Marked for Ben Sutton
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
A one-man rearguard from Ben Sutton
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match12 Dec 2026
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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Jai Cacace 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Callum Stamatelopoulos, and the manager let it.
Match12 Dec 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Canterbury United leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Nov 2026
0‑4 to Auckland City, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match9 Nov 2026
Every point is an argument now for WaiBOP United
Position 7 and 0 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market9 Nov 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 The request is on a desk at WaiBOP United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad9 Nov 2026
56 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match7 Nov 2026
4 matches without a win for WaiBOP United
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around WaiBOP United are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Corey Hollman 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Travis Sullivan
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
Nobody left the WaiBOP United dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
Ben Sutton hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what WaiBOP United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Ben Sutton 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Cameron Tuiloma keeps the shirt for now, at WaiBOP United's convenience rather than his own.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A season on the outside for Ben De Vries
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at WaiBOP United has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market31 Aug 2026
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Jai Cacace arrives from Waitakere United with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
Dale Marshall 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 58 days on the sidelines for Kosta Stamatelopoulos, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Ben Sutton 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Owen Colvey, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Matt Rufer commits to WaiBOP United for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
The chase for Winston Lockyer ended with $18.0K changing hands and Hawke's Bay United out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Ben Sutton 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
45 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market17 Aug 2026
Newcastle Jets are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. WaiBOP United will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Callum Tuiloma and WaiBOP United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Deklan Fenton
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Callum De Vries commits to WaiBOP United for another 2 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Ben Sutton 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Callum De Vries 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
“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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ben Sutton 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
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alex Rufer and WaiBOP United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.