Flying Kiwis – January 17

Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

With the FA Cup games on last weekend and no other Flying Kiwis in action, the column took a break for a week but never fear, we’ll catch y’all up right here. There’s not much to figure, really. West Ham played Manchester City and they got fustigated. 5-0 they lost… and at home too. Winston Reid was a lone bright spark but once Angelo Ogbonna gave up a dumbass penalty and Yaya Toure buried it for the opener late in the first half, that was about it for the Hammers’ enthusiasm.

They might have equalised when it was still 1-0 had Sofiane Feghouli only hit the target from a few yards out following up on Michail Antonio’s saved shot. But nah, he got his heel stuck on it and dragged it back across, to be fair it was slightly behind him and Gael Clichy was in hot pursuit… but honestly, bro. Gotta score that. He stayed down injured for a second afterwards but that was probably more his embarrassment than anything.

Then Raheem Sterling scored, notch up another one in the goal tally. A slick first touch from David Silva sent Adrian flying and it was 3-0. Into the second half and Aguero turned in a Yaya Toure shot for four and then John Stones scored a header from a Nolito corner. Mark Noble hacked it away except the ball had already crossed the line. Mark it five, this was a straight up hiding.

Eurosport: “Winston Reid stands alone in West Ham’s defence - It would be easy to berate the whole of West Ham’s defence following their collapse at home to City, but that would be unfair on Winston Reid. The centre-back put in a superb challenge on Raheem Sterling at 0-0 in the first half, but was helpless to prevent City from running away with the match. So after West Ham place a miserly bid for Robert Snodgrass, having already offered peanuts for Jermain Defoe, why is Slaven Bilic not looking to bolster his defence? After tonight’s display, he’ll start to think again…”

ESPN FC Player Ratings: “DF Winston Reid, 7 -- Was the home side's best player; without him City may have hit double figures.”

Winston Reid to WHUFC.com: “To be fair, we started OK and had some chances, but we’ve just been made silly errors again and if you do that against a team like Manchester City, you get punished.  There was just not enough there at the end of the day, which is really disappointing. As a group of players, we should be able to do better. At least we can demand that. It was eleven against eleven and we were at home and you can get beaten on the day, especially against a good team like them, but it was not our night.”

“We’ve got eight days until the next game and we’ve been picking up points in the league. We won three games on the trot and then were a bit unlucky against Leicester and then had that decision against Man United. Those last two games were tough. When you’ve momentum, you’ve got to keep it going. We had a full house and were playing against a big team, but when you make mistakes, at the end of the day you get punished, especially against these.

“That’s the underlying fact – we made too many individual mistakes which cost us football matches. We weren’t making them recently like we were at the start of the season, and that makes it difficult for a team to recover. One-hundred per cent we need to bounce back like we did after the Arsenal game. We can be honest and say the season hasn’t panned out like we wanted it to so far, but we still have half-a-season to go and our focus is on getting up the league – we need to do that.”

And then… drama!

Ooofh, their best player’s gone on strike. Not ideal. Initially the club stood firm in saying they wouldn’t sell him out over the coming days it’s becoming more and more clear that if they get a decent bid they won’t hesitate to offload a sulking superstar. They didn’t hesitate to offload Sam Allardyce as manager two seasons ago and he was the man they came up against when Crystal Palace came to town.

No Andre Ayew or Cheikhou Kouyate thanks to the African Cup of Nations, no Dimitri Payet for aforementioned reasons… no bloody worries, mate. Sofiane Feghouli had a much better game and Andy Carroll was as good as he’s been all year. The defence held firm with the exception of one great chance that fell to James Tomkins, WHU old fella, at the far post from a corner but his sidefoot went past the post.

For roughly the first hour it was close, still level although West Ham will have been the more confident. For good reason too. The final 30 minutes they upped things another to another level and Palace couldn’t keep up with them. Feghouli was in the right place to put away the first goal after 68 minutes and 11 minutes later Andy Carroll only went and did this…

Yowza. They got one more through Manny Lanzini on the break (Michail Antonio was sick with flu during the week – it was going around – and still played, assisting all three goals) and it was an easy 3-0 win in the end. If we’re being honest, Palace were shockingly bad. It might take a minute to set that defensive wall Big Sam is always known for and until then that midfield’s not doing a lot to help them. Still, you beat the oppo on the day. West Ham with a very pleasant three points.

Our lad Winston didn’t have his most hectic night, though keeping Christian Benteke without a single shot, on or off target, is the sign of a defender in charge. 10 clearances and a couple of tackles. Didn’t give away a foul, didn’t put hardly a foot wrong. Palace only had one shot on target in total.

Andy Carroll on his goal: “It's been a while in the making - I've been trying for a couple of years. It's got to be the best goal I've scored.”

ESPN FC Player Ratings: “DF Winston Reid, 7 -- Kept Christian Benteke quiet all game in an assured display.”

This isn’t a half bad idea though…

Up Next: Middlesbrough vs West Ham, 4.00am Sunday (NZT)

Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)

Woody didn’t play in the FA Cup game. Away to Cambridge who play in League Two, he wasn’t deemed necessary and sat on the bench watching the whole thing as his boys came from 1-0 down at half-time to advance into the fourth round with a 2-1 victory. Closer than what woulda been comfortable but hey, they didn’t have their top scorer in action.

Probably because they needed him on the weekend as they hosted Derby County (complete with Steve McClaren as manager) with Pontus Jansson suspended and Liam Cooper, Charlie Taylor and Hadi Sacko all broken/battered. Leeds played really well against the Rams but they only had themselves to blame for not going ahead early. Kyle Bartley somehow missed one from about six yards out with the goal at his motherflippin’ mercy. He wasn’t the only one to bottle a decent shot either, he was just the worst of them.

Couldn’t say Woody was immune, he would surely have scored in the eighth minute had Richard Keogh not come up with a stunner of a clearing header. Scott Carson made some top saves too for the Rams… but right on the brink of the break there was no saving this sucker. CHRIS WOOOOOD!!!

Yeah, that’s the one. Derby were much more aggressive in the second half, bringing on Will Hughes and Matej Vydra who both had decent attacking impacts as well as Dave Nugent a bit later – Woody’s old Leicester teammate and strike-partner who’s joined Derby this transfer window. And Derby even got the ball into net as Darren Bent charged down Rob Green’s clearance, except he used his hands so it was disallowed. Leeds had to cling to it but the 1-0 victory was eventually theirs. With Reading losing a couple days earlier to QPR, that boosts Leeds all the way up to third. Getting a bit of vertigo there, woah.

Chris Wood to BBC Radio Leeds: “Barts had three of four opportunities, and just unfortunately, it bounced off his knee or hit him in the dish or anything like that. It was one of those, he told me, 'you go front post this time, I'm going back post' and bang, goal, and he's a bit upset.”

Telegraph: “It has been a long time coming, for long suffering supporters of the club but here Chris Wood, enjoying a prolific season in a rejuvenated Leeds team scored the decisive goal as the hosts overwhelmed a dismal Derby team who were reduced to ten-men in the closing stages when Bradley Johnson was dismissed.”

YEP Player Ratings: “Chris Wood - Scored at the moment when Leeds badly needed to make something of their pressure and kept running at Derby until the very last seconds. 8/10”

More Telegraph: “Chris Wood has scored the first goal of a game on more occasions than any other player in the Championship this term and he obliged again in the 45th minute to register his 17th goal what is becoming a fruitful campaign.”

Neil Redfearn: “Brilliant. It’s just like the Revie days!”

What’s more is that Brighton unexpectedly went down 2-0 to Preston, so not only are Leeds now third on the table but they’re only six points off the automatic promotion spots. It also means that with six Championship games in a row unbeaten, Leeds are tied for the longest active streak there with Sheffield Wednesday… who play Brighton next.

Up Next: Barnsley vs Leeds, 6.30am Sunday (NZT)

Bill Tuiloma – Olympique de Marseille (French Ligue 1)

A new owner, a new manager, a new era… they’ve sure been talking it up in Marseille over their footy team but now is the time we really get to see some steps being taken. It’s the transfer window and OM are being linked with damn near everybody with a cousin who’s taken photos of the Eiffel Tower. Not in the least of whom being their old boy Dimitri Payet, tryna nick him off of Winston, one Flying Kiwi teammate to another. Just quietly it really does sound like that’s gonna happen. There have also been significant rumours over Morgan Sanson, 22 year old French midfielder from Montpellier, although he’s getting some hot Premier League interest as well. The moral of the story being that Frank McCourt is more than happy to spend some cash on his new club, putting said cash in the vicinity of his oral orifice (money where his mouth is).

What’s relevant to Tui here is that if they’re splashing out on players from elsewhere that seriously limits the options for a club graduate without a whole lot of hype like Billy T. If Sanson arrives then that’s one more obstacle in his way to the first team (he’s only even made the bench once so far without having to worry about Sanson’s rivalry). Having said that, he did make the travelling squad for the French Cup tie away to Toulouse. He didn’t get onto the bench but he did get to watch the lads win that one 2-1.

OM.net: “In the first game of 2017, Rudi Garcia took a group of 19 players to Toulouse for the Coupe de France round of 32. As in Ligue 1 or Coupe de la Ligue, the manager can only list 18 names on the match sheet, the Olympian coach decided not to retain Bill Tuiloma.”

There are a few others in that same boat too and with that the rumours are heavy that Tuiloma will be loaned out this month… which makes sense for both sides so long as he can find a more suitable temporary home than the one he spent last season at, dropping in and out of the Strasbourg team. The word on the streets of Marseille is that both Tuiloma and his Armenian buddy Gael Andonian are the subject of discussions with GS Consolat, who could use the help lingering two points above relegation in the National division (which is two up on the CFA2 tier that Tui and Ando have been playing in). That’s’ the same division that Tui played in with Strasbourg, although he won’t get the chance to take on his old team since they got promoted to Ligue 2 after he left. Consolat are a fellow Marseille-based team which would be handy as well. We’re halfway through the window and still nothing confirmed though, best wait and see.

The CFA2 team plays again once more before the window closes, away at Hyeres, which could be the last time Tui appear for them for a while if he does move. If he’s shipped out even before then then he’s missed his farewell because their first game out of the Christmas break was a much needed 1-0 win over Martigues, snapping a run of four games without a victory dating back to November, but Tuiloma was suspended for an excessive accumulation of yellow cards.

Up Next: Le Waiting Game…

Stefan Marinovic – SpVgg Unterhaching (German Regionalliga)

If there’s one player in the All Whites who is absolutely playing at a level below their capabilities then it’s Marinovic, who has emerged from a strong crop of keepers as the undisputed numero uno for Anthony Hudson. There should be genuine debate over Mari vs Jake Gleeson but with Gleeson not having been available for a few series until recently, Marinovic set himself up as the incumbent and that’s where he remains – his Nations Cup exploits were superb, he was the kiwis’ best player at that tournament and saved a couple spotties in the final shootout too.

So pretty sweet to see this thing over the New Year then, aye?

Marinovic was on trial with English Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers from January 4 until January 15, conveniently during Unterhaching’s winter break. The trip was set up by All Whites assistant manager Peter Taylor, who also remains a scout for Wolves, and you can probably assume Hudson had some kind words of recommendation as well. (Hey remember when Ricki Herbert got Tony Lochhead a trial with Middlesbrough that time, haha).

While the January transfer window lasts a couple weeks more, it’s unlikely that Wolves get busy at all with Marinovic. By now he will have returned to his regular side and you can probably bet he sees the season out with them and continues his solid form as well – Unterhaching are absolutely slaying the Regionalliga, undefeated in their 21 games so far and way way waaaay out on top, gunning for promotion to the third tier of German footy. Marinovic has started 18 league games, conceding only 8 goals with 11 clean sheets. When you’re keeping more clean sheets than you are conceding goals then something is going right, for sure.

But here’s the trick: Marinovic’s contract runs up in July at the end of the season, whereupon he’ll be available for a free transfer. That’s when you can expect Wolves to make their move if they do. Fingers crossed because Mari is one dude who can definitely foot it in a stronger league but for a goalkeeper it’s incredibly hard to get noticed. He’s lucky that his national team has afforded him a few extra contacts.

AW’s Goalkeeping Coach Paul Gethard: “We have said for a while now that we rate Stef and that he has the ability to be a starting goalkeeper in the English Championship which is a tough competition.”

Up Next: Der Waiting Game…

Francis de Vries – Vancouver Whitecaps (American MLS)

Well, well, well. We’ve a new kiwi in the MLS as young Francis was picked up in the Superdraft by the Whitecaps. The 29th selection overall, de Vries is a talented centre back who was known in his college days to score a few goals as well. He’s the second kiwi in two years to be drafted after Kip Colvey was taken by San Jose with the 49th pick in 2016 and Andrew Bevin was picked up with the 80th pick by Seattle the year before, although unlike Colvey he never played MLS and is currently back at Team Wellington.

Christchurch native de Vries was taken in the second round, the Whitecaps using their firstie on right back Jakob Nerwinski, so defence was clearly a priority. The 52 goals they conceded were second worst in the Western Conference… only Jake Gleeson’s Portland Timbers were worse with 53 and if you’ve followed Gleeson’s entries in here then you know what a disaster their defence was in 2016.

We’ll have to wait and see if de Vries gets a run in the top team straight away or has to earn his strips with the reserves for a while first. Either way he’ll have a bit of company. In the main team is Ben McKendry who is a local lad that made his debut last term, nine years after joining the club as a 14 year old. He’s played a few times for the Canadian under-23s but before then he was actually eligible for New Zealand – the birthplace of both of his parents (technically he's still eligible for NZ until he plays a competitive game for the full Canadian team, see Wilfried Zaha's situation with England/Ivory Coast, but don't cross your fingers there). He spent a bit of time in Aotearoa as a youngster too, though has declared himself for Canada internationally. He’s a good chance of becoming a regular in first team squads in 2017.

One player who’s been plugging away in the Whitecaps II team however… that would be Deklan Wynne. Yup, that dude. He jetted over to Canada in the midst of that whole eligibility thing and made 13 appearances in the USL (the second tier of American/Canadian soccer). He and the left-footed de Vries might even find themselves competing for places. Also, de Vries has been drafted but he hasn’t been signed. Given that some publications were even projecting him as a first round chance, you’d assume there’s a 95% chance they ink him up but just so you know there’s nothing permanent yet.

A few scouting reports…

MLSSoccer.com: “De Vries has a wonderful left foot that he can use to pick out runners just about anywhere on the field. Everybody knew that coming into the Combine. What they didn't know is if he'd be able to keep up with some of the quicker attackers at the event, and he passed nearly every test.”

Top Drawer Soccer: “The center defender could transition to outside back at the professional level or slot in as a left center back. He is lethal on set pieces, which is a nice added bonus.”

Will Parchman’s MLSsoccer.com Grades: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS – C+

“Not a whole lot of positional diversity from the Whitecaps here. Nerwinski was a late riser up the draft board after a quality year at UConn, but he isn’t exactly the most exciting pick at No. 7 with Odoi-Atsem, Dunk, Storm, Nana-Sinkam and Aubrey still on the board there. Vancouver might try to flex him outside, which would give the pick more worth, but it wasn’t exactly an ambitious stab. As for de Vries, I’m a proponent of the pick. I thought the rangy New Zealand center back fell mightily in the draft and he was one of the quality pick-ups of the second round. To boot, he might have the best set-piece delivery we’ve seen out of a defender in recent memory.”

There are still two more rounds of the MLS Superdraft to be completed, which will take place on Wednesday NZ Time although there are no more kiwis eligible to be picked. Keep an eye out in the future though because there are a few belters out there not yet ready. Cory Brown for one, he was on the Big East defender of the year for 2016 and should be in hot demand if he commits to the draft in 2018. He’s one of a number of 2015 U20 World Cup All Whites that are currently in the college system, along with Sam Brotherton (Wisconsin), Noah Billingsley (UC Santa Barbara) and Stuart Holthusen (Akron) – plus Deklan Wynne who’s mentioned above, obviously.

UPDATE:

Up Next: The Waiting Game, eh?

Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

The first game back out of the break could’ve been easier, to be fair. The PECers were at home but they hosted Ajax and those buggers have been sweeping the floor, second only to Feyenoord on the table. Ryan Thomas had to be content with a place on the bench and by the time he came on with twenty minute to play, Zwolle were 2-0 down already thanks to a quick brace of goals, two in two minutes, to Lasse Schone from the penalty spot and then Hakim Ziyech straight after. Nicolai Brock-Madsen pulled one back within two minutes of Thommo’s introduction but then Ziyech added another and that was that, 3-1 the final score. Also of note, 17 year old Ajax winger Justin Kluivert made his debut in this one. His daddy just happens to be this fella called Patrick Kluivert, you may have heard of him.

Thommo only had time for 14 touches, completing nine passes with no shots or crosses or any of that. His bench role probably had a lot to do with missing training earlier in the week with a bout of flu. He didn’t get sick until after he’d had a chance to do a bit of this though:

He speaks English in there so no worries, it’s him and Dirk Marcellis, the former PSV defender who’s now a regular at the back for the PECers. The two were roommates at the club’s winter training camp in Spain and they chat about that and the season so far. In other news, midfielder Wout Brouma has left the club but they’ve quickly replaced him with 27 year old Swede Erik Israelsson.

Up Next: ADO Den Haag vs PEC Zwolle, 7.45am Sunday (NZT)

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Written by Nick Robinson On Tagged