The Nix and the Dom - a pretty one sided game of chicken?

Jonathan Millmow has written an opinion piece in the Dominion Post this morning about the developing standoff between the players at the Phoenix and the papers football writer. For those that haven't seen it, here is the link.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/4396696/Time-for-Wellington-Phoenix-to-look-in-mirror

For what it's worth here is my take on this situation. When talking to someone earlier in the week about this developing situation, who knows much more about these things than I do, he said this was player driven rather than club driven. That is an important point to make I think. If it was the club I think the perception that creates of Terry throwing his toys (whether justified or not) would rightly lead to questions being asked by the Dom. But this has been driven by the players, and presumably the senior players as Millmow points out.

Apparently it is down to the way the paper handled requests for comment on the Serepisos situation and how it directly related to the players. The way I see it is that it is legitimate for the paper to want comment from the players on this situation as the inference at the time was that it was hindering their ability to get paid. The Dom Post should have known however that these requests were slightly different to ones about smashing cars (Millmows example of ignoring protocol) or about comment on an upcoming opponent. This went directly to the future and credibility of the club. For that reason they should have gone through the appropriate media channels. Would their request for comment have been denied? Probably, but the paper has made its own bed and now needs to lie in it.

These kind of battles are always won by the public perception the issue creates. If this kind of thing had happened when the Phoenix were winning then I think people brush it off and move on. But unfortunately they aren't, they're playing like rubbish and as Millmow points out crowds are down. The players have a responsibility to the club and to its fans to front up to Wellingtons only newspaper. Should they refuse to comment after requests come through inappropriate channels? Absolutely, but they should behave like professionals if the Dom behaves in the same way.

My take on it as implied by the title of this piece was that the Phoenix were trying to get the Dom to back down, apologise or resolve the matter quietly. Whoever thought that was going to happen clearly doesn't get it. The Dom have at their disposal the newspaper to sell their side of the story and sell it they have. To your casual sports fan that piece does not reflect well on the Phoenix and unfortunately the Nix rely on the casual sports fan deciding on a beautiful Wellington Saturday night that rather than having a Barby they will come down to the stadium.

Oh well, the day-time TV soap that is the Phoenix, Terry and the Dom continues. How can the club stop it? Winning. Winning will do it. Lets hope tonight a W in the column has the Dom writing good news stories on Monday.