Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 31 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Southern United can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern 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 16 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.
6 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The words a physio says slowly. 45 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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 board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Marco Boxall has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern 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 16 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 Jun 2028
Inusah Adam 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
SquadThe manager's exit leaves Inusah Adam exposed
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Position 6 and 13 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matt Rufer will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Southern United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Mark Sullivan 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.
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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 board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Marco Boxall has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mark Sullivan and Southern United agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Southern United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Position 6 and 13 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Southern United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Inusah Adam 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Inusah Adam 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.
“I watch every Southern United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Melbourne City runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Southern United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Auckland FC runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
SquadMark Sullivan has become a man the manager trusts
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Inusah Adam 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 has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Southern United is running low.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Southern United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mark Sullivan 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Southern United training over how hard people work
Matt Nelson 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Inusah Adam 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 decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marco Cacace and Southern United agree another 4 years.
Mark Sullivan 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Southern United training over how hard people work
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Southern United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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.
“I did not go to Auckland City to sit and watch. I want to come back to Southern United and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Southern United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.71 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mark Sullivan. 4‑3 against Waitakere United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Southern United and Waitakere United in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Inusah Adam 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.
“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 Southern United, and 2 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Inusah Adam 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.
“I watch every Southern 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.
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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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.
“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 Southern United, and 0 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Southern United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Inusah Adam 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Position 6 and 7 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Dane Tuiloma had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Auckland City were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.06 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Mark Sullivan 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Noah Garbett and Southern United agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Inusah Adam 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.
“I did not go to Auckland FC to sit and watch. I want to come back to Southern United and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 14 matches say the rest.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.40 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 3‑2 win over Waitakere United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Inusah Adam 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.
“I did not go to Auckland City to sit and watch. I want to come back to Southern United and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
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 6.58, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
“I did not go to Melbourne City to sit and watch. I want to come back to Southern United and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 14 matches say the rest.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 18 actions, 6.54, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Inusah Adam 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Inusah Adam 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.
Kevin Okumu 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.
A 1‑0 win over Team Wellington, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“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 Southern United, and 0 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Inusah Adam 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 words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
Mark Sullivan 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Southern United training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
Mark Sullivan 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.
In brief
SquadWinston Wood has improved at 35, which nobody expected
The words a physio says slowly. 45 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mark Sullivan and Southern United agree another 2 years.
Matt Nelson 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.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 52 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.
Mark Sullivan 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 words a physio says slowly. 66 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alex McCowatt is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Mark Sullivan 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Inusah Adam has improved at 27, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 4 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The words a physio says slowly. 73 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Winston Wood and Southern United agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Southern 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.
Still no offer on the table, and Tommy De Vries’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
The words a physio says slowly. 101 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern 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 Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Noah Garbett and Southern United agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I did not go to Auckland City to sit and watch. I want to come back to Southern United and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
The words a physio says slowly. 115 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 3, 20 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The words a physio says slowly. 122 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.
Team Wellington arrived with $120.0K and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
He is going to Team Wellington, the club has $120.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Mark Sullivan 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 Jul 2027
Winston Wood has improved at 35, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The words a physio says slowly. 129 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The name of Oliver De Vries has come up in conversations Southern United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The words a physio says slowly. 136 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Mark Sullivan 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Southern United training over how hard people work
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from Wellington Phoenix for Oliver De Vries 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.
In brief
SquadMarco Cacace is a better footballer than he was
The words a physio says slowly. 39 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern 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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mark Sullivan 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 words a physio says slowly. 46 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 3, 20 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
In brief
SquadAlex McCowatt is a better footballer than he was
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 60 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern 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 Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 74 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
SquadMark Sullivan has become a man the manager trusts
88 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Southern United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Southern United will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Inusah Adam 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.
102 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Mark Sullivan 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Southern United training over how hard people work
109 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
123 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Alex Payne 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.
“I watch every Southern United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Hawke's Bay United runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
130 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Inusah Adam 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.
137 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
144 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The words a physio says slowly. 152 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
96 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Clayton Stamatelopoulos will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Southern United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Waitakere United moved on, Noah Bell reports back to Southern United, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Mark Sullivan 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Southern United training over how hard people work
103 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Alex Payne 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.
110 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Southern 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 Southern 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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Southern United will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Southern United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mark Sullivan 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Marco Cacace did not need any: 7.86, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Mark Sullivan 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. Alex Payne 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Inusah Adam 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Marco Cacace did not need any: 8.14, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 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 Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Alex Payne 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 2‑1 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.
Nobody at Southern 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 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 Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 83 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Inusah Adam 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 90 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
27 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Mark Sullivan 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. Inusah Adam 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 97 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Marco Cacace did not need any: 8.19, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Alex Payne 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 104 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A brace, and Marco Cacace takes the afternoon — 8.26
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Marco Cacace provided it, and the 8.26 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Mark Sullivan 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Southern United and Canterbury United, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Marco Cacace. 4‑2 against Canterbury United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Inusah Adam 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 111 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 Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam falls out with a teammate over standards
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 118 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Mark Sullivan 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.
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Owen Nelson has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Dane Lewis has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Deklan Fenton is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“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 Southern United, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
“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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Oliver De Vries is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Winston Wood and Southern United agree another 1 years.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alex McCowatt is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Southern United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Mark Sullivan 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.
In brief
SquadInusah Adam has improved at 26, which nobody expected
“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 Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Ryan Reid from Team Wellington for $18.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Inusah Adam 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 19, and nobody at Southern United signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Southern United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Clayton Stamatelopoulos has his answer from Southern United; what he does with it is the next window’s story.