“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 The request is on a desk at Hawke's Bay United, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Kosta Lockyer 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kosta Boxall trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Hawke's Bay United will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Michael Bell on the training pitch
“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 The request is on a desk at Hawke's Bay United, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Deklan Lockyer 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 had been thinking. Kosta Waine 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Joe Lockyer after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Auckland City 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Ryan Kirwan.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kosta Waine 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 award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Hawke's Bay United have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
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.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Aslak Opi is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“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; Hawke's Bay United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Kosta Waine 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 Michael Bell was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A point taken on 92 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
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. Kosta Lockyer 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.
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Chris Kirwan was the best thing in any of them.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kosta Boxall trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
Player ratingsChris Kirwan beats them one at a time
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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Kosta Lockyer 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Hawke's Bay United are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Chris Kirwan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
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 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 deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 6 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
$7.0K on the table at WaiBOP United. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Kosta Waine 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 Kosta Lockyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
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.
The offer went to WaiBOP United this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kosta Lockyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
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.
“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.
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 offer went to WaiBOP United this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kosta Lockyer 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.
Chris Kirwan 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 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.
“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.
Nobody writes a headline about a tutor. Nobody has to be told, either, what happens to a signing who spends two years being the man nobody can talk to at lunch.
“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.
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 Waitakere United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
In brief
SquadKosta Lockyer falls out with a teammate over standards
“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.
Kosta Waine and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 May 2027
Kosta Lockyer 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.
“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; Hawke's Bay United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kosta Lockyer 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.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Callum Kirwan was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
“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 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Kosta Lockyer 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.
“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; Hawke's Bay United 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 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. Michael Bell 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hawke's Bay United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Cameron Cacace and Hawke's Bay United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“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.
“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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“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.
Market15 Feb 2027
The window shut and Deklan Lockyer is still in the building
Hawke's Bay United spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Aslak Opi has, at Hawke's Bay United, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kosta Lockyer 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.
Saúl is 18, and Hawke's Bay United have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Saúl commits to Hawke's Bay United for another 3 years.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Kosta Lockyer
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Kosta Lockyer has come out of that comparison in the side, and Hawke's Bay United have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“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.
0 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Kosta Lockyer 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.
Canterbury United pay $3.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Michael Bell 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.
Hawke's Bay United have made the call to Rosario Central. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Southern 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.
Kosta Lockyer and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Michael Bell 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Joe Lockyer after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Kosta Waine 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.
Hawke's Bay United 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.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ryan Kirwan is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“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.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Hawke's Bay United and Waitakere United in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
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 Michael Bell was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Joe Lockyer after 2‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
1 error, one goal, and a night in front of the same three seconds. He will see it tonight, tomorrow and probably in February, and everybody who has played knows exactly which frame he keeps stopping on.
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.
“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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Ryan Lewis 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.
A 1‑0 win over WaiBOP United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Joe Lockyer could afford to be generous.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kosta Lockyer 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 Canterbury United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Joe Lockyer could afford to be generous.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Ryan Kirwan
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
5 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.
Kosta Lockyer 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 Michael Bell was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Canterbury United go through and Hawke's Bay United go home, 0‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
0-4, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
4 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.
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.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 11 combined actions and a mark of 6.71, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Kosta Waine had Hawke's Bay United level again within 4 minutes, and Southern United never got to play with a lead at all.
0 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 7.72 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Bell 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Kosta Lockyer 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Francis Lockyer is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Liberato Van Hattum 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. James Van Hattum is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ben Stamatelopoulos is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Bell 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.
0 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Kosta Lockyer 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Waitakere United have kept their man, and Hawke's Bay United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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.
$50.0K was the most the club would pay and Macarthur FC 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.
Hawke's Bay United asked and Canterbury 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Kosta Lockyer 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.
Chris Kirwan 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.
$48.0K on the table at Macarthur FC. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Kosta Lockyer 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 had been thinking. Michael Bell 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.