A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Rewa will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Sam Payne and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 May 2028
Ollie Leeming 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.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
In brief
The dugoutBen Sutton left out for tactical reasons at Rewa
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rewa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jack Mihailidis and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ollie Leeming 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.
Nobody at Rewa 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Winston Waine trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Josaia Sela signs something — a contract at Rewa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 Rewa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Nasinu waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Rewa is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rewa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ollie Leeming and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Ben Sutton 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
The dugoutJack Mihailidis has become a man the manager trusts
“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 Rewa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ollie Leeming 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Ben Sutton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Josaia Sela is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rewa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Nadroga waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Rewa is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rewa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ollie Leeming and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Ben Sutton 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Rewa has been clear about where Setareki Hughes stands, which is more than many ever get.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Nobody at Rewa 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rewa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Isikeli Sevanaia 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Ollie Leeming was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jack Mihailidis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Delon Shankar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rewa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ollie Leeming 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Ben Sutton 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jack Mihailidis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Aporosa Yada is on it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Rewa has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Isikeli Sevanaia 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 Nov 2027
Ben Sutton 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 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Josaia Sela is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rewa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Rewa could ask drops and the wages Theo Robinson can ask rise.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Sutton 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.
4 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.
Nobody at Rewa 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rewa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rewa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Tevita Waranaivalu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Sutton 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.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rewa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Tevita Waranaivalu 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Ben Sutton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Rewa know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 Rewa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Rewa close the window on a squad of their own making
18 in and 9 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rewa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Ben Sutton 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 doing his job and he is not settling. Rewa were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Peniame Drova is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Rewa people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Tevita Waranaivalu 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Ben Sutton 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 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.
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.
Tevita Waranaivalu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Sutton 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Nobody at Rewa 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gabriele Matanisiga signs something — a contract at Rewa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Delon Shankar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rewa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Sutton 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.
Nobody at Rewa 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Setareki Hughes signs something — a contract at Rewa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 Rewa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Tevita Waranaivalu 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Ben Sutton 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Raj Pillay has come out of that comparison in the side, and Rewa have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
At 31 the pathway was supposed to be open. Instead Rewa went to the market, and a local readership is asking the question the academy staff are too diplomatic to ask out loud.
Nobody at Rewa 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.
In brief
The dugoutJosh Damevski asks for a word with the manager
Tevita Waranaivalu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ben Sutton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Isikeli Sevanaia's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Nobody at Rewa 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rewa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 27 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.
Position 3 on 36 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Delon Shankar did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Raj Pillay scored, was marked 7.69, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rewa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Sutton 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.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Rewa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 2, 35 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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.58 for the rest of it.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.88 for the rest of it.
1 for Raj Pillay, marked 7.48, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Tevita Waranaivalu 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. Ben Sutton 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Rewa now.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Ben Sutton 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 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Rewa have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rewa can pretend not to have heard.
The first defeat in 8 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Nadi; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rewa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Sutton 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Tevita Tuinakauvadra after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Tevita Waranaivalu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ben Sutton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Asivorosi Rabo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.60. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Josaia Sela, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Isikeli Sevanaia's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ben Sutton was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jack Mihailidis. 2‑1 against Tailevu Naitasiri, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 20 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rewa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Theo Robinson 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.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Rewa has been clear about where Peniame Drova stands, which is more than many ever get.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ben Sutton has just signed for Rewa, and for once the answer mattered.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rewa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Tevita Waranaivalu 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 May 2027
Ben Sutton 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.
At 22 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.
Position 4, 16 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
85 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. WaiBOP United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The offer from Auckland City for Bill Tuiloma 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.
“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.
Everything agreed with Hawke's Bay United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Liberato Garbett 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 WaiBOP United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for WaiBOP United is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Canterbury United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
100 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. WaiBOP United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Owen Smith and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
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 afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
It finished 1-4. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Owen Smith and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Callum Cacace 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Stefan Singh after 1‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. WaiBOP United will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Bill Tuiloma 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
SquadCallum Cacace falls out with a teammate over standards
“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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Owen Smith 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Callum Cacace was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
WaiBOP United ran out of time with Waitakere United. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Liberato Garbett and WaiBOP United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
A season-long audition: Waitakere United still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are WaiBOP United's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
“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.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Ryan Wood reports back to WaiBOP United with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Everything was agreed with Canterbury United and then the doctor spoke. WaiBOP United have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
WaiBOP United close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
The deal with Waitakere United is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Canterbury United have kept their man, and WaiBOP United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francis Lockyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Bill Tuiloma is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The deal with Canterbury United is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Add another name to the list: Waitakere United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ben Sutton. The answer from WaiBOP United has not changed — yet.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at WaiBOP United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Callum Cacace 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 offer from Waitakere United for Ryan Nelson 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.
Add another name to the list: Southern United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ryan Wood. The answer from WaiBOP United has not changed — yet.
Owen Smith 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Waitakere United have kept their man, and WaiBOP United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Chris Nelson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Ryan Nelson
SquadThe training reports on Michael Kirwan are not good