Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

It’s been a tricky pre-season for West Ham. Very tricky.

After their fair play record (a knife in the heart of Sam Allardyce’s reputation) squeezed them into European competition, they’ll have visions of saying farewell to Upton Park with some tasty midweek battler matches. This is their final season before moving into the Olympic Stadium and as such it needs to be a decent one. It’s gonna cost hard cash to keep up with their new digs so the better they do the less likely they are to crumble financially in a stadium that’s probably too big to fill out every other week the way things were going. Hence no more Fat Sam.

Replacing him is Slaven Bilic, a former Hammer and both a former Croatian international player and coach. With him comes a bit of a shake-up in the squad. French midfielder Dimitri Payet (coming over from Bill Tuiloma’s Marseille side) is the main new face, Pedro Obiang and Angelo Ogbonna are others who cost a pretty penny (plus Carl Jenkinson is back on loan). Out go Carlton Cole, Stewart Downing and a few other average talents (Downing’s a step above average, he had a superb first half of the season last time but chose to return to his old club Middlesbrough, a shame for WHU). The club are also desperately trying to bring in another striker after Enner Valencia was ruled out injured ‘til possibly after Christmas. Things could go one of two ways for them from here…

The only problem with their European campaign is that they were entered in the very first round of qualifying. Which means they’ve been balancing Thursday night continental minnow clashes with weekend friendlies. Winston Reid sat out the first tie, a 4-0 aggregate victory over Lusitanos of Andorra (in which 16 year old Reece Oxford became the club’s youngest ever player).

Reid made his season bow when he helped the Hammers to a 1-0 home win over Birkirkara in the next round but an injury has kept him out since (though it sounds precautionary). West Ham went and lost the second leg in Malta, however they advanced on penalties. They then went and collapsed at home to Astra Giurgiu (Romania), blowing a 2-0 lead with 20 mins left to draw 2-2. James Collins was sent off, the third red card in the last four European games for West Ham, and his manager was banished to the stands himself. All after they qualified for their fair play record. Oh, the poetry.

At this stage, it’s assumed that Reid will be partnered with Italian international Ogbonna at the back, certainly the rest of the candidates haven’t done much to impress in the Europa qualifiers. Whether he plays in the second leg is up in the air (they need to either win or draw with at least 3 goals to progress) but the opening Premier League game is realistic. He was so close to playing the second Birkirkara match that he took the press conference the day before.

The second leg vs Astra is on Friday at 6am.

Up Next: Meanwhile their PL journey starts Monday 12.30am at the Emirates against Arsenal (Both NZT).

Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)

The last 12 months have been a frustrating period for the All Whites’ leading striker at club level. He showed plenty of spirit in sticking around Leicester and trying to fight for a place in the Premier League while he had the opportunity – and initially that looked fine and dandy as he came off the bench to score a late equaliser against Everton in the season opener. Yet as the games came and went, Wood was passed over more and more. He’d end up playing just 107 minutes in the Premier League, all off the bench, before being sent on loan to Ipswich… where he appeared 8 times with no goals and was then recalled to Leicester as they struggled with injuries. Except he never played for their top team again. So no shock when he was transferred, there was always plenty of Championship interest.

It was Leeds that won the auction, stumping up a reported £3m to sign the kiwi international. Not the most stable situation up there in Yorkshire, as their chairman runs amuck and players were refusing to play for them last season in parts. When Uwe Rosler was appointed manager in May, he became their fifth boss in twelve months. But they’re also a club that’ll give him opportunities and that’s what Wood needs at this stage.

Fun fact: He did a Haka for his team initiation.

Unfortunately his pre-season was hampered by a hamstring injury. It limited him in training with his new side, and although he was able to travel to Austria for their friendly tour, he didn’t play in the first game against Eintracht Frankfurt– one which was marred by some very Leeds-y post-match violence between fans – though he did play 80 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Hoffenheim, glancing a header from a free-kick past the post early on.

Rosler said at one point that he wasn’t sure Wood would be 100% for the season opener against Burnley, but he seems to be all good now. The big fella got another 80-odd mins in against Everton on the weekend and it sounds like he impressed plenty of people with his strength on the ball and his eye for a vicious belter of a shot. You know, like this one:

Yeah, there was a bit of a deflection on that, but nice to come out of pre-season with a goal. Rosler prefers a 4-3-3 formation and Wood seems to be the likely spearhead of that attacking line. If his transfer fee didn’t give you that impression, then his number 9 jersey might. It’s also not expected that Leeds will make any more signings. He’s had a nomadic career so far, perhaps Elland Road is where he finally settles down.

"It’s nice to score but I wasn’t worried because ultimately I know I can score goals in this league. I know I can do that come the start of the season." – Chris Wood, LUFC

By the way, if you were wondering about those hyper-sexual jerseys that Woody’s wearing there, that’s a story in itself. After some big legal issues with their kit provider, Leeds wrangled out of that deal and signed a new one with Italian brand Kappa, which is reputed to be the biggest in the Championship and on par with some Premier League clubs. It must be lucrative too, because they’ve ditched the idea of a major shirt sponsor – a real throwback to the glory days of the 60s & 70s. Whether the lack of sponsor is for aesthetic reasons or commercial reasons (they’ve not exactly been a financial success story in recent years), it’s hard to tell. Their official website description was notably ambiguous: “The shirt is without a main sponsor, making it unmistakably Leeds United”. ‘Unmistakeable’ because it means they’re dead broke or unmistakeable because it keeps reminding you of the glory days of old? Either way, not important. Dead gorgeous those things are. Here’s another look at one on this runway model:

Up Next: Leeds vs Burnley, Saturday 11pm (NZT)

Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)

After falling in the playoff semi-finals last season, Ipswich certainly exceeded expectations. Getting within a stone’s throw of a stone’s throw of the Premier League must have been devastating, but for a team stitched together by academy prospects, free transfer reclamations and the odd loanee it was outstanding.

They’ve since lost standout fullback Tyrone Mings to Bournemouth for £8m, though they did re-sign David Murphy for another couple years. Manager Mick McCarthy has admitted some frustrations over getting new signings sealed and delivered, despite the influx of cash (“I think that’s part of it because clubs think ‘they’ve just got eight million quid in’”). Still, they’ve brought in Danish international left-back Jonas Knudsen to replace Mings, as well as midfielders Giles Coke and Larsen Toure after the pair did well in trials. Plus striker Brett Pitman has looked good in friendly action and young fellas Ainsley Maitland-Niles (on loan from Arsenal) and Ryan Fraser (on loan from Bournemouth) could be handy additions.

Not too much catering to central defence though, which is good news for Tommy Smith. By the look of the pre-season rotations Smith would appear to remain first choice alongside Christophe Berra, with captain Luke Chambers out on the right to accommodate them. Chambers edged Smith from the starters for a while last season but that didn’t last, McCarthy favouring the combination of left and right footed centre-backs. He’s old school, that one.

Ipswich fans do have a sense of frustration with how little money has been spent despite the Mings money, however they’ve kept all the other major contributors of last season’s core and could again be outside favourites for a playoff spot. Tommy Smith fares to be a big part of things however they go.

Up Next: Away to Brentford, 2am Sunday (NZT)

Bill Tuiloma – Olympique de Marseille (French Ligue 1)

Last season ended with Bill Tuiloma announcing himself to the attentive kiwi footy fan after making his first team debut off the bench for Marseille. The next one begins with Tui having announced himself to the rest of the country too after some monumentous performances at the Under 20 World Cup in New Zealand, captaining the side and leading by example. He added to that reputation with some quality at the Pacific Games for the Under 23s as they tried to qualify for the Olympics, but that went awry for reasons beyond his control.

Bill also ended last season with rumours of a new contract on the table for him. Since he’s returned, he’s gone ahead and signed that contract, making him a full professional and keeping him at the club for three more years. Big news that.

We don’t know what kind of role he’ll have for the top team, presumably he’s got a long way to go still to really challenge for regular Ligue 1 action. But he was also a presence in getting the reserves promoted last season. Tui’s been given the number 18 jersey for this season, the same number he wore in his two senior appearances last time.

Keeping manager Marcelo Bielsa from bolting to West Ham (to trade one kiwi for another) was an important bit of business for OM, though not the only bit. Gone are top scorers Andre-Pierre Gignac and Andre Ayew. Gone also are midfielders Diego Payet (who went where his manager did not -> to West Ham) and Giannelli Imbula, though they got decent cash back for them. Lucas Ocampos fares to be a key striker after joining from Monaco, while Bouna Sarr will help the midfield stocks and Karim Rekik, a 20 year old Dutch defender who joined from Man City, will offer some needed depth at the back.

One thing they don’t have to worry about is Europa League qualification. Marseille go through automatically to the groups based on their finish in Ligue 1. They’d have targeted Champions League, but continental footy is continental footy. That doesn’t start for another month. The French season begins this weekend, the reserves have to wait another seven days.  

Up Next: OM host Caen at 7am Sunday (NZT)

Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

European football is a bit of a trend here, with four of these lads potentially playing Europa League this season, but unfortunately for Thommo, he’s one of the fellas to miss out. He came close though, Zwolle finishing within the Eredivisie qualifying playoff spots (yeah, in Holland they playoff for Europa League qualifying – in England they try to lose to avoid it). Except a 3-2 aggregate loss to Vitesse (who are 2-0 down after their first leg vs Southampton) cost them their chance. Last year they had a brief taste, only to lose in qualifying.

Not that it’s a major deal for this club, who won the 2014 Dutch Cup, backing that up by making the final last season and finishing sixth in the league, which was their highest ever Eredivisie finish.

They’ve kept thing fairly consistent through off-season too. Tomáš Necid and Jody Lukoki both left, which weakens them up front, but they’ve been able to bring in reinforcements. Most notable being loan deals for Ajax’s Sheraldo Becker (who played the back half of last season on loan at Zwolle too) and Nottingham Forest’s Lars Veldwijk. Zwolle is a fairly small club despite their recent successes, so they have to rely on loans and free transfers, but on paper it looks like they’ve done well to replace the blokes they’ve lost and will be hoping for another season challenging for Europe. However losing Maikel van der Werff at the back might be a hurdle.

The biggest drama of the last few months actually came from the coaching staff, when manager Ron Jans revealed he found out that his assistant Rene Hake was leaving when he read it online on holiday in Sardinia. But it’s Jans himself who has been in high demand for what he’s done with this team. Keeping him at the helm was a great boost.

Pre-season was a mixed affair for Zwolle. They won all but two games, with Veldwijk scoring in his first five of them, yet they’ve come out of it all with only one fit central midfielder with less than a week to go until the season begins. Mustafa Saymak is the latest knock, he could miss the entire season with a torn ligament in his knee. All the more need for the number 30 to have a big season.

Up Next: 4.30am Sunday, kicking off at home to Cambuur (NZT)

Marco Rojas – FC Thun (Swiss Super League)

Everyone else here gets to celebrate their pre-season achievements, but not Marco Rojas. Not because he wasn’t any good, but because that’s old news already. The Swiss Super League is already two rounds in and FC Thun are scuffling away to qualify for the Europa League group stages.

First things first, Marco Rojas has managed to get himself back to FC Thun on loan, the club where he played the last six months of 2014/15 and where he finally started to string some games together after a very frustrating first year and a half to his European odyssey. He found himself playing more often than not as a wide left attacking player, given the freedom to drift in and create and that’s what he’s gone back to. He’ll remain at Thun for the duration of the season.

Thun entered at the second round of Europa League qualifying, where they took care of Hapoel Beer Sheva (Israel) by an aggregate score of 3-2, narrowly holding on to a 2-1 home win in the second leg when an equaliser would have put them out on away goals. That was followed by a 0-0 draw at home against FC Vaduz (Liechtenstein) which means the Friday morning return game has to be a win or a score draw for them to keep the candle lit. Marco Rojas has started all three of those games.

Meanwhile in SSL play, it hasn’t been quite as nice, as the side has lost two of three to open. Rojas was only a sub in their opening game (played three days after the away leg in Israel) and when he was brought on after 66 minutes, they were already down 5-1 at home to Grasshoppers. In fact, 5-1 was the half time score. They closed it to 5-3, but an inglorious start all the same.

Backing up after a home leg wasn’t so disastrous. The Sunday after the Thursday night that saw them progress in Europe saw them bounce back from an early deficit to beat Lugano 3-2 away. Both Lugano goals came from the penalty spot, one in the 7th minute and one in the 90th. The pick of Thun’s goals was this edge of the box effort from our lad Marco. Viva el Marco.

But then after that 0-0 draw against Vaduz they found themselves in a scrap with Luzern. And while both games were at home, they didn’t hit the net once. Marco Rojas spurned a chance from a cross with quarter of an hour to play, before Luzern grabbed an 89th minute winner through Paraguayan Dario Lezcano. Tired legs and all that.

On the negative side, they now have four games in ten days. On the positive side, Rojas has started every competitive game bar one so far, despite the fixture congestion.

Up Next: Another double-header, 5.30am Friday in Liechtenstein, then 2am Monday vs Young Boys (NZT). Granted, this one’s not such a trip since Vaduz actually plays in the Swiss League and the tiny principality exists on a 25km stretch of the Swiss/Austrian border.

Tyler Boyd - Vitória S.C. (Portuguese Primeira Liga)

A new name on the books this season, former Welly Nix lad Tyler Boyd left the kiwi capital for the sunny shores of Portugal, signing a four year deal with Vitória S.C. They’re another club challenging for the Europa League, though they went down 2-1 in their third round qualifying first leg to Rheindorf Altach (albeit, with an away goal there).

Tyler ain’t likely to be involved there for a while yet. For now he’s gotta earn his stripes in the reserves, where he’s been playing through pre-season. They’ve been losing most of their friendlies, but Boyd grabbed a goal against an Abel Xavier-managed (!) Desportivo das Aves and won a penalty against Penafiel. Vitoria’s second team compete in the Segunda Liga, the level below the Primeira Liga, and you’ll probably need to speak Portuguese to follow it closely. But the chap’s playing regularly for those reserves and if he gets promoted to the first team this season, well, he won’t be the first. Manager Armando Evangelista just got the top team job after coaching the reserves last campaign.

Up Next: Sunday morn at 7.45, FC Porto vs Vitoria de Guimaraes (NZT)

Jeremy Brockie (And Friends) – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)

Oh, and don’t forget about this bloke. Brocks left midway through what was personally a pretty disappointing season at the Wellington Phoenix to join SuperSport in South Africa. He then proceeded to score buckets of goals. Seriously, he played half a season and still managed to finish tied for sixth on the goals scorers chart – sixth being the position SSU finished on the table too.

In fact, this might be a Watch This Space situation, because it’s been reported that Mamelodi Sundowns have put in a record bid for Brockie’s services as they prepare for an African Champions League run.

"I only read those things in newspapers. I am a SuperSport United player. They worked hard to bring me here. They are special to me and hopefully I will win the League title with them next season." – Jezza.

Clearly SuperSport reckoned they were on to something with their A-League addition, so they went back for more. Next season (which kicks off the same weekend as the European stuff) will see Brockie joined by former Phoenix teammates Michael Boxall and Isaka Cernak. Alright, Cernak only played a short while for the Nix, but still.

Neither of them are gonna be depth signings either, since the SAPSL only offers five squad places for foreign players. Plus SuperSport CEO Stan Matthews really seems to be talking them up, here’s what he said about the kiwi of the pair (Cernak is Australian):

"Then we have Michael Boxall, the New Zealand international, who I think is going to be one of the best defenders in the League. From everything we have seen, he has power, pace, reads the game well and a no-nonsense approach and I think he is going to be a big hit."

Boxall has been granted his South African work permit and featured with Brockie in a 4-0 friendly loss to Crystal Palace (yes, that Crystal Palace. Pardew and all). Cernak had to wait a little longer but got his through in time, though given that he didn’t play any pre-season he’s not likely to debut for a week or two.

It seems like South Africa is becoming the new undercover hub for undercover Flying Kiwis. Third placed team last season Bidvest Wits have tried to find their own Brockie with the signing of former All White Kris Bright (only 28 years old, last seen playing for Bharat FC in India). Plus Harry Edge has agreed a deal with the University of Pretoria, after impressing for the PEC Zwolle reserves when the UoP’s own reserves toured Holland in May. If that name sounds familiar, it bloody should. Harry (21 years old) is the cousin of All White Jesse Edge and son of former All White Declan Edge, who’s been instrumental in the careers of not only those two but also Ryan Thomas and Tyler Boyd through his Ole Football Academy in Porirua. Which also explains the Zwolle connection.

Up Next: SuperSport United vs Orlando Pirates, Wednesday 12 August, 5.30am (NZT)