There’s (Finally) Doings Afoot in Welly Nix-ville
It’s a tough one being a Phoenix fan sometimes (often), and this offseason has been more evidence to that as everyone else seems to be getting back into preseason and churning out the transfers and here we bloody are just watching players leave and leave and leave. But water has passed under the bridge. Pennies have dropped, pennies have been pinched. New information has come to light. Now stuff is all starting to happen at once.
As expected, the Phoenix will base themselves in New South Wales for the start of the season at least. There just wasn’t an alternative, the quarantines would be too much for visiting teams to come to Aotearoa. If a Trans-Tasman bubble gets done mid-season then things can change and there’s a bit of hope that might happen, albeit not until at least March, but even if it doesn’t it’ll still be easier this time. There’s no need to quarantine in NSW travelling from Aotearoa at the moment – ironically it’s the Aussie based players (and obvs Uli Davila and Euro-trippin’ Stef Marinovic) who’ll be most affected by that. Plus players will be able to bring family over with them and have those costs covered so that’s cool. Seven months is the maximum time they could be based in Australia. Not ideal but that’s the state of it at the moment and none of the players are gonna kick up a fuss.
They might have some company if the Phoenix are able to get that W-League team over the line. They’ll also be based in Aussie for the entirety if they can get that one done in time – there’s only two months left until the start of both of these seasons and the SheNix still have plenty of questions about them. Those two months will shrink fast and there are all sorts of logistical things that need doing, not to mention assembling a squad and coaching staff from scratch. Not easy... but fingers crossed. The shadow of an impending SheNix side will certainly be hovering over the Women’s Premiership that kicks off this weekend with places up for grabs. As for the fellas (the... HeNix?), they’ll start assembling imminently with the bulk of the squad hoped to be set up and ready to go for preseason from next week.
Just to recap how that one’s gone, since the end of last season Liberato Cacace, Callum McCowatt, and Callan Elliot have all departed for opportunities in Europe. Imports Steven Taylor, Gary Hooper, and Matti Steinmann have all chosen to sign in India, with Cap’n Stevie T being released from an existing contract - a tough loss in a vulnerable area but a casualty of the post-pandemic confusion. Brandon Wilson was released for personal reasons, he’s heading back to Perth. Walter Scott and Liam McGing appear to be trialling with other A-League clubs as free agents (though there’s still hope for McGing). Not sure what’s up with Luke DeVere which is probably not a good sign.
That left the Welly Nix with only 11 contracted players but never fear because they’d been doing some sneaky business behind the scenes and the last few days saw a flurry of announcements. The first deal to get the public treatment was David Ball re-committing by extending his deal through until 2023. That’s a two year extension... and a statement of intent considering the timing. Three imports have left, including the captain, now here’s Ball putting his anchor down. He was always the most settled of them from a family perspective, would expect to see him stepping up and taking over more of the leadership responsibility now that Stevie T’s not there. Could even be the new captain although Alex Rufer is surely first in line. Stefan Marinovic and Uli Davila are the only other candidates who really pop there. Also remember that there were quite a few rumours of interest in Ball from clubs in England throughout the offseason so it ain’t like he didn’t have options.
Next up we had confirmation of a poorly kept secret which is that Clayton Lewis is aboard the ship. The 23 year old All Whites midfielder has signed a one-year deal – a long overdue signing for a Wellington native who even before he went to Scunthorpe for a couple years should have been under close Welly Nix scouting attention for his efforts with Auckland City. He returned to ACFC last year after his time at Scunthorpe ended. Frustratingly ended – he had a few brief spells getting regular minutes but the carousel of managers and a couple injuries meant he was mostly on the outside looking in with only 23 appearances in two seasons (with 1 goal and 2 assists, 19 of those apps in League One). Lewis spent some time trialling with the team a year ago so he’s familiar to the coaches. He’ll slip in tidily to that midfield rotation, capable of playing in either of the middle twos of the usual 4-2-2-2 formation. A very good passer, especially off his left foot, and a useful set piece taker to boot. He’ll go good.
Clayton Lewis: “To be able to join the Phoenix has always been kind of a dream of mine, I was born and raised in Wellington so it’s an exciting opportunity for me – I can’t wait to get started. I’ve played with quite a few of the boys [on the squad last season] in Alex Rufer, Oli Sail and Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, I’m looking forward to working with these players and obviously Ufuk [Talay] as well.”
You’ll notice he sorta let the cat out of the bag there (quoted on an official club statement no less, albeit with a cheeky base-covering clarification) about another re-signing as Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi was technically off contract at the moment... although after how he performed late last season and given the dearth of central defenders on the roster and the relative ease of getting a deal done with him as a young local player his was pretty much the first contract that shoulda got done. And it has been done. A two-year contract. Even before Clayton leaked that gossip old mate Wynton Rufer, esteemed football journalist that he is, had already dropped a strong hint. So there’s another one to tack onto the list.
Plenty more where that came from. After that we had news of James McGarry, Joshua Laws, and Sam Sutton all signing too… although Zac Jones has been deemed surplus to requirements with two keepers already on the books (despite being on the bench ahead of Sail late last season). Should be a Premiership contract out there for him somewhere, although with two fewer teams this season he might have to settle on a backup role. Alex Paulsen will be the keeper for the WeeNix, by the way, and he’s a quality gloveman on the rise… the production line never sleeps.
McGarry was once of this parish. A couple years ago he would dominate games for the WeeNix, often as a striker, but opportunities in the first team didn’t happen so he left to sign with Willem II in the Dutch Eredivisie. He was teammates with Michael Woud there although the pair mostly passed their time sitting on the bench. Woud is currently out on loan in the second tier playing every week and playing very well meanwhile McGarry only ever made six league appearances in two seasons whilst sitting on the bench unused on 36 occasions. Unsurprisingly when the past season was abandoned as the coronavirus poked its head in, McGarry was given an early release from a contract the club was not going to renew.
But while McGarry was usually an attacking player before, in the Netherlands he specialised as a left back and has since gone on to make his international debut in that position. Spending two years training full time with a team that made the Europa League qualifiers last season (they were knocked out by Rangers) will still have done plenty for his game even if he didn’t get the chances to show it. Dude’s only 22 years old... and it just so happens that left back spot is vacant after Libby Cacace spread his wings and flew on to vaster, greener pastures. It’s a one year contract for him.
Joshua Laws is pretty much a straight replacement for Brandon Wilson. A 22 year old Aussie midfielder and current member of their U23s group alongside Reno Piscopo, he was born in Glasgow and is coming off several years with Fortuna Düsseldorf in Germany (although never playing for their first team). Laws is a defensive midfielder who might be able to fill in across the backline at a pinch - Uffie talked him up as CB depth in the press release. He’ll add value to a midfield group that Talay is already calling one of the best in the league. Cam Devlin, Alex Rufer, Josh Laws, Clayton Lewis... all four are between 22-24 years of age too. Laws has joined on a one year deal.
Oh you know what? Chuck Sam Sutton in there as well. His name was a notable absence as the WeeNix squad was announced despite being the reigning captain of that crew. Rather significant hint there that he was about to sign on pro terms (following in the footsteps of Ben Waine, whose contract becomes fully professional this season) and sure enough he’s been rewarded with a three year contract.
Which gives us a depth chart that looks something like this...
GK: Stefan Marinovic | Oli Sail
RB: Tim Payne | Louis Fenton
CB: Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi | (Import)
LB: James McGarry
CM: Alex Rufer | Cam Devlin | Joshua Laws | Clayton Lewis
AM: Ulises Davila | Reno Piscopo | Sam Sutton
FW: David Ball | Ben Waine | Jaushua Sotirio | (Import)
Getting Luke DeVere back would be nice but either way they’ve gotta sign an import defender and an import striker was already a requirement once Gary Hooper departed. That leaves one more import spot which may or may not be filled, dunno, depends on how the finances are looking. A few birthdays in recent months means that Waine and Sutton are the only fellas aged 21 or under so pretty sure we need one more dude in that age range… plus there is still room for another local or two and the one-way travel bubble to NSW also mean it wouldn’t be too hard to call up a replacement player from the reserves either if necessary. They’d have to quarantine when they get back to Aotearoa but that’d be worth it.
A couple other notes... keep in mind that Tim Payne played a lot of centre-back for Eastern Suburbs. Wouldn’t ever see him as a first choice but in case of emergency, sure. He and TAHW are pretty versatile players across all that entire backline and can each play midfield too... though that’s the one area where the depth has no dramas. Lewis might also be more suited playing further forward, no doubt he’ll be studying Uli Davila very closely in training and picking his brain for tips and tricks. Hell of a role model for him right there. Sotirio and Waine can play on the wing. Ball has played plenty as a number ten. And Sam Sutton could be a little bit of a monkey wrench player... he’s at that get-in-where-you-fit-in stage of his career and we could even see him doing a job as a fullback if needed. His primary position will be as an attacking midfielder. Long term I’ve always thought of him as a genuine centre-mid.
As for contract lengths...
2022-23: Alex Rufer, David Ball, Sam Sutton
2021-22: Tim Payne, Jaushua Sotirio, Reno Piscopo, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi
2020-21: Ulises Davila, Stefan Marinovic, Louis Fenton, Oli Sail, Cam Devlin, Ben Waine, Clayton Lewis, Joshua Laws, James McGarry
Wouldn’t mind a few more extensions there but considering where we’re usually at entering preseason... that’s not bad. Not bad at all.
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