Ryan Bell

Right Back - WaiBOP United
18 Sep 2026
Friday
Process

Marked for Ryan Bell

5 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Stefan Stamatelopoulos asks to leave WaiBOP 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.

Market

Chris Lockyer agrees terms with Canterbury United

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around WaiBOP United people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Lautoka come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and WaiBOP United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Eyes on Stefan Stamatelopoulos again

The phone has started ringing about Stefan Stamatelopoulos again, and this time the name on the line is Team Wellington. WaiBOP United are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

The step up is real for Oliver Wood

At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Squad

Ryan Bell 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.

In brief

Back issues
2 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Ben Nelson asks to leave WaiBOP 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

Francis Kirwan stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Francis Kirwan and WaiBOP United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at WaiBOP United

Francis Kirwan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

1 Edition

The WaiBOP United Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Stefan Stamatelopoulos 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.

Squad

Francis Kirwan 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.

Market

Melbourne Victory join the queue for Matt Singh

Add another name to the list: Melbourne Victory have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Matt Singh. The answer from WaiBOP United has not changed — yet.

Squad

Words at WaiBOP United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryan Bell is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Marco Colvey signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marco Colvey and WaiBOP United agree another 1 years.

The dugout

Francis Kirwan 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 Francis Kirwan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief