Subject: [NT] Season Summary

The Season
Overall, I think the season was fairly successful. The team has qualified in good standing (3 basket) giving random luck a chance to smile when the groups are drawn. Also (with the help of an easy qualifying group) the team has climbed a number of positions in the World rankings, now pushing the 20s and Australia.

The games against Croatia were disappointing. Some of you know I planned (in general) all the tactics for qualifying before the first match. Unfortunately when it came to Croatia I deviated from the script - wish I hadn’t. Think the boys would have given them a better go. Otherwise I was happy with the performance. Though the squad has limited depth, it faced (IMO) the largest struggles with form, injuries and cards of any team in Group J, and acquitted themselves well.

The team was quite successful in friendlies, which is encouraging as the line-ups focused primarily on the younger players on the roster. Some of those names a knocking on the A-squad door, and will undoubtedly become long term contributors to the effort.

The Manager
As I inferred above, I’m fairly happy with the job I’ve done. I will be running for re-election in the upcoming vote. It will be my final election in New Zealand.

Caps
Week 0 ==> Week 15
(first number is the total, number in brackets is Q-matches only, leaders italicized)

Anthopoulos 3 (0)
Atkinson 9 (9)
Bodger 10 (6)
Bowen 1 (1)
D. Chadwick 10 (7)
J. Chadwick 9 (7)
Dabner 4 (0)
Dawkins 9 (7)
Edwards 10 (5)
B. Gilbert 11 (9)
M. Gilbert 5 (1)
Harris 10 (9)
Hawkey 2 (0)
Herbert 5 (1)
Hird 10 (10)
Kelly 11 (8)
Kilkenny 9 (7)
Lynch 1 (0)
Mair 1 (0)
Matthews 5 (5)
Morcombe 2 (0)
Pereto 1 (0)
Pollock 2 (0)
Pritchett 4 (2)
Richards 11 (5)
Robben 5 (5)
Root 7 (3)
Roza 8 (8)
Sansom 4 (0)
R. Smith 3 (0)
Sparrow 1 (0)
Taylor 15 (10)
Tomlinson 5 (5)
Watts 13 (7)
Welford 1 (0)

Scoring
Goals ... Shots ... % ... Goals per Cap

Hird 17 ... 50 ... 34% ... 1.7
Bodger 12 ... 45 ... 27% ...1.2
Gilbert 9 ... 42 ... 21% ... 0.81
D. Chadwick 9 ... 41 ... 22% ... 0.9
Roza 8 ... 25 ... 32% ...1.0
Hawkey 5 ... 12 ... 42% ... 2.5
D Watts 3 ... 10 ... 30% ... 0.23
Dawkins 1 ... 1 ... 100% ... 0.11
Kelly 1 ... 2 ... 50% ... 0.09
Bowen 1 ... 2 ... 50% ... 1.0
Pollock 1 ... 2 ... 50% ... 0.5

Assists

Herbert 6
Atkinson 5
Hird 5
B. Gilbert 4
D. Chadwick 3
Matthews 3
Kelly 2
Tomlinson 2
Bodger 1
Kilkenny 1
Sansom 1
Root 1
Richards 1

Cards
Yellow ... Red

Bodger 3 ... 0
Kelly 2 ... 0
Kilkenny 0 ... 1
Dabner 0 ... 1
D. Chadwick 1 ... 0
Root 1 ... 0
Edwards 1 ... 0
D. Watts 1 ... 0
Pritchett 1 ... 0
Richards 1 ... 0
Harris 1 ... 0

Clean Sheets

Taylor 7
Welford 1

Players - Anecdotal

Matthew Alves - form and injury ruled him out all season long. By the time his form recovers Welford and/or Groves may very well have supplanted him as the back-up to Taylor.

Jerry Anthopoulos - bright young defender who has performed very well in his inaugural campaign. Will be a key contributor in any U21 action next season.

Christian Armstrong - once a valuable contributor, changes to the ME the past few seasons have impacted on his usefulness. Age means little chance of remedy. Could be dropped from the team by season end.

Gordon Atkinson - hard to believe this was his first season on the national side. He’s been a valuable contributor throughout, offering offensive spark and creativity. Looks to be a valuable asset for seasons to come.

Pat Barker - age, form, and lots of quality at the striker position have left Barker on the sidelines throughout the season. Can’t see him contributing much more to the team - could be dropped anytime.

Johnny Bodger - didn’t have the campaign he’d probably hoped for. Cards, injuries and form all got in the way. He remains on of the pillars of the team, with current and future success sitting on his shoulders.

Jake Bowen - nice little striker who has seen spot duty this season. Another “bridesmaid” caused by the quality New Zealand has up front. Nice to have around for a little depth.

Adam Buchanan - was the back-up to Taylor a few times due to Alves’ form. The emergence of Welford puts an end to that. Could be dropped from the team by season end.

Dave Chadwick - also had a disappointing campaign. Slowed by injuries, his finishing let him down on a number of occasions. Would like to see him get hot again before the World Cup.

Jason Chadwick - would seem to be in the twilight of his NT career. Had a couple nice outings, but gave up playing time to some of the up&coming defenders who will continue to push him.

Jake Dabner - has seen only friendly duty this season, but has been effective in a defensive midfield role. Will probably be another season before he starts to challenge for A-squad playing time.

Greg Dawkins - had some very nice moments. Provided spark and creativity from the back A stamina issue restricts his use.

Dave De Bruin - looked like a bright young player when I first saw him, but I don’t think he is receiving training. Needs improvement to crack the line-up. Could be dropped anytime.

Jeff Donoso - young striker who’s had form and injury issues this season. Will need to stay healthy if he is to catch the current stars playing striker. Still U21 eligible next season.

Gary Edwards - a world class prospect who has been mired in lousy form all season. Will be a fixture for the defense for another 6-7 seasons - if he can shake his form woes.

Steven Eruera - added to give some depth to the U21 defense, he hasn’t seen any action because he is r e a l l y s l o w. With a season (or 2 ... or 3) of pace training he could become a contributor at the back.

Jonathan Ferris - has also had injuries and form woes this season. The next generation of midfielders have pretty much made Ferris redundant. Could be dropped anytime.

Brent Gilbert - I think the utilization of Gilbert is the key question for any New Zealand manager. A dangerous weapon, but where to use him? I’ve been more impressed with him at forward then wing this past season (ME changes seemed to hurt his wing play). He will continue to be a weapon ... somewhere on the pitch ... for the foreseeable future.

Matt Gilbert - young defender who must have great talent. I didn’t think that highly of him when I first saw his stats, but he has progressed a tremendous amount this season. Needs significant work on his secondaries, but could become an active contributor to the New Zealand back-line.

Paul Gissing - a fantastic youth who seems destined for the scrap heap because of his bot-club. On the roster to get his “release-cap” - and then cross your fingers he’s still young enough to matter when that occurs.

Stuart Grove - U21 keeper whose form has been terrible all season, but has recovered nicely the past few weeks. Has tough competition for caps in Taylor & Welford, both of whom are younger.

Luke Harris - has made a few notable gaffs this season on defense, but remains one of the backs I have the most faith in. Will be valuable in the World Cup, but may be under a lot of pressure from the younger D-men by the next qualifying round.

Matt Hawkey - another “bridesmaid” caused by the fabulous skill level of the top New Zealand strikers, Hawkey is a multi-dimensional threat - but will probably always be “depth” on this roster.

Darren Herbert - Herbert has been one of my favorite players to watch this season, as some of his wide service has been spectacular. Has a couple deficiencies to be addressed, but is making a name for himself as a specialist winger.

Alan Hird - Has showed signs this season that he might crawl out of his form prison. Even with his lack-lustre form, his play has been anywhere from steady to outstanding. He’s shown some flexibility in terms of positioning, that adds dimensions to the attack.

Mark Kelly - A player I’ve admired long before getting the New Zealand managerial job, he only strengthened that admiration this season. Has been an absolute rock in the defensive midfield, while providing some offensive spark too. His form has quietly slipped into the “danger zone” the second half of the season - would be a big boost to WC efforts is he would recover.

John Kilkenny - Missed some early playing time due to injury, he’s done his best make up for it. Hi red card against Croatia was one of the low points of qualifying, but otherwise his play was stellar. One of the cornerstones of the present and future New Zealand defence.

Gavin Lynch - Recent addition, and too young to contribute much. He’s here to hang around with the big boys and see if he can learn a thing or two. Very promising midfield prospect.

Aaran Mair - Another bot-project. Has got his “release” cap. Now just sitting around hoping his club is replaced before he’s useless.

Corey Matthews - Has been a bit of an enigma for me. Has had some super matches, and some rather pedestrian ones. His manager suggested more central positioning, which may be part of the reason for the improved play. Part of the frequently-changing midfield picture.

Greg McGuiness - was added to the roster to give a little defensive depth for age-restricted matches. Hasn’t seen any play. Not U21 eligible next season. I think it’s unlikely (given his age) that he will develop into a contributor, and could be dropped by season end.

Alex McKay - a special purpose defender who hasn’t seen any action for some time. Has had his own form problems this season. I don’t envision him contributing much going forward.

Rob Morcombe - a neat young striker prospect who has a chance to eventually be as good as the big boys. Yet another player whose season has been impacted by poor form. Still U21 eligible next season.

Stuart Pereto - a promising defender prospect sentenced to bot-dom. Has his “release” cap. Now he waits.

Nigel Pollock - young striker prospect who (say it with me!) has struggled this season with poor form. Limited caps because of that, but only 20 next season, so he could be a contributor to a U21 effort.

Sam Pritchett - has some nice midfield skills. Unfortunately they are starting to erode because of his age. The new crop of midfielders have pushed him to the edge of redundancy.

Alex Richards - world class midfield prospect. Form sucked all season, and was manifested in his play more then most (has made him look like he has but a fraction of his actual technique). An improvement in form would be a real boost to WC hopes.

Gordon Robben - rugged midfielder who has lost out on some playing time due to the rise of some of the young midfielders. Still has a role to play, but it is a little diminished from seasons past.

John Root - speaking of young midfielders, Root has earned a number of caps this season at the age of 19. Tho he only came away with 1 assist, he has been the engineer behind a number of New Zealand drives. Most of his play has been on the wing, but training improvements this season also make him very useful as an attacking midfielder. Would be a significant part of any U21 action next season.

Darren Roza - has had some good games, and some not so good. I continue to see him as a special purpose striker - despite his nice player value he isn’t a threat to Bodger or Hird’s playing time.

Sam Sansom - another of the promising young midfielders, had Sansom been in better form he would have seen some A-squad playing time this past season - he’s that good. Played well inside, outside, up and back. Still U21 eligible next season.

Robert Smith - training this season has refined his game, and given him a nice all-round package. I wish he were younger. No longer U21 next season, he may find it tough getting playing time amongst the senior squad.

Craig Sparrow - a really interesting player, his main weakness has been addressed (somewhat) this past season. A bit of a jack-of-all-trades, which as the saying goes, means master of none, and that makes it tough to get playing time. Still a unique guy to have on the roster for occasional use.

Kaz Taylor - finally New Zealand has a world-class keeper. Only 20 next season, he is still U21 eligible, he could be breath-taking by the time he’s finished training.

Ben Tomlinson - has some slick midfield skills, and a little bit of toughness to go with it. He's been useful both inside and wide, and is an important piece to the New Zealand midfield puzzle.

Brendon Watts - like Bowen and Hawkey, Watts is a nice striker on a team with awesome strikers. His caps are likely to be well spaced from here out.

David Watts - might try him at goal next week, since he’s done fine at the other 3 positions. Has been fairly steady in the back, and quite useful in defensive midfield. A valuable asset that continues to accrue.

Alan Welford - nice young keeper who has some ground to make up on Taylor. But he is younger. Doesn’t hurt to have a little depth at keeper, and Welford looks very capable of providing that.
(edited)

Still sorting out the prospects I've been tracking. Will post a summary of those shortly.

You've done an exceptional job at least from my side of the fence and say whatever you like about an easy group but you still went out and accomplished the goal. You've accomplished jumping ahead of Australia on rankings as well after today's result.

Looking forward to a fortnight's time :).

I took in the Australia match today. A bit unfortunate - thought you really carried the play. Things just seemed to sputter when you got close to goal.

I've put a little thought in the upcoming Australia - New Zealand encounter, but am happy to hear suggestions from any loyal New Zealand manager. Looking forward to the match :)

It will end up being 0-0 because of Watts and Howarth no doubt ;).

Didn't you say that last season? =P

I have to say, an incredibly excellent write-up! I would even say that its better than Jacob's doings for the U-19 team in Battrick!! And that is pretty amazing.

Personally i have loved reading about your comments on tactics, upcoming matches and now the player analysis! NZ has been honoured with your brilliant tactical knack this season and i do hope you get the role for the WC too =]

Season 11 Wrap-Up

Working on the end of season stuff. Have the stats in this post. Ancedotal will follow a little later.

Week 0 through 15

Total friendly WC Copa

Caps
Atkinson 13 6 2 5
Bodger 13 6 3 4
Kelly 13 5 3 5
Edwards 12 5 3 4
B Gilbert 12 4 3 5
Sansom 11 4 2 5
Taylor 11 5 3 3
Kilkenny 10 5 3 2
Matthews 10 5 2 3
Watts 10 6 2 2
Hird 9 4 3 2
Harris 8 4 2 2
D Chawick 6 3 2 1
Root 6 3 0 3
Tomlinson 6 3 1 2
Anthopoulos 5 3 0 2
Dawkings 5 2 1 2
Herbert 5 4 0 1
Richards 5 2 1 2
J Chadwick 4 1 3 0
De Bruin 4 0 0 4
M Gilbert 4 3 0 1
Welford 4 2 1 1
Hawkey 3 2 0 1
Morcombe 3 1 0 2
Dabner 2 2 0 0
Graham 2 1 0 1
Smith 2 1 0 1
Grove 1 0 0 1
Pollock 1 0 0 1
Robben 1 1 0 0
Roza 1 1 0 0
Sparrow 1 1 0 0
(edited)

---

Assists

Atkinson 3 0 0 3
B Gilbert 3 0 2 1
Sansom 3 0 1 2
Bodger 2 1 0 1
De Bruin 2 0 0 2
Kelly 2 0 0 2
D Chadwick 1 0 0 1
Herbert 1 1 0 0
Root 1 1 0 0
Roza 1 1 0 0
Tomlinson 1 1 0 0
(edited)

Scoring

Bodger 20-63 5-23 2-8 13-32
B Gilbert 11-51 1-8 1-7 9-36
Hird 4-16 4-8 0-3 0-5
Atkinson 2-8 1-4 0-1 1-3
D Chadwick 2-13 1-5 0-1 1-7
Hawkey 2-23 1-13 0-0 1-10
Morcombe 2-9 1-3 0-0 1-6
Roza 2-7 1-3 0-0 1-4
Pollock 1-5 0-0 0-0 1-5
Matthews 0-2 0-1 0-0 0-1
Root 0-4 0-0 0-0 0-4
Sansom 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1

Shooting %

Bodger 31.7% 21.7% 25% 40.6%
Roza 28.6% 33% -- 25%
Hird 25% 50% 0% 0%
Atkinson 25% 25% 0% 33%
Morcombe 22.2% 33% -- 16.7%
B Gilbert 21.6% 12.5% 14.3% 25%
Pollock 20% -- -- 20%
D Chadwick 15.4% 20% 0% 14.3%
Hawkey 8.7% 7.7% -- 10%

Clean Sheets

Taylor 1 in 11 starts (Denmark)
Groves 1 in 1 start (Bolivia)

Cards

Kelly 4 3 1
Dawkins 3 2 1
Watts 3 2 1
Kilkenny 2 1 1
De Bruin 1 1 0
Edwards 1 0 1
B Gilbert 1 0 1
Harris 1 0 1
Hird 1 1 0
Matthews 1 1 0
Richards 1 0 1
Root 1 0 1
Sansom 1 1 0

TEAM

Friendlies: 4 yellow, 2 red in 7 matches
World Cup: 1 yellow, 3 red in 3 matches
Copa: 6 yellow, 4 red in 6 matches
Total: 11 yellow, 9 red in 16 matches

Edit: have fun reading the yellow. :P
(edited)

lol dude, you did that on purpose!