Marked for Ryan Lockyer
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Aug 2029
The offer from Auckland City for Joe Stamatelopoulos was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad27 Aug 2029
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Jake Colvey, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Stefan 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jun 2029
The medical room confirms 23 days on the sidelines for Chris Nelson, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Ryan Lockyer gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Tommy Smith has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market4 Jun 2029
Ryan Lockyer 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 WaiBOP United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Liberato 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cameron Rufer, and the manager let it.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
$999.9K taken back off the WaiBOP United table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Monty Tuiloma 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 Monty Tuiloma trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market4 Jun 2029
The James Nelson talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. WaiBOP United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market4 Jun 2029
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs WaiBOP United money.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 May 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Tommy Smith has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market7 May 2029
Murod Ermatov 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 WaiBOP United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 May 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sam Tuiloma and WaiBOP United agree another 2 years.
Squad7 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 May 2029
“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 WaiBOP United know it.
Squad7 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Ryan Lockyer
“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.
Boardroom7 May 2029
WaiBOP United pull $999.9K 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.
Market7 May 2029
The name of James Nelson keeps appearing in other people's back pages. WaiBOP United say nothing, which says plenty.
Market7 May 2029
The clock does Monty Tuiloma’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee WaiBOP United could ask drops and the wages Monty Tuiloma can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Mar 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” WaiBOP United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Liberato 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ryan Lockyer, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Dec 2028
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market11 Dec 2028
Murod Ermatov 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 WaiBOP United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad11 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match9 Dec 2028
0‑2 to Hawke's Bay United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dane Lockyer and WaiBOP United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eky Taufik Febriyanto, and the manager let it.
Player ratings11 Dec 2028
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Oct 2028
“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 WaiBOP United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market16 Oct 2028
As if he never left: Sam Nelson returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Sam Nelson is a WaiBOP United player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market16 Oct 2028
The shirt still fits. Ryan McCowatt is back at WaiBOP United, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market16 Oct 2028
The shirt still fits. Ryan Reid is back at WaiBOP United, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad16 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom16 Oct 2028
A promise the WaiBOP United board did not keep
There was a commitment, there was a date, and the date went past. Trust at a football club takes years to build and one afternoon to spend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Oct 2028
Every point is an argument now for WaiBOP United
Position 5 and 12 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.
Market9 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at WaiBOP United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sam Tuiloma and WaiBOP United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at WaiBOP United is running low.
Market18 Sep 2028
Murod Ermatov 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 WaiBOP United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch18 Sep 2028
“I did not go to Melbourne Victory to sit and watch. I want to come back to WaiBOP United and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Squad18 Sep 2028
James Nelson 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Monty Garbett
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 Sep 2028
12 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market11 Sep 2028
Michael Kirwan has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around WaiBOP United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Jake Lewis 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 WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stefan Sutton and WaiBOP United agree another 3 years.
Loan watch11 Sep 2028
“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 WaiBOP United, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Tommy Smith has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” WaiBOP United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“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; WaiBOP United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Murod Ermatov 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.
Market4 Sep 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. WaiBOP United have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad4 Sep 2028
27 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Loan watch4 Sep 2028
“I watch every WaiBOP 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.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
WaiBOP United pull $1.1M 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.
Market4 Sep 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at WaiBOP United
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market21 Aug 2028
Murod Ermatov 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 WaiBOP United can pretend not to have heard.
Market21 Aug 2028
The offer from Auckland City for Stefan Sutton was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Murod Ermatov 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.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ben Stamatelopoulos and WaiBOP United agree another 3 years.
Loan watch21 Aug 2028
“I watch every WaiBOP 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Murod Ermatov 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Owen Sutton and WaiBOP United agree another 3 years.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ryan Lockyer, and the manager let it.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
WaiBOP United pull $1.1M 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Monty Tuiloma 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Jul 2028
Murod Ermatov 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ryan Lockyer, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jun 2028
Murod Ermatov 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 36 days on the sidelines for Monty Garbett, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Ryan Lockyer gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom29 May 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at WaiBOP United
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market29 May 2028
“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 WaiBOP United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” WaiBOP United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 May 2028
Murod Ermatov 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.
Squad29 May 2028
51 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad29 May 2028
James 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 WaiBOP United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market20 Mar 2028
Tommy Sutton 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 WaiBOP United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Murod Ermatov 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.
Loan watch20 Mar 2028
“I watch every WaiBOP United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Kairat runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Feb 2028
Stefan Payne: 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.” WaiBOP United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Murod Ermatov 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.
Market7 Feb 2028
The name of Clayton Payne has come up in conversations WaiBOP United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Loan watch7 Feb 2028
“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 WaiBOP United, and 0 appearances in 0 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Ryan Lockyer gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market7 Feb 2028
The name of James Nelson keeps appearing in other people's back pages. WaiBOP United say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Jan 2028
“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.
Market24 Jan 2028
The offer from Auckland FC for Joe Fenton was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.