We’re not gonna talk about the SheNix. That’s too much of a sore point at the moment, plus it could be a developing story if it dips into the he-said, she-said stuff and there’s never any keeping up with those yarns. All that needs saying is that it’s a gutter move from the FFA. The Wellington Phoenix aren’t setting up a women’s team just for the benefit of Australian football, they aren’t getting NZ government funding for the benefit of Australian football. It’s pretty obvious where they stood there.

The rest of the clubs in the competition voted in favour of the SheNix but nope, the FFA had to step in at the last moment to play silly buggers and refuse to flip the domestic player allowances so that kiwis could be registered as locals. Absolute garbage... and a missed opportunity at a time when the W-League needs a boost with so many of its best players having left to play in Europe. And then to offer up the reasoning that they don’t wanna strengthen a rival ahead of the 2023 World Cup? We’re CO-HOSTING the bloody thing. So much for #AsOne. Anyway, these fine folk will give you all the info you need on the matter...

And here I was hoping we were over this kind of FFA petulance against the Wellington Phoenix. Considering the timing of this sudden stick in the mud, given how long the Nix have been trying to get this team up and running, only two days – TWO DAYS – before an announcement was gonna be made involving the deputy prime minister and several players from the proposed playing group (hit us up if you know which players were gonna be signed) and with Tom Sermanni locked in to coach... it feels almost suspicious somehow. Like a devious bargaining tool or a means to an end to push these talks back a year. There’s just too much else doesn’t make sense there short of assuming widespread incompetence which... actually on second thought you never know.

Okay so we did talk about the SheNix a little. But whatever. It is what it is. We will at least still get a Welly Nix men’s team to support and since the last write-up the signings have continued with Matty Ridenton making a surprise return to yellow and black colours. Surprise from the Nix’s point of view at least, from his POV he didn’t have a lot of other options. Ridenton had a breakout season his final year with the Phoenix having been on the cusp for what felt like years but then he followed Ernie Merrick to the Newcastle Jets where he was decent at first but dropped off after Ernie disappeared... perhaps not quite of the quality that the team wanted from an import player.

At which point there was then some extreme weirdness as he left for a trial with English Championship club Reading while he was still under contract in the A-League, then he returned and the Jets announced he’d been released only to retract that announcement and apologise. Ridenton ended up with the Brisbane Roar where he had some nice moments last campaign but again as an import player there’s a different level that’s expected from you and he was released at the season’s end. But with the Nix he’s a local (unlike in the W-League, lol). He’s also buried down the charts in a stacked midfield, the one part of the field with zero worries about it, but he’s a low risk addition especially on a single-year contract.

There was also 20 year old Aussie striker Mirza Muratovic’s signing, a bloke who scored who scored two goals in 13 games as a teammate of Ridenton with the Roar last season. He’s done really well in the youth grades and is on the cusp at A-League level in the same way that Matt Ridenton once was... a wee fella but a hard worker who can play across the forward line and seemingly with that crucial knack for scoring goals which arguably zero other players in this squad really have. Lots of creators but not a lot of scorers. Well... Ben Waine has shown that knack in lower grades, to be fair, so we’ll see how he and Muratovic compete for minutes. Hopefully there’s enough to go around.

But wait there’s more because before those two were confirmed we also got Liam McGing and Luke DeVere re-signing on one-year deals despite rumours/worries to the contrary earlier in preseason. I do wonder if being based in New South Wales was a tipping point for the pair. McGing can live at home nice and comfortably... plus he’s best mates with Cam Devlin (who just got called up for the Aussie U23s! About damn time... he’s joined by Reno Piscopo and Josh Laws in that group) which helps as well. DeVere’s the big get though. With him in town the heat is off when it comes to getting that import CB. I still expect they’ll sign one but if they don’t at least DeVere and TAHW can hold it down and be of a reasonable standard. DeVere might have had other options but at the Nix there’s continuity and there’s a starting eleven spot guaranteed. Chuck in that he won’t have to leave Australia for the first few months of the season at the very least and it’s a tasty proposition. Remember that DeVere missed the finals loss to Perth with injury too so maybe some unfinished business involved too.

Which means that this is where we sit with the squad...

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, James McGarry, Joshua Laws, Liam McGing, Luke DeVere, Matt Ridenton, Mizra Muratovic

Twenty players signed including all the youthers they need. Eleven of those twenty are New Zealanders. They have two imports on lock with room for three more which would take them to the maximum squad size of 23. They’ll surely sign a top notch striker, that’s still a gaping hole in the squad. Probably add an import defender as well and we’ll see if they want/can afford to add another. And since we already know that Ufuk Talay prefers himself a couple varieties of a 4-2-2-2 formation... let’s roll through each spot and see what the depth looks like.

GOALKEEPER

Starter: Stefan Marinovic

Backup: Oli Sail

Straightforward way to start things, Marinovic played every single minute last season and remains under contract for this one. The All Whites number one in as much as the All Whites still exist as an entity. Oli Sail will back him up with Zac Jones not having been offered a contract. Jones sat on the bench behind Big Stef for the seven games after the restart, beginning with Sail’s suspension for the golf cart incident but continuing afterwards too... but Sail was already signed and there wasn’t much point having three goalies. Alex Paulsen is the main dude for the ressies if circumstances mean they need to exploit the travel bubble to NSW. Otherwise... I wonder what Ante Covic is up to?

RIGHT-BACK

Starter: Tim Payne

Backup: Louis Fenton

Alternatives: Matt Ridenton, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi

Payne was excellent at RB after converting to that role when Louis Fenton got injured after four games last season. Payne’s passing range, his defensive scrappiness, and his general work-rate made it an easy transition for a guy who is pretty used to swapping positions... so much so that the national team manager bought into it too. Injury and suspension meant he missed the restart which allowed Callan Elliot to step up and he did great there... but he’s since moved to Greece. Louis Fenton is the Phoenix player with the most appearances for the club in this squad yet injury meant he only played eight games last season (and the Nix won just one of them). Could be an uphill battle for Louis to earn another contract but his presence does meant that the right back role is a pretty stable one. Won’t need to see anything mental like David Williams playing there under Mark Rudan that time. Matt Ridenton can play at fullback if necessary, he’s done it before back in the olden days. Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi started a game there last season too.

CENTRE-BACK

Starters: Luke DeVere, Unsigned Import/Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi

Backup: Liam McGing

Alternatives: Joshua Laws, Tim Payne

Luke DeVere will pick up where he left off. He’ll be partnered either by a foreign Steven Taylor replacement or if that doesn’t happen then Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi is more than ready to step up having performed so well at the very end of last season. An import would have to be of a higher standard than either of them so if that happens, it’s great for the team. If not then it’ll also be exciting to see how TAHW goes. Then behind them we’ve got Liam McGing who actually only played three times as a sub in all of last season but he’s got another year of development under his belt now, while Josh Laws was signed knowing he can perform at the back if needed and in case of emergency Tim Payne won a Premiership with Eastern Suburbs at centre-back so there’s him as well.

LEFT-BACK

Starter: James McGarry

Backup: ???

Alternatives: Joshua Laws, Sam Sutton, Louis Fenton, Tim Payne

Liberato Cacace has dominated this spot for the last couple seasons so his absence did leave a rather significant hole. Like, not only was he the top choice left-back but he was also arguably the Nix’s best player overall. Big impact in attack as well as defence. Always a calming presence despite his youth. James McGarry comes in as a natural replacement who will bring a fair bit of attacking purpose to the role (having often been a striker in his Nix academy days) and while he may not have the same level of defensive nous as Libby... nobody expected this team to be able to replace Cacace like-for-like. McGarry has pro experience in the Netherlands and looks to clearly be the best/only option here. As to backups... well, Walter Scott has left too so there isn’t really one at all. But Joshua Laws has a good left foot and can play in defence. Both the right backs should be capable of sliding over if they were needed, Fenton in particular since it’d help his stocks to add a bit of positional variety to what he does. And I’ve said it before but I wouldn’t be shocked if Sam Sutton takes a get-in-where-you-fit-in approach either in his first year as a full professional.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD

Starters: Cam Devlin, Alex Rufer

Backups: Joshua Laws, Clayton Lewis

Alternatives: Matt Ridenton, Sam Sutton, Tim Payne, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi

Uffie’s on record as saying we’ve got one of the best midfield groups in the league. Considering there are no import players here, and considering the relative youth of the lot of them, it’s definitely the most exciting midfield group out there. Quite the crew that’s been assembled. Alex Rufer should slip back into a starting role having largely been on the outside looking in as Cam Devlin emerged alongside Matti Steinmann last time. Which you could make the case is a better stylistic fit for the crew with Devlin’s mobility and Rufer’s ability to push a pass into the attacking third, whereas Steinmann was very much of the ‘protect the back four’ mould.

Then you chuck in some copious depth with Josh Laws having been signed to be the new (and arguably improved) Brandon Wilson as a backup CM who can cover in defence if needed, along with kiwi signings Clayton Lewis and Matt Ridenton. I’ve gone with Lewis as the second backup by virtue of when he was signed, though they’re all interchangeable. Ridenton’s a bit more dynamic, Lewis is a bit more creative. Each offers something useful. Then of course there’s the young fella Sutton who has been on a sturdy rise the last couple years while defenders Payne and TAHW both have plenty of experience in the middle as well. Utilities are gonna utilitate.

ATTACKING MIDS/WINGERS

Starters: Ulises Davila, Reno Piscopo

Backups: Jaushua Sotirio, Clayton Lewis

Alternatives: Matt Ridenton, Mirza Muratovic, Ben Waine

This is a variable one because at times the attacking mid duo will be posted out as wingers, at times they’ll be inverted playmakers, at times they’ll be both with the second striker dropped deeper into more of a 4-2-3-1 shape. However it goes, Ulises Davila will be starting somewhere. He’s at his best through the middle where he can be as involved as possible but if the midfield’s performing well then no reason he can’t drift in from wide-right if that’s how things are set up. On the other hand Reno Piscopo is a genuine winger and he started 17 of his 21 games last season, pretty much first choice already and now Callum McCowatt has left so he’s a no-doubter.

There are a lot of players who can play in these roles so there’s no problem there. The problem is that while there’s heaps of depth there maybe isn’t the top end quality that this team needs. Davila, sure. But even with Uli last time around this team still came up short in the goal-scoring department when it mattered. Piscopo only scored 2 goals. Jaushua Sotirio scored 4. McCowatt only got 1. None of their central midfielders scored any. That’s probably where Muratovic and Waine come into the mix, each with that habit for finding a way to score and each with the speed and skill to do a job on the wing, especially as a late sub when chasing the game. Matt Ridenton can pick a pass in tight areas and he flexed a bit of success in a more advanced role while at Brisbane so he’s here too. As for the two backups, Sotirio will see more of his time as a secondary striker, methinks, but he’s decent in that Piscopo sorta role as well, while Clayton Lewis feels like the ideal understudy for Uli Davila. Left footed, small but strong on the ball, great close control, set piece specialist... I’ve said this before too but I hope he’s shadowing him at training learning all he can.

CENTRE FORWARDS

Starters: David Ball, Unsigned Import

Backups: Ulises Davila, Jaushua Sotirio, Ben Waine, Mirza Muratovic

Absolute necessity that they sign a line-leading import striker. Someone who can score them 10-15 goals in a season, ideally without the fitness dramas that Gary Hooper brought to the table. The best ability is availability, folks. Can’t say much about a bloke that hasn’t signed yet but David Ball makes for an ideal second striker. He works extremely hard, he scores a few goals but he also creates heaps for those around him. Plus having re-upped on his deal he’s showing some serious leadership candidacy too with the captaincy up for grabs (I’d go Rufer captain, Ball vice). Uffie clearly loves him.

Behind those two there’s the prospect of playing Davila as a secondary striker as he’s done a few times. No dramas there. Jaushua Sotirio also played there most of the early time until Hooper was good to go. Not so much down the stretch but he did start the finals defeat there (and missed a few chances, unfortunately). He’ll always do a job. Speed for days with that guy. And then I don’t really think you need alternatives for these roles because Ben Waine and Mirza Muratovic are specialists... they’re just young and inexperienced and might have to be patient for their opportunities. Ben Waine had 14 appearances off the bench last season (and one start), nobody was subbed on more often for the Nix but he only tallied 208 total minutes which is less than Callan Elliot who didn’t play at all until after the restart. Would be nice to see him get more game time especially as he does seem to have something unique to offer. The signing of Muratovic feels like a mini-threat to that prospect but you never know.

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