Oh hey there, how’s it goin? Yeah it’s been a bit quiet lately, but’s that’s alright. As long as your hangin’ in there champ, that’s all that matters.

So, what’s been happening in Wellington? The big news over the last few days has been Brendon McCullum and the Black Caps, and deservedly so. What a cracking effort - conjuring one of the great Test match draws at the Basin Reserve. Well of course with all those records being broken, no bandwagon-jumping media firm had time to squawk about what was taking place just down the road… So here’s what went on in the world of the Wellington Phoenix, in the last 7 days…

Orlando Magic. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images AsiaPac — Orlando Magic. *Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images AsiaPac*

Well we’ll start with the bad news. Just as BJ and B-Mac were nailing up the framework for their brick wall, some massive dutch prick called Orlando Engelar from the Melbourne Heart was smashing in a belter at Westpac Stadium to put the Nix down 1-0. 1 nil became 2 nil courtesy of a rare Glen Moss howler, which after half time became 3 nil. Then 4 nil. Then 5. Yeah, a 5-0 drubbing. It wasn’t pretty, and was definitely hard to watch instead of the cricket or NRL 9’s. In truth, I only really caught 20-30 minutes of the game. You could see the lads heads were down, and realistically there was no way back once the fourth flew in. Ernie Merrick described it as a blip, but a very disappointing blip. Mince Lia spoke to Radio Sport & said the players had accepted the loss, accepted the overconfidence of the team, and were looking to start fresh. As cliché as that seems, he sounded legit. For a team to go on a such a great run, then get beaten 5-0, it all points towards a big fat blip. I’m not worried, you shouldn’t be worried.

In other, more positive news – the idea to move away from the Cake Tin looks a like a possibility, and not just a kick up the arse for the managers of Westpac. Gareth Morgan is heading a proposal for a 12,000 seat stadium in Petone (Peh-tony, it’s in Lower-Hutt for all you geographically-ignorant folk). That proposal will go to the council, where the powers will have a huge decision-making orgy, and will make some sort of yes/no/maybe type thing. We should hear from them around June. Personally I think it’s a great idea. I’ve been to Westpac stadium and it’s huge, but it doesn’t fit the bill. The Nix average around 8,000 per crowd, but they’re playing in a 30,000 strong venue. That’s like renting an 8 bedroom house for 2 people - you either need more people to help pay the bills, or you need to downsize. Unfortunately, this is not Europe. We don’t have and endless supply of hard-core week-in-week-out football fans, so the crowds are going to peak at around 9-10,000 for regular season games.

A smaller stadium for the same amount of punters is *hopefully* gonna mean the atmosphere gets turned up a notch. Plus, fans will be that much closer to the action – there won’t be the awkward 20 metres of cricket boundary between the touchline & the security goons.

Of course it means that if there IS a finals game played in Wellington, a crowd of more than 12,000 might be on the cards, and some will miss out – but isn’t that all part of the fun? Imagine missing out a ticket because the game’s sold out! That’s some fucken Premier League shit right there.

I’m not sure what you think, but I’m definitely keen for a smaller, football-only ground for these guys. It might even call for a sneaky road trip for the opening match? Hmmm load up the beers I’d say.

The Nix play away to Central coast this Friday. 3 points will get them back into the top 6 if results go their way. No more blips lads, there’s no cricket on this weekend so I won’t have the luxury of skipping between channels. Come on you Nix, and for Christ’s sake Brockie, clean your room!