Marked for Alex Garbett
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Alex Garbett out for 63 days
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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
James Van Hattum is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad12 Oct 2026
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Alex Garbett out for 70 days
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Bill Lockyer is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Market5 Oct 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Sep 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Alex Garbett out for 77 days
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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mohamed Ehab is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Southern United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Bill Lockyer is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Market7 Sep 2026
The deal that would have taken Alex Garbett to Hawke's Bay United has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Southern United with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“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.
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad31 Aug 2026
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Southern United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Deklan Stamatelopoulos 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.
Market31 Aug 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Southern United will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Oliver 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
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
Bill 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 Southern United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Marco McCowatt 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ryan Barbarouses and Southern United agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Southern United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bill 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Marco McCowatt 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 Marco McCowatt trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market3 Aug 2026
No place for Alex Garbett in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alex Garbett has his answer from Southern United; what he does with it is the next window’s story.