Sam Nelson

Goalkeeper - Canterbury United
4 Oct 2027
Monday
Process
Overview Personal Contract News 3 Transfers Relations Events 22 Awards Matches History

Marked for Sam Nelson

32 Edition

The Canterbury United Gazette

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match8 Mar 2027

Canterbury United are in real trouble now

Position 7, 4 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Boardroom8 Mar 2027

Canterbury United spell it out for Liberato McCowatt

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Liberato McCowatt has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market8 Mar 2027

Michael Nelson asks to leave Canterbury United

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad8 Mar 2027

Jake Payne in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canterbury United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad8 Mar 2027

Kgwadi Molepo asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Squad8 Mar 2027

The manager makes an example of Jai Tuiloma

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

Back issues
28 Edition

The Canterbury United Gazette

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match8 Feb 2027

Canterbury United sink to position 7

4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Boardroom8 Feb 2027

Canterbury United put Liberato McCowatt on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market8 Feb 2027

Dane Rufer hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Canterbury United can pretend not to have heard.

Squad8 Feb 2027

Jake Payne in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canterbury United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad8 Feb 2027

No hiding place for Tommy Lockyer

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tommy Lockyer, and the manager let it.

Boardroom8 Feb 2027

Canterbury United pull $254.4K back off the table

The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.

Squad8 Feb 2027

Owen Lewis knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Canterbury United, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad8 Feb 2027

Sam Nelson still has not settled

A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Canterbury United would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.

Market8 Feb 2027

The shop window has Dane Fenton in it

Canterbury United have let the market know Dane Fenton can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

3 Edition

The Canterbury United Gazette

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad17 Aug 2026

Tempers go at Canterbury United

Jake Payne 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.

Squad17 Aug 2026

No hiding place for Dane Rufer

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dane Rufer, and the manager let it.

Market17 Aug 2026

WaiBOP United join the queue for Dane De Vries

Add another name to the list: WaiBOP United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Dane De Vries. The answer from Canterbury United has not changed — yet.

In brief