Flying Kiwis – January 6
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
The transfer window is open, and like Gandalf said to the Fellowship: “They are coming!”
Moviegoers might be confused but if you’ve read the book you know that he was talking about beat-up transfer rumours for Winston Reid. He’s got six more months on his contract and talks over an extension continue to stall. That makes the All Whites captain a possible free transfer at the end of the season, though there are talk that the likes of Liverpool or Arsenal might be desperate enough to pay a transfer fee to get him a few months earlier. We’re sceptical, but best not rule it outhe most likely situation is that he leaves on his own accord at the end of the season, something Sam Allardyce has said that he expects to happen the way things stand.
West Ham have already been busy, signing Canadian international Doneil Henry and giving NZ media a prime opportunity to play spin doctors and twist this thing into their own narrative.
Yeah, Henry’s a centre back and a guy bought to be developed into a future starter. There’s even a bit of Winston Reid about how he plays, but to call him a straight replacement is a stretch. Remember it took a few seasons for Reid to find his feet in England. Also, Henry has twice trialled with the Hammers, once in 2013 and again over a couple of training spells more recently.
That Henry signing is still a big deal as far as Flying Kiwis is concerned though, because it came at the express recommendation of a certain Ryan Nelsen! Sam Allardyce coached Nelsen at Blackburn and the pair have clearly kept up a line. Doneil Henry’s a Toronto FC academy product and was coached by Nelsen last year in the MLS.
"Ryan was my captain at Blackburn for a couple of years and he rang us and told us about Doneil. He said this lad definitely has Premier League potential and he has everything he needs. With a little coaching from us and work in terms of how to defend in the Premier League, Ryan says he has all the attributes to be a good player. We have invested in him for the near future, so we do hope he can make some sort of appearance this season if he settles in and does as well as Ryan thinks he will. If not, we hope he is certainly one for the future." – Sam Allardyce
Anyway, it’s been a couple weeks since the last edition of this column and so in keeping with the English season, Reid and West Ham have played three times since then. The first two were a couple of losses to Chelsea and Arsenal, Reid was booked in both and had a tough time in each of them. He and the Hammers were able to steady the ship a little over New Years with a 1-1 draw at home to West Brom, which at least keeps them thee points clear in seventh place.
Up Next: Wednesday morning away to Everton, FA Cup third round, 8.45am (NZT)
Chris Wood – Leicester City (English Premier League)
There are signs that things are improving with Leicester City. A 2-1 loss to Spurs was nothing to savour but that was followed by a 1-0 win at Hull for three crucial points against a relegation-battling competitor. Chris Wood got 35 good minutes off the bench in that one as the Foxes were able to hold off a Hull side that hit the post twice in the second half. He then sat out the game with Liverpool altogether as a pair of Stevie G penalties had Pool up 2-0 at half time, only for a 2 goal in 3 minute onslaught to earn a precious draw for Leicester.
Woody also got another half an hour on the field on the weekend in the FA Cup tie against Newcastle. He had a few more chances in this one, with Leicester advancing with a 1-0 win thanks to a Leo Ulloa goal. The 35 mins against Hull are the most he’s played in the Premier League this season, with a League Cup loss to Shrewsbury still his only start in 2014-15. The fourth round of the FA Cup – where Leicester will travel to either Burnley or Tottenham at the end of the month – might be an opportunity if Nigel Pearson chooses to rest a few of his main guys for precious EPL games/points, however there’s a decent chance he won’t last that long. More than a few Championship clubs are probably keen on a guy in Wood’s position.
Up Next: Aston Villa on the 11th, trying to keep the form up (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)
Three more games and three more win for Ipswich. After 24 of 46 games, they sit clear in second place and just a point behind leaders Bournemouth. This from a squad that adds up to a total transfer spend of £10,000. There’s a long, long way to go yet but promotion is a real possibility at this pace…
The win over Middlesbrough was a fairly routine one but a crucial one based on the state of the table, built on strong defence and a couple of capitalised chances. Boro struggled to break through Tommy Smith and Christophe Berra and their shooting was wild.
That was followed on Boxing Day by a really dominant away win over Brentford. Town were 3-0 up at half time! Daryl Murphy bagged a two goals and a bottle of something bubbly for Man of the Match, and although the hosts pulled a couple late goals back, a goal to the Kiwi pride of the English Championship, none other than Tommy Smith himself, sealed the deal. 4-2 was the score. Check out the gorgeous way Smithy cuts inside to leave the defender lying on his back and helpless!
And in case anyone thought that Mick McCarthy’s side couldn’t repeat the attacking dose, they put three past Charlton. Oh, and guess who scored the opener? Our man T.Smizz again! Attacking threat from centre defence, he’s the complete player! Dave McGoldrick and Daryl Murphy scored the others, McG may have had a hatty but for a couple ringings of the goalframe.
Ipswich are now 11 games without a loss in the Championship and have 8 wins from their last 10 home games. Add to that an impressive 1-1 draw in the FA Cup against a Southampton side that recently toppled Arsenal and took points off Chelsea. A home replay awaits. With McCarthy’s defensive ideals and their current run of form, a Cup run might not be out of the question. A win will see them host Crystal Palace in the fourth round.
Up Next: An early game at home to Derby, 1.15am Sunday (NZT)
Marco Rojas – FC Thun (Swiss Super League)
We have news! You see that unfamiliar club team beside Marco’s name? He’s been loaned out once more and will now play the rest of the season in Switzerland. A welcome chance, no doubt, after the disaster of the Greuer Furth thing. That particular loan was cancelled amidst frustration on either side, Marco’s for not getting game time beyond a few reserve league showing and the club’s at his perceived inability to adapt to the style of German play. So this is in everyone’s best interests.
He remains a Stuttgart player and it seems they have not given up on the 23 year old All White, expressing their own distaste at how little he was used at Furth. So says Stuttgart sporting director Jochen Schneider.
FC Thun currently sits fifth of the ten sides in the top Swiss division, having finished sixth last season. They qualified for the Champions League group stages back in 2005-06, drawn against Arsenal, Sparta Prague and Ajax, and they were featured in the group stages of last season’s Europa league too. Rojas joins a side that has been pretty inconsistent so far, though they’ve only lost two of their last ten so that may be changing. And although, like the lower German divisions where he had been, the Swiss league does take a month-long break after Christmas, they do have a few friendly games over the next week and a half. Seemingly a perfect opportunity to see what they’ve got in Marco Rojas. But it’s probably best not to put expectations on his appearances, given how things have been for him so far in Europe. Still, from all accounts this is a positive move for the former A-League Player of the Season.
He’ll be the second New Zealander to play in the Swiss first division, after the great Wynton Rufer who spent 7 seasons with FC Zurich, FC Aurau (where he was the league’s top scorer in 1987-88) and Grasshopper Zurich – before he moved to Werder Bremen.
Up Next: Thun host second division FC Schaffhausen in a friendly, 2.30am on the 11th (NZT)