The words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Haris Zeb signs something — a contract at Auckland City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Reon Werahiko are not good
SquadChristian Gray is training like a man with a point to make
83 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Auckland City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Nathan Lobo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Ellis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
90 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Auckland City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Nathan Lobo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Auckland City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matt Ellis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Nathan Garrow
98 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Auckland City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Matt Ellis is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Auckland City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 105 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Auckland City can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Haris Zeb signs something — a contract at Auckland City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Regont Murati has written the date down.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I did not go to Southern United to sit and watch. I want to come back to Auckland City and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 15 matches say the rest.
In brief
SquadRegont Murati falls out with a teammate over standards
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Auckland City will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I did not go to Canterbury United to sit and watch. I want to come back to Auckland City and fight for my place.” 12 appearances in 36 matches say the rest.
Squad19 Apr 2027
5 new faces, and Auckland City are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Auckland City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Auckland City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Regont Murati
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jeremy Foo and Auckland City agree another 3 years.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Regont Murati falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Auckland City know it.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ryan De Vries is on it.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hayden Henry and Auckland City agree another 3 years.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Auckland City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Hayden Henry has just signed for Auckland City, and for once the answer mattered.
“I did not go to Southern United to sit and watch. I want to come back to Auckland City and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Auckland City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Regont Murati is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad22 Mar 2027
5 new faces, and Auckland City are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Adam Mitchell is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Auckland City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Regont Murati was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Matt Ellis is on it.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Auckland City would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Haris Zeb’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Auckland City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
David Yoo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Regont Murati falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ryan De Vries is on it.
In brief
The dugoutConor Tracey knocks on the manager's door
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Auckland City know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Regont Murati was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Auckland City than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Auckland City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I watch every Auckland City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Southern United runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Auckland City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Regont Murati is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Adam Mitchell's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Auckland City would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Auckland City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutRegont Murati knocks on the manager's door
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Auckland City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Auckland City know now that the thought has arrived.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Regont Murati was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Feb 2027
5 new faces, and Auckland City are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Regont Murati trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Makai Welch has just signed for Auckland City, and for once the answer mattered.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Michael den Heijer and Auckland City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Celta have kept their man, and Auckland City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is 18, and nobody at Auckland City signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Nobody at Auckland City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 2 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Auckland City until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Auckland City can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Auckland City will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Auckland City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Racing Santander is saying, and nobody at Auckland City is enjoying the guessing.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Auckland City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Adam Mitchell's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Auckland City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
7 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Auckland City know it.
Auckland City asked and Sydney FC said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A 1‑0 win over Canterbury United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
18 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
6 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and WaiBOP United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Auckland City is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Racing Santander keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Marked 8.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Auckland City are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Auckland City asked and Waitakere United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
21 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Auckland City, and it is not being withdrawn.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Ellis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.73 on the card, and the Auckland City support went home talking about one name.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Alex Kirwan kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Auckland City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matt Ellis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A 1‑0 win over Team Wellington, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
A mark of 7.68, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Alex Kirwan, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The division's best last weekend was a Auckland City man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Ryan De Vries was the best thing in any of them.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.91 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Henry Blackledge is living that version at Auckland City, and it tends to show in the first month.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Auckland City will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Half the programme played, position 1, 15 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
“I did not go to Canterbury United to sit and watch. I want to come back to Auckland City and fight for my place.” 6 appearances in 18 matches say the rest.
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Conor Tracey and Auckland City agree another 3 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Ellis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
12 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Two goals and a mark of 8.57 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Ellis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.37 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Auckland City are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Auckland City will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Conor Tracey, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Alex Kirwan chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Canterbury United next, and one man in the Auckland City dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
David Yoo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Matt Ellis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Dylan Manickum has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Waitakere United in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Next up on the road: Waitakere United, position 5. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.28 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Auckland City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matt Ellis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I did not go to Canterbury United to sit and watch. I want to come back to Auckland City and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lorimer Bouman and Auckland City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
He is 20, and nobody at Auckland City signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Alex Kirwan was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Auckland City dressing room was either.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against WaiBOP United in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
The dugoutAdam Mitchell knocks on the manager's door
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Ellis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Alex Kirwan was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Auckland City dressing room was either.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Hawke's Bay United in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Nobody at Auckland City is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
7.77, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Ellis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Nathan Lobo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑2, Alex Kirwan could afford to be generous.
In brief
BoardroomAuckland City turn down the training-ground plan
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I watch every Auckland City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Canterbury United runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Matt Ellis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Ellis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Auckland City are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
In brief
The dugoutNathan Lobo asks for a word with the manager
Through a full week of training without a reaction, and already asking for a place. Auckland City will be careful with him and he will resent every day of it.
Auckland City had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at CE Europa, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Auckland City would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Auckland City, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with CE Europa is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Auckland City had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Antequera, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Matt Ellis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Marbella is saying, and nobody at Auckland City is enjoying the guessing.
David Yoo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Auckland City asked and Deportivo La Coruña said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Ellis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Auckland City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Adam Mitchell and Auckland City agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Auckland City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Betis have kept their man, and Auckland City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ben Kirwan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Monty Tuiloma has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Clayton Colvey is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Auckland City are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
In brief
The dugoutAdam Mitchell knocks on the manager’s door
108 appearances across 11 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
David Yoo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Auckland City asked and Leicester City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Auckland City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matt Ellis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The name of Adam Bell has come up in conversations Auckland City were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Auckland City have made the call to Deportivo La Coruña. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Auckland City, and both men came out saying it was fine.