon, Chris Killen, Chris Wood, Kosta Barbarouses

I am pretty happy with the squad overall. We are definitely light at the back with Winston Reid and Ben Sigmund not there, and in midfield (although we are always a tad light there) with Simon Elliot, Tim Brown and Leo Bertos all missing. Of the new faces, Rojas was a shoe-in after his performances this year. Once Mark Paston was ruled out, another goalkeeper was required, and by all account Jake Gleeson has been very impressive for his U.S club team. So that makes sense as well. This Fitzgerald kid, well I don't know a thing about him. It's a bit of a worry that he's only playing third division in Japan, but hell. there's no reason not to give him a crack. The fact he's a fullback, and we don't have any of those bar Lochhead, makes it even more worthwhile.

The real question comes with what the formation should play, and who should play where. Looking at the balance of the squad, I would suggest we will go with the same 3-4-3 that has done us so many good things over the past year. This being despite the fact we are missing two central defenders, and have fullbacks in the squad. I would then suggest they will go to 4 at the back in the second half as the substitutes come on.

Goalkeeper: Glen Moss. Mossy will be our first choice keeper going forward, as Mark Paston heads towards the twilight of his career. The march towards Brazil 2014 begins here, and Moss should start. Gleeson will get his chances later, and hopefully develop into a top quality goalkeeper.

Central Defenders: Ryan Nelsen, Andy Boyens, Tommy Smith. Nelsen and Smith are obvious starters. For me Boyens gets another chance to prove himself, especially when a guy like Sigmund, a guy he would be in direct competition with, is not there. He has the talent to continue plying his trade in the MLS. The other reason he starts is because I want the only other central defender in the squad, Ivan Vicelich, playing further upfield. So in the end they kind of pick themselves.

Wing Backs: Jeremy Brockie, Tony Lochhead. Lochhead is another obvious choice, playing on the left hand side in the same role he fulfilled at the World Cup. Brockie was possibly our best player in the October friendlies, playing in the right wing back role. I wouldn't have picked him for it prior to that, but that, plus the fact Leo Bertos isn't there, means he starts there.

Central Midfield: Ivan Vicelich, Michael McGlinchy. Without Vicelich holding the midfield, I have a fear a skillfull Chinese team might have some fun through the middle of the park. He needs to be there to make tackles, and free up responsibility for McGlinchy. The fact he has recently been playing in China is a bonus. McGlinchy is the future creative spark for the All Whites; a team without Simon Elliot will depend on him. His form for the Central Coast this A-Leauge was sparkling, and the time is now for him to become a first choice member of the national team.

Strikers: Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen, Kosta Barbarouses. Where we do have a glut of talent is up front (the reasons we play three up front is for that very reason). So who do we play as we start our quest for the 2014 World Cup? Well for me Smeltz has to be there, as our number one striker. Barbarouses is the only player in my starting team who wasn't in South Africa. He has come on massively at the Brisbane Roar, and has something a bit different to the rest of our strikers, especially pace. He is a real prospect, and could become a key member of the All Whites. As for Killen, well it's basically a coin toss between him, Fallon and Wood; I went for Killen simply because he has scored a lot of international goals before, and like Vicelich, is currently playing in China.

Substitutes: As the game progresses, I'll look for Ricki to bring Fitzgerald and Rojas on for their debuts, Fitzgerald for a central defender as we move to a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. Rojas will come on to run at a tiring defence. Wood will get game time up front, and Clapham may as well in the middle of the park.

Verdict: An exciting team at the start of an exciting adventure. All the best boys!

My Ashes review - i'm sure nobody cares anymore but I want to show how right I was!

I was right. England won. That's all!

Too much of a good thing? The All Black midfield question.

Can you have too much of a good thing? Too many Double Cheeseburgers – probably. Too many brews at the pub – most certainly. In the case of quality midfielders? Well, I think we are getting to a position, in NZ rugby, where we may do.

At the last three World Cups we have struggled the most when it comes to midfielders. That should come as no surprise to anyone. So surely the fact that we have a great pool of quality midfielders can only be a blessing this time around. I am beginning to think it may become a real headache going into the cup for us.

First of all, which players make up this pool of quality. In Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith we have the best midfield combination in International Rugby for the past two seasons. Sonny Bill Williams and Robbie Fruean scream quality and bring a completely new dimension to any attacking game-plan. Throw in Richard Kahui as a specialist centre as well as utility backs like Luke McAllister, Isaia Toeava, Jarred Payne and Rene Ranger and you have depth that any international side in any sport anywhere would kill for.

In Nonu and Smith we have a wonderful combination who probably could play every test this year and win us a World Cup. Dont worry about it, lock away the trophy, who cares. Best midfield combination we have ever had. Its all in front of them. Now though, do we have better players? Is Fruean a better option than Smith? Williams better than Nonu? Possibly, possibly not. But the complicating factor in all of this is Nonu and Smith are wonderful as a combination, Nonu without Smith in a test match and I would watch peeking out from behind a cushion. But Williams and Fruean don't scream composed in a tight test match. Surely, the answer is easy. Give everyone a run this year and then decide come World Cup time who our best combination is. You probably dont even need to give Nonu and Smith a run together in a black jersey until we kick off the tournament.

Not that easy unfortunately. Everyone agrees everywhere that we need to give our team some time together in the run into the tournament to make sure the combinations are sorted and everyone is singing from the same sheet. So we aren't exactly in a position to experiment at the World Cup and we only have four tests prior to the World Cup.

Here are the two options as far as I see it:

1. Bank on Nonu and Smith. They are world class performers with a world class track record and are good enough to win us the World Cup. The downside of that is that we may have better players who don't get a chance. We don't want to be sitting around in October bemoaning what could have been.
2. Experiment through the Tri-Nations and opening games of the World Cup, decide who our best combination are come the quarter finals. The downside to that is we get to the position we got to last time, we don't know who our best team is and we play like a team who haven't played enough together.

Its a decision I don't fancy making and I would suggest that sometimes the best decisions are the ones you don't have to make but are essentially made for you.

The Chase for the Title: My (Biased) View

Well ever since Manchester United lost to Liverpool on Monday morning (NZ time) I have been trying to convince myself that United will still win the Premier League. I think I’ve managed it, so I thought I would write it all out in a blog.

United have hardly been at their best all season, even though they went unbeaten until just a month ago. There’s a thought that they’re top of the league almost by default, especially with the spectacular fall from grace that some of the top teams have managed, and others not yet ready to challenge. Arsenal, the team only three points back in the league with a game in hand, are the only top team that appear to have approved to the extent they could realistically lift the title.

The TAB has United at $1.67, and Arsenal at $2.75 to win the Premier League. On paper, they should be almost even. However, after the horrible feeling after the matches at both Stamford Bridge and Anfield had subsided in my stomach, I came up with three reasons that have re-convinced me that that United will still be champions in a couple of months.

Reason 1: Wayne Rooney.
The man who has been in fairly horrendous form for almost an entire year is the man who can be the difference in the title run in. With the year he has had, what with a woeful World Cup, the shenanigans of last October (when he said he wanted to leave United before signing a new five year contract), as well as numerous injury worries and an personal life that has filled the tabloids, Rooney has suddenly perked up. He has five goals in his last six games, including that wonder-goal winner in the Manchester derby. He also scored in the loss against Chelsea, his first goal from outside the penalty area since February 2008. If he is on one of his famous goal scoring streak, Wayne Rooney could well be the reason Manchester United will win the Premier League in 2011.

Reason 2: United’s main opposition is Arsenal.
If there was any team that could manage to choke when in a position like this, it would be Arsenal. They’ve already managed to bomb one trophy this season – the Carling Cup final where an awful mix up led to them conceding a 89th minute winner to Birmingham (currently all the way down in 17th in the league). They head to Barcelona with a 2-1 aggregate lead, but it will be tough for them to hold that. They also have to go to Old Trafford for the next round of the FA Cup. They are going to have to play extremely well in either fixture to progress in those two competitions, and try and end what has become a six year trophy-drought. Arsenal also appears over reliant on Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, who always seem to be battling injuries. To them, the equation should appear simple – they win their remaining eleven league games and they will be champions – but will that actually happen?

Reason 3: The remaining fixture list
At face value, the remaining fixture lists should favour Arsenal. They have three games against the top six remaining, Liverpool at home and Tottenham away before the big one on May 1 against Manchester United at the Emirates. Other than that, Stoke and Bolton would be two away fixtures that might cause them some grief. They have struggled historically against those two teams – especially the physicality of Stoke. United have to play Chelsea at home before the trip to Arsenal. Trips to Newcastle and West Ham could provide banana skins. On paper it certainly seems the harder run-in – especially if the United vs. Arsenal match becomes a virtual title decider; home advantage could be huge. So, trying to pick what might unfold: any dropped points for the Gunners and suddenly the match at the Emirates will not take on nearly as much importance. United won’t drop points at home – but on the road might be a different story. But Arsenal has shown frailties at home all season, and the United vs. Arsenal game could essentially be a title decider. Even then, United have won the last two visits to the Emirates (3-1 in the league last year, and 3-1 in the Champions League the year before). They do seem to thrive at the Emirates; as a result that game could go any which way. Arsenal would be under immense pressure to perform, and win. If it’s anything like a Cup final, they may well end up gifting the title to Manchester United.

Conclusion: The Premier League has just about evolved into a two-horse race – on one side there is Manchester United, who have won almost everything in the past three years, with a golden chance to overtake Liverpool as the most successful team in English history; and on the other side is Arsenal, six years without a trophy, looking shaky when a critical fixture comes along, and seemingly dependant on injury-prone players.

My verdict: Manchester United win title number 19.

Disclaimer: To be honest, my analysis was never going to point to an Arsenal win. I am a tad biased.

Marco - My Thoughts Mark II

So on Friday I had a wee rant about the news that Marco Rojas is about to up and leave the Phoenix for the Melbourne Victory. I was a bit frustrated, angry at the initial reports (without really waiting for proper details to emerge), and also severely unimpressed with the efforts of the New Zealand cricket team, who were playing while I was smashing the keyboard in disgust.

So now I’ve calmed down a bit, read a lot of the reports that have come out in recent days, and formed some (slightly) more thought out and sensible opinions about it all. This blogs talks not about Marco, but also touches on the wider phenomenon that seems to be developing: of New Zealand players developing at the Phoenix before leaving the club. To do this I’m going to wear two completely different hats.

The first hat I am going to wear is going to be my Phoenix hat. I’m a member of the Yellow Fever who gave Marco his crack. It is downright annoying (though maybe not the ‘treachery’ I called it on Friday) that he would leave us for another A-League team. It is hard to know what he thinks he can gain over there that he can’t gain here – especially as he is already a star of the first team. It’s not like the Barbarouses situation in this case. His father has said Marco wants to play as a central midfielder, well with Nick Ward potentially leaving there could well be a hole in the middle of the park. If Marco was that desperate to change positions, surely impressing the national coach would be a good place to start. To sum, in my opinion, with what is (or isn’t) emerging through the media, with Ricki, Terry, and Marco all remaining silent, something doesn’t quite make sense. I think there must be something else that is driving the Yellow Fever’s poster child out of Wellington.

The second hat I am putting on his my one as a supporter of New Zealand football. In this instance, Rojas leaving could well be a positive thing, for two reasons. The first is simple – it is another young Kiwi footballer out there in the big wide world of international football. The more we get out there, the better it is. Simple. The second reason is that it shows that the idea that led to the Phoenix is working. Kiwi footballers are coming into the team, developing, becoming better players and moving on. Shane Smeltz, Glen Moss, Kosta Barbarouses, (plus Tony Lochhead who went on trial at Middlesbrough) have already come through, developed, and moved on to be key members of their respective clubs and the national side. While at this stage we are seeing guys just go to A-League clubs, they are all stars for their respective teams. In what I might term the New Zealand football production line, a truly valuable cog in the system would be the Phoenix.

So switching hats again I guess the question is where to next for the Phoenix, especially post-Marco. Well I would postulate that we will be back to where we were after Smeltz and Moss left, and again after Kosta left. We have ‘produced’ (I use the term ‘produced’ loosely, as I realise Smeltz and Moss were internationals when they were picked up by the Phoenix, however their careers were certainly in the footballing backwater) four top quality Kiwis in four years. That is quite a strike rate and certainly flies in the face of those who worry the Phoenix are not doing their bit to help New Zealand football. More young players will come along, perhaps one already has. Sean Lovemore is a young Kiwi who has already made his debut in the A-League. When he trialled in the last preseason, skipper Andrew Durante said "Sean up front, he's very quick across the ground and he had a couple of good chances to score." While he is still young and yet to be signed for the Phoenix for the next season, I think it goes to show that the production line will continue. The Phoenix will have new heroes rise, and if the past four years is anything to go by, New Zealand footballers will continue to come through and develop in a professional environment, before moving onto bigger and better things.

Marco - what are you doing?

So rumour has it that Marco Rojas is looking likely to sign for another A-League team, probably the Melbourne Victory. If this was to go ahead, this would for me be nothing short of treachery.

First of all, I realise that the Wellington Phoenix are not the top of the pops. Players will get better opportunities to earn more money, and play in better leagues. I also realise if you are not getting the chances to play in the first team here, it is more than fair to seek fresh pastures (both Kosta Barbarouses and Glen Moss are examples of this).

But none of these apply to Rojas. The club showed faith in him when a serious injury struck him down, and got his chance at the backend of the last season. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, and was our best player for the last two months. But the guy’s only played 10 games. Sure, he was the best player on the pitch for six or seven of them, but that’s not even a third of a season. At the end of the day, sure he is talented and has a great future, but at no point do I think he has ‘made it’.

I would not begrudge him if a European team was to take a punt and sign him up. That’s an opportunity no one can turn down. If it was another A-League team though, I would take great exception. I simply can’t grasp what he could achieve in Australia that he can’t here. He won’t want to be playing in the youth league – he makes our first team squad every time he’s fit. Money – well Ricki has said they are basically willing to throw the chequebook at him. Length of deal – well if he’s as good as everyone thinks he might be, Europe will be calling sooner rather than later.

To turn down a deal from the club that he won a fan’s vote awarding him a trial, getting signed, waiting on him for almost two years before giving him his big break, will be a massive kick in the guts to the Wellington Phoenix and Yellow Fever. I for one will be all too happy to dish it out to him big time.

I just hope he sees the light and commits his A-League career here in Wellington.

The Question of the Power Play

Why is it that cricket captains throughout the world routinely delay taking the batting power play (BPP) until well into the final ten overs? The final ten overs are known as the slog, and getting 8 or 9 and over - the expected outcome of the BPP - has to be achieved regardless, without the need to have batters in the circle.

In too many instances the BPP ends up costing the team the momentum in the final ten, ie. the Pakistanis last night, NZ when chasing in Chch. It's not easy scoring runs when you're a new batsman, especially when faced with a ring full of fielders, as they are the BPP is on. Why not take it earlier? To my mind the best use of the BPP was by India in Chch a couple of years back when Y Singh went ballistic and S Tendulker scored a bucket load of runs. It was taken in the 23rd over.

Twice this series the New Zealanders have been let down by delaying the BPP. Firstly, when both K Williamson and S Styris were set in Chch. Had they taken it in the 35th, and it not work out, there would have still been ten overs with the field back for the others to try and chase the total. If the idea is to take it when B McCullum comes in, then why didn't they do it then? Instead they waited until the end, and it choked us. Then when J Franklin and B McCullum were going great guns in Napier. Two hitters, both with their eye in. Sure, it worked with N McCullum at the end, but you're expected to strike at 100 in the last ten, anyhow.

Let the field stay back in the final ten overs, which it always did, regardless of wickets, so the new batsman can hit singles for their first ten balls without having to panic. If New Zealand are going to score big totals, which is the only way they will win the World Cup, then they are going to have to show some cojones and rethink their BPP strategy.

An All White Lining?

Relegation is probably the worst thing that can happen to any European football team. The three teams relegated from the English Premiership each year have to undergo massive change to adapt to the shock. No longer are the trips to the glamour stadiums like Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge, the millions watching on television around the world, and all the associated riches. Star players must be off-loaded to cut costs, and promotion sought after immediately to avoid potential financial peril.

I believe it impacts on individual players differently; as mentioned, star players can find new clubs in the Premiership; older players sink down a division, never to be heard of again, and younger players are suddenly faced with the fact they are going to be playing Millwall and Barnsley instead of Arsenal or Manchester United.

So maybe it is a strange thing when I think relegation could be a positive thing for Winston Reid, New Zealand’s young defender at West Ham United. West Ham are currently in the bottom three of the Premier League, with thirteen games left to play. To suggest they are going down is premature; there is however a reasonable chance it will happen.

Reid arrived to reasonable fanfare after the World Cup, where he was a star performer for the All Whites playing alongside Ryan Nelsen. After his transfer, he started West Ham’s first game of the season, a 3-0 loss to Aston Villa, and then came on in as a substitute in the following match. Since then however, he has only appeared twice in the Premier League (including an hour this morning at Blackpool), while his other appearances have come in West Ham’s cup ties. Time is on his side; he is young, but it is only natural for him to want to play games. If he approaches it right, a season in the Championship could really benefit him.

West Ham spent reasonable money on him (somewhere around GBP4 million) and he has a three year contract. It’s unlikely they’ll let him leave for nothing. However no other Premier League teams are likely to be interested in him, having barely played consistently at that level. So if the Hammers are relegated chances are he will remain at the club. Many of his fellow defenders, on the other hand, will not be there. Here is the situation with the top defenders at the club:
• Danny Gabbidon was been linked to both Rangers and Celtic in January. He was the man Reid replaced this morning when he went off injured.
• Wayne Bridge is only on loan for the rest of the season, and will definitely leave if they get relegated.
• Matthew Upson’s contract expires at the end of the season, and will have a number of Premier League clubs after him as he will be a free transfer.
• James Tomkins looks slightly more set to stay, though there have been some rumours this season of interest from both Tottenham and Chelsea.
• Manuel Da Costa has recently been charged with assault following an incident in a London nightclub.

It wouldn’t take too many of these guys to leave (or be sent to jail...) before all of a sudden Reid is one of only a few defenders at the club. And in a Championship environment, the West Ham management will be more inclined to give him opportunities, and develop a rapport at the back. Of course, for it to fully benefit him, West Ham then gets promoted, with Reid a mainstay. This way, Reid develops immensely as a footballer, and in the end gets the Holy Grail – a starting spot in an English Premier League team.

It's On Like Dylan-Kong

So the general consensus seems to be that Dylan Macallister is a donkey. I would tend to agree. However there seems to be some thought out there that he shouldn’t be re-signed by the Phoenix, that we could do better, and that there are thousands of strikers out there that we could get for similar money, who would do a much better job.

However I have just got back from watching him score the only goal of the game against Newcastle, a win which has really put the Phoenix back into playoff contention. What is becoming very clear is that this season, Macallister has very quickly become our main man in front of goal.



For that reason we need him to stay. He has scored consistently for two months now (6 in 10), and with Rojas and Ward on the flanks, the formation fits him well. He is not pretty to watch, and he does manage to miss some absolute donkey-like sitters (both tonight and last week against Perth). But, and while this is a tenuous comparison, Ruud van Nistelrooy, the great Dutch striker, is hardly beautiful to watch on the ball. Now Dylan doesn’t belong in the same galaxy as Ruud, but the point remains that you don’t have to look like Lionel Messi, or dare I say, Marco Rojas, on the ball to be an effective weapon.



Next season we will have Ifill back from injury, Greenacre, Pavlovic, plus anyone else we manage to pick up. Smeltz has been linked but he’ll stay on the Gold Coast if they can afford him. Killen could be a possibility. Any other options would probably be someone from the English lower divisions or maybe a South or Central American. Even with the success of some (see Ifill, Solorzano etc.) there have been some real duds come to the A-League (Deane, Jardel and others). So there is no guarantee of a glut of goals. If the Phoenix end up banking on an aging Greenacre and a raw Pavlovic to support Ifill we are going nowhere. But a Macallister, from the start of the season going like he has been going, could be really useful.



I can imagine we sign one striker in the off season, as well as re-signing Macallister. We would have a lot of different options for that front three, with Ifill, Macallister, this new striker, Greenacre, Pavlovic, Bertos, Daniel, Ward and Rojas (provided they also re-sign with the club). There is a lot of variation there, and with guys mostly having played this season together, maybe they can gel and become a potent attacking team.

How we could win the Cricket World Cup.

So I'm sitting here getting frustrated with the Black Caps, and our awful bowling unit- as Afridi has just hit 65 off his last 24 balls due to a) him being quite good, and b) our poor death bowling. I figure I'll blog about how this isn't so relevant at the Cup.

I'll start with the bowling positives (of which there are few).

Southee- He can typically put the ball where it is required- something most of the others in the squad cannot do. It was highlighted a year or so ago in a Super over against Oz in T20- where he went for 6 runs. He isn't quite consistent enough yet- it's not uncommon to see him bowl four pearlers in an over, with a couple of loose ones which will go for four, but generally a lot more accurate than the rest of the squad.

Vettori- No comment needed really- as a containing bowler he'd be one of the best in the world. Obviously a shoe-in as captain, and a quality batsman, getting us out of trouble so often.

Outside of these two though, we are lacking in any real quality. Mills- one time best ODI bowler in the world, now past it and awful. Oram- useful option when he's bowling well, probably not a match-winner any more. Bennett- a bit raw, but possible match-winner if all is going well. Woodcock- pleased to see him in the squad, but no experience on the big stage. Franklin- being used to open our bowling currently, but surely no more than a bit-part bowler at the Cup.

We also have a large number of players who can play a bit-part in our bowling plans at the Cup. Obviously Piggy can roll the arm down succesfully, and will play a part in the WC. With Ryder's injuries he's bowling less, but I really rate him as an option if tossed the ball. Williamson- not bad domestically, unproven internationally. N-Mac- not a great wicket-taker, but could be useful in India.

Hardly a bowling lineup that'll strike fear into opposition at the Cup- ipso facto, we're not going to win with our bowling prowess.

Our depth lies in the strength of our batsmen, and their ability to accumulate quickly when required. Taylor, Ryder and McCullum are among the best in the world, and all play their best when they are hitting the ball hard. Guptill for mine is also heading this way, and could be a useful support act here. Williamson, not so much an attacking option, but if these other four are on their game, he'll be a useful foil down the other end. I don't mind Jamie How (would rather McGlashan)- but don't anticipate he'll play a huge part at the Cup- and not nearly as powerful as those he'll be competing with at the top of the order.

Piggy and Vettori are both more than useful batsmen, and (the new) Franklin and Oram on their day can be match-winners. As much as I don't particularly want Mills in the starting XI, he can hit a big ball if required, as can Southee (over cow and cow only).

So cutting to the chase (something I'm awful at). I think we almost need to head into games in the Super stage of the Cup expecting to chase in excess of 300, but to have the faith that we will be able to. We need to stack the team with players who can bat, somewhat cutting our losses with our bowlers- meaning that you won't see a lineup of Woodcock/Mills/Southee/Bennett at 8/9/10/11 as you do in today's match. Realistically we'll have potential match-winners batting down to 10, and all we need is three or four of these batsmen to fire and we'll be able to chase down 300.

I'd lineup as follows.

Guppy
Ryder
Williamson
Taylor
Styris
B McCullum
Franklin/N McCullum
Oram
Vettori
Southee
Bennett

Potentially open with B-Mac- but sounds like that's not an option with Wright. Also easy to drop Williamson down the order if we need to capitalise on an early power play.

Do I think we'll win the World Cup? No- I'm not deluded. But if we have any chance to win, I think that batting deep and using a large number of bit-part bowlers whose strength lies in their aggressive batting, will be the way that we could.