Michael Boxall & Jeremy Brockie (SuperSport United… Sort Of)

All the talk for all those months about Jeremy Brockie and the clubs that are out there trying to lure him away from SuperSport Utd and it’s Mike Boxall who leaves the team first. Didn’t see that one coming, Boxall has been a regular his whole time with SSU since joining on a free from the Wellington Phoenix, following the lead of Old Mate Brox.

But his contract ran up at the end of June. SSU had an option to extend it and they chose not to, instead preferring to talk new terms with the All Whites defender (the All Whites’ most consistent defender over the last twelve months and a starter in all three Confederations Cup games, by the way). That makes it sound like they wanted him to take a pay-cut, although that’s just wild speculation. Boxall returned early from his post-Confed holidays with SuperSport still in the middle of an off-season continental campaign but the two sides couldn’t find enough common ground and he’s now a free agent.

The news was first revealed on the SuperSport Facebook page:

Their CEO Stan Matthews (presumably not the Blackpool/Stoke/England legend… who died in 2000) had this to say:

“We had an option on Michael’s contract which we did not want to exercise unconditionally. We offered him an amended option which he has declined, a decision which we respect. Michael served us extremely well in his time at the club, we wish him every success in his future."

Considering he was nominated for the Telkom Knockout Cup player of the tournament within the last two weeks and was a part of back to back Nedbank Cup triumphs with the club (although he missed this season’s final with international duty), you’d figure he can find another Premier Soccer League contract somewhere soon. Or… hey, the Nix still have a couple holes to fill.

Meanwhile old mate Jeremy Brockie continues to score goals for Matsatsantsa. He scored in the Nedbank Cup final victory and he just scored twice in the Confederation Cup (the African Europa League) to put SSU into the quarters. They’re definitely a cup team, this SuperSport lot. Too many draws in the league ended their chances to challenging for that one way early despite actually losing an equal amount of games as the champions Bidvest Wits.

All those goals have only increased the speculation that a bigger club might poach him. Kaizer Chiefs are known to have made an inquiry while Mamelodi Sundowns have been linked with him for ages now and Orlando Pirates have also been mentioned a couple times lately. However the club are desperate to keep him and with a contract that runs until 2020, they are in a powerful place for negotiations. It’s been reported that SSU declined an offer of over NZ$1m last season to keep a hold of Brockie.

(And they damn sure didn’t want him for his dancing…)

Brockie had spoken publically in support of their manager Stuart Baxter’s position but that didn’t stop him resigning to take over as the new national team boss and he’s since been replaced by Eric Tinkler. Possibly a reason to wanna leave there but also potentially a chance to become an even more important player in the new regime. The winter transfer window in South Africa is now open so best watch this space. Here’s what Brockie had to say when pressed about the new gaffer.

The Brox: “There's still room for improvement which is scary for the rest of the league and Eric is inheriting a good squad with a tight bunch of boys. A couple more signings I think we'll be challenging not only the cups but for the league title as well.”

Then when they asked him about his future he smiled and said: “Yeah, we’ll see.”

Amber Hearn (FC Koln)

The Footy Ferns’ all-time leading goal scorer has spent the last six years doing for USV Jena in Germany what she does for New Zealand: putting the ball in the net. 50 goals in 148 appearances for Jena but she won’t be adding to that after signing with FC Koln, also in the women’s Bundesliga. Hearn was a popular player with the Jena fans but they weren’t gonna cough up the cash she wanted and so it was time to move on.

Yet Amber doesn’t leave on her own, the Jena captain Julia Arnold has also departed to join up with Koln. The pair of them link up with a team that’s just got themselves promoted from the second division (Jena finished ninth out of twelve teams in the top flight) and the levels of experience they each have to offer will be enormous. As to why she ended up getting released, here’s some explanation.

Jens Managing Director Jens Roß: “Fans of USV Jena probably never experienced an Amber game during the last six years when she didn’t give 100% on the pitch. Her willingness to serve the club was exemplary and she scored many important goals for us. Last season, however, it was also clear that the workload over many years - especially with the many national team trips – haven’t passed without a trace. For the new season we could not offer her an offer that matched her expectations, so she decided to search for a new club.”

A little harsh for a 32 year old player but it’s also fair to say that last season wasn’t her best, only scoring three times in 22 matches. A change of scenery ought to go down well then.

Henry Cameron (Limerick FC)

Flying Kiwis Transfer Window Numero Uno went into young Hank’s release from Blackpool, concluding with a little tease as to his probable next home. As expected that’s since been made official and you can paint it green because the lad’s off to Ireland.

It’s a slightly curious one, this is. The League of Ireland isn’t the first place you expect a player to end up as they try resurrect their young career. But there’s a connection here that played a huge part and that’s manager Neil McDonald – the same gaffer he once played for at Blackpool. Reuniting with a boss that’s shown faith in your potential before. Makes sense.

The call came from McDonald while he was away with the New Zealand U20s at the World Cup and Cameron reckons it was an immediate yes. Crazy thing is he’s still only just turned 20 so as long as that knee gets back to what it once was then he’s got a long career ahead of him and a fresh start with a familiar manager might be exactly what he needs.

Henry Cameron: “I think I bring a lot of pace to the team, direct play, crosses into the box and obviously hopefully a lot of goals. Hopefully, I’ll get a lot of game-time, put good performances in and help the team to finish as high as we can.”

Unlike most of these other folks moving clubs in the offseason though, the LOI Premier Division is smack bang in the middle of things. With a dozen games remaining, Limerick FC are sitting almost dead centre on the table and six points off third – which is a Europa League qualifying place. Cork City are running away with it and Dundalk have a big gap on both sides of them sitting second but Bray Wanderers are catchable in third and Limerick, coming off a 5-3 win over Bray a month ago will fancy their chances. Cameron officially joined soon after a 2-0 win away at Drogheda but a 3-1 defeat at struggling Galway has stalled them a little since.

That match was too soon for Hank but he should feature soon as Limerick face a trio of home games. The first is a Wednesday friendly against Charlton, followed by league games against Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers. Fellow new signing Joe Crowe (great name) did get his clearance through in time to play against Galway, a Northern Irish defender who’s about the same age as Henry and has joined on loan from Norwich’s U23 team.

Neil McDonald: “I expect [Henry] to play well, I expect him to take people on and put the ball in the box. He’s a winger that can play both sides, which is excellent. He has two great feet. He’s a New Zealand full international. He’s just come back from the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea. We’re looking forward to working with him again. I had him at Blackpool when I was there. He played the majority of the games before he got injured. I really enjoyed working with him and it will be the same this time at Limerick.

I hope that he adds to the squad and improves the squad. That’s why I’ve brought him here. There is no point in bringing anyone just to make up the squad. He will have to fight for his place after our good win Friday night against Drogheda. It has added competition for places but he’s a player that I like, he’s a player that will hopefully impress everybody, and deliver the goods.”

There once was a fella named Hank

For the All Whites his knee took a shank

Got released by Blackpool

But don’t worry it’s cool

He’s in Ireland with Neil to thank

Erin Nayler (FC Girondins de Bordeaux)

One of the Football Ferns’ most consistently impressive players over the last few years has been goalie Erin Nayler, who in the wake of the last Olympics went and signed on with Olympique Lyonnais in France for a couple of seasons.

Nayler was only brought in to act as a third string keeper but it was still an incredible opportunity. Lyon are the best team in France, they’ve won the league a record 15 times and the cup a record nine times as well as, best of all, being four-time champions of Europe. And that includes winning all three of those trophies this past season, one helluva treble. To put this into some context their continental season ended lifting the Champions League after a shootout win over PSG while their league season, goddamn… 21 wins from 22 games, 103 goals scored and 6 conceded. Sheer insanity.

Erin Nayler, August 2016: “There are many French internationals in Lyon. They’re great players, very talented. I will try to learn from them. I will give everything to be the best goalkeeper possible. I will work hard and learn a lot to improve.”

Problem was Nayler never got close to playing in that squad, getting just three match day squad selections. Playing behind French international keepers Sarah Bouhaddi and Meline Gerard probably didn’t help. Instead she spent the season in the second tier on loan at Grenoble Foot 38. It was a weird situation where she trained with Lyon early in the week then played for Grenoble at the end of it. Even weirder is she pretty much straight away then played against Lyon in the French Cup (a 5-0 win for the parent club).

But the whole season will have done wonders for the 25 year old’s development and, best of all, it’s given her career an anchor in the brutal European ranks. Now it’s been revealed that Nayler’s had a transfer “agreed in principle” to join FC Girondins de Bordeaux for next season. There are some technicalities to polish off yet but the club said as of the start of this month that they expect her in preseason training on July 25.

Bordeaux snatched a draw away to PSG on the final day of the season (PSG busy preparing for that Champs League final) which, coupled with Saint-Etienne’s 1-0 loss at home to Guingamp, meant that the Bordo’s avoided relegation by a single point. So Nayler finds herself on a top division club, bloody awesome. And with Bordeaux’s narrow escape last time she’s also a part of a pretty substantive squad improvement with six new transfers already coming in: Erin Nayler (GK), Chloé Bordes (DEF), Julie Thibaud and Solène Barbance (MID) and Nadjma Ali Nadjim (FWD).

They might not even be done yet though with Elisa Launay and Alizée Nadal already wearing the gloves in the first team it’ll be fun to see where Nayler stands amongst them - whether she goes straight in as the number one and one of those others is sold or loaned; or if she’s gotta win that place over preseason and beyond.

Chris Wood (Leeds United)

Are we likely to see Chris Wood getting that rumoured transfer to the Premier League this summer? Would he consider walking out on Leeds considering that manager Garry Monk already has? Are the Whites showing a lack of ambition in building on last season’s success, something that might encourage Woody to pack his bags and holler for a taxi? The answer to all three questions is a resounding NO and here’s the piece that explains why…

Dane Ingham (Brisbane Roar)

Been a crazy year for this bloke. Only just turned 18 and a year ago barely a bugger had heard of him and those that had weren’t exactly expecting him to pledge his international allegiance the kiwi way. Next thing he’s lining up against Mexico and Portugal at the Confederations Cup. He made his professional debut in an Asian Champions League qualifier in January 2017 (as a 17 year old) and scored in his second A-League match – the fourth youngest A-League scorer ever. Now he’s re-signed with the Brisbane Roar until… apparently three years but none of the major reportage seems to wanna confirm that (they’re all just rewrites of the press release, lazy jokers).

Dane Ingham: “I’ve been at the Roar since I was 15 years old and I’m proud to extend my contract. It’s a great environment to be part of for a young player, and I want to continue to learn off the senior players in our squad. The last few months have been a dream come true for me.”

To have come as far as he has so quickly, it’s no surprise that the Roar want to lock him down into the future. As his coach John Aloisi points out in the press release he’s a product of their youth system and it’s always a big boost to clubs to be able to retain those kinds of lads (and to have lads worth retaining). So far Dane’s got more international caps than he does A-League matches with just the three league apps (nine overall for the Roar) and as much as anything else this news is a way of integrating him into the first team set-up for the new season. His contract will probably reflect that, one would assume.

It’s only been the last year or two when he’s properly been used as a fullback too, up until then he was more of a winger. It’s clearly worked and while the Roar attack is in the middle of an overhaul ahead of the next campaign, the defence is a little more stable. We’re looking at a bit of Jack Hingert, Corey Brown and Connor O’Toole in the fullback stocks with Hingert the incumbent on the right who Ingham’ll be trying to nudge the hell out of there. Wouldn’t expect the kind of minutes his brother gets at the Melbourne Victory but we should see Dane Boy really putting the pressure on that first XI if he keeps up the momentum of his career so far.

If At First You Don’t Succeed, Trial and Trial Again

Henry Cameron got his new gig but two other free agent kiwi footy players aren’t finding things so easy. Moses Dyer has trialled with Arendal in Norway and Vejle in Denmark lately but neither has evolved into a contract for him. Upon leaving Vejle the boss there, Jacob Kruger, said: “We had a good look at him and he didn’t look like a player who would improve our squad”. Yeah, ouch.

Dyer had been with them for a couple weeks and played in two friendly matches. Credit to the lad though he’s gonna stick it out in Europe looking for a permanent home.

Liam Graham has also had a bit of a set back after being released by a club who have already released him. Chesterfield didn’t offer him a new contract after they were relegated from League One but he had been invited back to trial for a place… and that didn’t work either.

Chesterfield manager Gary Caldwell: “Liam Graham has been on trial with us and we wanted to see him in a game but he picked up a little injury and he won’t be staying with us.”

That one’s a literal ouch. For a guy who’s coming off two ACL tears he really doesn’t need any more injuries getting in the way of his career.

If you’re digging these thingies that TNC writes for ya then you can support the team by giving a whack on an ad, she’s all we ask.