Who do we want to see in a white shirt?

Rock Hopper

The funny question is though, given he's not going to be knocking on the door of the Italian or Australian side anytime soon. How would we feel about Pennington earning the fern if another shambolic OFC qualifiers outside of regular window debacle rears it's ugly head within the next decade?

He's 25 now, he'd have a year or two before he meets the residency requrements right? Then he has take up citizenship. If he wanted to do all that then sure I'd be happy to have him in the mix for the all whites. He's a different sort of midfielder to those we have at the moment but I'm not sure he'd be better than Singh, Garbett or Stamenic. He might push Lewis, Bell or Rufer for a spot though. 

He's on a one year deal, and I expect given the minutes he is getting this season in a well-performing side that we will not be the only A-League side interested in signing him for next season. The odds are he will be playing for an Australian side next season, which would make this conversation moot.

But having said all that, if he became All Whites eligible in future he is absolutely in the conversation for selection. Amateur CM Howieson has made a recent squad, for example.  

Have we had the Zawada conversation yet? No appearances for the Polish senior team. A child born here. We renew him on a 2 year deal (though I know that's not happening) and he is well in the mix surely. 

Edit: or even a 2 year deal for Auckland...

imanixsupporter

Have we had the Zawada conversation yet? No appearances for the Polish senior team. A child born here. We renew him on a 2 year deal (though I know that's not happening) and he is well in the mix surely. 

Edit: or even a 2 year deal for Auckland...

Zawada seems to have his eyes set on a return to Europe at some point, either next season or soon after whatever new deal he signs with Nix or the Auckland team.

Yes it does seem that that is his priority. It is probably only a big money Auckland marquee deal that would change that. The Nix won't be able to match what he will be being offered by European clubs but Auckland potentially could, especially if Zawada doesn't have a strong finish to the season, and let's be honest, apart from his hattrick game he hasn't looked that great in Chiefy's system. 

I thought he wasnt able to switch due to playing u21s.

Zawada was born in February '96 and apparently made at least one appearance for Poland u21s in 2017, so it depends on whether he made his 1997 appearance(s) prior to his birthday that year. If he did, he just needs to live in NZ for 5 years to be eligible for us. Apologies if this has already been discussed 

Edit: he made one solitary substitute appearance after his 21st birthday for Poland u21s, guess that's that...

Rufer a possibility for the next squad? Feel like he has to be putting pressure on Bell and Stamenic. 
How’s Lewis been going? 

Stamenic safe as houses. But Bell yes possibly under threat for his spot. Lets not forget Dibley-Dias (can't find an injury update) & Ryan Thomas could come back into the mix at any time.

New Norwegian season doesn't start until 1st April (yes pre season earlier no doubt). So if Bazeley is consistent Bell could miss out on the March tourney. Baz left Tuiloma out of the Nov squad as he had't played for awhile. But gut feel is that Bell is an important part of the AWs group, one of the leaders. Don't really see him being dropped.

Lewis he's been struggling a bit at Macarthur hasn't he?

It's gonna start to get really competitive from now on re AWs squads. Only 23 can go to the 2026 WC. Feel that if Thomas wants to be there, he needs to start making himself available if fit.

There are going to be some biggest names (in a NZ football sense) miss out on the big dance in 2 years. It's one reason why Auckland FC will attract a few Kiwis to return home, who are otherwise at risk of slipping down the pecking order for various reasons overseas. Those struggling to get game time, or playing in lower leagues like USL, Saffa PSL, Finnish Veikkausliiga & LOI. A World Cup is a big event in one's career, many will want to think they did everything possible to try to get to one.

Oldy a possibility

Oi Oi Edgecumbe

Oldy a possibility

He'll need to repeat his Sydney performance more than once. But yeah in the mix and will go to the Paris Olympics. Not a like for like swap, but at least Old is playing which is more than Joey Champness has been doing lately.
 

martinb

Rufer a possibility for the next squad? Feel like he has to be putting pressure on Bell and Stamenic. 
How’s Lewis been going? 

After Wood (captain) and Cacace (no competition), Stamenic is probably the first name on the team sheet lol. Healthy Stamenic won't miss a squad for the next decade

Would love Rufer in the squad though, as I feel he suits our setup perfectly.  Rejuvenated player full of confidence.

Lewis has been going great guns as far as I can tell, too. CM competition is awesome right now, especially with Dibley-Dias as mentioned

Semantics but Singh (absolute vital if the AWs are to push bigger teams) & M Boxall edge Stamenic in my book as certain selections. But yeah as my other post it's going to start getting really competitive re future AWs squads. 

You ain't playing much like Tuiloma and you risk being overtaken by young defenders Surman & Bindon. Who knows what other young guys may shine at the Oympics. It's gonna start adding a real edge to future camps, as 2026 looms on the horizon.

Waine? Kosta? Payne? Roux?

martinb

Waine? Kosta? Payne? Roux?

Waine & Payne were in the Nov squad and are almost certainities come March. In this form Kosta replaces Champness. Roux unlikely I'd say - he's never really been in the picture with Hay or Bazeley. He'll need to be a real standout in the ALM the next few months, to give himself any chance.

I can see Bindon being given a go at RB (played there a bit lately for Reading in League One), as Payne's backup in the UAE. Being so young he should have plenty of upside, whether that's at RB or CB. Or they may slot Tuiloma across there again. Kirwan (Congo) & Tuiloma (Australia) started the Oct games at RB. Payne both games in Nov, with Bindon basically the backup. Payne (Sweden) & Billy T (Qatar) shared the June games.

I see Bazeley has hinted he will be picking Old & Kosta in the next squad. Payne & Paulsen will be picked. You'd think Rufer must be in with a shout given Lewis & Bell's less than stellar form of late. 

I wonder how Bazeley might utilise Old. I think having him team up with Singh behind Wood in a Christmas tree could be very interesting, though I think that could be Garbett's best position too. 

Old's had one great game this season (SFC) in a league below the level of most of the leagues, the Euro based AWs play in. I'd see him behind the likes of McCowatt, Just & Garbett. So he's on the pine, against big teams like Egypt, Tunisia or Croatia.

If Old is absolutely brilliant over next 2 months, yes that could change. But for now Kosta more of a chance of starting with the form he's in.

Champness and one of Greive or Mata likely to be dropped from the Nov window.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/wellington-phoenix-campaign-wont-stop-all-whites-coach-darren-bazeley-from-selecting-stars-for-uae-tournament/UJBXMJFVAJHVDFRARXIO5DGCY4/

Surely the OFC Nations' Cup is a chance to tie in any player who may be eligible to switch? Isn't Sarpreet Singh in this boat? 

Rusty Dunks

Surely the OFC Nations' Cup is a chance to tie in any player who may be eligible to switch? Isn't Sarpreet Singh in this boat? 

Yes weirdly I think he still is. Though I just can't see him ever wanting to play for India. They are pretty shark, and AWs have a greater chance of going to the next WC. Plus he's out & out a Kiwi lad.

Dibley-Dias, Bindon & Jay Herdman are more obvious examples of dual (multiple in D-D's case) nationality, that yes would be great to lock into the AWs. But WC qualifiers start in September, so missing the June ONC not a big deal. Sounds like Bindon & Herdman see themselves himself as proper Kiwis. Dibley-Dias may need more time to make up his mind. Fair enough.

coochiee

Old's had one great game this season (SFC) in a league below the level of most of the leagues, the Euro based AWs play in. I'd see him behind the likes of McCowatt, Just & Garbett. So he's on the pine, against big teams like Egypt, Tunisia or Croatia.

If Old is absolutely brilliant over next 2 months, yes that could change. But for now Kosta more of a chance of starting with the form he's in.

Champness and one of Greive or Mata likely to be dropped from the Nov window.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/wellington-phoenix-campaign-wont-stop-all-whites-coach-darren-bazeley-from-selecting-stars-for-uae-tournament/UJBXMJFVAJHVDFRARXIO5DGCY4/

Interesting call on Old - is playing in the A League a better standard that Div 2 in the Netherlands... certainly it is better than the Danish 2nd tier, so I'm not sure he rides the pine behind Just (more so) and Garbett - who is a different player.

But you need a better body of work than just 2-3 games. Old is consistently excellent for the Nix the rest of this season, for sure he will get Bazeley thinking. It's not just the league you are playing in. Though suspect the better teams in Danish Div 2, would go alright in the ALM. Plus Just will likely be on the move if Horsens fail to get promoted.

Most importantly Just looked really good off the bench against Ireland. McCowatt had a very good 2023 in Denmark (over two different divisions). So again Old should make the squad in March, then it's up to how he goes in training etc. The AWs played very well in Dublin in that 2nd half, those guys deserve to start against Egypt you feel depending on who's available.

Just has had far too many chances for the All Whites with very little payoff. When was his last goal or assist? He looks sharp but he isn't very effective.

When was Libby’s last goal or assist? (this tbf is a genuine criticism of his game. But to get forward needs midfield cover I guess.) 

Garbett has to start for us imo. He’s been our main goal scorer for the last couple of years. 

I think at this point we’d start looking not at where players are playing, but the attributes they bring to the team and what job are they required to do. 

We need to start locking in a playing style imo, so we’re not just making it up and getting caught out as happened against the Greek press. 

Then we can think how much running, or close control or long passing or playmaking etc etc each position requires. How much defense we’ll require of them. 

Just is still riding on his performances, which were very good, in the Olympic year and that we’ve had a lot of injuries. That said, we also need to get players closer to Woodsy rather than have him in a 1 v 5 in the box. The tactics have to suit the player too. 

Just is a forward and has 1 goal and 1 assist in 20 international games, both came in a 4-0 win over Fiji. 

Cacace is a defender who has 1 goal and 2 assists in 21 games (these were in games against Bahrain and the Republic of Ireland). 

Edit: since Just's AWs debut he has less goal contributions than McCowatt, Garbett, Cacace, Bell, Singh. And he's played as often as just about anyone. Even Rojas has as many goal contributions despite Just having played 3x as many games in that time. I don't want to see him starting for the All Whites anytime soon unless he starts banging in assists/goals for his club, or at least makes a move to a better level

Edit 2: you can add Tuiloma, Grieve, Wood to this list of players with more goal contributions since Just's debut and there are probably others....

This is how we lined up against Ireland. Sure it was a friendly, against a team that struggled in their Euros qualifying - but the 2nd half especially was a performance that gave alot of hope.

I think of that starting 11, Lewis or Rufer push Bell for a starting spot. If Bindon was left footed he's in for Pijnaker, but he's not. Tuiloma sometimes plays as a left sided CB?

And yeah Barba has come from looking dead & buried as an international footballer, to likely forcing McCowatt to the bench. But otherwise really I don't see many changes to the run on top 11. Game plan get Singh on the ball as much as possible.

And on Old, he'll be in the Olywhites team in Paris. Lets see how he goes at that international level.

imanixsupporter

Just is a forward and has 1 goal and 1 assist in 20 international games, both came in a 4-0 win over Fiji. 

Cacace is a defender who has 1 goal and 2 assists in 21 games (these were in games against Bahrain and the Republic of Ireland). 

The 2019 Irish game (Libby assist for McCowatt's goal) not the 2023 one. 

imanixsupporter

Just is a forward and has 1 goal and 1 assist in 20 international games, both came in a 4-0 win over Fiji. 

Cacace is a defender who has 1 goal and 2 assists in 21 games (these were in games against Bahrain and the Republic of Ireland). 

Edit: since Just's AWs debut he has less goal contributions than McCowatt, Garbett, Cacace, Bell, Singh. And he's played as often as just about anyone. Even Rojas has as many goal contributions despite Just having played 3x as many games in that time. I don't want to see him starting for the All Whites anytime soon unless he starts banging in assists/goals for his club, or at least makes a move to a better level

Edit 2: you can add Tuiloma, Grieve, Wood to this list of players with more goal contributions since Just's debut and there are probably others....

Come on mate. I thought we were past using counting stats as an indicator of a) effectiveness, and b) talent

It isn't that important to have a specialised left footed LCB. I'm sure Boxall & Surman could form an effective partnership. I'd also prefer to see Tuiloma, Bindon & Kelly-Heald in at CB ahead of Pijnaker, who should have to make a move to a better level to get his spot back. 

Hoping McGarry and Elliot get some minutes in the SPL in the coming weeks and make the squad too 

My subjective perspective is that he isn't effective and that anytime he is playing or the All Whites I'm never confident he is going to contribute to a goal, but my opinion is as worthless as anybody else's.

Sure, he is talented. He has moments. He looks a player. But at some point there needs to be an end product, and how many more chances does he really deserve? 

mrsmiis

imanixsupporter

Just is a forward and has 1 goal and 1 assist in 20 international games, both came in a 4-0 win over Fiji. 

Cacace is a defender who has 1 goal and 2 assists in 21 games (these were in games against Bahrain and the Republic of Ireland). 

Edit: since Just's AWs debut he has less goal contributions than McCowatt, Garbett, Cacace, Bell, Singh. And he's played as often as just about anyone. Even Rojas has as many goal contributions despite Just having played 3x as many games in that time. I don't want to see him starting for the All Whites anytime soon unless he starts banging in assists/goals for his club, or at least makes a move to a better level

Edit 2: you can add Tuiloma, Grieve, Wood to this list of players with more goal contributions since Just's debut and there are probably others....

Come on mate. I thought we were past using counting stats as an indicator of a) effectiveness, and b) talent

Or using simplistic stats, finding what you want and then stopping. Not saying it’s not useful, but it needs a lot more context. 

I feel like Just is a winger, not a CF. I feel like he’s only had a heavily marked Wood to hit. I also feel that when he’s on our tempo increases and that he is an intelligent player who’ll get his head up and try and interplay and keep the ball alive. I feel like he has a reasonable first touch. 

As to if he should be picked, I don’t know. 

I think as I said above the question should go back on Bazely and his leadership group. How do we want to play and so can Just do the job he’s going to be asked to do? 

Edit: why should we be hassling Just in particular when none of our strikers are scoring? And when our relatively talented squad is overall not creating sufficient paths to goal? 

imanixsupporter

It isn't that important to have a specialised left footed LCB. I'm sure Boxall & Surman could form an effective partnership. I'd also prefer to see Tuiloma, Bindon & Kelly-Heald in at CB ahead of Pijnaker, who should have to make a move to a better level to get his spot back. 

Hoping McGarry and Elliot get some minutes in the SPL in the coming weeks and make the squad too 

Pijnaker who has a great cross field switch in his locker, also combines I feel often well with Libby. They have been playing together for years. The AWs best threats often come down the left, which is not surprising with Cacace there. It's a while ago now, but I remember the Peru match, where suddenly in the 2nd half we created some real chances down that flank. Admittedly yeah nearly 2 years ago now.

It's frustrating NP hasn't kicked on, and still seems to make a bad defensive error every 2nd game or so. A left footed CB is very useful, though yeah not critical.

Kealy Head- gets roasted when he has to defend too much space...he may be more suited inside in a 4 at the back but at the moment in the a-league hes learning his trade but ability to defend space especially on his outside is concerning.. Pijanker just far to slow on the ball/decision making and again struggles with pace up top defensively at international level. Tuiloma best bet if hes fully fit. Then Bindon...maybe.

My CB rankings:

For me Surman is ahead of everyone but Boxall. Bindon is playing at a similar level but not quite as consistently, and the Nix have been much better defensively than Reading by the looks of it. If Boxall doesn't make it to 2026 then I think Surman and Bindon have the potential to be a really effective partnership for us, hopefully they fulfill that potential. Swap LKH for one of them perhaps if one of those two don't kick on, while LKH has been decent wider I hope he does transition to CB for the Nix in the coming seasons.  

Tuiloma just isn't defensively sound enough and I don't think that is going to change this late into his career. I think there is still hope for Pijnaker but he needs to start to cut out the errors in his game soon. I'm hoping Auckland pick him up and playing consistently in the A-League helps him iron those out. For now, given his AWs performances and the low level he plays his club football at, he shouldn't be starting for NZ. 

Surman & Bindon will likely be the CB combo at the Olympics. So a chance to see how they go together.

I guess discussions will soon go to the 3 over age players for Paris. Mikey Boxall had to pull out of Tokyo, so may put his hand up, especially if he may struggle to be there at the 2026 WC. This year's Olympics maybe his last real chance at playing at a big tourney for NZ.

But I'd go for Wood, Singh & Cacace.

If those are the 3 taken then perhaps we would want to put Bindon at RB as it is our weakest position amongst our Olympics-eligible players and try LKH at CB with Surman.

Otherwise, Payne as a RB plus his utility value makes him potentially as good or a better choice for the 3rd spot instead of Libby. Cacace will go to the Nations Cup too so maybe it makes sense to leave him in Italy to help him remain established in Serie A. 

imanixsupporter

If those are the 3 taken then perhaps we would want to put Bindon at RB as it is our weakest position amongst our Olympics-eligible players and try LKH at CB with Surman.

Otherwise, Payne as a RB plus his utility value makes him potentially as good or a better choice for the 3rd spot instead of Libby. Cacace will go to the Nation's Cup too so maybe it makes sense to leave him in Italy to help him remain established in Serie A. 

Yeah that's a fair agrument. Did consider Payne as a potential o/a player, and agree re U23s RB looks a bit weak. Ronan Wynne & Fin Linder main candidates?

And yes which 3 o/a players go to the Olympics, will depend alot on what various Euro clubs demand re pre season for various players. Might be tougher for say Singh & Libby to be released compared to veteran Wood for example.

And for the overage guys, there may need to be some juggling re work loads, like if you play in June's ONC, you don't go to Paris in August - and vice versa. 

Surely the Nations Cup will be our shadow Olympic squad - a great chance to build combinations prior to the tournament.

I'd pick 5 - 6 over age players to have a look at them and see how the connect with the shadow squad and go from there, as oppose to having pre determined ideas. FInd the true best fit.

Wood, is probably the only exception as we just don't have strikers playing a good level at a young age outside Waine. We don't really have the same problem with other positions.

Pragnell insisted in a recent interview that a senior side would be sent to the ONC, not a shadow OlyWhites squad

imanixsupporter

Pragnell insisted in a recent interview that a senior side would be sent to the ONC, not a shadow OlyWhites squad

Damn , man's really is gunning for that rankings multiplier after all.