18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hawke's Bay United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Hawke's Bay United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Callum Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Monty Boxall signs something — a contract at Hawke's Bay United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Callum Wood trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 25 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hawke's Bay United can pretend not to have heard.
Jai Stamatelopoulos 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 Hawke's Bay United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Auckland City runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Hawke's Bay United 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Deklan Boxall signs something — a contract at Hawke's Bay United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
46 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hawke's Bay United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Hawke's Bay United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Hawke's Bay United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Monty Boxall signs something — a contract at Hawke's Bay United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 53 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.
Hawke's Bay United had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Waitakere United, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Monty Boxall 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.
$130.0K was the most the club would pay and WaiBOP United were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Canterbury United have kept their man, and Hawke's Bay United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I watch every Hawke's Bay United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Auckland City runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Ryan Wood 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.
Nobody at Hawke's Bay United 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.
18 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Tommy Colvey 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 Callum Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Successful dribbles: 12. 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Hawke's Bay United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alex Sutton will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hawke's Bay United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Jai Stamatelopoulos 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.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Callum Wood 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.
Nobody at Hawke's Bay United 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Deklan Boxall signs something — a contract at Hawke's Bay United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
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.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Tommy Colvey 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Hawke's Bay United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutBill Reid loses the manager who believed in him
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alex Sutton will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hawke's Bay United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Monty Boxall 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 Sep 2029
Ryan Wood 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 Tommy Colvey is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alex Sutton trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Deklan Boxall signs something — a contract at Hawke's Bay United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Hawke's Bay United is running low.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Hawke's Bay United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Callum Wood and Hawke's Bay United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Callum Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Callum Wood trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Hawke's Bay United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Canterbury United have kept their man, and Hawke's Bay United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Add another name to the list: Waitakere United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Chris Cacace. The answer from Hawke's Bay United has not changed — yet.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Noah Reid and Hawke's Bay United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryan Wood 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.
Nobody at Hawke's Bay United 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Deklan Boxall signs something — a contract at Hawke's Bay United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes Chris Cacace a promise
Hawke's Bay United had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Southern United, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
At 17 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.
Monty Boxall 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 phone has started ringing about Chris Cacace again, and this time the name on the line is WaiBOP United. Hawke's Bay United are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Callum Wood 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.
Waitakere United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
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 Chris Cacace has written the date down.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Hawke's Bay United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Hawke's Bay United have made the call to Canterbury United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Hawke's Bay United have made the call to Southern United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Cameron Kirwan has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
The name of Alex Sutton has come up in conversations Hawke's Bay United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Monty Boxall 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 had been thinking. Ryan Wood 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.
Canterbury United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Monty Boxall and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 May 2029
Ryan Wood 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Hawke's Bay United can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Monty Boxall and Hawke's Bay United 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 Hawke's Bay United 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 Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Marco Barbarouses and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Callum Wood's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
Position 6 and 4 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“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 Hawke's Bay United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chris Cacace will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hawke's Bay United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Monty Boxall 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 Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutMarco Smith asks for a word with the manager
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alex Payne and Hawke's Bay United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I watch every Hawke's Bay United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Auckland City runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryan Wood 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Hawke's Bay United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hawke's Bay United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Hawke's Bay United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chris Cacace will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hawke's Bay United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Monty Boxall 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 had been thinking. Ryan Wood 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.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hawke's Bay United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hawke's Bay United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Hawke's Bay United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Auckland City runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Ryan Wood 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Chris Cacace
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 62 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Hawke's Bay United asked and Southern 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alex Sutton and Hawke's Bay United agree another 4 years.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Hawke's Bay United, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryan Wood 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.
In brief
The dugoutMarco Smith knocks on the manager's door
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Hawke's Bay United can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Southern United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Hawke's Bay United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Hawke's Bay United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Hawke's Bay United had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Waitakere United, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Deklan Boxall and Hawke's Bay United agree another 4 years.
Tommy Colvey 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.
Hawke's Bay United asked and Auckland 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.
In brief
SquadRyan Wood falls out with a teammate over standards
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Hawke's Bay United has to find a result from somewhere.
0‑3 against Team Wellington, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and WaiBOP United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Hawke's Bay United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The deal with Waitakere United 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Hawke's Bay United asked and Southern 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.
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Hawke's Bay United has to find a result from somewhere.
“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 Hawke's Bay United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marco Barbarouses will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hawke's Bay United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Waitakere United left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Cameron Kirwan left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Hawke's Bay United have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Hawke's Bay United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jai Stamatelopoulos 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 never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” James Sutton commits to Hawke's Bay United for another 3 years.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Cameron Kirwan left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Ryan Wood 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Hawke's Bay United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bill Boxall 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Hawke's Bay United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes Chris Cacace a promise
The words a physio says slowly. 40 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Hawke's Bay United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United 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 Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Hawke's Bay United have done the hard part with Canterbury United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Monty Boxall 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 name of Chris Cacace has come up in conversations Hawke's Bay United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ryan Wood and Hawke's Bay United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Ryan Wood 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.
The deal with Southern United 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United 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 Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Hawke's Bay United have made the call to Canterbury United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hawke's Bay United 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 Ryan Wood was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Deklan Rufer’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
34 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hawke's Bay United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Hawke's Bay United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Monty Boxall 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 had been thinking. Dane Fenton 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.
Monty Boxall 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dane Fenton 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 Tommy Colvey is on it.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Hawke's Bay United would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.