Sam Nelson

Central Defender - Waitakere United
29 May 2029
Tuesday
Process

Marked for Sam Nelson

129 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

15 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Joel Anasmo 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 Waitakere United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Tim Singh

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

Loan watch

Jake Reid counts the days

“I watch every Waitakere United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Melbourne Victory runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Market

Sam De Vries told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Sam De Vries has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Waitakere United.

Market

The Corey Hollman question follows Waitakere United around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Corey Hollman’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Squad

A season on the outside for Sam Nelson

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Waitakere United has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

Market

The shop window has Tommy Colvey in it

Waitakere United have let the market know Tommy Colvey can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

Squad

Oliver Sutton knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oliver Sutton trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Market

Ryan Van Hattum leaves for nothing

Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Ryan Van Hattum leaves Waitakere United the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.

In brief

Back issues
124 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

11 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Waitakere United are in among the leaders

Position 1 and 19 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Match

Waitakere United cannot stop winning

3 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.

Match

Waitakere United find a way past Team Wellington

Team Wellington made Waitakere United work for it, but the scoreboard read 5‑4 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Tempers go at Waitakere United

Joel Anasmo 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.

Squad

Joel Anasmo is carrying Waitakere United

10 goals and a season average of 7.35. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

Joel Anasmo in the eights

A performance of 8.60 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Ryan Barbarouses

Marked 8.58 — 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.

Player ratings

Jai Reid in the eights

A performance of 8.50 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Stefan Singh in the eights

A performance of 8.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

109 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

28 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Ryan Van Hattum asks to leave Waitakere 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Waitakere United

Joel Anasmo 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.

Squad

Sebastián Ciganda 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 Waitakere United, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

105 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

31 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Waitakere United

Joel Anasmo 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Sam Nelson

“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.

Market

Monty Payne linked with a move away

The name of Monty Payne keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Waitakere United say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

104 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

24 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Joel Anasmo 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 Waitakere United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

The Corey Hollman question follows Waitakere United around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Corey Hollman’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Squad

Sam Nelson 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 Waitakere United, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

101 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Waitakere United

Joel Anasmo 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.

Market

Auckland City are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Waitakere United will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Boardroom

$896.1K on the table at Waitakere United

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.

Market

Monty Payne linked with a move away

The name of Monty Payne keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Waitakere United say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Monty Barbarouses handed the armband

The captaincy goes to Monty Barbarouses. It is not a job that wins matches, but a dressing room always notices who is given it.

Market

Matt Rufer leaves for nothing

Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Matt Rufer leaves Waitakere United the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.

In brief

96 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

29 May 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Joel Anasmo 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 Waitakere United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Jake Lewis knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jake Lewis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Market

The Corey Hollman question follows Waitakere United around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Corey Hollman’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

92 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

1 May 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Joel Anasmo 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 Waitakere United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Winston Just

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

Market

The Corey Hollman question follows Waitakere United around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Corey Hollman’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

88 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

3 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Sam Nelson: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Waitakere United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Joel Anasmo 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 Waitakere United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Tim Singh

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

Squad

Owen McCowatt stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Owen McCowatt and Waitakere United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Boardroom

Waitakere United release $896.1K for the manager

The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.

Market

The Corey Hollman question follows Waitakere United around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Corey Hollman’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

82 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

21 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Jake Lewis: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Waitakere United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Joel Anasmo 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 Waitakere United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Loan watch

James Barbarouses wants to come home

“I did not go to Dewa United to sit and watch. I want to come back to Waitakere United and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.

In brief

77 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

17 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Joel Anasmo is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.57 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

Tempers go at Waitakere United

Joel Anasmo 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.

Market

As if he never left: Ryan Van Hattum returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ryan Van Hattum is a Waitakere United player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Match

Joel Anasmo sends Waitakere United past Southern United

It finished 3‑1, and it was Joel Anasmo’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Waitakere United.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Joel Anasmo

Marked 9.23 — 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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Monty Payne

Marked 8.28 — 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.

Squad

Sam Nelson signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sam Nelson commits to Waitakere United for another 4 years.

Squad

No hiding place for Levis Esambe

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

Player ratings

Jai Reid keeps on missing

Shots: 4, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

69 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

22 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Monty Payne sends Waitakere United through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Monty Payne obliged against Southern United. 4‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Waitakere United.

Match

Waitakere United cannot stop winning

6 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.

Squad

Max Vartuli keeps Waitakere United in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Joel Anasmo 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 Waitakere United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Sam Nelson

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.31, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Noah Maieroni

Marked 9.03 — 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Corey Hollman

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

Player ratings

One of those days for Monty Payne

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.55, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Noah Maieroni finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Waitakere United have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

In brief